Free. Really!

If you're a teacher of social studies and you haven't yet signed up for C-SPAN classroom, you're missing out. Video resources are an excellent way to connect with 21st century students, and these resources are free to you as a teacher. Here's my weekly email, listing the resources they added this week alone:

C-SPANClassroom.org is updated weekly, and sometimes daily, with short, student-friendly clips of C-SPAN programming, allowing teachers to make civics and U.S government education as relevant as possible.

Here is a list of recently added clips, by topic area. New clips are indicated on the topic video pages:

--Principles of Government (1) - Vanity Fair writer William Prochnau reponds to a caller's suggestion that a public education campaign should be a government priority as a means for preventing a flu pandemic. http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/principles/video.asp

--U.S. Constitution: (1) Joseph Nadeau, Iraqi Constitutional Adviser, discusses the Iraqi Constitution and the development of provisions for creation of an independent judiciary, and (2) Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq discusses the vote on the Iraqi Constitution. http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/constitution/video.asp

--Legislative Branch: (1) Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee asserts Congress' role in authorizing the use of military force, specifically in possible action against Syria. http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/legislative/video.asp

--Executive Branch: (1) President Bush names 3rd Circuit Appeals Court Judge Samuel Alito as his pick for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, (2) Andrew Card discusses his role as White House Chief of Staff, his responsibilities and limitations, (3) Lawrence Wilkerson, Former Powell Chief of Staff (2002-2005), claims that vital national security decisions were made by a secret "cabal" in the White House, and (4) President Bush participates in a video teleconference with 10 soldiers from the U.S. Army's 42d Infantry Division Task Force Liberty. http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/executive/video.asp

--Judicial Branch: (1) U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaks about her personal experiences with the late Chief Justice Rehnquist and the court he presided over, and (2) Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer talks about public service in international law.
http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/judicial/video.asp

--Political Participation: (1) Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) and Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) discuss their career paths to becoming members of Congress, (2) Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) speaks at a memorial service for Rosa Parks at the Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, DC, (3) Richard Viguerie, Conservative Activist, discusses conservative efforts to have Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination withdrawn, and (4) Louis Farrakhan discusses the role of government in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and what citizens can do to demand change. http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/participation/video.asp

Visit C-SPAN Classroom: http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/