Kentucky Academy of Technology Education

"What Do You Want To Do When You Grow Up?"

Instructional Illuminations

paducah.kyschool.us

Children are asked this question from the time they are old enough to answer-- "I want to be a fireman, teacher or doctor". Students at Paducah Middle School are well on their way to making informed decisions on this and other life choices with the guidance of teachers Tracy Davidson and Kym Mizell. They are using the Kentucky Department of Education program called "Career Cruising". Both teachers and students agree they are enjoying the program and its benefits.

Career Cruising is a complete technology guidance system that leads each student through the process of recording and reflecting on personal short and long-term goals. Students investigate Kentucky's fourteen Career Clusters, create a post-high school education plan and develop a career plan. This individualized learning plan (ILP) is a "road map" for the student to follow during middle and high school.

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It's Hurricane Season

Core Connections

NASA Scientific Visualization Studio

Fay, Dolly, Katrina, Andrew and Ike could easily be your new class of students, but these names are just the latest in a string of devastating hurricanes.  For students this time of year signifies starting school, making new friends, football games, and bonfires. But for meteorologists late summer/early fall is the peak time for hurricane season (June 1-November 30).  With these hurricanes come floods, damaging winds, heavy rainfall and an opportunity to teach students about these deadly storms. 

Most of us will never experience a hurricane first hand but we have all seen how devastating they can be.  This past month a unique situation occurred when inland states of Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana were damaged by remnants of hurricane Ike that came ashore in Galveston Texas.   After pounding the state of Texas with high winds and large amounts of rain, Ike combined with a cold front over the mid-west. This combination caused the winds to refuel bringing 75 mile an hour winds to Kentucky, leaving downed trees and power outages.

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Understanding Cancer

Core Connections

http://pics.tech4learning.com

By: Melissa Willoughby
High School Biology Teacher

A friend, a co-worker, a student, a brother, an aunt, a dog... What one thing could all of these have in common? Cancer. This word sends a hush to anyone who hears it; however, it is used on a daily basis. Many people have been affected by this disease in some way or another, yet, the average student knows little factual information about this life-changing diagnosis.

New cells are being formed in all species' bodies every minute of the day. Cells are constantly growing, dividing, and multiplying; a viscous cycle that has no end. But sometimes, the damaged cells that develop along the way start to grow, divide, and multiply and take on a cycle of their own, until finally, one day, this group of damaged cells gets noticed. The name given to an uncontrolled group of damaged or diseased cells is tumor. Tumors can be one of two things: benign or malignant. Benign tumors are self-contained, while malignant tumors can spread through a process call metastasis.  

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