1. Teacher Guide This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble. Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at BingInTheClassroom@Microsoft.com. You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on our Partners In Learning site. BingInTheClassroom@Microsoft.combing.com/classroomPartners In Learning site Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location. And if you are using Windows 8, you can also use the Bing apps to learn more about this location and topic; the Travel and News apps in particular make great teaching tools.Skype in the Classroom Alice Keeler is a mother of 5 and a teacher in Fresno, California. She has her B.A in Mathematics, M.S. in Educational Media Design and Technology and is currently working on a doctorate in Educational Technology with an emphasis in games and simulations. EdTech speaker, blogger, and presenter. Founder of coffeeEDU, a 1 hour conference event for educators. New Media Consortium Horizon report advisory panel member. High school math teacher for 14 years. Currently teaching pre-service teachers curriculum, instruction and technology at California State University Fresno. Teaches online for Fresno Pacific University in the Masters in Educational Technology. Passionate that kids are not failures, researches gamification in education to increase student motivation. This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.4CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1.E CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1.E Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

2. Design an International Beaver Day event. © Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott/Corbis

3. It’s that time of year again, when children make miniature dams out of toy blocks in eager anticipation of the best holiday ever: International Beaver Day. If you’ve never heard of this observance, that may be because it began just six years ago, in 2009. So there’s still time to get in on the ground floor and build up your traditions for this holiday celebrating an often misunderstood and maligned rodent that plays an important role in North American ecosystems. The North American beaver was once so heavily trapped for the fur trade that the species was nearly wiped out by the mid-19th century. After beaver populations rebounded, the beaver’s dam-building and tree-eating behavior led many people to view the large rodent mainly as a pest. Part of the goal of International Beaver Day is to educate people about the importance of beavers to biodiversity. Though their dams may cause creeks and rivers to flood nearby meadows and forests, the newly created wetlands attract additional populations of animals and plants. Because the North American beaver initiates this process, it’s considered a keystone species. Without the beaver, the woods wouldn’t survive. Without the woods, a pesky beaver would be the least of our problems. Design an International Beaver Day event.

4. 1 Web SearchWhy is International Beaver Day celebrated? 2 Web Search What are some International Beaver Day event activities that some communities are doing to celebrate? 3 Thinking Why does it make sense or not to host an International Beaver Day event in your area? 4 Web SearchWhat is involved in planning a large community event? 5 Thinking How do the activities and marketing you choose, best help to bring attention to the plight of the beaver? Design an International Beaver Day event.

5. 5 Minutes Design an International Beaver Day event.

6. 1 Web SearchWhy is International Beaver Day celebrated? 2 Web Search What are some International Beaver Day event activities that some communities are doing to celebrate? 3 Thinking Why does it make sense or not to host an International Beaver Day event in your area? 4 Web SearchWhat is involved in planning a large community event? 5 Thinking How do the activities and marketing you choose, best help to bring attention to the plight of the beaver? Design an International Beaver Day event.

7. 1 Web SearchWhy is International Beaver Day celebrated? Design an International Beaver Day event.

8. 2 Web Search What are some International Beaver Day event activities that some communities are doing to celebrate? Design an International Beaver Day event.

9. 3 Thinking Why does it make sense or not to host an International Beaver Day event in your area? Design an International Beaver Day event.

10. 4 Web SearchWhat is involved in planning a large community event? Design an International Beaver Day event.

11. 5 Thinking How do the activities and marketing you choose, best help to bring attention to the plight of the beaver? Design an International Beaver Day event.