NEW!! ProQuest eLibary Science and ProQuest Learning: Literature online databases have been purchased for teachers and students in the Heartland AEA service area. Go to http://www.proquestk12.com and enter the EBSCO username and password assigned to your school. The databases will be part of the Com Cat federated search shortly.
Click on Comments and share your success stories in using these resources in the classroom.
NEW!! ProQuest eLibary Science and ProQuest Learning: Literature
Graphic Organizers, K-12
http://gotoscience.com/Graphic_Organizers.html
This Web site includes printable graphic organizers in .doc or .pdf format. Examples: Venn diagram, T-chart, fishbone organizer, KWLH chart, KWL, think-pair-share, compare and contrast chart, compare events, sequencing, hierarchies, etc.
Click on Comments and share your success stories when using graphic organizers in the classroom.
Free MindMapping Software, K-12
http://mind42.com/
A Beta version of some interesting graphic organizer software is available. According to Wikipedia, “A mindmap is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.” In other words, mindmapping is a very useful image-based method for brainstorming that can be used across all grade levels and content areas.
What are the benefits of mindmapping for students?
• Ideas can be linked using the same shape for their boxes or the same color for the branches.
• Emotions can be conveyed, and importance stressed.
• Using text allows student ideas to be expressed accurately.
• Students can use their own language.
• Students can create a document from their mindmap.
• Others can easily read a mindmap.
• Mindmaps give the whole story in one picture.
• A concept can be presented on one page by making use of color, shape, style, layout, and fonts.
• A mindmap can hold a large amount of information in a small space.
• The act of making a mindmap around a problem helps students see possible solutions and helps them select the one solution that meets all of their criteria.
• A mindmap enables students to see, at a glance, what is important. As they work, their whole brain and all their skills can come into play.
• It helps focus students’ minds on the main issue. The main branches convey the overall picture, while the sub-branches give the key points or details.
• Students can see quickly how items are related and are inter-dependent.
• Mindmaps can bring clarity to complex material.
Because Mind42 is a Web 2.0 application, it enables and promotes collaboration between users. Brainstorming is not a single user activity. The more people who take part in a brainstorming session, the better the results will be. Every participant in a brainstorming session has an immediately updated view of all the collected ideas. Mind42 gives users the ability to add multiple files and notes to a single topic and Web links and icons to their map nodes.
Click on Comments and share your success stories in using graphic oranizers in the classroom.
Using Blogs to Enhance Literacy, 3-12
Using blogs in the classroom is a great way to improve literacy and enhance collaborative learning and critical thinking. Blogging can improve student literacy because it focuses equally on reading and writing. Blogging is also a cooperative form of learning that can promote good spelling, grammar, and well-thought-out responses because it is a shared learning environment where students are accountable to each other if they make untruthful or inaccurate posts. Students practice information sorting and evaluation information literacy skills. Blogs can empower students to develop their own voices by actively responding and defining their positions and thinking on issues. They are easy to maintain and easy to learn.
Check out this link to THE Journal article of “Five Don’ts of Classroom Blogging.” http://www.thejournal.com/the/printarticle/?id=22014. It has valuable tips to avoid the pitfalls of blogging and get you and your students on the right track to using blogging as a literacy tool.
Click on Comments and share your success stories when using blogs or Web 2.0 applications in the classroom. BTW, World of Media is produced with blogging software.
Web 2.0 Tools, K-12
Here is a list of free Web applications compiled by various educators around the country who ranked them as being the most useful or promising when used with students. One key criteria in composing this list was how easy the application is to use. Be sure to preview before sharing with students.
Visualize
http://vi.sualize.us/
This is a social bookmarking site like del.iou.us, but for images. Students and teachers can save, categorize, and write a description of images on the Web.
Animoto
http://animoto.com/
Students can create their own music video (limit of 30 seconds) by uploading images and selecting music.
Slide.com
http://www.slide.com
Create your own slideshow, then embed it in a classroom blog.
Sketchcast
http://sketchcast.com
Students can “draw” on a whiteboard and record an audio explanation at the same time. A URL is provided for their creation, and/or you can embed it into a blog. Others can leave comments about your Sketchcast. It would be an excellent tool to demonstrate how to solve math problems.
Slideshare
http://www.slideshare.net
Upload PowerPoint files in order to embed them in a classroom blog.
Footnote
http://www.footnote.com/index.php
Footnote allows students to access thousands of primary source documents and photos, and easily create online history reports. Their URLs can then be posted, and students can also leave comments on their peers’ reports.
Lunapic
http://www.lunapic.com/editor/
This is a Web-based image editor with effects and animations.
CircaVie
http://www.circavie.com/
This user-friendly online application can create timelines that incorporate images. It can be used in any number of lessons across various content areas.
Voicethread
http://voicethread.com/
Students can upload images, record their voices over each image, and invite others to collaborate. It can be embedded in classroom blogs or used for collaborative storytelling.
SMILE and CLEAR
http://clear.msu.edu/teaching/online/mimea/smile/v2/index.php
http://clear.msu.edu/clear/store/products.php?product_category=online
Both of these applications were developed by Michigan State University to allow teachers (and students) to easily create cloze passages, drag-and-drop exercises, and sequencing activities. Audio and video can be embedded with the activities. The site will host the activities as well.
Ning
http://www.ning.com/
Teachers can create a social network place for students. Ning will even remove the ads if you write to them that the site is for elementary school students. This site has great potential to teach younger students about social networking in a safe environment.
ESL Video
http://www.eslvideo.com/index.php
This tool makes it easy to take almost any video off the Web and create a quiz. It’s designed for ESL/ELL students, but it can also be used with all students. Be aware of copyright issues.
Google Earth and Mapshttp://earth.google.com/
http://maps.google.com/?output=html
Take your students on a virtual tour around the world, create placemarks, and add your own images or videos. Have students add their own descriptions. Save and share placemarks and virtual tours on your blog. Embed Google Maps on your classroom blog. This is a great way to create interactive field trips based on children’s books.
Fleck
http://fleck.com
This application allows teachers to create virtual Post-it notes and paste them on any Web page. This can be a way for students to demonstrate their use of reading strategies.
Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/
Once photos are uploaded to Flickr, there is no need to upload again and users can take the URL provided to embed images on different applications.
One True Media
http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/register?
This is an easy tool to use to create slideshows on the Web and add text, music, and images.
Mixbook
http://www.mixbook.com/
This site could be used for collaborative classroom creation, editing, and publishing of books. It features a variety of layouts, including text and images.
Community Walk
http://www.communitywalk.com/
This tool allows students to put various sites on a map with descriptions and images (which can be easily grabbed off the Web). Students can use this to describe field trips, report on historical events, and do other mapping applications.
FlashCard Friends
http://www.flashcardfriends.com/
This is a free social network tool for creating, sharing, learning, and self-testing using online flashcards created by students or teachers. The spelling flashcards are very popular.
Daft Doggy
http://www.daftdoggy.com/
This application allows teachers to create Web site tours where users can leave their own descriptive text or instructions on each page. It can be used to create Internet scavenger hunts. Visitors can also leave comments.
Show Beyond
http://www.showbeyond.com/show/home
This tool is similar to VoiceThread in that it allows audio narration of slideshows, but it doesn’t allow audio. Users can add music and text. This tool would be particularly beneficial in districts that block streaming video like YouTube.
Bookr
http://www.pimpampum.net/bookr/
This application can make slideshows with captions on the Web. Users must use images off Flickr, and not other databases on the Web like AP Multimedia Archive or Clipart.com.
Tumblr
http://www.tumblr.com/
Wikipedia explains that a tumblelog is a variation on traditional blogging that favors very short, mixed media posts with little or no commentary. It's a quick way to publish information students run across on the Web every day, and the layout includes large text, photos, links, and video frames. Students can have individual or group “Tumblrs.” A student can also share their password with a small number of students who can then leave comments.
Click on Comments and share your success stories in using these resources in the classroom.
Downloading YouTube Videos, K-12
http://fno.org/mar08/youtube.html
Jamie McKenzie’s From Now On newsletter suggests a way to download streaming videos from YouTube. Please be aware of copyright restrictions in downloading and using YouTube material. Go to the URL listed above to read about videos that can be used successfully in the classroom.
1. Identify the video at http://youtube.com.
2. Find the original source Web site for the video.
2. Copy the URL for the video from its original source (not YouTube).
3. Go to http://zamzar.com.
4. Select the blue hyperlink for URL in Step One.
5. The page will change so that a new entry box will appear with "http://" in it where the URL from the video's source should be pasted.
6. Move through the next steps, selecting a file format that will work with the video software installed on your computer.
7. Enter your e-mail address as instructed.
Zamzar will e-mail instructions to you for returning to the site for the actual file downloading. Sometimes this message may take several hours to arrive in the e-mail Inbox.
Once the e-mail arrives, you have just 24 hours to download the file before they delete it.
After downloading the file, you may bring it to school and decide upon the best way to share it with students, recognizing that there may be copyright issues if you store it on the school's network.
Click on Comments and share your success stories in using video clips, streaming video, or YouTube or TeacherTube in the classroom.
ProQuest Learning: Literature, 7-12
http://www.proquestk12.com
Heartland has purchased access to the ProQuest Learning: Literature database. Several schools used it on a pilot basis last year and found it to be a unique and important teaching resource. It includes 3,000+ author biographies, 40 searchable full-text literature journals, full-text literary works, and other key criticism and reference sources. Here are a few highlights:
- Essays on the American Novel (Light in August, Go Down Moses, Native Son, A Farewell to Arms, The American, etc.)
- Literacy Movement Pages for selected criticism, multimedia, and reference on literary movements.
- Genre pages for selected criticism, multimedia, and reference on literary genres.
- Study guides include author and plot overview, character notes, and detailed summaries offering students guidance on literary style, themes, and motifs.
- Videos of contemporary poets reading selections of their own work and their favorite classic poems. Students can see and hear one poet’s interpretation of the work, prompting the discussion of what form alternative readings might take.
- Samples of standards-based lessons.
ProQuest Learning: Literature is part of the Com Cat federated search. It is listed under the Authors/Reading folder, http://comcat-agent.auto-graphics.com. Teachers and students can search the school library catalog(s) and Learning: Literature simultaneously. The Learning: Literature database is subgrouped into categories and the results are displayed as Authors, References, etc. It is not possible for a federated search system to interpret these sub-categories. As a result, Com Cat will direct the user to the search results in the native interface--just click the search results number in the left column.
OR
Go to http://www.proquestk12.com. Enter the EBSCO username and password assigned to your school and click on My Products Page.
Click ProQuest Learning: Literature.
Training:
A training video is online at http://www.proquestk12.com/videotraining.shtml. A list of webinars that you can attend is also online at http://www.proquestk12.com/trainingsupport.shtml.
21st-Century Literacies: A Policy Research Brief, 7-12
http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Publications/Newspaper/Chron1107ResearchBrief.pdf
In this new policy brief, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) writes that, “As new technologies shape literacies, they bring opportunities for teachers at all levels to foster reading and writing in more diverse and participatory contexts.” Research shows that effective instruction in 21st-century literacies takes an integrated approach, helping students understand how to access, evaluate, synthesize, and contribute to information. This policy brief also discusses common myths about 21st-century literacies and the teacher’s role.
Click on Comments and share your success stories or classroom applications.
Research-based Literacy Techniques, K-12
http://www.reading.org/resources/podcasts/index.html
The International Reading Association (IRA) recently launched two free audio podcast series. The first series, “Class Acts: Ideas for Teaching Reading and Writing”, focuses on teaching techniques that are research-based and classroom tested. In about 10 minutes, teachers get ideas about instructional strategies appropriate for particular learners or geared toward specific reading skills. New Class Acts podcasts will be available every two to three weeks. The current podcasts are:
The other podcast series, “IRA Insights”, features literacy leaders talking about their perspectives on a range of topics. The newest podcast features Jack Cassidy as he traces the 12-year history of his annual survey of literacy leaders to determine what’s hot or should be hot in the field of reading.
- Teaching Vocabulary in Middle and High School
- Writing to Learn Across the Curriculum
- Phonics Through Shared Reading
- Phrasing for Fluency
- Teaching Key Vocabulary
- Understanding the Big Idea
- Supporting Struggling Adolescent Readers
Click on Comments and share your professional development stories.
ProQuest eLibrary Science, K-12
http://www.proquestk12.com
Heartland has purchased access to the ProQuest eLibrary Science database. Several schools used it on a pilot basis last year and found it to be a unique and important teaching resource. It includes science content and tools along with unique videos and dozens of manipulatives. Here are a few highlights:
- Browse a list of famous scientists and view accounts of their lives.
- Science in the news.
- Today in science history.
- Transcripts of CNN Science and Technology Week, NPR Sounds Like Science, NPR Talk of the Nation Science Friday.
- 3D Animation Science.
- A.D.A.M. Animation Library.
- National Library of Virtual Manipulatives.
- Books, journals, magazines, newspapers.
Go to http://www.proquestk12.com.
Enter the EBSCO username and password assigned to your school and click on My Products Page.
Click eLibrary Science.
Next steps:
eLibrary Science will be added to the Com Cat federated searching feature in the next few days, http://comcat-agent.auto-graphics.com.
Training:
A training video is online at http://www.proquestk12.com/videotraining.shtml.
A list of webinars that you can attend is also online at http://www.proquestk12.com/trainingsupport.shtml.
MythBusters Video/DVD Series, 6-12
Is it fact or fiction? Special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman put urban legends to the scientific test. From surviving a plane crash to training a goldfish, the MythBusters team designs an experiment to prove whether it’s possible or another myth busted. The concepts presented in each video will have students looking at science in a whole new way. Each of the episodes listed below are available for loan. See the end of the article for news about accessing MythBusters online through a special trial subscription that runs through April 15.
MythBusters: Animal Behavior (#808595) 16 min.
They focus on whether a goldfish can remember where it has been by trying to train one to swim through a maze.
MythBusters: Bacteria (#808596) 10 min.
They focus on whether a wet toothbrush will pick up bacteria from a nearby toilet if the brush is left in the bathroom.
MythBusters: Botanical Growth (#808597) 12 min.
They conduct experiments to determine whether there is any scientific basis to various myths related to botanical growth, specifically the effect of speech and music on plant growth.
MythBusters: Buoyancy (#808598) 24 min.
They investigate whether a child can be lifted off the ground by helium balloons as well as whether ping pong balls can be used to raise a sunken ship.
MythBusters: Chemical Changes (#808599) 14 min.
They put ten cola myths to the test, investigating whether it can clean up everything from blood stains to engine grease. They also look at its corrosive properties.
MythBusters: Chemical Reactions (#808600) 16 min.
They conduct experiments to determine whether there is any scientific basis to various myths related to chemical reactions, specifically the chemical reactions behind getting sprayed by a skunk.
MythBusters: Circular Motion (#808601) 8 min.
They use the laws of gravity to test whether a person can generate enough speed on a swing set to make a full revolution without falling out of the seat.
MythBusters: Combustion (#808602) 17 min.
They investigate whether a gas station will blow up if a cell phone is used while pumping gas.
MythBusters: Electricity (#808603) 16 min.
They try to recreate the experiment Ben Franklin used to discover electricity to see whether it's possible to draw sparks from a key attached to a kite during a thunderstorm.
MythBusters: Electricity and Magnetism (#808604) 36 min.
They investigate whether airplane instruments can be zapped by a passenger using a cell phone as well as whether you can be zapped by electricity if you talk on the phone or take a shower during a thunderstorm.
MythBusters: Energy Conservation (#808605) 13 min.
They investigate whether it is possible to harness free energy from the environment by testing products that claim to do just that.
MythBusters: Force and Motion (#808606) 32 min.
They test whether you can use the inflated life raft or escape slide as a parachute if you fall from a plane as well as whether a toy car can beat a real car in a downhill race.
MythBusters: Forces (#808607) 24 min.
They investigate whether it is possible for a human being to fall from a jet airliner in flight and live as well as whether you can survive being hit on the head by a penny dropped from the top of a skyscraper.
MythBusters: Gravity (#808608) 11 min.
They use a mechanical toast dropper and statistical analysis to determine if you drop a piece of buttered toast, is it more likely to land buttered-side up or buttered-side down.
MythBusters: Inertia (#808609) 17 min.
They investigate whether footballs filled with helium will fly farther and hang longer than ones filled with regulation air.
MythBusters: Myths about Motion (808610) 13 min.
They explore whether you stay drier if you run versus walk from one point to another in the rain.
MythBusters: Reflected Energy (#808611) 16 min.
They test the validity of the legend that 2,000 years ago Greeks built a death ray to set fire to invading Roman ships.
MythBusters: Sound Energy (#808612) 28 min.
They test whether singers can really break a glass using only their voice and whether duck voices echo.
MythBusters: Water Displacement (#808613) 15 min.
They investigate Archimedes' principle, specifically whether the force created by a sinking boat is strong enough to pull a person down with the ship.
Myth Busters: Work and Energy (#808614) 12 min.
They test which method saves more gas--driving with the windows down or using the air conditioner.
NOTE: Limited access to MythBusters videos, teacher’s guides, and student worksheets is available online until April 15, 2008, through a special statewide trial subscription to Discovery Education (DE) Science database. DE Science is accessed through the Discovery Education (DE) Streaming Web site. If you have not created a personal teacher account on DE Streaming, here are the instructions:
• Go to http://www.iowaaeaonline.org.
• Click DE Streaming.
• Scroll down and under the New User section, enter the school code numbers in the boxes and click Go (you only have to enter these numbers once to set up your teacher account). Ask the teacher librarian in your school for the code numbers or call the Heartland AEA professional library.
• Scroll down to New User Registration and complete the fields.
• You'll receive a confirmation e-mail that your account setup was successful.
• Then, the next time you go to DE Streaming, log-in with your personal Username and Password you just setup. Click the blue DE Science tab at the top of the screen. Enter MythBusters in the search box.
Click on Comments and share your success stories in using these resources in the classroom.
MythBusters Video/DVD Series, 6-12
Is it fact or fiction? Special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman put urban legends to the scientific test. From surviving a plane crash to training a goldfish, the MythBusters team designs an experiment to prove whether it’s possible or another myth busted. The concepts presented in each video will have students looking at science in a whole new way. Each of the episodes listed below are available for loan. See the end of the article for news about accessing MythBusters online through a special trial subscription that runs through April 15.
MythBusters: Animal Behavior (#808595) 16 min.
They focus on whether a goldfish can remember where it has been by trying to train one to swim through a maze.
MythBusters: Bacteria (#808596) 10 min.
They focus on whether a wet toothbrush will pick up bacteria from a nearby toilet if the brush is left in the bathroom.
MythBusters: Botanical Growth (#808597) 12 min.
They conduct experiments to determine whether there is any scientific basis to various myths related to botanical growth, specifically the effect of speech and music on plant growth.
MythBusters: Buoyancy (#808598) 24 min.
They investigate whether a child can be lifted off the ground by helium balloons as well as whether ping pong balls can be used to raise a sunken ship.
MythBusters: Chemical Changes (#808599) 14 min.
They put ten cola myths to the test, investigating whether it can clean up everything from blood stains to engine grease. They also look at its corrosive properties.
MythBusters: Chemical Reactions (#808600) 16 min.
They conduct experiments to determine whether there is any scientific basis to various myths related to chemical reactions, specifically the chemical reactions behind getting sprayed by a skunk.
MythBusters: Circular Motion (#808601) 8 min.
They use the laws of gravity to test whether a person can generate enough speed on a swing set to make a full revolution without falling out of the seat.
MythBusters: Combustion (#808602) 17 min.
They investigate whether a gas station will blow up if a cell phone is used while pumping gas.
MythBusters: Electricity (#808603) 16 min.
They try to recreate the experiment Ben Franklin used to discover electricity to see whether it's possible to draw sparks from a key attached to a kite during a thunderstorm.
MythBusters: Electricity and Magnetism (#808604) 36 min.
They investigate whether airplane instruments can be zapped by a passenger using a cell phone as well as whether you can be zapped by electricity if you talk on the phone or take a shower during a thunderstorm.
MythBusters: Energy Conservation (#808605) 13 min.
They investigate whether it is possible to harness free energy from the environment by testing products that claim to do just that.
MythBusters: Force and Motion (#808606) 32 min.
They test whether you can use the inflated life raft or escape slide as a parachute if you fall from a plane as well as whether a toy car can beat a real car in a downhill race.
MythBusters: Forces (#808607) 24 min.
They investigate whether it is possible for a human being to fall from a jet airliner in flight and live as well as whether you can survive being hit on the head by a penny dropped from the top of a skyscraper.
MythBusters: Gravity (#808608) 11 min.
They use a mechanical toast dropper and statistical analysis to determine if you drop a piece of buttered toast, is it more likely to land buttered-side up or buttered-side down.
MythBusters: Inertia (#808609) 17 min.
They investigate whether footballs filled with helium will fly farther and hang longer than ones filled with regulation air.
MythBusters: Myths about Motion (808610) 13 min.
They explore whether you stay drier if you run versus walk from one point to another in the rain.
MythBusters: Reflected Energy (#808611) 16 min.
They test the validity of the legend that 2,000 years ago Greeks built a death ray to set fire to invading Roman ships.
MythBusters: Sound Energy (#808612) 28 min.
They test whether singers can really break a glass using only their voice and whether duck voices echo.
MythBusters: Water Displacement (#808613) 15 min.
They investigate Archimedes' principle, specifically whether the force created by a sinking boat is strong enough to pull a person down with the ship.
Myth Busters: Work and Energy (#808614) 12 min.
They test which method saves more gas--driving with the windows down or using the air conditioner.
NOTE: Limited access to MythBusters videos, teacher’s guides, and student worksheets is available online until April 15, 2008, through a special statewide trial subscription to Discovery Education (DE) Science database. DE Science is accessed through the Discovery Education (DE) Streaming Web site. If you have not created a personal teacher account on DE Streaming, here are the instructions:
• Go to http://www.iowaaeaonline.org.
• Click DE Streaming.
• Scroll down and under the New User section, enter the school code numbers in the boxes and click Go (you only have to enter these numbers once to set up your teacher account). Ask the teacher librarian in your school for the code numbers or call the Heartland AEA professional library.
• Scroll down to New User Registration and complete the fields.
• You'll receive a confirmation e-mail that your account setup was successful.
• Then, the next time you go to DE Streaming, log-in with your personal Username and Password you just setup. Click the blue DE Science tab at the top of the screen. Enter MythBusters in the search box.
The Futures Channel, K-12
http://www.thefutureschannel.com/index.php
The Futures Channel was founded in 1999 with the goal of using new media technologies to create a channel between the scientists, engineers, explorers, and visionaries who are shaping the future and today’s learners. The Futures Channel wants to create a context so that students will understand the purpose for what they are learning and make connections to possible careers. The Web site includes high quality videos, teacher guides, and student activities. There is a free version and a subscription version. Be sure to read the Terms of Use for copyright restrictions.
Connections to Science, 3-8
http://www.iptv.org/video/browse.cfm/collection/72
IPTV is producing a series of videos that feature female and minority science professionals leading engaging activities that will motivate students to become more interested in science and science careers.
Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, 2-7
http://www.blueworldtv.com/
Jonathan Bird is an underwater cinematographer and naturalist. This Web site is an educational magazine-style underwater adventure series. It features 7-10 minute video segments, each with a story and an educational component. The video segments include stories about marine animals, research and researchers, underwater exploration, and recent discoveries. Current episodes explore the biology and behavior of blue sharks; the sonar abilities and social lives of sperm whales; the intelligence and playful creativity of wild dolphins; the gentle manatee, which is a relative of the elephant; the pelagic thresher shark, one of the rarest sharks in the wild; and much more. Each video segment includes a downloadable study guide for teachers. In addition, there is a production blog that keeps teachers and students current with new Blue World developments.
Solve a Space Mystery, 5-9
http://mystery.sonoma.edu/more.html
Space Mysteries is a series of inquiry-based, interactive Web explorations that builds critical thinking and analytical skills. To solve each space mystery, students are required to access and analyze actual data from NASA missions, including video interviews with real NASA scientists. The Mysteries allow students to develop and practice important science skills at their own pace. Each Mystery has been constructed to teach at least one of the important physical science standards (for example, interactions of energy and matter, structures and properties of matter, energy, motion or forces). Each Mystery also has resources for the teacher including a teacher’s guide and Web links.
THE GREENS: A Site for Kids About Looking After the Planet, 3-8
http://www.meetthegreens.org/
THE GREENS is a site for kids about sustainability and green living. The project encourages young people to think about the world and their place in it. Through the animated episodic adventures, a blog, kids’ mail, and regular updates, students explore green living, sustainability, ecology, environmental care, and social equity. The project encourages young people to do research, challenge, discover, and take action concerning the environment whenever they can. According to Kelli Best-Oliver from Green Options, “The Greens give kids a pop-culture reflection of what environmentally-conscious families can look like. The kid characters are empowering and passionate without being preachy.”
Women’s History Month, K-12
National Women’s History Month ensures that the history of American women will be recognized and celebrated in schools, workplaces, and communities. Listed below are some online resources to help those educators interested in learning more about the contributions women have made throughout history.
Women’s History
http://www.free.ed.gov/subjects.cfm?subject_id=26&res_feature_request=0
National Women’s History Project
http://www.nwhp.org/
Smithsonian Education: Women’s History Teaching Resources
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/resource_library/women_resources.html
Women’s History
http://womenshistory.about.com/
Women’s History Mini Unit (Grades 4 – 5)
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-celebrations/womnweek.html
Historical Female Figures
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-celebrations/womnweek.html
Women of NASA
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/intro.html
4000 Years of Women in Science
http://www.astr.ua.edu/4000WS/
A Sampling of Women Inventors
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/women.shtml
Female Inventors
http://inventors.about.com/library/blwomeninventors.htm
Women Who Changed History
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/women/index.htm
Timeline of Famous Women
http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/womenenc/timeline.htm
Biographies of Women Mathematicians
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm
Women Who Left Their Stamps on History
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0768442.html
Women in Congress
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0801429.html
Women Nobel Prize Winners
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0801697.html
Notable Female Athletes
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/whmbios7.html
Women’s History Month
http://www.history.com/minisites/womenhist/
FREE Resources: History and Social Studies, K-12
http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604989
In 1997 more than 30 federal agencies joined together and formed a working group to make hundreds of federally supported teaching and learning resources easier to find. The result of that work is the Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) Web site. The following are examples in history and social studies. Other topics include arts and music, health and physical education, language arts, math, and science.
Colorado's Historic Newspaper Collection
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1974
This site features newspapers published in Colorado from 1859 to 1930. Topics include Colorado statehood, the 1908 Democratic National Convention, Denver mint robbery, early days of telephone service, and early gold mines. (Institute of Museum and Library Services)
Getting the Message Out! National Political Campaign Materials, 1840-1860
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1975
This site looks at politics in antebellum America. It includes campaign biographies of the candidates, from William Harrison, Martin Van Buren, and James Birney to Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. It also describes the "second party system." (Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, Institute of Museum and Library Services)
Ancient Mesopotamia: This History, Our History
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1968
Learn about the "cradle of civilization" through lessons and artifacts organized around 14 themes: archaeology, prehistory, the first farmers, the first cities, daily life, religion, the role of women, the invention of writing, literature, law and government, mathematics and measurement, science and technology, art and architecture, and warfare and empire. (University of Chicago, Institute of Museum and Library Services)
Donner Party
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1964
This site provides a transcript, map, and essays for a TV program that tells about the tragedy. It includes excerpts from the diary of a Donner party survivor. (WGBH, National Endowment for the Humanities)
History of Cartography
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1964
Volumes that have been completed examine cartographies of prehistoric, ancient, and medieval Europe and the Mediterranean; traditional Islamic and South Asian societies; traditional East and Southeast Asian societies; traditional African, American, Arctic, Australian, and Pacific societies; and the European Renaissance. (Multiple Agencies)
Vietnam Online
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1952
This site includes a timeline, who's who, maps, personal essays, and key documents, including letters from Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy promising U.S. help against the Communist threat. It discusses U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, war powers and the Constitution, the media's role, the Cold War, and the war in pop songs. (WGBH, National Endowment for the Arts)
1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1950
This site recounts the struggle for control of Hawaii between native Hawaiians and American business interests in the late 1800s. This 1897 petition and a lobbying effort by native Hawaiians convinced the U.S. Congress not to annex the islands. Months later the U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana and the Spanish-American War began. The U.S. needed a mid-Pacific fueling station and naval base. (National Archives and Records Administration)
Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1940
This site tells the story of Camp Chase, one of the largest prisoner of war camps for Confederate soldiers. Located on the western outskirts of Columbus, Ohio, the camp—now a cemetery for Confederate soldiers—played a key role in the evolution of federal policy on marking Confederate graves. (National Park Service, Teaching with Historic Places)
Independence Hall: International Symbol of Freedom
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1941
This site recounts the history of the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia where the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence and where, a decade later, delegates to the Philadelphia Convention formulated the Constitution. It was considered the most ambitious public building in the colonies. (National Park Service, Teaching with Historic Places)
Along the Georgia-Florida Coast
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1925
This site has a travel itinerary that explains key developments in America's past: encounters between Europeans and Native Americans, European settlement, plantation agriculture, and African American culture. Learn about more than 50 historic forts, churches, plantations, camps, cemeteries, districts, and monuments. (National Park Service)
Chronicling America
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1932
This site includes newspaper pages from 1900-1910 and information about American newspapers published since 1690. (Library of Congress)
Compose a Still Life Painting, K-12
http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/stilllife.htm
The National Gallery of Art features an Art Zone with interactive activities and projects that students can do online. NGAKids Still Life is a new project on Art Zone. This Web-based activity lets students compose their own still life paintings using images of fruits, flowers, other objects, and artistic elements. Young students can learn simple spatial and math concepts, and older students can experiment with perspective, size, and spatial arrangements and then add textured brushstrokes. Also included is a slideshow of 38 still life paintings. While viewing this slideshow, students identify common artistic elements and try to guess the artists who created the paintings.
Classical Music on YouTube, K-12
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18881714
The February 12, 2008, Morning Edition on NPR featured a segment on the treasure trove of newsreels, clips from old movies, videos of virtuosos, famous conductors, and much more. Here are some favorite classics linked on the Web site:
- Artuo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony from 1948
- Duet between James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti singing “It’s a Man’s World”
- Maria Callas singing Saint-Saens’ “Samson et Dalila”
- Jascha Heifetz playing Wieniawski’s “Polonaise No. 1”
- Edith Piaf singing “La Vie en Rose”
- Dudley Moore performing “Die Flabbergast”
New Arts Inservice Videos, K-12
The Arts in Every Classroom: A Video Library, K-5 (255767)
Four DVDs. This professional development workshop shows classroom teachers and art specialists using the arts in a variety of ways. Teachers featured in these programs include specialists in dance, music, theatre, and visual art, and regular classrooms. Schools use the arts as tools to help students learn science, history, and other subjects; schools with arts specialist teachers; and schools that use a multi-arts approach.
The Arts in Every Classroom: A Workshop for Elementary School Teachers (255766)
Four DVDs. Guided by staff from the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts, teams of teachers, principals, and arts specialists work through a curriculum unit based on multi-arts performance piece by Cirque de Soleil. Classroom footage shows students engaged in the same lessons. Learner team members then begin to design their own arts-based units, and return to their schools to put into practice what they learned.
The Art of Teaching the Arts: A Workshop for High School Teachers (255768)
Four DVDs. This is an eight-part professional development workshop for use by high school dance, music, theatre, and visual art teachers. Seven principles of effective teaching are introduced and then explored in depth. Teachers from arts magnet high schools and comprehensive high schools across the country are shown demonstrating their practice and discussing their goals, methods, and experiences.
Teaching Students to Think, K-12
http://tinyurl.com/ar8zw
The February 2008 issue of Educational Leadership is available online.
• Perspectives: The Thinking Teacher
• All Our Students Thinking
• Disciplining the Mind
• Energizing Learning
• Thinking Is Literacy, Literacy Thinking
• The Object of Their Attention
• Cover the Material—Or Teach Students to Think?
• Clash! The World of Debate
• Ask About Accountability / What’s Valid? What’s Reliable?
• What Research Says About Project-Based Learning
• Leading to Change / Effective Grading Practices
Report Card on Comprehensive Equity
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/racial_gaps
The "achievement gap" usually refers to the difference between black and white students' basic skills test scores. But education and youth development consists of more than basic skills -- it also includes critical thinking, social skills and a work ethic, citizenship and community responsibility, physical health, emotional health, appreciation of the arts and literature, and preparation for skilled work.
21st-Century Literacies: A Policy Research Brief, 7-12
http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Publications/Newspaper/Chron1107ResearchBrief.pdf
In this new policy brief, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) writes that, “As new technologies shape literacies, they bring opportunities for teachers at all levels to foster reading and writing in more diverse and participatory contexts.” Research shows that effective instruction in 21st-century literacies takes an integrated approach, helping students understand how to access, evaluate, synthesize, and contribute to information. This policy brief also discusses common myths about 21st-century literacies and the teacher’s role.
New Instructional Materials
Click below for a listing of 76 new videos/DVDs for high school classrooms.
http://tinyurl.com/2tye45
Click below for a listing of 83 new videos/DVDs for intermediate/junior high school classrooms.
http://tinyurl.com/3xu886
Click below to browse the 83 new professional development books.
http://tinyurl.com/2ksspg
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