April 2004 Web Sites

The following Web sites looked interesting :

From the magazine, Teaching Pre K - 8, April 2004

Topic : Hot Websites

Virtual Field Trips - offers online trips for all content areas.

Best Animal Sites - this site has pop-up advertisement but it contains great content. Try Animal World, Geo World, Fun Farm, Climates of the World, Sci World and Music World.

Teaching Youth About Trees - sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation, links to games, and activities about trees and forests.

Topic : Shakespeare

In Search of Shakespeare - activities and lessons compare film adaptations, investigate Elizabethan language, and suggest ideas for bringing the Bard to life in the elementary and middle school classroom.

William Shakespeare Resources - extensive list of WebQuests, lessons, online plays and links to Shakespeare resources.

Shakespeare for Kids - download pdf scene scripts, study fun facts about Shakespeare's life and play a game called "Who Am I ?" about characters in his plays.

Topic : Poetry

Poetry for Kids - links to writing poetry, researching poets and teaching poetry terms.

Academy of American Poets - use Find a Poet, Find a Poem and Listening Booth to browse more than 500 poets, 1400 poems and 100 audio clips at this website.

Cybernetic Poet - download the free Poet's Assistant that guides the creation of poetry using rhymes, and suggestions for words and phrases.

From the newsletter, Classroom Connect, April 2004

Classroom Today - here you will find Internet activities to do every day.

Lesson Plan Goldmines

Avalon Arts Studio: Ideas for Teachers - ( PreK - 12 ) - Charlene McNally who is an artist, teacher and gallery owner uses this Web site to share some art ideas from her 25 years of teaching.

Earth Day Teacher's Lounge - ( K - 12 ) - this site has nine lesson plans created by the Wilderness Society to celebrate Earth Day.

Kids and Community - ( 5 - 8 ) - this site was built by American city planners to teach students about communities: how they're created, how they grow and how they can be changed.

Joan Irvine: The Pop-Up Lady - ( K - 6 ) - this site contains an excerpt from Joan Irvine's book, How to Make Pop-Ups and instructions how to make one.

Math-Kitecture - ( 7 - 12 ) - this site is designed to highlight the connection between mathematics and architecture.

A+ Web Gallery

Kids on the Net - ( K - 12 ) - this site from England was one of the first sites where children could publish their writing online.

4000 Years of Women in Science - ( 6 - 12 ) - this Web site hosted by the University of Alabama Department of Astronomy, provides the biographies of almost 150 women scientists.

Adventure Learning Foundation - ( 3 - 9 ) - is a nonprofit, Internet based foundation that sends out expeditions for the express purpose of providing educational opportunities for those who visit the Web site.

BookHive - ( PreK - 6 ) - this site created by the librarians of Charlotte-Mecklenberg County, North Carolina, is designed to be a resource for children, parents, and teachers. It features book reviews, recommendations, and lists.

Department of the Interior - ( K - 12 ) - has educational Web activities designed especially for students and teachers.

Grammar Bytes - ( 6 - 12 ) -the goal of the site is to cover each type of sentence error in real depth [at least 100 sentences of practice with detailed explanations for right and wrong answers].

HeroicStories - ( K - 12 ) - Restoring Faith in Humanity... One Story at a Time, brings diverse, international voices to the world - reminding us that people are good, that individuals and individual action matter.

Kidland - ( 5 - 9 ) - each month teams of students from around the world create simple Web sites that are posted here to view.

MyWeb3000 - ( PreK - 12 ) - is a small site with some fun, educational craft activities.

Mathematics Nrichment - ( K - 12 ) - created by the Education College at the University of Cambridge, England. The goal of the site is to enrich the mathematical experiences of students around the world by providing challenging activities.

Strange Matter - ( 5 - 8 ) - is the companion Web site to the traveling exhibit about material science developed by the Ontario Science Center

Kids' Corner

smARTkids - ( 2 - 6 ) - was created by the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago to help young students find ways to look at, think about, and respond creatively to art.

CRLS Research Guide Introduction - ( 6 - 8 ) - this site addresses all steps of the research process, from selecting a topic and finding information to citing sources and evaluating work.

Coolmath4teachers - ( K - 8 ) - this site is a helpful tool for math educators at all grade levels.

Soda Play - ( K - 8 ) - is an engaging and lighthearted online activity for students and adults alike. The site promotes play and experimentation with properties of physics in an engaging way.

Spin and Spell - ( K - 3 ) - you can use this Web site to help your students learn to spell more than 200 commonly used words.

Science Education at Jefferson Lab - ( 6 - 12 ) - this resource provides hands-on activities that focus on topics from measurement to technology.

From the magazine, Technology and Learning, March 2004

Article : Data: Mining with a Mission - by Judy Salpeter, data-driven decision making is the buzz phrase of choice for the new decade. But once we've got the information, how do we use it to yield results? Here, 20 school administrators share their expertise.

Article : A Tour of Online Tutors - By Jeffrey Branzburg, five online services fill in the gaps for students struggling with specific skills.

Article : Network Monitoring: A 360-Degree Plan - By Steven E. Miller and Chris Seiberling, learn how to get the vital feedback you need to make your system - and its users - more secure.

Article : The Library of Congress Online for Educators -By Leni Donlan, explore the Library of Congress. It is the US's oldest federal cultural institution. Established in 1800 as a legislative library, it grew into a national institution during the nineteenth century and, since World War II, has become an international resource. It is the largest library in the world, with more than 126 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include nearly 19 million books, 2.6 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 56 million manuscripts.

From the ISTE publication, Learning & Leading with Technology, April 2004

Web Resources - for the following articles :

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