Historical Sites Are Educating With Podcasts

Historical sites are taking advantage of podcasts to educate visitors. Read an interesting article about three of these sites and follow the links to learn more.

• Colonial Williamsburg has podcasts which provide visitors with information about its history.
• Jefferson's home has podcasts on its web site, including one that deals with restoration efforts and another, with the Declaration of Independence.
• Richmond National Battlefield Park has a podcast of a Civil War battle that took place at Malvern Hill in 1862.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstory.cfm?ArticleID=6428

image and license: http://www.flickr.com/photos/azuquin/3203961171/

Interesting Education Blogs to Read

What blogs are you reading? You may find one or more of the following education blogs interesting. A description of the blog, the author, and the blog's URL are listed for each one. When you visit these blogs, check out the other blogs their authors recommend.


Learning.Now, at the crossroads of Internet culture & education with Andy Carvin
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/learning.now/

“Explores how new technology and Internet culture affect how educators teach and children learn... offer[s] a continuing look at how technology such as wikis, blogs, vlogs, RSS, podcasts, social networking sites, and the always-on culture of the Internet are impacting teacher and students' lives both inside and out of the classroom.”


Education/Technology
http://tim.lauer.name/

Tim Lauer is principal of Lewis Elementary School in Portland, Oregon. He maintains a blog about how educational technology “can be used by teachers and students to gain a greater understanding of their world, and as a means to tell their stories…”


weblogg-ed: the read/write web in the classroom
http://weblogg-ed.com/

“During the past year I have learned more from Will Richardson about expanding the boundaries of learning than anyone.” –Alan November, April 2005

“Maintained by… Will Richardson, “Learner in Chief” at Connective Learning and the author of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms published by Corwin Press... site is dedicated to discussions and reflections on the use of Weblogs, wikis, RSS, audiocasts and other Read/Write Web related technologies in the K-12 realm, technologies that are transforming classrooms around the world.”


Kathy Schrock's Kaffeeklatsch
http://kathyschrock.net/blog/

“Webster's defines kaffeeklatsch as 'an informal gathering to drink coffee and chat.' It is a perfect analogy for a blog! (And you are welcome even if you don't drink coffee!) I will be posting thoughts, discoveries, and ideas here as I discover them, mainly on the topic of educational technology, and I invite you to do the same!”


Moving at the Speed of Creativity: the weblog of Wesley Fryer
http://www.speedofcreativity.org

“Wesley Fryer is an educator, author, digital storyteller and change agent... addresses a range of topics related to education, technology integration, distance learning, and twenty-first century literacy... won in the eSCHOOL NEWS blog contest in the Education Theory category...”


Applied Science Research
http://appliedscienceresearch.blogspot.com

“Newtown High School, 12 Berkshire Road, Sandy Hook, CT 06482. The Applied Science Research Program Blog: Designed to promote students' understanding of concepts by exploring and sharing ideas with other students. Developed and maintained by Frank LaBanca... won in the eSCHOOL NEWS blog contest in the Classroom Instruction, Students category...”


Eduwonkhttp://www.eduwonk.com

“Written by Andrew Rotherham, co-founder and co-director of Education Sector... A higher-education administrator who mixes insights on education theory with sound, practical advice... won in the K-12 Administration category in the eSCHOOL NEWS blog contest...”


Bill MacKenty: Technology strengthens, deepens, and broadens our learning...
http://www.mackenty.org

“I'm an instructional designer at Hunter College High School. I help people integrate technology into the curriculum. I am also very keen on the role of games in education.”


Practical Theory: A View from the Classroom
http://www.practicaltheory.org/serendipity/

“Chris Lehmann, Principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA (Opened 9/06)... What I did: Technology Coordinator / English Teacher / Girls Basketball Coach / Ultimate Coach at the Beacon School, a fantastic progressive public high school in Manhattan.”


Assorted Stuff
http://www.assortedstuff.com/

“Tim Stahmer, an Instructional Technology Specialist working in the Office of Instructional Technology Integration for an overly large school district on the Virginia side of Washington DC... Observations on the state of public education in the United States and the perpetual efforts to reform it... plus comments on instructional technology, movies, TV, the web, other media, a very small dab of politics, and the everyday oddities of life that pop up... which is why the site is called Assorted Stuff... won in the eSCHOOL NEWS blog contest in the Classroom Instruction, Teachers category...”


Teaching and Developing Online
http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/vschools/

Darren Cannell is the author of this online learning blog from the Saskatoon Catholic School System. “The Cyber School has recently launched its first set of elementary lessons and resources based on technology for grades 4 and 5 as well as mathematics resources for grades 7 and 8... Cyber School has further advanced its contributions to the education system by developing and launching 'Online Teacher Learning Communities'... These 'Learning Communities' serve as a collection of useful resources for grade levels from kindergarten to grade 12 and encompass all subjects from Physical Education to Aboriginal/First Nations Education... The resources are for both online uses as well as printable copies for classroom use.”


2 Cents Worth
of believing that learning about the world can be as exciting as the world really is
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/index.php

David Warlick “explores the changing nature of information and ways that it changes our notions of what it means to be literate in the 21st century.”

More About Wikis

In an earlier entry, I wrote about wikis. David Jakes adds more interesting information about them in an article he wrote for techLEARNING. He covers how wikis work, their educational benefits... and the potential concerns, their maintenance, available wiki tools, wikis to watch, and how you can learn more about them. This article is definitely worth reading.

http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=191801354

News Sources, Family Resources, and a Video Project Tool

Which sources do teens use to keep current with the news? What's a good source of web sites to share with families? How do you and your students plan your video projects? Check out these web sites for answers to these questions.


http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-09-22-hs-media-usat_x.htm

Online, television, newspapers… which source do high school students access for news? Which do they think is the most accurate? Which do they rate as the easiest-to-use source? Do their high school teachers agree?

Read the interesting results of a survey of more than 14,000 students and almost 900 teachers last spring at this site.


http://www.teachersandfamilies.com/index.html

Check out this site for activities for preschool, K-12, and parents. Younger children can listen to nursery rhymes being read (http://www.teachersandfamilies.com/nursery/index.html) while they view beautiful illustrations. ESL teachers may find these pages useful for their students and primary teachers can print the illustrations to use as manipulatives for teaching sequencing. Additional preschool activities include theme activities, letters and numbers, and a “read with me” section.

Study sites, best books, puzzles, and word wonders make up the K-12 section. The study sites are categorized by topic and grade level.

And parenting features, gifted and talented, special education, and web resources are available for parents. The parenting features include information on safe surfing on the web.


http://www.atomiclearning.com/storyboardpro

If you use or are thinking about using a video project in your class, you may want to consider using StoryBoard Pro, a free tool from AtomicLearning.com. (You do not have to subscribe to Atomic Learning to download this freeware software—for Macs or Windows-based computers --or to view the 16 free movies that are available to learn about the software.) This tool helps you to plan ahead when you or your students create video projects.

The AtomicLearning.com web site lists these features for StoryBoard Pro:
* Enter shot titles and descriptions, complete with planned lengths and edited order.
* Indicate shot types: video, still, audio, music, or titles.
* Enter film tips for your camera person when videotaping the shot and editing tips to be used when editing in iMovie, Movie Maker 2, Final Cut Pro, Premeire, or any other editor of your choice.
* Import existing video clips, still pictures, and sounds to better illustrate each shot.
* Create, save, and import templates for video projects.
* Print copies of your storyboard for use while filming or editing.
* Print blank storyboard worksheets for brainstorming new ideas.

Some Interesting Facts About MySpace

True or False: the majority of US visitors to MySpace are 35 or older.

True. Surprised? Elinor Mills shares this and some other interesting data about MySpace in an October 5, 2006 article in CNET News.com (http://news.com.com/MySpace+drawing+older+visitors%2C+study+finds/2100-1026_3-6123266.html
).

51.6 % of the U.S. visitors to MySpace in August 2006 were aged 35 or older
39.5 % were aged 35 or older in 2005

MySpace now has more video than YouTube.com...
1.5 billion streams in the US in July 2006 for MySpace
649 million streams for YouTube.com

25 % of total visitors to MySpace were aged 12 to 17 in 2005
12 % of the visitors were in the same age range in August 2006

19.6 % of the total visitors were 18 to 24 in 2005
18 % of the visitors were in the same age range in 2006

The more than 55.8 million unique visitors to MySpace this year is more than twice the number who visited the previous year.

Preparing for SAT, ACT, and GRE

The September 27, 2006 issue of techLEARNING includes an article--Online Test Prep--in its Assessment and Evaluation area. You can also read it online at http://www.techlearning.com/edge/showArticle.php?articleID=192203040 .

This article recommends Number2.com (http://www.number2.com/), a free site, which has received a good review from Consumer Reports Webwatch. Students can use the site to help prepare for the SAT, ACT, and the GRE. Tutorials, practice sessions, and vocabulary-building exercises are available. There are also reports which can be used to monitor student progress.

Using Video-On-Demand (VOD)

In No Fuss Video in the September 15, 2006 issue of techLEARNING (http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=192700192), Al Doyle discusses video-on-demand (VOD), specifically unitedstreaming. He offers tips for effectively using VOD in the classroom, including the following:

* Always download and preview the video before using it. This way you’ll know if there are any broadband issues.
* Permit student questions while you show the video. Periodically pause the video to ask questions and check that the students understand.
* Use handouts--pre-, post-, and during-the-viewing activities. Discovery Education's unitedstreaming has blackline masters that work well.
* Project the video on the blackboard or a SmartBoard rather than show the video on a computer screen.
* Assign students a videoediting project using iMovie or MovieMaker. They can combine unitedstreaming’s clips with clips they create with a camcorder. unitedstreaming permits this use with some of its clips.
* Use a video playlist to create specialized archives of content.

A Few Good Web Sites

This is a collection of a few good web sites. One--recommended by a colleague--provides reinforcement/review material. A set of sites from Alan November help you to check out other web sites. And the third site is for the astronomer or astronaut in each of us.


edHELPER.COM _____________________________________________________

edHelper.com was created by teachers to provide for teachers a single site for many educational resources. Portions of this site may be used for free. Other features require a subscription. You may subscribe to the site as a K-8 teacher, as a grades 9-12 teacher, or as a K-12 teacher. Individuals or schools may subscribe.

A free newsletter is available. It highlights the theme units designed for the current month and it points out the new items which have been added to the site.

edHelper’s Table of Contents lists these areas...

Reading and Writing: Reading Comprehension, Literature Units, Writing
PreK-3: Kindergarten, Phonics, PreK-3 Themes
Language: Language Arts, Spelling, Vocabulary, Enter Word Lists
Special Education: Special Education
Foreign Languages: Foreign Languages, Spanish, French, German, Italian
Mathematics: Mathematics, Middle School Mathematics, Algebra
Social Studies: Social Studies, Geography, United States
Science: Science, Health, Animals
More: High School, Test Prep, Art, Classroom Helpers, Make Puzzles, Monthly Themes, and Daily Skills Review

If you teach K-12, you should check out this site at least once. You will probably find some review or reinforcement activities that you would like to use with your students!


TIPS FROM ALAN NOVEMBER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SPECIFIC WEB SITES

http://Easywhois.com... find out who owns the web site

http://www.archive.org... select the "way back machine" to see past versions of web sites

Use a search engine to find which web sites link to the web site you're investigating. Type link:URL (e.g., link:http://www.whitehouse.gov) in the search box.

Use a search engine to find the web sites to which the web site you're investigating link. Type host:URL (e.g., host:whitehouse.gov) in the search box.


ASTRONOMY PHOTO OF THE DAY _______________________________________

Here is a link to an interesting web site from NASA featuring a new picture of the universe every day. A scientist provides an explanation of what you are looking at in each picture...
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html

Word Case Changes, Borders, and Charts

Microsoft Office’s word processing application, Word, has some interesting and helpful capabilities. Included in this blog entry are three techniques, some beginner level and some intermediate level. All three techniques are described for both Macintosh and Windows computers. The Macintosh techniques are explained first and the Windows techniques follow.


MACINTOSH _______________________________

Technique #1... Change case

If I were writing this tech tip in Word, I might decide that I preferred that the subhead-- MACINTOSH--be done in mixed case letters--Macintosh--rather than in upper case as it is. Rather than retyping the word I could simply highlight it and then select Format > Change Case > Title Case.

Format > Change Case…
Choices are…
* Sentence case
* Lowercase
* UPPERCASE
* Title Case
* tOGGLE cASE

Five choices are available, four of which are oftentimes quite useful.

Technique #2... Place a border around text

Sometimes I want to make a section of text stand out from the remaining text. Placing a border around the section of text can do that.

Highlight the text and…
Select Outside Border on the Formatting Toolbar
or
Format > Borders and Shading > Borders tab > Box

Technique #3... Create charts from Word tables

Select your table
Insert > Picture > Chart > Microsoft Graph Chart
OR
Insert > Object > Microsoft Graph Chart
The above action will open your graph program
Graph > Quit and Return to Document
Changes in the data in the table will NOT automatically show up in the chart… You must go back to the graph program and make the change there… and that will show in the chart.


WINDOWS ________________________________

Technique #1... Change case

If I were writing this tech tip in Word, I might decide that I preferred that the subhead-- WINDOWS--be done in mixed case letters--Windows--rather than in upper case as it is. Rather than retyping the word I could simply highlight it and then select Format > Change Case > Title Case.

Format > Change Case…
Choices are…
* Sentence case
* Lowercase
* UPPERCASE
* Title Case
* tOGGLE cASE

Five choices are available, four of which are oftentimes quite useful.

Technique #2... Place a border around text

Sometimes I want to make a section of text stand out from the remaining text. Placing a border around the section of text can do that.

Highlight the text and…
Formatting Toolbar > Border Button pulldown menu and choose the border type you want

Technique #3... Create charts from Word tables

Select your table
Insert > Picture > Chart
A datasheet and chart will appear
Changes in the data in the table will NOT automatically show up in the chart… You must go back to the datasheet and make the change there… and that will show in the chart.

Academic Links for Students

Some outstanding academic web sites for students are listed by David Colker in "Pay Attention, Students: Link, Look and Learn" in the August 2006 LATimes.com (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-technopolis24aug24,1,3751833.column?ctrack=1&cset=true). Check the whole list... It covers many areas!


ACADEMIC ALL STARS

http://www.ipl.org
The Internet Public Library site was begun by the University of Michigan. It provides links in many academic fields. Other schools have since joined Michigan in this well-done project.

http://www.sparknotes.com
This Barnes and Noble site features study guides for novels and nonfiction in addition to free reference guides for biology, mathematics, physics, and other topics.

http://www.howstuffworks.com
Check this site to find out how simple (pencils) and complex (atomic clocks) items work.

http://www.ask.com
Find answers to questions such as "When was Benjamin Franklin born?"

http://www.google.com
You've got to list a good search engine!


ANATOMY

http://www.anatomyatlases.org
The "Atlas of Human Anatomy" has excellent images of various parts of the human body.

http://www.bartleby.com/107
This 1918 version of Gray's "Anatomy of the Human Body" is still helpful.

http://www.innerbody.com
Identify body parts and learn about their functions in this interactive site.


ARCHEOLOGY

http://archnet.asu.edu
Links to museums and other resources from Arizona State University.


ART HISTORY

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's timeline of art history from 20,000 BC to 2001.

http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html
Links to art periods, artists, and museums.

http://artchive.com
View images of works by prominent artists. It's a bit challenging to navigate this site, but it's worth the effort.


BIOLOGY

http://www.biology.arizona.edu
Links from University of Arizona.

http://www.mnstate.edu/weibust/internetresbiostu.htm
Links from Minnesota State University.


CENSUS

http://Factfinder.census.gov
Official US population numbers, by ZIP code, from the federal Census Bureau.


CHEMISTRY

http://www.chemicalelements.com
Periodic tables of elements... originally begun as part of a student's science project.

http://www.chemdex.org
Links--more than 7,000--from the University of Sheffield in England.

http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/index.shtml
Quizzes, glossaries and tutorials from Frostburg State University in Maryland.


CONVERSION TOOLS

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html
Metric conversions of distance, area, weight, speed, temperature and more. Also converts fractions to decimals.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/full.shtmlConverts world currencies.


LANGUAGES

http://translation.langenberg.com
Translates words and phrases in 13 languages.

http://www.verbix.com/webverbix/
Conjugates verbs in many languages.

http://www.ethnologue.com
Information on nearly 7,000 languages.


LITERATURE

http://www.gutenberg.net
Collection of 18,000 public-domain books, including all works by Shakespeare, "Moby Dick," and many religious texts. Selections can be downloaded to be read either on the computer or on paper.

http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=3
World literature links from UC Santa Barbara.

http://www.cliffsnotes.com
Cliffs Notes study guides to many books can be read on the website for free. There is a fee to download a PDF version.


MATHEMATICS

http://www.algebrahelp.com
Algebra practice problems.

http://www.mathplayground.com/flashcards.html
An online version of flash cards.


MUSIC

http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources
Links from Indiana University.

http://www.carolinaclassical.com/links.html
Links organized by era.

http://www.classical.net/music
Links, CD reviews, and recommendations.


PHILOSOPHY

http://plato.stanford.edu/contents.html
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy contains short essays on nearly 1,000 names and concepts.

http://www.epistemelinks.com/index.aspx
Links organized according to philosophers, eras and topics.

http://www.philosophypages.com/dy
Dictionary of names and terms.


PHYSICS

http://www.aip.org/history
Interactive exhibits from the American Institute of Physics on discoveries in the field.

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/index.pl
An interactive site from the University of Colorado at Boulder demonstrates physics principles.


POLITICAL SCIENCE

http://thomas.loc.gov
The Library of Congress site includes the daily Congressional Record and updates on pending legislation.

http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/official.htm
Links to government web sites worldwide.


PSYCHOLOGY

http://allpsych.com
A glossary of basic terms.

http://www.psychology.org
Links to publications and resources.


REFERENCE

http://dictionary.reference.com
Enter a word to learn its definition.

http://www.encyclopedia.com
Brief entries from the Columbia Encyclopedia.

http://www.infoplease.com
Almanac of statistics and information on politics, business, sports, weather, and entertainment.


WORLD FACTS

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook
The CIA's public directory of countries which includes information such as population, government type, terrain, agriculture, health systems, languages, and broadcast stations.

Swamii... A Personal Search Engine

Swamii (Beta): The What’s New Engine

Is there a news story you want to follow? An interest you want to keep up-to-date on? Swamii (http://www.swamii.com/) can be your personal clipping service to tell you what’s out there… on the web, in newspapers, in peer-to-peer networks, blogs, the TV guide, and picture/video sites.

Registering is easy. All that’s needed is your name and password. Then list your interests. Swamii will search--for free--to let you know when “new, relevant and cool stuff” arrives.

What might you want Swamii to search for?
• Keep track of a current event as it unfolds…
• Get an alert when The Bishop’s Wife (my favorite old Christmas movie!) is going to be on TV…
• Be notified when a new Manhatten Transfer video clip appears on YouTube…
• Search for news on your favorite interests... Italian cooking, the Olympics, the Cleveland Indians, GroundWorks, …
• Get all the news for a particular subject in one place.

When you indicate your interests, you can use AND, OR, and NOT to add logic to your search. Quotes can be used to specify an exact phrase. You can even use parentheses. So an interest might be “online learning” NOT videoconference. Or it might be blog AND (mathematics OR science).

Swamii shows you new results each time you check in. You can save the results by bookmarking them so you can view them any time. Just select the bookmark icon next to the search result to save it to your bookmarks page.

Swamii.com is for academic use only. (Swamii Business is available for commercial use.) It is designed to give you the most up-to-date results. Swamii Post is a free service that sends your Swamii results directly to your email inbox. You may also choose to save your email address with Swamii in case you forget your password.

Swamii is in beta version; but, it appears to work very well. Using Swamii is like having a personal assistant who provides a free clipping service for you. Try it... I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you see the results.

SMART Boards are Becoming Popular Classroom Tools

What technology that was developed in 1991 has become the popular “emerging technology” for today’s classrooms?

The first blackboard was used in a Philadelphia school in 1809. The blackboards were made from lumber. Their covering was a mixture of egg white and carbon from charred potatoes. Chunks of chalk were used to write on the surface and the erasers were cloth rags. “Blackboards” later became “green” boards, although they still required chalk.

Black/green boards eventually became “white” boards and we used markers to write on them.

What eventually replaced black/green/white boards?

The answer to both questions is the interactive white board. Although there are several versions of this tool, the best-known one is probably the SMART Board.


Whether you want to learn more about how to use SMART Boards before you have one in your classroom or you’re searching for resources to use with the SMART Board already in your classroom, you will find lots of information on the Internet. Here are a few sites to get you started.

If you know of some other great sites, please share them!


RESEARCH...

I looked for results of research concerning the use of SMART Boards in the classroom. I expected to be able to create a list of advantages and a list of disadvantages discovered when using SMART Boards. Well, the two lists are a bit lopsided!

Web sites examined to learn about the research…
http://www.waukesha.k12.wi.us/WIT/SmartBoard/benefits.htm
http://www.mirandanet.ac.uk/pubs/smartboard.htm
http://www.techlearning.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=51200657
http://tusdstats.tusd.k12.az.us/planning/surveys/online/exsums/smrtbrd.asp

Advantages
• collaborative
• easy to use
• effective for whole class instruction
• enthusiastic and positive classes
• improved overall student learning
• improved student attitudes
• improved student behavior during class
• increased student engagement
• increased students’ levels of participation
• instruction is more organized
• interactive
• lessons were clear and dynamic
• points could be highlighted using the pens
• proved successful in many subjects
• quick to learn to use
• reliable
• students received more attention from the instructor
• students were motivated
• visualizing complex phenomena may help some students

Disadvantages
• initial problems, such as classroom movement and setting up of the SMART Board
• initial cost and eventual replacement cost of computers, data projectors and their replacement bulbs, and the SMART Boards themselves


LEARNING HOW TO USE SMART BOARDS…

http://www.atomiclearning.com/smartboard
Atomic Learning has a series of tutorials for the SMART Board Notebook for Windows computers. Two of the videos in the series may be viewed by anyone; the remainder of the series is available to subscribers.

http://smarttech.com/trainingcenter/macintosh/trainingmaterials.asp
SMART training center, training materials for Macintosh users

http://smarttech.com/trainingcenter/windows/trainingmaterials.asp
SMART training center, training materials for Microsoft Windows users

http://wiki.monroe.edu/index.php?title=SMART_Board%2C_Introduction_to
introduction to SMART Board

http://pdtogo.com/smart/?page_id=28
SMART Board lessons podcast


RESOURCES…

http://client.cant.ac.uk/gii/home.asp
great information and communications technology ideas

http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/
SMART – educator resources

http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/SAP/default.htm
SMART – accredited software

http://www.center.k12.mo.us/edtech/SB/SB.html
SMART Board resources

http://www.d131.kane.k12.il.us/Bardwell/smartboard.html
SMART Board ideas

http://www.iwb.org.uk/
free interactive whiteboard resources

http://www.juliethompson.com/SMART.html
great K-3 SMART Board sites

http://www.taconic-learning.net/b2evo/index.php?blog=10&title=search_strategies_for_finding_web_sites_&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
search strategies for finding web sites useful for SMART Boards

Helpful Web Sites for Teaching

I've found some very interesting web sites this week, including several which have lesson plans and other activities for the classroom. Although I suspect that you will be most interested in those that match the grade level or subject which you teach, I think you may find some of the others fun to investigate, too. Enjoy!


CHRISTMAS: Cultural and Historical Resources for Christmas for Teachers
http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/christmas.htm
The history of the Christmas celebration, how it is celebrated in different countries and cultures, and some crafts and activities are the topics of these lessons. One of the sites shows webcam views of Christmas celebrations in other countries.

ECONOMICS: Stock Market
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001931.shtml
Information about the stock market--stocks, shares, markets, investing, and the history of the New York Stock Exchange--is all available here. Interactive games, timelines, interviews, and quizzes can be used with students. Resources dealing with personal finance and budgeting are also included.

HOMEWORK HELP
http://www.teachersfirst.com/tfsearch_homework.cfm
General tips and subject-specific sites that parents can use when supporting their children with homework are available at this site.

LANGUAGE ARTS: Reading
http://www.teachersandfamilies.com/open/tr
Share family reading and activities around a monthly theme.

MATHEMATICS: And Around We Go!
http://ohiorc.org/ohiorc_resource_display.aspx?recID=5810
Students use numbers and operations, fractions, statistics, and graphs as they conduct a survey to determine their classmates' favorite sports, soft drinks, music, and colors. Guiding questions, summary questions, assessment tasks, lesson extensions, a survey sheet, and activity sheets are included in this best practice lesson for grades 5 and 6.

SAFETY FOR CHILDREN
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001938.shtml
Safety rules, lesson plans, games, and activities deal with safety for children and young adults in a variety of situations. Many of the sites focus on safety when using the Internet.

SCIENCE: Energy… Renewable and Non-Renewable
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001930.shtml
Learn about different forms of energy--both renewable and non-renewable--hydropower, fossil fuels, nuclear, wave energy, fuel cells, solar, geothermal, wind, and biomass.

SCIENCE: Life Science for Teachers
http://learner.org/redirect/november/life9.html
Eight sessions with video, print, and web components focus on life science for teachers.

SCIENCE: NASA’s Image Gallery
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/index.html
NASA images, audio files, and video at this site are not copyrighted, for the most part. You may not use the NASA logo, however.

SCIENCE: Reactions in Chemistry
http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/chemistry/
This eight-unit workshop features students, teachers, scientists, and experts who share their ideas about chemistry teaching and learning. Downloadable lessons and activities you can use with your students are available.

SCIENCE: Rediscovering Biology… Molecular to Global Perspectives
http://learner.org/redirect/november/bio6.html
Thirteen units--video, text, learning activities--focus on new developments in biology.

SCIENCE: Weather
http://learner.org/redirect/november/weath12.html
Explore the forces behind weather: the atmosphere and the water cycle. Look at the results: powerful storms, ice, and snow. Understand forecasting and the changing climate. Check out other weather-related web sites.

SCIENCE: Weather
http://ohiorc.org/ohiorc_resource_display.aspx?recID=3279
This best practice instructional resource for grades 3 to 5 includes lessons that allow students to investigate weather locally and around the world. Through these explorations students develop a basic understanding of how weather can be described in measurable quantities, such as temperature, wind, and precipitation.

SCIENCE: Worms
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001940.shtml
Watch an earthworm being born, take an interactive quiz on a worm’s anatomy, view worm art, learn how worms keep soil healthy, take a tour through a virtual worm, and learn about composting with worms and how to keep worms in the classroom.

SOCIAL STUDIES: Making a Difference Through Giving
http://learner.org/redirect/november/sslib13.html
Students in grades 3 to 5 are prompted to consider their responsibilities as global citizens. In this lesson a teacher challenges her fourth- and fifth-grade students to develop realistic solutions to some problems of the world.

SOCIAL STUDIES: World History
http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/
Bridging WORLD HISTORY: Professional development and classroom materials to support the study of world history… Bridging World History Units include content, readings, and activities for 26 units organized chronologically. Videos, an audio glossary, and interactive elements are available for these units. The World History Traveler consists of three interesting sections: (1) What is World History? provides materials which facilitate looking at world history from multiple perspectives, (2) Archive is a database of more than 1,500 images and maps which can be used in the classroom, and (3) Audio Glossary allows you to hear how more than 300 names of places and people are pronounced.

WRITING: Conclusions
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001917.shtml
Six different conclusion styles and when to use which, types of conclusions to avoid, what a good conclusion should do, and ten common types of conclusion are explained. Resources are available for writing essays, research papers, and paragraphs.