September 2002
General | Grades K-2 | Grades 3-5 | Grades 6-8 | Grades 9-12
Cyberscoop is a free monthly newsletter from TEAMS
Distance Learning, part of the Distributed Learning Group at the Los Angeles
County Office of Education. Encourage your colleagues to sign up to receive
great K-12 classroom resources. See more information at the end of this
issue.
Cyberscoop is beginning a new school year, and I'd like to welcome all
our new subscribers. Summer raced by again this year (why am I always
so surprised?) but now I eagerly welcome another new beginning.
We have a number of sections (some of which are new) on our TEAMS home
page. I add new resources everyday, and try to keep the pages current,
but if you run across any broken links, please let me know.
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For those of you yet to face the first day of school, or if you are ready
to try something new, here are some resources you might like to check:
First Day Helps
/documentation/places/newteachers.html#firstday
Setting up the Environment
/documentation/places/newteachers.html#environment
Classroom Management
/documentation/places/newteachers.html#management
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If you are ready to create a classroom web page, check out the resources
found here:
/documentation/internet/webpages.html
and
/documentation/places/newteachers.html#online%20web
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If you plan to participate in some Internet projects, check in our classroom
projects section:
/documentation/projects/projects.html
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For administrators, there is a new section on the TEAMS site just for
you:
Especially for Administrators
/documentation/places/resources.html#administrators
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Some of you have asked for information about September 11th resources:
America Responds Classroom Resources
As we remember the anniversary of last year's 9/11 there may still be
concerns to discuss.
http://www.pbs.org/americaresponds/educators.html
New York City: After the Fall
A multimedia presentation with poetry and photographs of New Yorkers striving
to return to normal despite being changed forever.
http://www.hillerphoto.com/nyc/
September 11th Through Children's Eyes
ThinkQuest Project created by children to be shared with children.
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0211220/
We Remember
Spotlight from PBS on the past year since 9-11 from different points of
view. Programs will air on PBS from September 3rd through the 11th.
http://www.pbs.org/spotlighton/
There are additional lessons in each grade level section.
General
ABC's of PC Maintenance
A Techtorial from Education World to help you keep your PC in top shape.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial004.shtml
Africa: Teaching Tools
Lessons for grades 3- 12 including music, geography, and ecosystems in
Africa.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/tools/lesson_plans.html
American Games
Puzzles. crosswords, word searches, memory games, jigsaws, coloring books,
and more at this game site developed by Barbara J. Feldman from Surfing
the Net with Kids.
http://www.surfnetkids.com/games/American_Games/
American Roots Music
Explore the history of American music including Blues, Country, Bluegrass,
Gospel, Cajun, Zydeco, Tejano, and Native American Indian. Discover songs
and artists, instruments and innovations, and links and additional resources
for the classroom.
http://www.pbs.org/americanrootsmusic/
Avoiding Pornography Landmines While Traveling the Information SuperHighway
Kay Lehmann offers some helpful advice in training students and staff
to avoid problem sites.
http://www.learningspace.org/users/k/landmines.htm
Connected Teacher
Find K-12 schools across the country who are letting their light shine
through the Internet. Connect with teachers in other states to collaborate
on projects.
http://www.classroom.com/community/connection/
Dragonfly Website
Resources on dragonflies including a photo gallery, backyard habitats,
and educational, conservational, and ecological links.
http://dragonflywebsite.com/index.htm
Easy Fun School Units
Free thematic units provided by Easy Fun School indexed alphabetically.
http://www.easyfunschool.com/IndexUnitStudies.html
Education: Children's Greatest Tools
Safeguarding our Children- United Mothers (SOC-UM) presents these helpful
and informative pamphlets along with the Success Program to use in the
classroom.
http://www.soc-um.org/education.html
Edutopia Online
Timely Educational issues presented by the George Lucas Educational Foundation.
http://glef.org/
Exploring Autism
An explanation of the history of autism, how it is affected by environmental
factors, new research information, and family stories to provide information
about the genetics of autism.
http://www.exploringautism.org/
Extraordinary Cats
Explore the nine lives of the feline world at this site from PBS Nature
program.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/excats/
Flipbook
Students can make a book to prepare them for dealing with "stranger
danger".
http://www.soc-um.org/flipchart.html
FREE (Federal Resources for Educational Excellence)
Resources for educators, students, and administrators in all subject areas.
http://www.ed.gov/free/
Heart Attack
Find out all about heart attacks from this slide show created for family
members of those who have had heart attacks.
http://www.heartsite.com/html/menu.html
Heritage Civilization and the Jews
PBS brings you nearly 6,000 years of Jewish history in 9 episodes. This
site includes an historical timeline, resources and lesson plans for classroom
use.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/heritage/
How Satelliltes Work
How do satellites stay in orbit? What are their purposes? How is a satellite
designed? Site is sponsored by the Gulf of Maine Aquarium.
http://octopus.gma.org/surfing/satellites/
If You Don't Feed the Teachers They Eat the Students
Book by Neila A. Conners
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0865304572/qid%3D1027982857/sr%3D2-1/103-7620582-9775845
In Time: Integrating New Technologies into the Methods of Education
Educators can watch online video vignettes of teachers integrating technology
in their classrooms.
http://www.intime.uni.edu/
Job-Embedded Professional Development and Reflective Coaching
Looking for ways to implement a differentiated professional development
program that encourages teachers to reflect on their teaching practices
as well as student learning? This article by Heidi Marie Rock from Classroom
Leadership may give you some ideas.
http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/classlead/0205/rock.html
Kids in the House
Officail site from the Office of the Clerk from the US House of Representatives.
Find out what the clerk's responsibilities are, how a bill is made, write
a simulated bill online, discover what's happening in the House today.
http://clerkkids.house.gov/
Kid's Science News Network
NASA's collection of answers to children's questions.
http://ksnn.larc.nasa.gov/
MoJo's Musical Mouseum
Find the lyrics to your favorite children's songs, listen to the music,
ask for help in finding a long lost song, or help someone else find the
song they need.
http://www.kididdles.com/mouseum/index.html
National Education Data
The Reporter's guide to the statistics in education in preparation for
Back to School news articles may be helpful to teachers and administrators
as well. Provided by the National Center for Education Statistics.
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/press/index.asp
Nature Web Program Archives
Access previous PBS programs on nature by searching through the alphabetized
titles.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/previous.html
top
Newspaper links
Access daily and weekly newspapers from across the United States from
the Newspaper Association of America.
http://www.newspaperlinks.com/home.cfm
New York Philharmonic Insights Series
The first in this series presents the biography of the conductor, Andre
Kostelanetz, who pioneered the recording and broadcast of classical music
to a great number of people.
http://www.newyorkphilharmonic.org/kostelanetz/
No Educator Left Behind
Education World presents this article to keep teachers informed of what
is required by the No Child Left Behind Act.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/issues338.shtml
Public Libraries of Europe
A large listing of the public libraries in Europe with resources online.
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/square/ac940/eurolib.html
Savage Seas Deep Sea Simulator
Investigate what deep water pressure does to divers, objects, and sea
creatures, create a wave with the wave simulator, and journey to the ocean
floor to explore treasures found there.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageseas/multimedia/deepseasimulator.html
Sites for Teachers to Plan their own Professional Development
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/teacher.htm#self
Training and Assistance Center at the College of William & Mary
Resources to help you work with students who have learning or behavioral
problems.
http://www.wm.edu/TTAC/articles/index.html
Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?
The HowStuffWorks staff answers and provides additional resources for
you to check.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/question459.htm
Grades K-2
Bright Smiles, Bright Futures
Colgate offers activities and ideas to fit into your curriculum.
http://www.colgatebsbf.com/teachers/tch_login.asp
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
Fun, interactive site with lots of history, arts, and science to explore.
http://www.cdm.org/index.asp?f=1
Graphic Organizers
Blackline masters for graphic organizers from Houghton Mifflin.
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/graphorg/index.html
Literacy Center
Flash activities for beginning learners dealing with upper and lower case
letters, numbers, words, colors, shapes, and writing. Available in English,
French, Spanish, and German.
http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.htm
Nash's Adventures 5-7 years
Featuring Digger and the Gang from the BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/schools/digger/5_7entry/5_7.shtml
Paintomatic
Kidomatix provides a paint program for your students to design their own
pictures, complete with captions.
http://www.kidomatix.com/index2.html
Primary Games
Get kids motivated and involved through learning games.
http://www.primarygames.com/
Shaping Up- (PDF)
Cute shape story complete with diagram to encourage students to identify
geometric shapes. Underlying themes motivate students to see that a whole
is made up of parts and that working together has great benefits.
http://explorer.scrtec.org/explorer/explorer-db/rsrc/813447502-81ED7D49.2.PDF
Teaching 9-11
Lesson for grades K-5.
http://www.teaching9-11.org/k-5.htm
Grades 3-5
American Centuries' View from New England
Memorial Hall Museum Online presents exhibits, activities, classroom projects,
and a digital collection.
http://www.memorialhall.mass.edu/
Bats4Kids
Learn to respect this unique and helpful mammal as you explore where bats
are found, what they eat, how they use echolocation, and common myths
concerning bats.
http://members.aol.com/bats4kids/
Butterfly Cam
Presented by Karen Vitek and her resource students at the Nassau Spackenkill
School, explore habitats and facts about a variety of butterflies, including
life cycle, learn what to plant in a butterfly garden, and have fun with
butterfly puzzles and poetry.
http://www.dcboces.org/sufsd/nassau/vitek/butterfly/
Diamond Ranch
Children's Section of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
shares life on the range as it used to be for cowboys of the old West.
http://www.cowboyhalloffame.org/diamondr/index.html
First Day of School
A writing lesson for the second day of school from the Writing Bug.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/writing_bug/writingbug001.shtml
Fraction Spelling
Extend math into your language arts program using this teacher-submitted
lesson by Spring Charles.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/02-1/lesson029.shtml
Graphic Organizers
Blackline masters for graphic organizers from Houghton Mifflin.
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/graphorg/index.html
Mathline
Lessons in math topics from PBS for grades 3-5.
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/mathline/lessonplans/search_3-5.shtm
Teacher's Guide to Craters of the Moon
A curricular unit on monument geology, hisotry, and ecology for grades
5-6 at Craters of the
Moon National Monument.
http://www.nps.gov/crmo/intro.htm
Teaching 9-11
Lesson for grades K-5.
http://www.teaching9-11.org/k-5.htm
The Writing Bug
Writing Lessons from the Writing Bug especially for students at the start
of the school year.
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/writing_bug/archives/writing_bug.shtml
Grades 6-8
Algebra One-on-One
Software with high reviews is being made available to teachers free of
charge. Just click on "free for teachers" to get the details.
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/algebra1.htm
Bring Ancient History to Life
Education World offers five lessons for teaching about the ancient civilizations
of Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson276.shtml
Civil War Traveler
Tour the Civil War battlefields, learn from the Civil War timeline, explore
Civil War resources, news events, books, tapes, and memorabilia.
http://www.civilwar-va.com/index.html
Country Information, Regional and World
Get the latest facts about the economics, and social, technological, environmental,
and academic life of over 190 countries of the world from aneki.com.
http://www.aneki.com/
Interactive Problem Solving
Practice the steps to successful problem-solving
http://www.suremath.com/suremath/suremath/page0Problem1.html
In the Footsteps of Lewis and Clark
Sponsored by the Sierra Club, discover life along the Lewis and Clark
Trail as seen by the early explorers compared to what ís found
there today, and learn more about protecting the environment.
http://www.sierraclub.org/lewisandclark/
NASA Connect
Free integrated mathematics, science, technology instructional distance
,learning programs for grades 6-8. The 30 minute TV broadcast can be taped
for later use. Includes a program teacher's guide and interactive Web
activity.
http://connect.larc.nasa.gov/library.html
Quest for Immortality:Treasures of Ancient Egypt
The National Gallery of Art presents this online exhibit including the
Journey to the Afterworld, the New Kingdom, the Royal Tomb, Tombs of Nobles,
the Realm of the Gods, and the Tomb of Thutmose III.
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2002/egypt/index.htm
Oxymoron List
A very extensive list of oxymorons.
http://www.oxymoronlist.com/
Run for Your Lives: the Johnstown Flood of 1889
Photos and descriptions of the terrible flood wave that hit the residents
of Johnstown killing over 2,000 people in one of the worse disasters of
the time.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/5johnstown/5johnstown.htm
Science and Our Food Supply
Free middle and high school science health curriculum investigating food
safety as it moves from food production on the farm to food service on
the table.
http://www.nsta.org/fdacurriculum
Teaching 9-11
Lesson plans for students in grades 6-8.
http://www.teaching9-11.org/6-8.htm
Valley Forge
In December of 1777, General Washington led 12,000 men into Valley Forge,
Pennsylvania, for a 6-month encampment while the British camped 20 miles
away in Philadelphia. Nearly 2,000 American soldiers died of disease during
the severe winter.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/revwar/vafo/vafooverview.html
Voyage of Discovery
Take the Journey with Captain James Cook around the world from 1768- 1781
with a handful of natural historians to record all the wonders they found.
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/voyages/index.html
WildTV
Take a look at the wildlife that surrounds and fills urban communities;
learn more about birds and honeybees, discover the natural world in your
backyard, find out more about the responsibility required in pet ownership,
and learn what is being done about wildlife rehabilitation.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wildtv/index.html
Grades 9-12
Foreign Terrorist Organizations
The United States Department of State provides the specific criteria of
those who are designated as foreign terrorists along with the list of
those groups.
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2002/12389.htm
FreeVibe
Geared toward teens, find information about drugs, read personal stories
from celebrity teens and others about the dangers of inhalants, ecstasy,
drinking alcohol, and other drugs. Share your story or your commitment
to stay away from drugs.
http://www.freevibe.com/
In Search of Bin Laden
Follow two correspondants, Marcella Gaviria, and Martin Smith, as they
send reports back to Frontline from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/roots/dispatches/801.html
Jazz in America
Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz offers this jazz education curriculum.
http://www.jazzinamerica.org/home.asp
Map It! Form-base Simple Map Generator
Put in the longitude and latitude of the 4 corners and the map generator
will create the map for you.
http://stellwagen.er.usgs.gov/mapit/
Parkfield Experiment
Begun in 1985, the Parkfield experiment has been a long-term comprehensive
study of earthquake activity along the San Andreas Fault in central California.
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/research/parkfield/index.html
Red Gold
Exploring the Complexity of Blood, high school students will learn about
the circulatory system, the impact of scientists' discoveries, and cultural
influences in research and development.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/redgold/education/lp1.html
Science & Our Food Supply: Investigating Food Safety from Farm
to Table
offers a free supplementary curriculum for middle & high school science
teachers.
http://www.nsta.org/fdacurriculum
Slavery Petitions
Thousands of petitions to legislatures and county courts from slaves requesting
freedom from slavery, going back to live in slavery, requests for children
to join family members, freedom from unfair debts, and more.
http://history.uncg.edu/slaverypetitions/about.html
Sow the Seeds of Victory! Posters from the Food Administration During
World War I
Herbert Hoover, as head of the new U.S. Food Administration, convinced
Americans to conserve food during the War. Homeowners were urged to sign
pledge cards to conserve food. Many observed wheatless Mondays, meatless
Tuesdays, & porkless Saturdays.
http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/sow_the_seeds/sow_the_seeds.html
Teaching 9-11
Lesson plans for high school students from the Clarke Center.
http://www.teaching9-11.org/9-12.htm
Ten Ways to Fight Hate
Presented by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Tolerance.org project.
http://www.tolerance.org/10_ways/act/index.html
A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization
Ten units on Chinese history, culture, and society with photos, maps,
and art including China's geography, archaeology, religion, calligraphy,
military technology, painting, homes, gardens, clothing, and graphic arts.
http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/
World War II Timeline
Search by date, by event, explore links, maps, pictures, and important
documents, all dealing with the events leading up to and including World
War II.
http://history.acusd.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/start.html
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