From: "bigchalk.com" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 13:45:19 EDT Subject: Wonders of the Web (W.O.W.)
Do you read your email with Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express? Sign up for W.O.W. in Web page (HTML) format by replying to this message and typing in the body: SUBSCRIBE WITH HTML bigchalk's W.O.W. Newsletter Week of April 22 - April 28, 2002 http://www.bigchalk.com Welcome to this week's issue of W.O.W. (Wonders of the Web), sponsored by VeryBestKids.com. http://i.bigchalk.com/U/vbk02/&Userid; Each week, bigchalk brings you links to a select group of fun, theme-oriented Web sites to help you get through your weekend and beyond. ****************ADVERTISEMENT****************** Visit VeryBestKids.com and enter for a chance to WIN a Game Boy Advance video-game system. Six will be given away! VeryBestKids.com, creative ideas and fun activities for you and your kids. http://i.bigchalk.com/U/vbk02/&Userid; ********************************************** THIS WEEK'S THEME: Ancient Plagues You may be plagued by an urgent need to surf the Web while reading this week's W.O.W. newsletter! 1. Plagues Since the Roman Empire http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021601/&Userid; Every year in the U.S., a handful of people contract the plague. Thankfully, modern antibiotics can treat the disease if it's caught early enough. Millions of Europeans in the 14th century weren't so lucky. More than 50 percent of the population were infected and 30 percent were killed. Connect to this site to find out how plagues start and what can be done to prevent them. ++ Teaching & Learning Link http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021601LL/&Userid; -- 2. Excerpt: "The Decameron" http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021602/&Userid; Boccaccio's book recounts the onset of the black death during medieval times. You can read the introduction at the Medieval Source Book's Web site. Here's a taste: "Wherefore [the healthy] dissociated themselves from all others, formed communities in houses where there were no sick, and lived a separate and secluded life... holding converse with none but one another, lest tidings of sickness or death should reach them." ++ Teaching & Learning Link http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021602LL/&Userid; -- 3. Plague in Athens: Peloponnesian War http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021603/&Userid; Jump into the middle of an ancient puzzle! A mysterious disease killed a third of the Athenian population in the early fifth century. Was it measles, typhus or even toxic shock syndrome as a complication of the flu? Read the account of one resident who survived, and discover how the untimely deaths found many people in possession of unexpected fortunes, upsetting the usual pool of aristocratic citizens who could run for political office. ++ Teaching & Learning Link http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021603LL/&Userid; -- 4. Desert Locust Information Service http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021604/&Userid; The bible mentions locusts more than 28 times. Clearly these flying pests were a source of fear and trouble for ancient desert dwellers. Today, desert locusts can be found across northern Africa and into Asia. The largest recent plague occurred in 1987, and ended two years later as a result of a massive migration from West Africa to the Caribbean. A cousin of the desert locust has cropped up in recent weeks in Northern Afghanistan, just as peace and crops are beginning to bloom across the land. ++ Teaching & Learning Link http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021604LL/&Userid; ******************ADVERTISEMENT******************* Start Something is a program designed to help kids from 8-17 discover their dreams and interests, and take steps toward achieving them. http://i.bigchalk.com/U/targetstart02/&Userid; ************************************************** 5. Frogs & Toads in Color & Sound http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021605/&Userid; "Let my people go.... And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs..." The book of Exodus chronicles an invasion of these web-toed hoppers, which so infested the land that people couldn't walk anywhere without stepping on one. View colorful images of these ever-popular animals, then listen to online recordings of their calls. Can you identify a spring peeper or bullfrog by its distinctive call? ++ Teaching & Learning Link http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021605LL/&Userid; -- 6. Plague & Public Health in Renaissance Europe http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021606/&Userid; >From 1348 to 1530, millions of Europeans lost their lives to epidemic diseases. This site houses a growing collection of writings and images that trace the onset of each plague, its impact and the steps taken to prevent its transmission. Discover how modern sanitation and medical treatments were developed in response to the ever-present danger of infection. ++ Teaching & Learning Link http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021606LL/&Userid; -- 7. Plagues & People: The Columbian Exchange http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021607/&Userid; Plagues were not localized to dense populations in ancient Egypt or Europe. Deadly diseases also sailed with Columbus to the New World and with Native Americans who were sent back to mainland Europe in the 1490s. This "Columbian exchange" killed millions of people when the Old World met the new. Find out more at this fascinating site. ++ Teaching & Learning Link http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021607LL/&Userid; -- 8. "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021608/&Userid; Robert Browning's tale recounts the arrival of a man in Hamelin, Germany, who promised to free the town of a plague of rats and mice for a fee. He played his pipe and led the vermin to a nearby river where they drowned. When he returned to claim his fee, the townspeople sent him away empty-handed. Angry, he returned several months later and again played his pipes. Find out what happened next by reading this popular story -- online. ++ Teaching & Learning Link http://i.bigchalk.com/U/W-021608LL/&Userid; *****************ADVERTISEMENT******************* Click here for a chance to win a TechnoK'NEX Multi-Lab Set! TechnoK'NEX Sets are hands-on teaching tools that bring real-world science and technology concepts into your classroom -- and engage your students like never before. http://i.bigchalk.com/U/knexw0222/&Userid; ************************************************** WEEKLY POLL Last week's question: The prom is... Results: An important social event 27% A silly, over-hyped experience 20% A fun way to get dressed up 43% OK, minus the chicken dance 8% This week's question: Should the U.S. government put economic recovery ahead of environmental protection? Cast your vote today. http://i.bigchalk.com/U/wpollw/&Userid; BIGCHALK CALENDAR Teacher Appreciation Week (5/6) Teachers touch our future. Take time to say thanks during the week of May 6 and every day. Send a card online, and more. Start planning today! http://i.bigchalk.com/U/appreciate/&Userid; BIGCHALK WEB SITE OF THE MONTH Earth Day Groceries Project Looking for a new way to help kids learn about the eco-friendly themes of Earth Day? Since 1994, thousands of students from around the world have participated in the Earth Day Groceries Project. The project is simple and free of charge: parents and teachers "borrow" paper grocery bags from local supermarkets, which students decorate with messages about recycling, pollution, wildlife conservation and more. The bags are returned to the grocery store, and on Earth Day (April 22), customers receive their groceries in the decorated bags. Connect to the project's Web site to obtain a project starter kit, free print materials and educational activities. http://i.bigchalk.com/U/april02site/&Userid; COLLEGE ZONE You've been accepted by three competitive schools, they're expensive, and they offered you less than adequate financial aid packages. What should you do? Visit bigchalk's College Zone for admissions advice from myFootpath's college counselors. http://i.bigchalk.com/U/czone01/&Userid; SEARCH BOX Want an easy way to give friends instant access to the Internet's largest, most up-to-date directory of learning sites? Add a free bigchalk search box to your Web page. Users can search our collection by keyword and filter queries by grade. http://i.bigchalk.com/U/bcsearchbx/&Userid; *****************ADVERTISEMENT******************* FREE VISUAL LEARNING LESSONS FROM POLAROID Sign up to receive a FREE Visual Learning PEP CD, complete with lesson plans and class activites from Polaroid. The Polaroid Education Program (PEP) Visual Learning Center was established to help teachers reach their students more effectively. By using the camera in a series of guided exercises, a student's observation of the world intensifies and curiosity and sensitivities are awakened. Get our latest visual learning exercises online, then send for your free CD today! http://i.bigchalk.com/U/polaroid02/&Userid; ************************************************* Thank you for reading this week's W.O.W. newsletter. Be sure to preview each link and try any included projects or experiments before using them with your students. All Web sites included in this publication are subject to the bigchalk Linking Policy. http://www.bigchalk.com/corp/linkpolicy.html We offer several newsletters of interest to students, parents, teachers and Web surfers. To find out more, link to our newsletter signup page today. http://i.bigchalk.com/U/signupw/&Userid; To find out more about bigchalk, connect to our Web site: http://i.bigchalk.com/U/bchomew/&Userid; Looking for an archive of all past W.O.W. sites arranged by theme? Connect to our W.O.W. Collection today. http://i.bigchalk.com/U/wc/&Userid; If you have any questions or comments, please email our newsletter staff via: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Would you like to receive this newsletter in Web page (HTML) format? Send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body type: SUBSCRIBE WITH HTML ******************************************* For digest instead of individual postings, send the message: set k12newsletters digest to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe, click and send (no body or subject: required) mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] K12 Newsletters mailing list is a service of Classroom Connect - http://www.classroom.com Archives for K12 Newsletters can be found at: http://www.classroom.com/community/email/archives.jhtml?A0=K12NEWSLETTERS **********************************************************
