From: Education World Reviews Newsletter [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2002 4:29 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Education World Site Reviews Vol. 7 Issue 33
Education World Reviews ---------------------------------- Volume 7, Issue 33 August 13, 2002 ********************************************** Dear Education Professionals, Welcome to the Site Reviews Newsletter, published weekly as a free service by Education World(R)! You are receiving this message because you are subscribed to Education World's Site Reviews Distribution list. If you enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to forward it to other teachers! If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml ********************************************** Education World's newsletter is brought to you by Jo-Ann Stores Jo-Ann Stores is committed to promoting creativity in the classroom; to support this commitment Jo-Ann Stores unveiled a program to show their appreciation to America's educators. This new program allows teachers to register for the Jo-Ann Stores teacher mailing list and to receive a Jo-Ann Stores Teacher Discount Card. This special discount card is valid for the entire 2002-2003 school year and enables the educator to purchase classroom and project supplies at a 10% discount of sale and non-sale merchandise. Jo-Ann Stores CEO, Alan Rosskamm states, "We are committed to offering teachers a discount on the supplies they need to support curriculum objectives. We recognize that hands-on projects can be used very effectively in the classroom as a teaching method that stimulates retention and academic achievements in core subject areas. We wholeheartedly support creativity in the classroom and believe that creative teachers inspire creative thinkers. For this initiative we hope to connect with thousands of teachers across the country." For more information on this program please click http://www.educationworld.com/go/base?id=JAN ********************************************** Education World's newsletter is brought to you by Riverdeep Voted the Best Online Information Portal of the Year! (by SIIA for 2002) Sign up today for your FREE 30-day trial membership by going to http://www.educationworld.com/go/base?id=RIN. Get the best educational content available on the Internet, hundreds of lesson plans, and the ability to organize and manage your classes from both school and home! All on one award-winning website! ********************************************** THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS ********************************************** Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2002/r0802-05.shtml The facts and myths about blood. The History of Jim Crow http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2002/r0802-06.shtml Explore African American history from the 1870s through the 1950s. Congress for Kids http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2002/r0802-07.shtml Uncle Sam guides students through Congress and history. D & W's Teacher Spot http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2002/r0802-08.shtml Resource for new teachers. Gale Group Free Resources http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2002/r0802-09.shtml Free resources for teachers and students. ****************************** REVIEWS ****************************** OVERALL GRADE: A+ Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood http://www.pbs.org/wnet/redgold/ GRADE LEVEL: 6-12 CONTENT: A+ The Red Gold site is produced by Thirteen Online of Thirteen/WNET New York. It looks "at the facts and myths about blood and its impact on everything from religion and medicine to commerce and popular culture throughout history." AESTHETICS: A+ This well-designed, user-friendly site has an appropriate color scheme. Text and background work well together. Macromedia Flash Player and RealPlayer are needed to view the animations and video. ORGANIZATION: A+ The site is divided into six major areas that can be accessed from the top navigation bar. Each area has a sub-menu for easily navigating through the site. REVIEW: A+ This site was developed as a companion to the PBS series Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood but is rich in content on its own. Educators will find lesson plans for high school and middle school as well as a discussion guide. Students can take a multimedia journey that follows a pint of blood through the transfusion process, learn the basics about blood, and trace the history of blood through an interactive timeline that tracks the scientific developments that contributed to society's understanding and use of blood. Additionally, there are biographies of the people who have made contributions to the study and use of blood, a glossary, a list of other resources, and a section of informative questions and answers from the experts. RELATED REVIEWS: Science: General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/science.shtml P.E. & Health: General Health http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/pe.shtml ------------------------------- OVERALL GRADE: A+ The History of Jim Crow http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/home.htm GRADE LEVEL: 6-12, Advanced CONTENT: A+ This site for educators covers the struggle of African Americans through what is known as the Jim Crow era, from the end of the Civil War to the end of segregation. AESTHETICS: A+ This well-designed site is user friendly and attractive. Small graphics and wide margins break up the large amounts of text. ORGANIZATION: A+ Content is organized into five major areas with a top navigation bar as well as a left-side submenu to guide users through the site. REVIEW: A+ The History of Jim Crow site has been developed by teachers from across the country. It offers simulations, essays, lesson plans, and other resources to enhance the history or literature curriculum. Visitors to the site will also find authentic images from historical archives, maps that illustrate the social and political impact of Jim Crow, an interactive encyclopedia that offers more information on selected terms within the text, narratives that offer a personal perspective from those who lived through the Jim Crow years, and a gateway to student- and teacher-evaluated Web sites related to the Jim Crow period. RELATED REVIEWS: History: American http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/history.shtml#United%20 States Social Sciences: Culture http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#Culture Social Sciences: Economics http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#Economics ------------------------------ OVERALL GRADE: A Congress for Kids http://www.congressforkids.net GRADE LEVEL: 3-12 CONTENT: A This site for kids from the Dirksen Congressional Center provides Internet-based, interactive activities about Congress, the federal government, and civic duty. AESTHETICS: A Congress for Kids uses appealing, colorful illustrations as well as sound and engaging activities to hold the attention of the audience. ORGANIZATION: A Visitors can tour the site by clicking on the arrow at the bottom of each page. There is also a left-side navigation menu for moving to a particular area without going through the tour. REVIEW: A Let Uncle Sam take your students on a tour where they will learn about the 13 colonies, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, the three branches of government, the Bill of Rights, and more. Each stop on the tour provides interactive activities and offsite links to other relevant material and Web sites. Congress for Kids is a great way to extend students learning about the foundations of the federal government and how its actions affect them in a fun and engaging way. RELATED REVIEWS: Social Sciences: Political Science http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#Political %20Science History: American http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/history.shtml#United%20 States ------------------------------ OVERALL GRADE: B+ D & W's Teacher Spot http://theteacherspot.com GRADE LEVEL: Professional CONTENT: B+ D & W's Teacher Spot was developed by two teachers and focuses on providing resources and support for student teachers or beginning teachers. AESTHETICS: B The site has a simple layout with few graphics. ORGANIZATION: B+ All areas of the site can be accessed from the image map on the main page. Each subsequent page has left-side navigation buttons. REVIEW: B+ Although this site was developed primarily for student and first-year teachers, veteran teachers will find useful information here as well. The site contains tips and suggestions for the first days of school, classroom management, interviews and portfolios, curriculum topics, and more. It includes links to relevant materials to support the efforts of beginning teachers in all subject areas as well as behavior, grading, role playing, classroom computers, software, clip art, books for teachers, and more. RELATED REVIEWS: Teachers: New Teachers http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml#New%20Te achers Teachers: Student Teachers http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml#Student% 20Teachers ------------------------------ OVERALL GRADE: A+ Gale Group Free Resources http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/index.htm GRADE LEVEL: 3-12 CONTENT: A+ The Gale Group, publisher of e-information for libraries, schools and businesses, offers four free resources for teachers and students: Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Women's History Month, and Poet's Corner. AESTHETICS: A This professional site is primarily text but is easy to read and user friendly. ORGANIZATION: A+ Links to the free educational areas of the site can be found in the left-side menu. Each of the areas has a sub-menu that makes navigation easy. REVIEW: A+ History or literature teachers and students doing research on the topics Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Women's History Month, and Poet's Corner will find a wealth of information here. Each of the sections has a long list of biographies of significant people, activities, quizzes, literature, music, timelines, and links to more information. Additionally, there are links to a literary index, a glossary of literary terms, a guide for writing a term paper and information on citing information from a database. Teachers will find the activities especially useful. For example, the Women's History activities cover all the major subject areas as well as some interdisciplinary lessons, and the Black History activities are offered at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. RELATED REVIEWS: Internet: Collaborative Projects http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/internet.shtml#Collabor ative%20Projects History: Biographies http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/history.shtml#Biographi es Literature: Poetry http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/lit.shtml#Poetry Social Sciences: Current Events http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#Current%2 0Events ********************************************** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pardon this quick break from this week's Site Reviews newsletter. We just wanted to let you know that a NEW newsletter is in the works -- ********* Education World's Education Humor Newsletter ********** debuts the week of September 9! Sign up now on our newsletter signup page: http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sincerely, Lisa Gryskiewicz =================================== Education World (R) http://www.educationworld.com/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] =================================== ******************************************* 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 **********************************************************
