From: "Education World Reviews Newsletter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Education World Site Reviews Vol. 7 Issue 39 Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 16:51:47 -0700 (PDT)
Education World Reviews ---------------------------------- Volume 7, Issue 39 September 24, 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 Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures(R) Why should you visit colgatebsbf.com? Because ... * It features hundreds of cross-curricular lessons and activities for grades K-3! * It offers the best in oral health education for kids! * It was developed by teachers just like you! Plus. . . The site is an EdPress Winner and was voted "Web Site of the Week" by Teaching K-8 Magazine! Featuring online activities as well as printables, this site makes learning fun! Also, check out the "Kids" and "Parents" sections, which provide terrific reinforcement for your classroom teaching. All content is ready-to-use and FREE! Visit us now at http://www.educationworld.com/go/base?id=COU ********************************************** THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS ********************************************** Eric Carle http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2002/r0902-16.shtml Explore Eric Carle's bio, his popular children's books, more! ContentBank http://www.contentbank.org Helping communities build content sites. LearnCalifornia http://www.learnCalifornia.org A comprehensive resource for California history. Science Knows No Boundaries http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/globalscitech/index.html The USDA teaches science. RandomHouse.com/kids http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/ Literature features abound on a major publisher's Web site. ****************************** REVIEWS ****************************** Overall: A http://www.eric-carle.com/ Eric Carle Grade Level: Pre-K-3 CONTENT: A The Official Eric Carle Web Site provides information about Eric Carle and his books. There are also questions from fans and answers from the author. Information about the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (opening fall 2002) is also available. AESTHETICS: A+ Eric Carle fans will appreciate the art on this Web site. Except for the occasional photograph, all graphics are by Eric Carle and are copyright protected. The site is easy to read and pleasant to the eye. ORGANIZATION: A+ The Eric Carle home page has links to all the other available pages. Easy access makes this site user-friendly. REVIEW: A+ The Official Eric Carle Web Site offers artwork from Carle's beloved books. Users will also find information about the author, questions and answers about his books and illustrations, a bulletin board where teachers and parents can share ideas, and The Eric Carle Store, which sells Eric Carle artwork. <a href="http://www.eric-carle.com/catindex.html";>Caterpillar Express</a> has a link to past newsletters -- you can sign up to receive the current ones. Caterpillar Express also includes questions from readers -- from "How do you make your pictures?" to "When did you grow your beard?" Eric Carle has answered many readers' questions on this site. Upcoming events and information about new publications is available on the site, and descriptions of his newest books and a list of all his publications can be found here. Lovers of children's literature and teachers of students in Pre-K-2 will enjoy the information and artwork available at the Eric Carle Web site. RELATED REVIEWS: Language Arts : Reading1 http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/lang_arts.shtml#Reading Literature : Children's http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/lit.shtml#Children's Parents : General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/parents.shtml#General Teachers : Grades PreK-K http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml#Pre-K-K ------------------------------- Overall: A+ http://www.contentbank.org ContentBank Grade Level: Professional CONTENT: A+ This site is for use by individuals and organizations dedicated to promoting technology use in low-income communities. It provides links to sites that address specific ethnic audiences and sites for low-literacy users. In addition, it provides links to sites that focus on education, health issues, housing, and other areas of local interest. The site provides tools that allow and encourage community-based individuals to create useful content for their local audiences. AESTHETICS: A+ ContentBank is a professionally created site. It is attractive and easy to read. ORGANIZATION: A+ This site is very well organized. Top-of-page buttons generate menus to access each other link. There is also a box of links at the side of the page to allow access to some areas of the site. A Search feature and well-organized site map are available. REVIEW: A+ ContentBank.org was created by the Children's Partnership to focus on the development of online content for and by low-income communities. Goals include encouraging private and public individuals and organizations to make quality content for under-served individuals and to make this content easier to find and use. The site offers practical examples of Best Practices and successful projects. One example is a full description of a youth program in Flint, Michigan (Flint Profiles), with contact information. Site Tools include reviews and links to preferred search engines, translation tools, and a tech library with examples of how sites use these tools. The site features Read-A-Loud, a feature that (after downloading a plug-in) allows you to run your mouse over a title or paragraph and the computer will read it aloud for you. The site is also available in Spanish. Curriculum resources are available in business, ethnic culture, workforce development, and youth. There are also links to sites to help overcome barrie RELATED REVIEWS: Administrators : Organizations http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/admin.shtml#Organizations Teachers : Online Tools http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml#Online Tools Counselors : General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/counselors.shtml#General Counselors : Careers http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/counselors.shtml#Careers Counselors : Colleges http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/counselors.shtml#Colleges Counselors : Guidance http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/counselors.shtml#Guidance ------------------------------ Overall: A+ http://www.learnCalifornia.org LearnCalifornia Grade Level: 4th - Adult CONTENT: A+ LearnCalifornia offers valuable information regarding the history of California. It includes student lessons, teacher lesson plans, test questions, and research links related to California and its history. The site also offers links to maps and photos related to California. AESTHETICS: A+ Very attractive and easy to read, this site is pleasing to visit. The graphics are low-key and very appropriate. ORGANIZATION: A+ The home page offers four main links: Students, Teachers, Research, and Site Map. In addition, there is a search feature and a pull-down menu that enables users to browse by subject. Each of the main links takes you to pages with clear links to items of interest. Tabs at the top of each page allow access to the other sections. REVIEW: A+ Teachers, students, and anyone else interested in California history will find a gold mine at this site. Developed by the staff of the California State Archives, it is aligned with the California Department of Education's History-Social Science Content Standards. Ten student lessons are available. Each lesson gives a short narrative and then directions for a student to follow to complete the lesson without a teacher. The directions contain links and questions for the student to research at each site. Each of the eleven teacher lesson plans offers an online format as well as an offline format for use when student computer access is not available. Lesson Plans include links to all the materials needed and also are aligned with the CDE's standards. The Research California section provides links to the California archives and other historical writings on the history of the state. An extensive site map is also available with links to each part of each lesson and links to every section of the site. What a wonderful RELATED REVIEWS: History : American http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/history.shtml#United%20States Reference : Online Reference Materials http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/ref.shtml#Online Reference Materials Social Science : Area Studies http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#Area Studies Social Science : Culture http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#Culture Social Science : Geography http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#Geography ------------------------------ Overall: A+ Science Knows No Boundaries Grade Level: 3-8 CONTENT: A+ Science Knows No Boundaries is published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and includes stories, slide shows, quizzes, and teaching resources about science around the world. AESTHETICS: A+ The site has child-friendly animations and an uncluttered look. The site's information is divided into small chunks for easy reading. ORGANIZATION: A+ A simple left-side menu makes easy work of navigating the site. Users can scan through the stories by clicking on the arrows at the bottom of the pages. All pages are linked back to the homepage. REVIEW: A+ Science Knows No Boundaries offers students the opportunity to travel through such places as Nepal, India, Australia, and France to find "good bugs" that "can help control some of North America's nastiest agricultural pests -- biologically, rather than chemically." These and many other illustrated stories from around the world are written with young readers in mind and are available in the <a href="http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/globalscitech/noboundaries.htm";> Stories Without Boundaries</a> section. Students interested in a job in agricultural research can find information on a long list of careers from animal scientist to botanist to microbiologist in <a href=" http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/scientists/scientistsframe2.htm";> Careers</a> Clicking on the name of the career will give users a definition of that career, along with stories about the particular kind of research pursued by people in that career. After perusing the career list, students can take the quiz that asks them to match the scientist with RELATED REVIEWS: Science : Life Science http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/science.shtml#Life Science Counselors : Careers http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/counselors.shtml#Careers Students : Career Exploration http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/students.shtml#Career Exploration ------------------------------ Overall: A+ http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/ Title: Kids@Random Grade Level: K-8, Parents CONTENT: A+ RandomHouse.com/kids offers parents, teachers, and students links to information on children's books and authors published by Random House. In addition to up-to-date information, the site offers mini-sites focusing on specific book series and authors, such as The Magic Tree House, Sesame Street Books, and Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. These mini-sites have fun activities, screen-savers, and some multimedia content related to Random House authors and products. AESTHETICS: A+ Light-colored backgrounds, professional graphics, and black print make this site easy to read. This site is very attractive, featuring children's book covers and other professional children's book illustrations. ORGANIZATION: A+ The format of this site leads to enjoyable and efficient navigation and ease of use. Links are well organized and easy to follow. There are links to information about each author in addition to links with specific ideas for book usage. REVIEW: A+ This professional site offers tons of information for teachers that use literature in their planning and teaching. Many teachers use book series to engage young readers. Mini-sites like the one about <a=href"http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/junieb/";>Junie B. Jones</a> have book reviews, activities, ideas, author information, and the occasional trivia quiz. The site has links to reviews of children's books searchable by title or author. In addition, new books are highlighted and pages can be previewed for some books. There is a <a=href"http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/games/index.html";>Games and Contests</a> section that links many fun activities for students at many ages. The link to <a=href"http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/";>Teachers@Random</a> provides teachers guides and readers companions for many of the same books. This site provides resources for anyone interested in using children's literature in the classroom, home, or caregiver experience. Although this is a commercial site, intended to help sell th RELATED REVIEWS: Language Arts : General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/lang_arts.shtml#General Language Arts : Reading http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/lang_arts.shtml#Reading Literature : General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/lit.shtml#General Literature : Children's http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/lit.shtml#Children's Parents : General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/parents.shtml#General Parents : Family Fun http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/parents.shtml#Family Fun Parents : Home Schooling http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/parents.shtml#Home Schooling Teachers : General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml#General Teachers : Grades PreK-K http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml#Pre-K-K Teachers : Grades 1-5 http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml#1-5 Teachers : Grades 6-8 http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml#6-8 ********************************************** Sincerely, Lisa Gryskiewicz =================================== Education World (R) http://www.educationworld.com/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] =================================== ************************************************************************* NOTE: Gleason Sackmann is the owner and host of this list. All inquiries regarding this list and its contents should be directed to Gleason Sackmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. If you want to unsubscribe, click and send (no body or subject: required) mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives for K12 Newsletters can be found at: http://www.classroom.com/community/email/archives.jhtml?A0=K12NEWSLETTERS
