Teachers for a New Era at UConn

A Select Bibliography with Brief Annotations: Ethnic Children’s and Young Adult Literature
Zelda's Zany Zoo: This site is comprised of an explanation of a science task for 3rd-6th graders, support for teachers, resources, web links and more. Students are faced with the tasks of creating a new habitat for an animal of their choice. The task takes 2-3 weeks to complete. Before attempting this task it is suggested that the "students have an understanding of living things needs, identification of habitats and their characteristics." This task can be adapted for any state framework.
Tramline: This site enables the user to select a topic (such as volcanoes) and then go on a virtual trip. Some of the topics indicate grade level, but not all. Once the subject is selected it brings the user to a main page where it states the concepts and terms that can be taught and learned through the use of the tour. There is also a link to teacher's resources such as lesson plans. The tour allows the user to move backwards and forwards within the tour and click on links which provide more information. Essentially, it is like a website, but has a specific format. The site advertises the software that can be used to create a virtual tour.
Museums across the Curriculum: This site lists museum websites under the subject areas of art, theater, dance, music, math, science, English and language arts, and social studies. Some of the sites are very useful others are less useful.
Utah Education Network Virtual Field Trips: This site is comprised of numerous virtual trips on all kinds of subjects. Also, you can learn how to create a field trip yourself. There is also a link to virtual field trips from other websites. They appear to be useful resources for supporting a unit of work.
Castles on the Web: There is a wealth of websites for castles around the world. You can choose what country you want to look at a castle from and then it provides you with links to the castles’ websites. The sites vary in professionalism. Some are official sites whereas others have been created by castle enthusiasts. The sites can be used by teacher and/or students.
Design Your Own Robot: This site is for upper elementary students allowing students to design their own robot, requiring higher order thinking skills. For example the robot can be designed for a specific need - such as exploring the surface of Mars. The site allows the user to improve their design and provides immediate constructive feedback to ensure the robot can complete its task. At first students may find the site hard to use, parent and teacher assistance would be helpful.
The Underground Railroad: This site explores slavery's Underground Railroad. There is an interactive decision making exercise which asks for the user to respond to decisions that slaves would make in order to escape. Also, there is information on every aspect of slavery, providing lessons and resources for teachers.
Expeditions: The site is described as an interactive museum that takes you on geographical journeys. Here you’ll climb a mountain, hover over the Earth, speed across Europe, visit an archeological dig, even order sushi; plus games, see animations, and more! There is a teacher’s guide to support the site. The site can be used with K-12 students and lesson plans are provided for each grade. There is a wealth of information on numerous subjects. Although younger students might need support, it is a good resource.
Animated Atlas: This site is for teachers wishing to purchase geography videos. A series of four videos have been produced using the approach seen in "Growth of a Nation. Geographic elements are the actors used to portray history on a large scale while watching, and are thus made memorable.” You can preview the video(s) before purchase. Students can pause and rewind the video. The timeline along the bottom can be clicked on and provides information from the selected time period.
Virtual math manipulatives: This site is part of Utah State University and is an “interactive, web-based virtual manipulatives or concept tutorials, for mathematic instruction." In the virtual library, teachers can select an age range and subject area such as algebra or geometry. Once selected the teacher is presented with math manipulatives that they can use to teach the subject. These programs can be used by students to enhance their learning. All the manipulatives come with instructions on how to use them. Also, an icon on the top bar links to the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics page showing the standards associated with the manipulative. This is a useful tool. In addition, there is an icon for teachers/parents which give a further explanation/description of the manipulatives.
Collection of Treasure Hunts: The following is a collection of Web-based treasure hunt sites. Students must use the Internet to find the answers to questions. I have listed the appropriate grade levels. These are great activities for small groups of students. Sites are updated monthly. In addition, there are links to sites on how to use treasure hunts and also how to create them. The sites are very interactive. They require a student to have good Internet and computer knowledge in order to search for information and move between pages and links. Therefore, younger students may require support.
Black History: This is a treasure hunt on African Americans. It does not say what grade it is for however; the resources they suggest late elementary thru high school. The site includes instructions for the use of the hunt, the questions that the hunt asks, Internet resources and finally the big question (the final question). Not all the links to external sites worked.
Whale Hunt: This is a treasure/scavenger hunt on whales. There is a list of web links with questions under them that the site will address. This is a useful resource for learning about whales.
Tropical Treasure Hunt: This is a treasure hunt on rain forests. It involves searching the Internet for information in response to pre-set questions on the rain forest. The grade level is not specified. One of the websites requires a password. The questions are stated and web links are provided to research the answers. There is also a "talk-it-over" section involving students talking to others in response to questions. Also, there is a final task involving students conveying a message of protection for the rain forest.
Filamentality
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/guides.html
or
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/
This site is a guide for creating a learning activity: “Filamentality is a fill-in-the-blank tool that guides you through picking a topic, searching the web, gathering good Internet links, and turning them into learning activities. In the end, you'll create a web-based activity you can share with others, even if you don't know anything about HTML, Web servers, or all that www-dot stuff.” Created files are stored for at least one year. Free hands-on training is provided for California customers only. Users from other states can find help on the site from the user guides. Plus, there is an online step-by-step guided tour.Blue Web'n“Blue Web'n is an online library of 1800+ outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (tools, references, lessons, hot lists, resources, tutorials, activities, and projects). You can search by grade level (Refined Search), broad subject area (Content Areas), or specific sub-categories (Subject Area). Each week 5 new sites are added. You can get a list and description of these additions sent to you by signing up below for free weekly updates!” The site has a wide range of resources for teachers, including links to PBS documentaries.
The Webquest: “A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the web. WebQuests is designed to use learners' time well, to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support learners' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation.” A WebQuest appears to be similar to a treasure hunt. This site offers an explanation of WebQuests and explains how they can be used.
Simple Machines: This is a webquest for all elementary students. It was created by a teacher for her class to use, so there is a timeline of expectations for the task. It explains the task of building simple machines in great detail. Templates are provided for recording information that the students gather. Also, there is a rubric for the students to use.
Searching for Solutions: This is a web-based problem solving unit which supports the NCTM Standards for Mathematics. The site provides useful information on strategies for solving problems, such as the processes you should follow. There are examples of tasks and web resources that you can use. Also, provided are rubrics for scoring problem solving tasks.
WebQuests: This site lists enrichment activities which are in the form of webquests. They cover a range of curriculum areas and a variety of grades. Unfortunately, not all the links work. Of those that work, there are useful resources for teachers and parents to use for extra enrichment as the site suggests.
Readability: This web link contains copies of original manuscripts (some on slavery) which you can read by using the Magic Lens to reveal the text. The site is Memorial Hall Museum online. It provides a view of New England in the past. It is a very user friendly site. It does require Quick Time to view some of the information. The site provides digital images, an online exhibit, classroom activities (lesson plans and more) and online activities.
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/jlondon.html: This site is about Jack London and the Great Earthquake and Fire of San Francisco in 1921. It is an eyewitness account by Jack London on his experience of the disaster. The account is very detailed and is an ideal source of information.
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/pix45.html: This is a picture of “Large refugee camp in Golden Gate Park. The large wooden building along the ridgetop was Affiliated Colleges, now the site of the University of California Medical Center at Parnassus Heights.”
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/educators/workshop/primary/whatsee.html: This is an explanation on how to evaluate primary resources. It provides examples and step-by-step guide. This is very useful for history students who have to evaluate resources.
http://memory.loc.gov: “American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical collections.” You can find images by using the collection finder or the search engine. Also, there is the Learning Page where the visitors can find out how to use the site through a guide or the user can look at numerous lesson plans that they can use. There are activities and features. There is also an opportunity for professional development.
NETS standards: This site is the National Educational Technology Standards for Students. It provides you with up-to-date news and allows you to look at the standards for the different grades