Amberly Media Center

A Day in the Life–DNR Fish Hatchery Technician
http://www.michigan.gov/mikids/0,1607,7-163-15858_20563—,00.html

A Day in the Life–Lumberjack
http://www.michigan.gov/mikids/0,1607,7-163-15941_20565—,00.html

A Day in the Life–MDEQ Geologist
http://www.michigan.gov/mikids/0,1607,7-163-15943_20482—,00.html

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum
http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/default.asp

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/virtual.phtml

Henry Ford Museum
http://www.thehenryford.org/explore/default.asp

Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village
http://www.michigan.gov/mikids/0,1607,7-163-15858_20583—,00.html

Mackiniac Bridge
http://www.michigan.gov/mikids/0,1607,7-163-15858_20578—,00.html

Mackinac for Kids
http://kids.mackinacparks.com/

Motown Historical Museum
http://www.motownmuseum.com/

Sleeping Bear Dunes
http://www.nps.gov/slbe/photosmultimedia/virtualtour.htm

Vacation in Traverse City
http://www.michigan.gov/mikids/0,1607,7-163-15858_20584—,00.html

Visit the Michigan Historical Museum
http://www.michigan.gov/mikids/0,1607,7-163-15858_20570—,00.html

There are many different ways to present information on the internet. Take a look at some of these examples. How does this change how you learn about history? How could you use this kind of information in the future?

 A Day in the Life of Thomas Jefferson  http://www.monticello.org/jefferson/dayinlife/sunrise/home.html
-be sure to click on Quicktime movies for a virtual tour of Jefferson’s office and gadgets.

George Washington: A National Treasure
http://www.georgewashington.si.edu/exhibition/georgeby2.html 
–videos with a Washington re-enactor.

Interactive 13 Colonies
http://www.mrnussbaum.com/13.htm
–click on the colony or city for a brief overview.

Interactive Revolutionary War
http://www.mrnussbaum.com/amflash.htm
–click on the battle for a brief overview.

Old Barracks Museum, Trenton, N.J.
http://www.barracks.org/thingsdo/things2.html
–scroll to the bottom of the page and select Video, Sounds, Video, or Interactive Games to learn about how soldiers trained and lived at the barracks.

John & Abigail Adams: The Choice for Revolution
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/adams/sfeature/sf_choice.html
–you decide what Adams should do in the days before the Revolution.

Road to Revolution
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/road.html
–test your knowledge of Revolutionary War history.

Spy Letters of the American Revolution
http://www.si.umich.edu/spies/methods.html
–sample letters and techniques of Revolutionary War spies.

All day long her teachers yell “Clementine-pay-attention!” The problem is that she IS paying attention: to what’s going on outside the classroom window, to her maybe best friend Margaret who is trying to cut glue out of her hair, and to other things going on at school that land Clementine in trouble. And Clementine has lots of “interesting” solutions to problems. To help Margaret, she suggests cutting a few more patches out of her hair. When Margaret ends up cutting off almost all her hair, Clementine suggests drawing curls with her mom’s permanent markers. All of which lands Clementine in big trouble. Clementine also “pays attention” at home. Her father is the manager of their apartment building and one of his daily problems is keeping the pigeons from making a mess all over the front of the building. Then one day Clementine notices that a woman who lives in the building feeds the pigeons out the window and comes up with the perfect solution to her dad’s problem: feed the pigeons somewhere else.

You’ll enjoy Clementine’s hilarious problems and cheer when she finally gets recognized for paying attention to the right things once in awhile/

If you could go back in time where would you go? Johnny Maxwell knows exactly where, or should I say “when”–May 21, 1941. That’s the day the German’s accidentally bombed his hometown. Johnny knows that if he goes back and changes things there will be consequences, but if he can just warn the right people in time, the air raid sirens will go off and innocent people might be saved.

I liked the way Terry Pratchett mixes humor and adventure and makes the reader think about time. Johnny’s “sidekicks” are all interesting characters who play important roles in the story.

This is the third book in the Johnny Maxwell Trilogy, but each book is a separate and complete story that doesn’t rely on the reader knowing what happened in the previous books.

Have you ever dreamed of being an animal? 11-year-old Isabel knows everything about whales and can’t wait to go on the annual whale watch with her 5th grade class. But this year’s whale watch is something unique. The class sees dozens of whales including some very rare species. Some on the boat are scared, but Isabel leans right over the railing to get a picture and falls in the water. While she seems to disappear into the cold Atlantic Ocean, she has actually been transformed into a humpback whale. The whales tell her she is one of the Chosen, humans who become whales for a time.

The thing I enjoyed most about this book is how Isabel learned about the ways of the whales and also learned about what it means to be human. For example, when one of her whale friends becomes trapped in a net, she doesn’t give up hope. She find a “tool” that she can hold in her jaws to saw the ropes and she teaches the other whales to help her free the trapped whale.

The author of Ella Enchanted shares tips and thoughts from writing workshops she conducts with students. Each  chapter is a brief mini-lesson (creating characters, dialog, how to begin, showing vs. telling, using body language, humor, “method” writing, etc.) with handy writing prompts. Great for both teachers and would-be writers of all ages.