Amberly Media Center

Is it short attention span? A lack of time? I just realized that my only blog entries in the past two or three months have been read aloud lists. In that time I have started using Twitter which has the interesting limitation of only letting you use 140 characters per “tweet.” You can click on the “Twitter” link above to take a look. If you are a Twitter user, you can also click on the link to follow me from the Twitter page. Let me know what you think.

Here are three great links to get you started using Twitter with your students, parents, and colleagues.

• Introduction to Twitter
  http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec570/spring09/activities/opd/twitter.htm
  –a kind of webquest for starting Twitter created by SDSU prof. Bernie Dodge.
• Twitter4teachers
  http://twitter4teachers.pbwiki.com/
  –a pb wiki listing of teachers who use twitter.
• Twitter for Teachers
  http://twitterforteachers.wetpaint.com/
  –a creative commons ebook in the process of being created by and for teachers.

SCIENCE

1. Enchanted Learning
   http://www.enchantedlearning.com/coloring/
2. Glossopedia
   http://www.globio.org/glossopedia/article.aspx?art_id=31
3. Kids InfoBits Animals
   http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/KidsInfoBits?locID=lom_port&topic=Animals&ste=2
4. Kids’ Planet ESpecies
   http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/map.html
5. National Geographic Creature Feature
   http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/

SOCIAL STUDIES

1. 50 states.com
   http://www.50states.com/
2.  America the Beautiful
   http://go.grolier.com/gol
3.  Ben’s Guide
   http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/state/index.html
4.  ClassBrain.com State Reports
   http://www.classbrain.com/artstate/publish/
5.  Explore the States
   http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/es
6.  Kids Connect States
   http://www.kidskonnect.com/content/category/4/33/27/
7.  Midwest Travel Guide
   http://wikitravel.org/en/Midwest_(United_States_of_America)

Use the worksheet to evaluate the following websites:

1. Michigan History Magazine
   http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com/

2. Michigan Wildflowers
   http://www.carsoncity.k12.mi.us/~hsstudent/wildflowers00/

3. Jim Crow Museum
   http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/

4. Michigan History WebQuest
   http://www.caledonia.k12.mi.us/k12resource/webquest2004/
   historicalMI/historicalMIWebquest.htm

5. Arab American Museum
   http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/
6. Henry Ford Museum
   http://www.hfmgv.org/
7. Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
   http://www.maah-detroit.org/
8. Harriet Quimby Biographies
   http://www.onekama.k12.mi.us/ym2k/jgoins/harriet_bio.htm
9. Motown Historical Museum
   http://www.motownmuseum.com/mtmpages/index.html
10. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
    http://www.ford.utexas.edu/
11. Grand Rapids Public Museum
    http://www.grmuseum.org/
12. Gilmore Car Museum
    http://www.gilmorecarmuseum.org/
13. R. E. OldsTransportation Museum
    http://reoldsmuseum.org/
14. AirZoo
    http://www.airzoo.org/
15. Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
    http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/
16. Michigan Maritime Museum
    http://michiganmaritimemuseum.org/

17. Michigan A Land of Resources

18. http://www.farmington.k12.mi.us/ken/michiganwebquest2.htm

19. 8^th Arkansas/22^nd Michigan  Home Page

    http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/7600/

20.  

Second graders have learned about the Internet, the parts of the page of web browsers, and now it’s time to learn about being safe and responsible Internet users. This week we will learn about what it means to be a cyber community and have some fun “playing” in an online community at Disney’s Club Penguin.

In the next few weeks we will learn about online safety at two other fun sites the students can show you at home: http://ikeepsafe.org/iksc_kids/ and http://www.netsmartzkids.org/games/

To review the parts of a web page we will be doing a worksheet on this student-created timeline of Martin Luther King’s life.

 If you finish early, here are some videos of Martin Luther King’s speeches to watch:

• http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=599f0513ff3356f0c0f6
• http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkivebeentothemountaintop.htm
• http://www.mlkonline.net/video.html

Downloads:

• Web Browser Worksheet
• MLK Matching Worksheet

1. Cyber-Ethics: Pirates in the Classroom Science Activities   10-01-2004

2. Sued for a Song  CURRENT EVENTS Oct. 10, 2003, pp. 1+

3. Kids Still Illegally Download Music  TIME FOR KIDS May 19, 2004, n.p.

4. Out of Sync  TEEN NEWSWEEK (Vol. 6, No. 23) April 11, 2005, pp. 7+

5. Pirates on the Web? The downloading debate. Odyssey, Sept 2004 v13 i6 p31(3)

6. PC user sued for illegally downloading 2 films. Watertown Daily Times (Watertown, NY), April 28, 2006 pNA

7. YouTube To Talk Copyright Infringement with Japan PC Magazine Online, Dec 20, 2006 pNA

8. Totally Teed-Off Barbie. (Mattel Inc. sues MGA Entertainment) Business Week, Dec 18, 2006 i4014 p13

Before you get started on your project, remember the Super 3: PLAN, DO, REVIEW. As part of your planning, make sure there are enough sources of information for your project. Be sure to check….

• BOOKS….search for your animal in INFOCENTRE. Browse the shelf for other books that might include your animal. Skim through some of the books to make sure the information you need is there. Record the titles of good books on your RESEARCH CHECKLIST.




• ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIA…..search for your animal in GROLIER ONLINE. Skim through the article to get some basic knowledge about your animal before you start.




• AMAZING ANIMAL LINKS…..(the links found on the PPS Intranet can also be found below.) Search for your animal on some of the sites. Record the titles of good sites on your RESEARCH CHECKLIST.




• ONLINE DATABASES….search for your animal on Kids InfoBits. Record the titles of good reference articles, magazine and newspaper articles on your RESEARCH CHECKLIST.




• OTHER INTERNET SEARCHES…search for your animal on NetTrekker. Record the tiles of good sites on your RESEARCH CHECKLIST.

• FactMonster Campaign 2008
  http://www.factmonster.com/us/government/presidential-election-campaign-2008.html

• KidsPost Election
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/kidspost/election08/

• Nickelodeon Kids Pick the President
  http://www.nick.com/shows/specials/kpp_07/

• Scholastic News Election 2008
  http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/election2008.htm

• Time for Kids: Debating the Issues
  http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/election08/candidates.html

• Weekly Reader
  http://www.weeklyreader.com/election/

(PARENTS: A folder is being created with screenshots and tips for parent volunteers in each computer lab. If you use one of these sites, let us know what you think. Click on the COMMENT link above and share your feedback or suggest additional sites.)

• ABC Interactive Games
  http://mikids.com/K/ABC.html
• Arthur Games
  http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/index.html
• BBC – CBeebies – Old MacDonald
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/somethingspecial/songs/oldmac.shtml
• BBC – CBeebies – Mr. Tumble
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/somethingspecial/mrtumble/
• BBC – CBeebies – Tumble in the Jungle
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/somethingspecial/games/jungle.shtml
• BBC- CBeeebies – Weather Safari
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/somethingspecial/songs/weather.shtml
• BBC Education – Who Said That? (animal sounds)
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/snapdragon/yesflash/who-said-that-1.htm
• Building Language for Literacy- Nina the Naming Newt
  http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bll/nina/index.htm
• Farm Animals
  http://www.magickeys.com/books/farm/page1.html
• Fun & Games – Big and Small
  http://www.meddybemps.com/9.692.html
• Kindersite Games
  http://www.kindersite.org/Directory/DirectoryFrame.htm
• Learning Planet.com – 123 Order
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/snapdragon/yesflash/who-said-that-1.htm
• Learning Planet.com – Mr. Elephant’s Matching Game
  http://www.learningplanet.com/act/mre/index.asp
• Learning to Read at Starfall
  http://www.starfall.com/
• Noggin Games
  http://www.noggin.com/
• Writing Guide and Alphabet Archive with Spinner the Spider
  http://www.meddybemps.com/letterary/guide_and_archives.html