Geo-Mysteries : September 29, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website looks inside, outside and all around the planet Earth. As always, remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

Geo-Mysteries

From the Children`s Museum of Indianapoils, a great site with animated lessons on the earth. the geologic timeline, rocks & fossils, and much more! You will need the QuickTime plugin in order to enjoy all of the multimedia content on the site. Great for elementary kids learning the basics of geology!

Also visit the K12Station Earth Structure Library for Elementary Students.

African-American Literature - September 28, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website looks at the cultural impact of African-American literature. As always, remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

WorldBook: African-American Literature

From WorldBook Online, this special collection explores literature written by black Americans of African descent. Its themes include the exploration of black identity, the condemnation of racism, and the celebration of the unique aspects of African American culture.

Also visit the K12Station Literature Library.

Geometric Figures - September 27, 2006

High school math time, folks - today's K12Station.com featured website looks at geometric figures. As always, remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

Math Forum - Defining Geometric Figures

From the FAQ files of Dr. Math, a comprehensive overview of Geometric Figures, including polygons, plane figures, and solid figures. The Math Forum is a tremendous site - sometimes it seems like it's been around longer than the internet itself! But it just keeps getting better and better.

Also visit the K12Station High School Geometry Library.

Lungs - September 26, 2006

Take a deep breath - today's K12Station.com featured website looks at lungs and the respiratory system. As always, remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

Inside the Human Body: Lungs

From Canada's Digital Collections, this site provides great resources for students at all levels on the human respiratory system. There are three content areas - one for elementary kids, one for middle-schoolers, and one for high-school students. Topics include air pollution & respiration, lung health, tobacco, and more!

Also visit the K12Station Human Body Systems Library.

HRW World Atlas - September 25, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website covers the WHOLE world. As always, remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

HRW World Atlas

A complete Atlas of the world from Holt, Rinehart and Winston. The Atlas features hundreds of maps, plus demographic summaries for each country of the world. A great site to complement any lesson in geography, history, or world cultures!

Also visit the K12Station Research Tools Library for Young Students.

Magnets & Springs Science Clip - September 22, 2006

After a few days of social studies sites for older students, today's K12Station.com featured website is a neat science site for the little ones. As always, remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

BBC Science Clip: Magnets & Springs

A great BBC science clip that explores magnets! Science Clips are interactive online experiments that are appropriate for young elementary students. All clips require that you have the Flash plugin installed on your computer.

Also visit the K12Station Magnets Library for Young Students.

The U.S. Constitution - September 21, 2006

Well, somehow I managed to miss Constitution Day (Sept. 18th), but it's never too late for a good Constitution website, right? Today's K12Station.com featured website explores the Constitution and should be a great resource for everyone who (like me) is late to the party this week. As always, remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

National Archives: Constitution

From the National Archives, an image of the original document and a summary history of its creation. There is also a feature on the Constitutional Convention, a FAQ on Constitution history, and an in-depth look at the Bill of Rights.

Also visit the K12Station Constitution Library.

Civil War Guided Readings - September 20, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website is directed at high-school students who want to broaden their understanding of the U.S. Civil War. As always, remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

Guided Readings on the Civil War

Dozens of impeccably researched articles on the origins and events of the American Civil War. This section of the Digital History Project provides analysis starting with the election of 1860, and finishing with an article on the costs of the war. An exceptional site for any high school student researching the Civil War.

Also visit the K12Station Civil War Library.

13 Ways of Looking at One Half - September 19, 2006

I love PBS Cyberchase - and so do young students! And today's K12Station.com featured website is direct from PBS' great collection of cyber-learning games. As always, remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

13 Ways of Looking at 1/2

An entertaining, animated site that explores fractions and different ways to express one half! Lots of stimulating visuals - elementary teachers will love using this site as a visual example for beginning fractions learners.

Also visit the K12Station Fractions Library for Elementary Students.

Essay Builder - September 18, 2006

A while back, I did a "Learning Keyhole" that included sites on essays. Today's K12Station.com featured website is from that group of essay sites, - but it is so good, I thought that it deserved its own review. As always, remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

Essay Builder

If your students need to craft effective essays, you can't go wrong with the Essay Builder. This "soup to nuts" online tutorial covers the following steps in essay writing: Introduction, Supporting Paragraphs, Summary Paragraph, How to Write an Essay, Prewriting Essays, Writing Essays, Editing Essays, Publishing Essays, Kinds of Essays, Definition, Classification, Description, Compare and Contrast, Sequence, Choice, Explanation, Evaluation.

Also visit the K12Station Essay Library for Middle Schoolers and Late-Elementary Students.

Engineer It! --- September 15, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website is yet another long-time web favorite - but the material is kept current and fresh! As always, remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

Engineer It!

Engineers routinely go through a process of - Think, Build, Test, Do It Again. In Engineer It! you will use the same steps as an engineer to design boats, build bridges, windmills, and airplanes and then test their performance in water tanks, shake tables, and wind tunnels. Experiment with your design and test it again to see what happens. The site features an amazing number of online activities, games, and more!

Also visit the K12Station Design Process Library for Middle Schoolers and Late-Elementary Students.

A. Pintura Art Detective - September 14, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website is a classic - one of the longest-running educational sites on the 'net! And remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

A. Pintura - Art Detective

A. Pintura: Art Detective is an online game about art history and art composition. In the game, you play a 1940's noir detective with a degree in art history. A distraught woman asks you to identify the artist who made a painting she found in her grandfather's attic. To do so, you must examine paintings by famous artists from Gauguin to Van Gogh. The site is designed for 4th-graders and up.

Also visit the K12Station Art History Library for Middle Schoolers.

All About Maps - September 13, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website explores cartography - the study of maps. And remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

DCC - All About Maps

From Digital Collections Canada, with this site you can explore maps and mapmaking in all directions - North, East, South, and West. Learn about the art and science of cartography - the maps, the mapmakers, and the map-users of history, today, and the future. This beautifully illustrated site is perfect for late-elementary and middle-school students.

Also visit the K12Station Maps and Globes Library.

BBC Spanish - September 12, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website provides a variety of resources for teaching and learning the Spanish language. And remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

BBC - Spanish

The BBC consistently provides great resources across the K-12 curriculum, and their Spanish learning site is no exception. From conversational Spanish (use their great "Spanish Steps" mini-course) to grammar and even slang, this site is a tremendous starting point for teachers of middle and high-school Spanish.

Also visit the K12Station Spanish Language Resource Library.

Bearing Witness to History - Septmber 11, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website looks back at the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

Septmber 11 - Bearing Witness to History

From the Smithsonian Site: "September 11, 2001, will be remembered as one of the most shocking days in American history. Armed terrorists hijacked four passenger jets and used them as weapons against the United States. The attacks destroyed the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon, and killed more than three thousand people. Soon after September 11, the National Museum of American History began collecting objects to document the attacks and their aftermath." This site enables you to view images from the Smithsonian's extensive collection of 9/11 artifacts.

For more 9/11 links, visit the K12Station US History 2000-Present library.

New Life: Baby Chicks - September 8, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website explores the birth of a baby chick. And remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

New Life - Baby Chicks

The summary from the site says it all: "The beginning and growth of new life is one of the most fascinating of events. It is possible to observe and learn about this process by looking at Baby Chicks. Below are three stages - 'The Embryo', 'Incubation', and 'After Hatching' - which explore and explain what happens from the moment an egg is laid to how the baby chick should be looked after." A great site for elementary science students with lots of illustrations!

Also visit the K12Station Life Cycles Library for young elementary students.

ELLSA American Short Stories - September 7, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website looks at American Short Stories. And remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

ELLSA American Short Stories

An amazing site that provides self-study guides to the following stories: The Green Door, The Last Leaf, The Open Boat, To Build a Fire. Students can also review the Five Elements of Short Stories and follow links to other literary summaries.

Also visit the K12Station Literary Interpretation Library for Middle School students.

Prove the Pythagorean Theorem - September 6, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website provides an animated look at the Pythagorean Theorem. And remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

PBS - Pythagorean Theorem

From PBS, an incredible demonstration that the Pythagorean Theorem works, followed by real-life examples of how you can solve problems by using the theorem! You will need the Shockwave plug-in to view the demo!

Also visit the K12Station Pythagorean Theorem Library.

Dancing Globe - September 5, 2006

Today's K12Station.com featured website looks various styles of dance. And remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

Dancing Globe

This adorable site follows two kids as they travel the world exploring different dance styles and different cultures. So far, they have made dance trips to Poland, Sweden, Austria and Greece! This site is a great resource for young students who are learning about cultural diversity and worldwide traditions.

Also visit the K12Station Dance Library for Elementary Students.

Mythology for Beginners - September 4, 2006

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend! Now that we're back to school, let's get back to some website reviews as well. Today's K12Station.com featured website looks at mythology and folklore. And remember – there are over 20,000 great educational website links in the K12Station.com Internet Resource Libraries!

WOTU - Mythology for Beginners

As it says at the site: "For thousands of years people have associated objects in the sky, the Earth, and their physical world with the gods and goddesses of their cultures. Through these pages, find out about the gods and goddesses of different cultures around the world, and the works of art people have created to give them expression." A great site for late-elementary school students to learn about mythology from several different cultural perspectives.

Also visit the K12Station Mythology & Folklore Library for Elementary Students.

Learning Keyhole - Weather & Climate

	Today's "Learning Keyhole" focuses on High School level earth science - specifically weather and climate. Simply click on the topic of your choice - Climate, Weather & Storms, The Hydrologic Cycle, or The Oceans & Tides - and a new browser window will open up with K12Station's great links to tutorials, reference sources, and interactive sites for use in your classroom or homeschool.
I hope you enjoy today's "Learning Keyhole." As always, follow the keyhole links, and I'll bet you find some great new sites that you've never seen before. Oh, and have a great Labor Day weekend. I'll be back on Monday with more links!