Election 2008
[9 Sep 2008 at 10:52pm]
With the presidential election just a month away, the campaigns are heating up. In addition to the official candidate sites for Barack Obama and John McCain, here are some online resources for students to learn about the election process and keep up with the candidates.
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Online Dictionaries
[9 Sep 2008 at 9:29pm]
Each fall, as a chill returns to the evening air, and homework returns to the kitchen table, parents repeat the dictionary mantra: "Look it up!" And for many generations, students have replied , "How can I look it up if I don't know how to spell it?" That excuse is finally quashed. These online dictionaries are handy for several reasons. First, if you are already online, you can either cut-and-paste, or use a dictionary toolbar in your browser. And finally, if misspell your entry, many of these dictionaries will suggest correctly spelled alternatives.
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How to Create a Wiki
[9 Sep 2008 at 8:02pm]
A wiki is a type of collaborative website with integrated tools for adding and editing content. The online encyclopedia Wikipedia.org is one popular example, WikiHow.com is another. But not all wikis give public editorial rights as Wikipedia does. A wiki can also be created for a classroom or a club, with an administrator who decides what pages are editable, and who can do the editing. Learn more about creating wikis at the following sites.
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Also From Barbara J. Feldman
Other sites published by Barbara J. Feldman: Kids Games, Kids Jokes, Coloring Pages, Nursery Rhymes, Kids Trivia, and Sharing Links: Social bookmarking for teachers and parents.
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Constellations
[16 Sep 2008 at 3:23pm]
A group of stars that forms a picture is commonly called a constellation. Astronomers, however, call these star pictures asterisms, and have a slightly different definition of a constellation. Scientists divide the sky into eighty-eight official constellations, so that every point in the sky is contained within only one. As you peruse today's crop of sites, keep both these definitions in mind, because some sites use the astronomer's definition, and others do not.
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U.S. Constitution
[10 Sep 2008 at 11:32am]
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." This famous sentence is known as the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Learn more at the following sites.
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Alternative Fuels
[13 Aug 2008 at 12:56am]
As gas prices soar, consumers become more interested alternative fuel cars. Lower costs, however, are not the only benefits to alternative fuels. They also produce fewer emissions (better for the environment) and can usually be produced in the United States (increasing our self-reliance).
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Gibraltar
[14 Aug 2008 at 3:24am]
Gibraltar is a British colony occupying 2.25 square miles on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, sharing a border with Spain. It sits on the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates the Atlantic from the Mediterranean, and Europe from Africa. In ancient times, the towering limestone Rock of Gibraltar was known as one of the Pillars of Hercules; the other being across the Strait in Morocco.
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Rebus Stories
[12 Aug 2008 at 10:52am]
A rebus uses pictures or symbols to represent words or parts of words. Some are brainteasers,
such the rebus puzzles at Fun-with-Words.com. But today's sites feature rebus stories for emergent readers, where the pictures are either substituted for certain words, or simply added along with the words.
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Honey Bees
[12 Aug 2008 at 1:53pm]
Honey bees are hardworking, useful insects that pollinate nearly one-third of all the food we eat, and make our life sweeter with the honey they produce. In a single day, a single hive can pollinate four million flowers, and make up to two pounds of honey. But scientists are confused by an international bee crises, with bees disappearing from their colonies in record numbers in a trend first noticed in 2006.
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