Volume 1, No.
1
10 May, 2002
[To view this newsletter on line:
http://www.emck.net/eline/02_05_10.htm]
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"Why did I receive this?"
This newsletter is sent to all
past attendees of the Middle Level Summer Teacher Academies, as
a
free service of the 
Partnership for Kentucky Schools. |
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Welcome to The Help Desk,
the new Middle Level Teacher Academies
Newsletter, a bi-weekly listing of on line resources, software reviews,
and content-specific websites for middle school teachers! See the
bottom of this email for links to The Help Desk archive and information
on how to contact its distributors, including
instructions on how to be removed from the mailing list.
We need your help!
The "Idea Exchange" (see below) is where
you can tell your fellow Middle Level Teacher Academies attendees what works
for you! Send us your links (simply respond to this email), lesson plans, ideas, resources - help make The
Help Desk better by making it your own!
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| On-line Lesson Planning |
 Awesome
Library
http://www.awesomelibrary.org/
This site is an indexing of educational websites by
subject, as well as by target audience (including teachers, teens,
librarians). |
| Content Area Resources |
| Mathematics |
 Visual
Fractions
http://www.visualfractions.com/
Generated visual representations of fractional values
makes understanding fractions easier. This site incorporates circles and
lines in an interactive environment to help the user understand size,
equivalence and lowest terms, comparing . . . there's even a game students
can play! |
| Reading |
 The
Doucette Index
http://www.educ.ucalgary.ca/litindex/
This searchable index produces websites with
lesson plans and other support for specific book titles and authors. |
| Science |
Space Weather
http://www.spaceweather.com/
SpaceWeather.com is a site devoted to the
interaction of the Sun with our planet. Look for lots of information
about Auroras and the "space weather" which causes them
(great Aurora pictures!). Recent ,or upcoming meteor showers usually
make this page also.
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| Social Studies |
http://www.ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/soc/inter.html
This is an unglamorous but extensive source of
social studies lesson plans and teaching ideas, supplied by the
Organization for Community Networks' Academy Curricular Exchange. |
| Writing |
 The
Citation Machine
http://landmark-project.com/citation_machine/
Students often have trouble getting the correct format for citing Web resources. This simple site asks
you to enter each piece of data associated with a website one at a time,
then it automatically generates the correct format. You can then simply copy and paste
it into your
work! |
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| Software Sources |
 Starry
Night
http://www.starrynight.com/
Starry Night is planetarium-emulation software, and
more. The site has a free downloadable 15-day demo of the
"Backyard" version, so you can evaluate it. The cost is less
than $30 each at educational pricing, and a single copy makes a good
presentation tool. |
| Idea Exchange |
We need your help!
Send hints, helps and resources to eline@emck.net |
| Professional Resources |
 National Middle School Association
http://www.nmsa.org/
This on line presence for the professional organization includes
real-time professional development seminars, links to resources, as well
as on-line versions of articles taken from their two journals. From the About
NMSA page: ". . . NMSA provides professional development,
journals, books, research, and other valuable information to assist
educators on an ongoing basis."
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