Volume 3, No. 18                                 02 April, 2004 [To view this newsletter on line: http://www.emck.net/eline/04_04_02.htm.]

Calling all Web surfers! If you would like to be a participant/ contributor to The Help Desk, respond to this email and let us know! In particular, we're looking for subject-area reviewers!

In the mass of rhetoric...coming from disgruntled politicians, numbers-watchers, and other dissatisfied outside observers, it's easy to forget that, in fact, our students learn and accomplish a lot, and have a lot to offer us! Our featured website this issue (http://www.whatkidscando.org/) is a not-for-profit initiative out of Rhode Island with a wonderful charter - to find and celebrate the accomplishments of students, and to give voice to their opinions and suggestions. The goal is to provide a platform through which teachers and students can, together, reinvent classroom instruction and learning!

Be sure to read this Acrobat Reader PDF file which talks about the book Fires in the Bathroom, written by journalist and WKCD staff member Kathleen Cushman, in partnership with WKCD student contributors. There are also lots of great student-written essays (look in the Featured Stories section), and printable resources and web links to other sites which support the site's charter.

 

On-line lesson planning

EduHound http://www.eduhound.com/ T.H.E. Journal (reviewed in The Help Desk's April 18, 2003 issue) supplies this collection of online resources indexed by subject or keyword search. The EduHound does not generate any of the resources - the links are to sites elsewhere on the Web - and there are a lot of ads, but the collection is quite extensive, eclectic, and useful.

Content Area Resources

The Arts Crayola http://www.crayola.com/ There are literally hundreds of lesson plans for all grades, and in support of all core content subjects (including, of course, the arts) under the "Educators" link on Crayola's Web presence. You must register on the site for access - it's free, but read the hints in our  July 5, 2002 edition if you're concerned. Of course, the lesson plans feature Crayola products, but there are lots of good ideas! Mathematics  Shodor Educational Foundation http://www.shodor.org/ We featured Shodor's Project Interactive in our July 11, 2003 edition, but there's a lot more here. Searches by grade level and key word will yield short lesson plans and exercises, as well as hits on the Interactive part. Health and Practical Living Kidnetic http://kidnetic.com/ The International Food Information Council provides this very flashy kid-aimed interactive site on the subject of food and nutrition. There are games (well, sort-of - they're interactive activities designed to encourage healthy behaviors), and information pages (look for "Parents Bright Papers"). Reading and Writing Carol Hurst http://www.carolhurst.com/ Carol Otis Hurst, together with Rebecca Otis, maintain this site in support of the use of books and literature in K-6 instruction. The site has a bit of advertising, and it exists as a contact point for Carol Hurst's books, consulting business, and other products, but there are a lot of resources directly on the site - book reviews and suggestions by subject, grade and author/title - some with accompanying activities. For a better glimpse of the site contents, go to the "Expanded Table of Contents." Science and Health Access Excellence http://www.accessexcellence.org/ This online presence for C. Everet Koop's National Health Museum has a variety of problem sets and other resources on this subject. There are also thoughtful readings on the place of health in the curriculum, and issues of instructional practice. Social Studies Landmark Cases http://www.landmarkcases.org/ Here's an excellent resource for that U.S. Government class. Each Supreme Court case is presented with details, lesson plans, and resources specifically designed for classroom use. Developed through the collaboration of lawyers, teachers, and the non-profits Street Law and The Supreme Court Historical Society, with support from Glencoe McGraw-Hill.

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