Phyllis' Favorites

Ipatiev House
http://www.romanov-memorial.com/

On July 17, 1918, Russia's Tsar, Nicholas II, and the entire Romanov family were executed in Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, in the Ural Mountains. This site recounts the history of Russia before and after the execution.

Nazca Lines and Culture
http://www.crystalinks.com/nasca.html
From the site:
“The Nazca Lines are located in the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau that stretches between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the pampa (a large flat area of southern Peru)…There appear to be various designs consisting of figures of animals, flowers and plants, objects, and anthropomorphic figures of colossal proportions made with well-defined lines…The Nazca Lines were first spotted when commercial airlines began flying across the Peruvian desert in the 1920's. Passengers reported seeing 'primitive landing strips' on the ground below.” <<>>

# posted by Phyllis @ 10:56 PM 0 comments

The Falkirk Wheel
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/falkirk/falkirkwheel/
From the site:
“The Falkirk Wheel was opened by the Queen in May 2002. Nothing like it has ever been built before anywhere in the world. Boat lifts are nothing new, though the last built in the UK was in 1875. But a rotating boat lift? The result is awe-inspiring and beautiful: the largest piece of functional sculpture you will ever see.”

See Also:
http://www.livephysics.com/physics-videos/technology/the-falkirk-wheel.html
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/5exs7h
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/31421-industrial-revelations-the-falkirk-wheel-video.htm
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/5mfdnp

New York Times: 100 Notable Books of 2008
Published: November 26, 2008
From the site:
“The Book Review has selected this list from books reviewed since Dec. 2, 2007, when we published our previous Notables list.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/100Notable-t.html?_r=1
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/6jdsg9

[NOTE: May require free registration. – Phyllis ]

BookSpot.com
http://www.bookspot.com/

BookSpot.com is a free resource center that simplifies the search for the best book-related content on the Web. Featured sites are hand-selected by BookSpot.com editors and organized into intuitive categories, such as bestseller lists, genres, book reviews, electronic texts, book news and more.
[NOTE: Previously posted. - Phyllis ]

Source: Refdesk: http://www.refdesk.com

Encyclopedia Smithsonian
http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/

Encyclopedia Smithsonian helps answer frequently asked questions about the Smithsonian with links to resources on subjects from Art to Zoology.
[NOTE: Previously posted. - Phyllis ]

Source: Refdesk: http://www.refdesk.com

Site found in:
Librarians' Internet Index
Websites you can trust!
NEW THIS WEEK, May 1, 2008
Read This Online : http://lii.org/cs/lii/print/news/147

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The Weather Underground Companion website to this PBS Independent Lens documentary about the Weather Underground (Weathermen), "one of America's most notorious radical movements" during the Vietnam War. Features background about the group and its actions (including "bombing the Capitol building, breaking Timothy Leary out of prison and finally evading the FBI by going into hiding"), an interview with Weather Underground members Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers, and related material. URL: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/weatherunderground/ LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25975

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Librarians' Internet Index
Websites You Can Trust!
http://lii.org/

Copyright 2008 by Librarians' Internet Index.

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Sites found in:
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PBS Teachers Newsletter: November 30-December 6, 2008
Current PBS Teacher Previews Newsletter
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/newsletter/
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Raindrops to Rivers: Multimedia Educator Resources on Water Quality
http://www.raindropstorivers.org/
Raindrops to Rivers is a project produced jointly by KET, the Kentucky Division of Water and the Kentucky Department of Education, that develops resources on water quality for teaching and learning environments. The site includes instructional videos for students: an electronic field trip to a watershed and a full-length documentary, Common Ground and Cleaner Water. The teachers and students appearing in the videos are engaged in authentic activities, in both indoor and outdoor classrooms and at streams, creeks, and other watersheds. In addition to presenting engaging science lessons, the resource features collaborations between science and other content areas.

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Reporting America at War
Debate: Press Censorship
Lesson Plan
Gr. 9-12

Explore and debate the role the U.S. Government should play in
exercising press censorship during war time. Examine
war-related freedom of the press and freedom of speech cases.

http://www.pbs.org/weta/reportingamericaatwar/teachers/debate.html
[NOTE: Previously posted. - Phyllis ]

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Online NewsHour EXTRA
Gulf War Syndrome Is Real and Caused by Toxins, Report States
Online
6-8 / 9-12

Seventeen years after the first Gulf War, a congressionally
mandated panel concluded an illness suffered by veterans is
real, and most likely the result of exposure to toxins. The
report is a vindication for soldiers who were told their
symptoms were due to war stress.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/health/july-dec08/gulf_11-21.html
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/5l4zl2

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Copyright 2008 PBS Online

The World Almanac E-Newsletter - July 2008
Volume 08, Number 07

Québec City Turns 400
http://www.worldalmanac.com/wa-newsletter.aspx?show=200807

Scroll down to: Travel: Québec City Turns 400

Writing On The Walls Of The Nation's Library
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96049292

From the site:
“The Library of Congress may hold the nation's collection of books, but those aren't the only words in the building worth a visit. The white marble building is a cathedral to the written word.”

VIDEO: Tour the hallways of the Library of Congress
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=96049292&m=97071033
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/6mqgf6

Flickr: Photos from The Library of Congress
http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/
[NOTE: Some photo sets previously posted. - Phyllis ]

“The Library of Congress, the U.S. national library, in conjunction with the popular photo-sharing site Flickr, created this public image library of over three thousand photos.”

Source: Refdesk: http://www.refdesk.com/

Sites found in:

Librarians' Internet Index
Websites you can trust!

NEW THIS WEEK, July 10, 2008
Read This Online : http://lii.org/cs/lii/print/news/156

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Frida Kahlo
"Available in both English and Spanish, this online feature [a companion to a 2008 exhibit] highlights the artist's extraordinary life and work through video commentary by artists and art historians, as well as zoom-enabled images of Kahlo and husband Diego Rivera at their home, Casa Azul [in Mexico City]." Topics include the faces of Frida, Kahlo's experience in the U.S., and Kahlo's artistic legacy. From the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).
URL: http://www.sfmoma.org/media/features/kahlo/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/26373

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Swimming in Picture Books
Website companion to a past physical exhibit featuring "illustrations that captured the sensations of being by or in the water. ... For this virtual version, there is more information about the stories and their illustrators of the sort you might learn during a gallery talk." Click on images near the top of the page to see larger pictures and annotations. From the Cotsen Children's Library at Princeton University.
URL: http://library.princeton.edu/libraries/cotsen/exhibitions/WaterBabies/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/26196

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Amnesty International Report: State of the World's Human Rights: Zimbabwe
Most recent version of an overview of the human rights situation in Zimbabwe. Topics include freedom of assembly and association, women human rights defenders, torture and other ill-treatment, and abductions. Available in several languages. From Amnesty International (AI).
URL: http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/Regions/Africa/Zimbabwe
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/26388

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Darwin 2009 Houston
"In recognition of the importance of Charles Darwin's writings, the participating institutions ... offer events and resources about natural selection, evolution, and genetics. Many activities will take place during 2009 which marks the bicentennial of Darwin's birth and the sesquicentennial of the publication of 'On The Origin of Species.'" The site includes a chronology, bibliography, links to related sites, and a blog. From the Houston Academy of Medicine, Texas Medical Center Library.
URL: http://www.darwin2009houston.org/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25470

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Librarians' Internet Index
Websites You Can Trust!
http://lii.org/
Copyright 2008 by Librarians' Internet Index.

Site found on TeachersFirst.com

Civil War@Smithsonian - Smithsonian - Grades 7 to 12
http://www.civilwar.si.edu/
[NOTE: Previously posted. - Phyllis ]

This outstanding site examines America’s most profound national experience through artifacts that are housed in the Smithsonian Institution. Twelve topics - including Slavery and Abolition, Appomattox, Life and Culture, Weapons, and Mathew Brady - link to virtual collections of objects that can be individually explored. A Civil War timeline is included.<<>>

Entire review and suggestions on using this site “In the Classroom”:
http://www.teachersfirst.com/single.cfm?id=5409

# posted by Phyllis @ 10:50 PM 0 comments

Site found on TeachersFirst.com

Lesson Plan Unit: Slavery - New York Times - Grades 6 to 12
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/slavery.html

From the New York Times, this site contains a series of thirteen individual lesson plans focused on the issue of slavery. Many of the lesson plans focus on the use of narrative (e.g. "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," "Held Accountable," "Life in Letters," "Revealing Untold Stories") and the importance of primary sources in understanding the perspective of others. There is a lesson plan on slave quilts and the stories they tell.<<>>

Other Lesson Plan Units
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/unithome.html

Entire review and suggestions on using this site “In the Classroom”:
http://www.teachersfirst.com/single.cfm?id=7156

[NOTE: NY Times may require free registration.]

# posted by Phyllis @ 10:50 PM 0 comments

PBS: Blythe Bennett Recommended Site:

Citizens All: African Americans in Connecticut 1700-1850
Connecting To Connecticut History!
http://www.yale.edu/glc/citizens/

Link to times gone by with this online project that tells about the history of slavery in Connecticut, emancipation, and the struggle for citizenship.

[See Also: Transatlantic Slave Trade
http://www.yale.edu/glc/citizens/trade/index.html

Slavery and Freedom in American History and Memory:
Online Resources: http://www.yale.edu/glc/aces/links.htm - Phyllis ]

[NOTE: Other pages from http://www.yale.edu/glc/ previously posted. - Phyllis ]

Sites found in:
ResourceShelf
http://www.resourceshelf.com/
July 4-10, 2008

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Resource of the Week: Government Information Clearinghouse & Handout Exchange
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor

“our friends over at the Free Government Information blog alerted us to the Government Information Clearinghouse & Handout Exchange, from the ALA Government Documents Round Table, we clicked on over to have a look. We liked what we saw.” <<>>

For complete review:
http://www.resourceshelf.com/2008/07/07/resource-of-the-week-government-information-clearinghouse-handout-exchange/
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/5guqqr

Direct: http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Exchange

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New Guides to Poets Laureate Available
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/poetslaureate/

From the Library of Congress:
New Web guides to online resources for former U.S. poets laureate Stanley Kunitz, Robert Pinsky, Rita Dove, and Robert Hass are now available.

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Some Tips of the Trade: A few guidelines make oral history easy
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2007/09/14/some-tips-for-recording-oral-histories.html?s_cid=rss:some-tips-for-recording-oral-histories.html
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/5fonk4

Technology has made recording oral histories cheaper and the results more engaging. Here is some advice for getting started. <<>>

Complete Review:
http://www.resourceshelf.com/2008/07/10/some-tips-of-the-trade-a-few-guidelines-make-oral-history-easy/
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/55wrp4

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Gary Price
Editor, ResourceShelf
gary@resourceshelf.com
The ResourceShelf & DocuTicker Team
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"Post via ResourceShelf"
for even more resources visit
http://www.resourceshelf.com/
http://www.docuticker.com/

# posted by Phyllis @ 10:47 PM 0 comments

Pacific Encounters
http://www.whalingmuseum.org/online_exhibits/manjiro/index.html
From the site:
“Pacific Encounters: Yankee Whalers, Manjiro, and the Opening of Japan is an exhibition that examines the influential legacy of the whaling industry on the opening of diplomatic relations and cultural exchange between Japan and Western nations.” <<>>

[NOTE: Other pages from http://www.whalingmuseum.org/ previously posted. - Phyllis ]

# posted by Phyllis @ 11:32 PM 0 comments

Welcome To Dinosaur Den
http://www.dinosaurden.co.uk/
From the site:
“Dinosaurs ruled our earth for many, many millions of years. They are thought to be one of the most successful creatures that ever lived in terms of longevity and adaption. They evolved into many different shapes and sizes and had diverse modes of living.”

Site includes Timelines, Dinosaur List, and FAQs. Also Special Features: Jurassic Seas, Kings of the Sky, Early Mammals, and Dinosaur Relatives.

Site found in:

NEAT NEW STUFF, July 25, 2008

What Government Does
http://www.governing.com/mgmt_insight.aspx?id=5534
This article, which I recommend to all citizens, explains concisely something few Americans understand about their "government" - that it resides in federal, state and local agencies, where it performs thousands of tasks, primarily in education and crime control.

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Neat New Stuff I Found This Week
http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
Copyright, Marylaine Block, 1999-2008.

Sites found in:
EDInfo@listserv.ed.gov
July 1, 2008
http://www.free.ed.gov/
http://listserv.ed.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind08&L=edinfo&D=1&T=0&O=D&P=2614
Shortened URL: http://tinyurl.com/5tv7tm
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Democracy and Human Rights
features publications about the U.S. government, democracy, and human rights. Learn about the intellectual history of democracy and what makes the U.S. government unique. See how our federal, state, and local governments are organized; how our executive, legislative, and judicial branches operate; and how nongovernmental organizations influence government policy. Read about the origins of human rights, women in politics, the civil rights movement, and elections. (Department of State)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=2058
Direct: http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/topic.htm

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Outline of U.S. History
presents 15 chapters on U.S. history: early America, the
colonial period, independence, formation of a national
government, westward expansion and regional differences,
sectional conflict, the Civil War and reconstruction, growth
and transformation, discontent and reform, war, prosperity and
depression, the New Deal and World War II, postwar America,
decades of change (1960-1980), new conservatism and a new
world order, and bridge to the 21st century. (Department of
State)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=2059
Direct: http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/histryotln/index.htm
[NOTE: Older edition previously posted. URL updated. - Phyllis ]

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National Postal Museum
has developed curriculum guides that explore stamps and postal
history, and encourage students to write letters. Topics
include historic letters and stamps from American wars; stamps
and other countries, history, and art; the place of letter
writing in American history; letter writing for advanced
English learners; and letter writing between students and
older adults (using cultural landmarks in the community).
(National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=2057
Direct: http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/educators/4b_curriculum.html
[NOTE: Other pages from http://postalmuseum.si.edu/ previously posted. -
Phyllis ]

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Encouraging Girls in Math and Science
offers tools for teachers to help girls achieve at the same
level as boys in math and science. The site is based on five
research-based recommendations: teach students that the brain
grows when they practice and learn; provide prescriptive,
informational feedback on strategies and effort; show female
role models; spark initial curiosity and foster long-term
interest in math and science; and teach spatial skills.
(Department of Education)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=2056
Direct: http://dww.ed.gov/priority_area/priority_landing.cfm?PA_ID=8
[NOTE: Other pages from http://dww.ed.gov/ previously posted. - Phyllis ]

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Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears
is a new online magazine to help elementary school teachers
develop their knowledge of the Arctic and Antarctica and
organize science and literacy instruction around polar themes.
The first two issues, "A Sense of Place" and "Learning from
the Polar Past," provide lessons and readings on data
collection and representation, map skills, comparing the
Arctic and Antarctica, measuring ice sheets, and paleontology
and archaeology. Book recommendations are included. (Ohio
State University, National Science Foundation)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=2048
Direct: http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/

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Nuclear Energy Learning Resources for Schools
offers a list of resources for learning about nuclear energy
topics. Find information about how nuclear reactors work,
what makes certain materials radioactive, the importance of
nuclear energy in the 21st century, and more. (Argonne
National Laboratory, Department of Energy)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=2053
Direct: http://students.ne.anl.gov/schools/

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Secrets of Plant Genomes Revealed!
is a lively, upbeat video exploration of how plants got to be
the way they are and how we can make better use of them in the
future. Learn how plant genome research is revolutionizing
the field of biology. Find out how scientists are unlocking
the secrets of corn, cotton, potatoes, and other plants that
are important in our lives. Discover why the study of plants
is exciting and how learning more about plants can improve our
everyday lives. (National Science Foundation)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=2049
Direct: http://nsf.gov/news/mmg/mmg_disp.cfm?med_id=61504&from=vid

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ToxMystery
features an animated game that helps elementary students learn
about common household hazards. Students enter a house and go
room to room, mousing over items, clicking on those that move,
and answering questions. Lesson plans and parent resources
are included. (National Library of Medicine)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=2051
Direct: http://toxmystery.nlm.nih.gov/
[NOTE: Previously posted. Site updated Oct. 15, 2008 – Phyllis ]

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