| Arts and Music |
American
Art Museum
Treasures galore await at the American Art Museum,
home to the "largest collection of American art in the world."
Best sections are Education (especially Kids' Corner, Learning with
New Media, and Journey through Art) and Collections & Exhibitions
(don't miss Browse the Collection, Helios, Director's Choice and Online
Exhibitions.) My personal favorites are Bottle Caps to Brushes (in Kids'
Corner) for elementary grades, and the curator's commentary about Vegetable
Dinner by Peter Blume (in Director's Choice) for high-school students.
http://americanart.si.edu/
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ArtsEdge
The mission of ARTSEDGE has always been to help
artists, teachers, and students gain access to and/or share information,
resources, and ideas that support the arts as a core subject area in
the K-12 curriculum. As we enter a new millennium, we have expanded
our mission statement and are happy to share it with you here.
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators.aspx
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ARTSWork
ArtsWork unites ASU artists and scholars with
community leaders in research and programs focused on children and the
arts. ArtsWork was created in 1996 with an endowment from Katherine
K. Herberger. ArtsWork received a million dollar endowed gift from Bank
of America in 2007. These generous gifts provide ArtsWork with resources
to initiate and sustain numerous projects benefiting young people in
the greater Phoenix area.
http://artswork.asu.edu/
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Arts
Connected
A cooperative project of the Minneapolis Institute
of Art and the Walker Art Center. An amazingly useful site says Faith
Clover, U of Minnesota. Students can use all of what is here:
http://www.artsconnected.org/
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Arts
Ed Net
From the Getty Museum Education Department, the
site is for K-12 teachers. The site is not current, but what is there
is exceptionally well written. with new links and other material added
regularly. It has a very extensive list of links to museums and art
history resources.
http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/index.html
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Art
Lex
An art dictionary with 3,000+ terms along with
"thousands of images, pronunciation notes, great quotations and
links to other resources on the Web." By Michael Delahunt, Arizona
(High School Art Teacher).
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/Intro.html
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Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance that
originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and
later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has
since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own
vocabulary. It has been globally influential and has defined the foundational
techniques used in many other dance genres. Ballet may also refer to
a ballet dance work, which consists of the choreography and music for
a ballet production. A well-known example of this is The Nutcracker,
a two-act ballet that was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa
and Lev Ivanov with a music score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet
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Blip.fm
Release your inner DJ and create an Internet radio station to share
with friends (and the whole world.) So what exactly is a blip? It's
a single music track accompanied by a short text message. Blip.fm
is a Twitter-like social network that allows you to follow other DJ's
with similar music tastes, and to see what sounds your friends are
listening to. With good integration between Blip.fm and Twitter, FriendFeed
and Ping.fm, Blip.fm is also a way to integrate music with your existing
social media activities such as Facebook or MySpace.
http://blip.fm/
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iLike
iLike is a social network application with over fifty million members
who share music recommendations, playlists, and personalized concert
alerts on networks such as Facebook and MySpace. The first step is
to scan your existing iTunes music library and install the iTunes
sidebar plugin. Next is to add iLike to your Facebook or other social
network profile. Using the wisdom of crowds, iLike will recommend
music you're likely to enjoy, and let your friends know what you are
listening to.
http://www.ilike.com/
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Infoplease:
Michelangelo
"Michelangelo drew extensively as a child,
and his father placed him under the tutelage of Ghirlandaio, a respected
artist of the day." This six-part biography from the Infoplease
Encyclopedia is an excellent resource for school reports. Best clicks
are the hyperlinked keywords that whisk you away to related articles,
and the Cite function (small link in the middle of the page) that creates
bibliographic citations. If you get lost in the maze of linked pages,
you can always find your way back by using the Search Biographies function
in the lower left-hand corner of any page.
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0833029.html
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The International
Library of Photography
The International Library of Photography was founded
to provide a vehicle for amateur photographers to gain exposure through
publication of their photos in our hardbound anthologies and on our
Internet site.
http://www.picture.com/
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iTunes
Genius
New in version 8 of the free Apple music organizer iTunes, is Genius,
a recommendation engine and playlist creator. To get recommendations
of songs not already in your library, add the Genius Sidebar (select
Genius in the View dropdown menu.) To create custom playlists based
on a single song, click the Genius icon in the lower-right hand corner
when that song is selected. These created playlists are terrific fun,
and are based on the playing habits of millions of users.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/music.html
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Last.fm
Last.fm is a personalized streaming radio station, with a playlist
based on any artist or genre you choose, as well as a music recommendation
engine connected to your computer and iPod. "Last.fm turns what
millions of people listen to into the perfect mix for you." After
downloading their Scrobbler software (for Windows, Mac or Linux),
Last.fm will "scrobble" any song you listen to on your computer
or iPod, and automatically add it to your Last.fm profile. The more
music you "scrobble," the more accurate your recommendations.
http://www.last.fm/
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Michelangelo
Buonarroti
This beautiful site was created by a web design
firm as a showcase for their talents, and is my pick-of-the-day. In
addition to the three-part biography, extra goodies include a selection
of seven Michelangelo images for use as Windows wallpaper, and two word
search puzzles. The wallpaper images are found at the bottom of the
Gift Store page. Links to the printable puzzles are at the top of the
Resources section.
http://www.michelangelo.com/buonarroti.html
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MSN
Encarta: Michelangelo
Encarta is another great site for school reports,
also with a built-in citation generator. But these citations lack both
the date you viewed the page, and the exact URL of the article. Check
with your teacher about the exact bibliographic format you need to use.
While you are here, don't miss the multimedia gallery. It contains twelve
annotated artwork images, and a page of Michelangelo Quick Facts. "Michelangelo
was a celebrated poet during his lifetime: about 300 of his poems survive."
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560125/Michelangelo.html
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Musically
Inclined
Musically Inclined claims to be the "ultimate music resource."
This ThinkQuest entry is a collection of articles covering different
aspects of the music world.
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001468F/
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Pandora
Pandora's recommendation engine is based on their Music Genome Project,
and works a little differently than other Internet music discovery
sites. Built around a collection of hundreds of musical attributes
(or "genes"), they "capture the unique and magical
musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm,
to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course
the rich world of singing and vocal harmony." You can enjoy the
results by creating a streaming radio station based on an artist or
song, or listening to stations created by others.
http://www.pandora.com/
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| History |
1492
Exhibit
1492. Columbus. The date and the name provoke many questions related
to the linking of very different parts of the world, the Western Hemisphere
and the Mediterranean. What was life like in those areas before 1492?
What spurred European expansion? How did European, African and American
peoples react to each other? What were some of the immediate results
of these contacts?
http://metalab.unc.edu/expo/1492.exhibit/Intro.html
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America
in the 1930's
From the American Studies Program at the University of Virginia, America
in the 1930's is a compendium of the decade's visual arts: film, print,
radio, murals, paintings, posters and architecture. Don't miss the
multimedia timeline, which color-codes events into four categories:
Politics and Society, Science and Technology, Arts and Culture, and
World Events. Many of the items are linked to additional audio or
video media, and each year is summarized with a Year in Review video.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/front.html
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Apples
4 the Teacher: Flag Day Activities for Kids
Along with a short history of the holiday, Apples 4 Teachers Flag
Day Activities include interactive flag coloring, printable patriotic
poems, printable short stories, and articles about flag etiquette
and how to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. For additional activity
ideas, visit related patriotic holidays Memorial Day, Fourth of July
and Veterans' Day.
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/flag-day/
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Best of History
Websites
An anthology of online history resources, this
site was crafted and designed for history students, teachers, and enthusiasts.
Established by Thomas Daccord, history teacher and instructional technology
consultant at the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts,
this site not only provides links to online resources, but also rates
them on a one to five star scale. The site features ten different historical
categories -- Prehistory, Ancient/ Biblical, Medieval, US History, Early
Modern European, 20th Century, World War II, Art History, General Resources,
and Maps -- and contains links to over 700 history-related Web sites
that have been reviewed for "quality, accuracy, and usefulness."
[MG]
http://www.besthistorysites.net/
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Biography
Provides biographies of over 20,000 notable
people. Uses the Cambridge Encyclopedia Database and the Cambridge Dictionary
of American Biography.
http://www.biography.com/
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Declaration
of Independence
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.
http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/decind.html
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Digital
Library: The Narrative of Sojourner Truth
Although Sojourner Truth never learned to read or write, she dictated
this autobiography to Olive Gilbert, a white abolitionist. Published
in 1850, it tells the story of a Dutch-speaking slave child who transformed
herself into a traveling speaker, abolitionist and women's right advocate.
"The following is the unpretending narrative of the life of a
remarkable and meritorious woman – a life which has been checkered
by strange vicissitudes, severe hardships, and singular adventures."
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/truth/1850/1850.html
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Discovering
Lewis and Clark®
Welcome to Discovering Lewis and Clark®. This is a progressive Web
site, currently containing more than 1,400 pages, which is increased
by one or more new episodes each month. For the most recent updates,
see "New This Month" on the following page.
http://www.lewis-clark.org/
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EnchantedLearning:
US Flag Day Crafts
For Flag Day, Enchanted Learning offers dozens of patriotic crafts
for preschool, kindergarten, and early elementary ages. All can be
made with common craft supplies, such as paper, scissors, glue, string,
pencils and popsicle sticks. Projects that caught my eye include a
flag-themed wind sock a patriotic pinwheel, and a flag pebble. Some
of the printable activities are only available for paid members.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/flagday/
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Go
West Across America With Lewis and Clark
Wild rivers. Rugged mountains. An unknown continent
to explore. This great American expedition will face them all. And they
need your help on this incredible adventure.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/west/
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The
Great Pains and Accuracy Tour
In which a radio producer and an english professor
bicycle the Lewis & Clark trail, wondering what we've done with
the water & land the past 200 years.
http://www.hearingvoices.com/trail/
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History's Happening!
PETE LOESER'S BEST HISTORY SITES ON THE WEB
This site is a good stop for kids looking for homework help. Four sections-ancient,
medieval, modern and U.S.History-contain good lists of links with helpful
descriptions.
http://www.loeser.us/
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History Matters
Welcome to History Matters, designed for high school and college teachers
of U.S. History survey courses, this site serves as a gateway to Web
resources and offers unique teaching materials, first-person primary
documents and threaded discussions on teaching U.S. history.
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/
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The
Holiday Spot: Flag Day
"Though the Flag Day was first celebrated in 1877, with the centennial
of the U.S. flag's existence, the idea of making it a public celebration
is believed to have originated in 1885." Celebrate Flag Day at
The Holiday Spot with their collection of computer wallpapers, crafts,
historical flags, history articles, and a Flag Day Quiz. "How
many changes had the Flag undergone since the first National Flag
was born?"
http://www.theholidayspot.com/flagday/
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The
Home of Thomas Jefferson - Monticello
Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, third president
of the United States. Explore Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's mountaintop
home, gardens, and plantation. Monticello is owned and operated by the
Thomas Jefferson Foundation in Charlottesville, Virginia
http://www.monticello.org/
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The
History of Eating Utensils
Presented by the California Academy of
Sciences, this online history of eating utensils is both stimulating
and educational, with brief presentations on individual utensils and
their evolution, as well as images of specimens from various cultures
and periods. Learn, among other things, what Louis the XIV had to fear
from the knife and what he did about it, and how it changed the shape
of that instrument forever. Equally worth considering, chopsticks have
also evolved over the course of five millennia. Called "kuai-zi"
in Chinese, for quick little fellows, chopsticks were first joined together
and only gradually came to be separated and made of less and less precious
materials. Learn all about them and the rest of the instruments used
by humans to eat gracefully in this brief online history. Better yet,
if you are fortunate enough to be in the Bay area, visit the exhibit
in person at the California Academy of Sciences.
http://www.calacademy.org/research/anthropology/utensil/
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Lewis
and Clark
The companion Web site to the Ken Burns film,
"Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery."
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/
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Lewis
and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
The mission of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage
Foundation is to stimulate public appreciation of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition's contributions to America's heritage, and to support education,
research, development, and preservation of the Lewis and Clark experience.
http://www.lewisandclark.org/
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Lifelong
Learning Online - the Lewis & Clark Rediscovery Project
A good example is the NASA-sponsored Web site
Lifelong Learning Online, which not only provides essential facts concerning
the expedition but does something unique as well: It tells both sides
of the story.
Prominent are the stories of three native tribes of the Inland Northwest
with whom Lewis and Clark came in contact: the Coeur d'Alene, the Nez
Perce, and the Warm Springs tribe of northeastern Oregon (whose portion
of the site is still under construction). Even better, the site gives
those tribes the opportunity to tell their own stories, in their own
ways, through their own words.
http://www.l3-lewisandclark.com/Default.asp
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Modern
American Poetry: The Great Depression
In addition to a depression era art gallery and photo essay, Cary
Nelson of Modern American Poetry offers an illustrated narrative about
the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl disaster. "For eight years
dust blew on the southern plains. It came in a yellowish-brown haze
from the South and in rolling walls of black from the North. The simplest
acts of life – breathing, eating a meal, taking a walk –
were no longer simple. Children wore dust masks to and from school,
women hung wet sheets over windows in a futile attempt to stop the
dirt, farmers watched helplessly as their crops blew away."
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/depression/depression.htm
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National
Geographic: Pirates of the Whydah
"Black Sam" Bellamy's pirate ship The Whydah sank
in a storm off the New England coast on April 26, 1717. The captain,
143 crew members and booty stolen from fifty ships went down with her.
In 1984, she was discovered by underwater explorer Barry Clifford. Armed
with new clues, historians are re-evaluating what they know about pirate
life. This National Geographic special takes an in-depth look at nine
of the Whydah pirates, and reprints a May 1999 magazine article. Don't
overlook the Resources & Links page, which includes recommended
websites, films, books, and a printable version of the pirate bios.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/whydah/
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National
Geographic Pirates!
"Ahoy! Have ye heard the secret of this ramshackle
inn where ye'r lodgin'? They say it's full of booty but nobody's been
able to find it." Join this interactive adventure, and while looking
for the loot, you'll unearth tales of real pirates woven into the story
line. When your adventure is finished, click on Books for Buccaneers
(from the main menu) for elementary and young adult reading lists.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/pirates/maina.html
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National
Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commemoration
The Lewis and Clark expedition looms large in
the American imagination. It is an unsurpassed tale of adventure and
endurance, yet the bicentennial events must be more than a commemoration
of a long-ago adventure. This is an opportunity for all of us to evaluate
the long chain of cause and effect that links past, present and future.
http://www.lewisandclark200.org/
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National
Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History was my
favorite Smithsonian when the kids and I visited Washington D.C. a few
years ago. Its online counterpart not only lives up to my high expectations,
but exceeds them. History Wired uses a rather unique Java interface
to showcase some of the curator's favorite objects. The museum houses
more than three million artifacts, so choosing a handful of favorites
is no small task. For more fun, click on over to any of thirty-two virtual
exhibits on topics as diverse as the history of tools used to teach
math, Julia Child's kitchen, and the 1950's paint-by-numbers craze.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/
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National Symphony
Orchestra
http://www.nationalsymphony.org/
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North Carolina
Museum of History
Since its founding in 1902, the North Carolina Museum of History has
been an exciting place to explore North Carolina history. Museum staff
and volunteers are dedicated to encouraging visitors to discover the
past; to reflect on their own lives and their place in history; and
to preserve state, regional, and local history for future generations.
http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/
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Northern
Illinois University Public Affairs Office
Archaeologists say Peru was home to the Americas'
earliest known urban settlements and pyramids, dating as far back as
2627 B.C.
http://www.niu.edu/pubaffairs/presskits/wcjo/site.html
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PBS:
Riding the Rails
"At the height of the Great Depression, more than a quarter million
teenagers were living on the road in America, many criss-crossing
the country by illegally hopping freight trains." This site,
a companion to the PBS film of the same name, tells the story of why
they left home and how they struggled to survive. Best clicks are
the three Special Features (don't miss Striking a Chord: Railroads
and their Musical Heritage) and the timeline which neatly summarizes
the depression years of 1929 to 1940.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rails/
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Pirates
of the Caribbean
This page is dedicated to the Golden Age of
Piracy, particularly in the Caribbean. Its main reason for existence
is personal in nature. Believe it or not, this page was probably the
first page on piracy to exist on the WWW. From the beginning, this
page was never intended to be "fancy". I have left the dancing
pirates and other fluff to page developers more interested in presentation
than content. I have tried to make the site aesthetically pleasing
with original artwork as well as public domain images but the central
focus is and will remain written information on piracy drawn from
a variety of sources.
http://pirates.hegewisch.net/
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Posters
from the WPA: Collection Highlights
I really enjoyed this vintage poster collection from the Library of
Congress. I hope you will too. "These examples demonstrate the
breadth and depth of the collection and the styles and content used
by the WPA [Works Progress Administration] to advertise varied programs
and campaigns." Because this collection features thumbnail graphics,
it is much easier to browse than the rest of the online exhibit. The
sample posters are organized into seven categories: Health and Safety,
Cultural Programs, Travel and Tourism, Educational Programs, Community
Activities, Federal Arts Programs, World War II.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wpapos/
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Sojourner
Truth Institute: Sojourner's Biography
The Sojourner Truth Institute of Battle Creek, MI, has a terrific
collection of resources for students of all grade levels. Best clicks
include Legacy of Faith (an illustrated narrative biography for middle
school and older), a four-part timeline of her life, In Her Times
(a timeline of American history during Sojourner Truth's lifetime),
and the puzzles in Test Your Knowledge. For teachers, there is a third-grade
lesson plan (look for the link on the main biography page.)
http://www.sojournertruth.org/History/Biography/
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Sojourner
Truth Memorial: History of Sojourner Truth
In 1843, Sojourner Truth moved to Massachusetts where she lived in
and near Florence for eight years, and where she now has a memorial
statue. Visit for a short biography and the history of her memorial.
"Born a slave in upstate New York in approximately 1797, she
labored for a succession of five masters until the Fourth of July,
1827, when slavery was finally abolished in New York State. Then Isabella
- as she had been named at birth - became legally free."
http://www.sojournertruthmemorial.org/history
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Sojourner
Truth in Ulster County
Sojourner Truth was born in Ulster County, upstate New York at the
end of the eighteenth century. On the campus of the State University
of New York at New Paltz, a three-story library is dedicated to her.
"It may seem ironic that a library is named for a woman who could
not read or write. It is just as ironic that this great communicator
is one of the most famous persons to come from Ulster County. She
often said 'I can't read books, but I can read the people.'"
This one-page illustrated biography was penned by librarian Corrine
Nyquist.
http://www.newpaltz.edu/sojourner_truth/
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The
New Deal Network
Published by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and Teachers
College at Columbia University, the New Deal Network is my pick of
the week because of the depth of its collection. "At the core
of the New Deal Network is a database of primary source materials
– photographs, political cartoons, and texts (speeches, letters,
and other historic documents) – gathered from the Franklin D.
Roosevelt Presidential Library, the National Archives and Records
Administration, the Library of Congress, and other sources. Currently
there are over 20,000 items in this database, many of them previously
accessible only to scholars."
http://newdeal.feri.org/
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Turn-of-the-Century
Child: Examine their Faces
A wonderful photo exhibit to explore and
enjoy.
http://www.nueva.pvt.k12.ca.us/~debbie/library/cur/20c/turn.html
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Tutorials.com:
Learn2 Fold an American Flag
"Flag-folding does take some practice, but the task isn't exactly
rocket science. As long as you've got an awareness of flag etiquette
(a few simple rules) and a friend to help you out, mastering the art
of getting the flag in that neat little triangle will have you looking
like the best girl scout or marine in town." This five-step illustrated
flag folding lesson is just one of hundreds of short tutorials you'll
find at Tutorials.com. The instructions can be followed online, or
printed out for ease of reference. You'll find the link to a printable
version at the end of the last step.
http://www.tutorials.com/09/0903/0903.asp
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USFlag.org:
History of Flag Day
"On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New
York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his
school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the
State Board of Education of New York." USFlag.org is dedicated
to the history of the American flag, and has an excellent article
about the history of Flag Day, along with a gallery of of historic
U.S. flags, answers to questions about flag etiquette, and a discussion
of flag desecration. Do you think the Constitution should be amended
to make it illegal to burn an American Flag?
http://www.usflag.org/history/flagday.html
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Women
in History: Sojourner Truth Biography
This biographical vignette is published by Women in History, a non-profit
project that brings history to life with live performances of historical
monologues and online biographies. "Sometime around 1815, she
[Isabella Baumfree] fell in love with a fellow slave named Robert,
who was owned by a man named Catlin or Catton. Robert's owner forbade
the relationship because he did not want his slave having children
with a slave he did not own (and therefore would not own the new 'property')."
http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/trut-soj.htm
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Women
in Military Service for America Memorial
The Women In Military Service For America Memorial
is a unique, living memorial honoring all military women - past, present
& future.
http://www.womensmemorial.org/index.html
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