Math Teachers: Looking for 3D Geometrical Prisms? Here are 10 Sites Where You Will Find Them

One of our math teachers came to me the other day and asked me if I could find him images of 3D geometrical prisms, especially those he could print out and have his students put together. As I surfed the web for him, I started to put together a list:

3D Geometrical Shapes- Help with Math.com has lots of pre-drawn 3D shapes for your classroom

3D Shapes-print and put together a heptagonal pyramid, play the 3D Shape Game and more; for younger kids

Geometric Shapes to Print 

Google Sketch-Up Math Project- 3D shape printable templates

K6 Geometric Shapes-explains volumes and surface areas; color images

Interactive Geometry: Prisms

Interactives: Geometry 3D Shapes- in color!

Name the 3D Shapes- worksheet for younger kids

Paper Models of Polyhedra- have your students download and put together a 3D model; many to choose from

Prisms with Examples- color diagrams

Web 2.0 Tools: 20 Easy & Creative Ways to Bookmark Online

If you are like me, you have hundreds of  bookmarks, some organized, some not so organized. Since every day brings more and more information, we are definitely in need of a way to not only make bookmarking easy, but to be able to access them wherever we are. I love the idea of a central location for everything. I can access the information at home, at work or even on my smartphone. I'm sure you will find one or two from the list below. Do you use any particular tool for bookmarking that you like?

Aboogy- Personal bookmarks combined with your choice of search engines presented in clean and simple layout

Bookmark Commando- access bookmarks from anywhere in the world; reports if links are no longer valid

Del.icio.us- social bookmarking

Diigo- allows you to bookmark and more

Evernote- does much more than just bookmarking; one of my personal favorites for organizing my life

Google Bookmarks

Historious- one-click save

iKeepBookmarks- allows you to create folders of your bookmarks; set up a page for your school with your bookmarks; see sample here

LiveBinder It- every time you find a link you want to save, instead of clicking on 'favorites' you can click on 'LiveBinder it' and save directly to an existing or new binder.

MyBookmarks- access bookmarks from anywhere

My Home Page- looks like Only2Clicks, with thumbnails of your bookmarks displayed

Only2Clicks- thumbnails serve to identify sites; organize by tabs

Pinterest- online pinboard combines personal bookmarks and more

Quick Bookmarks

SiteJot- simple online bookmark manager

StumbleUpon- bookmark your favorite sites or have StumbleUpon find new sites for you based on your preferences

Symbaloo- like Only2Clicks, this is a visual bookmarking tool

Yahoo Bookmarks- access from anyplace in the world

Xmarks- works with IE, Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers; syncs your bookmarks

Zootool- visual bookmarking

The Student Essay: 22 Sites to Find a Topic

10 Offbeat College Essay Topics- from CNN

50 Argument Essay Topics 

101 Persuasive Essay Topics 

400 Writing Topics- from About.com

The Argumentative Essay

Bad Essay Topics for College Admissions-topics to avoid

Choosing a College Essay Topic: What You Write About Says Something About You- from College Board

Essay Map- online tool assists students in writing their essay; (students must already have a topic) from Read WriteThink

Essay Topics- current listing of 67 ideas

Essay Topics- from Enchanted Learning (for younger students)

Essay Topics for Kids- for younger kids up to grade 8

Expository Essay Topic Ideas for High School Students- from Yahoo Voices

Five Paragraph Essay Topics for Middle School- explains four different types of essay topics with a few sample ideas

General Expository Essay Topics- 61 choices including Describe the Likely Consequences of Selling Drugs, Explain Why Some Kids Skip School.

Good Argumentative Topics for College Students 

History Essay Topics for 8th Graders 

How to Write an Essay: 10 Easy Steps

Middle School Writing Prompts- list of 10

Persuasive Essay Topics- covers all grade levels K-college; different types of persuasive essays

School Essay Topics for Sixth Graders- from eHow

Student Essay Topics and Types- covers expository, narrative, reflective, literary, definition to name a few.

Writing-Middle/High- long listing covers resources for writing and reading

A Day For Good News: Edublog Awards and a Top Library Blog!

Last night, this blog was named a top five finalist in the librarian/library blog category for the 2011 Edublog Awards. I considered the nomination an honor, (no, I'm not lying, it truly was an honor to be nominated) since the other nominees are an incredible group of teacher-librarians. I'm very fortunate to love my job and  assisting my students and faculty every day. Here is a list of all the winners; this year, the top five in each category will be given a free year’s subscription to Edublogs Pro. SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT to Joyce Valenza (you are awesome) for earning the Lifetime Achievement Award. I'm one of the many people who must have nominated (and voted) for her.

Hey, that was enough great news for one day, right? Well, this evening I received an email telling me that A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet was just named to the Top 50 School Library Blogs list. Once again, I'm in great company with fellow teacher-librarians Gwyneth Anne Bronwynn Jones, Shannon McClintock Miller, Buffy Hamilton and Jennifer LaGarde. Congratulations, ladies!


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Do You Teach Poetry? Here are 34 Web Sites You'll Love

Academy of American Poets

Acrostic Poems- from ReadWriteThink; interactive

Best Books for Teaching About Poetry- from Education World; for young students

Complete Classics- "10,171 poems from 1,082 classic poets"

Cowboy Poetry

Famous Poets and Poems

Free Verse Poetry

Giggle Poetry- humorous children's verse on the Web

Glossary of Poetic Terms

Haiku- from PBS Parents; interactive

Handbook of Rhetorical Devices

Instant Poetry Forms- students choose from a list of titles and add their own words to create a poem

Library of Congress Poetry Lessons

List of English Language Poets

Magnetic Poetry for Kids- interactive site

National Poetry Almanac

Outta Ray's Head

Poems for High School Students

Poem Hunter- 310,931 poems from 24,752 poets

Poetry- from Questia, the world's largest online library resource list

Poetry 180- a poem a day for high school students from the Library of Congress

The Poetry Archive- browse poets and poems

Poetry Class- poetry lessons

Poetry Everywhere- PBS series

Poetry for Kids- you will find games, lessons, contests here, all based on the works of children's poet Kenn Nesbitt.

Poetry Idea Machine- from Scholastic

Poetry Portal

Poetry Resources for Teachers- long list from TeacherVision; grade levels marked for every item (K-12)

Poetry Teachers- ideas for poetry contests, theater, and activities for the classroom.

Shadow Poetry- definitions for over 100 types of poetry, examples included; also poetry guide

Sonnet Central

Sonnets.org- archive of English sonnets, commentary, links and a forum for poets to share and discuss their works.

Types of Poetry

World of Poetry

This blog began on this site in June 2011 and already has 499 subscribers. I hope that you have found the resources helpful for you in your classroom and continue to spread the word to others about A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet. Thank you for your support!

37 Resources for Teachers of Forensic Science

Before the TV series C.S.I., our students didn't show a lot of interest in the field of forensic science. Now I am seeing many of our career books and true crime books circulating each school year. High schools have even added forensic science as a course, with students solving crime scenes set up by their teachers. As a forensic science teacher, you'll find loads of great information on the web sites below.




LESSON PLANS
Case of the Barefoot Burglar- middle school science
C.S.I.: Classroom Science Inquiry

CSI: The Experience-virtual crime scene activity; see if you can solve the crime

Discovery Education Lesson Plans- 5 listed; for grades 6-8

Fingerprinting: A Lesson on Classification- for elementary or middle school
Five Lessons for Teaching About Mysteries- mainly K-6; one for 6-advanced

Forensics Activities- written by Nancy Clark, retired high school science teacher

Forensic Science- this site was designed by students 16-18 years old and won an honorable mention in Oracle's Thinkquest Competition

Forensic Science Lesson Plans- a Thinkquest award-winning site (honorable mention) written by teens

Murder Mystery- from Newton's Apple; student activity

The Science Spot- lesson plans and many resource links listed here; excellent list

SITES
All About Forensic Science

America's Most Wanted- web site of the television series

Autopsy Files- celebrities and other not-so-famous people
Crime Scene Creatures-

Crimes and Clues: The Art and Science of Criminal Investigation

Crime Library- true crime stories

Crime Spider- covers loads of information, including arson, crime scene photos and a criminal justice library.
C.S.I.- TV episodes

CSI Web Adventures- funded by the National Science Foundation, this site takes you through beginner to advanced level ca; also games and "fun stuff".

Famous Trials-from Charles Manson to O.J. Simpson

F.B.I.- government site for the Federal Bureau of Investigation

F.B.I. Kids' Page- choose your grade level and learn more about what goes on at the F.B.I.

F.B.I. Records- find out about their records and how to obtain information which has been released or not yet released.

Forensic Entomology

Forensic Evidence Articles- categories include Evidence Law News, Identification Evidence, Behavioral Evidence and Biological Evidence.

Forensic Magazine

Forensic Teacher Magazine
Forensics: A Career in the Crime Lab- article about forensics as a career

Interpol- world’s largest international police organization

NOVA: Investigations Archive- videos on the Unabomber, Typhoid Mary and more.

PBS Teachers- shows which involve forensic science

The Science Spot- lesson plans and many resource links listed here; excellent list

TruTV Crime Stories

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

Virtual Exhibit on Forensic Science- site has a database, timeline and interactive game.

Visible Proofs-forensic views of the body; media, exhibition images, biographies

Enjoying the thousands of resources on this blog? Why not vote for us for an Edublog Award HERE.

46 Sites For Teaching About the Holocaust

Adolph Hitler Speech:



The Anne Frank Museum

Art Spiegelman's MAUS: A Different Type of Holocaust Literature

Auschwitz After 65 Years- photos from Time magazine

Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp

The Biography of Adolph Hitler

Biography of Miep Gies

The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies Resource Links

Classroom Holocaust Museum- set up a classroom as a Holocaust museum

History Channel- about Adolph Hitler

The History Channel - article about the Holocaust

The History Place: Hitler Youth

Hitler and the Nazis- from Glencoe; interactive with videos and photos

Holocaust Evidence- from Awesome Stories

The Holocaust Memorial Center- located in Farmington Hills, MI

Holocaust Resources- teaching resources from the NY Times Learning Network

Holocaust Remembrance Day 

Holocaust Survivor Stories-"Read the stories of the survivors. Hear them speak. Look at their family photographs. Consult our encyclopedia. Read a historical introduction to the Holocaust. Leave your thoughts or ask your questions on our discussion page."

Holocaust: The Untold Story- from Newseum

How Stuff Works- videos about the Holocaust

Interactive Map of Auschwitz - from the BBC

Kristallnacht in Words and Photographs- from Time Magazine; "Seventy years later, survivors share their recollections of the day the Holocaust began, in material drawn from Centropa.org, a website devoted to preserving the memory of Jewish life in Central Europe before the rise of the Nazis."

Lessons of Auschwitz Interactive Feature- from CBS News

Literature Related to the Holocaust - includes the Diary of Anne Frank, The Book Thief and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Maus- this is comic book version of the Holocaust; read an excerpt here at Amazon; not well received by the Jewish people

Memory of the Camps- Frontline presentation

Life After the Holocaust-production from the National Holocaust Museum

Life in the Shadows- production from the National Holocaust Museum

Museum of History and Holocaust Education- housed at the KSU Center on Kennesaw State University's extended campus

The Museum of Tolerance 

Night Study Guide- book written by Elie Weisel

The Nizkor Project- Camp Belzec

The Nizkor Project- gas chambers

The Nizkor Project- medical experimentation

Remember.org- a cybrary of the Holocaust

Remembering Catastrophe: The Nazi Camps Today 

The Rise of Adolph Hitler

The Secret Annex Online- take an interactive tour of the place where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis

Simon Weisenthal Center 

The Story of Miep Gies- biography of the woman who hid Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis; Scholastic

A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust- site includes photos, maps, videos, quizzes, music, museums and much more.

Telling Their Stories- oral histories of the Holocaust

United States Holocaust Museum Propaganda Artifact Gallery- huge collection of photos and movies
 

Videos on the Holocaust- from How Stuff Works

We Remember Anne Frank- from Scholastic

WWII Concentration Camps- interactive maps and photos

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Another Edublog Nomination!

I'm so proud to have been nominated again for a 2011 Edublog Award. It's great that so many colleagues are using all the information on the site and appreciate all the extra hours I have spent.  (I DO love my work...)

So.......I hope you'll cast your vote for "A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet" by going to the link below and choosing the Best librarian/library blog category:

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Edublog Award Nominations Due Today

Just a quick reminder to submit your nominations by 11:59 p.m. EST tonight. Good luck to everyone.