Posts Tagged ‘electives’

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Art & Music Activity Books

March 19th, 2011

Hi!  It’s Saturday, November 23rd, 2010 and time for Electives at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
MightyBook.com: Art & Music

Age Range: 5-10 (approximately, with parental supervision)

This commercial website offers a variety of illustrated, animated, and narrated children’s books available (without advertising) for a paid memembership. They also offer free books in the ad-supported section of the webiste. In fact, in the “Art and Music” section you’ll discover some free activity books that introduce kids to works of art masters set to the music of classical composers.

When you get to the site you will see links to these engaging art and music books:

*Bach and Van Gogh – This delightful book plays beautiful Bach symphony music while slowly showing you images of artwork by Van Gogh.

*Remington & Dvorak – This mash up combines powerful images of the American West by Frederick Remington accompanied by the strong and adventurous sounds of Antonin Dvorak.

*Carnival of Harlequin – Drag and drop puzzles pieces to assemble the whimsical art of Joan Miro while listening to the airy sounds of Tchaikovsky. Links in this book let you learn more about the artist and composer through pictures and narration.

*Mona and Beethoven – This silly little booklet features a talking Mona Lisa, barely tolerating Beethoven’s jokes as he makes attempts at comedy.

When you’re through exploring the Art and Music section, check out some of the other free activity books also available on this site. 

 

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Virtual Tour of Birth Home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 15th, 2011

 

Hi!  It’s Saturday, January 15, 2011 and time for a Electives at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
National Parks Service: MLK Birth Home Tour

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on this day in 1929. King was an African-American minister who led massive, peaceful demonstrations leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act ending racial discrimination in the U.S. in 1964. He was named Time magazine’s “Man of the Year” and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

At this website provided by the U.S. National Parks Service, you can take a free virtual tour of the home where Martin Luther King was born.

When you get to the website you’ll see a map of the home.  Click on any room and a photograph will appear in the screen, along with text that describes what you are seeing and provides some historical background. Use your mouse to look around the room, or use the controls to zoom in and out.

Monday is a national holiday in honor of Dr. King’s birthday. There will be no ClickSchooling messages on Monday.  Messages will resume on Tuesday, January 18th.

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Track Santa’s Sleigh!

December 18th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Saturday, December 18, 2010 and time for Electives at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
NORAD: Tracks Santa

Age Range:  All

Track Santa’s Sleigh on Christmas Eve! Those wacky scientists at North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) use four high-tech systems to track Santa – radar, satellites, Santa Cams and jet fighter aircraft. Not only that, they provide lots of pre-Christmas Eve activities just for kids including:

*Visit Santa’s Kids’ Countdown Village – Visit this website each day in December to receive updates from the North Pole and discover surprises (activities like wordsearches and crossword puzzles).

*Watch Holiday Cheer Videos – Watch videos created by students to celebrate Santa. And on December 24th visit NORAD’s site to see the video feed from Santa Cams positioned around the world.

*Track Santa with Your Mobile Phone – On December 24th use “Google Maps for Mobile” to track Santa’s location worldwide.

*Track Santa Through Google Earth – On Christmas Eve head to the NORAD site to track Santa’s flight in Google Earth.

*About Santa – Watch a video of Santa reciting, The Night Before Christmas. Read FAQs about Santa and NORAD. Find out how many cookies Santa eats on Christmas Eve.

*About NORAD – Find out why NORAD tracks Santa and how they do it!

Wishing you a very merry Christmas, a joyful holiday season, and a happy New year!

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Performing Arts with Bob Hope

November 6th, 2010

Hi! It’s Saturday, November 6, 2010 and time for Electives at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Library of Congress: Bob Hope and American Variety

Age Range: 11 and up (approximately)

The Library of Congress offer this free online presentation of the life of entertainer Bob Hope and the history of American Variety entertainment including Vaudeville, Radio, Movies, Television, and more.

Using photographs, illustrations, and text this exhibit provides a biography of Hope’s career that provides fascinating historical information about the performing arts as well.

When you get to the website use the menu located under the title, “EXHIBITION SECTIONS” that includes:

*Early Life – Find out where Bob Hope was born, his real name, and how he got his start in show business.

*Vaudeville – Discover Hope’s journey through vaudeville and get some terrific insight about what made this artform so popular.

*Motion Pictures – Learn about the country’s transition to film making and the role of Hope’s series of “Road” pictures from 1940-1962 with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.

*Joke File – Explore Hope’s theft-proof joke vault with more than 85,00 pages of  bits, sketches, and jokes created by his team of comedy writers.

*On The Road: USO Shows – Read about Hope’s 50-years of performing variety shows for U.S. troops.

This interesting exhibition about Hope’s life provides keen insight into American history, culture, life, and values.  It may springboard interest in watching some of Hope’s films that the whole family may find entertaining. You can rent DVDs of Hope’s “Road” pictures such as Road to Singapore and Road to Rio.  Your public library may have them as well.

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Dance Appreciation for Kids!

September 25th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Saturday, September 25, 2010 and time for Electives at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
ThinkQuest: And They Kept On Dancing

Grade Range: 9-18 (younger kids and non-readers will enjoy aspects with adult guidance)

ThinkQuest is a website that archives educational projects by students for students. At this website you’ll find a terrific compilation of information, games, and activities that help kids learn to appreciate a variety of dance styles.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a hodgepodge of selections on a colorful menu that includes:

*Ballet – Learn basic ballet moves, the history of ballet, and discover some famous ballets.

*Jazz – Review basic jazz moves and concepts along with a brief history of jazz.

*Modern – Get a brief overview of the history of Modern Dance.

*Folk – Click on a map and learn about folk dances worldwide!

*Tap – Read a brief history of tap dancing.

Then, use the menu located at the top of each dance page to read the biographies of famous people from every dance genre. You can also play a game of “Dance Hangman,” test your knowledge of dance, and learn about dance in the movies.

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Free Sign Language Lessons

September 18th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Saturday, September 18, 2010 and time for Electives at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Lifeprint.com: ASLU

Age Range: All (This is an ad-supported site, so parental supervision is required. Non-readers will need assistance.)

ClickScholar Cie recommended this website that offers free American Sign Language lessons delivered through text explanations, illustrations, photographs and animations. Cie wrote, “I am told it can have you ‘speaking’ sign language by the end of 30 lessons.”

The lessons were developed by William Vicars aka “Dr. Bill,” who has taught ASL for over 20 years. His series of lessons start with the most common concepts used in everyday communication and move from most frequently used to less frequently used. He suggests going through the lessons sequentially starting with Lesson 1 to reach competence quickly.

When you get to the site, don’t be discouraged by its plain look. The lessons contain illustrations and animations, etc., that liven things up.  :)

You’ll see the letters “ASLU” and directly below it is a menu of lessons from 1 to 30.  Click on the lesson numbers to get started right away.

You’ll also want to take some time to explore the rest of the menu that includes:

  • Free Lessons (the same lessons that are on the top horizontal menu)
  • FAQs
  • First 100 Signs
  • Fingerspelling Explanation
  • Fingerspelling Quizzes
  • ~ and much more!

You’ll also notice that the site offers the free series of lessons for sale too. That may seem confusing until you read this explanation on the site:

“Many students requested the opportunity to use these courses to fulfill language requirements at their local high school or college. This required documentation of course participation and verification of the student’s signing ability. Since verification and documentation is a time consuming process requiring the attention and participation of a skilled ASL instructor, a formal fee-based program was provided in addition to the free resources. Students who do not need documentation or instructor-based evaluation should not register nor pay tuition. Such individuals are welcome to self-study from the publicly available online lessons for free.”

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