Posts Tagged ‘Social Studies’

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Geographia – Countries, Culture, and History

June 12th, 2008

Recommended Website:
Geographia

Age Range: 10-17 (approximately, with parental guidance)

This website offers virtual guides to the geography, culture and history of countries in the following areas of the world:

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Caribbean
  • Europe
  • Latin America

When you get to the site you’ll see the featured country, and below that a menu of the most recent countries and destinations that have been added to the site. Click on any title and a new page opens where you can virtually explore a multi-media travel guide of that location.

Or, click on the menu on the left side of your screen to open a window to any of the locations described above.

Enjoy colorful photographs, interesting text, and the ability to sample some of the sounds and music of the location as well (so turn on your speakers).

This site is designed as a travel guide – but the educational content here makes it much more. You’ll learn about the geography, people, culture, nature and history of the country and find out about the national parks, attractions, places off the beaten path, activates, important dates and festivals, and much more.

There is lots of content here, and I wasn’t able to explore it all. Parents, as always, should preview the site to determine suitability of content for their own children.

This site provides a great way to see the world without leaving home. It’s also a fantastic way to jump-start a social sciences curriculum. In addition, it may just inspire a destination for your next family vacation.

DID YOU MISPLACE A ClickSchooling Review? Do you need to find an educational website – fast! Visit the ClickSchooling archives.

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Free Social Science Videos From PBS NOVA

June 5th, 2008

Recommended Website:
Free Social Science Videos From PBS NOVA

ClickScholar MaryAnna Cashmore recommended this website where you can watch 39 different PBS NOVA videos for free online.

When you get to the site you’ll see a brief introduction and the most recently added programs are featured on the page. Look on the right side of the screen to see a menu of topics covered by these films including:

  • Anthropology – Watch films about Israel’s Cave of Letters, Ape Genius, and the Lost Treasures of Tibet.
  • Disasters – Learn about doomsday Asteroids and Mass Extinction, and the devastating floods of Hurricane Katrina.
  • Earth – Explore Sand Dunes, Glaciers, Hurricanes, Lightning, etc.
  • Exploration – Crack the Maya Code and find out if MARS is Dead or Alive.
  • Flight – Discover the remains of Four-Winged Dinosaurs and find out what’s Missing in MiG Alley.
  • Health – Get information about the Flu, Aging, Animal Hospitals, Cancer, the Human Genome, Eating Disorders, Epigenetics, Life’s Greatest Miracle, Marathon Running, RNAi, Sleep, Stem Cells, and more.
  • History – Enjoy the story behind Absolute Zero, Papyrus from ancient Egypt, the Parthenon, and Sputnik.
  • Investigations – Meet an archeologist who is helping to rewrite the history of the Old West.
  • Nature – Learn about Fish Surgery, Frozen Frogs, Ants, and T.Rex.
  • Physics and Math – Watch films about robot swarms, a particle accelerator, coded sculpture, string theory and more.
  • Space – Find out about Hollywood aliens, the Monster of the Milky Way, and the 10th Planet.
  • Technology – View films about Artificial Life, Cars of the Future, Fuel Cells, Robots, Lab Meat, Solar Energy and more.

Click on any film of interest and a new page opens. The films are divided into chapters or segments for ease of viewing. Some of the video pages link to further resources, teacher’s guides, transcripts of the films, and more.

This is a terrific resource to enhance learning – bookmark it to return often.

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Geologic Virtual Tours of National Parks

May 30th, 2008

Recommended Website:
Geologic Virtual Tours of National Parks

At this website you can take virtual tours of the U.S. National Parks – from Arches to Zion!

The virtual tours highlight the geology and natural history of the parks, and are offered for viewing through 3-D anaglyphic images or through regular photographs.

If you don’t have 3-D glasses handy, you can enjoy the tours by just looking at the photos and reading the accompanying text.

If you want to see the 3-D images you’ll need 3-D glasses. As suggested at the website, you can do a search for 3-D glasses online and find all kinds of sources (and prices) for them. For example, I found some at this website – but I want to be certain you understand that this is for your information only. I have not purchased anything from this company, and know nothing about them. Caveat emptor.

I also located a NASA lesson plan on how to make your own 3-D glasses.

When you get to the site you’ll see a menu of National Parks. To the right of each park name, you’ll see that you can click on any of these choices:

  • “3D” – To take a virtual tour of the parks by viewing 3-D images. The 3-D effect only works with 3-D glasses. Each photo is accompanied by text that explains what you are seeing.
  • “Standard Images” – To take a virtual tour of the parks by looking at a series of beautiful photographs. Each photo is accompanied by text that explains what you are seeing.
  • “.gov sites” – This provides a link to the website for that particular national park where you can get lots more information about it. There is educational content on some of the sites for students, and good info about park highlights and visiting hours, etc.
  • “Selected Online USGS Field Guides” – More resources to further your learning about the park, and specifically about the geologic formations in it.

This is a terrific resource for budding geologists – and, considering the price of gas these days, this website offers a great way to visit our national parks without leaving home!

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Posted in Science, Social Sciences, Virtual Field Trip

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Free Archaeology Videos!

May 29th, 2008

Recommended Website:
Free Archaeology Videos

NOTE: I was only able to review a sampling of the videos at this site. Therefore, AS ALWAYS, parents should preview the material to determine suitability of content for their own children.

ClickScholar, Sherry Boswell, recommended this website that provides free videos through which you can virtually experience the discovery of artifacts and monuments of civilizations from long ago.

As explained at the website, “You’ll wonder at the achievements and insights of our ancestors as they became aware of themselves, learned how to organize for the common good of growing populations, invented ways to adapt to ever-changing environments, developed language and artistic expression, migrated to every corner of our planet, and turned their eyes upward to the stars.” Plus, you’ll learn important lessons from the past that have value for us today.

When you get to the site you’ll see a brief introduction and the featured video. Look for the narrow, black menu bar at the top of the screen and click on “Video.” A new page opens with a menu of the free videos archived at this site that include:

  • The Acropolis (Greece)
  • The Akha Way (Thailand)
  • The Anglo-American Project in Pompeii (Italy)
  • Anthropology Field Notes: Shipwrecks (Worldwide)
  • The Curse of Talakad (India)
  • Egypt: Gift of the Nile (Egypt)
  • Gila Cliff Dwellings (New Mexico)
  • Hopi Fires (Arizona)
  • Machu Picchu Revealed (Peru)
  • Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas (Mesoamerica, South America)
  • Ping Yao (China)
  • A Viking Landscape (Iceland)
  • and many, many more!

Click on any one and a new screen opens where you can download and watch the video. When the video begins to play, you will see additional links to resources for further study.

Back on the landing page, don’t miss the “Teacher Resources” on the menu. There, you will find links to downloadable/printable activities and lesson plans that complement the videos – and more!

This is really a remarkable resource website. Bookmark it to return whenever you need supplements for your social science curriculum, or just want to use the videos as a springboard to learning more about another culture, place, or civilization.

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Posted in Science, Social Sciences

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Engaging Social Sciences Games and Much More

May 1st, 2008

Recommended Website:
NDi Media

Age Range: 9-17 (Younger students and non-readers may enjoy aspects of these games, but may need some help from mom or dad.)

MaryAnna Cashmore suggested this website that provides a free sampling of curriculum-based entertainment in the form of educational games that were designed for Discovery Education. While there are many games to sample at the site, this featured link will take you to the section that provides some free games themed around history and geography that include:

  • Early American History – In this game you place 10 postage stamps that commemorate important dates and famous people in American history onto a timeline. Click on a stamp and launch an engaging video lesson about that person or event.
  • Geography: A Regional Vision – In this activity you assemble video clips about different geographical areas of the U.S. into short 1-minute movies. As you select the video clips you can read and learn about these geographic areas such as the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, and the Mississippi River.
  • Geology: When the Earth Moves – Drag and drop video clips about continental drift and tectonic plates, volcanoes, earthquakes and more to demonstrate how the Earth moves and why.

Turn on your speakers to hear music and narration.

Be prepared to experiment when you try these games – in some cases it’s not readily apparent how to proceed – but if you click around a bit, trial and error will eventually get you to the goal. :)

When you’re through with the games about social sciences – check out the games designed for Language Arts. Then, scroll up the page and discover all kinds of games – some designed for learning, and others just for fun.

PLEASE NOTE: I did not review all of the games, so as always, parents should preview them to determine suitability of content.

DID YOU MISPLACE A ClickSchooling Review? Do you need to find an educational website – fast! Visit the ClickSchooling archives.

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Virtual Field Trip to Six Villages in Viet Nam!

April 25th, 2008

Recommended Website:
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage – Mekong Lifeways

Age Range: 11-16 (The whole family can enjoy looking at the photos; further down in this review is a link to another page on this site which includes a few coloring pages also.)

This set of online photo albums provides a virtual tour of traditional lifestyles of people in the Mekong Delta region of Viet Nam.

The sister site describes a trip taken along the entire length of the Mekong River (not just Viet Nam). This is also where you’ll find the coloring pages.

One tricky characteristic of today’s featured site is that the navigation controls change location from page to page. Here is a quick summary so that you will be able to get through the site without difficulty:

On the first page, the introduction runs down the right-hand column, and you need to select a city from the six photos in the central column. Then, on each city’s main page, you need to scroll down to read the introduction at the bottom of the large center/right column, then select a photo archive from the left-hand column. Once inside each photo archive, you need to read the information at the bottom center of the page, then navigate using the thumbnails across the *top* of the screen. Don’t worry, it’s easier then it sounds. :)

Each photo comes with a short caption; together this montage gives you a little taste for the variety that exists here, and a bit of an idea of what makes each of these six cities special.

Challenge for older students: Try to practice your speed reading on the highly detailed descriptions that appear when you position your mouse over each photograph. (If you missed the description, don’t worry. Select a different photo and then return back right away to the one you were trying to read. :)

I was a little disappointed that this website did not include a map, but here’s another website with an interactive satellite map of the entire Mekong Delta through Viet Nam up to the Cambodian border. Mouse over each dot on the map to see photos of these locations. See if you can find the one that appears on this map and also was mentioned in today’s virtual field trip. (You may have to go back and forth between the two websites a few times and read them carefully :)

Enjoy!

DID YOU MISPLACE A ClickSchooling Review? Do you need to find an educational website – fast! Visit the ClickSchooling archives at: http://www.homefires.com/clickschool/archive.asp.

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Posted in Social Sciences, Virtual Field Trip

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