Hi! It’s Thursday, June 28, 2012 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!
Recommended Website:
National Geographic Education
Age Range: 6-18 (about grades 1-12, with parental supervision)
ClickScholar Cie recommended this incredible and brand new website from National Geographic that is a treasure trove of multi-media resources and hands-on activities that will stimulate the intellectually curious while improving Geo-Literacy this summer (and, I suspect, all year long). What’s Geo-Literacy? As explained at the site, “Geo-literacy is the ability to make decisions based on an understanding of how the world works and how people and places are connected.” This goal is accomplished through engaging hands-on projects such as:
- Building a magnetometer to track solar storms that affect Earth’s magnetic field
- Creating a local weather map
- Adopting a vacant lot
- Exploring geographic regions at your grocery store
- Making a fossil you can eat
You’ll find a smorgasbord of articles, video clips, and opportunities to participate in citizen science projects too.
When you get to the site you’ll see some of the featured resources. It can be a little overwhelming. I suggest you use the horizontal menu at the top of the page that includes:
*Teachers – Find multimedia educational projects aligned with national standards and designed for classroom use.
*Informal Educators – That term, “Informal Educators” is defined as “Educators of Grades K-12 in out-of-school settings.” Can you say “Homeschoolers”? LOL. What you’ll find in this section are educational activities and resources that can be used outside of the classroom setting.
*Families – You’ll find lots of innovative and informal ways for families to learn together through opportunities that exist in the real world – enhanced with the marvelous resources provided by NatGeo.
*Students – This section is designed to appeal to students (about middle school and up) with suggestions for projects and activities that enhance learning. It wouldn’t surprise me to see this develop into a resource for things like “science fair projects.”
*Kids – This has a “just for fun” vibe to appeal to kids in elementary grades. There are a variety of interactive games, along with cool photos and videos, and suggestions for fun explorations that teach as they entertain.
There is a considerable overlap from one section to the other. All of them offer articles, videos, projects, and activities to enhance learning. Bookmark this site – it will take several visits to see it all.
Because this site is in Beta testing, you’ll be invited to provide feedback for improvement.
