Posts Tagged ‘books’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Children’s Classics Audio Books

April 6th, 2022

It’s Wednesday, April 6, 2022, and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Librivox

(librivox.org/search?primary_key=0&search_category=genre&search_page=1&search_form=get_results)

All grades, with parental supervision

Now that the weather outside is getting nicer here in the Northern Hemisphere, send the kids outside with some audio books! They can perch in a tree, skip rope, start a garden, have a little picnic, or even play hopscotch while listening to these wonderful classics.

Or keep a supply of titles handy for those days when you’re unable to read to them. With hundreds of completed works listed under the “Children’s Fiction” or “Children’s Non-Fiction”categories, there is more than an entire year’s worth of bedtime stories and read-alouds here, including the works of such well-known authors as:

  • Aesop (Fables)
  • Alcott, Louisa May (Eight Cousins, Little Women, etc.)
  • Baum, L. Frank (Oz books)
  • Burnett, Frances Hodgson (Little Lord Fauntleroy, Little Princess, Secret Garden, etc.)
  • Carroll, Lewis (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, etc.)
  • Collodi, Carlo (Adventures of Pinocchio, available in English and Italian!)
  • And many, many more.

Click any title to see a brief synopsis before downloading/listening. But that’s not all! Parents may like to browse the other categories as well:

  • Adventure
  • Animals
  • Biography
  • History
  • Spy Stories
  • Teen/Young Adult
  • and many others

This site can be searched for a specific book by title and author as well.

Note: There is an overlap between these books and the ones you would find in Project Gutenberg or Archive.org. This is because Librivox allows both of these sites to house their entire collection of completed works. However, Librivox maintains the best-catalogued and most easily searchable list of these titles. Also, only Librivox itself includes a brief synopsis for each completed title, lists the works currently in progress, allows you to request email notification upon completion of desired books in progress, allows you to request specific titles, and allows you to participate in the recording and editing process and their lively forum as well.

Additional Note: This review focuses on the “Children’s” books. The rest of this site is not specifically geared for children, so parental preview and guidance is, as always, advised. Books are continually being added to this collection, so bookmark it and return often.

NOTE: As always, parents should help select material appropriate for each child.

No comments »

Posted in language arts

Tags:

Discover Children’s Author Audrey Wood

March 23rd, 2022

The Audrey Wood Clubhouse

(audreywood.com/)

All grades; children with parental supervision

This is a terrific site for parents and children who are fans of the children’s authors and illustrators, Audrey Wood and Don Wood (their books include The Napping House, Elbert’s Bad Word, Weird Parents, and so many more), and their son Bruce Wood who is also a book author and illustrator.

When you get to the site, use the menu to explore:

  • Audrey Wood — Read her biography, see her picture, find out some of her writing secrets.
  • Don Wood — Read his biography, see photos, and gain some insight about his illustrations.
  • Bruce Wood – Read his bio, see photos, and more.
  • All Wood Books – See a menu of all of the books authored and illustrated by the Wood family.
  • Activities — Find fun activities based on the books and lots of printable coloring pages.
  • Secrets — Get the inside scoop on what inspired the stories and artwork.
  • Parent & Teachers — Get reading suggestions from the author on her best books for boys, girls, and for dealing with particular problems; read hints for writing, illustrating and publishing children’s books; read the FAQ’s, and check out the links to other sites.

This site is really interesting and fun to explore — especially because of the family aspect of the lives and work of Audrey, Don, and Bruce Wood.

No comments »

Posted in language arts

Tags:

Literature Studies for Middle & High School

January 19th, 2022

Glencoe Literature Library

(www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/)

Grades 6-12 approximately, with parental supervision

This website is a great place to get free and comprehensive literature study guides for a variety of notable books.

When you get to the site you’ll see an alphabetical menu of book titles. Simply click on the book of interest to you and a new page opens containing a brief synopsis of the book, related readings, and a link to the downloadable Study Guides (about 25-35 pages) in PDF format. Some of the book titles are:

  • Animal Farm
  • Beowulf
  • The Call of the Wild
  • Great Expectations
  • Jane Eyre
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • The Scarlet Letter
  • To Kill A Mockingbird
  • Where the Red Fern Grows
  • and many more!

Click on the “Study Guide” and the PDF file opens (it may take a minute to fully download). The Study Guide is comprehensive for each book and includes classroom activities that can be easily tweaked for individual use including:

  • A Focus Activity
  • Vocabulary Preview
  • Notes for Character Summarizations
  • Questions that Prompt Literature Analysis
  • Writing Assignments
  • Interdisciplinary Connections to Science, History, and Social Studies

All of this is neatly formatted so that you can print out the activity pages separately or as an entire unit. The beauty here is that you can pick and choose the items that help your students get the most out of their reading experiences.

No comments »

Posted in language arts

Tags:

Creative & Interactive Periodic Table of Elements

November 30th, 2021

University of Nottingham:  BEST Periodic Table of Elements on the Net

The Periodic Table of Elements has become much easier to understand through the interactive capability of technology. Here is a recap of some of the BEST periodic tables I’ve reviewed for ClickSchooling over the past 15 years.  

Grade 4 & up approximately, with parental supervision

The Periodic Table of Videos

(www.periodicvideos.com/)

In my opinion, this is the most fun periodic table on the Net. When you click on an element on the periodic table, it plays a video showing scientists in the lab having fun demonstrating the properties of the elements. Developed by the University of Nottingham, each video is short (2-4 minutes) and provides basic information about the featured element, it’s history, and how it is used. The scientists’ antics with beakers, Bunsen burners, and bloopers are narrated by mild-mannered professor Martyn Poliakoff who has wonderful, wild, Einstein-ish hair!

WebElements

(www.webelements.com/index.html)

This is a click-and-learn table. Each element opens to its own page, maintained by the site that includes a description and photographs. This table has all kinds of hyperlinks within the descriptions to further explain the aspects of the element, along with an interesting sidebar that mentions the element’s uses and where it can be found.

The Photographic Periodic Table

(periodictable.com/)

Includes a photograph of every element on the periodic table, along with a description of the element. Some of them are beautiful – this is a visual treat!

Games: Chemical Elements & Their Symbols

(www.quia.com/custom/3main.html)

Provides free learning tools and games to help budding chemists memorize facts from the Period Table of Elements through:

  • Flash Cards
  • Match Game
  • Word Search
  • Concentration

The Periodic Table of Comic Books

(www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/index.html)

A couple of chemists took it upon themselves to collect comic strips that mention elements from the Periodic Table and compile them on this website.

No comments »

Posted in science

Tags:

Windows to Earth & Space Science

November 9th, 2021

Science: Windows To The Universe

(www.windows2universe.org/)

Grades 3 & up, approximately, with parental supervision

The National Earth Science Teachers Association sponsors this website that offers comprehensive, multi-media information to encourage learning Earth and Space science as well as a range of other related sciences for beginners, intermediate, and advanced students.

When you get to the website you’ll see a sliding panel featuring several of the science presentations in the archives. You can click on anyone to jump right in, or take some time to explore the menu and see what’s available including:

  • Sun – Explore the closest star to Earth including sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections.
  • Earth – Learn about our planet’s atmosphere and magnetic field, both of which are critical for sustaining life on Earth.
  • Solar System – Discover planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, the heliosphere, and interstellar space.
  • Space – Study stars, galaxies, and other mysterious objects in our Universe.
  • Sciences – Learn how Earth and Space sciences are interconnected with geology, physics, chemistry, and biology.
  • Culture – Browse a collection of myths, folk tales, and stories about the Earth and sky. Check out artwork, poetry, books, and movies that portray the natural world.
  • People – Access biographies of scientists who made science history!
  • Games – Enjoy scientifically themed crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, word searches, and concentration. Play interactives about the carbon cycle, planets, space, and more! Enjoy coloring pages and paper activities
  • Space Weather – Learn about radiation, fluctuating magnetic fields, solar wind and the complex ways they interact with Earth’s magnetic field, including disruption of cell phone communication.
  • Multimedia – Get links to all sorts of pictures, animations, videos, podcasts, and interactive multimedia that are on the “Windows to the Universe” website.
  • Postcards – Read collections of virtual postcards from scientists doing field research around the world with sharks, penguins, ice, rocks, the atmosphere, and the ocean.
  • Citizen Science – Find out about science projects where the public can get involved in scientific research and data collection.

You’ll also find news, research information, and tips for teachers.

Note: This ad-supported site is free, however, you can purchase a membership to access the site ad-free, along with some other interactive features.

No comments »

Posted in science

Tags:

Books that Have Shaped American History

November 3rd, 2021

Library of Congress: Books That Shaped America’s History

(www.loc.gov/exhibits/books-that-shaped-america/)

Grades 5 & up, with parental supervision

The Library of Congress has a current exhibition called “Books That Shaped America” that highlights books that have had a historical impact on the lives of Americans through the ages.

The titles featured are by American authors and as the website explains, ” Some of the titles on display have been the source of great controversy, even derision, yet they nevertheless shaped Americans’ views of their world and often the world’s view of the United States.” The Library of Congress encourages visitors to read the books exhibited to explore the breadth and depth of America’s literary tradition.

This online exhibit presents a unique opportunity to identify books of historical importance by era. When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of featured “Themes” or periods of time, with icon images of a few of the book titles. Click on the link that says “View all items…” under each era including:

  • 1750 to 1800 – Find book titles such as, Experiments and Observations on Electricity by Benjamin Franklin, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, and even the first American cookbook.
  • 1800 to 1850 – You’ll find Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a book featuring papers written by Lewis & Clark about their great expedition, and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas. You’ll discover why these books were of great historical importance
  • 1850 to 1900 – The titles here will most likely be much more familiar and include,The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and many more.
  • 1900 to 1950 – Book titles you’ll recognize include The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Jack London’s Call of the Wild, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and more.
  • 1950 to 2000 – Discover Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Double Helix by James D. Watson, The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, etc.

Click on any book image and a new page opens that explains what the book is about and why it is historically significant. Some of the explanations are thought-provoking – and could stimulate lots of discussions.

You might want to copy the titles and use them as a guide the next time you head to the library for a good read.

No comments »

Posted in language arts

Tags:

css.php