Subject: New Learning Resources at FREE (May 2, 2003)
ELEVEN NEW LEARNING RESOURCES in arts, health & safety,
science, & social studies have been added to the FREE website.
FREE makes it easy for teachers, parents, & students to find
learning resources from more than 40 federal organizations.
http://www.ed.gov/free
The 11 new resources are described below.
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Arts
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"The Influences of Art on Yellowstone"
features more than 50 paintings, photos, & drawings, many of
which contributed to the creation of the nation's first
national park. The spectacular waterfalls, geysers, rock
formations, & vistas in these works helped spread an
appreciation of the wonders of Yellowstone. When President
Grant signed into law the bill establishing Yellowstone as our
first national park in 1872, he set in motion the tradition of
preserving other tracts of great beauty for future
generations. (NPS)
http://www.windowsintowonderland.org/art/index.htm
"NGA Classroom"
offers a "resource finder" for searching the National Gallery
of Art's resources & lessons by topic, curriculum area, or
artist. Calder, Cassatt, Degas, Kandinsky, Manet, Matisse,
Miro, Moore, Picasso, van Gogh, & Vermeer are among the more
than 50 artists included. Four new online lessons help teach
students about heroism, Greco-Roman myths, ecology, & 19th
century America. Each lesson examines paintings & provides
student activities, worksheets, & related resources.
Interactive features include a myth-master game of gods &
"make your own medal." (NGA)
http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/
===============
Health & safety
===============
"Tips for Parents on Keeping Children Drug Free"
tells what your children should know about drugs by the time
they reach the third grade, ways to help your child stay drug
free in the middle & junior high school years, & how to ensure
that your child's school is keeping students drug free. (ED)
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/pfie/drugfree/index.html
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Science
=======
"The Astrobiology Curriculum"
presents an outline & curriculum overview for a course on
astrobiology. It offers several sample learning activities,
including: Is the moon habitable? What types of stars are in
our universe? (NSF)
http://astrobio.terc.edu/overview/overview.html
"Earth to Orbit & Beyond"
presents students with engineering design challenges that are
organized around challenges NASA engineers face in developing
the next generation of aerospace vehicles. Each challenge
engages students in a classroom activity that leads them
through the design, testing, & evaluation process used by
engineers in developing new technology. Among the challenges:
1) designing a strong but lightweight thrust structure that
can withstand the launch of a bottle rocket by means of a
wooden lever & 2) designing a propeller that generates the
maximum possible thrust using a small motor. (NASA)
http://eto.nasa.gov/
"Fire Management, Everglades National Park"
describes how fire is used to maintain the biological
diversity & natural processes of the pineland, prairie, &
other ecosystems of the Everglades that are shaped by the
interaction of fire & water. (NPS)
http://www.nps.gov/ever/fire/index.htm
"Bears of Yellowstone"
presents 40 photos of grizzlies & black bears fishing,
traveling with their cubs, & in various other activities &
habitats. (NPS)
http://www.windowsintowonderland.org/bears/index.htm
==============
Social studies
==============
"A Walk Through Time"
looks at the evolution of timekeeping -- how humans have
measured the passage of time throughout history. The site
describes & shows depictions of ancient calendars, sun & water
clocks, mechanical & quartz clocks, & world time scales & time
zones. (NIST)
http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/time.html
"Manassas Battlefield History"
recounts two battles fought in the Virginia countryside north
of Manassas during the Civil War. The first battle, on a warm
July day in 1861, marked the first clash of the Northern &
Southern armies. As the battle approached, the young soldiers
on both sides were confident the other side would run at the
first shot. They were thankful not to miss the only battle of
what would surely be a short war. At day's end, after 10
hours of fighting, nearly 900 young men lay lifeless on the
fields, shattering the notion that the war's outcome would be
decided quickly. The second battle at Manassas took place a
year later, in August 1862. The three-day battle left 3,300
dead & brought the Confederacy to the height of its power.
This website offers glimpses of soldiers who fought here &
virtual tours of the battlefield. (NPS)
http://www.nps.gov/mana/battlefield_history/bhistory.htm
"Partners of the Heart"
is the website for a film about two men who, in 1944,
pioneered a procedure that would save the lives of thousands
of "blue babies." One of the men, Alfred Blalock, was a
prominent white surgeon. The other, Vivien Thomas, was an
African American with a high school education. Blalock
recognized Thomas' talents when the younger man inquired about
a janitor's job at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. Thomas
went on to train two generations of the country's premier
heart surgeons. (NEH)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/partners/
"Traveling the National Road"
tells the story of the first road built with federal funds.
Construction of the 632-mile road from Cumberland, Maryland,
to Vandalia, Illinois, began in 1811. The aim was to improve
trade between the east & the emerging western frontier & to
avoid losing western trade to England in Canada or Spain in
the Louisiana Territory. The website tells how the road was
built, how people traveled on it, accommodations they found
along the way, & more. Today travelers on U.S. Route 40 can
see some of the sights seen by people traveling the National
Road in the 1800s. (NPS)
http://www.nps.gov/fone/classroom/nrintro.htm
Acronyms
~~~~~~~~
ED -- Department of Education
FREE -- Federal Resources for Educational Excellence
NEH -- National Endowment for the Humanities
NASA -- National Aeronautics & Space Administration
NGA -- National Gallery of Art
NIST -- National Science Foundation
NPS -- National Park Service
NSF -- National Science Foundation
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Contributors: Terry Childs, Phyllis Hecht, Jennifer Serventi
& others
Editors: Peter Kickbush & Kirk Winters
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