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Volume 8, Issue 32
August 10, 2004

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SPECIAL THIS WEEK: SITES TO SEE
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Sites to See: Online Reference Materials
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/sites/sites001.shtml
Web sites that contain online reference materials help organize the wealth of information available on the Internet; creating searchable databases that make finding what you're looking for a simple task. Today, Hazel Jobe helps you locate some of the best resources for online reference materials by providing a fresh look at some previously reviewed Web sites and a quick look at some promising sites that have yet to be reviewed.

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THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS
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The Great American Landmark Adventure
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2004/r0804-02.shtml
Tour national historic landmarks online.

The Museum Collections at Chaco Culture National Historical Park
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2004/r0804-04.shtml
Sophisticated, attractive site about Western Native American culture.

Children's Literature
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2004/r0804-06.shtml
Great site for finding appropriate literature for young people.

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REVIEWS
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The Great American Landmark Adventure
OVERALL GRADE: B+
http://www2.cr.nps.gov/pad/adventure/landmark.htm
Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

CONTENT: B+
The Great American Landmarks Adventure gives students the opportunity to learn more about forty-three national historic landmarks through the drawings of Roxie Munro.

SITE DESIGN: B+
The site can easily be navigated by clicking the "Time Machine" button at the bottom of the page and traveling through the drawings in order or by using the Adventure site map to select the landmark of interest. All pages have a link back to the homepage.

REVIEW:
Step into the "Time Machine" and take a 3000-year journey through our country's past through the drawings of Roxie Munro. The trip begins with a view of a 1500 year old pictograph and goes through the 1969 moon landing. Visited landmarks include many houses of the past, the U.S. Capitol, the Boston Gardens, the Brooklyn Bridge, Lowell Observatory, the Highland Park Ford Plant, the Rose Bowl, the Empire State Building, the Gateway Arch, and many more. Brief descriptions are included with each drawing. The drawings are black and white line drawings that can be downloaded and printed as coloring sheets. By scrolling to the bottom of the site map, teachers will find a host of useful activities for classroom and home use that are grouped into seven themes including art and communication, architecture and engineering, social and political action, and science and technology. The suggested activities are primarily for grades 4-8, but could be adapted for other grade levels. Included are a link for learning more about historic landmarks in general, a booklist for students, and more resources for educators.

History: General History
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/history.shtml#General

History: American History
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/history.shtml#UnitedStates

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The Museum Collections at Chaco Culture National Historical Park
OVERALL GRADE: A+
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/
Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

CONTENT: A+
The Museum Collections at Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a wonderful site for presenting a glimpse of the culture of the Native Americans that inhabited the Chaco plateau of the Colorado Plateau for more than 10,000 years. This virtual exhibit of artifacts includes pottery, ceramics, jewelry, petroglyphs, and tools.

SITE DESIGN: A+
This site uses scrollable frames to present the content. The major sections of the site are accessible through the top navigation bar that is consistent on all pages. Each page has a printable version and by scrolling to the bottom of the main page and clicking on the full text button, visitors can read the text of the entire site without clicking through the pages.

REVIEW:
Visitors will want to begin the exploration of this site by reading the overview that gives background information about the Chaco Anasizi who were the first to build multi-storied dwellings in the American Southwest. The articles in this collection, made by the Chaco people, span the history of the Chaco Canyon and help to tell part of the story of this fascinating culture. The exhibition delves into daily life, subsistence, technology, trade and communication of these Native Americans. Each essay is accompanied with images of the artifacts. After exploring the different sections scroll down to the bottom of the main page and view the slide shows of the Kivas of the Peublo Bonito, Chaco Canyon Masonry, Petroglyphs and views of the Canyon itself. Additionally, there is an informative article about the ceramics and a timeline that provides a chronology of the Chaco area, a link to information about the Chaco Canyon itself, and a link to the full text of the site.

Social Sciences: Culture
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#Culture

Social Sciences: General
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#General

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Children's Literature
OVERALL GRADE: A
http://www.childrenslit.com/
Grade Level: Pre-K-2, 3-5, 6-8

CONTENT: A
This site provides a Children's Literature Comprehensive Database that is subscription based but there are enough free resources here to warrant a visit. Free resources include themed book reviews, teacher guides, and information on authors and illustrators.

SITE DESIGN: A
This site is mostly text but easily read and user friendly. Resources are organized into categories that are accessible from the top menu bar. There is also a sidebar on the main page with monthly new additions to the site. A link back to the homepage is provided at the bottom of each page.

REVIEW:
Teachers, librarians, and parents will find a wealth of information at the Children's Literature site. Teachers can easily compile a booklist to accompany a unit of study using the extensive archive of reviews categorized by more than sixty themes from baseball to dinosaurs to Ellis Island and space exploration. Each month new reviews as well as interviews with authors and illustrators are featured. The themes usually begin with a short introduction to the theme and then each book review includes a short summary, age recommendations, awards won, and purchasing information. The reviews are signed and biographical information about the reviewers is available. Teaching materials for many of the books are available with links to more teaching resources. Additionally, thousands of links to author illustrator sites, publishers, kids, parent and teacher resources, other children's literature collections and upcoming events relating to children's literature are provided.

Literature: American Literature
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/lit.shtml#American

Language Arts: Reading
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/lang_arts.shtml#Reading

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