| Reading & Writing |
11
Rules of Writing
Today's first site condenses English grammar
down to just eleven rules. Drawing heavily from The Elements of Style,
an anonymous college teacher created these rules based on his experience
grading freshman papers. Each rule is hyperlinked to examples of correct
and incorrect usage. For questions not covered by the eleven rules,
peruse the Frequently Asked Questions page. And for extra credit,
click on the New Word of the Day (at the
bottom of the page) to scroll through some high-school level vocabulary.
http://junketstudies.com/rulesofw/
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Acronym
Finder
An acronym is a word or abbreviation formed
from the initial letters or successive parts of a compound term. When
you don't know what they mean, acronyms can be a major source of technology
confusion, but acronyms are not limited to the world of computers.
After receiving your PSAT scores, you might decide to not take an
extra AP course so you can devote more time to studying for the SAT.
Don't despair, Acronym Finder will guide through the acronym jungle.
Definitions can be listed Most Common First, or you can specifically
select Slang and Chat (BRB, I'm LOL) or Information Technology.
http://www.acronymfinder.com/
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America
Reads
The goal of America Reads is to ensure that every child can read well
and independently by the end of the third grade - here's how it works
and how national service can help.
http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/
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Blue
Book of Grammar and Punctuation
"Effective Writing. Rule 1. Use concrete
rather than vague language." As the title implies, Jane Straus's
guide is divided into two sections: grammar and punctuation. Each
is further organized into rules with examples (navigate these with
the drop-down menus), exercises and tests. The quizzes are not interactive
(try printing them instead) and include answer keys on the same page.
A print edition of The Blue Book is also available for purchase.
http://www.grammarbook.com/
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Common
Errors In English
From "AM/PM" to "your/you're,"
this clickable alphabetic list of errors is fun to peruse. Sometimes
the easiest way to learn proper grammar, is to learn what NOT to say.
For example, did you know a "pompom" is a large gun, but
the fuzzy end of ski hat is a "pompon"? And a narrow confining
garment is a "straitjacket" not a "straightjacket."
Just click on any phrase for the complete skinny.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/
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Creative
Writing Prompts
Delivering on the promise of their title, Creative
Writing Prompts serves fresh ideas to get your pen to paper, or fingers
to keyboard. "Write a story about an empty glass." "Begin
a story with the line, 'The clock winked.'" In addition to the
nearly daily online prompts (which are archived back to June), the
site offers a free download of Write Sparks! Lite, a Windows program
that delivers writing prompts right from your desktop.
http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/
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CyberCitzenship:
Computer and Internet Glossary
"Hacker: No, no. Not a person with a really
bad cough! Hackers are computer experts who work at a high level of
expertise with computer systems and software." Peppered with
humor, this printable, illustrated ten-page glossary is perfect for
elementary grades. Print out a few copies, and post them in the computer
lab for easy reference. You will need the latest, free version of
Adobe Acrobat ( http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
) to view or print this file.
http://www.cybercitizenship.org/4kids/glossary.pdf
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Diarist.net
"Whether you call us diarists, journalers,
or bloggers, we've got everything you need to know all about the people
who tell all." Best clicks are the Spark writing prompts (look
for the link in the lower right-hand corner), the Diarist.net Guide
(a how-to for wannabees), and the collection of celebrity blogs. The
list of journaling hosts is good, but since it is several years old,
the newer blogging tools are noticeably absent. And when browsing
the directory of diaries, please keep in mind that not all personal
journals are appropriate for young kids.
http://www.diarist.net/
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Discovery
School: Puzzlemaker
Puzzlemaker, my pick-of-the-day, offers an abundance
of options and produces uncluttered, easy-to-read puzzles. And they
don't stop at just word searches. You can also create criss-cross
puzzles, double puzzles, cryptograms, and word searches with a message
hidden between the target words. Ever come across a computer generated
word puzzle with an inadvertent offensive word? Puzzlemaker has filters
to prevent this from happening to you. Sign up for a free Custom Classroom
membership, and you'll be able to save your puzzles for use at another
time.
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/WordSearchSetupForm.html
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EdHelper:Word
Search
EdHelper also generates a variety of puzzles,
but not all are free, so navigating the choices can be confusing.
To make a custom word search, enter your words, and click "Create
Word Search Now!" The next page displays dozens of formatting
options, but only the first three are free, the balance are for paid
subscribers only. Your selection includes upper case, lower case,
or no backward and diagonal words (for an easier puzzle.) Custom crossword
puzzles are also free. You find the link on the horizontal "Also
Try" menu.
http://www.edhelper.com/wordfind.htm
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Elementary
Writing Prompts
"Would you like to be famous?" "What would you do if
you found a magic wand?" Written specifically for Canadian elementary
teachers, but appropriate for a much wider audience, this long list
of more than two hundred writing prompts is enough to keep anyone
writing for years. The prompts are organized into questions that ask
"Who, what, where, and when?" as well as "I wish,"
"Describe" and "Miscellaneous."
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/prompts.html
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First Book
First Book is a national nonprofit organization
with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the
opportunity to read and own their first new books. The primary goal
of First Book is to work with existing literacy programs to distribute
new books to children who, for economic reasons, have little or no
access to books. Last year First Book distributed 4 million books
to hundreds of thousands of children in more than 290 communities
nationwide.
http://www.firstbook.org/
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Google
Define
Google now supplies definitions through its
search function. Simply search for either "what is your-term-here"
or "define your-term-here" and you will see a Web definition
at the top of the search results. To see only definitions (and no
search results) try "define: your-term-here" . What's interesting
about the results is that they do not come from a single glossary,
but rather are culled from a large variety of sources. For a single,
more definitive result from Dictionary.com, simply search on your
word in Google, and then click the "[definition]" link at
the right-hand margin of the blue bar.
http://www.google.com
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FunBrain's
Word Turtle
With four levels of difficulty, and a choice
between interactive and printable play, Fun Brain's Word Turtle hits
the spot. The interactive option is unique among today's sites. It
allows you to create a puzzle, and play it immediately. It does not,
however, allow you to save the puzzle for play at another or time,
or to create a version you can add to your own website. I'm not as
keen on the printable version, however, because the row and column
numbers add unnecessary clutter to the printed page.
http://www.funbrain.com/detect/
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National Center for Family Literacy
The National Center for Family Literacy is a nonprofit organization
supporting family literacy services for families across the United
States through programming, training, research, advocacy and dissemination
http://www.famlit.org/
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NEA's Read
Across America: Kids' Favorite Books Survey
WELCOME to America's favorite reading event! To mark Dr. Seuss's 98th
birthday, the National Education Association is calling for every
child in every school in the country to read with a caring adult on
March 1, 2002. Please join us.
http://www.nea.org/readacross/index.html
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The
Nuts and Bolts of College Writing: Evidence
College essays stand or fall based largely on
their use of evidence. In this section we'll consider how to do research,
how to avoid common problems with using source material, and how to
follow major citation styles for the humanities, the social sciences,
and the natural sciences.
http://www.nutsandboltsguide.com/evidence.html
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The
Online Books Page
If you're hanging around the house and hankering
for a book with substance, try this site: It provides links to over
10,000 books that you can read over the Internet
http://www.digital.library.upenn.edu/books/
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Reading Is Fundamental
Since its inception in 1966, RIF has
grown into a national grass-roots network of more than 310,000 volunteers
at 18,000 sites. Find out how RIF uses support from the U.S. Department
of Education, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and countless
individuals to place more than 200 million books in the hands and
homes of children who need them most.
http://www.rif.org
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| Sports |
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Ancient
Olympics
"Were the ancient games better than ours?
More fair and square? More about sports and less about money? Are
modern games more sexist? More political? Have we strayed from the
ancient Olympic ideal? Read on and decide for yourself." There
is much talk of how commercial today's Olympic games are. Where the
ancient games purer? The conclusion drawn by this expert from the
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology may
surprise you.
http://www.upenn.edu/museum/Olympics/olympicintro.html
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Arctic Winter Games
The story of the Arctic Winter Games begins in
1967 on the occasion of the Canada Winter Games in Quebec City.
http://www.awg.ca/
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Athens
2004 Olympic Games
The Internet address (or URL) of the kids section
of the official Athens 2004 site is so long, that the easiest way
to get there is simply to click on Youth 2004 from this front page.
Best kid clicks are the interactive quizzes that test your knowledge
of Olympic sports (look in the Playground) and the printable activity
books. The printable books include K-12 classroom activities, and
a Greek fairy tale, Desina and the Dove. To find them, visit the Library
and click on Olympic Educational Material.
http://www.athens2004.com/
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Baseball: The Game
and Beyond
This well-designed ThinkQuest website takes a look at the game from
its more technical aspects: the skills it takes to be a play-by-play
announcer, the science of pitching and hitting, and umpiring a game.
What's more, each section offers three levels of material, from the
introductory to the expert, so everyone can enjoy the site regardless
of their level of baseball knowledge. And there are important concepts
presented here: why does a curve ball curve, how far will a ball travel,
the role of friction. The possibilities for application in the classroom
are awesome!
http://library.thinkquest.org/11902/
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Gorge
Windsurfing Lessons Gorge Wind Guide Service
I sail on the river with you to help you apply your skills to a new
environment and provide advanced instruction on short board and Gorge
sailing techniques.
http://www.windguide.com/lessons.htm
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GORP - Skiing
and Snowsports
http://www.gorp.com/gorp/activity/skiing.htm
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Iditarod
- The Last Great Race
http://www.iditarod.com/index.shtml
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Iditarod
2002
The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is a natural
for classroom use. Held annually across the wilderness of Alaska,
this 1000+ mile race combines courage and competition with the athletic
abilities of both the humans and the dogs. Each year the race is a
real-life adventure with new challenges to be faced.
Welcome aboard and follow the excitment of this event with current
Iditarod and past Iditarod mushers as well as other race experts!
http://rims.k12.ca.us/iditarod/
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Mountain
Biking
This site covers everything from accessories
to winter biking.
http://mountainbike.about.com/shopping/mountainbike/mbody.htm
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NBC
Olympics
If you're looking for one Olympic site that
has it all, this is it. As the official Olympics broadcaster, NBC
Olympics includes news coverage, commentaries, event schedules, television
schedules (there will be over 1200 hours of TV coverage), sport-by-sport
analysis, reader polls and photo galleries. Click on O-Zone to zip
code customize the site to display stories about local Olympic heroes.
Unique features include instructions on text messaging the athletes
(look under Athletes) and an interactive globe featuring the best
athletes from each country (under Countries.)
http://www.nbcolympics.com/
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Personal
Best
Training, training, training is what it takes
to become a winning team. But training doesn't mean running flat-out
all the time. Rather, a smart runner working with an experienced coach
will run hard one day, easy the next, allowing time for recovery and
muscle growth. This makes it difficult for a coach to know whether
each runner is making steady progress.
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212240/index.php
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Ramy
Brooks, Dog Mushing in Alaska
http://www.ramybrooks.com/index.php3
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Team
Indigenous
The goals of the Indigenous Hockey Program are
to help address issues that impact Indigenous youth such as suicide,
high drop out rates in school, substance and solvent abuse and extreme
poverty. And, to create new and exciting holistic opportunities for
Indigenous youth to excel physically, emotionally, spiritually and culturally
through education and professional sports training.
http://www.teamindigenous.com/default.htm
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Skiing
in Canada!
This site contains information relating to some of the best alpine
skiing on the planet - Skiing in Canada! Our goal is to be provide
links and information on the skiing scene throughout Canada.
http://grover.educ.ualberta.ca/skican.html
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WINTER
SPORTS & YOUR FEET
Under the pastoral beauty of a blanket of fresh-fallen snow, the outdoors
beckons. For a while, winter doesn't feel quite so cold, and people
of all ages feel a sense of youthful excitement about bundling up
and getting outside.
http://www.apma.org/sports/winter.html
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Windsport:
Winter sports, ice sailing, kite surfing, skate sailing, ice boating,
ice surfing
Ice boating and skate sailing are very
old winter sports. The winter sport ice surfing was invented much
later, when windsurfing became popular. Nowadays ice sailing stands
for kite surfing or kite sailing, skate sailing, snow sailing, dn
ice boat sailing and wingsailing.
http://www.windsports.net/
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Winter Olympics
- Sports & Science
The enormous appeal of the Winter Olympic Games
creates several teachable moments for showing how science illuminates
human activity. Now, for the first time ever, NTEN enables teachers
to capitalize on these unique educational opportunities with NTEN minicourses.
http://btc.montana.edu/olympics/
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Yukon
Quest...The Challenging Trail
The Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race
is a long distance sled dog race that runs between Fairbanks, Alaska
and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. It starts in one country
and ends in another! This year it starts in Fairbanks and ends in
Whitehorse. Up to fifty teams may participate. This year the Yukon
Quest begins on Saturday, February 10 in Fairbanks, AK. It is a special
event that happens each February. It touches our community. We want
to share it with the world.
http://www.northstar.k12.ak.us/schools/upk/quest/quest.html
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