Monday, 5 March 2012

Educational Activity Sites for High School Students

Finding quality Internet resources for high school students is a continuing challenge. The following are high-quality web sites to suggest to educators and students. These sites offer activities to learn how an art conservator looks at paintings, create a newspaper, research and develop an end product, build geometry and physics skills, explore science through mysteries, and learn about DNA.
www.seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/interactives/mexicanModernism/ enter.asp
Welcome to the Conservator’s Studio! This is an interactive exhibit from the Seattle Art Museum, providing students with in- depth looks at four paintings from the Mexican Modernism exhibit. Different from most online exhibits, this one examines the paintings from the point of view of an art conservator. For even more enticing options, learners will want to check out Learn Online at www .seattlea rtmuseum.org/Teach/leaniOnline.asp.
crayon.net
Want to help students keep abreast of current events, learn about point of view, and have a useful tool for Internet research? Then check out the Crayon Create Your Own Newspaper site, where users build their own online Internet-based news resource. The page can be customized to view only a few resources or a wealth of international, local, health, technology, and other news options. One of the site’s many technology features is that the Crayon newspaper saves just the links to the sites for the custom paper, making access much faster. Social studies teachers will find this a valuable tool to be used during the entire school year.
www.inmotionaame.org/
In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience is a masterful reference tool developed by researchers at the New York Public Library. This engaging, easy-to-use site is organized around a series of 13 migrations. Each migration is detailed via a narrative, includes over 100 illustrations with bibliographic and ordering information, features maps, and provides more than 20 additional research resources. In Motion is an excellent Internet reference tool.
www.k12science.org/curriculum/ treasure/index.httnl
Historical Treasure Chests offers a wellcrafted social studies and language arts activity. Students learn to examine primary sources letters, diaries, maps, artifacts, and other items. Designed by Bank Street College of Education, this site helps learners to develop information literacy skills. Students work through examining a picture, a letter, a map, and a rare book, and group interaction is encouraged. Teacher materials and additional resources for finding primary source material and online experts are also available on this site.
www.crlsresearchguide.org
CRLS Research Guide is a great resource for students working on projects and research papers. Designed by a teacher-librarian, this site guides learners through the steps of doing research and developing an end product. Tip sheets for each stage as well as explanations of the Big-Six steps involved in the process are provided. This site is well designed and is an excellent tool for both teaching and independent learning.
oncainpus.richmond.edu/academics/ education/projects/webquests/ bridge/ index.html
Looking to combine geometry and physics in one activity? Try the WebQuest, “The Bridge Design Challenge-Don’t Burn, Build!” Students design a new bridge for the city of Koikata, India, in this activity, requiring the team to develop a set of blueprints and a persuasive presentation. There are three members to the team-the design engineer, the site engineer, and the materials contractor. This site is creative and well crafted and includes a good assessment rubric.
matti.usu.edu/nl vm/nav/grade_g_4.html
Visit the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives for Interactive Mathematics to find more than 85 visual manipulatives. The options are grouped by area-number and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, data analysis, and probability. Each of the Flash-driven options is tied to the NCTM standards. Learners can use a function machine, see the relationships between fractions and percentages, practice with a savings calculator, see how vote- counting strategies can change the outcome, and engage in a vast number of other activities. The options are engaging, and this site works well to get students excited about math class.
www.accessexeellence.org/AE/TTispot/
The Mystery Spot provides eight wonderfully written and illustrated mysteries in comic-book style where students practice their scientific knowledge and problem-solving skills. Discovering patterns of disease spread, dealing with the threatened extinction of frogs in a town park, and traveling on a space flight to Mars are just a few of the learning opportunities. Each option has a teacher information section with suggestions on how to use the mysteries and a link to the solution. These activities are certain to engage even reluctant science students.
www.dnai.org/index.htm
DMA Interactive is a true teaching gem available on the Internet. Learners explore a wealth of items and activities as they learn about DMA, including a timeline of historic DMA research and the scientists whose work has contributed to the understanding of DMA. Well-designed modules on the DNA code, manipulation of DNA, the Genome project, applications of UNA knowledge, and a chronicle of past uses of genetic research round out the site. A teacher’s guide with student worksheets can be downloaded in PDF format. Teachers can also develop their own customized version of the site as a teaching tool.
Joanne Troutner: Director of media/technology, Tippecanoe School Corp, and owner, Creative Computer Enterprises, Lafayette, IN. troutner@mindspring.com, wwwjtroutner.com

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