Helpful Links for
Social Studies 7
Environmental Studies
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/contents.html
FEMP Energy Cost
Calculators ****
http://www.eren.doe.gov/femp/procurement/calc-index.html
The Energy Cost
Calculators Web site allows visitors to calculate
lifetime energy cost savings for products at various
efficiency levels and hours of operation. Easy to use
once you have all the information; by allowing students
to gather the information from the local community (their
parents, school staff, local utility companies) they can
learn about recouping the costs of energy efficient
upgrades.
Environmental Information
Portal
http://earthtrends.wri.org/ The World Resources Institute put
together this database of datatables, country profiles,
maps and other features that allow the general public to
access a wealth of information. Use the pull-down menus
under each topic, such as Coastal and Marine Ecosystems,
or Climate and Weather, to find links to information.
Ancient World
- Calliope, Muse of
Eloquence ****
http://fayette.k12.in.us/~cbeard/calliope To better understand certain words
in the English language, knowledge of Greek, Roman and
Norse mythology can help. Calliope integrates worksheets
and interactive quizzes to help students explore the
roots of words found in mythology, and expand their
personal vocabulary.
Ancient Egypt Webquest
http://users.massed.net/~mdurant/AncientEgyptWebquest.htm While engaging in this WebQuest to
locate the burial mask of the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh
Tutankhamen (King Tut.), students learn about Ancient
Egyptian daily life, games, mummies, and hieroglyphs. The
mask has a message inside that students decode. This site
includes links to Egyptian fun facts and activities,
graphics, archeological facts, and more.
Ancient World Cultures
http://eawc.evansville.edu/index.htm Exploring Ancient World Cultures
is "an introductory, on-line, college-level
'textbook' of ancient world cultures, constructed around
a series of cultural pages consisting of: The Ancient
Near East, Ancient India, Ancient Egypt, Ancient China,
Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Early Islam, and Medieval
Europe." The site features an anthology, chronology,
essays, maps, and an interactive quiz for each of the
cultures. If you're wanting to further explore ancient
cultures, use Argos,
a limited area search engine that taps into a database of
peer-reviewed Web sites. This is a CD-ROM quality Web
site!
Egypt
http://www.horus.ics.org.eg With its rich history, facinating
culture and famous pyramids, Egypt is appealing to even
the youngest internet explorers. Now there is an Egyptian
web site for children that is both educational and fun.
Tour guide Little Horus takes visitors on a whirlwind
tour of this ancient land, where they learn about
Egyptian history and geography. This site features over
300 pages of information and illustrations and is
billingual (English and Arabic).
General Study
Antarctica
http://literacynet.org/polar/pop/html/project.html What does it take to be a
scientist on Antarctica? How do you sterilize lab
equipment? Students explore this website to find out
about Antarctica and the work being done there to study
Persistent Organic Pollutants. Student activities really
try to put students in the real world of this project.
- Death Penalty
Information *****
http://teacher.deathpenaltyinfo.msu.edu/
http://deathpenaltyinfo.msu.edu The current implementation of the
death penalty in the United States is making headlines.
Michigan State University has assembled materials to help
students explore, debate, and discuss this controversial
important topic involving federal and state laws and
personal values. The first URL includes the history of
the death penalty, stages in a capital case, interactive
US maps and state data and policies, arguments for and
against the death penalty, and four actual courtroom
cases, along with lesson plans for teachers. The second
URL is the link to just the student material.
Geography for Kids
http://www.geography4kids.com/index.html As a follow up to Chem4kids (Blue
Web'n winner in 1997), Kapili.com has created
geography4kids and biology4kids
(http://www.biology4kids.com/. These sites bring science
basics to the level of elementary or middle school
students. One great feature of Geography4Kids.com is the
VR (Virtual Reality) shots of geography landforms. Check
out the Examples, where students can click on a link in
an index to get an image of the object described.
HomeworkSpot.com ****
http://www.homeworkspot.com/ HomeworkSpot is a good place for
students to start homework that requires online
resources. Resources are grouped by grade level
(elementary, middle school, and high school) and by theme
(the Human Body or Space or Dinosaurs). The reference
section contains current events, libraries, museums, and
a reference desk. The extra curricular areas for middle
and high school students offer links for band, chess, and
debate.
Monroe County Library Homework Help
Site.
Great source of information for country
report study http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/kidsed.html
- Portals to the World
****
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/portals.html
The Library of Congress
provides these links to countries for country reports,
travel, and genealogy. Larger countries have bigger, more
diverse hotlists (more links to information).
Country Reports
CIA World Factbook
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook
The CIA World Factbook includes information on every
country in the world.
Egypt
http://www.horus.ics.org.eg
With its rich history, facinating culture and famous
pyramids, Egypt is appealing to even the youngest
internet explorers. Now there is an Egyptian web site for
children that is both educational and fun. Tour guide
Little Horus takes visitors on a whirlwind tour of this
ancient land, where they learn about Egyptian history and
geography. This site features over 300 pages of
information and illustrations and is billingual (English
and Arabic).
Nation Comparison tool
http://www.your-nation.com/ Ever wonder which countries have
the highest unemployment or lowest birth rates? Drawing
from the CIA Factbook and other sources, this tool allows
you to compare characteristics for two countries, find
the top and bottom five countries for any characteristic,
or summarize data for a particular country. There are
more than 80 characteristics to choose from, from
literacy to transportation to technology.
Natives speak about
development
http://www.mountainvoices.org/ How does development affect
individuals in different countries? Oral testimonies have
been gathered from communities in the Himalaya, the
Andes, the Sierra Norte, Mount Elgon, the highlands of
Ethiopia and Lesotho, China, the Sudety mountains and the
Karakorum mountains. Students can learn of the past and
present of many native peoples in the world, as well as
the realities of the global economy in these regions.
Rulers ***
http://www.rulers.org/ This site contains lists of heads
of state and heads of government (and de facto leaders
not occupying either of those formal positions) of all
countries and territories, going back to about 1700 in
most cases. You can find lists by month of the comings
and goings in national governments from 1996 to the
present. This is a great resource when studying
government structures in different nations.
Africa Resources
Africa studies
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/ This website was created to
support the series of PBS shows on Africa. There is
something for all levels of students. For younger
children, go to Africa for Kids. Learn about the daily
life of students in four African nations, play a virtual
thumb piano, or figure outÊhow the hero of a Swahili
folktale can accomplish his mission. Teacher tools has
four wonderful units on Africa. Photography teachers can
use the Photoscope area to get students talking about the
impact of photographs. For those who think they already
know it all, take the Africa Challenge.
African voices
http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/ From the Smithsonian Institution,
National Museum of Natural History, this site explores
Africa's past and the history of the land and people.
Topics presented in themes are about various forms of the
wealth, working and living in Africa; more themes will be
added in the coming months. History looks at Mali, the
slave trade, colonialism and more. The Learning Center
contains an excellent hotlist of African resources. Some
sections of the site use browser plug-ins to enhance your
experience. We recommend using these free plug-ins with
your browser: Macromedia Flash 4 or Apple Quicktime 4
Asia Links
http://www.rferl.org/BD/RU/
http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia
Ask Asia
This site allows you to explore current events and
issues, hunt down educational resources, and play
Shockwave games related to Asia. Designed by the Asia
Society, who describe themselves as "America's
premier Asian cultural and educational institution."
Text, graphics, animation
Main page:
http://www.askasia.org/
News/Current Events:
http://www.askasia.org/information_news/in_frame.htm
Gateway to Asia
http://www.askasia.org/gateway_to_asia/gta_frame.htm
Japan:
China:
China simulation site
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/China/ChinaQuest.html
- This simulation
activity helps learners grasp the complexities of
China. Learners join a team and take on a role
(foreign investor, human rights worker, museum
curator, California state senator, or religious
leader ). Learners work together to create a
special report that makes sense of the complex
country that is China. Includes a teachers guide
Discovering China
http://library.advanced.org/26469/ A ThinkQuest project developed by
three high school students from USA, Japan and South
Africa. Discovering China is composed of six sections:
History (from Opium war to reunification of Hong Kong);
The Cultural Revolution (its history, background, impact
and aftermath); Movers and Shakers (biographies of famous
Chinese including from Empress Dowager Cixi to Yo-Yo Ma);
Cityscape (history, culture, economy and tourism of main
cities and province of China); Contributions (various
Chinese contributions to art, food, and medicine); and
the Interactive section (quizzes and polls.)
Korea:
South Asia
India:
Nepal:
Pictures
Return to Mrs. Polley's
Home Page
Return to Batchelor Home
Page
|