Web resources

Today’s posting is a round up of interesting websites that I've come across over the last while, that I think might be of use in the classroom or perhaps to develop our  understanding about a particular topic.

First up, is a reminder about Historica Canada, a government website that features several web pages about all things Canada.  Topics covered include multiculturalism, immigration, history, citizenship, and Aboriginal stories.  Listen to audio recordings of interviews with war veterans or read about what it’s like to arrive in a new country or watch short videos that give us glimpses into important moments in Canadian history. Good resource for primary resources.  Does include some teaching support materials.  Remembrance Day is coming up and there may be some great tie-ins with this resource.

A couple of YouTube channels that I stumbled upon give brief (two or three minutes) video about science and science/history/social history.  Check out MinuteEarth and MinutePhysics.  The clips I watched explained the subject matter for non-experts, were on topic, and entertaining. Not necessarily what you’re going to use in an elementary classroom but maybe in high school or to build your own knowledge.

Next up is an interesting infographic that shows Canada’s population by latitude.  Go to Proofreader to see this poster.  I like this because it displays information in a different way and combines graphing with geographic thinking.  Might be useful in grade 5 social studies when looking at Canada.

How Stuff Works “a wholly owned subsidiary of Discovery Communications, is the award-winning source of credible, unbiased, and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works.” (from website)  I've spent most of my time on the science page which I found to provide relevant information about an amazing array of subjects.

This next recommendation will be of interest mostly to Calgarians.  It’s an infographic from the City of Calgary that outlines the June 2013 flood, response and recovery.

In prepping for a workshop that the Doucette offers students, I came across this website, The Question Mark by Jamie MacKenzie.  It offers many articles on many aspects of teaching.  The issue I found particularly interesting was about the importance and development of good/essential questions.

And one last one…

It might seem  a little self serving to include this last one but I think if you're a teacher who has ever had to explain why reading fiction is important especially fantasy and science fiction then this speech by Neil Gaiman brings home the point brilliantly. The self serving element I refer to is that he extols the importance of libraries and librarians, as well.

I’d love to hear of some of your recommendations.  There is a lot of ‘stuff’ out there and it’s great when we can share some gems.  Thanks.