New additions to Teaching Literature and Writing with Technology:
SCORE:
Animal Farm--Teacher Guide
This supplemental unit provides activities and web resources
developed as part of the Schools of California Online Resources for
Educators (SCORE) Project. The site focuses on the ongoing battle
against the exploitation of the weak by the strong and activities
deal with Orwell's perpetual battle against totalitarianism. Some
broken links, but several interesting teaching ideas and resources.General
Resources and Guides
Frankenstein
(Study Guide)
From Glencoe Literature Library. Features an impressive 30-page Frankenstein
study guide in PDF format. Full of activities, analysis questions,
vocabulary review, literature groups, and even art connections.
PBS
Masterpeice Theater: Anna Karenina
Explore Toltstoy's life, Russian society in the second half of the
19th century, literary comparisons, the value of art, and the ideal
of family.
Tolstoy's
Struggle
The story behind Anna Karenina as a prime example of Tolstoy's search
for patterns of meaning in life and struggling with how to express
them.
The
Roots of the Story
Excerpts from Tolstoy, by Henri Troya
Henri Troyat is a French novelist and biographer of Russian origin,
and author of numerous historical novels and biographies of famous
Russians, including Tolstoy.
Tolstoy
Timeline
Helps students grasp Tolstoy's life in the context of his work and
major world events.
Of
Mice and Men Internet Resources
A 9th grade English teacher has put together an impressive array of
resources: chapter guides, interactive quizzes, plot & character
worksheets, vocabulary flashcards, vocabulary quizzes, internet resources,
and more. Most are in Word or PDF Format. There are several project
ideas that may interest you as well Internet resources: Novel, Great
Depression, New Deal, Migrant Workers, Mental Retardation, and other
topics. A great resource!
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Tech Tip: Search Specific Domains or Sites
Search specific domains, like .edu or .org, or specific
sites with Google's
Advanced Search. Use the domain option
to skirt unwanted commercial sites and hone in on educational
materials.
To do so type ".edu" (or ".org") in the
domain text box or toggle "Don’t" and type
".com" in the text box. If you use the domain feature
and specifiy .edu and .org domains you'll probably find educational
materials that much quicker.
Note: To search a large site, add its URL to the domain
field. For example, add "loc.gov" to the domain
text box to search the Library of Congress. Why? Well, Google's
search engine is better than the LOC's own search engine
and better than any search engine I have come across.
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American
Rhetoric
This is a massive multimedia site that contains an Online Speech Bank,
Rhetorical Figures in Sound, and American Top 100 Speeches. The Online
Speech Bank contains 291 active links to 5000+ full text, audio and
video (streaming) versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings,
lectures, debates, interviews, other recorded media events, and a
declaration or two. Figures in Sound has 200+ short audio clips from
well-known speeches, movies, sermons, popular songs, and sensational
media events by famous (and infamous) politicians, actors, preachers,
athletes, singers, and other noteworthy personalities. You’ll also
find significant American political speeches of the 20th century and
even Hollywood speeches. Links are arranged alphabetically by first
name and checked for errors.
Tip:
You’ll find an impressive blend of actual and simulated historic
speeches, debates, lectures, etc. (I get a kick out of hearing Law
and Order’s Sam Waterston doing Abraham Lincoln.) There are some
great video clips as well. If you have the Quicktime and Real media
players on your machine you should be able to watch most of the
clips with few difficulties.
The
Scarlet Letter
Follow this link to NPR 's now-cancelled talk show, "The Connection"
and hear an amazing discussion of The Scarlet Letter. Highly recommend
for your own edification or for your students. Scroll down and see
a link TO HEAR THE SHOW.
PBS
Teacher Source: Arts & Literature
PBS's assorted and diverse web exhibits supplement specific individual
television series and generally include a resume of each episode,
interviews (often with sound bites), a glossary, photos, and links
to relevant sites. Go to the PBS Teacher Source for lessons and activities
-- arranged by topic and grade level -- and sign up for their free
newsletter.
Tip:
You could also visit PBS.org's Arts
& Drama section but if you are looking for specific educational
materials, I recommend you go directly to the Teacher Source. In
the Teacher Source, you can search for PBS lesson plans and activities
by grade level and subject. PBS lesson plans are typically of very
high quality. Note that some of the lessons and activities require
that you view that appropriate PBS video. That being said, I have
successfully used many PBS lesson plans without the use of related
PBS video.
Kathy
Schrock’s Guide for Educators: Critical Evaluation Surveys
Kathy Schrock is the Administrator for Technology for the Nauset Public
Schools in Massachusetts, but is better known as the creator of Kathy
Schrock's Guide for Educators. She is a highly acclaimed educational
technology guru and her articles, web sites, and books have helped
countless teachers, students, and educators. She has put online a
series of web site evaluation guides for students of different grade
levels that I and many others have made great use of.
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Some
Thoughts on WebQuest Uses
Too many teachers abandon a WebQuest they like because a link
or two is broken or the activity takes longer than they’d like.
Don't be in such as haste to move on. Forget the technology
for a moment. Is it a good lesson idea or activity? Is it interesting?
Does it address important content and skill development needs?
Are you excited about trying it out?
If you answered yes then make the WebQuest
work for you.
You don’t have to use the activity exactly as it is drawn
up. You can use parts of it. Maybe you like some of its
resources, but not others. Perhaps part of the task you would
like to complete, but not all of it. Perhaps you would like
to eliminate one of the steps. That’s fine. You can modify the
task to suit your needs and you can also edit, eliminate, or
add resources as need be. Indeed, you can copy the whole content
of the material off the web site (just as you copy text in a
word processor) and paste it into Microsoft Word for editing.
Next, you don't have to create a web page to make this
a technology-based assignment. You can simply print out
the WebQuest you modified in Word and hand it to the kids. They
can type the URLs (web addresses) into the web browser and visit
the sites. Word turn URLs into links so if you send the kids
the WebQuest in Word as an email attachment they can just click
on the links and the sites will open up in a web browser! Many
email programs also turn URLs into live links so you could alsopaste
the assignment into an email. (I generally paste and attach
– in case the file won’t open.) So, make it
work for you!
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TrackStar
TrackStar is a starting point for online lessons and activities for
multiple disciplines. Simply collect Web sites, enter them into TrackStar,
add annotations for your students, and you have an interactive, online
lesson called a “Track.” Create your own Track or use one of the hundreds
of thousands already made by other educators. Search the database
by subject, grade, or theme and standard for a quick and easy activity.
Tip: Many teachers and ed-tech specialists swear
by Trackstar. In any event, the instructions are clear and well
illustrated and by all accounts the system is stable, well designed,
and easy-to-use. You can search or create Tracks by subject, grade
level, standards, etc and the template appears much more flexible
than some other tools
