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Kentuckiana for School Teachers:
Educational Web Sites for Kentucky Teachers
Compiled
by Darla Bressler, WKU Libraries
Educational Resources Center Coordinator
This
bibliography of web sites was compiled to assist Kentucky teachers
integrate electronic information and resources about the state of
Kentucky into the curriculum. Priority was given to sites featuring
lesson plans and activities that could be easily
incorporated into existing units of study, as well as those which
would be most beneficial to Kentucky teachers and students.
GENERAL
KENTUCKIANA RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
Kentucky
Department of Education: http://www.kde.state.ky.us/
A mere portion
of the essential information found on this site includes a Kentucky
School Directory, Links to Kentucky School Web Sites, Kentucky Teacher
Certification, Job Opportunities, Academic Expectations, Transformations:
Kentucky's Curriculum Framework, Core Content for Assessment, Portfolios,
CATS, Bookstore, links to the KYVL and KVHS, and Academic Villages,
which feature subject and age appropriate units of study and lesson
plans with accompanying academic expectations. A wealth of information
for Kentucky teachers!
Kentucky
Virtual Library: http://www.kyvl.org/
To support KYVU
faculty and students, as well as all Kentuckians, the KYVL features
catalogs, databases, government information, Kentuckiana Digital
Library a Virtual Reference Desk, and a tutorial to help patrons
use the KYVL more effectively. The KYVL link for Teachers provides
access to select web sites categorized by subject area. Another
useful site for teachers, students, and parents is the Web4Study,
located within the K-12 component of the KYVL as an icon on the
EBSCOhost database page. A password is required to access the catalogs
and databases on this site.
Kentucky
Academy of Technology Education: http://www.murraystate.edu/kate/index.htm
Compiled and
maintained by Murray State University, this site
offers resources to aid Kentucky educators "impact student learning
by improving the use of technology as an effective instructional
tool." Resources include links to a KTIP Modified Lesson Plan Format,
discussion forum, state and national technology standards and proficiencies,
professional development, technology-based lesson plans, and much
more.
Kentucky
Education Association: http://www.kea.org/
The KEA's purpose
is to inform and support Kentucky educators, and their site does
this by offering KEA news, legislative information, professional
development opportunities, membership benefits, a message board,
a dictionary of educational acronyms and terms, and more. Of particular
benefit to teachers is a link to GEM, the U.S. Department of Education's
Gateway to Educational Materials, one of the most comprehensive
and best organized collections of lesson plans and educational resources
available.
KERA
Internet Resources: http://www2.msstate.edu/~kerjsmit/kera/kera.htm
In response
to the absence of a centralized Internet resource devoted to the
Kentucky Education Reform Act, Kerry Smith compiled and maintains
this "unofficial" web site to "provide useful information to parents
of KERA-educated students; to students (and others) performing research
into KERA; and, generally, to anyone interested in education reform
in Kentucky and elsewhere." Smith's site features a wide variety
of documents, statistics, publications, and recent articles related
to KERA, as well as national education reform. Access to the KERA
Discussion Group is also available.
Kentucky
Educational Television: http://www.ket.org/
Kentucky's statewide
public broadcasting network site features scheduling for and information
about the PBS national schedule, local productions, KET instructional
programs and professional development seminars for teachers, KET
Distance Learning telecourses, as well as educational videos and
accompanying teacher resources. The Program link leads to numerous
educational resources such as Electronic Field Trips, Kentucky's
Underground Railroad, Civil War in Kentucky, News Quiz, Arts Education
Resources, Online Weather Resources, and more.
Kentucky
Information in Cyberspace: http://www.wku.edu/Library/KIIC/
Compiled by
Western Kentucky University librarians to be a "selective, logically
arranged, easy to search . . . convenient starting point for finding
Kentucky Information" on the web, this is a good place to start
a search for anything related to Kentucky. Potential lesson plan
resources can be found in all subject categories: Agriculture, Arts
& Museums, Business & Economic Development, Children's Center,
Cities & Countries, Demographics, Education, Environment, Fun
Facts, Genealogy, Geography & Geology, Government & Politics,
Health & Medicine, History, Libraries & Archives, Newspapers,
TV, & Radio, Recreation & Sports, Travel & Tourism,
and Other Sites with KY Links.
Kentucky
Information Page: http://www.louisville.edu/~easchn01/
Compiled and
maintained by the University of Louisville, this site is a virtual
Kentucky Almanac and more. Links lead to information
on Agriculture, Demographics, Economy, Education, Environment, Geography,
Government, Health, History, Literature, Population, Recreation,
Religion, Sports, Travel, Kentucky Trivia, Kentuckians, Other Info,
and Weather. A great site for Kentucky facts and quick reference.
Library
of Congress's American Memory: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ammemhome.html
Browse the LC's
numerous Collections of original documents or use the search function
to locate original Kentucky documents in the subjects of geography,
history, language and literature, music, and many more. The Learning
Page link provides easy access to the Collections, as well as accompanying
lesson plans, activities, a time line, and research tools. The maps
and Civil War photographs are particularly engaging.
Go
to Table of Contents
SUBJECT-SPECIFIC
KENTUCKIANA SITES
Abraham
Lincoln Online: http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln.html
This searchable
site offers access to a multitude of resources devoted to Abraham
Lincoln, including biographical information, photo tours of Lincoln
places, speeches and writings, and links to a discussion list, recommended
reading, news, discoveries, events, images and places, and resources
for teachers and students.
Archiving
Early America: http://www.earlyamerica.com/
This searchable
site provides links to numerous historical documents from 18th
century America. Categories include the Declaration of Independence,
the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Milestone Events, Maps, Pages
from the Past, Firsts!, Lives of Early Americans, Gallery of Early
American Portraits, Notable Women of Early America, How to Read
a 200 Year Old Document, and more. Of particular interest to Kentucky
teachers is an autobiography by Daniel Boone.
Courier-Journal
Young Author's Program: http://www.courier-journal.com/education/cjya/index.html
A joint project
of the Courier-Journal and the Kentucky Migrant Technology Project,
and available to all Kentucky and Southern Indiana elementary and
middle school students, this program is designed to "integrate the
writing process as a real life experience that culminates in the
publication of a book." Information about the program is available
here, as well as information about the writing process, illustration
and bookbinding techniques, revision checklists, guidelines for
teachers and students, and more. Award-winning entries from areas
schools can be viewed here also.
First
American Roads, Rails, and Rivers--Warren County Then and Now:
http://www.wku.edu/Library/onlinexh/rrr1/index.html
Designed to
accompany the exhibit at the Kentucky Museum at Western Kentucky
University, this site provides Kentucky teachers with resources
to teach Warren County history. Categories include Early History,
Business and Industry, Education, Health and Medicine, Recreation,
Religion, Transportation, and War. A teacher's guide, a timeline,
informational materials and quizzes, maps, and a bibliography are
also included.
Jefferson
Davis: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~pjdavis/jdp.htm
The Papers of
Jefferson Davis project, based at Rice University, possess the largest
collection of Davis materials and serves as a research center for
scholars. Their web site features an extensive number of Davis documents,
photographs, a bibliography, a chronology, genealogy links, civil
war links, and information about the content of each volume of the
published journal. Appropriate for secondary students.
Kentucky
Bluegrass Book Award: http://www.nku.edu/~smithjen/kba/
Originated in
1983 by Jenny Smith at Northern Kentucky University, the Kentucky
Bluegrass Award Program is designed to encourage children to read
through their involvement in voting for their favorite book from
a list of recently published, age-appropriate books. Kentucky schools
and libraries are encouraged to participate in this free program.
This site provides information about the program and how to participate,
the current year's Master List, the Winner's Circle,
Tally Sheets, Guidelines, and inexpensive promotional materials.
Kentucky
Atlas and Gazetteer: http://www.uky.edu/KentuckyAtlas/
Provided by
the University of Kentucky, this searchable site provides information
and statistics about Kentucky and its residents. Links at the bottom
of the main page lead to detailed maps and information about the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, counties, geography and geology, census
information, Kentucky state parks, covered bridges, and more.
Kentucky
Coal Council: http://www.coaleducation.org/
Provided by
the Kentucky Coal council, this site presents information about
the history of coal, types of mining, and numerous facts about coal
and its impact on Kentucky. Features include Kentucky Coal Facts,
Teacher Resources (includes lessons plans for all grade levels),
Fun Stuff, such as a puzzle and word search, and Mining TV,
which features streaming video about historical
and modern coal mining.
Kentucky
Council on Economic Education: http://www.econ.org/
Headquartered
in Louisville, this organization strives to develop the
"economic knowledge and decision making skills" of young
people. In addition to information about the organization, the site
provides Teacher Resources, which include a large number of K-12
lesson plans, economic games, and simulations. Of particular interest
is information about the Worldwide Stock Market Game, as well as
a link to the SMG site.
Kentucky
Down Under/Kentucky Caverns: http://www.kdu.com/
This dual site
presents information about Australia and caves, as well as Kentucky.
The KY Down Under page presents a virtual tour of the Australian-themed
animal park in Horse Cave, KY. In addition to information and pictures
about Australian people and the Australian animals in the park,
sheep-raising and the arrival of bison in Kentucky is explored.
Kentucky Caverns presents information about cave formation and the
ecology of caves. Lesson plans and activities for all grade levels
are provided.
Kentucky
State Budget Game: http://www.kltprc.net/Budget%20Game/BUDGAME.HTM
This site includes
free access to the Kentucky State Budget Game, Teacher's Guide,
and seven-day lesson plan for use in social studies, government,
and math classes. Part textbook and part simulation,
this game is designed to teach concepts of political and economic
systems. Appropriate for secondary students.
KET's
Kentucky's Underground Railroad: http://www.ket.org/underground/
Designed to
accompany the Kentucky Educational Television's documentary of the
same name, this site presents slavery, abolitionism, the underground
railroad in such a way that these resources can
be used in the classroom by themselves. Articles
discuss slavery in Kentucky, the expansion of abolitionist thought,
Kentucky and the underground railroad, and a Kentucky timeline takes
us through these events. Audio and video segments are available
for viewing and listening, and a discussion forum is available.
Numerous teaching resources for all subject areas are offered, as
well as accompanying KERA Learning Goals and Academic Expectations.
KET's
Civil War in Kentucky: http://www.ket.org/education/civilwar/
Another resource
from Kentucky Educational Television, this site presents numerous
Civil War resources, many relating to Kentucky. Letters, diaries,
speeches, declarations, timelines, maps of battles, are all accessible
here. Kentucky Civil War Links features a Kentucky Civil War map
of battles, information about specific Kentucky battles, such as
Perryville and Dutton Hill, and much more. Appropriate for secondary
students.
KYLIT-Kentucky
Writers: http://www.english.eku.edu/SERVICES/KYLIT/Default.htm
Written by students
of an Eastern Kentucky University English class, the biographies
on this site are devoted to thirty-six contemporary and historical
Kentucky authors. Biographical essays are detailed and enlightening;
bibliographies of the authors' works are included. Both chronological
and alphabetical arrangements are available. Appropriate for secondary
students.
National
Geographic Interactive Underground Railroad: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/index.html
This interactive,
virtual tour requires the viewer to imagine he/she is a slave faced
with the decision to escape to remain. As the viewer makes decisions,
he/she learns history along the way. Classroom ideas for all grade
levels, a timeline, and much more is included.
Native
Americans in Kentucky: http://www.merceronline.com/Native/native00.htm
Presented by
the Kentucky Native American Indian Council to dispel "misrepresentations,
stereotypes, and untruths" about Native Americans, this site is
devoted to the Native Americans who lived in the area of Kentucky
when the pioneers arrived. Included are pages on the Cherokee, Shawnee,
Trail of Tears, White Buffalo Woman, Legends and Folklore, links
to other Native American Links, and information about the KNAIC.
Shaker
Village of Pleasant Hill: http://www.shakervillageky.org/index.htm
Although primarily
designed to promote the present-day Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill
and the surrounding community, this site also offers valuable historical
information about Kentucky Shakers. The History Link provides pictures
and a lengthy overview of Shaker life at Pleasant Hill.
Wildflowers
of Western Kentucky: http://sac.uky.edu/~mthom0/guide.html
Created by Michael
Thompson, doctoral student at the University of Kentucky, this attractive
site features 210 color photographs of wildflower species native
to Kentucky. Links to other wildflower sites are
also available.
Go
to Table of Contents
GENERAL
EDUCATION WEB SITES
The criteria
for selection of these web sites was both the quality and quantity
of user-friendly educational resources. Although the content of
these web sites is not devoted exclusively to Kentucky, many Kentucky-related
lesson plans and activities can be obtained from them.
TEACHER
FAVORITES
AskERIC
Lesson Plans: http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/
A component
of the Educational Resources Information Center service for educators,
this searchable site provides over 1100 lesson plans categorized
by eleven subject areas.
Ask
Jeeves for Teachers: http://www.ajkids.com/teachers/TeachersMR.asp
This site features
a search engine that can be searched in natural language and links
to numerous educational resources and multi-subject/grade level
lesson plans.
Awesome
Library: http://www.awesomelibrary.org/
A huge, searchable
web site devoted to education: "14,000 carefully reviewed resources,
including the top 5 percent in education." Organized into twenty
four categories, resources span all topics and grade levels. Links
to hot topics and current events are a plus.
Children's
Picture Book Database: http://www.lib.muohio.edu/pictbks/
Created by Valerie
Ubbes at the University of Miami, this database is searchable by
over 900 keywords, including topics, concepts, and skills, and it
abstracts over 4,000 children's picture books. A great way to create
thematic units for all subjects!
Core
Knowledge Lesson Plans: http://www.coreknowledge.org/
Presented by
the Core Content Foundation, this site features information about
Core Knowledge and Core Knowledge resources, the preschool and K-8
Core Knowledge Sequence, and preschool through eighth grade units
and lesson plans developed by teachers who teach in Core Knowledge
schools.
DiscoverySchool.com:
http://school.discovery.com/
A component
of the Discovery.com web site, this colorful site offers lots of
learning ideas for teachers, students, and parents. Select the Teacher
Channel, The Student Channel, or The Family Learning Store. Students
will find many great educational resources; the Geography A-Z, History
A-Z, and Science A-Z sites are especially noteworthy. Teaching tools
include puzzle makers, quiz makers, clip art, and hundreds of lesson
plans for all grade levels.
EduHound:
http://www.eduhound.com/
A huge directory
of K-12 educational resources, categorized by over sixty alphabetically
arranged categories. Available in Spanish or English, this site
features many lesson plans for all subjects and grade levels.
Education
World: http://www.education-world.com/index.shtml
This searchable
site is truly one of the premier education sites available. It features
over 120,000 excellent resources on every subject of interest to
educators. Teachers can refer to the Lesson Planning Center to obtain
lesson plans on all subjects. A particularly useful feature is the
Site Reviews Center, where monthly reviews of educational web sites
are available and past reviews are archived.
Food
Timeline: http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food.html
A fun and unique
side dish for any lesson! Learn how and when different foods originated,
and view many links to original recipes. A Teacher Resource page
provides links to food history lessons, and a Culinary History Timeline
provides links to social history, manners, and menus.
Gateway
to Educational Materials (GEM): http://www.thegateway.org/
A consortium
effort of the U.S. Department of Education and others, GEM provides
access to one of the largest collections of lesson plans, educational
resources and web sites available on the Internet. The site is searchable,
and entries are categorized by subject and grade level, Pre-K through
Post Secondary/Adult.
History
Matters: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/
A project of
the American Social History Project/Center of Media and Learning,
Center for History and New Media, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,
this searchable site "serves as a gateway to Web resources and offers
unique teaching materials, first-person primary documents and threaded
discussions on teaching U.S. history." Indexes
and abstracts a large number of high-quality web sites appropriate
for secondary students' research.
History
Place: http://www.historyplace.com/index.html
This extensive,
award-winning site is an excellent source of information on all
aspects of history: American Revolution, U.S. Civil War, World War
II, Vietnam War, U.S. Presidents, World History, and more. Includes
timelines, biographies, movie reviews, photographs, and much more.
Appropriate for secondary students.
History/Social
Studies for K-12 Teachers: http://www.execpc.com/~dboals/boals.html
Compiled and
maintained by Dennis Boals, this site provides K-12 teachers with
a large number of educational resources and lesson plans devoted
all subject areas, with an emphasis on history and social studies
links. Over 180 links on the K-12 Resources page alone!
Learning
Network: http://learningnetwork.com/
The "Internet's
premier educational source," the Learning Network is a series of
web sites devoted to meeting the needs of the educators, students,
and parents. An extensive number of resources for each of these
audiences are provided: Lesson plans and curriculum materials are
of high quality, and resources include Information Please, a searchable
online reference center with a multitude of research resources.
A Teacher's Lounge provides teacher support resources and message
boards. Numerous other resources are available to make this one
of the most valuable educational sites available.
Lives,
the Biography Resource: http://amillionlives.com/
This award-winning,
searchable site, is cited as the "largest guide to biography sites
on the web." Including posthumous biographies only, the site provides
links to thousands of biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, letters,
and photographs of individual people as well as specific groups
of people.
Math.com:
http://www.math.com/
A great site
for both math teachers and students: Students will like the converters,
calculators, graphs, equation solvers, homework help, puzzles, and
games. Teachers will find lesson plans, career information, worksheet
templates, and much more.
Multicultural
Pavilion Teacher's Corner: http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/multicultural/teachers.html
This site provides
access to an impressive number of multicultural education resources:
teacher resources, historic African-American and Native-American
Literature, children's literature, historical documents, multicultural
song index and activity archive, a web site evaluation checklist,
links to multicultural education web sites, and much more.
Multitude
of Websites --Children's Literature: http://edtech.tph.wku.edu/~dean/literature.htm
Created and
maintained by the Dean of the College of Education and Behavioral
Sciences at Western Kentucky University, this site features one
of the most extensive collections of links to quality children's
and young adult literature sites available.
National
Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/index.html
The National
Geographic web site is an outstanding site for young and old alike;
however, the educational resources offered here are unique and of
the highest quality. Search the site, or use the site index to locate
resources. All categories are exceptional: Travel; Adventure and
Exploration; Photography; News; Kids; Forums; Exhibits. Of particular
interest to teachers are the Interactive Features pages, which explore
topics such as the Underground Railroad and Muhammad Ali, and the
searchable Education pages, which offer teacher resources and lesson
plans.
National
Geographic Interactive: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/index.html
This feature
of the National Geographic web site is so spectacular that it deserves
to be mentioned individually. View The Underground Railroad, Outpost:
Congo Trek, or the Grimm Brothers for an interactive, audio-visual
learning experience. Many include accompanying lesson plans, resources,
and links to relevant web sites.
Smithsonian
Center for Education and Museum Studies: http://educate.si.edu/
This valuable
site offers Online Exhibits; extraordinary Lesson
Plans (download entire lesson plan with accompanying materials);
ZooTV, featuring live Animal Cams and an Animal Video Library where
videos from exhibits can be viewed; Cool Sites, which provides links
to other Smithsonian educational web sites; and downloadable Resource
Guides, which offer free and inexpensive Smithsonian educational
resources for teachers.
Teaching
with Historic Places: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/
Serving as the
Education component of the National Register of Historic Places
web site, Teaching with Historic Places features lesson plans that
use "historic sites to examine developments throughout American
history and across the country." Sixty-plus well-developed lesson
plans are organized by location, theme, and time period; three lesson
plans about Kentucky are available.
Go
to Table of Contents
STUDENT
FAVORITES
Ask
Jeeves for Kids: http://www.ajkids.com/
This nifty search
engine will find a list of appropriate educational resources in
response to a natural-language query-great for young researchers.
Also available are links to many educational (and fun) games and
educational web sites.
Ben's
Guide to U.S. Government for Kids: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/
Provided by
the U.S. Government, this award-winning site provides access to
many educational resources for students, as well as teachers and
parents. Categorized by grade level, resources include age-appropriate
lessons, games and activities, documents, and links to other web
sites. A Parents and Teachers page provides Curriculum Links and
much more.
Discovery
Kids: http://kids.discovery.com/KIDS/home.html
This component
of the Discovery.com web site, a Cool Site of the Year Winner, offers
a multitude of fun and educational activities for kids. A Discovery
CAM allows live visits to the habitats of various animals and insects!
Education
4 Kids: http://www.edu4kids.com/
This award-winning
site, formerly called "Flash Cards for Kids!," is a great place
for students to challenge themselves for fun and reap educational
benefits at the same time. Quizzes, drills, flashcards, and games
reinforce skills in math, language, social studies, science concepts.
The Math Square Game-quite challenging and addicting--is available
in three difficulty levels.
Fact
Monster: http://www.factmonster.com/
The kid's version
of the Learning Network's Information Please, this colorful site
offers facts and information about all subject areas, people, sports,
current events, a homework center, games and quizzes, Harry Potter
quizzes, an atlas, dictionary, almanac, encyclopedia, and much more.
Kids will spend hours at this site (teachers might too).
Houghton
Mifflin Geology Links: http://www.geologylink.com/
Geared toward
middle and secondary students, this award-winning site features
links to geology in the news, current geological events, a virtual
classroom, glossary, virtual field trips, and Houghton
Mifflin geology-related products. The virtual field trips are especially
impressive.
Kids
Web: http://www.kidsvista.com/
From LearningVista.com,
Kids Web is a growing digital information portal
that is "very simple to navigate, and contains information targeted
at the K-12 level." Links include a large number and variety of
subjects classified under the larger topics of Arts, Sciences, Social
Studies, and Miscellaneous (which includes Fun and Games, Reference,
and Sports).
Library
of Congress's America's Story: http://www.americasstory.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi
Kids will love
this site, but its appeal is not limited to the young. Colorful
animation implores one to click on a category to
DO something: MEET Amazing Americans, JUMP Back in Time, EXPLORE
the States, JOIN America at Play, or SEE, HEAR,
and SING. One can also visit online exhibits.
PBS
Kids: http://www.pbs.org/kids/
This colorfully
animated, interactive site offers a wide variety of fun, stimulating
fare for children but still maintains the quality that we have come
to expect from PBS. Games, stories, facts, and activities are available
with sound and interactive features. Visits with PBS characters
such as Clifford, Teletubbies, Arthur, Barney, Sesame Street, Mr.
Rogers, and others are invited. Kids Karaoke encourages children
to sing their favorite show theme song, and they can also read stories
with Noddy.
Study
Web: http://www.studyweb.com/
Produced by
Lightspan, Inc., provider of educational software and Internet products
and services, this award-winning, searchable web guide indexes over
141,000 quality educational web resources for researchers of all
ages. The extensive number of subject links are annotated, ranked
for visual content, and assigned a grade level. The Professional
Development category leads to many teacher resources and lesson
plans devoted to all subject areas; the Reference category is excellent;
and the Homework Help category includes a new Homework Help Junior
for K-8 students.
Sports
Illustrated for Kids: http://www.sikids.com/
Kids will enjoy
this site as much as they do the magazine. Lots of news, articles,
trivia, games, and photos pertaining to all aspects of sports will
entertain boys and girls for hours.
Yahooligans!:
http://www.yahooligans.com/
Yahoo!'s large,
searchable web guide for kids indexes everything imaginable that
would appeal to young people. Large categories include Around the
World, Arts & Entertainment, Computers & Games, School Bell,
Science & Nature, and Sports & Recreation; links in these
categories are sub-categorized into more specific topics that include
links to sites with video, sound, and photographs. The Net Events
category features current events, and the Teachers' Guide indexes
numerous links to educational resources.
Go
to Table of Contents
WKU Libraries
& Museum
Contact Darla Bressler at darla.bressler@wku.edu
Last updated: September 18, 2000
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