Winter Holidays Around the World

Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry offers students links to explore Christmas traditions around the world at http://www.msichicago.org/scrapbook/scrapbook_exhibits/catw2004/holiday_traditions.html. An enormous list of links can transport anyone to countries from the U.S. to Lebanon (yes, they celebrate Christmas!), Belize to Latvia, and many nations in between.  But wait!  Christmas is not the only winter holiday celebrated around the world!  Links are included for Chinese New Year, Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Ramadan.  Don't miss this opportunity to learn the traditional holiday greetings, decorations and so much more from around the world!

Time travel to Plimoth Plantation

What was Thanksgiving like for the settlers at Plimoth (we now spell it Plymouth) Plantation? Resources at the living history museum's website can take the whole classroom back in time.  Their "Kids" link includes activites (like how to make things), recipes, coloring pictures, homework help, and even "how to talk like a Pilgrim."  Teachers can use the variety of blogs to support their lessons; topics include "There's a Pilgrim in My Classroom," "Native Life" and "Colonial Life."  Under the "Education Programs" tab, the "Teachers" subheading includes maps, timelines, bibliographies and topical links.  The "Online Learning Center" is a very popular link during the Thanksgiving season: It provides a teacher guide and downloadable program called "You Are the Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving."  Plan your virtual field trip by visiting their home page at http://www.plimoth.org/.

Take me out to the ballgame!

The World Series is about to begin! Tap into your students' love of baseball with resources from the Baseball Hall of Fame. A field trip to Cooperstown, NY may be out of the question, but with the resources available online, you can use baseball to teach on subjects ranging from the 3 R's to cultural diversity, leadership and women's history. See their wide-ranging thematic units by visiting http://education.baseballhalloffame.org/experience/thematic_units/index.html. In the menu on the left side of the screen, you may choose to find out more about Videoconferencing--scheduling a time to talk live with someone from the Hall of Fame. Whether you videoconference or use the thematic units, you're sure to score a homerun!


Are your students "ready for some football" instead? The Pro Football Hall of Fame offers a 237 page Teacher Activity Guide that teaches math and geography, among other subjects, as they relate to football. Guides are even available that are tailored to your favorite football team! If fall means football in your classroom, be sure to "tackle" the Football Hall of Fame's website at http://www.profootballhof.com/hall/teacheractivityguide.aspx and choose the Teacher Activity Guide image (or the link below it for the PDF version)!

Smithsonian offers resources as vast and varied as their museums

Educators! Families! Students! The enormous resources of the Smithsonian Institute are at the fingertips of teachers, students and the community.

With just a mouse click, educators are redirected to a page offering resources by keyword, grade level, and subject. But the best feature is the "State Standards of Learning." Select your state, grade level and subject and a whole world opens, full of standards-based resources. Lesson plans, videocasts, podcasts, and other web-based resources are tagged to meet your curriculum needs. Can't go on a field trip? Bring the unmatched resources of the Smithsonian Institute into your classroom!

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/

Let's go on a Museum field trip without leaving the building!

To get started, let's find a resource that has museum resources and other information in one place. I like "The Institute for Library & Information Technology" page (http://www.ilile.org/). This project, established and maintained at Kent State University, is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the U.S. Department of Education. The site includes instructional resources (lesson plans and pathfinders) and web resources (information literacy and lesson planning links; KSU, regional and local resources; and a list of suggested museum websites as resources). This is a great platform to start investigating museums as resources in libraries and classrooms!