Whats New

This is our ever changing list of recently added sites, plus an occasional oldie.
Generally, sites get added on the top and eventually get taken off the bottom.

This oldie is in Geography! You will know all the US states' names and heir proper spelling
by the time you finish.

50 States in 10 Minutes Can you type in the correctly spelled names of all 50 US
states in 10 minutes? Type them in any order, can even be all lowercase, but must
be correctly spelled. "Helpful" countdown timer tells you how much time is left, adds stress.

Nellie Bly FB video about the pioneering female reporter and journalist. An example to all
reporters everywhere. Going in Women's History

The Declaration of Independence from the National Archives This is the
introductory page. From here you can access lesson plans, history, origins of this
document, and more.'The Declaration of Independence states the principles on which
our government, and our identity as Americans, are based. Unlike the other founding
documents, the Declaration of Independence is not legally binding, but it is powerful.
Abraham Lincoln called it “a rebuke and a stumbling-block to tyranny and oppression.”
It continues to inspire people around the world to fight for freedom and equality.
Going in History

Declaration of Independence: A Transcription from the National Archives
"The following text is a transcription of the Stone Engraving of the parchment Declaration
of Independence (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.)
The spelling and punctuation reflects the original." Now you can read it for yourself. Some
parts may not make sense to you unless you know the history of those times.
"the merciless Indian Savages" is offensive to Native Americans. " abolishing the free System
of English Laws in a neighbouring Province" refers to Canada. Going in History

For divergent, think Adaptive Radiation (Galapagos finches, the explosion of
new species during the Cambrian)
For convergent, think wolves/coyotes/dingos vs the Thylacine (Tasmanian tiger).
Going in Animals and Living Things

How Evolution Turned A Possum Into A Wolf Explains convergent evolution,
analogous vs homologous traits. "Totally unrelated species share a trait NOT due
to a common ancestor". This is also a story of adaptive radiation - all the marsupials
of Australia had possum-like ancestors. When the non-avian dinosaurs died off,
these possums found themselves on a vast continent with no competition; so they
filled in all those empty niches by evolving to fit them. The wolf in this story is the
Thylacine (Tasmanian tiger). You also learn the difference between plantigrade and
digigrade feet. Thylacines looked like wolves, ran like wolves, and ate like wolves.
They even had teeth like wolves. But they also had a pouch to grow their babies in.
Going in Animals and Living Things

Wombat Information Center Learn about wombats! No, it's not a bat, it's a
marsupial from Australia. "Wombats are large burrowing mammals found only in Australia.
Being rather timid and primarily nocturnal, they're difficult to observe in their natural habitat
and haven't been well studied." Learn about these koala cousins; what they eat, their habits,
their amazing digging abilities, their nocturnal lifesyle. Going in Animals

The Great Monarch Migration 4:48 video "The greatest migration on Earth sends
tens of millions of Monarch butterflies from all over North America down to this small
forest in Mexico. Seeing this overwintering site of the monarch butterfly in real life
is even more miraculous than you can imagine." Going in Animal Cams

The Age of Reptiles in 3 Acts 10:30 video covers the entire Mesozoic!
Begins in the Permian, covers Triassic, Jurassic, & Cretaceous. Very detailed
descriptions and explanations. "Reptiles emerged from the Paleozoic as humble
creatures, but in time, they grew to become some of the largest forms of life
ever to stomp, swim, and soar across the planet. This Age of Reptiles was a
spectacular prehistoric epic, and it all took place in a single era: the Mesozoic.
From Eons (BIG collection of videos) and PBS.

World’s Largest Sea Turtle a short video of a huge sea turtle feeding on the bottom.
"Scuba Divers in Maui, Hawaii made an incredible discovery on the ocean floor when they
came across what they are claiming is the biggest Sea Turtle ever captured on video or
pictures. The leatherback is the largest species of sea turtle."

Here are two sites that tell you the location of the ISS (International Space Station),
since the site we originally posted has gone to sleep.

Where is the ISS? This the ESA (European Space Agency) site. It does the job. Elegant small site.

ISS Tracker Small site that still is able to display Latitude and Longitude to 3 digits; it also shows
speed and altitude. Toggle button lets you choose "English" or metric measures.

Sumer Is Icumen In Here is an example of the evolution of the language. On the left, the original song from the mid-13th century (about 1250, give or take). On the right, modern English. "The title translates approximately to "Summer Has Come In" or "Summer Has Arrived". The song is composed in the Wessex dialect of Middle English." (Wikipedia) Also, þ = th sound: "Groweth seed and bloweth meadow." This is sung in the round.

Bullock starteth, buck (rhymes with starteth); known as a "buck snort" in the southeast USA. It has to do with impressing the does.

Second Chances: Tilly the River Otter NatGeo video (4:00) about a rescued
orphan otter baby. Tilly has to be taught to swim. Put with a rescued boy otter,
Tilly soon has her own babies. Watch as she raises them to be competent adults.
Great cinematography. NatGeo has oodles of these videos.

Going in Animal Cams

Can you Spot The Animals Hidden in These Photos? NatGeo article.
"From leafy seadragons hidden among coral to vipers submerged in sand,
see all the ways animals conceal themselves in nature." 43 photos showing
disguised and camouflaged animals. Some hide to keep from being eaten,
some hide to hunt. Going in Animals

Helmets of Ancient Greece from Mycenaean times (upper left) to late Hellenistic times (lower right)

One for each sediment layer.
Organic Layer: Chocolate Cake
Top Soil Layer: Carrot Cake
Subsoil Layer: Walnut Cake
Parent Material Layer: Oreo Cookie Cake
Bedrock Layer: Vanilla Cake

Going in Earth Science

Sumeria Mesopotamia
Sumerian Cloisonné Ring, Iraq, ca. 3000 BCE. (Louvre, Paris)
Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects,
in recent centuries using porcelain enamel, and in older periods also
inlays of cut gemstones, glass and other materials.

Game of $urvival - Have you got the dollars and sense
to make it through a whole month with cash to spare?

Older kids could try this using names
of states, provinces, counties,
rivers, lakes, oceans, you name it!

"All the faith he had had" means "All the faith he used to have".
"had had no effect..." means "has had no effect (so far, but maybe
it will have an effect in the future - or maybe not)". Yes, there are
other ways to express this idea, but they are not as much fun, and
they don't open up a teaching moment, as this sentence does.

Blue-Footed Booby
"If you have never heard of the blue-footed booby.. here it is. You're welcome..."

Going in Animals

Why isn't the world covered in poop? A TED-Ed video and activity. "Each day, the
animal kingdom produces roughly enough poop to match the volume of water pouring
over Victoria Falls*. So why isn’t the planet covered in the stuff?"

Going in Biomes & Ecology and Living Things

The answer is... Dung Beetles! Taaaa-daaah! The video covers the three types of dung
beetles, their lifestyles, how they "handle" poop, and thus benefit the whole world.
* How's THAT for a mental image?

Anzud, Sumerian god of storms
This stunning little pendant is made of real gold.
The blue parts are made of lapis lazuli from the
only mine they knew of in those days; way up in the mountains
of north Afghanistan on the border with China. The Indus Valley
people had a mine and a trading post up there. They loaded up backpacks
with lapis lazuli and walked back south across Afghanistan*, either back to
their cities in the Indus Valley (the Punjab), or to a seaport they had on
the Indian Ocean. Trading ships from Ur and its sister cities could trade for
things there and at other seaports, and then sail back to their own land.
* Then people started using donkeys to haul trade goods,
instead of packing things out on their own backs.

Sumeria Mesopotamia presents:·
"Anzud, the lion-headed eagle, the god of storms.
This pendant of gold and lapis lazuli is part of “The Treasure of Ur”,
although the name is misleading. Ur is a Sumerian city, but
the Treasure of Ur was found in Mari, which is an Akkadian city.
The pendant was found in a buried sealed clay jar. The jar contained
more than 100 items, including jewelry, cylinder seals, and statuettes."

excerpt credit = Sumeria Mesopotamia on Facebook

Going in Dinos & Paleo
Newly discovered dinosaur (purple) size and weight comparisons.

Baby Hippo and baby Rhino are best friends! "When Charlie the baby hippo lost his mom,
he was rescued by a rhino orphanage and became best friends with a little rhino.
There was only one problem — Charlie grew up thinking he was a rhino too! Today on Odd Couples,
watch how Charlie eventually learned to act like a hippo, even though he'll always come back for
snuggles with his favorite rhino!" From Odd Couples on Facebook.

Mutant Crayfish Clones Itself, and It’s Taking Over Europe
"Crayfish, also known as crawfish, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, mudbugs
or yabbies, are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related;
taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea.
They breathe through feather-like gills." - Wikipedia.
A big crayfish from a little creek on the Florida-Georgia line has gone big time:
"The marbled crayfish is a mutant species that clones itself, scientists report. The population is
exploding in Europe, but the species appears to have originated only about 25 years ago.
The mutation made it possible for the creature to clone itself, and now it has spread across
much of Europe and gained a toehold on other continents. In Madagascar, where it arrived about
2007, it now numbers in the millions and threatens native crayfish." They make eggs without a daddy,
each one is a copy of every other one. (There are some fish and a few lizards that also do this.)
Someone dumped a few of them in a pond in Europe. Now they are taking over Europe!
They eat smaller, native crawfish. They also outbreed them. They are a giant among crawfish
and tougher than other species. But are they good to eat? Going in Animals

dogs looking out the window

Younger or older, students always like to see new "sites"!

to top of page to Good Sites

Good Sites! Good sites for kids. Good sites for teachers. Good sites for parents. Good education sites for all.