TEACHERS & PRINCIPALS: GRANTS & RESOURCES
Free Teaching Resources: Energy, Life Sciences,
Mark Twain and More
By Peter Kickbush & Kirk Winters
Renewable energy, life science careers, computers and health, space food and space suits, prehistoric sea monsters, Mark Twain, politics in antebellum America, and creative writing are among the topics of new resources at FREE, the website that makes teaching resources from federal agencies easier to find: http://www.free.ed.gov
History
Colorado’s Historic Newspaper Collection features newspapers published throughout Colorado from 1859 to 1930. Topics include Colorado statehood, the 1908 Democratic National Convention, Denver mint robbery, early days of telephone service, and early gold mines. (Institute of Museum and Library Services)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1974
Getting the Message Out! National Political Campaign Materials, 1840-1860 looks at politics in antebellum America. Read about the presidential campaigns. See campaign biographies of the candidates—from William Harrison, Martin Van Buren, and James Birney to Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Learn about the “second party system.” (Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, Institute of Museum and Library Services)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1975
Language Arts
Mark Twain’s Mississippi examines what the Mississippi Valley meant to people in the 1800s and how these meanings influenced Twain’s writing. Learn about economic development, politics, race, religion, culture, and the idea of “the West.” Read a biography of Clemens. Find the full text of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Life on the Mississippi. (Northern Illinois University, Institute of Museum and Library Services)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1973
Poets and Writers is a source of information and inspiration for creative writers. It features Poets & Writers Magazine and includes a discussion forum, a database of writers, and advice about publishing and copyright issues. A teachers guide offers a place to discuss essays on writing and teaching. (Poets & Writers, National Endowment for the Arts)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1979
Science
BioWorksU introduces students to life science careers. It is set in a virtual university and uses games, experiments, and simulations to show jobs at a range of locations—a nurse’s station, ambulance bay, diagnostic lab, pathology lab, radiology department, pharmacy, physical therapy room, dentist’s office, and more. Watch videos of professionals describing what they do. Play the ambulance maze game. (IPIC, Department of Labor)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1972
Computing Life looks at ways physicists, biologists, and even artists are harnessing the power of computers to advance our understanding of biology and human health. Learn how computers are used to simulate the spread of flu through a school, the movement of cells in our bodies, and the beating of a heart. Find out how computers help in the search for gene variations that could lead to disease. (National Institutes of Health)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1976
K-12 Energy Lesson Plans and Activities offers 350 lessons on energy efficiency and renewable energy. They’re organized by grade level and topic—biomass, geothermal, fuel cells, ocean energy, solar power, transportation fuels, wind energy, and energy efficiency and conservation. Learn about passive solar buildings, advanced photovoltaics, or basic wind turbines. Take an energy awareness quiz. Estimate your carbon footprint; find ways to reduce it. (Department of Energy) http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1969
Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure Movie provides photos and video clips from this movie about creatures that roamed the seas 82 million years ago. Discover sea monsters of the past and present using the interactive time line. Excavate fossils on a “virtual dig.” See a video on how to survive a shark attack. (National Geographic, National Science Foundation) http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1970
Space Food and Nutrition Educator Guide looks at the history of preparing and packaging foods that taste good, provide necessary nutrients, and travel well in space. The guide includes math and science activities in which students (K-8) classify space food, ripen fruits and vegetables using a chemical inhibitive, measure food packaging, determine the percentage of water reduction by dehydrating fresh food items, and plan a nutritionally balanced 5-day menu for astronauts. (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1977
Suited for Spacewalking Educator Guide examines the technology behind space suits. Students learn about the environment of space, the history of spacewalking, NASA’s current space suit, future space suits, and work that astronauts do during spacewalks. Students (grades 5-12) are challenged to design and build a protective garment that will permit future space travelers to explore the surface of Mars. (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1978
Voyages Through Time is a yearlong integrated science curriculum for 9th or 10th grade based on the theme of evolution. It is presented in six modules: cosmic evolution, planetary evolution, origin of life, evolution of life, hominid evolution, and evolution of technology. Individual modules can be used in discipline-based science courses such as biology, earth science, geology, or astronomy. (Learning in Motion, National Science Foundation)#
http://free.ed.gov/resource.cfm?resource_id=1971
