Website: Native Knowledge 360

NATIVE KNOWLEDGE 360 is an award-winning history and culture project from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

This website provides educators and students new ways of thinking about Native American history and culture. Begin by reading about the ten essential understandings that serve as a framework for the project. Use the search tool to locate resources or explore the educational materials by subject, language, nature, region, grade, or format. Resources include digital lessons, teacher guides, teaching posters, websites, and videos. Don’t miss the “did you know?” section that addresses common myths.

Librarians will find this website to be a valuable tool in connecting youth with new perspectives on Native American history, cultures, and contemporary lives. Work with teachers to weave the resources across the curriculum.

To visit the website, go to https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360.

Website: Crowd

CROWD is a crowdsourcing project from the Library of Congress.

This web-based project encourages volunteers to help make historical documents more searchable by the public. Participants can transcribe, review, and tag documents.

Users begin by choosing a campaign such as transcribing letters or diaries. Each project provides an overview, timeline, blog, and and statistics about progress and contributions.

The website also contains project news, a discussion area, and help for participants. Resources for educators wishing to involve their students include guiding questions, primary source analysis materials, and lessons.

Librarians will find this crowdsourcing project to be a effective way to actively involve youth in critical thinking and information literacy activities. Work with the history teacher to build lessons that incorporate primary sources and crowdsourcing.

To visit the website, go to https://crowd.loc.gov/.

Website: The Art Institute of Chicago

The ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO contains online collections and exhibits along with educational materials.

The website links to exhibition information and their online collections.

The digital collection includes many well-known works of art such as Grant Wood’s American Gothic and A Sunday on La Grande Latte by Georges Seurat. Each work of art includes lots of background information and many pieces contain links to multimedia and educational resources.

The website’s blog spotlights collections and also contains interesting essays and “behind the scenes” stories.

The Educators Resources section contains dozens of artwork resource packets for teachers. Each resource includes background information, discussion questions, activity ideas, a glossary, and links to the digital collection.

Librarians will find the digital collection to be easy to use. Use the educational resources with art and history teachers. Of particular note is the Art + Science resource that can be incorporated into the school’s STEAM program.

To visit the website, go to https://www.artic.edu.

Book Review: The Button War

THE BUTTON WAR by Avi is a work of historical fiction of middle grade students focusing on peer pressure and obsession during war.

Avi’s latest work of historical fiction is set in a small Polish town during World War I. While the war rages around them, a group of boys play their own deadly game involving obtaining a military button.

Librarians will find readers intrigued by the parallels between the war and the boy’s contest. Some youth will be drawn to the action packed plot. However, others will be dismayed by the focus on the dark themes.

Published by Candlewick Press on June 12, 2018. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website: National Forest Map

The NATIONAL FOREST MAP from the US Forest Service is an interactive map.

This easy-to-use visual resource provides a variety of tools to explore forest service lands and recreational opportunities. Users can browse the map by topics such as hiking, picnicking, and fishing. Or, use the search tool to locate a particular place name or forest. Users can select a base map with streets, imagery, or topography. A legend explains colors and symbols. Up-to-date information is provided about weather warnings and fire activity.

Librarians will find this website to be a useful tool for connecting youth with nature. Involve students in exploring area hiking, biking, and nature viewing opportunities while teaching mapping skills.

To visit the website, go to https://www.fs.fed.us/ivm/index.html.

Website: Achieving the Dream

ACHIEVING THE DREAM is a project that shares open access college course materials.

Nearly a dozen colleges are sharing their course materials in disciplines such as business, music, philosophy, and sociology. Most of the resources are organized as e-textbooks with online modules. Many of these educational materials include embedded discussion questions and other instructional materials in addition to the content.

Librarians will find a wealth of instructional materials useful across the curriculum. Many of the materials could be incorporated into AP classes.

To visit the website, go tohttps://courses.lumenlearning.com/catalog/achievingthedream.

Website: The Great American Read

THE GREAT AMERICAN READ is a reading and video project from PBS.

This eight-part video series explores reading through America’s 100 best-loved novels. In addition to the videos, the website includes information about each book, details about the episodes, additional resources, blog postings, and stories submitted by readers.

Librarians will find the project to be a fun way to explore popular books with teens. Collaborate with the English department to build a unit revolving around the books, videos, and resources. Or, create your own library-based program to celebrate the books.

To visit the website, go to https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/home/.

Website: Fuel Up to Play 60

FUEL UP TO PLAY 60 is a nutrition and physical activity program.

A collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture along with the National Dairy Council and the National Football League, the website contains resources for students, educators, parents, and the community.

The program includes a wide range of contests and activities that involve the entire school. The Playbook section of the website contains step-by-step instructions for healthy eating and physical activity ideas. The Tools section includes background information for educators.

Librarians will find that the library serves as a great place to coordinate a school-wide health and active living program. Be sure to check out the school funding opportunities and examples from past programs.

To visit the website, go to https://www.fueluptoplay60.com.

Book Review: 1968

1968: TODAY’S AUTHORS EXPLORE A YEAR OF REBELLION, REVOLUTION, & CHANGE edited by Marc Aronson and Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores different perspectives on this turbulent and pivotal year.

From Mark Kurlansky to Jim Murphy and Loree Griffin Burns, the book is filled with engaging short works by fourteen award-winning nonfiction authors. Whether exploring personal experiences through memoir or examining a specific theme in a focused essay, each author puts a different spin on the year. While the book covers well-known topics, it also explores many themes not covered by other books on this time period.

The book begins with an introduction to the year 1968. The editors then divided the year into four sections. Author notes, source notes, a selected bibliography, and index are included.

Librarians will find this book to be a solid addition to the nonfiction collection. While the book would benefit from additional illustrators and primary source documents, the short work format will appeal to many readers. Ask youth to use one of the nonfiction works to jumpstart an inquiry project.

Published by Candlewick Press in September 2018. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website: State Facts

STATE FACTS from United States Census Bureau is an easy-to-use source for information about US states.

This interactive website provides information for each US state and territory. Users can click on the place on the map or select a location from the pull-down menu.

In addition to the state facts, the website also provides activity ideas for teachers.

Librarians will find this to be a fun way for elementary students to review information about US states. Youth will enjoy clicking on each state for information. Connect the information with a math activity on building graphs. Or, weave the resource into your data literacy curriculum.

To visit the website, go to https://www.census.gov/schools/facts/.

Digital Spotlight: Photo Archive

The PHOTO ARCHIVE at the American Center of Oriental Research contains thousands of photos from Jordan and the broader Middle East.

Contents: This photo archive includes images that represent Jordan’s past and present along with other photos from the Middle East. The project includes major archaeological and cultural heritage images.

Classroom Connections: The easy-to-use search tools provide easy access to the images. Users can search by theme, place, keywords, country, or collection. Use this collection for both social studies and humanities activities focusing on the Middle East region.

Featured Digital Objects:
Petroglyphs (search Rock Drawings)
Jane Taylor Collection (search Collection name)
Linda K. Jacobs Collection (search Collection Name)

To visit the collection, go to https://acor.digitalrelab.com/.

Digital Spotlight: Western History and Genealogy

The WESTERN HISTORY AND GENEALOGY digital collections from the Denver Public Library contains thousands of objects chronicling the development of Western America.

Contents: This online collection contains photographs, maps, broadsides, architectural drawings and other documents exploring the people, places, and events that shaped the American West. Topics include Native Americans, pioneers, railroads, mining, western towns, and Buffalo Bill. Users can search or browse by format or subject.

Classroom Connections: This collection is useful for students exploring the history of the American West along with social studies topics connected with famous people, cultural topics, and genealogy.

Featured Digital Objects:
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show https://bit.ly/2Nh373b
Colorado Railroad Photos http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/railroad/
Native Americans https://bit.ly/2QrDCOv

To visit the collection, go to http://digital.denverlibrary.org/.

Book Review: Otis and Will

OTIS AND WILL DISCOVER THE DEEP by Barb Rosenstock is a picture book exploring the record-setting dive of the bathysphere in 1930.

During his childhood, Otis Barton tried to invent a way to breath underwater. After becoming an engineer, he connected with an explorer named Will Beebe. Together they created a Bathysphere that could be used to explore the deep ocean. The picture book concludes with notes that provide additional text and photographs about this true story.

Librarians will find that the easy-to-read text and full page illustrations attract young readers to this fascinating story. Suggest this book to children who enjoy history and science. Work with teachers to integrate this fascinating story into science history. Feature this picture book with other recent publications in a display exploring underwater adventures.

Published on June 5, 2018 by LBYR, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website: DLESE

The Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) is a free resource for earth science teachers.

This website supports teaching and learning about the Earth system for all grade levels. Resources include lesson plans, scientific data, visualizations, interactive computer models, and virtual field trips. Resources can be accessed by key word, education level, subject, or resource type. Or, users can browse nearly 16,000 resources.

The Earth Science Literacy Maps provide an easy way to explore Earth science concepts by topic such as changes in the earth’s surface, flow of matter in ecosystems, and plate tectonics. Users are presented with clickable maps to explore concepts and connected science benchmarks.

Librarians will find the resources at this website useful in addressing science standards. Work with teachers to mine the site for useful curriculum materials.

To visit the website, go to http://www.dlese.org.

Digital Spotlight: Florence Nightingale Digitization Project

The FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE DIGITIZATION PROJECT is part of an International Digital Collaborative.

Contents: The collection contains more than 2300 handwritten or narrated letters by Florence Nightingale. Suggested search terms such as hospitals, military medicine, nursing, rural health services, and workhouses are provided. Users can search all the collections or a specific collection such as the American Nurses Association or the British Red Cross.

Classroom Connections: Use this digital collection as an excellent example of a biographical collection. Or, use it to focus attention on the value of original letters in historical research.

Featured Digital Objects:
Hospital Design https://bit.ly/2Nfgz7D
Sanitary Engineering https://bit.ly/2QoP4KU
Statistics https://bit.ly/2DQnjJZ

To visit the collection, go to http://hgar-srv3.bu.edu/web/florence-nightingale

Website: Earsketch

EARSKETCH is a modular curriculum designed for high school computing courses.

Earsketch is a curriculum to teaches core concepts in computer science, music, and music technology. Students learn Python or JavaSript while manipulating sound loops, composing beats, and creating effects using a multi-track digital audio workstation.

The free learning materials are used along with the web-based application. The website contains a section with resources about the curriculum, a national competition, and information about the TuneTable application.

The Get Started option takes students directly to the online application where students can jump right into the learning materials and online application.

Librarians will find this website to be a fun way to promote coding while connecting to both computer science and music.

To visit the website, go to http://earsketch.gatech.edu.

Book Review: The Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe

The NEANDERTHAL OPENS THE DOOR TO THE UNIVERSE by Preston Norton is a humorous, yet heartbreaking young adult novel.

Filled with quirky characters and references to pop culture, this fast-paced novel tells the story of a super-sized teen named Cliff who aimlessly wanders through high school while dealing with family issues and mean classmates. When a popular football player befriends him and asks for his help, Cliff begins a quest to make his school a better place and along the way finds himself.

Librarians will find this witty novel to be popular with readers who appreciate snarky humor and teen angst, yet also enjoy a thought-provoking story that addresses common coming-of-age problems. Teens will particularly enjoy the classic stereotypical cliques, first-person commentary, and hopeful conclusion.

Published on Jun 5, 2018 by Disney Book Group. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website: AllSides

ALLSIDES is a nonprofit website focusing on balanced news and civil discourse.

The website is divided into sections focusing on different aspects of the news and educational resources to help youth differentiate fact from fake news and information.

The Balanced News area of the website provides news from the left, right, and center, stories of the week, issues, and the website’s editorial philosophy.

The Media Bias section explores how media bias can be rated and ideas for rating others and examining your own biases.

The Balanced Search engine provides resources on topics from the perspective of the left, center, and right.

The Balanced Dictionary explores controversial terms from abortion to Zionism. Users can browse terms, explore by letter, or read comments. There’s also a lesson plan for using the resource.

The Discussion area explores ways to engage in civil discourse and helps students connect with people of different backgrounds.

The Schools area provides resources for educators including news, lessons, and teaching materials.

Librarians will find the resources at this website can easily be woven into information literacy activities across the curriculum.

To visit the website, go to https://www.allsides.com.

Website: Making the History of 1989

MAKING THE HISTORY OF 1989 is a website exploring the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

The website begins with an introductory essay explaining the significance of 1989 in world history. The primary sources section contains over 300 government documents, images, videos, and artifacts. The scholar interviews and case studies explore specific aspects of the time period. Finally, thematic teaching modules each provide an introduction, primary sources, teaching strategies, lesson plans, document-based questions, writing prompts, and resources.

Librarians will find this website provides a useful context for world history lessons. Involve students in comparing the perspectives represented in the scholar interviews. Involve students in building their own case studies using the primary sources.

To visit the website, go to http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/.

Website: Kaggle

KAGGLE is a website focusing on data science projects.

Watch the “see how it works” video to get started. Users can then search for information or choose from sections of the website. A login option allows users to organize datasets and participate in activities.

The Competitions section shows projects currently seeking participants. While some projects involve real-money, others simply provide kudos. This project provides wonderful examples of real-world applications of data. Several of the projects are appropriate for K-12 students and citizen scientists. Teachers can even host free competitions for students to apply machine language to real problems.

The Datasets search lists thousands of tagged datasets and provides the option to organize datasets for personal use. Users can sort by project size, file type, license, and tags.

The Kernels area awards money to authors of high quality kernels on datasets each week.

The Discussions section provide access to information for beginners, technical information, requests for data, and learning resources.

The Learn section provides practical data skills including Python, machine language, visualization, SQL, and more.

Other sections of the website provide additional resources such as a jobs area, blog, and documentation.

Librarians will find this website useful in teaching data literacy. Use the website to locate projects and encourage teachers across the curriculum to think about ways to integrate data projects into the classroom.

To visit the website, go to https://www.kaggle.com/.

Book Review: Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word

THOMAS PAINE AND THE DANGEROUS WORD by Sarah Jane Marsh is an engaging picture book biography.

This fast-paced story traces Thomas Paine’s experiences growing up and exploring various careers. After meeting Benjamin Franklin and traveling to America, Paine takes a job editing a new magazine and finds success writing and debating important issues. The story describes his work publishing Common Sense and its impact on everyday people. The picture book concludes with information about his life and legacy after 1776, a timeline, bibliography, and quotations used in the book.

Librarians will find this book to be an easy and effective way to introduce the American Revolution and Thomas Paine to elementary students. Use this title to talk about primary sources. Pair it with other books about American founders.

Published by Disney-Hyperion on May 29, 2018. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website: ChemCollective

CHEMCOLLECTIVE is an online resource for teaching and learning chemistry.

The website contains virtual labs, scenario-based learning activities, tutorials, and concept tests. The materials are organized by topic and resource type. A Teachers section provides ideas for modifying and creating activities.

Librarians will find that teachers and students enjoy the varied, hands-on activities. Some of the activities would work well in a learning station to draw interest in STEM activities.

To visit the website, go to http://chemcollective.org.

Website: Google Dataset Search

GOOGLE DATASET SEARCH is a search tool for locating datasets.

This Google search tool helps users locate datasets using a simple keyword search. The search accesses thousands of data repositories available on Internet.

Read the ABOUT section for more details about the project. As repositories increasingly use standards for describing datasets, more resources will be available through this search.

For some examples, try a search for flu, volcanoes, travel alerts, climate change, malnutrition, and air quality.

Librarians will find that data literacy is an increasingly important information skill. Use the Google Dataset Search to locate example datasets and discuss ways to approach data literacy with teachers.

To visit the website, go to https://toolbox.google.com/datasetsearch.

Book Review: Flying Deep

FLYING DEEP by Michelle Cusolito is an informational picture book exploring a deep-sea submersible.

In this engaging picture book, readers follow a pilot and scientists as they climb into their submersible and journey underwater for a day of scientific investigation. Young readers will be attracted to the realistic artwork and lyrical narration. Questions are woven throughout the story keeping readers active throughout.

The experience concludes with the story behind the book, an illustrator’s note, facts about the submersible, a glossary, organism list, and additional resources.

Librarians will find this book popular with children who enjoy sea exploration, science, and adventure. Integrate the book into the science curriculum and associate it with oceanography careers.

Published by Charlesbridge on May 22, 2018. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website: Maps from American Battlefield Trust

MAPS from American Battlefield Trust provides access to engaging maps, videos, and apps from American history.

The MAPS section is part of the larger battlefield website.

The animated maps are actually videos that bring to life the movement of troops and battles of American wars. The Revolutionary War Animated Map covers America’s war for independence from Lexington to Yorktown and beyond. The Civil War Animated Map includes everything from Fort Sumter to Appomattox and more. In addition to the overview videos, specific battles are also available.

Over 400 maps are currently available such as the Battle of Cedar Mountain in Virginia during the Civil War. Both historical maps and battle maps are available.

Users can access the maps by war (Civil War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812), battle, or type of map (animated, battle, historical.

The American Battlefield Trust also have map apps available include the Civil War Battle Maps app.

Libraries will find these maps to be an excellent way to help students visualize the “big picture” related to these American wars. Work with the history teacher to weave these maps into the curriculum.

To learn more, go to https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps.

Website: iDigBio

IDIGBIO is an educational website providing digitized information about natural history collections.

The project contains three sections.

The Researchers section features a specimen portal. Users can access digital objects by scientific name, a publisher’s list, or an advanced search that includes access to text search and map tools. A tutorial provides assistance. In addition, the website contains research ideas, tools, and links to scientific publications.

The Collections Staff section provides access to technical information, working groups, workshops, and information about projects and digitization.

The Teachers and Students section includes learning resources for the K-12 and college level. A citizen scientist section provides ideas for connecting to the local community. The K-12 resources contain lesson plans, tutorials, video, apps, and website.

Librarians will find this amazing digitization project useful across the science curriculum. Also, use the website to jumpstart discussions about the importance of digitization in the sciences.

To visit the website, go to https://www.idigbio.org.

Digital Spotlight: Gulag: Many Days, Many Lives

GULAG: MANY DAYS, MANY LIVES takes an in-depth look at life in the Soviet Gulag between 1917 and 1988.

Contents: Uses explore exhibits including original documentaries and prisoner voices. The achieve contains documents and images through history. The teaching and bibliographic resources are useful for teachers. Finally, the reflect area allows visitors to share their thoughts.

Classroom Connections: Librarians will find this website useful in meeting the needs of students and teachers exploring 20th century history.

Featured Digital Objects:
Days and Lives http://gulaghistory.org/exhibits/days-and-lives
Camp Tour http://gulaghistory.org/exhibits/perm
Escort Guard http://gulaghistory.org/items/show/237

To visit the collection, go to http://gulaghistory.org/.

Book: Belle's Journey

BELLE’S JOURNEY: AN OSPREY TAKES FLIGHT by Rob Bierregaard tells the true story of an Osprey’s first migration experience.

When scientist Dr. B places a tracking device on an osprey he names Belle, he’s able to follow her migration to South America and back. Reminiscent of Rachel Carson’s creative nonfiction, the story explores what Belle may have experienced on her long journey. Dr. B’s connection with two young naturalists will appeal to young readers. While the illustrations meet the basic needs of the book, the photographs at the end of the book really bring Belle to life.

Librarians will find an audience for this book among animal lovers and the growing number of nonfiction narrative fans. Share this title on creative nonfiction lists otherwise it might easily get lost among the informational bird books. Encourage science teachers to offer this title as an optional assignment.

Published by Charlesbridge on May 15, 2018. ARC courtesy of the publisher.