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This web-based project encourages volunteers to help make historical documents more searchable by the public.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.