To preview software and web sites for use in my classroom I take into consideration the following:
I have chosen to review the following two CDs that I use often with my students:
Eyewitness History of the World by Dorling Kindersley, Ltd.I use this CD in my classroom for students to research information about the Ancient World, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance periods of time. This CD is organized into time periods beginning with "up to 500 B.C." and ranging to "after 1945." Using the map feature of the CD, students can find out what is going on throughout the world in any given time period, therefore it allows them to realize that events in history are not taking place in isolation. There is a wealth of information on this CD which I find easy to access and attractively displayed. The only negative comment I have about the CD is that it is difficult for sixth grade students to understand how to access information initially, therefore a sheet of instructions must be available when they began. The reading level is appropriate for most sixth graders. The articles on the CD are short and concise so that students are not overwhelmed by the amount of text they must read in order to find the facts they need.
Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia 1998 and Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia 1995 by Grolier Interactive Inc.
Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia 1998 is a beautiful CD. Options on this CD include research articles, guided tours of selected topics, a gallery of pictures, an atlas, a Timeline and Internet access. The information in the articles is written on a sixth grade level and is easily accessible by entering the topic students need to research. The guided tours offer text, pictures and audio on a fairly wide variety of topics. Students can access the Internet using this CD. While this CD contains some wonderful features and is very impressive, I prefer to use an older version of Grolier,Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia 1995, with my students. I use this CD in my classroom in a station set-up for student research. The older version of Grolier takes up less memory and does not allow students unlimited Internet access which would be difficult to "police" in a station situation. It does allow students easy access to articles, the Pathmakers feature allows students to find related articles quickly and the maps are great. In addition it has many of the same features offered on the 1998 version.I do intend to use Grolier 1998 to do whole class instruction of selected topics from time to time during the school year.
I use the following Internet sites in my sixth grade class for student research.
Ancient Olympics--http://olympics.tufts.edu/sports.html
During the second quarter of the school year students are expected to complete a data collection sheet which requires them to research information about Ancient Greece. One of the sections on this sheet focuses on the Ancient Olympics. This site is useful to gather the information students need. Students may choose from the following topics on this site: 1. Sports--which gives information about which sports were included in the Ancient Olympics and how they were played. 2. The Site--includes a virtual tour of Olympia complete with text, pictures and maps. 3. Spirit--gives information about the Olympic spirit throughout history. It also includes many choices of related topics. 4. Stories--includes stories about the athletes of the Ancient Olympics written by authors of the time. Most information is concise and written at reading level appropriate for most sixth graders.
Tower of London Virtual Tour--http://www.itw.com/~dravyk/toltour/
During the third quarter of the school year students are given topics to research from the Middle Ages and Renaissance time period. This site includes extensive information about who built the Tower of London, its location, and the stages in which it was built. Also included is information on the Beefeaters, who was housed in the Tower and why, and which monarch was responsible for the imprisonment. The information is well organized and appropriate for students reading on a sixth grade level. Students may choose the following options: Begin the Tour, Map and Search, Recent Additions, a Kid's Tour and Send a Postcard. The pictures on this site are wonderful and plentiful. Students are also treated to a rousing rendition of Rule Britannia if one chooses to load the audio file.
Elizabethan England--http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/index.html
This site was prepared by English 435 students at Springfield High School in Springfield, Illinois. The site is divided into six topic choices: 1. Historical Figures and Events 2. Everyday Life 3. Art and Architecture 4. Shakespeare and His Theatre 5. About this Site and 6. Links to Other Sites. The site is set up so that students can access information quickly and easily. The reading level is appropriate for those students reading on a fourth-sixth grade level. The site also includes many nice pictures and graphics. The section on Shakespeare is particularly useful because information on Shakespeare is difficult to find which has been written at a reading level for lower sixth grade students. While I have found one mistake on the site--a mix-up in the pictures of two of the wives of Henry VIII--the remainder of the information is accurate and my students used it extensively during their third quarter research of the Renaissance time period. It was their site of choice--it is attractively constructed and easy to read with concise information on their research topic.
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