A Day For Good News: Edublog Awards and a Top Library Blog!

Last night, this blog was named a top five finalist in the librarian/library blog category for the 2011 Edublog Awards. I considered the nomination an honor, (no, I'm not lying, it truly was an honor to be nominated) since the other nominees are an incredible group of teacher-librarians. I'm very fortunate to love my job and  assisting my students and faculty every day. Here is a list of all the winners; this year, the top five in each category will be given a free year’s subscription to Edublogs Pro. SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT to Joyce Valenza (you are awesome) for earning the Lifetime Achievement Award. I'm one of the many people who must have nominated (and voted) for her.

Hey, that was enough great news for one day, right? Well, this evening I received an email telling me that A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet was just named to the Top 50 School Library Blogs list. Once again, I'm in great company with fellow teacher-librarians Gwyneth Anne Bronwynn Jones, Shannon McClintock Miller, Buffy Hamilton and Jennifer LaGarde. Congratulations, ladies!


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Do You Teach Poetry? Here are 34 Web Sites You'll Love

Academy of American Poets

Acrostic Poems- from ReadWriteThink; interactive

Best Books for Teaching About Poetry- from Education World; for young students

Complete Classics- "10,171 poems from 1,082 classic poets"

Cowboy Poetry

Famous Poets and Poems

Free Verse Poetry

Giggle Poetry- humorous children's verse on the Web

Glossary of Poetic Terms

Haiku- from PBS Parents; interactive

Handbook of Rhetorical Devices

Instant Poetry Forms- students choose from a list of titles and add their own words to create a poem

Library of Congress Poetry Lessons

List of English Language Poets

Magnetic Poetry for Kids- interactive site

National Poetry Almanac

Outta Ray's Head

Poems for High School Students

Poem Hunter- 310,931 poems from 24,752 poets

Poetry- from Questia, the world's largest online library resource list

Poetry 180- a poem a day for high school students from the Library of Congress

The Poetry Archive- browse poets and poems

Poetry Class- poetry lessons

Poetry Everywhere- PBS series

Poetry for Kids- you will find games, lessons, contests here, all based on the works of children's poet Kenn Nesbitt.

Poetry Idea Machine- from Scholastic

Poetry Portal

Poetry Resources for Teachers- long list from TeacherVision; grade levels marked for every item (K-12)

Poetry Teachers- ideas for poetry contests, theater, and activities for the classroom.

Shadow Poetry- definitions for over 100 types of poetry, examples included; also poetry guide

Sonnet Central

Sonnets.org- archive of English sonnets, commentary, links and a forum for poets to share and discuss their works.

Types of Poetry

World of Poetry

This blog began on this site in June 2011 and already has 499 subscribers. I hope that you have found the resources helpful for you in your classroom and continue to spread the word to others about A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet. Thank you for your support!

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37 Resources for Teachers of Forensic Science

Before the TV series C.S.I., our students didn't show a lot of interest in the field of forensic science. Now I am seeing many of our career books and true crime books circulating each school year. High schools have even added forensic science as a course, with students solving crime scenes set up by their teachers. As a forensic science teacher, you'll find loads of great information on the web sites below.




LESSON PLANS
Case of the Barefoot Burglar- middle school science
C.S.I.: Classroom Science Inquiry

CSI: The Experience-virtual crime scene activity; see if you can solve the crime

Discovery Education Lesson Plans- 5 listed; for grades 6-8

Fingerprinting: A Lesson on Classification- for elementary or middle school
Five Lessons for Teaching About Mysteries- mainly K-6; one for 6-advanced

Forensics Activities- written by Nancy Clark, retired high school science teacher

Forensic Science- this site was designed by students 16-18 years old and won an honorable mention in Oracle's Thinkquest Competition

Forensic Science Lesson Plans- a Thinkquest award-winning site (honorable mention) written by teens

Murder Mystery- from Newton's Apple; student activity

The Science Spot- lesson plans and many resource links listed here; excellent list

SITES
All About Forensic Science

America's Most Wanted- web site of the television series

Autopsy Files- celebrities and other not-so-famous people
Crime Scene Creatures-

Crimes and Clues: The Art and Science of Criminal Investigation

Crime Library- true crime stories

Crime Spider- covers loads of information, including arson, crime scene photos and a criminal justice library.
C.S.I.- TV episodes

CSI Web Adventures- funded by the National Science Foundation, this site takes you through beginner to advanced level ca; also games and "fun stuff".

Famous Trials-from Charles Manson to O.J. Simpson

F.B.I.- government site for the Federal Bureau of Investigation

F.B.I. Kids' Page- choose your grade level and learn more about what goes on at the F.B.I.

F.B.I. Records- find out about their records and how to obtain information which has been released or not yet released.

Forensic Entomology

Forensic Evidence Articles- categories include Evidence Law News, Identification Evidence, Behavioral Evidence and Biological Evidence.

Forensic Magazine

Forensic Teacher Magazine
Forensics: A Career in the Crime Lab- article about forensics as a career

Interpol- world’s largest international police organization

NOVA: Investigations Archive- videos on the Unabomber, Typhoid Mary and more.

PBS Teachers- shows which involve forensic science

The Science Spot- lesson plans and many resource links listed here; excellent list

TruTV Crime Stories

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

Virtual Exhibit on Forensic Science- site has a database, timeline and interactive game.

Visible Proofs-forensic views of the body; media, exhibition images, biographies

Enjoying the thousands of resources on this blog? Why not vote for us for an Edublog Award HERE.

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