Thinkfinity

Thinkfinity boasts free top-line educational resources to strengthen problem-solving, creativity and critical thinking skills for the 21st century. The site offers lesson plans, educational games, activities and more. The gateway page asks if you are a parent, educator or student and the resources are wonderful. Being that its summer, the Afterschool Resources section caught our eye and it is full of of great activities--the selected resources and activities are a must see.

Thinkfinity is a big, bold site. Don't go play if you have an old, slow computer. But if you have the technology, this a site you don't want to miss.

Federal Resources for Educational Excellence

Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) makes it easier to find teaching and learning resources from the federal government. The site features more than 1,500 federally supported teaching and learning resources in the areas of science, math, history and language arts from dozens of federal agencies. New sites are added regularly. The website was originally conceived in 1997 by a federal working group and launched a year later. It was redesigned and relaunched in November 2006. FREE is among the most popular K-12 websites maintained by the U.S. Department of Education because of the many great resources being offered by participating federal agencies.

Amazing Space

What a ride! Amazing Space provides a fun, interactive way to explore galaxies, black holes, comets, and other fascinating objects. Get to know our vast universe by exploring its planets, galaxies, comets, black holes, and more. Come and immerse yourself in the majestic beauty of the universe while gaining an education on the world's greatest discoveries. Get the hottest space news and homework help too.

Grades K thru 12

CNN Student News

We love student news. CNN Student News provides students a quick look into current affairs. In the Spotlight features daily headlines. The Most Popular section points to the what news is generating the most interest or search activity. Questions and Newsquiz allows students to test the knowledge they have gleaned from the news. Hone your abilities in the Learning Activities section and if that's not enough, search for our other "student news" blogs to expand your knowledge.

Congress.org

Do you ever think about telling your congressman just what's on you mind? Congess.org can help you contact your elected officials. If you can tolerate the political slant of this site, its a good resource for information and expressing your thoughts regarding the politics of the day.

A Bow of the Head: Religions of the World

A Bow of the Head is designed to provide a general introduction to each of the five world religions with the largest following and to define some of their major concepts. It is a selection from the ThinkQuest Library and therefore an opportunity to see world religion through the eyes of the three young people who developed the website. The site is not intended to convert anyone to another way of belief or to another religion. It is an opportunity to gain some basic knowlege regarding the religions we are hearing about in the news. It is a concise and insightful approach to an often controversial subject.

ECOHEALTH

ECOHEALTH is an excellent resource for middle and high school students, their teachers, or anyone interested in environmental and health issues. It delivers scientific information in a friendly, engaging, and visually-vibrant manner. The site provides the indepth analysis and context behind today's headline news. ECOHEALTH features a wealth of information to include: a glossary with terms and phrases that may be too new or specialized to appear in household dictionaries, photographs, charts, graphs, maps, animations, video clips, links to carefully-chosen sites, whose work constitutes the frontiers of science, lesson plans, Q & A's that delve more deeply into topics of special interest, and more.

Jump Into the Melting Pot

The United States is often referred to as a "melting pot" -- a place where people of many different cultures and beliefs live together. Many contend that because of this mix of people, our country is more interesting than it would be if everyone were the same. Some think otherwise. But do most Americans know enough about the different cultures and beliefs of their co-workers and neighbors to ascertain if this is true or not? One thing is for sure, diversity has definitely added another dimension to the presidential election--from both a voter and a candidate perspective.

Having attended many Black History Month programs, I have observed most of them were full of other African Americans. I find these celebrations to be enjoyable and educational. However, it seems to me the programs would also benefit other cultures, other ethnicities.
And, I think it would be enlightening to know more about their history and culture.

The opportunity is certainly there. We celebrate Black History Month this month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May, Hispanic Heritage Month in September and American Indian Heritage Month in November. That is just to name a few. If we look around us, there are many opportunities to learn more about the many peoples that comprise our America.

Carter G. Woodson is known as the Father of Black History. He founded Negro History Week, the precursor to Black History Month. His message was Blacks should be proud of their heritage and that other Americans should also understand it. Taking Dr. Woodson’s assertion a step further, perhaps all Americans should be proud of their heritage and other Americans should also understand it. This would likely benefit race relations.

In addition to attending gatherings, many wonderful books and websites present the opportunity to explore different cultures. Many of the websites offer not only news and information but also interactive opportunities:

• AsianAvenue.com Meet people in your community, express yourself, and find information that reflects Asian cultures and perspectives.
• Asian Community Online Network Brings together Asian American and Pacific Islander non-profit organizations and concerned individuals to share news and information about the community.
• BlackAmericaWeb.com An interactive, timely and credible source for news and information covering aspects of daily African American life, featuring a wide array of viewpoints and perspectives.
• Black Voices America Online source for issues facing the African American community. News from the world of sports, entertainment, health and family.
• CodeTalk Federal, interagency, Native American Web site designed specifically to deliver electronic information from government agencies and other organizations to Native American communities.
• HispanicOnline.com An interactive, timely and credible source for news and information covering Hispanic issues.
• Latino USA Provides diverse audiences with multiple perspectives on issues affecting Latinos while fostering cross-cultural understanding.
• SisterPlay.com The melting pot of the worldwide web. The Race Relations section features a collection of the best ethnic websites on the web.

Academy of Achievement

This interactive museum of living history brings you face-to-face with extraordinary individuals who have shaped our times. The Academy of Achievement is an amazing collection, not of mere artifacts, but of people and ideas that fill you with inspiration, encouragement and the will to achieve. The site features profiles, biographies and first-person interviews with its honorees . In addition to written interview transcripts, this online Virtual Museum also features a Gallery of Achievement that includes video footage of insightful discussions with Academy members. Visitors can also access the extensive online library and discover which books made a difference in the early lives of various achievers.

Grades 5 thru 12+

Why MLK Day Should Never Be a Just Day Off

Why It Should Always Be A Day To
Remember, Celebrate and Act, and Never Just a Day Off

A Collection of Websites Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s

Life and Legacy

Martin Luther King Jr. & the Civil Rights Movement

The Seattle Times

Martin Luther King, Jr....a nation remembers

Middle Tennessee State University

Martin Luther King, Jr. for Kids and Teachers

skiddyhouse.com

Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University Martin Luther King-Nobel Lecture

Nobel e-Museum

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site

National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

The Biology Project

The Biology Project is an interactive online resource for learning biology . The Biology Project is fun, richly illustrated, and tested on 1000s of students. It has been designed for biology students at the college level, but is useful for high school students, medical students, physicians, science writers, and all types of interested people. Developed at The University of Arizona, the site offers resources for students and educators. If you are intrigued with science, you will enjoy this site.

9th Grade thru 12th+

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids serves as the educational component of the Government Printing Office (GPO) Access, GPO's service to provide the official online version of legislative and regulatory information. This site provides print and online learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. These resources teach how our government works, the use of the primary source materials of GPO Access, and how one can use GPO Access to carry out their civic responsibilities. And, just as GPO Access provides locator services to U.S. Government sites, Ben's Guide provides a similar service to U.S. Government Web sites developed for kids.

Grades K-12

Altapedia Online

Once you get past the humongous horizontal ad on each page this site, there is a motherlode of geographical information. For each country A-to-Z, there is a profile detailing location, geography, climate, people, demographics, languages, religion, education, history, economy, and more. In addition, there are physical and political maps. These maps depict regions as well as countries. Great site to explore the world.

Bartleby.com

Sometimes we tend to get so involved in the great not-so-popular finds that we forget we have some really wonderful well-know resources and we believe Bartleby.com falls into that category. Bartleby features literature, reference and verse. Users can buy the books online, or download free e-books. In addition to the Bartleby Bookstore, the site features famous quotations, authors, Harvard Classics, and daily biographies, definitions, quotations and poems. Bartleby.com also features a very good online encyclopedia, dictionary and thesaurus. It really is a site to add to your favorites, that is, if its not already there.

National Women's Hall of Fame

The National Women's Hall of Fame features American women who have made significant national or global contributions in the fields of arts, athletics, business, education, government, the humanities, philanthropy, and science. I made my way to the list of inductees and just went down the list. Many of the names I've heard all of my life, and others I've never heard mentioned. What a learning experience. Wonderful, wonderful, absolutely wonderful!

The Nine Planets

Developed by Bill Arnett, The Nine Planets is an overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of the planets, moons and other objects in our solar system. Each page features text and NASA's images. Some have sounds and movies and most provide references to additional related information. Arnett's The Nine Planets is a delightful multimedia tour of the solar system:one star, eight planets, and more.

Grades 6th thru 12th

HowStuffWorks

This site is what I would term "deep." HowStuffWorks features credible and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works. Founded by North Carolina State University Professor Marshall Brain in 1998, the site has since grown to be an award-winning online resource for millions of people of all ages. From car engines to search engines, from cell phones to stem cells, and thousands of subjects in between, HowStuffWorks has it covered. In addition to comprehensive articles, helpful graphics and informative videos walk you through every topic clearly, simply and objectively. Its a wonderful place to get lost!

Grades 7-12+

Amazing Space

What a ride! Amazing Space provides a fun, interactive way to explore galaxies, black holes, comets, and other fascinating objects. Get to know our vast universe by exploring its planets, galaxies, comets, black holes, and more. Come and immerse yourself in the majestic beauty of the universe while gaining an education on the world's greatest discoveries. Get the hottest space news and homework help too.

Grades K thru 12

GameGoo

GameGoo features interactive educational games designed to develop early reading and language skills. The games are full of rich stories and characters to engage students in learning adventures. GameGoo is developed by Cognitive Concepts, a provider of language and literacy software, etc. This is an excellent site for practicing basic reading and language skills.

Grades Pre-K thru 3rd

Shelby County Schools' ESL Resource Page

Its not a pretty site, but it has more English as a Second Language (ESL)resources than any other site I've viewed.The Shelby County Schools' ESL Resource Page is a no frills resource for ESL students, parents, and educators. Developed by Dianne Dogan for Shelby County Schools, it is an educational portal linking to hundreds of websites on the World Wide Web. The linked sites have been reviewed and selected by K-12 educators. The presence of a link on this website does not represent an endorsement of the site by Shelby County Schools. Some of the links are broken, some are advertisement heavy, and some are really good. If you can bear the bright yellow and sift through the debris, there are jewels to be found for ESL students or anyone attempting to master the English language.

Pre-K thru 12+