East Grand Rapids High School Library

MLA Bootcamp with Mr. Sirois

2011-01-12T11:23:00.005-05:00

Today, you're going to take an article selected especially for you by Mr. Sirois, read it, and write a response using correct MLA formatting and citing. Sounds exciting, huh? Well, let's get started!

1. The first thing you'll need to do is to actually read the article, highlighting or underlining significant words, phrases, or ideas you think you'll use in your paper.

2. Start writing your response or at least brainstorming the points you want/need to cover.

3. You can refer to the article(s) in a couple of ways: direct quotes or summarizing.

4. Click on this link to see an example of using a direct quote in your paper.

5. If you use the author's name to introduce or end the quote, you do not need to include his or her name in the parentheses following the quote. Here's an example.

6. If you summarize or paraphrase part of an article, book, Web site, etc., you still need to give credit. In other words, even if you use your own words, but basically restate what you've read, you should cite the source. Look here for an example.

7. Here's another example of incorporating an author's ideas, but giving proper credit.

8. When citing indirect sources (quotes from a source in another source), follow these guidelines from Purdue University's OWL Writing Lab:

"Sometimes you may have to use an indirect source. An indirect source is a source cited in another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:

Ravitch argues that high schools are pressured to act as "social service centers, and they don't do that well" (qtd. in Weisman 259).

Note that, in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source."

9. Got it? Now, to create your actual Bibliography or Works Cited page, go back to the EGRHS blog (egrhs.blogspot.com) and look over on the right hand side of the page for citation creator links. This is what your Works cited entry will look like:
_______________________________________________________

Works Cited

"World History For Us All: Big Era 5." World History for Us All. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. .
_______________________________________________________

World Religions Links for Mr.Wojo's Classes

2010-09-26T21:59:00.000-04:00

Hello to Mr. Wojo's students! You are the first class to have links on the EGRHS Library Blog for the 2010-2011 school year! Here are some very good sites to check out for your world religions project:

BBC Religions: Excellent informative site from the British Broadcasting Company.

Religious Tolerance : Regularly updated information and links to over 40 religions.

Study of World Religions: Site from Minnesota State University looks at major religions.

Overview of World Religions: Unique site from University of Columbia, which allows you to research either by religion or by region of the world where specific religions are prevalent.

Forum on Religion and Ecology : From Yale, this is an interesting, recent source. Although the emphasis is on religious views of ecology, if you click on each religion, there are excellent links to general information.

Sirois Links for Government and World History

2010-06-02T08:44:00.017-04:00

Bibme (bibme.org) is even easier than other works cited generators such as Knight Cite. Just a couple of things to keep in mind:

*Make sure to cite the correct type (book, magazine, web site, etc.) from tabs.

*For book, use ISBN when possible, as it will find the specific edition.

*Select the correct edition in results, then scroll down and click

the button reading "add to my bibliography."

*You'll then have to scroll back UP, where citation will appear in upper right.

*IMPORTANT: Make sure that CORRECT citation style is selected (on right hand side at bottom) from drop down list (for Government use APA style......for World History, use Chicago)

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Suggested database for foreign policy articles:

Academic OneFile - College level, peer-reviewed, full text (mostly)

New York Times - Prestigious newspaper; in-depth treatment of subjects.

Wilson Select Plus - Scholarly, excellent source. Be sure to select "full text" option!

For additional databases, go to mel.org.

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World History : In-Text citing notes (Chicago)

Mrs.McKinney : Moral Courage Research

2010-05-20T08:33:00.008-04:00

You've read a biography of someone who has demonstrated moral courage and now you need to find an article about moral courage. Here are some places to look:

Academic One A MEL database with thousands of articles. When you get results, click on the various tabs on top to access various formats (magazines, news, multimedia). You can also download an MP3 of any article.

ELibrary Don't let the cute cartoon figures fool you! This MEL database has articles ranging from elementary through college.....and it's easy to use.

Educator's Reference Complete: This MEL database focuses on educational issues.

Expanded Academic : More college than high school level, with millions of articles.

General One File: This MEL database has a broad scope of articles for the general user. Lots of moral courage articles.

InfoTrac Custom Newspapers: MEL database that searches thousands of newspapers. Use for really current articles.

SIRS DISCOVERER : MEL database for K-12 students, with a lot of results for "moral courage" in articles, book sections, newspapers, and essays.
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And you may also want to try Google Books, which searches millions of digitized books. You would not have to read the entire book, but just take a section of it. Try searching "moral courage" at Google Books (click on underlined link).

Acta Diurna Project Resources for Mrs. Miller's Classes

2010-03-10T22:18:00.003-05:00

Try these sites for information to help with your Acta Diurna project:

BBC Ancient History: Rome (probably the most extensive site; use the search feature)

Rome Exposed (links to information on Roman homes, cooking, games, baths, religion, etc.)

Forum Romanum (use search feature to find specific information in this scholarly forum)

Time Traveller's Guide to the Roman Empire

Royalty-free Roman History Clip Art (legal and free to use)

More Royalty-Free Roman Clip Art

Roman Cuisine/Cooking
de Imperatoribus Romanis: Encyclopedia of Roman rulers and their families
A Visual Compendium of Roman Emperors: Excellent source for pictures and links to information
Livius: Comprehensive list of emperors, including images.
Classic Encyclopedia: Amazingly detailed information from the 1991 Encyclopaedia Britannica!
Roman Emperors by Century : First Century appears on page. Links to other centuries. Excellent pictures, facts, links to details.
Roman Rulers : Section from Classics Unveiled web site focusing on emperors.
Pictures! Public domain images of some emperors (non-blurry...oh, and legal)

Newspaper Templates:
Click here for a newspaper template. You need to create a user name and password, but it is free. You can choose from a couple of styles and, for this project, I recommend the "Old Newspaper" style.

Click here for a newspaper template which is easy to use. IMPORTANT: you cannot save your project, so only use this if you're ready to create your newspaper in one sitting. You can print it out when you're finished.

Miller - Roman Military

2010-02-11T10:06:00.000-05:00

Here are some links about Roman armies and military topics:

Roman Army (College of New Rochelle)

Roman Army - Part II (College of New Rochelle)

A LOT of General Roman Links!

Ancient Rome - Numerous links to information about anything to do with Ancient Rome.

Mrs. Miller - Aeneid Research

2010-02-09T14:09:00.000-05:00

Some links to art influenced by the Aeneid:

Artcyclopedia

Paintings, Sculpture, and Music Influenced by the Aeneid (Augusta University)

A Group of Links from Mrs. Miller's Previous Classes

Literature and Literary Connections to the Aeneid

Mrs. Schmidt - 1930s Research for To Kill A Mockingbird

2010-02-03T09:42:00.000-05:00

While we have a great collection of print material (books) on the various 1930s topics, here are some excellent online resources, too:

America in the 1930s : Outstanding collection of links to issues of the 1930s including gangsters, prohibition, music, films, sports, etc. From the American Studies Department at the University of Virginia.

American Cultural History 1930-1939 - Lots of links to a variety of topics you're researching. Look around and link to longer articles, pictures, video and audio clips, etc.

American Women Through Time - 1930s : Links to women's accomplishments and lives.

1930s Fashion : A collection of links relating to clothing and fashion of the 1930s.

InfoPlease 1930 Almanac: This is just a sample year, with links to events and issues of 1930. You can search each year (1931, 1932, etc.) individually to find detailed links.

Getty Images : Good source to find royalty-free, non-copyrighted images to use for your projects.

Prohibition : Excellent historical resources from Ohio State University.

Great Depression and WWII 1929-1945: Library of Congress site features sections on the Dust Bowl, FDR and the New Deal, Art, etc. A great source for accurate pictures.

Kite Runner Research - Mrs. Schmidt

2010-02-01T23:17:00.007-05:00

As you do background research for The Kite Runner, here are some reliable resources:

Background Notes: Afghanistan - US State Department; includes much information on the Taliban.

National Geographic - Afghanistan: Background, facts, history, etc. Scroll down a little to find a feature article titled "Hazaras : Afghanistan's Outsiders."

Afghanistan Unveiled: A PBS site focusing on women in Afghanistan.

Univ. of Texas Map Collection - Afghanistan : A large collection of political, historical, and thematic maps of Afghanistan.

Country Studies : Afghanistan: A very detailed site about Afghanistan, with sections on historical eras and aspects of Afghan culture, such as ethnic groups (Pashtun, Hazara).

The War on Terrorism: Afghanistan and the Taliban: Superb collection of links to Taliban information and relationship with Afghanistan from East Carolina University.

Afghanistan and the U.S. : Selected Internet Resources - Comprehensive group of resources compiled by the UC Berkeley Libraries.

American Institute of Afghanistan Studies: Very current information, articles, etc. from a private non-profit organization.

Kite Flying in Afghanistan : Fascinating group of links to the sport of kite fighting in Afghanistan compiled by the English department at Miami Dade College as background information for The Kite Runner.

A Good Read : The Kite Runner : Excellent resources for reading The Kite Runner including (on the left hand side) links to current events, history, social aspects, etc. of Afghanistan. Also includes a biography of author Khaled Hosseini, foreign terms, characters, literary allusions, and discussion questions about The Kite Runner.

World History Term Paper Resources

2009-12-04T11:04:00.003-05:00

Here are some sites to help with your research:

General History:
Project Muse : Scholarly source from Johns Hopkins featuring humanities and social science journals
Librarians' Internet Index
Internet Public Library

Women's History:
University of Washington - History of Women Links
Encyclopedia Britannica - Women Who Changed the World
Duke University Libraries - Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture
Fordham University Internet Women's History Sourcebook

Asian History:
University of Oregon Libraries E-Asia Collection

Biome Resources - Menichino

2009-10-27T11:21:00.003-04:00

The World's Biomes : University of California site with links to much information about various biomes.

Biomes : Although designed for younger students, there is a lot of information here, including statistics, pictures, and charts/graphs/maps.

Major Biomes of the World : Well-designed, informative site from Radford University. Scroll down to link to specific biomes.

Also....don't forget that we have a subscription to World Book Online, (worldbookonline.com) which has excellent information, pictures, maps, graphs, etc. When you use it in any EGR School, there is no user name or password needed. At home, go to worldbookonline.com. The user name is egrps and the password is pioneer.

Civil War Resources - Wojo/Green

2009-10-27T09:28:00.003-04:00

Home of the American Civil War : Site is PACKED with links to information about battles, people, strategy, medicine, etc. Part of the LSU Civil War Center.

The American Civil War Homepage: Well-maintained (by Dr. George Hoemann, a professor at the University of Tennessee who started it in 1995 and has updated it as recently as Oct 23); full of images, battle information, state-by-state information, links to many, many other sites.

CWSAC - Heritage Protection Services : Civil War battles by state. Gives many details about each battle, including casualties, commanders, results, etc.

Abolition Links for Mrs. LaGrand's Class

2009-10-23T12:17:00.003-04:00

I Will Be Heard: Abolitionism in America : Very thorough site by Cornell University

Abolitionism 1830-1850 : Interesting selection of primary sources and other resources on abolitionism from the University of Virginia.

That Laboratory of Abolitionism, Libel, and Treason: Syracuse and the Underground Railroad : A specific, but useful digital exhibit from the special collections of Syracuse University.

William Still Underground Railroad Foundation: Very detailed biographies of abolitionists are included (scroll down page to find list) on this site featuring extensive links to African American History.

Mr. Wojo's Class - Greek History Links

2009-10-09T07:47:00.002-04:00

BBC Guide to Ancient Greece - Excellent, thorough resource with many links.

Ancient Greek Battles - Indepth look at Greek War, with links to battles, people, etc.

Baranoski - British Invaders Project

2009-09-14T08:58:00.001-04:00

Congratulations, Mrs. Baranoski! This is the first research post of the 2009-2010 school year! When researching your specific group of invaders, try the BBC. Click here for a detailed section on Roman Britain, here for an equally in-depth look at the Anglo-Saxon era and here for Viking/Dane information.

If you ever find yourself in London, don't miss the British Museum! In addition to housing millions of artifacts (including the Rosetta Stone), its web site has extensive information with links to examples. These are excellent resources for the artwork portion of your assignment. Click here for Roman information, here for Anglo-Saxon, and here for Viking/Danes.

Newspaper Template

2009-02-05T08:20:00.005-05:00

Mrs. Milers' Latin Classes: Newspaper Templates

Click here for a newspaper template. You need to create a user name and password, but it is free. You can choose from a couple of styles and, for this project, I recommend the "Old Newspaper" style.

Click here for a newspaper template which is easy to use. IMPORTANT: you cannot save your project, so only use this if you're ready to create your newspaper in one sitting. You can print it out when you're finished.

Mrs. Schmidt's Classes: 1930s Research

2009-01-27T17:47:00.004-05:00

Here are some sites to try when researching the 1930s. Click on the links to access:

Digital History
"Scottsboro Boys" Trial (1931-1937)
New Deal Art during the Depression
American Cultural History
The People History - 1930s
1930s Fashion History
Prohibition
Film History of the 1930s
New Deal
1930s Websites

Also, thanks to the generous East Grand Rapids Foundation, we now have a subscription to World Book Online, which is an outstanding resource. To access:

1. At school: Just click on World Book Online.
2. At home:
a. Go to worldbookonline.com
b. User name = egrps Password = pioneer

Civil War Research

2008-12-01T13:10:00.003-05:00

Some good links to indepth resources on Civil War battles:

Historical Text Archives

American Historical Association

United States Civil War Center at Louisiana State University

American Civil War Homepage

Industrial Revolution, Immigration, Labor Unions

2008-11-20T21:37:00.003-05:00

November 2008 : Here are some sites with good information for Mr. Oldenbroek's classed:

IMMIGRATION

Immigration (Library of Congress): Many kinds of resources, including pictures, interviews, and information specific to countries. Click on the faces on the left side to access individual groups, such as Irish or German immigrants.

Ellis Island : Foundation to support Ellis Island, through which 22 million people passed from 1892-1924.

Immigration History Research Center : Extensive collection from the University of Minnesota. Take time to explore the many links on the left hand side.

Immigration to the United States 1789-1930 (Harvard University): Excellent source for a variety of research help, including pictures, external links, and online collections.

LABOR UNIONS

Labor History Links : Over 1,000 links arranged by topic, such as sweatshops, child labor, specific events, and many, many other subjects.

Labor History Sources: Another very detailed list of links of specific topics related to labor history from San Diego University.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Industrial Revolution (Internet Modern History Sourcebook): Fordham University's detailed sources on the industrial revolution.

Mrs. Miller's Roman Culture Project

2008-10-29T21:08:00.007-04:00

Here are some links to good information about Roman culture:

Medical Practice in Ancient Rome

Catacombs of Ancient Rome

BBC Ancient History: Rome (probably the most extensive site; use the search feature)

Feminae Romanae - The Women of Ancient Rome

Ancient Roman Clothing - Portal page with many specific links (men's, jewelry, shoes, etc.)

Roman Cuisine/Cooking

Julian Calendar/Time Measurement in Rome

Rome Exposed (links to information on Roman homes, cooking, games, baths, religion, etc.)

Ancient Rome for Kids (created by a teacher.....lots of basic information on specific topics)

Forum Romanum (use search feature to find specific information in this scholarly forum)

Rome: From Republic to Empire (articles and links from a college professor's site)

Social Classes in Ancient Rome

Time Traveller's Guide to the Roman Empire

Royalty-free Roman History Clip Art (legal and free to use)

More Royalty-Free Roman Clip Art

More Election Sites

2008-10-27T09:10:00.003-04:00

As the LAST WEEK of campaigning for the 2008 election begins, here are some sites to check out. Note the bias, or spin, of some of them:

100 of the Most Popular Political Websites : Click on links to visit a variety of sites.

Politifact : Just the facts about statements heard on both sides.

Fox News : Compare wording, headlines, stories to MSNBC. Is there a "spin"?

Media Research Center : Claims to "expose liberal media bias."

World Net Daily : What stories does this site cover? Is it fair and unbiased?

Salon.com : Take a look at this site. Does the coverage seem more conservative or liberal?

Rasmussen Reports : Combines many different polls in one site.

Five Thirty Eight : Projects who is likely to win. How is the information gathered?

National Public Radio : Opponents claim this is a liberal site. Take a look - what do you think?

2008 Election

2008-10-13T09:59:00.003-04:00

As the 2008 Election grows near, here are some links to valid information. It is important to check who or what is responsible for information because it could be very biased.

Project Vote Smart: Biographies, statistics, news, and basic voting information.

Chicago Tribune Election 2008 : Includes candidate profiles, pictures, up-to-date developments.

USA Today Politics 2008 : Current coverage, issues, background information on candidates.

PBS: All-American Presidential Forum : Easy-to-use and understand election information.

Time: The Candidates in Print: Looks at books about candidates, with many excerpts.

Washington Post : Another solid resource on the election.

Debate Links for Mrs. Steers

2008-09-18T10:39:00.004-04:00

Government spending for alternative energy is this year's debate topic and here are some sites to check out for accurate and supported information:

National Forensic League : This site provides links to resources specifically for the topic.

Debate Central : Maintained by the National Center for Policy Analysis, this is an extremely useful resource, with many links to substantial information, a glossary of terms, an "ask the expert" section, and information about debate in general.

U-M Library Debate Center: Huge collection of resources and links! While some are specific to U-M's own collection, much of this site is accessible online.

Emperor Roll Call

2008-09-10T09:48:00.014-04:00

Mrs. Miller's classes are traveling back in time to get to know some Roman Emperors. Here are some good sources to try:

de Imperatoribus Romanis: Encyclopedia of Roman rulers and their families

A Visual Compendium of Roman Emperors: Excellent source for pictures and links to information

Livius: Comprehensive list of emperors, including images.

Classic Encyclopedia: Amazingly detailed information from the 1991 Encyclopaedia Britannica!

Roman Emperors by Century : First Century appears on page. Links to other centuries. Excellent pictures, facts, links to details.

Roman Rulers : Section from Classics Unveiled web site focusing on emperors.

Pictures! Public domain images of some emperors (non-blurry...oh, and legal)

British Invaders - Mrs. Baranoski

2008-09-07T19:02:00.008-04:00

Congratulations, Mrs. Baranoski! This is the first research post of the 2008-2009 school year! When researching your specific group of invaders, try the BBC. Click here for a detailed section on Roman Britain, here for an equally in-depth look at the Anglo-Saxon era and here for Viking/Dane information.

If you ever find yourself in London, don't miss the British Museum! In addition to housing millions of artifacts (including the Rosetta Stone), its web site has extensive information with links to examples. These are excellent resources for the artwork portion of your assignment. Click here for Roman information, here for Anglo-Saxon, and here for Viking/Danes.

Back to School!

2008-09-01T19:20:00.002-04:00

Everyone is wondering where summer went, but we're back to school so do everything you can to start off on a positive note! Check back to this blog frequently for interesting or helpful links, sites related to specific assignments, and many other resources to help you have a successful year.

Here's just a fun site that makes anagrams. Try your name and see how the letters can be rearranged to create a funny (or perhaps insightful) phrase. My name has 3645 hits! One of the funniest was "fancy cars fumes"!

CHALLENGED BOOK REASONS (Schwaderer)

2008-05-21T14:37:00.011-04:00

Links to sites with reasons why specific books were challenged or banned.

National Coalition Against Censorship : This, in my opinion, is the best site about censorship. Use the search feature on the left side to enter the book title and it will link to articles about specific challenges.

Banned Books Page : Created and maintained by a digital librarian at the University of Pennsylvania, this is a little bit difficult to navigate, but has information about specific books and links to other resources about banned/challenged books.

List of Banned Books from Wikipedia : This is actually a good source for challenge reasons.

Kenneth Spencer Research Library - Kentucky University : This is the catalogue of books from a special collection from 1955. For older books, this is an excellent site which includes much historical information. The link takes you to the United States section, but you can also click on other countries to see which books (up until 1955) had been challenged.

Genetics Research - Biology

2008-05-13T14:28:00.006-04:00

Genetics Tools - Highly academic resource with information on modes of inheritance, using genetics tests, and ethical/legal considerations. Although the intended audience is physicians, there is a great deal of useful information.

Learn Genetics - Tutorial from the University of Utah. Lots of information here!

Genetics Alliance - Very good source for reliable genetic disease information.

Gene Almanac - Principles of genetics from the Dolan DNA Learning Center.

Television Past and Present - Mrs. Steers

2008-05-07T09:10:00.003-04:00

Here are links to useful information for Mrs. Steers's TV paper:

Television History : Here is a quick 100-year timeline, but click on the other boxes for indepth looks at other decades.

Transforming Television: A PBS special from 2000 forecasts the future of television. Links to articles along the left side explore other related topics such as HD TV and Cable/Broadcast TV.

National Cable and Telecommunications Association : Organization with information about digital conversion, legislation, history, and statistics.

Digital TV: A Cringely Crash Course : PBS special report on the future of tv.

Wikipedia article on the History of Television : I hate to say it, but Wikipedia has a very solid overview of television history, with many links.

Persuasive Presentations Research (Mr. Schwaderer)

2008-04-13T19:45:00.005-04:00

Welcome back from spring break! Just 7 more weeks until summer! Here are some links to researching issues you might choose to look into for your persuasive speech assignment:

Public Agenda : A nonpartisan, independent source which looks at a variety of issues from differing viewpoints.

Murray State University Library - Hot Topics : A list of ideas here provides many links to information on specific topics such as global warming, steroids, and file sharing. Some sources are only available for Murray students, but there are many other links to solid, fact-based information.

St. Ambrose University - Hot Paper Topics/Best Information on the Net : List of topics to research, including affirmative action, gun control, and waterboarding, with many links.

Multnomah County Libraries Social Issues : Lengthy list of topics to click on for informative resources. Topics include legalization of marijuana, racial profiling, immigration, and prayer in school.

Opposing Viewpoints at Kent District Library : Excellent resource for researching practically any controversial topic! You may need to type in your library card number.

SIRS Discoverer : One of the MEL databases, this one focuses on social issues and includes journal articles, reference book selections, and documents from well-established organizations.

Sirois - Conflicts Worldwide Research

2008-03-27T09:08:00.004-04:00

Here are some general sites about current/recent conflicts around the world. I'll add more as I find them.

Flashpoints: Guide to World Conflicts : Search by country, issue, or updates. Has not, apparently, been updated since 2006 but there is enough good information here to identify several recent conflicts.

New and Recent Conflicts of the World : Created by the "History Guy," this is actually a comprehensive and well-maintained site with a lot of information and links. Check out the history guy's blog, which is updated frequently. The "history guy" is Roger Lee, history teacher at West Auburn High School in Washington.

U.S. Department of State Background Notes : Excellent statistics and detailed descriptions of nations.

Library of Congress Country Studies : Probably the best resource for in-depth analysis of countries

Institute for War and Peace Reporting : Interesting site whose mission is to "Build peace and democracy through free and fair media."

BBC : One Day of War : Outstanding source for much information about conflicts around the world. Use the "clickable map" to find conflicts worldwide.

Modern Genocides and Atrocities

2008-03-24T09:15:00.005-04:00

Mrs. Miller's class is studying recent genocides and atrocities to compare with Elie Wiesel's Holocaust experience. Here are some sites that have solid information:

Human Rights Watch : The most up-to-date, comprehensive site which reports on human rights activities and violations around the world. Search by country, region, or issue. Includes photo essays, overviews, and audio/film clips.

Elie Wiesel Foundation : This foundation's site focuses more on specific crises (Darfur), but offers a good historical perspective of Elie Wiesel's work.

Invisible Children : Dedicated to the children of Northern Uganda, this organization provides information, volunteer opportunities, and support. We also have copies of the DVD to check out.

Genocide Watch : An organization dedicated to raising awareness of, predicting, and preventing genocide around the world. Clicking on a country to find links to many articles on that particular country.

Inside Tibet (BBC) : This BBC site has a clearly explained report on Tibet today. Includes many links to video, reports, and updates.

Regions and Territories : Tibet : Another excellent BBC report, this site contains much on the current crisis in Tibet and includes a historical timeline.

BBC : Sierra Leone : Excellent site about Sierra Leone's past and present dificulties. Includes many photos and video links.

Rwanda Genocide - 10 Years On : Outstanding report on Rwanda, with updates, photos, and videos.

Genocide Studies Program : Yale University's Genocide site contains links to invididual countries and regions. One of the most interesting aspects is the satellite map feature which shows a country before, during, and after genocide because you can really see the impact.

1950s Research

2008-03-21T06:56:00.002-04:00

Here are some good sites focusing on the 1950s. I'll add more as I find them.

The Literature and Culture of the 1950s

American Cultural History 1950-1959

Comic Books of the 1950s

50s Jitterbug - A History

Rebels: Painters and Poets of the 1950s

Images of American Political History

50s Cars Changed American Lifestyle and Image

Literature Resources from Professional Development Event - February 18, 2008

2008-02-13T11:15:00.009-05:00

Here are some links to excellent resources for finding great books to read and to share!

American Library Association (ALA): This is a wonderful starting point; you may want to spend some time just browing this comprehensive site. This is where the award books first get posted during the ALA Midwinter Meeting each mid-January.

Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC): A subdivision of ALA, this resource has many wonderful lists, including 2008 Notable Books and Recommended Book Lists .

Parent's Choice Award : A foundation focusing on non-commercial recommendations.

Independent Booksellers: Excellent annonations, specialty lists, and Book Sense newsletter.

Michigan Center for the Book : State literature resources, including "Reading Grand Rapids" list, "One Book" programs, and Michigan Notable Books.

International Reading Association: Lesson plans, calendar of special days, book discussions.

School Library Journal : The definitive review source, plus lots of articles on current topics.

Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice (PNLA): Ballots for students to vote for favorite books, discussion guides, ready-to-print bookmarks, and more!

National Public Radio : In-depth interviews, podcasts, and timely coverage of recent titles.

What Do I Read Next? : A fantastic source for finding similar books, titles by subject, character, setting, and a number of other fields. To access:
1. Log onto mel.org (Michigan Electronic Library)
2. By the photo of the person with a laptop, click on "See Databases from Library." If you are at home, select the first option ("See Databases From Home") and enter your driver's license number into the secure log in when prompted. You can also just enter a letter followed by 12 numbers.
3. Scroll down to What Do I Read Next?

Publishers are a relatively unknown source of author biographies, discussion guides, related materials, and even contests. Here are a couple of examples:

Random House
Farrar Strauss Giroux

Finally, many authors have creative, interactive personal Web sites! Here are a couple to get started:

Laurie Halse Anderson
Nancy Carlson

Controlled Substance Web Sites for Forensic Chemistry

2008-01-24T15:16:00.000-05:00

Here are some reliable, up-to-date resources to consider for your project:

National Institute of Drug Abuse - Excellent starting point, with many links, fact sheets, and statistics. The right side of the page has links directly to most of the topics for this assignment.

US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) - Michigan statistics - Very interesting facts about Michigan's drug abuse challenges. Includes accounts of drug seizures and current problem areas. The main page of the DEA is also a great resource.

Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign - User friendly and full of important facts and other information.

The Partnership for a Drug Free America offers news, drug guides, and a lot of current information.

And don't forget to use the Michigan Electronic Library (MEL) for very current, valid articles from journals, newspapers, and magazines. Scroll down to Health Reference Center Academic for specific topics.

Korea Notes and Links

2007-12-05T20:33:00.000-05:00

Mr. Sirois is at a conference, so I am teaching his classes about Korea. Here is a link to a map of the Korean peninsula. What does its shape look like? Korean children say that it resembles a rabbit!

You may wonder why I am so interested in Korea. If you take a look at my kids, Max and Megan, you'll figure it out!

An unusual map shows the comparison of North and South Korea at night. North Korea is almost completely dark. Here's another look at North Korea's amazing Mass Games.

Here is a short film of a traditional Korean folk dance.

Examples of Good and Bad Web Pages

2007-11-19T09:49:00.002-05:00

East Grand Rapids Middle School students in the Multimedia Presentations class are going to be designing their own Web pages. Today, I am showing them examples of both good and bad sites. First, the bad sites:

World's Worst Website

Jim Jacobson
Dani's Pet Bird Care
Larvalbug's Home Page

Now, for the good sites:

Project JUICE (designed by a 16 year old in New Zealand)
Animals in Danger (designed by an 8 year old)
Tim Lahan (Commercial site, but good design)
Best Designs (gallery of pages that demonstrate well-designed pages)

Scholarly vs. Non-Scholarly Resources

2007-11-14T11:56:00.000-05:00

Here is an excellent chart showing the difference between scholarly and non-scholarly research. Many thanks to the library staff at the Springfield Township High School Virtual Library for creating this!

Research Sources

2007-11-14T11:48:00.000-05:00

MEL (Michigan Electronic Library) is an excellent research source. It has a variety of databases, which are collections of articles from journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and transcripts from all over the world! Some of the databases focus on a specific subject, like law or medicine, but most cover millions of topics. I recommend these:

Academic One File
Expanded Academic ASAP
General Reference Center Gold
Infotrac Custom Newspapers

You can log on to mel.org, click on "see databases from library" (in middle), and then choose from the many databases in the list.

You can use MEL from home, but have to enter a Michigan driver's license number or state identification number because Michigan tax dollars provide access to these resources. Your information will be encoded and not used in any way, so it's very safe.

Log on to MEL sometime and just look around; you'll be amazed at what you'll find!

Atlas of World History

2007-10-17T10:36:00.000-04:00

Here is a great Web site Mr. Wojo found! It gives you an interactive map of the world which you can see at various times through history. There are also lots of links to brief information about various countries, people, civilizations, etc. You have to download it to run and, as of today (October 17, 2007), students cannot download due to district policy, but try it out at home! The tech department is working on making it accessible to students here at school.

Better Source for Searching Art

2007-10-04T14:03:00.000-04:00

OK....I found a better site for searching art by subject. Artcyclopedia, while a decent site, only allows you to search by artist, title, or museum. Searching by title is fine, as long as the subject is in the title. But what if the subject isn't in the title, like the famous painting of the 2 grim farmers titled "American Gothic?" The title has nothing to do with farming! By the way, did you know that the two people in that painting are supposed to represent a father and daughter, not a married couple? The man was artist Grant Wood's dentist and the woman was Grant's sister!

A better site, I think, for searching by subject is called Artchive. Try it out and then let me know how you think it compares to Artcyclopedia.

Mrs. Miller's Myth Oscillum Project

2007-10-04T10:21:00.000-04:00

Hi, EGRHS students! It's a beautiful autumn day and almost the weekend, but first you have a Latin project! Here are some sites that may help you. You can also click on them from the right side of the page. If these are helpful, post a comment. We also have many mythology books and borrowed some picture books from Wealthy Elementary. Thanks, Wealthy, for sharing your books!

You may not have thought of this, but the Artcyclopedia is an excellent resource for finding sculptures, paintings, and drawings. Try typing in a name, such as "Hercules" in the title bar and you'll (hopefully) find many works of art with Hercules as the subject.

Mythweb is a fun site to use because it looks like a comic strip. There is a lot of information here, too, though, so take a look!

Another great site recommended by Mrs. Miller is Encyclopedia Mythica.

The best site I've found for locating individual Gods and Goddesses is at Infoplease. Check it out!

This one is pretty simple to find: Greekmythology.com. I don't know much about it, but it seems to have a lot of solid information.

Finally, take a look at this very thorough, scholarly site - The Perseus Project. It was created and is maintained by Tufts University. Do you know where Tufts is located?