teaching tools, curriculum materials, Internet, math and science
Following is a list of free or inexpensive resources that teachers can order.
Painters on Painting, edited by Eric Protter, excerpts the letters, journals, and other personal writings of painters from the 13th century to the present. Published by Dover Publications, the collection features such well-known artists as Botticelli, El Greco, Rembrandt, Goya, Degas, van Gogh, Picasso, Wyeth, and Lichtenstein discussing their work, techniques, and other art and artists. Cost: $8.95, plus $4 shipping and handling. For more information, contact: Dover Publications Inc., 31 E. 2nd St., Mineola, NY 11501; (516) 294-7000, ext. 142; fax (516) 742-6953.
The Association of Crafts and Creative Industries, an international nonprofit trade association, offers a multimedia activity kit called "Discover Creativity." The kit includes a 160-page book of arts and crafts, project sheets with beginning, intermediate, and advanced activities, a video featuring people of all ages making different projects, and two double-sided posters. Cost: $15. For more information, contact: Association of Crafts and Creative Industries, P.O. Box 3388, Zanesville, OH 43702-3388; (740) 452-4541; fax (740) 452-2552; e-mail email@example.com; www.creative-industries.com.
Mathematics And Meatballs.
Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!, written by Marilyn Burns and illustrated by Debbie Tilley, teaches students about calculating area and perimeter using a story about a dinner party. Mr. and Mrs. Comfort, the party's hosts, arrange and rearrange their guests' seating to accommodate everyone's needs. An explanation of the mathematics involved follows the story. Cost: $15.95. Contact: Scholastic Press, 2931 E. McCarty St., Jefferson City, MO 65101; (800) 724-6527.
Critical Thinking Books and Software offers a free cross-curricular catalog for classroom teachers, home educators, adult and vocational education teachers, educational and rehabilitative therapists, and tutors. Among the book and software titles are: Brain Stretchers; Exploring Ethics Through Children's Literature; Memory Challenge; and Red Herrings Science Mysteries. Contact: Critical Thinking Books and Software, P.O. Box 448, Pacific Grove, CA 93950-0448; (800) 458-4849; fax (408) 393-3277; e-mail firstname.lastname@example.org; www.criticalthinking.com.
Gene Griessman's The Words Lincoln Lived By, published by Fireside Books, examines 52 principles Abraham Lincoln followed during his lifetime. Although he completed less than one year of formal schooling, Lincoln's wisdom and morality, according to the author, were foundations for a meaningful and successful life. Griessman's book includes Lincoln quotes on determination, patience, assertiveness, justice, communication, and other topics. Cost: $10. For more information, contact: Fireside Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020; (800) 223-2348; www.SimonSays.com.
Cynthia L. Johnson's Think Big!, published by the Wright Group, provides information on how teachers can incorporate enlarged versions of children's books into the K-2 language arts programs. The book offers suggestions for creating large versions of existing books as well as for helping children write and produce their own large-format books. Cost: $19.95. Contact: the Wright Group, 19201 120th Ave. N.E., Bothell, WA 98011; (800) 523-2371.
The editors of Highlights for Children have introduced Puzzlemania, a new series of puzzle books that teachers can order for their classes. Included in the biweekly publication are crossword puzzles, secret codes, measuring games, counting games, hidden pictures, word searches, and many other puzzles designed to help youngsters' thinking and learning skills. Cost: $7.95/month. Contact: Puzzlemania, P.O. Box 5071, Clifton, NJ 07015-5071; (800) 962-3661.
The Guerrilla Guide to Mastering Student Loan Debt, by Anne Stockwell, is designed to help students plan college careers. Published by HarperPerennial, the guide discusses the complexities of student loans, translates confusing jargon, answers such questions as "What's a loan servicer?" and lists deferments for Perkins, Stafford, and HEAL loans. Cost: $14. For more information, contact: HarperPerennial, 10 E. 53rd St., New York, NY 10022-5299; (800) 242-7737.
Internet In The Classroom.
Published by Eye on Education, The Educator's Brief Guide to the Internet and the World Wide Web, by Eugene Provenzo Jr., describes some 200 Internet sites and ways to integrate them into a curriculum. Designed for teachers of all grades levels, the guide shows how to take kids on electronic field trips, create lesson plans and curriculum materials for classroom use, and link students with peers from other states and countries. Cost: $29.95, plus shipping and handling. For more information, contact: Eye on Education, 6 Depot Way W., Larchmont, NY 10538; (914) 833-0551; fax (914) 833-0761; www.eyeoneducation.com.
The Internet and the First Amendment, published by Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation and written by Fred Cate, examines issues of free-speech and sexually explicit expression schools must address when they link to the Internet. Written from a legal perspective, the book discusses, for example, just how much access students should have. Cate covers the advisability and practicality of attempting to control access to certain things, such as sexually explicit materials, and also suggests ways to discuss these issues with students. Cost: $12, plus shipping and handling. Contact: Phi Delta Kappa International, P.O. Box 789, Bloomington, IN 47402-0789; (800) 766-1156; fax (812) 339-0018.
Math And Science.
Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS), an activity-based science and mathematics resource group, offers a free catalog listing more than 60 teachers' guides and assessment handbooks. Each includes activity-based projects for students that have been developed at the University of California at Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science and tested in classrooms across the country. Among the titles included in the catalog are Penguins and Their Young, In All Probability, Convection: A Current Event, and Frog Math. Contact: University of California, Berkeley, GEMS, Lawrence Hall of Science, #5200, Berkeley, CA 94720-5200; (510) 642-7771; email@example.com; www.lhs.berkeley.edu/GEMS.
Lions Clubs International has created free curriculum titled "The Future Is Ours...So Now What?" designed to show young people the importance of community service. The packet of materials includes a video, a teacher's guide, wall posters, and worksheets that encourage students to find a cause, start small, overcome challenges, and discover the personal and communitywide benefits of volunteering. Contact: Lions Clubs International Headquarters at (800) 288-8846.
The Annenberg/CPB Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding and distributing high-quality resources and educational media, has a free catalog called Multimedia Resources for Teaching and Learning. Videos, videodiscs, audiocassettes, CD-ROMs, on-line resources, curriculum packages, textbooks, study guides, and faculty guides are featured on topics ranging from foreign languages to economics. For more information, contact: Annenberg/CPB Project, 901 E St. N.W., Washington, DC 20004-2037; (800) 532-7637; www.learner.org.