TIPS Volume 3, No. 2
October, 2002

     Grade Level Key 
     Suitable for elementary school= Elem,  Suitable for middle school= Middle
     Suitable for high school= High, General interest= Teachers

 
The EditorThe Editor's Page
 Technology Applied
Into the Classroom
Connections
Through a Student's Eyes
Assistive Technology
 On Line 
Internet Resources
Literacy on the Web
 Help Resources
Tips from the Pros
Technology Training
Staff Profiles
 Miscellaneous
STLP News
The network is down...
TIPS Archives
Editor: Jeffrey L. Jones,
District Tech Resource Teacher
jjones@fayette.k12.ky.us
This website is intended for the instructional use of students and staff of Fayette County Public Schools.

TIPS Internet Resources
Suitable for middle school The Help Desk
Suitable for middle schoolSuitable for high school Only a Matter of Opinion
 Suitable for elementary schoolSuitable for middle schoolSuitable for high school The Exploratorium
 Suitable for elementary schoolSuitable for middle schoolSuitable for high school Teaching.com
 Suitable for middle schoolSuitable for high school The Elements
The Help Desk

Although archived on the Internet, this resource is actually a newsletter. Aimed at middle school teachers as a part of the support of the Region Service Centers' Summer Academies, this free service is financed by the non-profit Partnership for Kentucky Schools. The newsletters come every other week, and contain sources for lesson plans, instructional ideas, worksheets and other classroom materials - all freely available through the Internet! Take a look at the newsletter archives at  http://www.pfks.org/thehelpdesk/. To join, send an email so requesting to thehelpdesk@pfks.org. 

Submitted by Jeffrey L. JonesJeffrey L. Jones
Only a Matter of Opinion

http://library.thinkquest.org/50084/index.shtml

Only a Matter of OpinionThis first-rate WebQuest focuses on editorials, commentaries, and editorial cartoons. Included are complete "how-to's," examples, lesson plans incorporating opinion pieces, and links to other resources. Great site!

 Submitted by Kim Overstreet Kim Overstreet
ExploratoriumThe Exploritorium

http://www.exploratorium.edu/

A project of The Exploritorium (housed in the Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco), this site has a wide range of interactive environments on its "Education" pages which pursue its unique perspective on science and the Arts.

 Submitted by Kim Hooks
Teaching.comTeaching.com

http://www.teaching.com/

Most useful from this site is the "Intercultural Email Classroom Connections" (IECC) portal. An ePals-style classroom-connection clearinghouse, it will help you find students/classes/schools with which your students can interact through email. Also delivered through this site is the KeyPals Club, which is oriented towards distance classroom collaboration projects. 

 Submitted by Kim OverstreetKim Overstreet 
The Elements

The Internet has several great resources to bring the Periodic Table of Elements to life. Depending on the level of your students, you should be able to find a site or two that will cause students to want to know more about the tool that hangs on the wall in your science classroom. Start with the Atom Web Elements site at http://www.webelements.com/webelements/scholar/index.html. Here you'll find a clickable table with information suitable for students through college. There are photos, audio descriptions and lots of Periodic Table of Comic Books information about each element. There is a printable table and a downloadable version that will run on Palm devices.

Featured in the December, 2001 issue of TIPS is the Periodic Table of Comic Books, an entertaining but instructional treatment of the elements. If you're looking for an activity to let students understand the task that Mendeleev faced in organizing his table by properties, go to http://www.genesismission.org/educate/scimodule/cosmic/ptable.html, Genesis Mission a NASA site which allows students to organize a periodic table of their own, using described properties. The site includes a downloadable program that may be installed on as many computers as necessary, a teacher's guide, and the capability to print a copy of the student's final product.

 

For other activities and approaches, try the following:

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/applets/a2.html - David's Whizzy Periodic Table with animated electrons/spectra/nuclei 
http://www.chemistrycoach.com/tutorials-2.htm - tutorials for high school chemistry 
http://homepage.mac.com/dtrapp/Elements/elements.html - discovery and the origins of element names 
http://www.dun.org/sulan/chembalancer - equation balancer game 
http://www.vanderkrogt.net/elements/intro_pertab.html - Elementymology - a clickable periodic table dedicated to the origins of elements and the etymology of element names

and for those with a decidedly different learning style:

http://www.johnpratt.com/atomic/periodic.html - Periodic table using "pictures" to help you remember which element is which (hmm!)
Submitted by Dick ForstonDick Forston