Federal Resources for Educational Excellence

Seventeen resources in the arts, social studies, & science have been added to the Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) website. FREE makes it easy for teachers, parents, students, & others to find teaching & learning resources from more than 40 federal organizations.

The 17 new resources are described below.

NOTE: If you'd like to tell other teachers, parents, or students about the FREE website, a brochure can help. You can order one, or multiple copies, at http://www.ed.gov/free/brochures.html

Arts

"Smithsonian Jazz" celebrates Jazz Appreciation Month, April, by offering sound clips, information about jazz events, a directory of jazz societies (by state & country), links to other jazz websites, & four online "classes" featuring Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, & Benny Carter. (SI,ED)

http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/

"West Building: Then & Now" celebrates the 60th anniversary (March 2001) of the opening of the National Gallery of Art. An online photo essay shows how the West Building & its environs have changed over the years. (NGA)

http://www.nga.gov/feature/thenandnow/thenandnow.htm

"You Be the Conservator" invites students to play the role of a museum conservator, discovering clues about an historical object in order to preserve or restore it. In the featured activity, the object is a "santo," a painted woodcarving of a saint in the Catholic Church. (SNMAH)

http://americanhistory.si.edu/hosc/santos/index.htm

Social Studies

"The Amana Colonies" looks at the historic utopian society established in the 1850s along the Iowa River by German-speaking settlers from a religious group known as the Community of True Inspiration. The group, which originated in Himbach, Germany, in 1714, created a communal system of seven villages, each with mills, shops, homes, communal kitchens, schools, & churches. This website looks at the group's history, beliefs, buildings, & more.

(NPS,NRHP)

http://www.cr.nps.gov/NR/travel/amana/index.htm

"Ashland, Oregon: From Stage Coach to Center Stage" highlights 32 historic places in this community located 14 miles north of California at the foot of Mt. Ashland. These places together illustrate the development of Ashland from a small transportation & farming center founded in 1852 into a community with a strong cultural identity. (NPS,NRHP)

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/ashland/

"Asian-Pacific Heritage Month" provides information about the historical contributions of Asian & Pacific peoples in the U.S. & territories. It includes links to Pacific Islander heritage & Asian American heritage websites. (NPS,NRHP)

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/feature/asia/

"The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War" helps students place the Battle of Prairie Grove in the context of Arkansas' role in the Civil War. Photos & readings from eye witness accounts of the battle depict the harsh realities of Civil War & its effects on both soldiers & civilians. (NPS,TwHP)

http://www.cr.nps.gov/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/70prairie/70prairie.htm

"The Battle at Stones River: The Soldiers' Story" provides readings, maps, & visual representations of this battle near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which was the second bloodiest battle fought west of the Appalachians during the Civil War. (NPS,TwHP) http://www.cr.nps.gov/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/40stones/40stones.htm

"HistoryWired: A Few of Our Favorite Things" offers a virtual tour of selected objects not on display in the National Museum of American History. Artifacts are presented in a dozen categories, including the arts, commerce, home, leisure, medicine, military, people, politics, science, & technology. Among the artifacts: the portable lap desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, George Washington's camp chest & military uniform, the Star-Spangled Banner, an African American tenant farm house, the first commercially available personal computer, & Thomas Edison's electric pen. (SI)

http://historywired.si.edu/index.html

"Thank You, Mr. Edison: Electricity, Innovation, & Social Change" is a lesson in which students learn about the invention of the phonograph, the impact of electricity on Americans, & Thomas Edison's role in the electrification of America. (LOC)

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/99/edison/intro.html

"Thomas Alva Edison" examines several of his inventions -- the telegraph, telephone, phonograph, & electric light bulb. Students learn about his life & how to create their own light bulb. (SNMAH)

http://www.si.edu/lemelson/edison/html/thomas_alva_edison.html

"Tracking the Buffalo: Stories From a Buffalo Hide Painting" puts students in the role of historians as they examine a buffalo hide painting & click on areas that reveal clues to the painting's story. The story helps students understand the role of the buffalo in the lives of the northern plains American Indians. (SNMAH)

http://americanhistory.si.edu/hohr/buffalo/index.html

"Westward by Sea: A Maritime Perspective on American Expansion, 1820-1890" presents letters, business papers, photos, maps, ship logbooks, & narratives that can help students understand the story of American's travel by sea to settle California, Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, & the Pacific Northwest. Themes illustrated by these materials, selected from Mystic Seaport's collection, include whaling, life at sea, the California Gold Rush, & native populations. (LOC)

http://memory.loc.gov:8081/ammem/award99/mymhihtml/mymhihome.html

"What Are We Fighting for Over There? Perspectives on the Great War" is a unit in which students use primary documents to develop an understanding of the World War I era, including how the U.S. prepared for & participated in the war & how the war foreshadowed the role of the U.S. as a world power of the 20th century. (LOC) http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/00/lincolnm/intro.html

"You Be the Historian" invites students to examine clues & determine what life was like for a family that lived in New Castle, Delaware, during the 1700s. Students also discover what historians in the next century might learn about us if they found our homes the way they are today. (SNMAH)

http://americanhistory.si.edu/hohr/springer/index.htm

Science

"Global Science & Technology Week" suggests how schools & communities can use the week of April 28 - May 4 to generate excitement about disciplines that underpin breakthroughs in medicine, space exploration, & more. That week, students can send questions (via email) that will be answered by scientists & engineers. On April 28, a webcast will feature scientists & engineers who create visual models of molecules & Mars (using supercomputers), devise replacements & improvements in the human body, & discover scientific truths about the universe. (OSTP)

http://www.ostp.gov/html/gstw/2002/gstw.html

"Mirror Molecules" helps students see the importance & uses of "stereoisomers" -- molecules that mirror of each other. (SNMAH)

http://americanhistory.si.edu/hosc/molecule/

Acronyms

ED -- Department of Education

LOC -- Library of Congress

NPS,NRHP -- National Park Service, Nat. Register of Historic Places

NPS,TwHP -- National Park Service, Teaching with Historic Places OSTP -- Office of Science & Technology Policy

SI -- Smithsonian Institution

SNMAH -- Smithsonian National Museum of American History