TWENTY-THREE RESOURCES for Teaching & Learning
New Resources on FREE Website (Federal Resources for Educational Excellence)
November 20, 2000 — January 2001
Arts
“The Aaron Copland Collection: Ca. 1900-1990” features the work of
this 20th century composer who fostered & created distinctive
American music. About 1,000 items (dating from 1910 to 1990) are
provided, including music manuscripts, printed music,
correspondence, diaries & writings, photos, awards, programs, &
other biographical materials. This is a primary resource for
research on Aaron Copland & for the study of musical life in 20th
century America. (LOC)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/achtml/
“Coca-Cola Television Advertisements” presents TV commercials,
never-broadcast out takes, & experimental footage that together
reflect the historical development of TV advertising for a major
product. Ads include the 1971 “Hilltop” commercial with an
international group of young people on an Italian hilltop singing
“I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”; the first “Polar Bear”
commercial from 1993; the “Snowflake” commercial from 1999; &
“First Experience,” an international commercial filmed in Morocco
in 1999. (LOC)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ccmphtml/colahome.html
“Going to the Movies: A Century of Film & Motion Picture Audience
in Northern New England” looks at the evolution of movie going.
Theater management, musical accompaniment, & changing technologies
are among the topics. Video loans can be arranged, & there are
opportunities for educators to speak with expert staff & attend
special summer symposiums. (NEH)
http://www.oldfilm.org/exhibits/going_to_Movies.htm
“Jazz” is the companion website to the Ken Burns PBS series that
begins January 8. Explore cities & clubs where jazz developed;
listen to excerpts of bebop, cool jazz, & other styles; discover
what makes jazz “jazz” & the theory behind the art form that has
been called the purest expression of American democracy. The site
provides biographies of nearly 100 musicians, transcripts of
interviews that went into the making of the show, a “virtual
piano,” & more than a dozen lessons & a study guide. (NEA/NEH)
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/
Language Arts
“Literature & Medicine: Humanities at the Heart of Health Care”
explores selected works of fiction, poetry, drama, & nonfiction
that illuminate issues central to caring for people, whether they
are well, sick, or dying. The website suggests readings, offers
syllabi, & links to hospitals that are hosting seminars. (NEH)
http://www.mainehumanities.org/lit&med/
“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a lesson plan for teachers that uses
primary source materials on the Depression & Southern & African
American experiences. The unit emphasizes language arts & offers
activities including an analysis of oral histories from Alabama
collected between 1936 & 1940, primary source readings on mob
behavior, & visual literacy activity with photos of Alabama during
the Great Depression. (LOC)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/98/mock/intro.html
Science
“Building Big” helps kids think about structures they see every day
& the impact of technology on society. The television series,
website, & activity guide can be used to help teach basic physical
science concepts. The website includes animated interactive labs
on engineering concepts & problem solving activities; historical
overviews that introduce bridges, domes, skyscrapers, dams, &
tunnels, & the forces that affect them; & a database of engineering
marvels. (NEH/NSF)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/
“The Centennial of Flight — The Future of Flight” is dedicated to
the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’
first powered flight & the development of aviation over the past
century. It offers aerospace-related products & programs that help
connect students & teachers to aeronautics & space flight. (USCFC)
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/
“Chandra X-ray Observatory” features news & information about
NASA’s newest space telescope. As the world’s most powerful X-ray
observatory, Chandra joins the Hubble Space Telescope & NASA’s
other observatories in a study of our universe, providing insights
into the universe’s structure & evolution. Visitors can track
Chandra in orbit, watch live images from NASA-TV, & learn more
about prior shuttle launch preparations. (NASA)
http://chandra.nasa.gov/
“The Earthquake Hazards Program” offers frequently asked questions
about earthquakes, research on earthquakes, & more. Visitors can
follow recent seismic activity around the world, view hazard maps,
or learn what a geophysicist does. (USGS)
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
“healthfinder kids” is a place where kids can find information on
protecting their bodies & minds. It offers more than 75 games &
activities, information on safe web navigation, & a link to art
contents. The website also has a section for parents & other
caregivers of children with links to products & information that
promote children’s health. (ODPHP,HHS)
http://www.healthfinder.gov/kids
“Learning Technologies Project (LTP)” is part of a government
initiative, the High Performance Computing & Communications (HPCC)
program, whose mission is to accelerate the development,
application, & transfer of high-performance technologies to the
U.S. engineering & science communities. The website offers
resources such as online instructional materials tied to NASA
missions, movies, aeronautics projects, & the Remote Sensing Public
Access Center, which makes space instrumentation data available to
the public. (NASA)
http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/
Social Studies
“The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden” offers authentic
objects on all the Presidents, from the general’s uniform worn by
George Washington to an interactive 360-degree “BeHere” camera used
at a 2000 a national political convention. The site includes
letters written to past Presidents, tells what Presidents did after
leaving office, and offers lesson plans on how to use these objects
with students. (SI,NMAH)
http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/presidency/home.html
“Eleanor Roosevelt” brings to life one of the century’s most
influential women. This website includes a Roosevelt family tree,
newspaper columns written by Mrs. Roosevelt, a clip from a TV
appearance, a timeline that highlights events in her life & in the
nation, & more. A teacher’s guide suggests discussion topics &
related activities. (NEH)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/
“Florida Folklife from the WPS Collections, 1937-1942” is an
ethnographic field collection documenting African-American, Arabic,
Bahamian, British-American, Cuban, Greek, Italian, Minorcan,
Seminole, & Slavic cultures throughout Florida during the New Deal
era. It features folksongs & folktales, including blues & work
songs from menhaden fishing boats, railroad gangs, & turpentine
camps; children’s songs, dance music, & religious music; &
interviews. The site offers a list of related websites, & a guide
to the ethnic & language groups of Florida. (LOC)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/flwpahtml/flwpahome.html
“History of the American West, 1860-1920” features more than 30,000
photographs that illustrate Colorado towns & landscape, document
the place of mining in the history of Colorado & the West, & show
the lives of Native Americans from more than 40 tribes living west
of the Mississippi River. World War II photographs of the 10th
Mountain Division (ski troops based in Colorado who saw action in
Italy) are also included. (LOC)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/codhtml/hawphome.html
“‘I Do Solemnly Swear…’ Presidential Inaugurations” is a
collection of 400 items from each of the 62 inaugurations, from
George Washington’s in 1789 to Bill Clinton’s in 1997. The site
features diaries & letters of Presidents & of those who witnessed
inaugurations, handwritten drafts of inaugural addresses,
broadsides, inaugural tickets & programs, prints, photo, & sheet
music. It will include items from the 63rd inauguration of 2001.
(LOC)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pihome.html
“Lost & Found Sound” is a call to listeners to send in home
recordings of the last 100 years to be shaped into stories that
capture the rituals & sounds of everyday life. For example, the
site features lost creation songs from the Mojave people, 20th
century wars on tape, & a program on the disappearance of
languages. (NEH)
http://www.npr.org/programs/lnfsound
“Napoleon” is a companion website to the PBS film that chronicles
the life of the infamous French leader. The website is designed to
help teachers use the PBS “Napoleon” video series in secondary
social studies, civics, religion, & language arts classes. It is
organized in four parts: the man & the myth, Napoleon & Josephine,
politics in Napoleon’s time, & Napoleon at war. It offers four
lesson plans, an interactive battlefield simulator, video clips, &
more. (NEH)
http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/
“Prairie Settlement: Nebraska Photographs & Family Letters”
illustrates the story of settlement on the Great Plains. Family
letters of one homesteader express personal insight into the joy,
despair, & determination in his struggle to establish a home on the
prairie. (LOC)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award98/nbhihtml/pshome.html
“Presidential Elections & the Electoral College” presents materials
on elections & the voting process. It links to other election &
electoral college resources. (LOC)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwec.html
“U.S. Electoral College” provides information & statistics on
presidential elections, past & present. For the 2000 election, it
includes popular vote totals by state, Electoral College members, &
state laws & requirements. It also offers past electoral results &
an electoral college calculator. (NARA)
http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/elctcoll/
“Who Really Built America” is a long-term student-driven project
that examines primary source materials related to child labor in
America from 1880-1920. The unit helps students see the role of
labor in our emerging industrial society & its effect on American
children. (LOC)
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/98/built/index.html
Acronyms
LOC — Library of Congress
NARA — National Archive & Records Administration
NASA — National Aeronautics & Space Administration
NEA — National Endowment for the Arts
NEH — National Endowment for the Humanities
NSF — National Science Foundation
ODPHP,HHS — Office of Disease Prevention & Health Promotion,
Department of Health & Human Services
SI,NMAH — Smithsonian Institute, National Museum of American
History
USCFC — The U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission
USGS — U.S. Geological Survey
