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ENGLISH
AND THE LANGUAGE ARTS:
OPENING NEW DOORS TO LITERATURE AND LITERACY
Teaching With the Internet:
Tricia Abernathy's Class
• Tricia gave each workshop group an
assignment in a regular workshop session. One of her students, Marcus,
used Ask Jeeves for Kids and found some cool Web sites.
• Tricia visited a wonderful tutorial at the
Global Schoolhouse called Introduction to NetPBL: Collaborative Project-Based
Learning
• Tricia also went to the web pages of several
mailing lists,
joined each list, and posted her project announcements.
Lessons From the Classroom
• This story demonstrates how exciting new
curriculum resources,
tested in the reality of classrooms around the world, are being
developed by teachers and children and posted on classroom web pages.
We refer to these exciting potentials as The Miss Rumphius Effect.
• In fact, shortly after Tricia Abernathy's
class completed their project
and published it on the classroom home page  ,
they received the Miss Rumphious Award for their work.
This award is presented by members of the RTEACHER mailing list.
• If you are interested in visiting
exceptional curriculum resources developed by teachers,
visit the site for
The Miss Rumphius Award.
 E-MAIL FOR YOU
From: Tammy Payton
For the last 3 years Tammy has been hosting a tele-collaborative
project called E-Mail from Around the World. One of her favorite
sites for finding the resources-related web based activities published
by teachers world-wide is Blue
Web'n. She is redesigning and webmastering a
technology project that is supported in part by the Indiana General
Assembly and the Indiana Department of Education. This project is
called the Buddy
System Project. Also, she is the webmaster for
Indiana
Milken. |
Central Sites
for Literature
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Some of the best locations for classic
works of literature include:
• Project Gutenberg
This voluntary project has a goal of providing one trillion works of
literature to users by the December 31, 2001. Here you will find the
complete texts of many classic works by authors such as Louisa May
Alcott, Jane Austen, Aesop, O Henry, Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens, and
many others. Set a bookmark!
• Classics
for Young People
A comprehensive set of links to classic works, some of which are
illustrated. These include: Little Women, The Call of the
Wind, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wind in the
Willows, Rip Van Winkle, The Gift of the Magi, Anne
of Green Gables, and many, many others.
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Some of the best central sites for
traditional tales include:
• The
Encyclopedia Mythica
This is an encyclopedia devoted to myths, folklore, and legends. An
outstanding place to begin research in this area.
• Tales
of Wonder
This is an extensive archive of folk and fairy tales from around the
world--a must for any cross-cultural unit or for a unit on this genre.
Set a bookmark!
• Folklore,
Myth and Legend
A comprehensive site with many useful links to sources of information
and copies of traditional tales.
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Other central sites for literature
contain children's voices, literature written by children. Some of
these locations include:
• KidPub
A wonderful collection of more than 36,000 stories written by children
and maintained by a father in Massachusetts who initially just wanted a
place for his daughter to publish her work. Many great stories and
great writing activities are located here.
• Cyberkids
This is a quarterly on-line magazine written by kids for kids ages
7-11. It includes articles and stories by young writers.
• Family
Info Center
Sponsored by ERIC, this regular magazine contains materials written by
children and is intended to support family reading at home. Great to
share at an open house evening.
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Learning about an author helps students
to better understand the work they are reading. Some of the best
central sites for author locations include:
•
Authors and Illustrators on the Web
Probably the most extensive set of links to popular authors for K-12.
• The BBC Web Guide
A great resource from the BBC in UK. Go to this site and select
"English." Then search for the name of a specific author or search
using the more general term "authors."
• Ask
the Author
This location of the Internet Public Library, a non-commercial site,
contains information about a number of popular authors including Lois
Lowry, Avi, Matt Christopher, Natalie Babbitt, Daniel Pinkwater, Jane
Yolen, Gary Paulson, Charlotte Zolotow, and others. Photos of the
authors, a biography, and answers to questions submitted by kids are
available.
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Some of these locations are quite
impressive, containing extensive information about the author and
his/her life. Some even have listservs or bulletin boards to discuss
the author's work. Some contain curriculum materials for using the
author's work in your classrooms. A few of our favorites include:
• Charles
Dickens
This location contains all of the works by this important author, as
well as extensive information about his life and about London during
the time when he was writing. The perfect site for your study of this
author.
• Into the Wardrobe: The C. S. Lewis WWW site
This is the one of the best author sites around. Many rich resources
including a biography, an album of photographs, recordings of the
author's voice, many links to other Lewis sites, a listserv address, a
usenet address, and even a live chat location .
• The L. M. Montgomery Institute
The official institute's site for Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne
of Green Gables and other works. The location includes information
about her life, additional links to related sites, information for
subscribing to a listserv about her books, and sites on Prince Edward
Island, her home.
• Mark
Twain
A site with commercial messages, but probably the most extensive set of
resources for this important author.
• The
JRR Tolkien Information Page (lost)
If you are a Tolkien fan, this is the place for you! Mailing lists, web
rings, and much more. A site loaded with information.
• Laura
Ingalls Wilder Home & Museum
This site contains useful information about the author of the "Little
House" series. Historical information about the characters and the
locations where they lived is provided. It also features bulletin
boards for those doing research on Laura Ingalls Wilder and her
literary works. The site has a useful link for teachers which offers
plans for instructional units about this author and her work.
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Central Sites
for Writing
Locations on The Internet That Support
Young Writers
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• The Quill Society (lost)
Looking for a central site for your secondary English class? Here it
is. The Quill Society consists of young writers from around the world,
ages 12-24, who enjoy creative expression and wish to learn from one
another. This site includes a message board for discussions between
young writers, a place to publish work, a board of critics who will
respond to your work with helpful suggestions, and a fun activities
area. A great location for young writers!
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Publishing Student Work on the Internet
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• International Kid's Space
A great location for children to share their works of art, short
stories, and music with others.
• Cyberkids
This is a magazine for kids. Each year, the magazine invites
submissions for writing, art, and musical compositions from students,
ages 7-11, for a contest. After a preliminary screening, readers then
vote for the winners which are published. A great location for free
reading time. Set a bookmark!
• KidPub
All work is published at KidPub, a publishing location for kids
maintained by a parent in Massachusetts. Directions for submissions are
provided. Students can even see how many people have read their work.
Over 36,000 stories have been published to date. Set a bookmark!
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 TEACHING TIP
There are many bookstores on the Internet
such as Amazon.com,
Barnes and Noble and
Borders. These locations provide opportunities to publish a review
of any book your students have read and quickly see it posted.
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Grammar on the Internet
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• Guide to Grammar and Writing
This site provides your students
with all the important information to get them writing with style while
they communicate their ideas clearly.It is a
place for students to test themselves on most of the important grammar
principles. Great fun! There are even grammar crossword puzzles.
Got a grammar question? Ask grammar has the answer. Just send your
question to this web site and you will get an answer to that burning
question: What are split infinitives? This site has it all!
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Using Internet Workshop
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• Julius Caesar Unit
Take advantage of the activities developed at Cyberguides to add to your unit on
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. This site contains resources and
directions to help students complete four compositions about this
classic work: an opinion/comparison-contrast essay, an expository
essay, a statement of opinion, and an argumentative essay. Use Internet
Workshop to share works in progress as well as completed works.
• Cinderella Studies
Nearly every culture has their own version of this classic tale.
Compare and contrast different versions to infer what these differences
might suggest about the culture associated with each story. Have
students explore the web for other versions. They may wish to start at
the Cinderella
Project and
Cinderella Stories.
• Studying Indigenous Peoples'
Literature
If you engage students in a project studying Native Americans or other
indigenous peoples, be certain to set a bookmark for Indigenous
Peoples Literature, an outstanding site developed by Glenn
Welker, or Native American Indian Resources, another
site rich in informational resources.
• This Door Leads to the Internet
Cover the outside of your classroom door with butcher paper, or another
type of large paper. Have a group of students design a book cover on
this paper entitled, "This Door Leads to the Internet." At the same
time, set bookmarks to locations with collections of stories on the
Internet such as Contemporary
writing for Children and Young Adults.
• Jan Brett's Stories
If you and your class are reading one of many excellent stories by Jan
Brett, invite students to visit the Jan Brett Home Page and then share what
they have discovered during Internet workshop.
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Using Internet Project
E-MAIL FOR YOU
From: Rina Hallock
Rina used e-mail to develop collaborative Internet projects, especially
with literature. She said that it's not hard to find teachers who are
interested in the same projects in which teachers are interested. One
way is to go to Classroom Connect's Connected Teacher. |
• A wonderful example of an Internet project
using
literature is "Looney Lobsters Love Regional Literature" developed by
Marjorie Duby, a 5th grade teacher at the Joseph Lee Elementary School
in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Visit the home page for this project to see
how other classrooms
shared their regional works of literature through the travels of Larry
and Lester, the "Looney Lobsters." This project has retired however you
can still view information about the Looney Lobsters, by visiting the root page for the Looneys.
Using Internet Inquiry
TEACHING TIP
Do you use literature discussion groups in
your class? Here is a way to do the same thing on the Internet between
classes reading the same work of literature (K-12). Visit Book Raps, the wonderful location managed by
Cherrol McGhee, a teacher at the Hillview State Primary School in
Queensland, Australia. |
Visiting the Classroom:
David Leahy's Fourth Grade Class in Oregon
• David Leahy and his class in Beaverton,
Oregon,
explore the world of the Internet and then share their work with the
rest of
us through the results of their wonderful classroom project.
• Take a few moments to explore the latest
work of this highly productive classroom. We especially liked
the project page where David and his students
invite you
to share your best ideas about how to make the world more beautiful.
• Other work, too, might be useful to your
class.
Pay a visit to the book they wrote in Swahili. One of the
nicest projects
was completed by his class in 1999, a Virtual Underground Railway Quilt.
Additional Language Arts
and Literature Resources on The WWW
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• A+
Research
& Writing for High School and College Students
This page of the Internet Public Library will show your students how to
write the perfect research paper.
•
A Time for Rhyme
Having a hard time with rhyming poetry? This site will show you and
your students all the tricks to write great rhyming poetry.
• Bartleby
Great Books Online
All the great ones are here for free from Agatha Christie to Emily
Dickinson, from W. E. B. Du Bois to T. S. Eliot, from F. Scott
Fitzgerald to Robert Frost. Read away!
• Bartlett’s
Familiar Quotations
This on-line resource is a tremendous source for great quotations. It
contains a wonderful search engine with cross-links to famous authors.
Set a bookmark!
• The
Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest Home Page
Here is the home page for the whimsical literary competition that
challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all
possible novels each year. It's great fun and an energizing assignment
to any writing class tired of the same, old, same old.
• Carol
Hurst’s Children’s Literature Site
A useful central site for children’s literature, but more commercial
than others mentioned in this chapter. Still a useful resource with
book reviews, instructional ideas, and links to literature sites.
• English: BBC Education Web Guide
The URL may look intimidating, but this is a set of links for the
English curriculum in the UK, right from the BBC. Learn English from
the English.
• Eric
Carle Web Site
The web site for this popular children’s author. It contains a bulletin
board for exchanging ideas with other teachers about how best to use
Carle’s books in the classroom. It also contains his snail mail address
in case your children wish to write him.
• Help
Your Child Learn to Write Well
A brochure for parents from the U.S. Department of Education that may
be printed out and distributed at "Back-to-School Night." This provides
useful information for parents about ways to assist their child with
writing.
• Helping Your Child Learn to Read
An on-line book for parents written by recognized experts in the field
of reading for the U.S. Department of Education. This book
contains useful information on how parents may help their child to
read.
• How The Leopard Got Its Spots
The classic pourquoi tale by Rudyard Kipling from the Just so
stories. Illustrated with photographs.
• Magazines
This is a central site with links to many outstanding on-line magazines
for kids. A treasure trove of resources.
• Multicultural
Resources
Here you will find articles about multicultural children’s literature
as well as reviews and a host of literature selections organized by
cultural groups. It is a real treasure for teachers serious about
multicultural literature.
• Only
a Matter of Opinion?
This award-winning site will provide you and your students with all the
experiences you need to develop powerful skills at writing a variety of
persuasive writing forms. The goal is to encourage everyone to write
and to draw their own opinion pieces after instruction and research.
• Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
Here is a great resource to help your high school writers polish their
writing skills with a variety of formats including: informal essays,
thesis/support essays, argumentative essays, and exploratory essays. It
also helps students to document their sources appropriately.
•
Readers' Theater
This location contains links to locations on the WWW devoted to readers
theater. Several locations contain readers theater scripts you can
print out and use in your classroom. If you use this
instructional method in your class, this is the location for you!
• Reading Online
This is the free electronic journal of the International Reading
Association, the best on-line journal currently found on the Internet.
It contains a wealth of resources including sections on the electronic
classroom, new literacies, and an international forum. Special features
include the use of many multimedia resources and discussion forums
where you may comment on articles you read.
• OWL
(Online Writing Lab)
Here you can find all the handouts for spelling and grammatical work
developed by the Writing Lab at Purdue University.
• Stone Soup
Stone Soup is a hard copy magazine with stories, poetry, and art
created by young children. This location takes you to a number of
stories and poems written by young children and provides directions for
how students may submit work.
• The
Doucette Index
Are you looking for web sites that have teaching ideas for a particular
work of literature or a particular author? Here’s the site for you.
This index is a search engine limited strictly to children’s and young
adult literature. You will find instructional resources on the web
related to your literature needs.
• The Internet Classics Archive
This wonderful resource contains a searchable collection of almost 400
classical Greek and Latin texts (in English translation) with
user-provided commentary and trivia sections. The Classics Archives
features, among others, such notable pieces as Homer's Iliad
and Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid, The Histories of
Tacitus and Thucydides, and Plato's Apology. Set a
bookmark!
• The
Reading Room of the Internet Public Library
This is a good central site for literature with many opportunities for
your students. Developed at the University of Michigan, your students
can read answers to questions from authors such as Virginia Hamilton,
Timothy Gaffney, Shonto Gegay and others, read biographies and view
photos of many more authors, discover links to many authors’ home
pages, read original stories or listen to them being read aloud, enter
a writing context, see the book recommendations of other students, and
much more.
• Learning
Resources
This site by CNN and the Western/Pacific Literacy Network offers news
stories for reading or listening with accompanying exercises.
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Listserv/Mailing Lists for
Language Arts
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Use standard subscribing procedures (see
Chapter 3) to join the following listservs.
• CHILDLIT
A list developed for discussion and critical analysis of children's
literature.
Subscription address: listserv@rutvm1.rutgers.edu
Home page: http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~mjoseph/childlit/about.html
• Childrens-Writing
A discussion list for children's writers and illustrators, and anyone
interested in writing or drawing for kids.
Subscription address: majordomo@lists.mindspring.com
• Folklore
A folklore discussion list
Subscription address: listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu
• KIDLIT-L
A listserv on children's literature
Subscription address: listserv@bingvmb.cc.binghamton.edu
• NCTE-talk
This is the main listserv for the National Council of English Teacher,
an important professional association for English Education. It is a
high traffic list.
Subscription address: majordomo@serv1.ncte.org
Home page:
http://www.interversity.org/lists/ncte-talk/
• RTEACHER
A forum for conversations about literacy in both traditional and
electronic contexts. This is a very supportive and diverse group of
educators interested in literacy education. They also discuss both
Internet and non-Internet aspects of literacy education.
Subscription address: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
Home page: http://www.reading.org/publications/rt/rt_listserv.htm
• STORYTELL
A discussion list for those interested in storytelling.
Subscription address: STORYTELL-REQUEST@venus.twu.edu
• TAWL
A listserv discussion group on teaching from a whole language
perspective.
Subscription address: listserv@listserv.arizona.edu
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Usenet Newsgroups for
Language Arts
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• K-12 Teacher Chat Area -
k12.chat.teacher
Discusses issues of K-12 instruction, including language arts.
• Language Arts Curriculum in K-12
Education - k12.lang.art
A newsgroup on the language arts curriculum in schools.
• Writing Instruction in
Computer-based Classrooms - comp.edu.composition
Discusses issues of writing in electronic environments.
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