Vakoverstijgend

On June 6, 1944, Allied troops from the U.S., Britain, Canada and France, stormed the coastline of Normandy, France, taking the occupying Germans by surprise. The attack was the largest single-day invasion of all time, with over 130,000 troops arriving by air and by sea in one day.

D-Day Museum: Memories of D-Day
http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/memories.htm

"Four years in the preparation, Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, marked the beginning of the end of World War II and the eventual liberation of Europe." The D-Day Museum of Portsmouth, UK, has a large D-Day archive, including articles, veterans' memoirs, and audio clips. Best reasons to visit are the first person accounts sprinkled throughout the site. In addition to features about preparing for D-Day, and crossing the channel, the site has sections covering the five Normandy beaches where American and British troops landed.

Encyclopedia Britannica's Guide to Normandy 1944
http://www.britannica.com/dday

Encyclopedia Britannica's multimedia guide is a terrific starting point for a school research project. Highlights include audio memories from D-Day veterans, interactive charts, and Learning Activities. Change the Course of History (the first of four Learning Activities) is a classroom role-playing game where students take on the role of a real German commander, Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt. What might have happened if he had somehow learned how and when the Allies were to invade France?

PBS: American Experience: D-Day
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dday/

Notable clicks at this PBS site include the World War II European timeline, and the Special Features. "Did You Know?" answers the popular question: What does the "D" in D-Day stand for? The short answer is that it probably stands for "Day," but you'll need to read the article to get the whole story. "Hot Off the Presses" is a look at newspaper reports of the time. For teachers, there are seven classroom activities, covering four subject areas: geography, economics, history and civics.

Vakondersteunend Economie en Engels (Bron: Barbara J.Feldman)
Babysitten maar dan als inkomstenbron van je eigen bedrijf. Hoe pak je dit aan? Dat staat in het online tijdschrift Goolgoplex

Googolplex: From Babies to Bucks: http://googolplex.cuna.org/12433/ajsmall/story.html?doc_id=634

Googolplex is an online magazine for teens, from University Credit Union, with an emphasis on making money. This page deals with treating your babysitting as a business. Visit to learn about creating a business plan (How often do you want to babysit?),
finding investors (who will pay for a first-aid class?) and advertising. Click on any of the brown-highlighted phrases to view more details in a popover window.
Engels en wiskunde (bron: Barbara J. Feldman)

Mathematics Help Central: Precalculus Trigonometry
http://www.mathematicshelpcentral.com/lecture_notes/precalculus_trigonometry.htm

Holly Camp was a twenty-five-year-old divorced mom with two kids under the age of four when she enrolled in college. Although she was intimidated by her first algebra class, when she aced the first test, she took that as a sign that her mission was to help others who might be in a similar predicament. Visit for her trigonometry class notes and printable graph paper, but don't leave without reading her inspiring story.

The Math Page: Topics in Precalculus
http://www.themathpage.com/aPreCalc/precalculus.htm

"When one thing depends on another, as, for example, the area of a circle depends on the radius, or the temperature on the mountain depends on the height, then we say that the first is a ‘function' of the other." Lawrence Spector, a math teacher at Borough of Manhattan Community College, introduces precalculus with twenty-five topics including logarithms, polynomials of the second degree, irrational numbers and mathematical induction. If you return to the homepage, you'll find another twenty-one trigonometry topics, along with lessons for algebra, plane geometry and calculus.

MathWorld: Pre-Calculus
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/classroom/classes/Pre-Calculus.html

MathWorld is an extensive math encyclopedia, "created, developed and nurtured by Eric Weisstein with contributions from the world's math community." The precalculus section covers complex numbers, conic sections, exponents, logarithms, functions, and vectors. The table of contents doubles as a glossary of more than thirty-five precalculus terms. Simply click on any of the terms to view a more detailed definition, along with links to related lesson, explanations, and animated illustrations.

History for Kids: Aristotle
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/aristotle.htm

This single-page Aristotle biography is my pick of the day for middle-school students. It tells the story of how Aristotle studied and taught in Plato's Academy for twenty years, but was not chosen to lead the Academy after Plato's death. Instead, he left Athens for Macedon, where he tutored the young price that would become Alexander the Great. Upon the prince's ascension to the throne, Plato returned to Athens and founded his own school, the Lyceum.

Kids Philosophy Slam: Aristotle
http://www.philosophyslam.org/1_27.html

Kids Philosophy Slam is an annual program for K-12 students, designed to make philosophy fun and to promote critical thinking skills. As a previous Philosopher of the Week, Aristotle has his own biography page sprinkled with a handful of pithy Aristotle quotes. Best reasons to visit, however, are the classroom discussion questions. "Plato, Aristotle's teacher, had envisioned an ideal society. How does Aristotle's ideal society differ from Plato's? How are they the same?"

Washington State University: Greek Philosophy: Aristotle
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/GREECE/ARIST.HTM

Based on World Civilizations classes taught at WSU, Dr. Richard Hooker has compiled this "Internet classroom and anthology" that encourages us not to be scared of Aristotle. "Aristotle represents for most of us an icon of difficult or abstruse philosophical thinking; to know Aristotle often provokes hushed whispers even from highly educated people. For all this reputation, though, Aristotle is actually quite an easy read, for the man thought with an incredible clarity and wrote with a superhuman precision."

... Click to continue Aristotle.

Chemistry of Autumn Colors
http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/fallcolr/fallcolr.html

Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri of University of Wisconsin-Madison shares his love of science with high school students by explaining the chemistry of fall colors. "The range and intensity of autumn colors is greatly influenced by the weather. Low temperatures destroy chlorophyll, and if they stay above freezing, promote the formation of anthocyanins. Bright sunshine also destroys chlorophyll and enhances anthocyanin production."

EEK! A Tree's True Color
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/veg/trees/treestruecolor.htm

Environmental Educaton for Kids (EEK!) is published by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for kids in grades four through eight. With simple illustrations, this fall color page answers six questions. Why do leaves change color? Where do leaf colors come from? How do leaves change color? Do leaves change color because of weather? Can you tell a tree from its colors? Why do leaves fall? Follow the embedded hyperlinks to related topics such as earthworms and evergreen trees.

Fall Color
http://ncnatural.com/fall-color/

"Nature's annual autumn color festival is certainly one of the greatest shows on earth. Each fall, millions of trees in the eastern deciduous forests respond to the shorter days and cooler nights by beginning preparations for their dormant winter period. It is just business as usual for the trees, but for us, it is a spectacular display of the beauty and diversity of nature." This fabulous site from North Carolina includes a visual guide to fall leaves, a detailed scientific explanation of fall colors, and tidbits of fall folklore ("A warm November is the sign of a bad winter.")

Do fractions make you sweat? Whether you are a student or a parent helping a student, I've found five sites that will take you by the hand and explain everything you've always feared you could never learn about fractions. Take a deep breath. Let's go.

AAA Math: All About Fractions
http://www.aaamath.com/fra.html

Dozens of colorfully illustrated pages with explanatory lessons and interactive practice games make All About Fractions my pick of the day. Using the Table of Contents, you can jump directly to one of ten chapters (such as Multiplying Fractions, Reducing Fractions and Comparing fractions) or start at the beginning (Basic Fractions) and use the Next Lesson link to continue through the site. My favorite clicks are the timed exercises you'll find at the bottom of each lesson page.

BBC: Revisewise Maths: Fractions
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revisewise/maths/number/02_act.shtml

This introductory Fractions lesson from the BBC is divided into four parts: a multimedia activity, a fact sheet, a printable worksheet, and an online test. When you are done, there are other number lessons to explore, including Percentages, Multiplication, Division and Using a Calculator. After you have mastered all the concepts in the Numbers chapter, stop by the Gamezone (link is in the left-hand column) to play a fun math game. "Your mission is to see how far you can navigate your submarine on a fuel of scallops." Sounds odd, I know, but it includes oodles of math problems to solve.

Cynthia Lanius' Lessons: Fraction Shapes
http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Patterns/

These colorful geometric puzzles and exercises for elementary and middle school students are just plain fun. Oh, and did I mention they were educational too? My favorite is the interactive Pattern Blocks (you'll find at the "online" link in item two on the front page.) Don't miss it! Author Cynthia Lanius of Rice University explains it this way "These activities are designed to cause students to think; they are not algorithmic. They do not say, ‘To add fractions, do step one, step two, step three.' Students will explore geometric models of fractions and discover relations among them."

Investigating the Renaissance
http://www.artmuseums.harvard.edu/Renaissance/

From the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, Investigating the Renaissance "demonstrates the ways in which computer technology can be harnessed to add to our knowledge about Renaissance paintings and how they were made. Computer-assisted imaging can reveal aspects of the process of making art not visible to the unaided eye. It also reveals the alterations of intervening centuries, alterations that were intended to repair the ravages of time and use, and to adjust images to reflect changing aesthetic preferences."

Italy Guides: Virtual Travel in the City of the Renaissance: Florence
http://www.italyguides.it/us/florence/florence_italy.htm

Like a mini-vacation, Italy Guides brings you the best of Florence with QuickTime Virtual Realty tours, downloadable audio tours in MP3 format, and a photo gallery. Virtual tours are available for the Duomo (cathedral) of Florence, the Giotto's Bell Tower, the Dome of Brunelleschi, and twelve other sights. Last month when I was in Florence with my family, our hotel was adjacent to the piazza Santa Maria Novella, so seeing that tour brought back some great memories.

Renaissance Connection
http://www.renaissanceconnection.org/

"In many ways we are still living in a Renaissance world. And you can see the origins of our world in the visual arts of the Renaissance." Although I normally skip as fast as I can over Flash intros, I did enjoy this one. Turn on your speakers to hear the accompanying music. The Renaissance Connection is my pick of the day because of its creative interface and six lesson plans in PDF. Visit to explore the life of a Renaissance artist or to imagine yourself a patron of arts.

Frans en economie
De Franse regering heeft een online spel opgezet, waarin spelers een poging mogen wagen om de begroting van de Franse staat in evenwicht te krijgen. Het draagt de passende titel Cyber budget.
De speler neemt de plaats in van de Franse minister van financiën en krijgt daarmee zijn bevoegdheden, maar heeft ook te maken met zijn problemen. De would-be minister kan belastingverlagingen doorvoeren.
Hij mag ongestraft miljoenen euro's uitgeven, maar wordt ook geconfronteerd met onverwachte tegenvallers. Om het spel realistisch te houden, beperken allerlei nationale en internationale factoren zijn bewegingsvrijheid bij het opstellen en beheren van de begroting.
Zo moet hij keihard onderhandelen met andere Franse ministers over hun budget. Om te slagen als het Franse equivalent van minister Zalm moet je ook nog eens goede kennis van het Frans hebben en je mag eerst allerlei boeiende begrotingstechnische zaken leren.
De Franse minister van financiën, Jean-François Cope, die de moeilijke taak heeft om het begrotingstekort te beperken tot drie procent, hoopt zo misschien de Franse belastingbetaler te doen inzien hoe moeilijk hij het wel niet heeft. (bron HCC Magazine van 15 juli 2006)

The American Revolution
http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/

Nicely organized into Battles, Important People, Historical Events, Historical Documents and a Timeline, this site has lots of concise American Revolution information for homework and school reports. Best clicks are transcripts of many primary source documents, such as George Washington's first inaugural address and Patrick Henry's famous "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech.

Loyalty or Liberty?
http://www.history.org/History/teaching/revolution/loyalty.html

It's the summer of 1775, and you are a slave belonging to a staunch Loyalist. As you travel through this text-based role-playing game, you will gather secrets from both the Patriots and Loyalists. Your mission is to gather as much information as you can from both sides of the conflict, and to take a position. As a black slave, is it in your best interest to support the revolutionary ideas of the Patriots, or to back the King's rule?

The History Place: American Revolution
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/

This easy-to-peruse time line starts with the early explorers ("1000 A.D. - Leif Ericson, a Viking seaman, explores the east coast of North America and sights Newfoundland, establishing a short-lived settlement there.") and continues to the early years of our new nation ("July 10, 1790 - The House of Representatives votes to locate the national capital on a ten square-mile site along the Potomac, with President George Washington choosing the exact location.") Don't miss their Five Tips on writing a better history report.

Schools out! Summer sunshine is here. But don't leave the house without your sunglasses, brimmed hat, and sunscreen. Why bother? Because despite the sun's beneficial effects on our mood, even a small amount of daily exposure can lead to skin damage and cancer. Learn more with these five best-bet sites for summer sun safety.

EEK! Hole in the Ozone Layer?
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/air/ozonlayr.htm

"In the late 1920s, chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (or CFCs) were invented. These chemicals were not poisonous and didn't harm fabrics, plants or people. Companies thought they were great and used them in refrigerators, air conditioners, Styrofoam packaging, and spray cans." But in the 1970s, scientists discovered that fifty years of CFC usage had harmed the earth's ozone layer, exposing us to harmful UV rays. This illustrated one-page article is a good introduction to the long term environmental and human damage caused by CFCs.

EPA: SunWise Kids
http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/kids.html

"This web site will help you learn more about the harmful effects of the sun and teach you ways to protect yourself. With fun activities like the Who Wants to Be SunWise trivia game and action steps, such as wearing a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen, you will learn simple steps to protect yourself." Best clicks are the games in Survivor Challenges, and the explanation of the UV Index. Teachers can sign up for free classroom materials by clicking on SunWise Home, and following the Schools link.

L'Oreal: Sunshine
http://www.loreal.com/_en/_ww/sunprotectionorg/

Sunshine, from the research department of L'Oreal cosmetics, is my pick of the day. Divided into five sections, Sunshine starts with an excellent explanation of the short- and long-term effects of sun exposure. Next it delves into our body's natural defenses (the production of melanin, the tanning pigment) skin types, and sun solutions. This site is so good, every page is a best click! If any of the scientific words stump you, you'll find a glossary link at the bottom of every page.

Sea turtles are huge marine reptiles that live around the world in warm ocean waters, although the leatherback (one of seven sea turtle species) can be found in cold Canadian water. Unfortunately, sea turtles are threatened by a black market in sea turtle eggs and meat, long-line fishing, shrimp nets, and beach front development. Learn more at these sites.

Caribbean Conservation Corporation: Sea Turtles
http://www.cccturtle.org/sea-turtle-information.htm

"Sea turtles come in many different sizes, shapes and colors. The olive ridley is usually less than 100 pounds, while the leatherback typically ranges from 650 to 1300 pounds!" The Caribbean Conservation Corporation is dedicated to the survival of sea turtles along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean Sea. They offer a terrific collection of sea turtle fact sheets, species details, video clips, as well as games and quizzes. Researching a school report? Put this site on your must-see list.

EuroTurtle: Education Home Page
http://www.euroturtle.org/ed_welcome.htm

There are two ways to navigate around my pick-of-the-day site from the British conservation group, EuroTurtle. First is via the horizontal menu (Biology, Educational Activities, Identification Keys, etc.). The second is via the Highlights and What's New sections on the front page. Best clicks are the interactive features in Educational Activities, such as Turtle Parts, Drag and Drop Turtles, and Identification Keys (used to identify sea turtle species.) Other highlights are Suzy's Sea Turtle FAQ and any of the Biology pages.

NOAA Fisheries: The Kids' Times: Sea Turtles
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/education/turtles.htm

"Six species of sea turtles in oceans around the United States are either threatened or in danger of extinction: leatherback, loggerhead, green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, and olive ridley turtles." For classroom (or home school), the NOAA has published six issues of Sea Times, each one dedicated to a threatened marine turtle species. The four-page printable PDFs are illustrated with photographs, and appropriate for elementary and middle-school students. For older students, follow the Species Info link (at the top of the page) to the grownup Marine Turtles section.

Wiskunde en Engels
Why use worksheets when you could use this webquest and math games to learn all about line & rotational symmetry in a highly visual & engaging.
Fraai vorm gegeven uit Australië afkomstige website over symmetrie, als lesmateriaal gebruikt in de brugklas door docente wiskunde Ester van Strien van het Christiaan Huygens College in Eindhoven: http://www.adrianbruce.com/Symmetry/

Engels en Wiskunde
Mooi vorm gegeven website waar leerlingen spelenderwijs inzicht krijgen in symmetrie. Veel figuren o.a. uit het dierenrijk http://www.adrianbruce.com/Symmetry./

Although it covers nearly three-quarters of Earth, scientists call the ocean our planet's last frontier, and say we know more about the moon than we do about the sea floor. While oceanographers are racing to learn more about the deep secrets of the ocean floor, you can start your ocean journey at the following sites.

AMNH: OLogy: Marine Biology
http://ology.amnh.org/marinebiology/

"OLogy means 'the study of.' And here on the American Museum of Natural History's OLogy website, you can study and explore many cool Ologies." This particular section is all about Marine Biology at an elementary and middle-school level. For an introduction to oceans, start at "What's the Big Idea." To explore related concepts, follow the little red asterisks that pop open multimedia lessons. Free registration allows you to collect cards from each station, and to submit projects for possible publication.

Monterey Aquarium
http://montereyaquarium.org/lc/

This index page is a fabulous collection of the best Monterey Aquarium pages for both kids and teachers. My favorites are the live web cams (keep in mind that these operate on Pacific Standard Time), activities and games (from K to 12), and the Video Library (sea otters, penguins, jellies and more.) Another great find is the 168-page printable Sea Searcher's Handbook chock full of articles and hands-on activities.

PBS: Secrets of the Ocean Realm
http://www.pbs.org/oceanrealm/

Secrets of the Ocean Realm brings us fact sheets on dozens of sea creatures (titled Sea Dwellers), classroom activities for grades five through seven (with extensions for elementary and high-school grades) and interactive quizzes to go with each of the nine Sea Dweller sections. Bonus goodie is a free screensaver with ocean sounds for both Windows and Mac.

De ruimte koloniseren
Wie wil er niet bijdragen aan de pogingen van de mensheid om te ontsnappen aan de beperkingen van een planeet die steeds meer vervuild raakt? Scholieren tussen de 12 en 18 jaar van over de hele wereld kunnen deelnemen aan een wedstrijd georganiseerd
door de NASA waarin ze een ontwerp moeten indienen van een ruimtekolonie. Je kunt er op je eentje aan werken maar ook het ontwerp van een heel team, bijvoorbeeld een klas, wordt aanvaard. De competitie wordt jaarlijks georganiseerd.
Voor dit jaar moet je er wel snel bij zijn. Je inzending moet op 31 maart binnen zijn. Je kunt een bouwtekening maken, maar ook een verhaal of een tekening komen voor de competitie in aanmerking. De prijs: eeuwige roem.
De winnende inzending krijgt een plaatsje op de NASA website. De andere deelnemers krijgen een certificaat. 18-plussers die mee willen doen moeten maar een team vormen met een jonger neefje of nichtje tussen de twaalf en achttien jaar.
(Bron Nieuwsbrief HCCnet van 10 maart 2006)

Dole Five A Day
http://www.dole5aday.com/

"5 A Day is the magic rule -- more is OK, less is uncool!" This site is a celebration of the important health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. The graphics are so bright and compelling, it's impossible not to begin craving a fruit or veggie snack. Although the site is soon to be reorganized, Dole promises to keep the best of the old site intact. Kids have their own portal, as do parents (with an excellent section on how to get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables) and teachers (with lots of printable classroom materials.) Highlights of the kids section are the games, recipes, and the Fruit and Vegetable Encyclopedia.

Fast Food Facts
http://www.foodfacts.info/

What an eye-opener! Enter your favorite food from your favorite fast food restaurant, and receive its nutritional analysis: calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and sugar. You can choose from fifteen restaurants such as Dairy Queen, Jack in the Box, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Burger King or KFC. Some of what I learned was shocking. For example, a Dairy Queen Chicken Strip Basket contains 1000 calories, 450 of them from fat.

Kidnetic.com
http://www.kidnetic.com/

An educational program of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation, Kidnetic.com is designed for kids nine to twelve and their parents. The site is divided into four sections. Move focuses on "wet head games," you know the kind that require you to leave your computer chair and actually run around and sweat. Eat is a compendium of kid-friendly recipes. Talk gives you a chance to provide feedback, but requires free registration. Learn is a collection of short articles for grownups on topics such as how to eat heathy in fast food restaurants.

San Francisco Symphony Kids: Instruments of the Orchestra
http://www.sfskids.org/templates/instorchframe.asp?pageid=3

SFSKids is on my list because of its friendly animated interface. Learn about the instrument families, and then explore the rest of the site. My favorite feature is The Radio, which consists of six channels, each featuring a different musical theme. For example, Channel Two is Big Moments, and includes Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, and Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (among others.)

Classics for Kids: Musical Dictionary
http://www.classicsforkids.com/terms/categories.asp?id=Instruments%20and%20tools

From "accordion" to "xylophone," Classics for Kids (companion website to the weekly radio show) describes more than fifty orchestra instruments. Each instrument is defined, illustrated, pronounced and most entries include audio samples in RealAudio format. Exploring the rest of the site, my favorite clicks are Games, Activity Sheets, and Hear the Music.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Musical Instrument Chart
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/instrumentchart.htm

Best reason to visit the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids site is the terrific assortment of audio snippets for each instrument: a short solo riff; Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star; and a few seconds of the instrument playing with an orchestra. Some of the audio files were missing, and a few were mislabeled, but DSO Kids is still a worthwhile stop on today's tour.

New York Philharmonic Kids: Instrument Storage Room
http://www.nyphilkids.org/lockerroom/main.phtml

Take a virtual, animated visit to the instrument storage room of the New York Philharmonic. Highlights are the interesting histories of each instrument family and individual instruments. When browsing the instrument popup boxes, be sure to click on the binoculars, ear and friend icons for more detail. "Trumpets and horns have a very, very ancient history. Two trumpets were found in the tomb of the Egyptian King Tutankhamun: one was made of silver, the other of bronze."

Engels en rekenen (bron: Barbara J. Feldman).
Allerlei rekensommetjes waarmee kinderen thuis met behulp van een huisgenoot aan het werk kunnen.

Is drill and practice the only way to learn the multiplication tables? Today's sites offer some interesting answers. Yes, practice is important, and you'll find several fun ways to do so online. But having a bit of understanding is important too. For example, if you've already memorized 6x7=42, the commutative law of multiplication tells us you do not need to memorize 7x6=42. Read on for more helpful multiplication hints and lots of practice drills.

Aplusmath: Multiplication
http://www.aplusmath.com/Homework_Helper/Multiplication.html

Got multiplication homework? The Multiplication Homework Helper applet won't give you the answer, but will tell you if your answer is correct. Other multiplication helpers are interactive flashcards, printable and interactive worksheets, and (my personal favorite) PDF Worksheet Generator. To access the PDF Worksheet Generator, click Worksheets, and look near the bottom of the page in the left-hand column.

Dositey: Multiplication
http://www.dositey.com/muldiv/multip.htm

Dositey is my pick of the day for fun multiplication games and interactive lessons. Best click is Multiplication with Regrouping, which takes you step-by-step through two-digit problems such as 36x4 and 67x 3. Dositey also has a collection of printable worksheets for both single-digit and two-digit multiplication. From any of the worksheet pages, click on New Problem Set for a fresh set of exercises.

Natural Math: Multiplication: An Adventure in Number Sense
http://www.naturalmath.com/mult/

Join in on the conversation between a student ("There are too many multiplication facts to memorize.") and a mentor ("If you want to know the multiplication table from 1 to 10, you may want to memorize 13 facts, at most. There are very easy tricks that will let you get the rest of the facts as fast as if you remembered them.") You'll learn which thirteen facts you need to memorize, and how to recall the rest of the multiplication table using fast mental arithmetic and number sense.

Engels en natuurkunde (bron: Barbara J. Feldman).
Lesmateriaal voor verschillende niveaus over Isaac Newton, met opdrachten en antwoordformulieren.

Sir Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727) was an English scientist who made great contributions to physics, optics, math and astronomy. Among elementary and middle-school students, he is best known for his Three Laws of Motions and the Universal Law of Gravitation. Have you heard the story about an apple dropping on Newton's head? Learn more at the following sites.

NASA: Newton's Three Laws of Motion
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/newton.html

"The motion of an aircraft through the air can be explained and described by physical principals discovered over 300 years ago by Sir Isaac Newton." This illustrated, hyperlinked lesson created by NASA introduces Newton's Laws of Motion and how they apply to aviation. The grade-level buttons (labeled 6-8, 9-12, and 11-12) link to related worksheets, activities, and quizzes. Stay on the Newton Guided Tour by navigating with the Next and Previous buttons, or jump to a new section by visiting the colored buttons (such as Kite Index or Model Rocket Index.)

The Physics Classroom: Newton's Laws of Motion
http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a.html

The Physics Classroom is an illustrated, animated tutorial for high-school students written by high-school science teacher Tom Henderson. These four lessons explain Newton's Laws of Motion with multimedia demonstrations and quizzes. My favorite clicks are the interactive activities listed in the Shockwave Physics Studio and the animations found in Multimedia.

PBS: Newton's Dark Secrets
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/newton/

"He was the greatest scientist of his day, perhaps of all time. But while Isaac Newton was busy discovering the universal law of gravitation, he was also searching out hidden meanings in the Bible and pursuing the covert art of alchemy. In this program, NOVA explores the strange and complex mind of Isaac Newton." Although few classrooms probably explore this side of Newton's fascinating character, I include it for variety. Best clicks are His Legacy, and Einstein on Newton.

Engels en Biologie (bron: Barbara J. Feldman)
Whales hold several world records. Whales are the largest aquatic mammals (bigger than sharks or dolphins.) Grey whales migrate further than any other mammal (about 10,000 miles a year.) And the blue whale is the earth's largest animal (even beating out the elephant.) A blue whale can grow to hundred feet long and weigh up to 150 tons. Can you imagine a whale as long as a ten-story building is tall?

Enchanted Learning Zoom: Whales
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/

"Whales breathe air. They are NOT fish. They are mammals that spend their entire lives in the water." Enchanted Learning has dozens of whale information pages and printable whale activities for elementary grades. Visit for quick facts useful for a school project, or for fun activities such as Beluga Connect the Dots, First Grade Addition/Subtraction Whale Puzzlers, and Whale Word Hunts.

Howstuffworks: How Whales Work
http://science.howstuffworks.com/whale.htm

"Whales are mammals, just like us, and more than 50 million years ago, their ancestors walked on land as we do. It's not clear what these animals were like, but some paleontologists believe they may have been hoofed mammals, something like modern cows." From the adaptations that make it possible for these huge mammals to spend their entire life in water, to the current status of whaling regulation and conservation, Howstuffworks really covers whales. You can navigate from page to page, or use the Table of Contents (at the top of each page) to jump around.

Journey North: Gray Whales
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/gwhale/

Each spring, gray whales migrate from their warm birthing lagoons in Mexico to the cold feeding grounds of the Bering and Arctic Seas. If you live along the Pacific Coast, your classroom can join in tracking their migration. Even if you don't, Journey North is worth a visit because of the great Gray Whale FAQ page ("How did gray whales get their name?") and terrific articles filed under Lessons, Activities and Information.

... to continue reading, visit Surfnetkids: Whales.

Engels, Geschiedenis en Aardrijkskunde (bron: Barbara J. Feldman)
"In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." And his arrival in the West Indies led to enduring links between Europe and the Americas. In the early years of our nation's history, Christopher Columbus was raised to hero status by writers and historians wishing to create a common memory for our new nation. Five hundred years later, by the quincentennial of 1992, Columbus' name had become somewhat tarnished. Is Columbus a hero worth celebrating, or was he a cruel imperialist? Discover the debate, and decide for yourself.

BBC: Famous People: Christopher Columbus
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/famouspeople/standard/columbus/

This BBC Famous People site is one of my picks for lower elementary grades. First click your way through Learn for a slide show of Columbus facts. Then test your knowledge with the four-question illustrated multiple-choice quiz. For more Columbus, mouse over to Journeys in the left-hand menu. Other Famous People to explore include Henry VII, Pocahontas, and Florence Nightengale.

Columbus Navigation Homepage
http://qanda.encyclopedia.com/question/some-christopher-columbus-facts-141411.html

In Columbus' day, sailors navigated by dead reckoning: calculating their position by measuring the course and distance sailed from some known point. In order for this method to work, the navigator needed a way to measure his course, and to measure distance traveled. This fascinating site explores the details of Columbus' navigational techniques, including his unsuccessful experiments with celestial navigation. Be sure to visit its sister site, The Columbus Landfall Page, which reviews all the current evidence and lets you conclude where Columbus first landed.

Discovery Channel: Columbus: Secrets from the Grave
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/columbus/columbus.html

Secrets from the Grave explores historian Charles Merrrill's theories about Christopher Columbus's origins. "One theory is that if Columbus was from Catalonia and not Genoa he had good reason to hide his origins." Learn about the forensic techniques used on bones believed to be those of Columbus and find out what handwriting analysis has revealed. Other reasons to visit include a video preview of the television special, three jigsaw puzzles, and a Christopher Columbus quiz.

Biologie/Aardrijkskunde/ANW en Engels, alles over het klimaat (bron: Barbara J. Feldman)

Climatologist's Toolbox
http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/021climate/index.html

"How do scientists measure climate or look back in time to see what climate was like long ago? Most importantly, how do they try to forecast what might be in store for the planet?" Explore the Climatologist's Toolbox to find out how scientists are learning from tree rings, ice cores and volcanos, and how they use this data to become better forecasters. This site for middle and high school students is part of the Why Files created by the National Institute for Science Education.

Dan's Wild Wild Weather Page
http://www.wildwildweather.com/
Weatherman Dan Satterfield from Huntsville, Alabama explains weather for "kids between 6 and 16 years old and for their parents and teachers, too!" His site covers topics such as Clouds (my favorites are big, puffy cumulus), Wind, Radar, Satellites, Forecasting and Hurricanes. His illustrated explanations are concise, and he has a variety of good science links for teachers. Unfortunately, the game links are all out of date.

Make Your Own Weather Station
http://www.miamisci.org/hurricane/weatherstation.html

Aardrijkskunde en Engels
This website uses pupils' work and case study materials to show what the National Curriculum in geography looks like in practice.

Biologie en Engels, alles over bacteriën (bron: Barbara J. Feldman)
Infection Detection Protection
http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/infection/infectionindex.html
"Microbes are the oldest form of life on Earth. Some types have existed for billions of years. These single-cell organisms are invisible to the eye, but they can be seen with microscopes. Microbes live in the water you drink, the food you eat, and the air you breathe. Right now, billions of microbes are swimming in your belly and crawling on your skin. Don't worry, over 95% of microbes are harmless." This entire exhibit (from the American Museum of Natural History) is fabulous, but the best clicks are the Shockwave games with names like Bacteria in the Cafeteria and Infection!

Microbe.org
http://www.microbe.org/
Developed by the American Society for Microbiology, Microbe.org introduces middle school students to microbiology with colorful images and friendly text. They even have a special section on hand washing, where I learned that although 94% of Americans say they wash their hands after using the bathroom, only 68% really do. Ughh! Other excellent clicks are the science experiments for home or classroom, and the career section.

Microbe Zoo
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dlc-me/zoo/
Using a zoo metaphor, Microbe Zoo explores microbe ecology, the study of microbes in their environment. Created for upper-elementary and middle school students, the site is divided into five environments: Animal Pavilion (with instructions on building a dung chamber in Poo Corner) , DirtLand (Who knows what evil lurks in that dirt pile? Microbiologists do.), Snack Bar (hmm . . . yummy yogurt), Space Adventure (microbes on Mars?) and Waterworld.

Geschiedenis en Engels, de heksenjacht in Salem, Amerika 1692 (bron: Barbara J. Feldman)
In 1692, the largest witch hunt in American history gripped the town of Salem, Massachusetts. 150 people were imprisoned, and twenty executed. The witchcraft hysteria started in late February, when several young girls began acting strangely. On March 1, one of the girls confessed to witchcraft during an interrogation. The witchcraft scare spun out of control for about a year, until Governor William Phips pardoned the remaining prisoners in 1693.

Discovery School: Salem Witch Trials
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/
What was life like in Salem in 1692? Why did the community allow the witch hunt? Visit this Discovery School site to learn about the religious, economic, and social climate that lead to the tragic witch trials. Best click is the six-minute movie "The Story." The Teachers Tip section contains lesson plans for grades five through eight, a bibliography, and web links.

Famous American Trials: Salem Witch Hunt
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SALEM.HTM
The Salem Witch Hunt topic at Famous American Trials is quite extensive, with lots of original source documents, a photo gallery, a time line, and a good bibliography. But my favorite clicks are the two games. In "You're Accused!" it's 1692 and you've just been accused of witchcraft. What can you do? Chose one of six possibilities and see what happens next. "Salem Witchcraft Jeopardy" is a quiz modeled after the popular television show.

National Geographic: Salem Witch Hunt
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/salem/
Step into this interactive drama from PBS, and experience witchcraft hysteria for yourself. Before you go, here are a few navigational hints. The blue scroll bars mean there is more to read to the right or below. Clicking on an underlined hypertext will either open an explanatory window (make sure that pop ups are not blocked) or will transport you to the next scene. "A small girl fell sick in 1692. Her 'fitts' convulsions, contortions, and outbursts of gibberish baffled everyone. Other girls soon manifested the same symptoms. Their doctor could suggest but one cause. Witchcraft."

Exacte vakken en Engels: alles over Galileo Galilei (bron: Barbara J. Feldman)
The Galileo Project
http://galileo.rice.edu/
The comprehensive Galileo Project from Rice University is an excellent resource for school projects. It includes a biography, a time line, and a gallery of portraits. If you are ready to move beyond the basics, try Science (articles about the scientists and scientific instruments of Galileo's time) and Christianity (an introduction to the inquisition and important church figures.) For links to lesson plans, look in the Library.

IMHS: Galileo Galilei
http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/genscheda.asp?appl=SIM&xsl=biografia&lingua=ENG&chiave=300251
The Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence provides a rather quirky online exhibit that includes the middle finger of Galileo's right hand. I'm not kidding. "This item exemplifies the celebration of Galileo as a hero and martyr of science. The finger was detached from the body by Anton Francesco Gori on March 12, 1737, when Galileo's remains were moved from the original grave to the monumental tomb built on the initiative of Vincenzo Viviani."

NOVA: Galileo's Battle for the Heavens
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/galileo/
This PBS site is my Galileo pick of the day because it's got both style and substance. Visit for the great articles (such as the biography and a exploration of Galileo's telescope) but stay for the fun interactives, which include animated recreations of several of Galileo's most famous experiments. "A young Galileo is perched atop the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He is in the middle of his famous experiment the one in which he shows, by dropping cannonballs of different weights, that all objects fall at the same rate. It's the kind of story that's easy to imagine, easy to remember, but whether he ever performed the experiment at the tower is debatable."

Engels en exacte vakken, misschien onderwerpen voor Sciensc Fair projects!
Buoyancy is the upward force that keeps things afloat. When placed in water, an object will float if its buoyancy is greater than its weight. And it will sink if its weight is greater than its buoyancy. Learn more about the physics of buoyancy and density at the following sites.

Archimedes of Syracuse: The Father of Buoyancy
http://www.engineering.usu.edu/jrestate/workshops/buoyancy/buoyancy.php
"People have been aware of objects floating on water (or sinking) since before recorded history. But it was not until Archimedes of Syracuse came along, that the theory of flotation and the buoyancy principle were defined." Archimedes was a mathematician born in 287 BCE, in the city of Syracuse on the island of Sicily According to this University of Utah site, Archimedes is best remembered for a discovery involving the crown of King Hiero II. Learn why Archimedes shouted "Eureka!" and how he proved that the king's crown maker had defrauded him.

HyperPhysics: Buoyancy
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pbuoy.html
For high-school and college physics students, HyperPhysics is an illustrated, hyperlinked, mind map of hundreds of physics topics. The material can be scrolled through from top to bottom or you can jump around, following the links in each short article. Topics related to buoyancy include density, mass, weight, fluid pressure, submerged volume, buoyant force, Archimedes Principle, and Pascal's Principle.

NASA: Buoyancy: Archimedes Principle
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/WindTunnel/Activities/buoy_Archimedes.html
Helicopters and airplanes depend on thrust and forward speed to fly. Hot air balloons and dirigibles rely on buoyancy (or differences in air density) for lift. This NASA page for high school students is part of a larger site on aeronautics. It offers a short article on buoyancy, and concludes with five exercises to test your understanding of the Archimedes Principle. At the bottom of the page you'll find links to more aeronautics topics.

Engels en Geschiedenis van het oude Rome en de Romeinen (bron: Barbara J. Feldman)
Legend tells us that Rome was founded by (and named after) Romulus, who later murdered his brother Remus for criticizing the city. Eight hundred years later, around 100 A.D., the Roman Empire was at its peak. It included half of Europe, most of the Middle East, and the northern coast of Africa. How did Rome grow so large? What caused its downfall? These are just two of the questions asked by historians and students ever since.

BBC for Schools: The Romans
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/
Although designed as a companion to the BBC television series "The Romans in Britain," there is plenty here for any elementary or middle school student. Highlights include eleven feature articles with interactive quizzes, vocabulary hyperlinked to a glossary, and seven printable activity sheets. High-school students and adults should find their way to the grownup History of the Romans ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/ ), which is listed along with other resources in the Web Links section.

History for Kids: Ancient Rome
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/index.htm
"Roman history is usually divided into three main periods: before the rise of Rome, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. The Empire is usually divided up according to who was emperor." Run by an associate history professor at Portland State University, this well-organized site is a boon to students looking for specific information such as what the Romans wore and ate, or the history of Roman pottery. Of course, there is also general Roman history, a time line, and sections on ancient Greece and Egypt.

PBS: The Roman Empire in the First Century
http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/
"Meet the Emperors of Rome, read the words of poets and philosophers, learn about life in the 1st Century AD, then try your skills in our 'Emperor of Rome' game!" You'll find the role-playing game listed under Special Features. The final outcome varies based both on your decisions and luck, so I recommend playing several times. Best way to peruse the rest of the site is through the Site Index. For teachers, there are detailed, printable lesson plans for grades four through nine.