Web Connections for July 2008

The Web sites listed below were verified at the time of publication, but please check that they remain valid before using them in an educational setting.

Bringing History to Life: Hitler Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

• The Learning Page at the Library of Congress has many good resources for teachers about the World War II era, including oral histories, essays, recommended book lists, links to museums, and more.
  
• The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum features a fine selection of materials for teachers, including guides, activity ideas, and lessons that will help connect Holocaust history to current events.

Reading Is Thinking, Part II: Modeling Comprehension Strategies with Picture Books

• Consultant Karen Haag’s Web site gives lesson plans for reading comprehension strategies and booklists for each.
  
• Wisconsin Educational Communications Board’s “Into the Book” Web site features video lessons for each comprehension strategy and assessment rubrics.
  
• The Wisconsin Literacy Education and Reading Network Source Web site explains six essential reading strategies and gives lesson plans for each.

Voices in My Head: Encouraging Family Listening

For some articles and handouts on the benefits of audiobooks for children, see the following:

• “Audiobooks and Literacy” from Random House
  
• “Learning with Audiobooks” from Audio Bookshelf
  
• “Recorded Books Work!” from Recorded Books
  
• “Top Ten Educational Benefits of Audiobook Listening” from Books on Tape

Best New Books for the Classroom

• Biographical information about Uri Shulevitz, author of How I Learned Geography, may be found on the Farrar, Straus and Giroux Web site.
  
• To receive a teacher’s guide and poster for Lady Liberty, e-mail Sharon Hancock at Candlewick Press and include your mailing address. (Available while supplies last.)

The Infectious Nature of Fantasy: Quest Stories for Middle-Graders

• “Redwall Abbey: The Official Redwall Web site” features an “Ask Brian Jacques” section, an author biography, links to reader clubs, and Redwall-themed crossword puzzles.
  
• Rick Riordan’s Web site features information about his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, a blog, author’s biography, and downloadable audio files of Riordan reading the first chapter of each book.
  
• At the official Web site of the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, visitors can listen to podcasts featuring interviews with author Michelle Paver, chat with other readers, and learn more about the books.
  
• At P. B. Kerr’s beautifully designed Web site, visitors can listen to an interview with the author of the Children of the Lamp series, download a study kit, read Kerr’s biography, and more.