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Science » Life Sciences » Diseases

Inside Cancer
uses animations and videoclips of experts to reveal what is known about cancer. Learn about kinds of cancer, how they start (cell mutations), and their distribution worldwide. Explore cancer related factors-smoking, inheritance, diet, and others. Find out about diagnosis and treatment. See animations of key concepts; hear experts explain them. (National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health)
Most of the deaths from cancers (90%) are due to cancer cells spreading and establishing colonies in other parts of the body.

Invading tissue

Science » Life Sciences » Cells

Microscope Imaging Station
shows what blood is, what happens when the immune system goes awry, what are stem cells are, and more. See videos exploring cell structure and function, cell development and motility, plankton, plants, and protozoa. Learn how the sea urchin helps us understand genes, reproduction, and cancer. (Exploratorium, Multiple Agencies)
The common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has been used as a model organism in research for nearly a century. Today, Drosophila are used to study topics from basic developmental biology.

Drosophila melanogaster

Science » Earth Sciences » Geology

Exploring Earth: Visualizations
features over 100 animations and images that illuminate key concepts in earth science. Examples are: coal formation, nuclear fission, growth of a continent, tectonic plate movement, volcanoes and earthquakes, fault motion, geyser eruption, wave motion, tornadoes, hurricanes, and more. Students can observe a single place on earth from multiple views, 3-D models of water and common molecules, different climate zones, and seasonal changes in the amount of sunlight reaching locations on earth. (National Science Foundation)
xamine the relationship between global wind directions and the direction of surface currents.

Global surface currents

Science » Life Sciences » Cells

Molecular Stepping Stones
features online activities, including simulations, to help students understand 10 key concepts underlying many biological processes. Topics include atomic structure, random motion, spatial equilibrium, strong chemical bonds, compounds, intermolecular forces, self-assembly, proteins, chemical reactions and catalysis, DNA, and biologica. (The Concord Consortium, National Science Foundation)
Image of DNA to protein synthesis

DNA to protein synthesis

Math » Data Analysis

Create a Graph
helps students create their own graphs and charts. This online tool can be used to make 4 kinds of charts and graphs: bar graphs, line graphs, area graphs, and pie charts. (Department of Education)
Bar graph showing the number of postsecondary institutions in four states.

Number of postsecondary institutions

Math » Algebra

Getsmarter.org
provides an opportunity for middle school students to see how their math and science skills measure up against other students worldwide. The site offers tutorials, practice opportunities, and reasons why math and science matter in the world today. (Multiple Agencies)
For high school students, MSTV—Math & Science Television—shows, through entertaining and interactive modules, the many ways that math and science impact our daily lives.

MSTV—Math & Science Television

U.S. History Topics » Government » U.S. Constitution

Interactive Constitution
lets you search the Constitution and find relevant passages and explanations. Discover how the Constitution relates to more than 300 topics, from civil rights to school prayer, including Supreme Court decisions. (National Constitution Center)
Image of the facade of the Supreme Court building.

The Judiciary...
The least dangerous branch

U.S. History Topics » Famous People » Explorers

Fill up the Canvas
features journal entries from 20 points in the journey of Lewis and Clark: mission preparations, winter in St. Louis, first council with Indians, death of Sergeant Floyd, first killing of a buffalo, Sioux camps, near run-in with Teton Sioux, Rocky Mountains, Nez Perce, falls of the Columbia River, and others. The site also provides letters from Thomas Jefferson to Lewis and Clark; images of people, places, plants, and animals; and maps. (Library of Congress)
(1803) A map of North America.  This map, made by John Luffman, shows an outline view of North America.

Maps

U.S. History Topics » Wars » Civil War

First Battle of Manassas: An End to Innocence
looks at the first conflict of the Civil War, the battle of Bull Run. More than 5,000 people perished -- Northern and Southern troops, as well as private citizens who came from Washington, D.C., to watch. Personal stories, maps, and photos show how this battle shocked the nation into realizing that the conflict was not some romantic adventure and that it would be longer and more costly than anyone had imagined. (National Park Service, Teaching with Historic Places)
The Stone House was the home of the Henry Matthews family during the Civil War. The house served as a hospital following the first battle of Manassas.

The Stone House

U.S. History Topics » Wars » Civil War

The Valley of the Shadow Project
follows two communities, one Northern and one Southern, through their experiences in the American Civil War. This hypermedia archive contains thousands of sources from before, during and after the Civil War in Virginia and Pennsylvania including newspapers, letters, diaries, photographs, maps, church records, population census and military records. Students can write their own histories, reconstructing the lives of those who lived during the period. (University of Virginia, National Endowment for the Humanities)
Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and the Confederate Generals

Confederate generals

U.S. History Topics » Wars » World War I

The Price of Freedom: Americans at War
features a timeline of America's wars, from the Revolution to Iraq. Watch an interactive presentation on each war -- slideshows and movies, text and photos, and dozens of artifacts (firearms, flags, uniforms). Read an overview of each conflict; learn about its causes, major events, and consequences. Gain a sense of how wars have shaped our history. (National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution)
Resupplied U.S. Army troops in Phuoc Tuy Province

An airmobile war

U.S. History Topics » Other History & Soc Studies » Other Resources

American Treasures of the Library of Congress
is an unprecedented permanent exhibition of the rarest, most interesting or significant items relating to America's past, drawn from every corner of the world's largest library. It presents more than 250 items arranged in the manner of Thomas Jefferson's own library, the seed from which the present collections grew: Memory (History); Reason (Philosophy, including Law, Science and Geography); and Imagination (Fine Arts, including Architecture, Music, Literature and Sports). (Library of Congress)
Seamstress, Sixth-plate daguerreotype, ca. 1853.  invented the daguerreotype process which was later announced in France on August 19, 1839.

Daguerreotype

Language Arts » Reading

Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers
features easy-to-do parent tips, video clips and transcripts from interviews with some of the nation's foremost reading experts, motivational e-cards that grandparents and teachers can send to children, a forum for sharing suggestions, booklists, and answers to key questions. This website, which accompanies the PBS "Reading Rockets" television series. (PBS, Department of Education)
Image of a boy reading.

Reading for meaning...

Language Arts » Other Language Arts

Do You Speak American?
is the companion website for a film that takes us cross-country to examine the dynamic state of American English and ask: Why do Maine lobstermen and Texas cowboys speak English so differently? How many varieties of American English are there? Is TV making us all sound the same? Topics include 100 common mispronunciations, how language is changing, local color in American literature, and regional writers. (MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, National Endowment for the Humanities)
Image of America: Mapping Attitudes, exercises to explore where you think American is best spoken.

Mapping attitudes

Arts & Music » Visual arts » Painting

Art for the Nation: Collecting for a New Century
offers 14 in-depth studies of works by various artists represented in the National Gallery of Art. The studies include information on the artist, technique, and history behind each painting. (National Gallery of Art)
Julia Margaret Cameron, 'The Mountain Nymph, Sweet Liberty,' June 1866, albumen print from collodion negative, National Gallery of Art, Washington, New Century Fund 1997.97.1

The Mountain Nymph, Sweet Liberty

Arts & Music » Visual arts » Painting

Johaness Vermeer's Woman Holding a Balance
offers an in-depth examination of Vermeer's use of light, proportion, and other techniques and symbolism. The site also explains how the museum worked to restore this 17th century masterpiece. (National Gallery of Art)
Johannes Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance, c. 1664, National Gallery of Art, Widener Collection

Woman Holding a Balance

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