·:[ Byrd Links ]:·
• • Harry F. Byrd Middle School • •

BBC - History - World War Two

A really nice WWII site by the BBC.

The Year in Images JPL 2005

An animated exploration of outer space using NASA images.  Very nice.

United States Money: For Kids (Business Reference Services, Library of Congress)

A nice collection of resources from the Library of Congress exploring currency in a number of aspects.  These resources are great for students and might be useful in starting units on money, decimals, etc.

Dioramas | American Museum of Natural History

Some really amazing dioramas from the Museum of Natural History.  There are movies and 360 degree virtual tours.

It’s a nice way to take a virtual field trip, start a conversation on ecosystems, or look at the environments where different tribes lived.

The National Archives | Research, education & online exhibitions | Exhibitions | The Art of War

A very interesting and colorful look at the role art has played in war.  It looks at propaganda uses as well as a number of other aspects.

Normandy Invasion — The D-Day Landings, 6 June 1944

Worldmapper: The world as you’ve never seen it before

Worldmapper is a set of maps that distort the size of countries to make them proportional to those countries’ child populations, predicted population in 2500, immigrants, net incoming tourism, passenger cars, dairy exports, and more.

This should create a lot of interesting conversation in a government or social studies class.

from O’Reiley Radar

LiveScience.com - Everest Expedition Uncovers Exotic Species
# Giant hornets so deadly locals call them “Yak Killers”
# Jumping “Yeti” mice
# A new grasshopper species in which the males hitch piggy-back rides on the females
# Baby blue-faced golden monkeys, the region’s largest primates
# Hamster-like pikas that eat their own feces
# A couple of new frog species, eight new insect species, and ten new species of ants to add the more than 11,000 already known.

An interesting article for a science class which includes some great pictures.   Some interesting species were discovered.  I’m a big fan of the Yak Killer Hornets (but only at a distance).  It might also make an interesting writing prompt.

Speaking of History……..

is a history based podcast site Ms. Roop was kind enough to pass my way.  A really great example of a teacher creating and and using podcasts to enrich their classroom.

Spelling poems.

Some fun poems pointing out the insanity of the English language. There’ a lot more like the portion below.

When the English tongue we speak.
Why is break not rhymed with freak?
Will you tell me why it’s true
We say sew but likewise few?
And the maker of the verse,
Cannot rhyme his horse with worse?
Beard is not the same as heard