Integration for Module E- Journey through the Internet

In the Integration Corner for Chapter 5, the website that most appealed to me was a site for teachers created by Scholastic, listing “Internet Field Trips.”  (http://teacher.scholastic.com/fieldtrp/index.htm)  It has an index of subjects including Art, Science, Reading, Vocabulary, Writing, Social Studies, Math and more—and all of these sections are geared to helping educators teach a variety of subjects within these fields.  Each page is an “Internet Field Trip”- literally a trip through the internet.  When you click one of these subjects, you are taken to a page with material that is embedded with links to other areas of the internet.  For example, the page for Series Books under the Literature section:  When this “Internet Field Trip” is clicked, the next page that comes up is an article that touches on various authors who have written children’s book series.  There is a Tour Itinerary bar, with links to Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, R.L. Stine, and many other authors’ web pages where an instructor can go to get ideas about what material to possibly introduce to his or her students. 

The other subject areas on this site have the same formats for different Internet Trips.  This scholastic site is somewhat like an Internet Archive for resources on these topics.  Instructors who use this site would benefit from its material, because instead of having to search for new ideas to further a certain study, by clicking one link they’ll be exposed to the material they are seeking from different kinds of websites all across the internet.

Module D- literary web site integration

I found a website that I believe would be great for getting kids excited about reading.  It’s located at http://www.magickeys.com/books/.   This website has got all sorts of children’s books, in digitized media- including chapters, pages, and illustrations.  Kids can log onto the internet with their parents or teachers and choose from these published works, and view the literature and reading material online.  This concept teaches young kids about technology, helps them use computers, and saves paper!  If more schools used these kinds of sites, more budgeted money could be spent taking the classroom forward.  Some of the books on these sites are also interactive, so that when the student clicks on certain words, it says the word aloud.   Indicated by a speaker icon, kids can learn how to read quicker and more easily by knowing what resources are available to them.  They won’t have to wait for a teacher or parent to help them understand the material , because the anticipated questions are answered for them already on the website.  This also helps the child become more independent and self-reliant, which is a necessary skill for them to learn at an early age.  I think that this website could really help children learn in the classroom, and on their own as well.