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To Seek or Not to Seek?
Resources for
Teachers and Students |
Internet Sites | 
Children's Books | 
Folklore & Mythology
Internet Sites
About Inquiry: Questioning, Scientific Method, Puzzles
- You Can: Questions List - Beakman and Yax's collection of questions and answers. Good fun.
- Newton's Apple - This is a great site filled with short and quick experiments which demonstrate some of the excitement and fun of science. This site might encourage more participation by students, as it promotes questions and hands-on answers.
- Insects Lessons - Teaching about insects to grades 2 and 3. Since many of your students will be mentioning insects during their observation, this mini-unit might be lots of fun for them.
- Inquiry Almanack - Packed full of interesting topics related to inquiry-inspiring uses of literature, science, math, and art in the classroom.
- Why do leaves change color? - Questions and complete answers for kids, including information, activities, and graphics.
- Science Fair Ideas - A well made list of questions to ask students to pique their curiosity enough to do their own projects.
- Botany Projects - Some really fun projects involving the growing of seeds under different conditions.
- Dr. Bob's Home Page - A page dedicated to the wonders of science. Dr. Bob says it best: "Science is the observation, investigation, and explanation of the things that happen around us."
- Thinking Fountain Activity Cards - Science Museum of Minnesota's inquiry-based fun activities you can do at home or in the classroom with few materials.
- Links to Earth/Sun Sites - Here is a site from an online 8th grade lesson plans. This page of the lessons is just for related links around the web. It is a good list on subjects such as the seasons, latitude and longitude, etc.
- The Natural Perspective - Fantastic photos of different kinds of animals, plants, fungus and insects which inhabit the world.
The Natural World and Descriptions of Seasons
Children's Books
- On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier.Trumpet Club, 1991. A wonderful description of the world and its everyday patterns. At the end, there is a nice section which tells more about the science involved.
- Possum's Harvest Moon by Anne Hunter. Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
- Spider and the Sky God: An Akan legend by Deborah Newton Chocolate. Troll, 1993. An Akan legend about how spider and his clever wife fulfill a quest.
- No Moon, No Milk! by Chris Babcock. Scholastic, 1993. A funny story about a stubborn cow who won't give milk until she's been to the moon. Beware the confusing cover art showing the moon as a sliver on whose edge you can sit.
- Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle. Scholastic, 1992. This is about an artist who begins by drawing a star and then encourages us to draw everything we see around us.
- Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. Philomel, 1987.
- Promise to the Sun by Tolowa Mollel. Little, 1992.
- Mister who Wanted the Sun by Jurg Obrest. Atheneum, 1984.
Folklore Mythology
Carl's Lessons
- Word Lore - Carl's lessons on exploring words we use in this curriculum, such as where did the word "Sun" come from, or what is the difference between "daylight" and "day"?
- The Story of Gylfi - Carl has translated portions of the Prose Edda which include the story of a king who goes to the gods in search of answers about the nature of the world.
Stories about Using Observation
-
The Wise Little Girl - A tale about being wise and clever and thinking on one's own to solve problems and riddles.
- Native American Lore Index - This site has been named a Discovery Channel Internet resource, and is
packed full of all of the Native American stories you can think of. Amazing.
- Tales of Wonder - A collection of folk tales from around the world. Easy to print out -- few images.
Lore Surrounding the Earth and the Coming of Autumn
- North caroline Weather Lore - Folklore about predicting the autumn weather from watching the world around us.
- Star Charts and Moon Stations - An advanced discussion about the Japanese Folklore surrounding the stars and the seasons. Lots of diagrams and pictures!
- The Japanese Calendar - An interesting and helpful piece on the Japanese calendar, including the animals and stories related to each Year. There are drawings and diagrams of the calendar and Japanese characters associated with it.
- St. Valentine's Day - A myth about Mother Nature and the Birds on St. Valentine's Day.
- Guide to Wild Foods - A great site offering photos of and complete characteristics of foods you can pick from the forest or your backyard.
- Tree Myths and Folklore - A nice article about all of the cultural aspects of trees, including the myths, beliefs, and qualities of each species of tree.
- The Lore of Trees - An intense resource of the qualities and characteristics of trees, as well as their sacred connotations.
Autumn Holidays
(For more on holidays, see the Through Thick and Thin Resources Page)
Halloween, or Samhain (pronouced Sow-wun)
- The
Origins of Halloween - A fairly rational discussion of Halloween's
origins in the ancient Celtic New Year festival, Samhain. It over-generalizes
somewhat, but is fairly sound. Useful footnotes and bibliography.
-
Dalriada Celtic Heritage Trust: Samhain on Three Levels -
A brief discussion of Samhain, the ancient Celtic New Year festival. It
concentrates on an Irish/Scottish angle and indulges slightly in some semi-mystical
specualtion.
-
Irish/Celtic Seasonal Celebrations: Samhain - A long
list of customs associated with holidays deriving from Samhain, the ancient
Celtic New Year which took place around 1 November. Unfortunately, there
are no references to where or when the various customs listed were practiced.
Part of a page dealing with several Celtic festivals.
- Samhain
- Some information on Halloween and its origin in Samhain, the
ancient Celtic New Year festival. Generalizes a little.
- Halloween
on the Net (and Day of the Dead): The Story - Aimed at kids,
this site explains the origin of Halloween in the the ancient Celtic
New Year festival, Samhain, and mentions the various other holidays which
derive from the same source. It does not seem to have been written by
someone familiar with Celtic culture, and presents some rather speculative
and overgeneralized descriptions. On the whole it is not too bad though.
Harvest and Light Festivals
- Thanksgiving
Resources from the Bellingham Schools - An excellent page of
resources on Thanksgiving, a major harvest festival in the United States
(the like-named holiday in Canada takes place slightly later in the year).
This site was developed by a school, and so is great for kids. A variety of
resources, including maps, historical documents, student and teacher resources.
- Thanksgiving on
the Web - Another site for kids dealing with Thanksgiving, a
major harvest festival in the United States. Some resources, games, and links.
Beware of the annoying music which this site automatically plays.
- Laksmi Divali:
The Festival of Lights - A brief discussion of a Hindu festival
honoring Laksmi, a goddess of fortune. The festival takes place in mid- to
late October and is associated with light and the harvest.
-
The Fall Holidays on the Web - A pages with links to sites
discussing the various Jewish autumn holidays, including the harvest festival
Sukkot.
-
Sukkot: Kids - Intended for kids, this page discusses the
Jewish harvest festival Sukkot.
- Festivals
of Malaysia: Harvest Festival - Very brief information on Malaysian
harvest festivals.
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To Seek or not to Seek? | Table of Contents | ECT Home Page
WebMaster Tania Ruiz
Last updated October 1, 1997