Return to Curriculum Resources The Curriculum Center The content in "The Curriculum Center" is designed to help you prepare, using the vast educational resources of the Internet, coursework that fits your classroom. These curricular resources are created especially for educators, but all those who wish to realize the educational benefits of using the electronic information highway will find them useful. Our goal is to encourage teachers and students to incorporate the Internet into the educational process and to make that effort as user-friendly as possible. Many of the activities may be adapted for home use, for families will enjoy traveling to the suggested sites and completing some of the projects suggested for each monthly theme. In order to present these monthly themes to you, journalist John Trumpower of Ocean City, Maryland has combined his research and writing skills with knowledge and advice from Preschool through Grade Twelve educators. We at Apple Computer, Inc. hope you'll find "The Curriculum Center" a perfect bookmark. Let it be your assistant as you search the Internet for the very best for your students. Curricular Themes The Weather: For better or worse, the weather is often a topic of artful conversation. Because life occasionally mirrors art, it is appropriate to mention that one web site we recently visited stated flatly that "Fifty-three percent of paintings have weather in them or are weather related." Not letting such a bold statement stand by itself, another quickly followed noting "Fifty-six percent of poems refer to weather." The authors did not mention whose poems and paintings were counted nor how many, but perhaps that's beside the point. Nutrition, Health, and Physical Education: Experiencing the early pangs and twinges of growing old, an aging wag once bemoaned, "If I'd have known I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself." The passage of time certainly has its side effects on the human body--they come with the territory--but the senescent process is, by and large, better than the alternative. So, what's a body to do? This month's Curriculum Center topic has an extensive array of resources to help answer this and many other questions. The Civil War: The Civil War's four long years cost approximately 620,000 American lives, almost one out of every 50 people living in the United States at the time. During the 132 years since generals Lee and Grant met on the courthouse steps at Appomattox, Virginia, a tremendous amount of information has been gathered about the Civil War. Note: Teachers of primary, elementary, and middle school levels will find content, images, and photographs to use in their lessons, but most of the sites in this theme are not designed for younger students to visit without teacher or parent direction or guidance. Geology: Studying the Earth's geology helps students understand the planet's evolution and its present features both above and below the surface. It also teaches them how geology serves society in a variety of everyday practical and commercial ways like exploring for deposits of commercially valuable minerals or searching for fossil fuels to power the machines that make our lives (allegedly) easier. The 50 States of the United States: This month's theme is related to the earlier themes "Celebrate America!" and "United States Presidents & the Presidency." This curricular theme focuses upon all 50 states' histories, symbols, geography, resources, culture, and special children's sections. Celebrate America!: In the years since the original 13 states adopted the Constitution the nation has celebrated 210 birthdays. (There have been 221 birthdays since July 4, 1776.) When all is said and done, the collective "we" have actually fared pretty well since the days of our first birthdays. The Fourth of July is a great subject for the Internet because there are so many electronic resources from which educators may draw to create individual lesson plans. Mathematics: An Internet rule of thumb, we suspect, deals with the relationship between subject matter and Internet presence: the more technical the subject, the greater the presence. With mathematics, a sizable portion of the presence (or so it seems) is somewhat technical and seemingly aimed at an advanced audience. Of course, it could be that using the Internet to place information in the public domain appeals more to the number-oriented folks and those who are interested in advanced mathematics, than to, say, those with a bent toward social studies, music, or arithmetic. The Presidents: Resources featuring the United States Presidents and the Presidency. Kindergarten through Twelve Educators' Internet Resource: Their Lives, Their Families, Their Accomplishments, Their Homes, The Presidency, The Constitution, and more. Insects: Everything you need to enrich studies of entomology with students of all ages, from the butterflies of Kindergarten and Preschool to a variety of experiments and in-depth activities for elementary, middle school, and high school classes. The Environment: Earth Day and Beyond. Kindergarten through Twelve Educators' Internet Resource: Meteorology, Endangered Species, Water Quality, Differing Points of View, Projects, Earth Days Past and Present, and more. Literature in Preschool through Grade 12 Classrooms: Literature online is a great example of how computers and Internet access help level the educational playing field. While few educators expect textbooks to disappear from the classroom (nor should they), computers and the Internet do one thing textbooks cannot: they provide up-to-date information. Mini Themes Think Different Mini-Theme: Apple's 1997-98 "Think Different" campaign highlights the achievements of creative thinkers who brought about change in the world and/or in their fields of interest. Included in this mini-theme are ideas to help you help your students: learn about some of those who thought differently and brought about change. learn to think differently. Indoor Recess: You can't take your children out to play on the playground, and you have to find something to do! This mini theme will suggest ideas to make your job a little easier. This includes suggestions for Grades 1-6. Hong Kong, the "Handover" 1997: A mini-curricular theme on the changes that took place in Hong Kong after midnight on June 30, 1997. It's not as extensive as our other themes, but includes web sites, site descriptions, and activities to get you started with study on this current issue and important world city. Thanksgiving: This mini-theme includes web sites and descriptions featuring Thanksgiving topics such as the First Thanksgiving, the First Thanksgiving Proclamation, a virtual tour of the Plimoth Plantations, Thanksgiving crafts and foods, and more.