Social Studies Features Index for Pearson ALC, School District 40, New Westminster

PhoneBusters.com
Unfortunately, Canada is a worldwide centre for telephone fraud. Read up on the most common scams and rip-offs. Protect yourself! The link goes directly to the "How Can I Recognize a Scam?" page. Site is maintained by the Ontario Provincial Police in Canada. January 18, 2003

Baghdad.com
A one stop news site links to all stories about Iraq from media around the world. January 11, 2003

Google Answers
Fascinating new service at Google. 500 researchers available to answer any question you might have. You have to be willing to pay, however, to get your answer quickly! November 2, 2002

War on Terrorism: The Latest News
This site includes up to the minute information on terrorism, terrorist organizations, and terrorist threats. Be informed! October 19, 2002

New York Times: Learning Network
The New York Times has great features for students and teachers on their Learning Network pages. Use this page to explore all of them, including lesson plans, Ask a Reporter, Daily News Quiz, and more. October 5, 2002

Vancouver Public Library Catalogue
Starting this past July, the Vancouver Public Library has made their new and much improved catalogue available to Internet users. Try it and see! Note that if you live in the Lower Mainland area, you may apply for a VPL card. September 21, 2002

The Globe and Mail (Canada's Best Online News)
Updated throughout the day, The Globe and Mail has an effective, easily navigated Web site. Check out the "Week in Pictures" if you have a high speed connection. Also, the "Globe Poll" offers interesting questions (and sometimes surprising results!). September 7, 2002

Essential Back-to-School Tips for School Children
Adult learners with children will find these tips helpful. Emphasis is on helping children to approach the stress of a new school year calmly and confidently. August 31, 2002

Car Clicks: A Comprehensive Car Buying Guide
Fall is a popular time to buy a new car. This site includes a number of useful resources to help you get the best deal on a new or used car (and save money!). August 25, 2002

The Core Rules of Netiquette
Knowing how to behave online can be difficult at times. Take the time to review the top site from Google on this important topic. August 9, 2002

Test your Emotional Intelligence
It takes many forms of intelligence to be a well-rounded individual. Find out how you rate on your emotional intelligence. Note: the test is a long, very complete one, which may take you up to one half hour to complete. July 29, 2002

Cracking the Whip: Did Dinosaurs Use Their Tails to Gain Control?
A site to demonstrate the incredible diversity of information available on the Internet! From New Scientist. July 23, 2002

Clean Air Canada
Driving your car may harm you and your loved ones. Automobile pollutants are particularly dangerous in summer. Find out more about how we can all reduce dangerous emissions.
June 28, 2002

Get Your Lawn Off Drugs
Lawns are being pampered, watered, and, unfortunately, sprayed with many poisons and chemicals at this time of year. With worldwide water shortages and new evidence that lawn chemicals can be particularly harmful to children, isn't it time you got your lawn off drugs? June 22, 2002

The World Cup
No more need be said! May 31, 2002

Buying a Computer? Check out Epinions.com
Recently, a student asked me questions about buying a computer. And, not so long ago, so did a staff member.

When I want to hear what other people think about consumer products, I go to Epinions.com. Here, consumers write reviews of products and, often, give both the good and the bad points.

A great place to visit before you buy! May 4, 2002

Sort It: Residential Organizing
In the spirit of "spring cleaning," pay a visit to this well organized and useful site. Categories include: bathroom, bedroom, kids room, kitchen and more. Useful and practical hints to help you organize your "stuff." April 20, 2002

Feng Shui at Work
The Chinese tradition, literally "fire" and "water" is used to help design the environments where we live and work. Fascinating! April 13, 2002

Conversation Starters: The New York Times
Every day, The New York Times offers "conversation starters" to help parents talk with their children about the daily news. Links are provided to relevant articles in the paper. A useful page for teachers and students alike. April 6, 2002

Easter Eggs
Read about the history and traditions behind the Easter egg. When you are done reading the history, try one of the games! March 30, 2002

Fear and Favor 2000:
How Power Shapes the News
From the Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) organization, comes some startling facts on how the "news" may not be accurate and fair.

Read about how a soup company paid Barbara Walters to "try to weave a soup message into their regular on-air banter." Many more examples of political, advertiser, and PR company tactics to secure favourable news coverage. March 23, 2002

St Patrick's Day
View the history and find out more about this holiday. March 17, 2002

GetNetWise
"The Internet offers kids many opportunities for learning, constructive entertainment, and personal growth. At the same time, parents are concerned about the risks kids face online. The challenge for parents is to educate themselves and their children about how to use the Internet safely. GetNetWise can help." March 9, 2002

Worldwide Country Maps
A simple, alphabetical index to the world's countries. Click the country name to get a large, easily projected map. February 23, 2002

Google's Image Search
Looking for a picture? Try Google's Image Search to find one easily and quickly. Note that adult sites are screened out automatically by default, so it is safe to use in the classroom. February 16, 2002

Worldskip.com
"News, information, products and services from every nation on earth." Easily accessed information. For example, find the local Azerbaijan news in an instant (if you like!). January 19, 2002

Google's News Headlines Page
Google provides a continuously updated news headline source page. Visit to check the latest world news, accessible from a single, easily scanned page. January 5, 2002

Canadian Government Travel Reports
The Government of Canada issues regular reports detailing conditions in a number of destinations. Very complete and detailed, including information on common forms of crime in major cities. Essential reading for the international traveller. December 29, 2001

Epinions.com: Consumer Information
Epinions.com provides reviews of products written by consumers of those products. Often, I have found good information before I've spent a large amount of money! December 22, 2001

Christmas History, Customs & Folklore
Many fascinating pages of information to understand better the many facets of Christmas. You can even find out about the connection between Coca Cola and Santa Claus! December 15, 2001

Google's Zeitgeist Page
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, zeitgeist is "the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era." On Google, for example, the Zeitgeist Page gives information on popular searches (and searches which are becoming unpopular, too). Also, what images are people searching for? Find out! December 8, 2001

10 Essential Health Tips
We are entering the holiday season, and most of us will face many temptations! Here is a very good list to help us all maintain a healthy mind and body (especially useful during test time!). December 1, 2001

Information on Islam
From About.com, contains good basic information on the religion, its followers, and information specific to the September 11 attacks. November 10, 2001

Maps of Afghanistan
A very good collection of maps of Afghanistan hosted by the University of Texas at Austin. Find out more about the country and its people. October 20, 2001

The Canadian Encyclopedia
A great public resource hosted by Histori.ca for Canadian specific information. October 13, 2001

America: A Tribute to Heroes
"All funds raised from this program will go to the September 11 Telethon Fund, administered by the United Way." September 22, 2001

The Terrorism Research Center
"The TRC maintains a network of terrorism and information warfare specialists drawn from industry, government, and academia in the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Argentina, France, and Australia." September 15, 2001

Carfree.com
"Carfree Cities proposes a delightful solution to the vexing problem of urban automobiles." Well laid out and interesting point of view on making our cities "car free." September 8, 2001

Learning in Motion: Top 10 Educational Sites for August
Broken into subject areas, this month includes a Math site on order of operations and a science site on "Bad Science." August 13, 2001

Censored 2003: The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2001
Published by Sonoma State University in California, these are stories that were poorly reported by the world's media. Interesting and sometimes disturbing, have a look to see the stories you missed. July 28, 2001

College Quiz
How's your vocabulary and knowledge? This challenging quiz included foreign languages, vocabulary, and American facts. Try and see how smart you are! July 14, 2001

Free-Ed.Net
The Internet offers many opportunities to improve on or further your education. This link is to a catalogue of available courses at the best price. Free! July 7, 2001

First Peoples on SchoolNet
Access resources on Aboriginal/First Nations peoples. Interesting for both students and teachers. June 23, 2001

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
One of those rare finds on the Internet, the David Rumsey Collection features an easy to use interface, excellent search engine, and beautiful scanned images. See the maps that our ancestors used to find their way around! Fascinating and useful resource. June 16, 2001

Edinformatics Directory
This U.S. based directory offers over one million education related resources. All sites are reviewed before posting. Broken into subjects, the directory is a very complete one stop place for busy students and teachers. June 11, 2001

Virus Hoaxes at Symantec
Ever get an e-mail warning from a friend about the latest computer virus? If so, check here first before you assume it's real. Often, virus warnings are hoaxes! June 2, 2001

Map.Net at Antarti.ca
This very interesting Web site uses a visual map to help you find sites on the Internet. Take the "2-Minute Drill" in Flash for an orientation before you begin. May 26, 2001

Celebrating Women's Achievements: The National Library of Canada
Link to interesting Canadian women in various walks of life: Sport, Activism, Book Trade, Politics, Librarianship and Bibliography, and Society, Music, Literature. May 19, 2001

Canada's Official City and Government Sites
Find the official Canadian, provincial, and city sites for Canada at the Official City Sites. May 5, 2001

Grist Magazine
"Grist, a project of Earth Day Network, tackles environmental topics with energy and fresh perspective. Our goal is to inform, entertain, provoke, and encourage creative thinking about environmental problems and solutions." April 28, 2001

NewsInPictures.com
A site dedicated to pictorial news stories. All links in this site will have "News In Pictures." March 31, 2001

Human Rights Watch: World Report 2001
Human Rights Watch's eleventh annual review of human rights practices around the globe - covers developments in 70 countries. The report reflects extensive investigative work conducted in 2000 by the Human Rights Watch staff, usually in close partnership with human rights activists in the countries in question. March 10, 2001

The StudyWeb
A large collection (over 114,000) of links to every possible topic of interest to students and teachers in Grade's K to 12. Excellent way to find already checked resources to aid you in your studies. February 17, 2001

Study Guides and Strategies
Comprehensive collection of academic study guides. Topics include classroom and study preparations; studying, writing and reading skills; math and science skills; evaluating and using web content; and preparing for tests. By the University of St. Thomas, MN, USA.

NOTE: Available in many languages, including Chinese, Russian, Arabic, and most European languages. February 10, 2001

The Top Ten Science Stories of 2000
Popular Science
Sorry, page moved by Popular Science!

The famous American magazine picks the top stories in science. Do you agree? From code, to bacteria with batteries! February 3, 2001

Santa's Christmas Page
A Canadian site with everything from North Pole weather to recipes, Christmas songs to kids stories. December 24

What's Going On?
Want to find interesting information on holidays, events, or festivals around the world? Then you should visit whatsgoingon.com! December 17

Africa Online
Find out more about Africa at this portal site. Links here to a wealth of information, including links to country home pages, news, health information and more. November 12

Electronic Frontier Foundation
One of their three missions: "Preserving Free Expression. Uphold rights to digital free expression from political, legal and technical threats" November 3

Maps.com
Especially useful for classroom projection, Maps.com offers a multitude of up-to-date world maps.

September 18

Search Engine for Canadian Genealogy and History Links
Give it a try below. Offers a more direct way to access this information online. Visit Canadian Genealogy and History home page as well.

Canadian Genealogy and History Links

"Place quotes around multiple words"

Sept. 11

The Globe and Mail: Breaking News
Canada's national newspaper now offers breaking news updated throughout the day. Unlike most newspapers online, the content is fresh and may be used for researching breaking stories of interest to Canadians. (Aug. 16)

Animal Diversity Web
"An Online Encyclopedia. ADW is a large searchable encyclopedia of the natural history of animals." (July 17)

ExpertCentral.com
Listing over 14,000 experts, this site provides answers to public questions. One expert goes by the name "grammarlady". Check her answers to questions at the grammarlady page. (July 24)

The World Flag Database
Looking for a flag, any flag? Here's where to find it!
(July 8)

AltaVista Translations
Translate a Web page, an e-mail, whatever you like. Romance languages only: Italian, Russian, Portuguese, French, German, and Spanish. You can go from any one of these to English, or from English to any of these languages. (June 26)

The Scout Report
"The Scout Report is a weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators." You can also subscribe to weekly e-mail updates. (May 1)

Study Skills Self-help Information
A comprehensive list of links to all kinds of important information on study skills. For example: Vocabulary: An Ongoing Process; Proofreading; Concentration�Some Basic Guidelines. (May 8)

National Atlas of Canada: Teaching Resources
Lots of links for teachers and students studying Geography or Social Studies. One example: Take a Tour of Canada from Space. (April 24)

Urban Legends Reference Pages
Did you hear the one about . . . . ? Often, stories circulating on the Internet or among workplace colleagues are what we call "urban legends". Check these pages for fun, or to find out if what you heard is one of these legends. Good for teachers to illustrate how important it is to consider the source before believing something is true! (April 3)

The Web of Culture: Gestures Around the World
It is often confusing to sort out what a gesture means depending on a person's cultural background. Use this unique resource to find out what a specific gesture means. Divided into USA and Canada; Central and South America; Mid-East and Africa; Asia and the Pacific. (Mar. 27)

Rainforest Action Network: Information Center
Links to good quality materials would suit either students or teachers presenting information on the loss of world rainforest and the various environmental effects. Could be used in Science or Social Studies classes. (Mar. 20)

News Directory: Newspapers
Find newspapers around the world from this convenient index. Fast to load and comprehensive. (Mar. 13)

Librarians' Index to the Internet
"The Librarians' Index to the Internet is a searchable, annotated subject directory of more than 5,800 Internet resources selected and evaluated by librarians for their usefulness to users of public libraries. It's meant to be used by both librarians and non-librarians as a reliable and efficient guide to described and evaluated Internet resources." Excellent tool; I've bookmarked it as a primary source at home. (Feb. 28)

All-in-One Search Page
Every kind of search imaginable! Scroll down the page to see searches you may never have dreamed existed. (Dec. 6)

Take it Offline
Ever want to start a private discussion space on the Web? Here's where you can do just that. Teachers can create private discussion spaces for their students in seconds. Full details at the site. If you would like to participate in a discussion of the Pearson ALC Web Site, please send mail to bhyde@sd40.bc.ca (Nov. 15)

Teachers' Kits and Lesson Plans at Statistics Canada
For all Social Studies teachers out there, a direct link to eight teacher resources brought to you by Statistics Canada. (Nov. 8)

Ten Principles of Memory
Short and to the point. Something for all students to ponder. (Nov. 1)

Seven Steps Toward Better Searching
Excellent resource page teaches how to do various kinds of searches using the AltaVista search engine. Search terms are provided as examples to show how to narrow a search and find what you're really looking for! (Oct. 11)

The Literacy List: Directories, Search and Research Tools
Many useful links for both adult educators and their students. Be sure to scroll down to see the entire page! (July 19)

Canadian History Index
"An annotated directory of Internet Resources on the History of Canada". Here's a great starting point to finding out more about Canadian History. Includes links to Women in Canadian History and Canadian First Nations. (July 12)

The Canadian Library Index
(British Columbia)
Page contains links to BC Libraries, including Telnet and Web-based catalogues; for example, BC Ministry of Health Library, Richmond Public Library. Remember to bookmark this page for easy library access. Also, you can link to libraries in all Canadian provinces from this page. (June 21)

CyberTimes Navigator
Ever wonder what resources a journalist uses to find information on the Internet? Here's a list used by The New York Times. If you haven't visited this site before, go to their home page and click on any story. You can then sign up for free access to all resources. It's worth it! (June 7)

MiningCo.Com
Gathered links in the style of Yahoo. A respected entry point for searches by subject. Many of the topics are of particular relevance to students and their teachers. (May 3)

Outta Ray's Head Lesson Plans
Lesson plans for Poetry, Writing, Literature, and Library. Ray Saitz is based in Ontario, but lessons come from teachers around the world. Complete and professional resource includes printable text files of the lessons. (March 31)

Study Guides for testing, reading, writing, and classroom participation.
Content rich site can help any student to become more effective. A wealth of great information on all aspects of study. (March 22)

LiteracyLink at PBS
Links and information on GED, Pre-GED, Workplace Basic Skills, and High School Equivalency. Well designed. American resource, but lots of useful information. (March 8)