Web-liography
Resources for Present and Future Teachers
Videos and Images for Classroom Teaching
http://gpb.unitedstreaming.com
Site includes many different videos that may be used for classroom teaching.
Also included are writing prompts, a calendar, lesson plans around video, and
quiz builder. Search for video and images via curriculum and grade.
Standards-Based Resources
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/
Explore standards-based resources with information about math, language arts,
reading, science and technology, social studies, and other subjects. Enroll in
professional development courses in math, reading, technology integration, and
more-delivered online. Get local resources and broadcast information by
providing your zip code and state. Also, read about current events, and search
for resources by subject and grade level. Media products are also available to
purchase online through PBS.
Reference, Research, and
Learning Service
http://www.worldbookonline.com
The World Book online reference center contains every article from the 22-volume
encyclopedia print plus many more. The online reference center also offers
state-of-the-art multimedia and editor-reviewed websites. World Book Online
offers research libraries where primary and core source collections can be
found. Books, documents, and selections in major subject areas can be viewed or
downloaded. In addition, the World Book Online site has a basic Spanish-language
encyclopedia for elementary and middle grades. The site also has an “Explore
Georgia” site and the articles correlate with the Georgia Professional
Standards.
Teaching and Learning Materials
http://www.oercommons.org/
Open Educational Resources, or OER Commons, is a network that is focused on
providing teachers from Kindergarten through college with free-to-use learning
content and educational materials. The site provides materials for subjects such
as algebra, zoology, music, statistics, and much more. Do you want to find lab
activities or course syllabi that you can use for your own use? Well, this site
is for you. With a free membership, you can browse categories or collections by
grade levels and subject, add tags, ratings, reviews, comments, and favorites to
your own portfolio, and post discussions and blogs.
Book Catalog
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
Over 20,000 ebooks in many different languages are available to download for
free. Search the book catalog by author or title work, or browse the catalog.
For more advanced searches, there is an advanced search tool with more search
options provided. Recent ebooks are updated nightly, and the top 100 books and
authors are listed. Audio books, both human-read and computer generated, and
digitized sheet music are available for viewing. For the researcher’s
convenience, the site offers a “bookshelf,” in which one may search by category
such as countries, crime, periodicals, religion, wars, slavery, one act plays,
women writers, etc.
Curriculum Based Content
http://www.brainpop.com
BrainPOP is an educational based program that
provides curriculum-based content spanning seven main subjects including:
science, math, English, social studies, health, arts and music, and technology.
The site features more than 600 animated movies that are supported by quizzes,
comic strips, experiments, and other printable worksheets. BrainPOP’s movie
topics present information to students in a language and voice that they can
understand. Over 3.5 million subscribers are presented with engaging,
enlightening, and entertaining views of a given subject. All movies are
developed according to national education standards.
Planning and Professional
Development
http://www.education-world.com/index.shtml
Education-World provides teachers with resources for lesson planning,
professional development skills, and technology integration. The site offers a
learning game of the week, lesson plan of the week, art lessons, and printables.
In the professional development section, teachers are offered tips such as how
to keep control of their classroom and ways to prevent bullying. The technology
integration section provides teachers with new information about benefits and
ways to use technology in the classroom. Such articles include online safety
tips for teachers and students, sites to see, and much more. The site also has a
school issues section and an early childhood section. Teachers may also sign up
for free newsletters from Education-World.
Research Topic:
Should We Have the Death Penalty?
Explain Your Reasoning.
*Use the following academic resources to
help with your research on the death penalty.*
References from Professional Databases:
Jurisdictional Differences in the Use of the Death Sentence
Jacobs, D, & Carmichael, J. T. (2004). Ideology, social threat, and the death sentence: Capital sentences across time and space. Social Forces, 83, Retrieved March 27, 2007, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ683452&site=ehost-live.
David Jacobs and Jason Carmichael, both professors at Ohio State University, seek to define what factors actually produce jurisdictional differences in the use of the death sentence. They note that political explanations emphasize conservative values and the strength of more conservative political parties. The authors use data to show that larger numbers of death sentences are probable in states with greater membership in conservative churches and in states with higher violent crime rates. Furthermore, Jacobs and Carmichael find that political conservatism, a stronger Republican Party, and racial threat explain whether a state ever used the death sentence in the past. This article can be really helpful if the researcher needs background information about different states using the death sentence. It may also be helpful if the researcher is looking for supplemental analyses using zero-inflated negative binomial estimates of the number of death sentences for different time periods.
Facts About the Death Penalty
Ryan, J. P., & Eden, J. M. (1998). Teaching about the death penalty. Social Education, 62, Retrieved March 27, 2007, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ615673&site=ehost-live.
Ryan and Eden discuss teaching the death penalty. A panel of scholars gathered by the American Bar Association Division for Public Education believe that open discussion of capital punishment will help to increase students' awareness of political, legal, ethical, and philosophical issues. The association answers questions as to why we have the death penalty, is the application of the death penalty racially biased, and what is the future of the death penalty. This article provides the researcher with appropriate information and specific facts about the death penalty. Also provided is an accompanying article on “Teaching Ideas” by Ronald A. Banaszak. This article may help clearly identify the pros and cons of the death penalty.
Students Opinions of the Death Penalty
Lester, D., Maggioncalda-Aretz, M., & Stark, S. H. Adolescents' attitudes toward the death penalty. Adolescence, 32, Retrieved March 27, 2007, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ560646&site=ehost-live.
The three authors listed above prepared a research report on students opinions of the death penalty. The report examines whether high school and college students favored the death penalty for specific criminal acts. The authors found that high school students rated more criminal acts meriting the death penalty than college students did. Furthermore, the authors’ findings indicated that gender and personality were not found to be associated with attitudes toward the death penalty. The article listed above will be useful to students who wish to include specific data about other people’s opinions of the death penalty and what criminal acts they believe should merit the death penalty.
Open Web References:
Against the Death Penalty
Sherill, R. (2001, 01, 08). Death trip: The American way of execution. Retrieved March 27, 2007, from Death Penalty Information Center Web site: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=17&did=452
In his article, Sherill argues why the death penalty is a bad idea. He discusses how the system is a waste of time and money for the United States. Furthermore, he provides statistics on the average cost of a killer on death row and the defense and prosecution costs during a death row case. Sherill discusses other reasons why the death penalty is not the answer. He argues that quality of representation may be low since many criminal lawyers are appointed and free. Sherill also explains how murders haven’t stopped; instead, they have risen. He also adds that prosecutors cannot always be trusted, and juries might be willing or perhaps prefer to give first-degree murders less than the death penalty if the substitute penalty were absolutely guaranteed to keep the killer behind bars for either a very long time or for the rest of his life. This article will be beneficial to the researcher who agrees that America should do away with the death penalty. The article provides several facts and opinions about the negative aspects of this system.
Correcting the Death Penalty
Fixing the death penalty. (2000, December 29). Chicago Tribune, p. 1A. Retrieved March 27, 2007, from Death Penalty Information Center Web site: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=17&did=418
This editorial pushes for the death penalty to be corrected instead of completely done away with. It states that the death penalty should be reserved for society’s worst criminals. Furthermore, the article states that judges and juries shouldn’t impose the death penalty unless there is no reasonable doubt that the accused is indeed guilty. In addition, the article discusses the execution of mentally retarded inmates and how it should stop. This article will help a researcher to discuss ways of fixing the death penalty instead of abolishing it all together.
Supporting the Death Penalty
Carmical, C. (Undated). The death penalty: Morally defensible?. Retrieved March 27, 2007, from Casey's Critical Thinking Web site: http://www.carmical.net/articles/deathpenalty.html
Carmical discusses the pros of having the death penalty. He gives moral reasons behind the death penalty, and he also discusses how the death penalty is not a means of revenge, as others would argue. Moreover, Carmical explains how the death penalty is about bringing the criminal to justice, not how much pain we can inflict upon him. Furthermore, Carmical argues that methods of execution used today are not nearly as bad as the crimes that the murderers committed. The author gives five reasons as to why one should support the death penalty, and he also discusses how racism can or cannot be a factor. Carmical’s article will be beneficial to the researcher who decides to write about reasons why we should have the death penalty. The article gives many facts and opinions about why the death penalty is good to have.