Microsoft Education Resources

The Microsoft Education website has several free lesson plans, resources, and guides for teachers.  Resources on the site include free software and applications, and templates.

The lesson plans can be used to teach specific content-related concepts as well as introducing or practicing using different Microsoft software programs.  Users can search for lesson plans and how-to articles by title, software program/ Microsoft product, and/or grade level.   Users can also browse the lesson plans and how-to articles by subject area.  Lesson plan ideas and how-to documents include using Microsoft Excel to create a timeline, creating a class newsletter with Microsoft Publisher, and telling a story using Windows Live Movie Maker.

Math and the Movies

Video clips can be a great way to "hook" student attention at the beginning of a lesson.  Here are a few websites with video clips from television shows or movies that involve math, lesson ideas, and lists of movies with math scenes. 

• Mathematics in Movies is a collection of movie clips with math-related content.  It is created by Oliver Knill from the Department of Mathematics at Harvard University.  Movie clips can be viewed using Flash player (.swf) files or Quicktime. 
• Math and the Movies Resource List includes information about different movie scenes that pertain to mathematics.  A brief synopsis of the story line, a description of the math problem/concept, and a related lesson or worksheet.
• Simpsons Math has text transcripts of math-related scenes from television episodes, images from the show, and classroom activity sheets.
• Mathematical Fiction is a list of books, plays movies, and television shows that involve math concepts.  Users can browse the list by media type, genre, topic, title, or year. 

Library of Congress: American Memory

The Library of Congress American Memory Project is a collection of over 70 collections of digitized documents, photographs, audio clips, and movies.  Users can browse through the collections by topic, search for a paricular item, or browse through all of the collections.  The Library of Congress also has resources and lessons for teachers using primary source documents.

Our Courts

Our Courts is a web-based education project to help students learn more about civics and inspire them to become more active participants in our government.  It was developed to carry out Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's vision for improving civics education.

Our Courts has resources for teachers including lessons about the Constitution, foundations of the government, and persuasive writing. There are also videos, lesson plans, and information about the Supreme Court, state governments, and tribal governments. 

There are also three interactive games on the site.  These are simulation games and require users to analyze parts of the Constitution, determine the best argument, and apply these concepts to real world situations. 

• Do I Have a Right? - In this game users run their own law firm.  Clients come into the firm and users must listen to their case, determine if they have a right to go to court, and then match them up with a lawyer that best understands their issue and the Constitutional amendment that gives them that protection or right.  Teachers can download a game guide (.pdf) as well as a lesson plan about interpreting the Constitution.
• Argument Wars - Users debate historical Supreme Court Cases by determining which argument is best and supporting them.  The cases you can choose from include New Jersey v. TLO, Brown v. Board, Miranda v. Arizona, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Texas v. Johnson.  Teachers can also download a game guide (.pdf) and lesson plan (.pdf)  for this game.
• Supreme Decision - In this game users assume the role of a law clerk and must listen to the judges' deliberations, learn about the issues, and determine which side of the issue they agree with.  This game helps users to learn more about how the Supreme Court works.  Teachers can download a game guide (.pdf) and lesson plan for this game as well.