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In case you’re one of the unlucky few who didn’t have access to this speech because of the political bafoonery that surrounded it, here it is:

You can download the written transcript of this speech by clicking here.

I found a really cool resource that is sure to be a hit with kids while also presenting a great opportunity to visually explore concepts like orbit, rotation and the solar system.

To operate the solar system, all you have to do activate the “sky” is place your mouse on the screen.  I got the most natural looking results by placing my mouse on the Sun  and then slowly moving my cursor along its outside edge.  Placing your cursor outside the Sun up to about an inch exaggerates the motion further (smaller monitors require less, larger monitors require more).

I’d tell you more about how it works, but half of the fun and most of the knowledge comes from figuring it out for yourself.

While not an “official” NASA-approved representation of our universe, it does convey a sense of the vastness and complexity of our solar system.

This cool tool is the result of a computer programmer named Will Jessup who created it simply to show off a bit of clever code he’d crafted.  The second I saw it I realized that it could be used for educational purposes.

One of my favorite things to do was to place my cursor at roughly 2:00 o’clock, right on the edge of the Sun.  Then I’d watch Pluto disappear into the vast beyond and  return from its incredible orbital path.  Somehow my humble little computer monitor seemed to stretch for miles!

Take a minute to play with this fascinating tool.  I’ll bet you’ll like it.

Take me to Will Jessup’s Planet Rotator script!

I found another website that deserves your attention. It’s produced by a 28 year veteran teacher, Laura Candler, and has well-organized and extensive resources.

She has produced 13 books for sale but has also offered 100’s of blackline masters for free. Yes, she likes to share and the quality of these freebies is head-and-shoulders above many paid offerings.

Do you teach Math, Science, Health, Language Arts, Social Studies, Literary Lessons, Holidays, Accelerated Reading, Cooperative Learning, Center Activities and other odds ‘n ends?  Then you need to familiarize yourself with the deep well that is Laura Candler’s website.

This link will take you directly to her “file cabinet,” which contains the bulk of the free materials. I have no doubt that you’ll check out the rest of her site while you’re there.

I’ve always tried to shine a light on websites that have really good (free or awfully close to it) teaching resources .  Lately I’ve hit a rut and haven’t spotted anything worth mentioning.

I’m asking you, my readers, to drop me an e-mail about sites you really like so that I can share the information with the thousands of fellow teachers that visit this site.

I’m open to any type of resource, but would prefer to skip the “link farms.”

Thanks in advance for any hot tips!