Art

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The Physics of Colour   http://riverdeep.net/current/2002/01/010702_color.jhtml

If students are going to use colour successfully in an art program, it would be helpful to understand the nature of light and why objects appear the colour they do. This site provides an excellent introduction to colour and the effect of colour on mood and perception. Ideal for year levels 9-11 RRRR

1000 Journals  http://1000journals.com

1000 journals are travelling from hand to hand throughout the world and those that receive them will add their stories and drawings and then pass the journal along in an ongoing collaborative artform.  This is a dynamic art experiment that you could be part of !  The web site reports on the progress and some of the entries that been made in the journals.  This idea could be extended to happen between schools. Ideal for year levels 4-12 RRRR

Essential Vermeer  http://essentialvermeer.20m.com/

The “Essential Vermeer” provides a wide range of in-house resources for studying the work and life of the 17th-century Dutch master painter Johannes Vermeer.  This is an academic site of considerable depth depicting every single painting that Vermeer ever painted, as well as background information on his life, the themes, images and messages he was communicating through his work and technical details on his painting style. Ideal for year levels 10-12 RRRRR

Teaching Animation   http://www.filmeducation.org/primary/animation/index.html

Animated films and the skills needed to produce them can provide stimulus to learning across the curriculum.  Here students can learn all about animation techniques, as well as begin their own simple animations.  There are also background notes, free resources, a film library, the history of animation and moving pictures and much more. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRR

Art Deco 1910-1939   http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1157_art_deco/

This online exhibition details the rise of the Art Deco movement and the huge impact it had on the architecture of many towns and cities that had major building booms during the early 20^th century.  This was very much a populist style that defined this extravagant time and social history.  An excellent introduction is available online here to the Art Deco movement. Ideal for year levels 8-12 RRRRR

The Art of Making Paper Snowflakes    http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dstredulinsky/home.html

The art of making paper snowflakes, in particular as Christmas decorations has been bought back to life at this web site.  This art form requires considerable dexterity and the capability to use a pair of scissors very well.  You can find here a considerable resource of paper snowflake patterns suitable for all age ranges.  Ideal for all year levels RRR

Famous Artworks Exhibition  http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/

The Web Museum in Paris presents a collection of links highlighting famous artworks from around the world, from across a wide range of art styles, and from hundreds of years of artistic talent.  Ideal for year levels 4-12 RRRRR

Art Takes Time  http://members.aol.com/TWard64340/Index.htm

Teachers will find here a collection of very well presented art lessons on a range of topics including Cave art, Egyptian art, ancient Greek art, ancient Roman art, African art, Italian Renaissance art, French impressionism, post impressionism, and modern art. There is also an excellent collection of questions that teachers can ask children about any work of art. Ideal for all year levels  RRRRR

Michelangelo Buonarroti  http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-main.html

The surname confuses the issue but the artist Michelangelo is known well enough.  Here you will find background information, works and personal history from his early life, the mid years and his final days.  There are excellent teaching and research resources available from here also.  Ideal for year levels 5-12 RRRRR

English Language

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ABC Teach  http://abcteach.com/directory/basics/abc_activities/animal_letters_color_and_write/

If you are looking to reinforce letter recognition then this colour and write set of coloring-in pages provides an excellent vehicle to achieve this. Ideal for year levels 0-2 RRRR

Evaluating Composing Skills for Narrative Writing  http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~hkatz/Courses/3101/wrtngb.html

If you are looking for a rubric for evaluating composing skills for narrative writing then you'll find an excellent one here setting out different levels of capability in story structure, story setting, story characters and story idea. Ideal for teachers  RRR

Composition Patterns: Narrative & Descriptive  http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/narrative.htm

In this excellent presentation arranger, skills involved in narrative and descriptive writing are extolled with good exemplars and exercises.  This paper would be an excellent tool for more advanced students to use or for teachers to use as a set of guidelines when working on narrative and descriptive writing.  Excellently presented. Ideal for year levels 6-11 RRRRR

Prewriting Exercises for Personal Narratives http://www.tengrrl.com/tens/006.shtml

These Prewriting exercises probably work best when combined with a more traditional technique such as using the journalists questions.  The idea is to ask students to think about the events that they narrate in a less typical way and then use those thoughts to develop their narratives.  There are 10 different Prewriting exercises that have been suggested here and they will allow students to explore different ways to prepare for writing a personal narrative. Ideal for year levels 6-11 RRRR

Reading, Technology, & Inquiry Based Learning Through Literature Rich Webquest's http://www.readingonline.org/articles/teclehaimanot/

The use of technology in teaching and learning can bring reading alive for children and young adults.  This article focuses on a technology rich environments that can facilitate the reading experience and help students meet changing standards while addressing essential questions that bring meaning to learning.  The increasing use of the inquiry learning process can be equally applied to the teaching of English and you will find here an excellent report with plenty of ideas and teaching suggestions. Ideal for teachersRRRR

The J.K. Rowling Official Site  http://www.jkrowling.com/

The author that set Harry Potter upon the world through the imaginative stories of a young and upcoming wizard has her story told here, as well as providing considerable background information on stories and films that have propelled the name Harry Potter into immortality for those under 16 years of age as well as those who enjoy clever literature. Ideal for year levels 2-12 RRRRR

Heteronyms  http://www.csar.cfs.ac.uk/staff/pickles/heteronyms.html

A heteronym is a word having the same spelling as another, but a different sound and meaning.  You will find here an incomplete list of heteronyms. Ideal for year levels 8-10 winner RR

The 10 Most Mispronounced Words & Phrases In English  http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/mispron.html

Dr language has provided a one-stop cure for the plague of misspelling. Here are the top 100 most often mispronounced English words.  If a word is pronounced properly then the spelling of that word can usually be worked out correctly.  It is the mispronunciation of English words that often leads to the incorrect spelling. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRR

An overview of Great Expectations  http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/ge/geov.html 

Great Expectations, the classic tale by Dickens, is explored via a wide range of different viewpoints at this web site. Themes such as imagery, gender, politics, genre, visual arts, characters, narrative and setting out are all dealt with here. Ideal for year levels 10-12 RRR

General & Professional Development

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Free Banners  http://www.in2edu.com/downloads/banners.htm

This excellent collection of web site reviews, resources and advice for teachers has an excellent offer where they will create for you a banner for your classroom or you can select from the many that are already available for download from this location . Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

ToyMaker  http://www.thetoymaker.com/

You can find here a wonderful collection of paper toys, holiday cards, valentines, sun boxes, baskets and bags, origami and ephemera. Great ideas, great fun and wonderful activities to improve the dexterity of young muscles. Ideal for year levels 3-8 RRRRR

Entry Points  http://www.entrypoints.com/

Entry Points is electronic magazine of the teachers looking for different ways of approaching traditional curriculum themes and topics.  If your teaching program could do with some new ideas, a range of different approaches and ideas more in keeping with contemporary student experiences, then the ideas presented here will come as a breath of fresh air. Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

Electronic Portfolios   http://webcenter1.aahe.org/electronicportfolios/index.html  FAULTY URL

The portfolio has been around education circles for some years now, but managing physical portfolios is quite difficult and cumbersome and this form of student reporting/assessment lends itself perfectly to electronic media.  The introduction of knowledge NET’s has seen electronic portfolios come into their own.  At this web site you can find a wide-ranging view of the use of portfolios.  You can access sample portfolios, ideas for structure as well as commentary and discussions on the application in the classroom. Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

The BBC Motion Gallery  http://www.bbcmotiongallery.com/

Here you  will find it easy access to thousands of clips from the vast and diverse archives of the BBC and the CBS News.  Spanning over 70 years, BBC content encompasses more than 300,000 hours of footage including natural history, wildlife, News, locations, art, music, celebrities, culture, performing arts and much more. Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

Learning Circuits http://www.learningcircuits.org

Learning Circuits is a source of background information, articles and resources for online and e-learning.  There is are excellent research reports here detailing the value or otherwise of e-learning.  The learning will considerably impact almost every educational institution within the next two to five years and those institutions that do not make the most of this opportunity will find themselves playing catch-up in terms of both the pedagogy and the technology.  An excellent resource site. Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

Quotations for Teachers: Be Inspired  http://www.theeducatorsnetwork.com/quotes/

This is an excellent collection of quotations that will come in very handy when encouraging the young people in front of us each day to reach out for the future and grasp something more permanent than a high score in the latest PlayStation game! Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

Critical Literacy Skills When Using The Internet http://www.schoolnet.ca/nis-rei/documents/pdf/critical_internet_literacy.pdf

With students increasingly using The Internet to access documents, resources and their schoolwork,  the importance of critical literacy skills cannot be underestimated.  This document provides an excellent background to critical literacy and its teaching in the classroom. Ideal for teachers  RRRR

Enhancing Your Curriculum with Web Enabled Resources  http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/reports/enhancingcurriculum/index.cfm

To help teachers use the Internet to improve their teaching practice, the editors of the e-School News have compiled this one-stop source for expert advice and key intelligence. Ideal for teachers  RRR

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A Practical Guide to Crisis Response in Our Schools   http://www.crisisinfo.org/schoolcrisisresponse/ FAULTY URL

Schools will discover here an excellent collection of policies and guidelines should a major crisis develop in your school. The policies, guidelines and overviews are all freely downloadable from this location . Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

Medical & Health Information   http://www.mayoclinic.com/programsandtools/index.cfm

If students are investigating a particular disease or condition, then they will find a fantastic collection of tools available here which allow them access to research information as well as use background notes and resources which are used by the Mayo Clinic to explain conditions to patients. Ideal for year levels 10-12  RRRRR

Antique Roman Dishes (recipes)  http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/ethnic/historical/ant-rom-coll.html

Absolutely fascinating to view what ancient Romans ate for their meals.  Everything from boiled eggs, pear soufflé, Roman hamburgers, mussels and much more. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRR

Let's Learn About Your Heart  http://www.mplsheart.org/kids/

At this web site students can learn about their heart, how it works and how to keep it healthy.  Students can move through the pages and learn about the physiology of the heart, how exercise and the food that is eaten affects its efficiency and capability to do the job is designed to do. They can move through some exercises (written not physical) to reinforce what they have learnt. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

Kids Running  http://www.kidsrunning.com/

Junior athletes have their own web site here which approaches running at a level that is appropriate to their age.  Students can learn about good techniques, healthy eating as well as listen to the advice of their peers on topics such as equipment, contests and attitude. Ideal for year levels 0-8 RRR

Physical Education for Life  http://www.pe4life.org/

Increasingly obesity is featuring at lower and lower age levels.  In order to counter this, education services around the globe are introducing daily physical education programs and while this may be already standard in some countries, for many it is a considerable revolution.  Find out some excellent programs and ideas that you may be able to integrate into your school program. Ideal for teachers  RRR

The National Association for Sport & Physical Education (USA)  http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/template.cfm

The mission of this organisation is to enhance knowledge and professional practice in sport and physical activity to scientific study in the dissemination of research based on experiential knowledge to its members and the public.  Teachers can download from here some excellent posters, brochures, standards and resources for their teaching programs as well as links to web sites. Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

Osteoporosis & Bone Physiology  http://courses.washington.edu/bonephys/

If students are studying the structure of bone then the electromicrographs and background information available here will provide an excellent supplementary resource to their text based resources.  There are plenty of images as well as excellent background physiological notes and exemplars. Ideal for year levels 11-12 RRRRR

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Parent Permission Form for World Wide Web Publishing  http://www.spectrumdata.com/whe/parentperm.htm

Teachers and administrators will find here an excellent parent permission form for publishing student material on the World Wide Web.  White Hall Elementary school has produced a simple but comprehensive format here that will provide an excellent model for all schools. Ideal for teachers  RRRR

Handheld Devices in the Classroom   http://www.eduscapes.com/tap/topic78.htm

Handheld devices or Personal Digital Assistants as they are known as, are rapidly becoming commonplace technology within schools.  However, there are many choices of operating system as well as form and there are also questions as to their teaching and learning value in the classroom.  This site investigates the use of handheld devices in the classroom and provides an excellent set of guidelines for making the choices that confront educators today.   Ideal for teachers RRRRR

Web Stasher http://www.webstasher.com

There are numerous bits of software that offer all sorts of advantages and assistance when using the Internet but this one is quite unique as it fills a real gap in present browser technology. WebStasher is a toolbar that you can easily add to Internet Explorer and is an extension of the idea of favorites/bookmarks.  With this toolbar you can add, organize, retrieve, cite and share information about web sites that you wish to return to at a later date. It is not free but it is a very worthwhile tool. Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

Inquiry Based Learning  http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/month6/

The development of thinking and problem solving skills is an important objective of education for a sustainable future, especially given the urgency of problems facing the world today.  This online module clarifies the characteristics of inquiry learning and illustrates strategies for teaching through inquiry based approaches. With inquiry learning and critical thinking skills becoming foundational in most schools, this is an excellent primer on the topic.  Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

The Produkkt!  http://www.theprodukkt.com/demoscene.html

This site highlights a huge underground collection of people who are organized into groups which compete in the area of creating real-time multimedia presentation demonstrations and creating real-time 3-D graphics, 2-D effects and bitmap graphics into one fluid presentation set to music . If you are looking to extend your students then this may be an environment you may want to introduce them to . The demonstrations are fantastic. Ideal for year levels 8-12 RRRRR

Dead Links in Your Bookmarks/Favorites  http://www.snapfiles.com/get/amdeadlink.html

Increasingly we keep track of our favourite web sites by using bookmarks/favourites and as much as this is a great help over time those sites can move, and change their address or are no longer be required.  This free download program allows you to check your bookmarks sites, deleting the ones that are no longer operational. Ideal for year levels 4-12 RRRR

I-Adventures  http://warrensburg.k12.mo.us/iadventure/index.html

An i-Adventure is a problem solving activity in which students determine the direction and outcome of a content rich storyline, using resources available on the Internet, particularly resources providing real worldcontent (primary documents). Teachers can find here a range of i-Adventures that they can use in their classrooms.  The topics vary from the work of Gregor Mendel through to issues associated with suppliers for the "Little House on the Prairie".  Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

ResearchBuzz  http://www.researchbuzz.com/

ResearchBuzz is designed to provide research on the world of Internet research.  To that end this site provides almost daily updates on search engines, new data managing software, browser technology, large compendiums of information, Web directories and much more. Ideal for teachers  RRRR

Foreign Languages (LOTE)

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The Modern Languages Association Language Map  http://www.mla.org/census_main/

This language map is intended for use by students, teachers and those interested in learning about the linguistic and cultural composition of the United States.  You can use the map to display the locations and numbers of speakers of 30 different languages and 7 groups of less commonly spoken languages in the United States.

Ideal for year levels 8-12 RRRR

Vive Bastille Day: Common French Food   http://www.cnn.com/FOOD/specials/1999/french.food/

French food does not have to be fancy, fattening or time-consuming and if you are looking to have your French students investigate French cooking but do not want to get too carried away with time-consuming recipes, then you will find here an excellent collection of common French cuisine that you could create in your classroom.

Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

The Internet Picture Dictionary  http://www.pdictionary.com/

Developing understanding of a new language is made possible via the common visual imagery, which both the existing language and the language being learnt, share.  This web site contains a picture dictionary with text in either English, French, German, Italian or Spanish and in the classroom becomes a very powerful language learning tool. Ideal for all year levels RRRRR

Electronic Text Collections in European Languages other than English  http://www.lib.virginia.edu/wess/etexts.html

This page lists Internet sources of literary texts in the Western European languages other than English.  There are some translations of some other texts.  Languages included here are  Danish, Dutch, Italian, Irish, Greek, Latin, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish . . . Ideal for year levels 11-12 RRR

ZUT: Interactive Activities for French Teachers & Learners  http://www.zut.org.uk/

Teachers and students will find here an excellent collection of resources to support the teaching/learning of the French language.  There is a small cost involved if you wish to use this outside of school hours.  Of course, as this originates in the UK, users from other countries  may find that they end up with this resource being free of charge outside of school hours. Ideal for 4-12 RRRR

L’Antre du Web http://www.baudelet.net/

Students will find here a picture tour of Paris with an excellent French commentary.  The photos are not the standard ones you may expect, rather they reflect the varied culture and the history of this unique city. Ideal for year levels 7-12 RRRRR

Deutsch Plus  http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/dplus/index.shtml

These 10 online German language topics, with audio, video and quizzes complements the television series of the same name but can be used independently from this site.  Themes used at this site include hospitality, shopping, telling the time, accommodation, careers, banking, travelling and using the telephone.

 Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

Meyers Lexicon: Das Wissen A-Z  http://www.iicm.edu/ref.m10

This German language encyclopaedia allows students to gain access to over 50 encyclopaedias and dictionaries when looking to find the background information and meaning of a particular German word.

 Ideal for year levels 10-12 RRRR

Civilisation Francaise  http://www.cortland.edu/flteach/civ/

This French language web site investigates all aspects of French life within France.  There is an excellent photograph collection (over 500) as well as looking at a variety of jobs as they are done in France, the role of humour, as well as some excellent video interviews. Ideal for year levels 6-12 RRRRR

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Answer Mathematics: Mental Computation & Calculation   http://www.answermath.com

This web site focuses on using techniques to increase the capability of students in calculating a variety of mathematical processes quickly and easily, whether in attempting to get the correct answer or in making approximations to confirm answers.  Some very simple and easy processes that can make the mental gymnastics a lot easier. Ideal for year levels 5-9 RRR

Mathematics, Science & Technology Java Resources  http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/java/

If you are looking for some Java animations of a variety of mathematical processes then you'll find an excellent list provided here at this web site. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRR

Mayan Mathematics http://hanksville.org/yucatan/mayamath.html

The Mayans devised a counting system that was able to represent very large numbers by using only three symbols, a dot, a bar, and a symbol for 0. The Mayans used this accounting system very successfully and at this web site students can be introduced to a unique and ancient accounting system and shown how to use it the carry out a variety of calculations and functions. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR

21st-Century Problem Solving   http://www.hawaii.edu/suremath/home.html

The use of problem solving techniques provides students with asset or skills that will last a lifetime.  These word problems or story problems as they are sometimes known are an essential part of learning to use mathematics effectively.  By introducing this method to students it provides the process by which to better understand the role of mathematics and give some basis to the reasons they learn it. Ideal for year levels 6-10 RRR

Prime: A Mathematical Encyclopaedia  http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/prime/index.asp

The prime encyclopaedia is designed to be browsed alphabetically and contains thousands of articles and entries dealing with topics such as algebra, analysis, calculus, geometry, graphing, number theory . . . . . .  This is a fantastic resource for students who wish to get assistance in understanding concepts from the very simple through to the very advanced, as well as investigating the history of mathematics. Ideal for year levels 4-12 RRRRR

The Calculus Page Problems List  http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~kouba/ProblemsList.html

If you require calculus problems to practice with or introduce new concepts then you'll find an excellent collection here.  All the basic calculus rules have problems sets associated with them are here, as well as integrating a variety of different functions, graphing exercises, principles and applications of theorems. Ideal for year levels 11-12 RRRR

Mathematical Problem Solving  http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/emt725/PSsyn/PSsyn.html

Problem solving has a special importance in the study of mathematics.  A primary goal of mathematics teaching and learning is to develop the ability to solve a wide variety of complex mathematical problems.  This page addresses the importance of teaching the problem solving process as well as providing directions as to how to go about doing this. Ideal for teachers  RRRR

Teaching Mathematics by Asking Instead of Telling  http://www.garlikov.com/Soc_Meth.html

This web site contains a transcript of the teaching experiment, using the Socratic method, with the year 3 mathematics class which demonstrates the applications of the Socratic teaching method.  The paper demonstrates how to get students involved and excited about the learning process rather than telling them how to the carry out a particular process.  An excellent and insightful paper. Ideal for teachers  RRRRR

Arithmetic  http://hometown.aol.com/iongoal/mathlessons.html

This site contains hundreds of pages of basic mathematical skills that contain interactive practice problems and explanations of each of the maths topics presented. Topics dealt with here include addition, counting, division, estimation, geometry, money, placed value, subtraction, decimals, equations, fractions, measurement, multiplication, percentage . . . Ideal for year levels 0-19 RRRRR

Comments

Musical Mysteries http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/4_11/music/mm/index.shtml

Robbie and Curly are investigating a series of mysteries where music is a central theme.  During the course of these mysteries students and introduced to fundamental musical concepts such as sound, rhythm, mood, the orchestra and musical notation.  This is an excellent way of introducing musical concepts in a fun and self motivating format. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRRRR  

Mozart Music Archives   http://www.classicalarchives.com/mozart.html

Students of Mozart will find here all his works including live recordings and MIDI files as well as a biography and list of works, a historical context and a timeline . Ideal for year levels 8-12 RRR

Keeping Score  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/tchaikovsky4/

This is a fascinating web site based on the behind the scenes television documentary, where conductor Michael Tilson Thomas takes viewers on a guided tour of one of the towering achievements in classical music, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 4.  In this exposition Thomas explores each of the symphonies or movements, providing insightful commentary on the powerful and vibrant emotions conveyed in the composers music.  You can discover here more about the life and times of the composer, about the relationship with the woman he dedicated this Symphony to and much more.  Very insightful. Ideal for year levels 9-12 RRRR

Costume History  http://www.cwu.edu/~robinsos/ppages/resources/Costume_History/index.htm

If you are looking for resources to access the design of costumes for plays dealing with particular periods of time this online resource will be very useful.  You will find here costume histories for Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Gothic, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Georgian, romantic, Edwardian, bustle, restoration, Byzantine . . .

Ideal for teachers   RRRR

The Virtual Phonograph 1900-1939  http://www.dismuke.org/

This site is devoted to vintage music from the early decades of the 20^th-century.  The site allows you to listen to over 200 recordings of vintage swing and jazz music albums taken from the original 78 RPM disks. 

 Ideal for year levels 10-12 RRR

The Rock-&-Roll Hall of Fame & Museum  http://www.rockhall.com/

The focus here is on the museum itself but the site also contains a significant amount of historical information on the evolution of rock-and-roll and the effect that it had on our music listening preferences.

Ideal for year levels 7-10 RR

wickEDtv  http://www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/wickedtv/index.php

Increasingly students are experimenting with a video format and producing some wonderful examples of material which communicates messages very effectively within this media.  You can find some excellent student video clips at this web site.  Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRR

The Beatles Lyrics Archive  http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Limo/3518/

You can search the lyrics of all the Beatles songs either by song title or album title.  These songs always seem to be fashionable amongst almost every age group. Ideal for all year levels RRRR

Trouble With Treble  http://www.tldsb.on.ca/schools/huntsvilleps/99/lessons/music/index.htm

Students can shine in this learning journey and learn all about how music is written.  Simple but quite clever. Ideal for year levels 5-9 RRRR

Boy Choir  http://boychoirs.org/

On this site you will find the history of all boy choirs and boy singers from the ancient past along with the development of cathedral boy choirs and community boy choirs. Ideal for year levels 4-10 RRR