Wikijunior:New Title Suggestions/Archive
North American Bears
[edit | edit source]- Target age:6-10
- Possible section titles:American Bears, Canadian Bears, Alaskan Bears
- Article 1
- Article 2
- Typical questions within each section:What do they look like, what do they eat, how big are they?
- Question 1?
- Question 2?
- Interested Participants:
- User 1
- User 2
- Scope of project: (What is this project going to concentrate on and how to keep it within Wikimedia
guidelines.)
Evolution
[edit | edit source]- Target age: Standard Wikijunior (3-8)
- Possible Section Titles
- Geologic Time Scale/Fossil Record
- Formation of the Earth
- Cambrian Explosion
- From ape to man
- Charles Darwin
- Natural Selection
- DNA and Mutations
- Intelligent Design
- Irreducible Complexity
- Specified Complexity
- Geologic Time Scale/Fossil Record
- Interested Participants
- User:Invader_chris
- MiltonT 05:23, 27 October 2006 (UTC)
- Barry Desborough 06:17, 4 November 2006 (UTC)
- Comments:
I find this premise to be quite interesting. Origins are a big question in everyone's mind. However, by the nature of this topic, I don't think that it fits the current "collection of articles" type book in which all of the pages can be tied together by the same questions. I believe this book should take a different approach, thereby being more informative in the end. MiltonT 05:23, 27 October 2006 (UTC)
I've jumped in at the deep end (being a newbie) and I've sketched out a possible structure with a few example pages - I'm an 'operational thinker'. Please see Wikijunior_Life, its discussion page and Wikijunior_Life/Structure_plan. I'm not trying to impose a structure by fiat, but these pages might be useful discussion items. --Barry Desborough 06:17, 4 November 2006 (UTC)
Transportation
[edit | edit source]- Target age: Standard Wikijunior (8-12)
- Possible section titles:
- Road
- Car
- Truck
- Bus
- Rail
- Steam locomotive
- Diesel locomotvie
- Electric locomotive
- Very fast trains (TGV, Shinkansen)
- Light rail (tram, streetcar)
- Underground railway
- Water
- Sailship
- Steamship
- Ferry
- Ocean liner
- Cruise ship
- Merchant ships
- Submarine
- Hydrofoil
- Hovercraft
- Air
- Airplane
- Helicopter
- Airship
- Road
- Typical questions within each section:
- How fast does it travel?
- How big the vehicles are?
- What is the history of this transport?
- How far does it travel?
- Were does it get its power?
- Interested Participants:
- User:Kneiphof
- Starchildmom 22:44, 5 April 2006 (UTC)
- User 2
- Scope of project: Children can be really fascinated by transport (I remember myself when I was younger. Even now I'm still fascinated by transport:)). Probably because it combines the "magic" of technology and the magic of travel. This book would describe various modes of transport, answering typical questions (Like What is bigger: ocean liner or airship?)
Learning Series
[edit | edit source]- Target age: Kindergarten to K-12
- Possible section titles: Learn Maths, Learn English, Learning Resources, For Parents, For Teachers
- Learn Maths
- Learn Maths - Beginners
- Learn Maths - Grade 2
- Learn Maths - Grade 3
- Learn Maths - ...
- Typical questions within each section: Addition Subtraction Multiplication ...
- Learn English
- Learn English - Grade 1
- Learn English - ...
- Learn History - Beginners
- Learn Maths
- Interested Participants:
- Ozgur Aksu 00:39, 27 September 2005 (UTC)
- Rick Norwood 23:43, 16 October 2005 (UTC)
- Tmalmjursson 17:51, 27 October 2006 (UTC)
- --Barry Desborough 16:54, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
- Starchildmom 04:02, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: This project will concentrate on creating learning materials for students of different levels. These could include (not limited to) tutorials, exercise material, tests, etc.
- Comments:
I'm wondering if this proposal is suffering from being overly broad? Perhaps it should be reorganized into something more manageable like Wikijunior Beginning Math or Wikijunior Basic Grammar. One area we could get a huge infusion of participants with something like this is with the home schooling crowd that needs materials like this, especially ones that are low-cost. --Rob Horning 19:06, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
- Yes, I think these need to be broken up. Each topic (Math, Grammar, History) is easily enough for its own series divided by level. Homeschoolers would especially benefit from English grammar, math, and foreign language (not listed above, but in the same scope I think). Those are the areas where texts are most often purchased. Starchildmom 04:02, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
Have re-organised the sub-lists a bit. This is a great area for online presentation and increased interactivity with the user. It could be organised along the lines of a standard syllabus or concept maps. The organisation/navigation could be presented in different ways, pointing to the same material. Development could do with a 'standard' organisational map, for the ease of reference by developers.--Barry Desborough 16:36, 11 February 2006 (UTC)
I think this is great but, I do feel it needs to be broken up not by grade so much as age. As a homeschooling mother I tend to think in the ages mind set, grades are an artificial measure that isn't standard. I am working on a book with a horrible title called Math For Young People based on ages. I started with basic counting, suggestions on games to teach for the teacher, and workbook pages. I hope to have a mini book with color photo's for each chapter too. I plan on covering only the basics, like counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Geometry, measuring, fractions, decimals, etc... if I do attempt will be for a higher level or additional book. It was actually this book that inspired me to make the book...may be I can add it to the current project when I'm done. Aukxsona.
Moving and Growing
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 8-10 year olds
- Possible section titles:
- Skeletons
- Vertebrates
- Invertebrates
- Organs
- The Brain
- The senses
- Growing
- Breathing
- Muscles
- Effects of exercise
- Skeletons
- Typical questions within each section:
- What function does the skeleton play?
- How do our eyes work?
- What is blood and what does it do?
- How do we breathe?
- What happens to our body when we exercise?
- How do our muscles work?
- How do we learn?
- Interested Participants:
- Kabads
- --Dragontamer 11:44, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
- Bvcxz 16:21, 19 December 2005 (UTC)
- N1person 21:16, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: (What is this project going to concentrate on and how to keep it within Wikimedia guidelines.)
- Writing a book which can act as a resource within schools. Book to be published under GPL documentation license.
- Target age: 8-12 year olds
- Possible section titles:
- Alaska
- Alaska Range
- Aleutian Islands
- Anchorage
- Barrow
- Bethel
- Brooks Range
- Denali
- Diomede Islands
- Fairbanks
- Homer
- Juneau
- Kenai
- Ketchikan
- Kodiak
- Kotzebue
- Nome
- North Slope
- Nunivak Island
- Petersburg
- St. Lawrence Island
- Seward
- Sitka
- Soldotna
- Unalaska
- Valdez
- Wasilla
- Typical questions within each section:
- What is the area's Geography?
- What is the area's history?
- What are the people like?
- Interested Participants:
- Scope of project:
Covering all areas of Alaska from a cultural and historical aspect, oriented toward children.
- Comments:
- This is a stub that was started prior to the creation of New Title Suggestions, and in fact is one of the reasons I started the whole process of suggesting new titles, which is why the stub even exists. This should be viewed as a continuation of the Wikijunior South America book to concentrate on other areas of the world. IMHO, we should be concentrating on whole continents instead of smaller geographic areas to start with, but this might be an interesting book in the future. I'm adding this simply to list it and to acknowledge that somebody wanted to get this going in the past. --Rob Horning 05:52, 5 November 2005 (UTC)
- Comparing to the other Culture Wikijunior books, I think an excellent proposal would be Wikijunior United States (or Wikijunior States of the United States or a similar title). Wikijunior South America, for example, sets out parameters that it wishes to address for each country, then has an entry for each country to address those questions. I think using a similar model for the 50 United States (maybe with extra entries for D.C. and other territories) would be a brilliant idea, and very useful for children in the age group. I think dedicating an entire book to a single state is a bit much detail for 8-11 year olds -- at least, there'd probably be more use for one book with less detail than 50 books with more detail, and it'd be easier to produce. I would be willing to work on this, and I think we could recruit from the existing U.S. state WikiProjects and notice boards (U.S., South, North). -- Tetraminoe 12:33, 28 December 2005 (UTC)
- To add a comment, since I've nominated Wikijunior States of the United States on Wikijunior:New Book of the Quarter/2006-2nd Quarter Vote: I still think this is an excellent idea, but admittedly the final product would be mostly useful within the U.S., where it is pretty common material for an elementary school curriculum or children's books. I don't imagine schoolchildren in other countries study the U.S. in such detail. Therefore, my nomination comes with the disclaimer I know the product would be of limited geographic scope, but I feel would be very useful and appropriate within said scope.
- If indeed there is concern about Wikijunior stagnating, and the result is an attempt to open the project further, it seems appropriate to me that perhaps the new book for Q2, in fact, choose 2 books. Those two books could be for different subject matter, likely to attract contributors with different interests -- for instance, one in Science and the other in Culture. Perhaps one could even have a limited geographic scope (given again that it would be so useful within that scope, and that there exists a large body of Wikipedia contributors with expertise in the area who could be recruited to Wikibooks, particularly during the summer months when the Q2 new books will begin). Just a thought. --Tetraminoe 08:35, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
- Comparing to the other Culture Wikijunior books, I think an excellent proposal would be Wikijunior United States (or Wikijunior States of the United States or a similar title). Wikijunior South America, for example, sets out parameters that it wishes to address for each country, then has an entry for each country to address those questions. I think using a similar model for the 50 United States (maybe with extra entries for D.C. and other territories) would be a brilliant idea, and very useful for children in the age group. I think dedicating an entire book to a single state is a bit much detail for 8-11 year olds -- at least, there'd probably be more use for one book with less detail than 50 books with more detail, and it'd be easier to produce. I would be willing to work on this, and I think we could recruit from the existing U.S. state WikiProjects and notice boards (U.S., South, North). -- Tetraminoe 12:33, 28 December 2005 (UTC)
Religions
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 10-12
- Possible section titles:
- Religious Diversity
- Abrahamic Faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam)
- Indic Faiths (Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism)
- Polytheistic Faiths (Norse, Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Babylonian...)
- Wicca
- Discordianism
- [Put religion here]
- Religious Tolerance
- Typical questions within each section:
- How is it related to [Put another religion here]?
- What does it say about [Put religious topic here, like reincarnation]?
- What were the cirumstances of its founding?
- Interested Participants:
- Lugita15
- Konstable
- genesis
- Gibs0n 16:36, 19 March 2006 (UTC)
- Daniel
- Gray Porpoise 12:49, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: This will help spread the message of religious tolerance and religious diversity.
- Comments:
- I love the idea of this as a Wikibook, or even with Wikijunior. It needs more work to fully develop as an idea, but a very NPOV treatment of religious ideas does have its place with kids. Especially to simply understand what motivates different groups of people to do the things they do, which religion often does. After 9/11, anti-Christian and anti-Moslim sentiment has been fueled, often by simple misunderstanding of the religious and ideas. Moslims worrying that Mecca is going to get Nuked by America and America paranoid beyond belief that all of Islam is out to destroy America are both patently wrong. Everybody needs to learn more about other religions. --Rob Horning 18:35, 26 November 2005 (UTC)
- The idea is nice, but this would never be NPOV. It's just too touchy a subject. What religions get to be included? Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc may sound fine, but what even qualifies as a religion? Do we include LDS? Does Wicca get qualified as a religion and not a cult? What about Scientology? Where do we draw the line? I just see it getting too complicated, especially for Wikijunior. Maybe as a World Religions textbook. --LV (Dark Mark) 17:41, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
- I don't see why this should be excluded on that basis of NPOV issues alone. Wikipedia does a very good job with trying to define religion and discuss the concept, and I can point to many Wikipedia articles that have a NPOV tone and work very well about all of these proposed articles. That the NPOV problems are going to happen with proposal is true, as religion plays an often central role in most people's lives. For that reason it is very important for kids to be exposed to these ideas in a NPOV format, rather than with the politically and racially charged descriptions that are usually offered to children. This is to discuss what religious philosophies are about, not to classify religions either. As far as Wicca and Scientology, I say why not? Both, if done from a NPOV, can and should be included. The word cult is usually abused to mean basically "any religious thought that I disapprove of and think you should not be associated with". The more literal definition is a religious movement started by an individual professing a specific lifestyle. That includes Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism which can all be called cults by a broad defintion. In that regard Wicca is not a cult but a religion, if you want to get into semantics. The advantage of doing this through Wikijunior is that I can't think of any other place where you can gather together a broad range of cultures and philosophies to be able to pull something like this off. The difference between this and a World Religions wikibooks is that this is for children, and the nature of Wikijunior is more toward encyclopedic entries so this would be more a simplification of existing articles on Wikipedia. --Rob Horning 18:09, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
- I don't disagree that kids need to learn about religions NPOVally, but If we want that to happen, I just fear it won't be here. So anything that someone has deemed a "religion" can be included? The Branch Dividians? Heaven's Gate? Order of the Solar Temple? Raelism? Symbionese Liberation Army? Where does the line get drawn? Do we have a children's book 1000 pages long? I just fear this is not managable. From a size POV and a NPOV POV. --LV (Dark Mark) 18:25, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
- The neat thing about how this whole thing is set up (copying from many good ideas of the past from Wikimedia projects) is that it is up to ordinary users like yourself to help decide what the next Wikijunior book should be. Vote or don't vote for this book to become the next Wikijunior book. As it looks like for 2006, I highly doubt this Wikibooks will get a green light as there are many others that seem like a higher priority and have much more interest. I also set this system up specifically to help generate interest so when the book gets an official green light to start adding sections, there is already in place a fairly large group that has some ideas for sections and is ready to add content. If the widespread support of the Wikijunior Ancient Civilizations books is any indication, I think the Wikijunior Dinosaurs Wikibook is going to be a runaway success. I think eventually this religon Wikibook should be written, but there are many much higher priorities before it should get that green light. If and when Wikijunior gets some widespread support from the Wikipedia crowd in large numbers (or similar sized participation) I have no doubt that something on Religion could occur. As it is so far, this book suggestion won't even be nominated until 2nd Quarter of 2006. --Rob Horning 06:43, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
- I don't disagree that kids need to learn about religions NPOVally, but If we want that to happen, I just fear it won't be here. So anything that someone has deemed a "religion" can be included? The Branch Dividians? Heaven's Gate? Order of the Solar Temple? Raelism? Symbionese Liberation Army? Where does the line get drawn? Do we have a children's book 1000 pages long? I just fear this is not managable. From a size POV and a NPOV POV. --LV (Dark Mark) 18:25, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
- I don't see why this should be excluded on that basis of NPOV issues alone. Wikipedia does a very good job with trying to define religion and discuss the concept, and I can point to many Wikipedia articles that have a NPOV tone and work very well about all of these proposed articles. That the NPOV problems are going to happen with proposal is true, as religion plays an often central role in most people's lives. For that reason it is very important for kids to be exposed to these ideas in a NPOV format, rather than with the politically and racially charged descriptions that are usually offered to children. This is to discuss what religious philosophies are about, not to classify religions either. As far as Wicca and Scientology, I say why not? Both, if done from a NPOV, can and should be included. The word cult is usually abused to mean basically "any religious thought that I disapprove of and think you should not be associated with". The more literal definition is a religious movement started by an individual professing a specific lifestyle. That includes Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism which can all be called cults by a broad defintion. In that regard Wicca is not a cult but a religion, if you want to get into semantics. The advantage of doing this through Wikijunior is that I can't think of any other place where you can gather together a broad range of cultures and philosophies to be able to pull something like this off. The difference between this and a World Religions wikibooks is that this is for children, and the nature of Wikijunior is more toward encyclopedic entries so this would be more a simplification of existing articles on Wikipedia. --Rob Horning 18:09, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
- One way to deal with the what-to-include problem would be have a lower adherent limit (the religion has to have at least x million living adherents to be included). At least that would leave out the suicide cults. :-) Unfortunately, it would also leave out ancient polytheisms. So perhaps that rule can be: either have x million living adherents or be a historically important but long dead religion. I doubt the Wiccas would count themselves as a dead religion. And there are no living members of the Cult of the Ionian Tadpole Worshippers to complain about their not being regarded as historically important. (I just now made up that religion up, so don't go googling it.) I've written this somewhat irreverently, but I am not really trying to diss the Wiccas, etc. This is a children's book, and we need to limit its size. Using numbers of adherents to limit the book size seems to me entirely reasonable and dispenses with value judgmnets. Unfortunately, the size of a religion will itself be controversial. --JMRyan 23:13, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
- The idea is nice, but this would never be NPOV. It's just too touchy a subject. What religions get to be included? Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc may sound fine, but what even qualifies as a religion? Do we include LDS? Does Wicca get qualified as a religion and not a cult? What about Scientology? Where do we draw the line? I just see it getting too complicated, especially for Wikijunior. Maybe as a World Religions textbook. --LV (Dark Mark) 17:41, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
I like this idea, I think it is a good thing for children to be tolerant of other religions, especially in such a diverse religious age.
--Genesis 18:58, 16 March 2006 (UTC)genesis
I would happily particpate!
--Gibs0n 16:36, 19 March 2006 (UTC)
So would I
Dbmag9 15:23, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
I love this idea, but why just one issue? Perhaps this idea is broad enough to start Wikibooks for individual religions!
--Gray Porpoise 18:42, 8 July 2006 (UTC)
Rocks and Minerals
[edit | edit source]- Target age: Standard Wikijunior
- Possible section titles:
- Mohs' Scale
- Igneous
- Sedimentary
- Metamorphic
- Chalk
- Limestone
- Coal
- Oil
- Lava
- Pumace
- Granite
- Marble
- Diamond
- Typical questions within each section:
- How is this mineral made?
- Where is this mineral usually found?
- What kinds of other minerals are usually found with this rock?
- How hard is this mineral?
- What is made with this mineral?
- How valuable is this mineral? (How much does it cost?)
- Interested Participants:
- Rob Horning 09:51, 21 January 2006 (UTC)
- Starchildmom 22:12, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
- Sam T. Jazzhands 00:36, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project:
Rocks and minerals are a standard item for most elementary school science curricula, and something that is interesting to children with some significant visual resources as well. Many visual resources are available under copyleft arrangements, or it would be possible for contributors to create the resources directly without too much trouble. It is also important to not only give encyclopedic knowledge about this subject, but to try and explain why we know what we know about these substances. It would also be useful to try and orient this book to specific standards to make it useful for classroom education as well. This may take a rethinking of the general approach we have been taking with Wikijunior.
- Related links to useful planning information:
- Virginia Earth Science Curriculum Requirements
- Utah 4th Grade Science Core Curriculum - Standard III is specifically Rocks and Minerals
- Comments:
Comment:This is definitely a popular topic with kids and schools. Using standards being followed by schools and other educational groups is a concept I want to support. Topics like this are great because they have real-world usage appeal as opposed to being a favorite subject of a Wikibookian that may not be useful to educators. Starchildmom 22:12, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
- Target age: Standard Wikijunior (8-12)
- Possible section titles:
- The Start of World War II
- The Allies
- The Axis
- Dunkerque
- Battle of Britain
- The Blitz
- Pearl Harbor
- Barbarossa - the German invasion of Russia
- The War in the East
- The War in Africa
- D-Day
- The Holocaust
- Atomic Bombs
- Aftermath
- Typical questions within each section:
- How did World War II start?
- What countries were allies?
- What countries were in the axis?
- What was the Blitz?
- What happened at Pearl Harbor?
- What was the Holocaust?
- What is an Atomic Bomb and where were they used?
- Interested Participants:
- Hagindaz 04:14, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
- Kneiphof 21:42, 5 April 2006 (UTC)
- Fallingbombx 22:26, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
- Urbane User 16:16, 1 January 2007 (UTC)
Our goal:
- entertain
- follow the frameworks (at least somewhat!)
Target age: 5th grade, that is, 10-11 years old.
- 5th grade math content standards, pp 52-58.
- grade level considerations, pp 151-158.
- complementary material - lesson plans (to get a flavor of "approach" of the material - this is just for depth, for those interested
- Intrested participants:
- Karl Wick 22:18, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
The very well thought-out entire mathematics framework.
Publisher's requirements for California. Additional information not directly relevant to our discussion.
Wikijunior Fifth Grade Math >>
If this book is developed, it will have an automatic advocate promoting it for actual use in the classroom in the US state of California, Sanford Forte, founder of the California Open Source Textbook Program. This gives this book a tremendous advantage as something that can be an ambassador for Wikibooks in general.
- Target age: 4-8 years old (much younger than typical Wikijunior)
- Possible section titles:
- Letters of the Alphabet (A-Z)
- Numbers (0-9)
- Typical questions within each section:
- What begins with...(letter)?
- (Short poem/rhyme about letter)
- Interested Participants:
- Rob Horning 15:12, 4 April 2006 (UTC)
- Starchildmom 06:19, 5 April 2006 (UTC)
- Sam T. Jazzhands 19:33, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project:
This is a common theme for younger children, although the better books of this nature are definitely copyrighted, so this would be a GFDL'd version of the traditional alphabet primer. Big bold words should be used within the text, both to emphasis that this is for younger children, and to help make it easier for these children to read this book. Words should be kept very simple, and drawn from lists of common words (like the top 200 words of the English language, for example).
- Comments:
- Before starting new suggestions for the Age 8-12, what about the youngster out there who start to learn? We suggest to start with elementary pictures and the Alphabet. Support needed to start a book for our youngest kids... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Anonymous IP user (talk • contribs) .
- This is one book that is going to be surprisingly difficult to write, not because the content is going to be difficult to obtain but because it is going to need many, many images (essentially a picture book) and writing for younger audiences is something that has proven difficult for many Wikijunior contributors. The scope of the project is very clear, however, and initial steps can be fairly straight forward. There is likely going to be some debate over what to put up for the items in this book, and dealing with letters like X and Q is going to be a problem simply because there are so few words that you can use. The traditional X word like Xylophone is likely going to be inevitable, but it would be nice to find something different. --Rob Horning 15:12, 4 April 2006 (UTC)
- I have been thinking about this book. At first I agreed that it would be hard. After mulling it over and looking at some of the alphabet books around my home, I have changed my mind. It does not need to be overly complicated to create. We do not even need to be too concerned with big words, as long as the words and accompanying pictures are interesting and are age-appropriate. Most kids reading an alphabet book want pictures they can recognize in a general way and to see that the word with the picture starts with the same letter. A great addition would be to add a sound file for each picture saying the word.
- Oh, and don't worry about Q. As a mom that named one of my children with a Q name and is forever having to play name games, I know there are plenty of Q words that can be used....Queen, Quint (the fruit), Quad (as in off road or 4), Quintuplets, Quiet, Quarter (as in can I have a $, or half of a half)....--Starchildmom 06:19, 5 April 2006 (UTC)
- I would like to see this one done and am willing to help. I'm new to the idea of actually working on something wiki (longtime reader) and am having a hard time understanding if this is a proposed title that I can add my vote to or if it's already been passed over?? Christystockman 07:37, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
- I've started an alphabet book but have not been able to put it on a bookshelf. Find it here http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/The_ABCs :More pictures need to be uploaded from the Commons. This book would be more effective as a learning tool is it were possible to show it as a slideshow. A series of alphabet books could be created, according to themes: an ABC of animals, of everyday items, or of verbs. --M Linley 02:02, 28 June 2006 (UTC)
- Target age: 6-12 (up to 13 in developing countries with fewer computers), and possibly also 60+
- Possible section titles:
- How does a computer work?
- History of computers
- Computer basics
- Icons, desktops, mouse pointers
- Files and file folders
- Word processing for school
- Learning to type
- Cut, copy, paste, and other editing tricks
- Formatting
- Printing
- Welcome to the Internet!
- History of the Internet
- Web browsers
- Internet research
- Google is your friend
- Lies Websites tell me, and which ones to believe
- Wikipedia, the humongous free encyclopedia
- As a starting point for research
- The kid Wikipedian's guide to writing and editing
- Making friends online
- Chat rooms
- E-mail: letters without the postage stamps
- Staying safe
- Typical questions:
- Can my word processor check my spelling and grammar for me?
- If computers can't think, how can they _____ so well?
- Do online translators really work?
- How can I find pictures I can put on my own website without breaking copyright?
- Interested Participants:
- Seahen
- Bibhusan
- Urbane User 15:44, 1 January 2007 (UTC)
- Scope of project: Broad. Children will learn how computers work, what their history is, and how to do all the things they may want or need to do — from researching and writing a school report, to organizing their music, to working with spreadsheets, to playing games, to safely meeting like-minded kids online, to reading online for pleasure, to designing, building and posting their own Web pages. Unlike other such guides, it will discuss and recommend free software and the Wikimedia projects. Should be relevant to Windows, Mac and Linux machines. Will be most useful to children with a home computer, but should also be helpful to those who use public computers (in schools or libraries). 72.56.167.210 21:25, 11 April 2006 (UTC)
- This is Wikibooks, so the book would need to follow a neutral point of view. You would not be able to recommend free software, but you would be able to discuss and feature it. --Kernigh 20:56, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
Wikijunior Video Games
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 10-12
- Possible section titles:
- Video Game History
- The Evolution of Consoles, Arcades, and Gaming- Specific PCs
- Notable Consoles
- Notable Games
- Video Game Development
- Concept
- Art
- Modeling
- Textures
- Motion Capture
- Programming
- Beta Testing
- Music
- Video Game History
- Typical questions within each section:
- Who made this console/game?
- When was it released?
- How long was this console's lifespan?
- How popular was this console/game?
- What are some notable games for this console?
- What made this console different from others?
- Interested Participants:
- User 1
- Seahen
- Scope of project: In this book, children would learn basic video game history without going into complicated lawsuits. Since children are generally only exposed to new consoles, it would be interesting to see what kind of video games their parents used to play, especially with lots of screenshots and pictires of vintage consoles. It would discuss the major events such as the first consoles, the rise of arcades, the crash, etc. The game development part would walk through a typical game's journey from concept to completion. --24.164.134.249 02:29, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 6-10
- Possible selection titles:
- Baleen Whales
- General information
- Various species (bowhead whale, pygmy right whale, gray whale, blue whale, humpback whale, etc.)
- Toothed Whales
- Oceanic Dolphins
- General information
- Various species (orca, bottlenose dolphin, spinner dolphin, common dolphin, etc.)
- River Dolphins
- General information
- All species (there are 5)
- Porpoises
- General information
- All species (there are only 6)
- Other toothed whales
- General information
- Various species (sperm whale, beluga, narwhal, some of the many beaked whales, etc.)
- Oceanic Dolphins
- Primitive/extinct whales
- General information
- Various species (Basilosaurus, Dorudon, Pakicetus inachus, etc.)
- Baleen Whales
- Interested participants:
- Gray Porpoise 13:05, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
- Avenue of Covina 02:30, 11 June 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: Educate children to the order Cetacea. Provide information about intelligence, echolocation, anatomy, etc. of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Many children find these creatures fascinating.
- Comments:
- What about naming this simply Wikijunior Sea Mammals? OK, that would extend the scope to seals, otters, and other creatures as well, but that isn't necessarily a huge problem. Still, the emphasis on cetatians might be a useful limit to the scope of this book. There are a number of species that can be added for each major category listed here, and this is a very interesting book. Certainly a worthy companion to Wikijunior Big Cats. --Rob Horning 20:51, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
- I like this idea, I'm interested in doing this. --Avenue of Covina 02:30, 11 June 2006 (UTC)
Wikijunior Wild Dogs
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 8-12
- Possible section titles:
- An introduction on wild canids.
- History of the dog from past to present.
- Info about wolves
- Gray Wolves
- Basic information
- Red Wolves
- Basic info
- Ethiopian Wolves
- Basic info
- Maned Wolves
- Basic info
- Gray Wolves
- Info about foxes
- Red Foxes
- Basic info
- Gray Foxes
- Basic info
- Fennec Foxes
- Basic info
- Other species of fox
- Basic info (since there are so many fox species, it be a good idea to just put the less known foxes in one section)
- Red Foxes
- Other wild dog species
- Jackals
- Basic info
- African Wild Dogs
- Basic info
- Dholes
- Basic info
- Raccoon Dogs
- Basic info
- Bush Dogs
- Basic info
- Jackals
- Why some species of wild canids are dissapearing.
- A conclusion
- Glossary with words mentioned in the project
- Question that could be mentioned throughout the project:
- What's a canine?
- How is your pet dog related to animals like wolves?
- How come wolves helped humans in earlier times?
- How many species of canines are there?
- Why are some canines dissapearing?
- Interested participants:
- Avenue of Covina 01:44, 11 June 2006 (UTC)
- Project's scope: Help kids learn about the wild canids. This can let kids find out how their own pet is related to wolves and foxes. Also, it can be a project sort of like the Big Cat project, as well.
Wikijunior Archaeology
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 10-14
- Possible section titles:
- The tools of the trade
- Methods used
- Determining where to start
- What is done when the artifacts are found
- Typical questions within each section:
- Who first started Archaeology?
- How is Archaelogy done (the process involved)?
- Why dig up ancient civilzations' ruins?
- When did Archaeology attain legitimacy as a science?
- What has Archaeology shown us about our world?
- Interested Participants:
- Jaerune 19:07, 30 June 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: A general study of Archaeology as a science and it's history. Less focus on famous finds (such as the digs in Egypt) and more focus on the science and practice of Archaelogy, the hows and whys of the process.
Wikijunior Cnidarians
[edit | edit source]- Target age: Standard Wikijunior
- Possible section titles:
- Life Cycle
- Coral
- Coral reefs
- Species (brain coral, staghorn coral, etc.)
- Anemones
- Species (magnificent sea anemone, etc.)
- Hydroids
- Species (Portugese man o' war, hydra, etc.)
- True jellyfish
- Jellyfish Lake
- Species (moon jelly, lion's mane jellyfish, etc.)
- Box jellyfish
- Species (irukandji jellyfish, sea wasp, etc.)
- Typical questions within each section:
- What are their characteristics?
- What is their scientific classification?
- Which species are dangerous to humans?
- Interested Participants:
- myself --Gray Porpoise 20:34, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
- MiltonT 23:24, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: Teach kids about cnidarians, invertebrates which are often mistaken for plants (coral/anemones) or fish (jellyfish). It's a topic that is often not mentioned in kids' magazines, and yet there's so much to know about these animals.
- Comments:
Very interesting subject. The title should not be simply Cnidarians, but something with a subtitle like "Cnidarians: Stingers of the Sea" so that kids are not frightened away by the disgustingly hard to read word on the cover. MiltonT 23:24, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
- "What are their characteristics?" is a very broad question. I think it should be broken down into questions like "What do they eat", "What do they look like?" "Where do they live?". --xixtas 03:06, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
A practical book of some of the most popular (with kids) experiments that can be done using easily obtainable materials.
- Target age: Ages 9-12
- Possible Section Titles
- Slime recipies
- Red cabbage indicator
- Pinhole Camera
- Raisin Dance
- Fun with baking Powder and vinegar
- Electricity from lemons
- Making rainbows in liquids
- Build your own periscope
- Power a boat with soap
- The fantastic squirting egg
- Make a spinning paper helicopter
- Write secret messages
- Baking powder and lemon squash
- Make a floating compass
- Make a switch
- Grow your own fungi
- Grow your owm crystals
- Chromatography of inks
- Test floating
- Acid Investigations
- Why does it rain?
- Keep your mouse warm
- Typical questions/topics for each article:
- What materials are needed?
- How do I peform the experiment?
- What happens and why?
- How is this used in the real world?
- Interested Participants:
- Xixtas 03:59, 26 September 2006 (UTC)
The target age group will be 8-11 year olds but it should also be useful to teachers looking for ideas for science clubs or for lesson starter activities. Theresa knott 11:28, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
Wikijunior Biomes
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 8-12
- Possible section titles:
- Tundra
- Taiga/Boreal Forest
- Temperate Forests
- Deciduous
- Coniferous
- Tropical Rainforest
- Grassland/Savanna/Shrubland/Chapparal
- Desert
- Freshwater habitats (Ponds, Rivers)
- Wetlands
- Kelp Forest
- Coral Reefs
- Open Ocean
- Abyss (Ocean)
- Hydrothermal Vent
- Habitat Loss and Conservation
- Typical questions within each section:
- What kinds of plants (if any) are found here?
- What latitudes/depths is this biome usually found?
- What is average temperature/precipitation here?
- What seasons does this area have, if any? (spring, summer, etc vs. rainy/dry)
- What kind of adaptations do animals have for this environment?
- Interested Participants:
- MiltonT 17:46, 8 October 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: Give children an understanding of the variety of environments on Earth.
Adaptations
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 8-12
- Possible section titles:
- Super strength
- Movement
- Jumping
- Running
- Gliding/Untrue flight
- Flying
- Etc.
- Cryptic coloration
- Countershading
- Mimicry
- Batesian mimicry
- Mullerian mimicry
- Senses
- Smell
- Hearing
- Echolocation
- Vision
- Dormancy
- Hibernation
- Estivation
- Suspended Animation
- Body part regeneration
- Walking on water
- Changing colors
- Bioluminescence
- Electricity
- Sticking to walls
- Using tools
- Instincts
- Typical questions within each section:
- What is this adaptation?
- What animals have this adaptation?
- How does this adaptation work?
- How does this adaptation help the animal?
- Interested Participants:
- MiltonT 14:50, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: This book will cover amazing adaptations that allow animals to survive in their own way.
Fun With Nature
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 8-12
- Possible section titles:
- Caterpillars, Bugs and Butterflies
- Frogs, Toads and Turtles
- Snakes, Salamanders and Lizards
- Rabbits, Squirrels and Chipmunks
- Tracks, Scats and Signs
- Trees, Leaves and Bark
- Typical questions within each section:
- What Does It Look Like?
- What Does It Eat?
- Where To Find It?
- Interested Participants:
- Tannersf 04:30, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: This project will focus on teaching kids about nature.
Wikijunior Elementary Mathematics
[edit | edit source]- Target age: Few months - 12 years
- Possible section titles:
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Fractions
- Multiplication
- Division
- Mental Mathematics
- Algebra
- Trigonometry
- Typical questions within each section:
- Do the following calculation by hand:
- Simplify:
- Interested Participants:
- --Herraotic 19:15, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
- Usernames should be entered here.
- Scope of project:
- The scope of Wikijunior Elementary Mathematics would be to provide a high-quality and free, series of textbooks for parents, teachers and students from infant, primary and secondary education (UK) as well as providing a vast syllabus to reflect other countries educational system.
- Comments
- Comments should be entered here.
Wikijunior Jobs
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 6-10
- Possible section titles:
- Firefighter
- Police
- Salesperson
- Inventor
- Farmer
- Chemist
- Biologist
- Politician
- Doctor
- Lawyer
- Cartoonist
- Artist
- Archaeologist
- Teacher
- Astronaut
- Spy
- Construction worker
- Plumber
- Typical questions within each section:
- What are the day-to-day duties in this job?
- How much training does this job take?
- How much money can be made from this job?
- What is the history of this job?
- Interested Participants:
- Scope of project: A common question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Many kids have dream jobs, and taking an inside look at careers would appeal to much of our audience.
Wikijunior Electricity
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 8-12
- Possible section titles:
- Electricity: The stuff that runs modern life
- History
- How electricity is used
- From the power plant to you
- AC & DC
- Generation
- Conduction
- Circuits
- Lights
- Buzzers
- Switches
- Fuses
- Motors
- Common household uses
- Lightning
- Summary
- Typical questions within each section:
- What does it do?
- How does it do it?
- Why is it important?
- Interested Participants:
- Scope of project: To explain the physics, history, applications, components, and modern significance of electricity and related subjects.
Copyright
[edit | edit source]- Target age:~10-13
- Possible section titles:
- disclaimer
- Overview
- copyright and you
- copyright and the internet
- copyright lengths and the public domain
- fair use/fair dealing
- common mistakes
- free licences
- Typical questions within each section:
- When is something protected by copyright?
- What can you do with material you find on the web?
- what are the penalties for violating copyright?
- Interested Participants:
- User:Geni
- User:SBJohnny (though I wonder if this should be aimed more at high school students?)
- Scope of project: Cover the basics of copyright that kids need to know in the internet age (for those that like buzzwords web 2.0 can be put here)
Despite the failure of captain copyright due to a number of factors it would appear there is a level of demand for this material from teachers. We are in a fairly good position to cover this issue from all sides.
Unfinished Wikijunior Book Suggestions
[edit | edit source]Submitted by 61.95.167.91 as a suggestion on the main Wikijunior Page.
- Target age:(9-13)
- Possible section titles:
- Equations
- Multi-Step Equations
- Typical questions/topics within each section:
- How to do each lesson
- Application in Real Life
- Scope of project: To teach kids Pre-aLgebra is a fun and new way
morals through stories
[edit | edit source]- Target age: Standard Wikijunior (3-8)
- Possible section titles:
- cleanliness
- obeying elders
- comon sense
- developing individuality
- making frieds
- learning newthings
- cleanliness
- Interested Participant:
- vikki
- Scope of project:
childrens overall personality is developed and it is the right age to chisel them .
- Generally, we do not write fiction on Wikibooks; that is explicitly disallowed. --Kernigh 20:58, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
Force and Motion
[edit | edit source]- Ages 6 - 8
- Possible Section titles:
- What is a Force?
- What are some examples of how you use force everyday?
- Types of Forces*
- What are different types of forces? (Gravity, Magnetic force, friction)
- What is Motion?*
- What are some examples of how you use motion on the playground? (bouncing a ball, swinging on the swings, sliding down the slide)
- What is Friction?*
- why do some objects move quickly on a surface while others move slowly?
-perhaps include visuals of people using forces -include experiments that students can conduct (i.e. using objects with different textures on a ramp to discover friction)
- Interested Participants:
- Bernadette
- Scope of Project: To concentrate on the basics of force and motion ("a force is a push or a pull) and how forces affect the way things move (both in direction and speed)
- Would this describe Newton's three laws, system and free-body diagrams? I don't think any of these would be too advanced, as long as we didn't expect them to learn the math involved. 72.56.167.210 19:07, 6 May 2006 (UTC)
Programming for Kids
[edit | edit source]This is something that's been discussed at Talk:Programming for Kids. This is an opprotunity to introduce kids to something they probably know nothing about, and will actually be quite useful. There are obviously a bunch of programmers on wikibooks, so it's also an opportunity for a lot of them to collaborate on a new project.
- Issues:
- deciding what languages to teach
- Target age: 8 to 16
- Interested Participants:
- everyone at Talk:Programming for Kids.
- User:Snarius
- Target age: Ages 9-12
- Possible section titles:
- United States Declaration of Independence
- What led to the creation of this document?
- How do we know how the Declaration of Independence looks like even though it faded heavily?
- United States Constitution
- How many of the 13 colonies were needed to ratify this document in order for it to become functional?
- Which article do you think is the most significant and why?
- United States Bill of Rights
- How many of the amendments proposed on this document were ratified?
- How many more amendments were added to the Constitution after the Bill of Rights was ratified?
- Interested Participants:
- 24.87.43.26 05:31, 26 May 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: This Wikijunior book is designed to increase understanding in the three main formative documnets of the United States of America. They are the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The documents are collectively known as the Charters of Freedom. These documents are significant to the history of the United States and I think it would help if kids cound find out more about these documents and develop understanding in them.
- This is too US of A-specific, and any other children from countries other than US of A cannot relate to this in their daily lives. --202.169.218.64 00:18, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
Mutualism: Living Together, Working Together
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 8-12
- Possible section titles:
- Coral and Algae
- Cows/Termites and gut bacteria
- Legumes and root nodules
- Pistol Shrimp and Watchman Goby
- Clownfish and Anemone
- Cleaner Wrasse
- Ants and Acacia
- Ants and Lycaenid Caterpillars
- Pollinators and Flowers
- Yucca Moths and Yuccas
- Bumblebees and Bottle Gentians
- Animals and Seeds/Fruits
- Typical questions within each section:
- What species are working together?
- What environment do these species live in?
- How do they help each other?
- Interested Participants:
- MiltonT 12:12, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: This book will talk about the various mutual relationships found in nature with the underlying moral of working together.
Living Fossils
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 8-12
- Possible section titles:
- Ginkgo
- Welwitschia
- Horsetails
- Cycads
- Nautilus
- Coelocanth
- Lungfish
- Horseshoe Crab
- Triops
- Tuatara
- Typical questions within each section:
- When did they first appear?
- Where do they live?
- What do they eat/live?
- How do they breed?
- Interested Participants:
- MiltonT 14:50, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: This will discuss some of the oldest lineages of organisms. The term living fossil may be used somewhat loosely, though it is not exactly a scientific term anyway. This book will cover many of the interesting organisms that are so one-of-a-kind, they likely couldn't be grouped into other wikijunior books.
Camouflage and Mimicry
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 8-12
- Possible section titles:
- Cryptic coloration
- Batesian mimicry
- Mullerian mimicry
- Countershading
- Changing colors
- Typical questions within each section:
- What animals have this adaptation?
- How do they do it?
- How does this adaptation help the animal?
- Interested Participants:
- MiltonT 14:50, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
- Scope of project: This book will cover some choice types of adaptations of coloration that allow species or a range of organisms to survive in their own way.
Cooking
[edit | edit source]- Target age: 5-13
- Scope of project: This book will be unlike the Cookbook, in that it will show a method for learning how to cook. It will also introduce certain cuisines.
- User:Joecool94 - 4:31 PM Saturday, October 21, 2006
Withdrawn Wikijunior Book Suggestions
[edit | edit source]Rural Development
[edit | edit source]- Target age: Standard Wikijunior (8-11)
- Scope of Project: The goal of this project is to create a book or a series of books that could be used to educate children about processes and technologies that can improve the lives of people from poor or disadvantaged communities, while respecting their local environment.
- Possible Sections:
- Introduction
- Water resources
- Housing
- Farming
- Waste management
- Infrastructures
- Energy
- Transportation
- Communication systems
- Typical questions/topics for each article:
- A summery of development process to be discussed.
- History of the technologies or processes in question.
- Applications of technologies that can be used to drive development.
- Environmental considerations for the technologies or processes.
- Interested Participants:
- --MJBT 19:49, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
- Comments:
- I would like to start this page as a wikijunior project because I want to create a book or series of books for young children about technologies that drive development at a basic level. Therefore I believe the project would be accepted by the Wikijunior guidelines. I would like to start it soon, if possible, but before I do I would like to receive comments from the wikijunior community. I am also not sure if the name is correct, I was also considering Rural Technologies; any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. --MJBT 19:49, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
- I have started this book as a general Wikibook; I finally chose the title Technologies for Rural Development. If you are interested in the project please add to it there. --MJBT 14:03, 30 July 2006 (UTC)