Wonderopolis Named Best Website for Teaching and Learning

July 3, 2013 /3BL Media/ - The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has announced Wonderopolis(R) as one of this year's Best Websites for Teaching & Learning at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Chicago, Ill.

The annual list honors the 25 Internet sites that best foster innovation, creativity, active participation and collaboration. Now in its fifth year, AASL's award considers these sites the "best of the best."

"I encourage my students to make Wonderopolis.org a part of their daily routine," said John Schumacher, K-5 teacher-librarian and AASL committee member. "Wonderopolis is the perfect place to inspire students to continue learning anywhere, at any time -- first thing in the morning during breakfast, every day in class, or as a resource for research and writing assignments."

"Wonderopolis ignites a passion for learning and discovery through inquiry-based content every day. We are honored to be recognized by librarians, who so often serve as the first guides to wonder for children, adults and families," said Emily Kirkpatrick, vice president of the National Center for Family Literacy, the creator of Wonderopolis.

The award from AASL coincides with the 1000(th) Wonder of the Day(R), which asks "When Is Something Worth Celebrating?" In its three years of existence, Wonderopolis has solved everyday mysteries like "How Did the Pretzel Get Its Shape?" and "What Goes on Inside a Cocoon?," amassing an archive since its first Wonder asked "Why Are Flamingos Pink?"

Wonderopolis, supported by Verizon Foundation, has enjoyed steady growth over the years, currently hosting more than 150,000 regular monthly users and inspiring more than 4,000 monthly user interactions via the website, Facebook and Twitter.

Wonderopolis was recently re-launched with added features to serve the needs of educators, including alignment to Common Core State Standards, text-to-speech technology and quizzes to reinforce concepts and vocabulary development. Explore the site at www.wonderopolis.org.

ABOUT WONDEROPOLIS

Created by the National Center for Family Literacy, Wonderopolis(R) is an online destination where people of all ages can learn through curiosity, discovery, creativity, and imagination. Fun, daily posts are delivered as "Wonders of the Day(R)," each exploring an everyday mystery in a variety of ways. Ongoing support for Wonderopolis.org is provided by Verizon Foundation.

ABOUT NCFL

The National Center for Family Literacy, founded in 1989 and based in Louisville, Ky., is the worldwide leader in family literacy. More than 1 million families have made positive educational and economic gains as a result of NCFL's work, which includes training more than 150,000 teachers and thousands of volunteers. Visit www.famlit.org for more information.

ABOUT AASL

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library field.

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