Pump Up the Volume

Sounds of History, a new Web site from bigchalk.com ( www.bigchalk.com/bc/soh), offers downloadable audio files from the archives of the Smithsonian Institution. The free site aims to encourage kids to learn about history, science, social studies, and other disciplines. It features 140 recordings, from the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage; they include Hopi chants, Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech, African-American spirituals, and Woody Guthrie's songs. Designed for grades 6 to 12, the site also includes lesson plans for each recording. Users must have RealPlayer and Macromedia Flash Player installed and must register with the bigchalk site.