|
Must-visit Web
Destinations |
|
|
|
High School Math Resources
for Students & Teachers
Teaching and learning high
school math can be difficult for some people. However, there
are many resources available on the Internet to help
teachers and students in various mathematical topics. High
school math covers such topics like algebra, calculus,
probability, statistics, trigonometry, and others. Here’s a
comprehensive resource center for high school math students
and teachers.
Web:
http://www.gedonlinediploma.com/math_resources.html
|
The ePals
Global Learning Community has
added even more to its list
of collaborative projects that include In2Books and ePals
SchoolM@il. The
newest addition is eFilms
on ePals, educational documentaries powered by
SnagFilms. The free,
high-quality educational films are available to the ePals
global community which connects more than 10 million K–12
educators
and students to school-safe communication tools, learning
projects and rich
content across 200 countries.
Web: http://www.epals.com/ |
|
FOSSWeb! (Full Option Science System Web)
is a free science
resource
for teachers and students that supports the FOSS
inquiry-based science
curriculum. Interactive activities are organized for grades
K–2, 3–6 and
middle school. All of the dozens of thematic science modules
has
multimedia games; media with
related images, movies, audio include and
Web sites; and teacher/parent
info. An Ask
a Scientist? section
answers
frequently asked questions about the topic. The middle
school resources
include Planet
FOSS, where students can accept a topical
challenge, take
digital pictures in their environment and upload the
pictures to the Planet
FOSS Web site to share with others around the world. A free Lab
Notebook
and duplication masters can be downloaded in English and Spanish.
Web: http://fossweb.com/ |
Global Footprint Network has
a simulation tool that enables students
to research worldwide ecological footprints. Check to see
which nations
are ecological creditors or debitors. Look up your city
and/or businesses to
learn about their ecological footprint. Learn more about
footprint science
and the methodology used to determine ecological footprints.
Download
the free Ecological
Footprint Atlas 2008 for
201 countries and the Living
Planet Report 2008.
Web: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/ |
|
Literature Learning Ladders is
an extensive resource of themes and
projects that use book-technology connections to focus on
reading. The
index includes Themes and Literature Circles.
Web: http://www.eduscapes.com/ladders/ |
May 2 is Space Day, and the NASA
at 50 Web
resource from Discovery
Education is
a great place to begin a class celebration of space science.
Video and audio formats follow the NASA timeline from the
1958 start of
Project Mercury to the 2008 50th celebration. Each event in
NASA history
has a teacher’s guide ready to download, complete with
learning objectives,
classroom activities and target vocabulary.
Web: http://discoveryeducation.com/NasaAt50/ |
|
Kids Page, sponsored by the National
Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS),
has lots of environmental resources for teachers and
students to connect to Earth Day and the environment. Go to
the Games
page where you can safely create a dynamic fireworks display
on your
computer page.
Web: http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/ |
Investigate a variety of natural history topics at OLogy,
the American
Museum of Natural History kids
site. The main OLogy topics are
Archaeology, Astronomy, Biodiversity, Earth, Einstein and
Genetics.
Completing the free registration
lets students save card collections and
submit projects using the cards. Registered users can also
create their own
Web page to store their favorites and more than 300 OLogy
cards collected
from the OLogy online activities. A
Climate Change exhibit
began in
October and runs until August 16, 2009.
Web: https://www.amnh.org/ology/ |
|
Visit the Recycle
City simulation
to try different strategies to clean up
and reduce waste in Dumptown. Students will learn about
recycling as they
investigate the different areas of Recycle City. Click on
the EPA home
page
for a plethora of recycle resources.
Web: http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/ |
Teachers will find dozens of resources at the free Time
for Kids
teachers Web resource that supports the Time
for Kids weekly
magazine.
Resources (leveled for K–1, 2–3, 4–6) include worksheets,
lessons and
graphic organizers.
Web: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/
Plus: Click
the Time
for Kids Web
site from the teacher resource page to
access three different Homework
Helper links. Rapid
Research lists
Web
links recommended by kids and are organized by content area. Writing
Help consists
of A+ Papers, Expert Tips and a Writers Toolbox. Around
the
World is
a quick link to country databases. News and Games complete
the
major categories in the Time
for Kids resources.
Web: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/hh/rr/ |
|
Exploratorium is
a museum of science, art and human perception. Click
Explore for online activities and exhibitions. There is a
plethora of Tools
for Teaching if you click on Educate – everything from an
online Digital
Library to Science Snacks with instructions for creating
Exploratorium
exhibits in the classroom. Register for the free EduNews!
this is emailed
four times a year with updates for events, Webcasts and
online resources.
Web: http://www.exploratorium.edu/ |
|
|
|
Practical Teacher Zones |
Back
to the Top |
|
CrA+mster.com is
an online study community of students, educators
and subject enthusiasts who help each other solve math,
science and
engineering problems. The Cramster.com
Q&A Board is
a unique feature
that allows members to ask questions about problems and, in
return,
receive detailed, step-by-step solutions from the Cramster
community.
Community members earn Karma Points by helping others on the
site.
They can redeem their points for rewards ranging from iTunes
gift cards to
new laptops. The majority of Cramster’s services, including
step-by-step
textbook help and practice problems, are free, premium
access is offered
for as low as $9.95/month. Cramster offers an
educator-specific
membership with added benefits at no cost.
Web: http://www.cramster.com |
Using the Internet effectively is easy when educators use
the plethora
of teacher tools available on the Internet4Classrooms (I4C)
Web site to
support content, assessment and technology. The Links
for K–12 teachers
lead to hundreds of Web resources for the content areas
categorized by
subject and grade level. Assessment
Assistance links
to resources to help
students practice skills needed for assessment. The On-Line
Practice
Modules are free tutorials
and resource links for technology professional
development on the major application tools. Visit the Daily
Dose of the
Web section
for daily and weekly updates to links for Question
of the Day,
Trivia, Brain Teasers and Quotations.
Web: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/ |
|
National Atlas.gov is
a free Web
site with interactive
maps and
a
MapMaker tool for
creating U.S. and world maps with nearly limitless
layers of mapping information.
Web: http://nationalatlas.gov/ |
Explore the Egyptian pyramids and temples in awesome 360°
views on
Mysteries of the Nile at
the NOVA/PBS
Online Adventure Web
site. Use
the extensive Classroom
Resources for lesson
plans or
customize your own
lessons from helpful resource charts of this and other
archaeological sites.
Visit the archive for more than 170 companion Web sites for NOVA TV
programs.
Web: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/ |
|
TrackStar from 4Teachers.org is
a free online
resource for teachers to
organize and create Web-based lessons that can be linked to
and accessed
for classroom use and made public for others who visit the
site to use.
The Track database of hundreds of thousands of tracks is
searchable by
keyword, subject, grade, theme and standard. A drop-down
menu gives
immediate access to other 4TeacherTools that include RubiStar,
QuizStar,
NoteStar and Web
Poster Wizard. TrackStar tutorials simplify the use
of all
these tools for use in creating TrackStar resources.
Web: http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/ |
Webquest Locator is
a great tool for searching the Internet to find
instructional Webquests for the K–12 classroom. The locator
lets users
search for ready-made Webquests by age group or content
area.
Web: http://www.gecdsb.on.ca/d&g/DP/ |
|
Chemistry teachers will find a well-organized instructional
resource
created by a high school chemistry teacher at Chalkbored.
The worksheets,
labs, handouts and PowerPoint lessons are free for
classroom and personal
use. All of the more than 100 resources are ready-to-use in
your classroom.
Web: http://www.chalkbored.com/lessons/chemistry-11.htm |
Search and find royalty free sound
effects at Soungle.com to
use with
any class project. The mega online library of sound effects
and musical
instrument samples is easy to search, preview and download.
A short
description appears above every sound file along with the
frame rate,
duration and bit rate.
Web: http://www.soungle.com/ |
|
With more than 50 hours of video from more than 150
educational
videos of educational documentaries and video clips, SpaceTime
TV has
math and space videos for class instruction needs. The
searchable library
includes video clips from such well known sources as National
Geographic,
PBS and The
History Channel. Visit the SpaceTime Arcade for free math
and puzzle games.
Web: http://www.spacetime.us/tv/ |
|
|
|
|
|
Interactive Student
Zones |
Back
to the Top |
|
If you need a quick student review for a three to
four-minute gap in
your schedule, try the two-minute Brain
Quest challenge.
Students click on
an age group (6–9 or 9–13) and test their knowledge with
other students
online. Then they post their score and challenge a friend or
parent to beat
their score.
Web: http://www.brainquest.com/kids/ |
Create a Graph is
only one of the interactive tools to be found at
KidsZone Learning with NCES. Students can
use the tutorial to learn about
the graphing tool and get started creating and saving, bar,
line, area and
pie graphs using their own data. There are even sample
graphs to help
students get started. By clicking the Tools button, they can
Find a School,
Find a Library or Find a College with lots of collected
information on each.
Or they can Dare to Compare their knowledge with other
students from
around the world by answering content-area questions or go
to the Grab
Bag for thinking skills activities.
Web: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/ |
|
e-Learning for Kids is
a global nonprofit foundation offering free interactive
online courseware in math, science, reading, technology and
health, and
life skills for youth aged 5–12. The index of courses,
categorized by content
area, lists the name, age level and number of visitors
currently online. The
newest addition to the e-Learning resources is Mingoville,
with lessons and
activities for English language learners.
Web: http://www.e-learningforkids.org/ |
The National
Academy of Sciences showcases
10 contemporary working
women scientists on its I
was Wondering Web
site. An interactive scrapbook
of text, pictures and animations about each scientist’s life
and career lets
middle school students explore science careers. Featured
videos, science labs
and related Web links engage students in learning about
successful women
working in science careers. Students apply knowledge of
science careers
with interactive science games on space and animals in the
jungle. They can
also create their own robot.
Web: www.iwaswondering.org/ |
|
KidsKonnect.com is
a safe Internet gateway with more than 400
portal
sites for
kids. Start with the featured sites selected by kids and
then move
to the alphabetized list of sites or use the categorized
subject index to find
specific resources by topic. Topics include people, states,
countries, history,
holidays, content areas and more. Don’t miss the new Educators
Konnect
with links to Curriculum Portals, Internet Safety and
Webquests.
Web: http://www.kidskonnect.com/ |
The National
Gallery of Art has
created NGAkids,
an interactive art
exploration resource for students of all ages to explore art
using color,
shape and line. Online interactive art tools include a Still
Life creator,
BRUSHster painting machine for
abstract art, Collage
machine, Paint Box
and 3-D
Twirler. Children’s guides for the permanent
collections at the
gallery can be downloaded in five languages.
Web: http://www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm |
|
Sanford has
collected 30,000 years of art media for students to use and
explore on ArtEdventures Web
site, A
Lifetime of Color. As students learn
about art media, they can select video clips to put together
their own movie
about art through the ages. Art topics include oils,
acrylics, watercolors,
markers and colored pencils. As a personal touch, students
can upload their
own artwork to include in their video timelines.
Web: http://www.alifetimeofcolor.com/ |
Spelling City, a free spelling
tool of interactive audio lessons and games,
gives students a Teach Me, Test Me or Play a Game format for
learning
vocabulary and weekly spelling lists. Students can enter
words on the fly,
select from the Spelling
City Lists of the Month, or use word lists entered
by the teacher. Parents can use the Web site at home to help
motivate the
study of weekly spelling lists. The free registration
allows users to save lists.
Web: http://www.spellingcity.com/ |
|
Sorted Kids & Money lets
students learn about money and economics
while playing interactive
games. The leveled games in Cash
Cloud for
11
and 12 year olds, Money
Island for
8–10 year olds and Dollar
Reef for
5–7
year olds allow all elementary students to interact at this
online resource.
Teachers and parents will find learning
guides for
each game and guided
questions at
the end of each activity to connect the financial learning
skills
to the classroom curriculum. Users can download free screensavers
and
posters.
Web: http://www.sorted.org.nz/life-stages/kids-and-money/for-kids |
Let your K–2 students play the interactive science game Animal
Universe
to learn more about world habitats. Choose a habitat and
then place
animals into the habitat and learn more about the animals
and the habitat
through associated videos from the Cosmeo Brain
Games powered by
Discovery Channel. Collect animal cards
filled with pictures and detailed
information as you complete activities in each habitat. Play
the sample
game for free.
Web: http://www.cosmeo.com/welcome/games.html |
|
The Digital
Learning Center for Microbial Biology (DLC-MB or
Microbe Zoo for
short) is a science education project developed at
Michigan State University in
collaboration with the Comm Tech Lab and
the Center for Microbial Ecology. The Microbe Zoo lets
students explore
the world of microbes in a virtual zoo with visits to the
Animal Pavilion,
DirtLand, SnackBar, SpaceAdventure and WaterWorld. All of
the
represented microbes in the zoo are illustrated with picture
representations taken with an electron microscope.
Web: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dlc-me/zoo/index.html |
|
|
|
|
|
Calendar Curriculum |
Back
to the Top |
|
Looking for an education guide for holidays, historic events
and famous
birthdays? The Day-by-Day
Calendar of
events from Education
Oasis is
a
detailed listing of events for each month of the year, with
related Web links
to assist teachers and students in finding out more. For a
comprehensive
listing of categorized Web links for students and teachers,
click Resources
from the top menu bar.
Web: http://www.educationoasis.com/
curriculum/calendar/calendar.htm |
Sites of the School Days (S.O.S.
Days), from the Kathy Schrock Web site
on Discovery
Education, is a dynamic resource of recommended
technology
Web links to help teachers integrate technology into the
curriculum. A new
online Web resource is posted every week. Teachers can also
sign up to
receive an email announcing the new S.O.S. resource.
Web: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/sos.html |
|
The PBS Web
site on American History entitled Freedom:
A History of
US includes
16 episodes of the U.S. history series about freedom based
on
the books by Joy Hakim. Each Webisode includes an overview,
links to
video and photos to help tell each story. Interactive Web
links are located
throughout the text for more in-depth study. Review-learning
with two
multimedia games: What
did they say? and Scavenger
Hunt Through
History. Research Tools provide a timeline,
glossary, quiz, image browser
and additional resources.
Web: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/index.html |
On May 14, 1804 the Lewis
and Clark expedition began
a 2½-year
journey from St. Louis to the Pacific and back. The
bicentennial was four
years ago, but the PBS Web
site is still a great tool for engaging students in
the study of American history. Resources include a
comprehensive database
of all the Indian tribes encountered during the expedition,
an extensive
collection of journals and maps,
and a timeline of
the journey. Into the
Unknown and Interactive Trail Map let students simulate
travel along the
trail. The cross-curricular
lessons make
it easy for teachers to incorporate
this historic event into the curriculum.
Web: http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/ |
|
The Thinkfinity
Calendar is
a comprehensive listing of instructional
Web links for different historical events listed for each
day of the month
throughout the year. This free digital
learning platform is a result of a
merger between the Verizon
Foundation’s MarcoPolo
program and
the
Thinkfinity Literacy Network. The Educator,
Student, Parent and
After-School categories make it easy to browse the more than
55,000
standards-based lesson
plans, student materials, interactive tools and
reference materials for
K–12
Web: http://thinkfinity.com/teacher/calendar.aspx |
|
|
|
|
|
Budget-Saving Virtual Trips, Tools & Gadgets |
Back
to the Top |
|
Register your students for free curriculum and a virtual
journey to
Greece for the new Blue
Zones Quest for
the fountain of youth. Join the
live, interactive expedition beginning April 20, 2009 – May
1, 2009 as a
team of scientists reveal the fifth Blue Zone in a study of
age and what
creates good health and longevity. Complete the two minute,
35 questions
Vitality Compass assessment to determine an estimate of your
life
expectancy, health expectancy and Blue Zone years.
Web: http://www.bluezones.com/ |
Watch, listen and play as an online audience at the Carnegie
Hall Web
site. Explore and learn from the ever-changing variety of
audio and video
activities. Start with Listening Adventures for ages 6–12
and then investigate
the Interactive Timeline of Carnegie Hall History. Students
can also
test their artistic talents with the Interactive Performance
Guides. Walk
right in – your virtual ticket to the orchestra is waiting.
Web: http://www.carnegiehall.org/
article/explore_and_learn/art_multimedia.html |
|
Visit Colonial
Williamsburg online
and select an Electronic Field Trip
($500 for the entire season or $120 for one package). Build
history, civics
and literacy skills as students interact and communicate
with Colonial
Williamsburg historians and analyze primary source materials
and videos.
Check out the schedule for this school year and view the
Electronic Field
Trip Season Sampler. Don’t miss the interactive games and
online Tour the
Town.
Web: http://www.history.org/history/teaching/eft/ |
Jump on the virtual tour bus for a Constitutional
Walking Tour of
Philadelphia –
just in time for a summer school 4th of July celebration.
The online tour consists of 33 stops with a link to the Web
site for each
historical site. Download the free Print-n-Go
map with photos and site
descriptions for a study guide or offline self-guided tour
of the most
historical square mile in the United States.
Web: http://www.theconstitutional.com/tour.php# |
|
Students will love doing word problems and critical thinking
in math
with the online
CyberChase Talking Calculator from PBS
Kids. The basic
steps of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
become a game
with the Talking Calculator. Click on the Parents & Teachers
link for
lessons and ideas that extend the CyberChase experience.
Web: http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games/calculator/ |
Take a virtual tour of the online exhibits at The
Field Museum. Take
a walk-through tour of The Ancient Americas and be sure and
try the
Interactives link where online visitors can click on
excavation maps and
make discoveries along with the museum scientists. Each
online exhibit
has teacher and family resources, related online resources
and a complete
Glossary. For other exhibits, step into the shoes of a
paleontologist to study
Sue, the largest, most complete T. Rex in any museum or do a
virtual travel
through soil in the Underground Adventure exhibit.
Web: http://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/online_exhib.htm |
|
Ever wish you had the ability to take your students into a
map to walk
through a historical location or visit selected sites in a
state study? Google
Earth is
a free tool
that combines Google Search with satellite imagery,
maps, terrain and 3D buildings to allow students to
virtually explore rich
geographical content. Take advantage of the new ocean floor
and surface
data in version 5.0, view historical imagery from around the
globe or add
audio and voice recording. Create customized tours and save
to share with
other classrooms.
Web: http://www.googleearth.com/ |
The partnership between NCTM (National Council
for Teachers
of
Mathematics) and MarcoPolo provides
teachers with dozens of virtual math
manipulatives and lessons correlated to NCTM standards. The
detailed
lesson plans are searchable and include many activity sheet
correlations and
related Web resources.
Web: http://illuminations.nctm.org/ |
|
Economic literacy is a very hot topic and Sense
& Dollars from
Maryland Public Television and Star Schools lets students
enter the world
of economics without losing a penny. This virtual simulation
will challenge
your middle school students to demystify personal economics.
Simulation
games let them plan a dream prom, master checking accounts
and use credit
cards wisely. An extensive list of annotated related links
makes it easy to
complete a financial literacy unit.
Web: http://senseanddollars.thinkport.org/ |
Tramline Virtual Field Trips is
an online guide to dozens of ready-made
virtual trips. Each virtual field trip uses software to
create a package of Web
resources on a given topic that runs on a Web page. Use the
virtual trips
shared on the Web site or create your own with TourMaker software.
Web: http://www.field-guides.com/vft/
Plus: TourMaker is
a software tool from Tramline that
makes it easy to
collect Web resources, add discussion and questions to guide
learning, and
take students in an organized, step-by-step trail through a
selected topic.
Try the TourMaker trial before you buy; $25 per station.
Web: http://www.field-guides.com/tm/download.htm |
|
The Virtual
Electron Microscope powered
by Discovery
Education lets
students examine virtual specimens under a high-powered
microscope,
identify and sort the specimens.
Web: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/
lessonplans/interact/vemwindow.html/
Plus: Discovery
Education has a comprehensive lesson plan library. The
Virtual Electron Microscope for grades 4–6 is a detailed
lesson plan with
materials, procedures, adaptations, discussion questions,
evaluation,
extensions and academic standards. A Share button allows the
teacher to
bookmark the virtual microscope and share it with colleagues
using such
popular programs as Digg,
MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and
Email.
Web: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/
lessonplans/activities/electronmicroscope/ |
By the end of the school year field trip money is dwindling,
but this
Virtual Tour of the Supreme Court Building by
the Oyez
project will
keep
your students interested in civics education. The tour is
set up with 360
panoramic views of the outside of the building so students
can pan the
building and the surrounding scenery. The cursor changes to
a button when
the mouse travels over hot spots so students can get an up
close look at the
bronze doors at the top of the stairs or examine a statue in
closer detail.
Web: http://www.oyez.org/tour/ |
|
|
|
|
Internet Safety |
Back
to the Top |
|
Learn more about Internet safety and the work of the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA)
from the games and resources on the Kids’ Page.
Lessons and activities are divided for kindergarten – grade
5 and grades
6–12. Parents and teachers can find lessons and discussion
points on the
CIA, how-to advice on helping kids avoid drug use and tips
for Internet
safety. Annotated links to other child-, parent- and
teacher-friendly
government sites are also available.
Web: https://www.cia.gov/kids-page/parents-teachers/index.html |
|
|
|
|
|
Summer Learning
Fun Via The Web |
Back
to the Top |
|
Get parents involved with good nutrition – just in time for
June Dairy
Month. Download free nutrition
handouts for parents from the Nutrition
Exploration Web
site. The Nutrition
Fun Facts newsletter is
perfect for
parent communications now and through the summer. Little D’s
(primary)
and Arianna’s (upper elementary) Smart Snacking brochures
contain 26
snack ideas for home, school or on the run and are
downloadable. Several
handouts are available in English and Spanish.
Web: http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/
educators/classroom-connections-handouts.asp |
Parents will love the resources at GoCityKids where
they can search for
summer camps, summer classes and indoor and outdoor
entertainment.
Complete a database search by key U.S. cities or type in
your city or town
to find kid-friendly resources appropriate for on the road
or close to home.
Web: http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/choose-a-city/ |
|
Introduce your K–5 students to Just
for Kids from
the University
of
Illinois Extension Program for
Arbor Day (April 24, 2009). Then encourage
students to go back to the site again over the summer
months. They will
find interactive activities and informative videos, with
audio in English and
Spanish, on a variety of science topics,
from trees to weather.
Web: http://www.urbanext.illinois.edu/kids/ |
If you are planning a summer reading promotion for your
school or
library, the Library
of Virginia Web
site offers tips and guidelines for
getting your program off to a good start. Visit the site to
learn more about
designing your summer reading fun.
Web: http://www.vacationreading.org/ |
|
The Collaborative
Summer Library Program (CSLP)
is a consortium
of state libraries that promotes summer reading. The 2009
program, Be
Creative @ Your Library, includes a collection of
annotated booklists along
with ideas for using the books and related Web resources.
Themed topics
are I’ve Got Rhythm, Be Creative, Now You See It (picture
book art),
Dance and More, Free Play and Adult Programming Ideas. The
library
summer reading programs offer many opportunities to reach
out to children
with disabilities. One resource is the ASL “Catch
the Reading Bug”
Signing Video.
Web: http://www.cslpreads.org/ |
|
|
