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New teacher portal for PBS resources
PBS has launched a new Web site for K-12 educators, called "PBS Teachers," offering thousands of free lesson plans, teacher professional development opportunities, videos, blogs and more. The site has been under development for more than a year. eSchool News (free registration) (4/1)The OOPS Virtual Field Trip Page Take a trip and write about it.
General Resources and Tools
Refdesk.com
EBSCOHost Research Databases This is a compliation of of professional databases including the Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC) which contains more than 2,200 digests along with references for additional information and citations and abstracts from over 1,000 educational and education-related journals. Log-in Information available from the Information Specialist.
The Big6 has become a creative gateway for tools and resources for teaching about information literacy. The site includs examples of lessons, activities, organizers, and forms. For an overview visit the Big6 home page. For a structured guide to using this research model see your Information Specialist.
RubiStar.com is a great website that allows you to create rubrics from scratch or modify some pre-made ones.
Webquests Webquests are a really good lesson plan or curriculum unit that utilizes resources from the Internet. Webquests are just a little more complicated than a lesson plan or unit plan. Webquests strive to get kids thinking at a higher level by asking students an essential question, providing opportunities for kids to explore further, and then getting kids to apply their knowledge with a hands-on activity.Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is the mother lode for forms, rubrics, assessment strategies, learning activities, and instructional resources. "Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is a categorized list of sites useful for enhancing curriculum and professional growth. It is updated often to include the best sites for teaching and learning."
Internet4Classrooms Helping teachers use the Internet effectively
TagTeacherNet, based in the UK, is the ultimate teacher resource (accroding to Classroom Connect)Quiz Hub
Check out a selection of free, cross-curricular thinking games, quizzes and logic puzzles on the fee-based, question-and-answer site.
An elaborate database containing treasure hunts, curriculum tools, Web projects, research tools and a great how-to section.
TumbleBooks for Kids are animated talking picture books just for children and are offered in 3 different languages, including English, Spanish and Chinese. They can be used for language learning or just for fun. There are also online educational games for USAFE’s youngest customers – check it out now!
The word "essay" comes from the French essai, a try or attempt. The essay is an attempt to communicate information, opinion, or feeling, and usually it presents an argument about a topic.
Essay Writing Resources
This module introduces you to the process of essay writing - from analysing the question through to the final redrafting and editing.
http://www.jcu.edu.au/studying/services/studyskills/essay/Writing Essay Exams
Details how to create a well written answer to an essay question.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_essay.htmlHow to write an essay
Strategies for writing assessed essays in the first year and in the second year of an English course.
http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/staff/tom/teaching/howto/essay.htmWriting Tips: Essay Builder
Explores the parts and provides step-by-step directions for writing essays.
http://www2.actden.com/Writ_den/tips/essay/index.htmCollegeBoard.com: College Essays - Writing Tips Includes, Sample College Essay Questions, Recipe for a Draft, and Three Steps to a Great College Essay.
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/apply/essay-skills/index.htmlEssays and Other Writing Activities for Early Writers For early writers, these one-page printouts - with writing prompts - should be enough writing space for a short essay. For more advanced writers, extra pieces of lined paper will be necessary to finish an essay.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/essay/
Book Report Now!
Five fast and easy steps to finding a book and writing a great book report.
Includes information on different types of book reports as well as templates for selected books.
http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/bookreportnow/index.htmlabcteach: Book Report Forms
These printable forms guide students through the writing of book reports.
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/basics/writing/book_reports/Better Book Reports-25 Ideas!
Tired of the same old book report formats? Spice up those old book reports with some new ideas.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson109.shtmlMore Ideas Than You'll Ever Use for Book Reports Features several hundred creative ideas for book reports.
http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/langarts/reading/bookrepts1.htmlBook Report Sandwich
Here's a great way to gather all the ingredients you'll need to write a tasty book report.
http://www.scholastic.com/kids/homework/sandwich.aspBook Report Rubric
Use with any multimedia book review.
http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/bk.rep.fic.htm
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race 2006
It’s unlike any other event in the world. A race over 1,150 miles of the most extreme and beautiful terrain known to man: across mountain ranges, frozen rivers, dense forests, desolate tundra and windswept coastline. Add sub-zero temperatures and blinding winds, and you’ve got the makings of a legendary adventure. That’s the Iditarod.Iditarod National Historic Trail
The Iditarod National Historic Trail commemorates a 2,200 mile system of winter trails that first connected prehistoric Native Alaskan villages, later became a major route for the settlement of Gold Rush-era Alaska, and continues to play a vital role in modern-day Alaska.
Cabela's Iditarod - Education Expedition The Iditarod Education Expedition is an activity center designed for students, teachers, and parents who wish to learn more about the Iditarod Trail race and have lots of fun too.
Iditarod Activities Across the Grades!
Education World offers activities that will have your students "teeming" to learn about this exciting competition! Included: Activities in which students create a musher picture dictionary, create charts of Iditarod supplies, and much more!
The Alaskan Iditarod Sled Dog Race, An Interactive Unit Study by Sue Smith maginations, dreams, and creativity exbound while your students are learning history, geography, math, science, animal care and more!
Storytelling, Books, & Writing
- Online streaming video website featuring famous actors reading children's books aloud. It is really great.
- From our college Dinah Teague in Iceland BookAdventure
A book finder for kids. Students put in info on their grade and interests and the site generates a fantastic list for the kids.- Publish students' creative holiday stories or book reviews online!
- Kids Bookshelf
Students 17 years of age and younger may send in their original short stories and poems to be published on this site. All entries should be written in English with correct spelling and grammar.- KidAuthors.com
This site publishes student poetry and stories.- Book Hooks
Publish book reviews online.- KidPub
This site, a great resource to publish student work, contains over 40,000 stories from kids.- Crunch
Here is a safe online outlet to publish your students' written work.- Voices of Tomorrow is a free international online magazine where student journalists from around the world can publish. Students are invited to share their opinions on this e-zine. Check on the about us link then on the "How to Contribute" to see the submissions guidelines. You can also "read" the issue page by page just like a print magazine.
- Celebrity book picks
Poetry & Biography
The Poetry Archive
The Biography Maker
Language Arts Professional Resources
Lexile Framework for Reading Each year, millions of U.S. students receive Lexile measures at school. Today, Lexiles are the most widely adopted reading measures in use. Tens of thousands of books and tens of millions of articles have Lexile measures. In addition, all major standardized tests and many popular instructional reading programs can report student reading scores in Lexiles. As a result, Lexile measures tie day-to-day work in the classroom to critical high-stakes tests. This provides interim assessment and encouragement while using the same consistent measurement to easily track progress, all without additional testing.
www.aquia.com is a great place to create various word puzzles (great for vocabulary)
The Web Teacher
Features K-12 English/Language Arts teaching resources: lesson plans, WebQuests, videos, biography, e-texts, criticism, jokes, puzzles, and classroom activities.
The Literature Network
Offers searchable online literature for the student, educator.
Blue Book of Grammar & Punctuation
Features grammar rules, exercises, tests, and answers.
Literacy Center
Lesson plans abound at this comprehensive literacy center.
PBS TeacherSource: Arts & Literature
Includes lesson plans, online activities, classroom resources, and professional development projects for Art, Language Arts, and English teachers.
The Lesson Plans Page: Language Arts Lesson Plans Contains grade-leveled language arts lesson plans, ideas, thematic units, and much more -- for teachers.
The Educator's Reference Desk: Language Arts Lesson Plans Features unique, grade-leveled lesson plans that were written and submitted by teachers from all over the United States.Database of Award-Winning Children's Books
Read-Write-Think Student Materials
The ReadWriteThink staff has created an excellent group of literacy activities and lessons incorporating Flash. The interactive Flash tools give students the opportunity to use technology while developing literacy skills.
Black History Month
The 2007 national theme, 'From Slavery to Freedom: Africans in the Americas,' is dedicated to the struggles of peoples of African descent to achieve freedom and equality in the Americas during the age of emancipation.African American World | PBS
Presents the broad range of the black experience in the United States, from the Harlem Renaissance to the ongoing debate over affirmative action.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/index.htmlAfrican American Odyssey
This Library of Congress site showcases the library's collection of rare books, government documents, manuscripts, musical scores, plays, films and recordings related to the African American experience.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtmlAfrican American Heritage Teacher Toolkit for Grades K-12 A selective guide to links, lesson plans, books, CDs, videos, posters and more.
http://creativefolk.com/toolkit/home.htmlOur Shared History, African American Heritage A comprehensive project of The National Park Service to preserve and interpret African American history.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/aahistory/The African Presence in the Americas: 1492-1992 Designed to introduce you to the dynamics and dimensions of the 500 year history of African people in the Americas. Four broad themes have been selected for exploration: Migration, Work, Culture, and Resistance.
http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Schomburg/
Contributed by D.A.Newsreels and other historic films which can be seen online
Google has digitized 103 historic films from the National Archives and made them available on the Web. The pilot project, which may be expanded, includes such gems as newsreels from World Wars I and II, video of the moon landing and Depression-era films about the national parks and public works projects. MSNBC/The Hollywood (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11604245/)
Since 1994, the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University has used digital media and computer technology to democratize history—to incorporate multiple voices, reach diverse audiences, and encourage popular participation in presenting and preserving the past. We sponsor more than a dozen digital history projects and offer free tools and resources for historians.More than 10 million digitized historical artifacts are available on the Library of Congress' web site ranging from ancient manuscripts to Civil War maps, from classic blues recordings to Coca-Cola commercials, from Dust Bowl photographs to Thomas Edison's first films. These unique primary sources are the raw materials of history, and bring students into close personal contact with the people, places, and events of our nation's past. K-12 classroom teachers are provided with tools to bring these collections to life on the Library's Teachers page at: http://www.loc.gov/teachers.
Over 70 original lesson plans, all created and field-tested by master teachers, provide easy ways to integrate primary sources into the curriculum. Interactive activities, historical and cultural timelines, and online feature presentations bring the expertise of the Library's curatorial experts to bear on key historical issues, and provide accessible introductions to major periods in our nation's growth. Meanwhile, the Library offers in-person workshops, videoconferencing, and other professional development opportunities to help teachers build their skills and discover new ways to bring the power of primary sources to their students.
All the materials on the Library of Congress' Teachers page are free to all, with no subscription or login required, and new materials are added on a regular basis.
U.S. Historical Documents. This excellent site parovides a chronology of US historical documents with over 100 fascinating primary source materials.
PBS digital movie generator
This site lets students "create" thier own shor Ken Burns style movie, using images and soundtracks from the Ken Burns films.Historic Maps in K-12 Classrooms This resource for K-12 teachers and students developed by the Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography at the Newberry Library is designed to bring historically significant map documents into your classroom. Inside are high quality images of historic map documents that illustrate the geographical dimensions of American history.
Among the myriad of websites out there is an interesting one that I visit frequently at: www.findagrave.com
Find a Grave This site contains photos of the individuals, their graves, birth and death dates, and short biographies. People are also allowed to submit short tributes to those individuals who inspired them, etc. This is where it gets interesting. The site does not want negative comments submitted on those people many deem infamous or controversial. In such cases where too many people tried to submit such comments, the tributes or what the site calls "virtual flowers" has been disabled so nothing can be submitted. Among the people in this category are the obvious such as Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, etc. Others include Nathan Bedford Forrest, "Col." Tom Parker (Elvis Presley's greedy manager), and Joe McCarthy. Ironically of our Presidents, only one has had his "virtual flowers" disabled and it's not Nixon. It is Lyndon Johnson, presumably due to his role in the Vietnam War.
The Archaeology Channel
This is a streaming media site so it doesn't lend itself to having a lab full of students all go to the site at the same time. There is an extensive catalog of short video and audio files. IF you find a particularly useful clip, they can be ordered from the site. For each video, there is a list of web resouces. There is also a teacher section of resources. The videos run from 8 to 20 minutes.Portal to history websites
World History
General world history reference
WW IIThe Egyptian Pyramids
World mythology
Geography
National Geographic Education Guide Maintained for grades K to 12 by the National Geographic Society (NGS), this site features a variety of educational resources related to geography.
USGS Geography The mission of the Geography Discipline is to meet the Nation's need for basic geospatial data, ensuring access to and advancing the application of these data and other related earth science. Provides map data, mapping tools and mapping activities for students in grades K-12.
TheUS50.com With the cooperation of U.S. Governors Offices, State Departments of Tourism, Departments of Economic & Community Development and local businesses, theus50.com provides consolidated information about each state
Test Your Geography Knowledge Interactive quizzes gives students a fun way to learn geography.
GENI: Geography Lesson Plans A collection of geography lessons with grade level indicated in parenthesis; however, most lessons are adaptable to nearly any grade level
WorldAtlas.com A world atlas of facts flags and maps including every continent, country, dependency, exotic destination, island, major city, ocean, province, state & territory on the planet!
The US Constitution
Teaching With Documents: Observing Constitution Day NARA encourages teachers and students at all levels to learn more about our Constitution and government.
National Constitution Center Dedicated to honoring the U.S. Constitution through interactive multimedia exhibits, photographs, film, sculpture, text, and artifacts.
U.S. Constitution Web Portal An extensive and categorized collection of links and resources for teachers and students in grades 4-12.
Interactive Constitution This Interactive Constitution is based on The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution by Linda R. Monk
Windows to the Universe is a user-friendly learning system covering the Earth and Space sciences for use by the general public. Their goal is to build an Internet site that includes a rich array of documents, including images, movies, animations, and data sets, that explore the Earth and Space sciences and the historical and cultural ties between science, exploration, and the human experience. Students and teachers may find the site especially helpful in their studies of Earth and Space sciences. The site is written in three reading levels approximating elementary, middle school and high school reading levels.
Smithsonian Education The gateway to Smithsonian educational resources
Bill Nye Labs Your favorite science guy
Earth and Sky
Space Calendar
3 D Insects Welcome to the world of virtual insects!
Jokes and Science A repository of jokes, some of them funny even to non-scientists. Sometimes you can hook kids through their funny bones.More Science Websites from the DoDDSE January Newsletter
LEARNINGSCIENCE.ORG
This site has web interactive lessons, visual lessons, and science imaging for earth and space science.U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
This site has hundreds of links to other sites pertaining to earth and space science. This is a great site to integrate science and social studies.Brain Pop
Great on-line activities for students.Cool Cosmos
A ‘cool’ site to learn about infrared light and astronomy. Activities and information are available for kindergarteners through amateur astronomers.
SCILINKS
Explore Soil: code GSS45065 How Do Volcanoes Form? code GSS45070
Water Cycle: code GSS45075 Weather: code GSS45080
Severe Weather: code GSS45085 Solar System: code GSS45090
Webmath Solve your math problem
joy2learn joy2learn offers online 'e-presentations" highlighting 5 "artists". "Each presentation comprises video clips of one internationally renowned artist who introduces his or her art form, discusses its history, background and specificity, presents personal insights, and performs or demonstrates. Each presentation is also supported by interactive multi-media materials such as pictures, maps, text and quiz games." The artists are;Hector Elizondo in Theater, Alan Gampel in Piano, Gregory Hines in Dance, Wynton Marsalis in Jazz and Elizabeth Murray in Visual arts. While the presentations are in video, you can view them online or download for viewing later. The Visual Arts segment is still under construction but the others are available.
"We are delighted to announce that the NEA Jazz in the Schools curriculum is now available. NEA Jazz in the Schools is a web-based curriculum.. The five-unit, multimedia curriculum is designed for high-school social studies, U.S. history, and music teachers, to help their students explore jazz as an indigenous American art form and as a means to understand American history. A free multimedia toolkit containing a modified version of the curriculum, designed primarily for high schools without adequate web access, can be ordered on the website.NEA Jazz in the Schools provides five flexible units, each of which can be taught in a day or expanded into a more comprehensive series of lessons.
Each unit includes a short introductory video; a lesson essay; links to a wealth of multimedia resources (musical excerpts, period photographs, and additional sources of information); a teacher's guide with teacher tips, cross-curricular activities, and assessment methods; and student activities.. The units meet lesson objectives and national curriculum standards in five subject areas: U.S. history, social studies, arts education/music, civics and government, and geography.The five units of NEA Jazz in the Schools are The Advent of Jazz: The Dawn of the Twentieth Century; The Jazz Age and the Swing Era; Bebop and Modernism; From the New Frontier to the New Millennium; and Jazz: An American Story.
If you have any questions or would like further information on the program, please contact info@neajazzintheschools.org."