Below are websites that will help teachers enhance their instruction. I know teachers are very busy and don't have time to waste; therefore, with that premise in mind, I evaluated these sites using this criteria:

1. Do these websites relate to the curriculum?
2. Are these websites easy to navigate?
3. Do these websites have ideas that can easily be incorporated in a course of study?
4. Are these websites created by reputable organizations?

The websites are listed under the following headings:

This page was developed to give teachers resources to help them supplement their course of study. We would like this page to be the beginning of an exchange program for teachers in our district. Therefore, teacher input is essential.

If you try one of these sites, please e-mail me and let me know what you found helpful.

If you have used a site that you think would benefit other teachers, please send me the address so I can add it to the sites listed on this page.

  mailto:rseaman@rahway.net

Disclaimer: These sites have been scrutinized for their grade and age appropriateness; however, contents on links on the WWW change often. It is advisable that teachers preview all links before introducing them to their students.

General Resources Back

(Those *sites are examples of the types of materials that can be found on that page)

1. Teachers Network.org is a site created by a group of teachers working together to improve student achievement. You can find lesson plans, materials for professional development, and other educational information.

 http://www.teachersnetwork.org/TeachNet/

*Teach Net: English Language Arts, Web Based Curriculum Units

http://www.teachersnetwork.org/TeachNet/ela.htm

2. Blue Web'n is an online library of 1800+ Internet sites. You can search by content area, grade level, and subject area. 5 new sites are added weekly. This site is filled with ideas, activities, and projects.

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/#table

*Knowledge Network Explorer

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/index.html

*Blue Web'n Social Studies

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/contentarea.cfm?cid=8

*Black History (sample found in Knowledge Network Explorer a division of Blue Web'n)

Patchwork of African American Life

"The following six Web sites were created as models to suggest ways to integrate the World Wide Web and videoconferencing into classroom learning. African-American History was chosen as a topic because of its importance, popularity and the wealth of Internet resources available on the topic. What we hope to add to this richness are some specific strategies for integrating the Web into learning. So rather than merely send learners to a Web site, we've arranged separate formats designed to support different kinds of learning. Read the blurbs below or check out Working the Web for Education to help you decide which activities you might want to use."

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/AfroAm.html

3. Eduscapes is a directory of websites comprised by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson. Sites of interest:

• 42eXplore is a weekly project section that contains a thematic topic with selected web resources, ideas and activities, vocabulary, lesson plans, webQuests, and student produced materials. The themes range across curriculum areas and age levels.
• Literature Ladders combines award-winning and popular fiction for young readers together with selected website resources.
• Multimedia Seeds contains ideas and resources to help you grow and improve as a multimedia user, developer, technology coordinator, educator, collection developer, or librarian.
• The Teacher Tap is a professional development resource that helps educators address common technology integration questions.
• (The pages listed above can be found on this page)

http://www.eduscapes.com/

4. Marco Polo is a site devoted to providing the highest quality Internet content to teachers and students throughout the United States. The content area web sites listed below provide lesson plans and resources created by the nation's leading educational organizations.

http://www.marcopolo-education.org/

*Marco Polo Top Ten Lesson Plans

http://marcopolo.k12.ca.us/mp/top10.php

Marco Polo Content Area Websites:

5. This page entitled, Cyber Bee, is dedicated to how to use technology in the class room. Beside suggestions, there are lists of websites to refer to, to find curriculum ideas.

http://www.cyberbee.com/index.html

6. A to Z Teacher's Stuff List of Lesson Plans is a site directory of lesson plans and teaching resources. You can search by subject and or grade.

http://atozteacherstuff.com/Lesson_Plans/index.shtml

7. Educator Reference Desk is a collection of over 2000 lesson plans submitted by teachers from all over the world. This site also allows you to search GEM and ERIC for plans and resources.

http://www.eduref.org/

8. Cool Teaching Lessons and Units is a site designed as a resource for K-12 teachers who wish to find units and lessons for all subject areas.

http://www.coollessons.org/coolunits.htm

*Educational Units Grades 5-12

http://www.coollessons.org/qualityunits.html

*Edcational Units and Lesson Plans with a section devoted to research

http://www.coollessons.org/

9. Lessonplanz.com is a database where you can find online plans and teaching resources by grade level and subject.

http://www.lessonplanz.com/

*http://www.lessonplanz.com/middleschool.shtml

10. This site is part of the Intel Learning with Technology: Teach to the Future Project which is devoted to improving learning through the effective use of technology.

• Click on Unit and Project Plans,
• Open the Unit Plan Index; units are listed according to grade level. Each gives a day by day approach, activities, and websites.
• Open Innovation Odyssey to see how teachers are using the Internet throughout the world.
• Also included is a Unit Plan Design Template.

http://www.intel.com/education/sections/section1/index.htm

11. This site, Nonprofit Prophets, is an initiative of Pacific Bell Education for those teachers who want to use the framework to develop their own community action projects. Though recommended for grades 9-12, the idea of investigating a community problem and then creating a WWW Resource Page is an interesting idea for students at all levels.

http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/prophets/

*Teacher Recommendations:

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is a categorized list of sites useful for curriculum development and professional growth.

http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/

This site allows you to download Jeopardy, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Hollywood Squares, and the Weakest Link

http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/misc/winnergame022500.html

Language Arts and Reading Back

1. The site entitled, SCORE: Cyber Guides: Teacher Guides and Student Activities, lists novels that are used at all different grade levels. Each novel listed has ways to integrate technology into the study of the novel. Each Cyber Guide contains a student and teacher edition, standards, tasks, the process utilized to complete each activity, teacher selected websites and a rubric based on California Language Arts Content Standards. Beside units of study, there is a teacher Activity Bank with graphic organizers, rubrics and other ideas Language Arts teachers may find useful.

http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cyberguide.html

2. Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site is a collection of reviews of books for children and ways to use them in the classroom. This is a good resource for children's literature.

http://www.carolhurst.com/index.html

3. TALK is a website designed to give teachers practical activities employing a Classroom Literacy Guide which implements the best practices in literacy.

http://teach.fcps.net/talk/help.asp

4. Reader's Theater Editions is a site which offers free scripts for reader's theater from stories written by Aaron Shepard and others. The scripts are aimed at an audience from the ages of 8-15. The scripts may be freely copied, shared, and performed for any noncommercial purpose, except they may not be posted online without permission.

http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.html

5. Read Write and Think is a site devoted to providing teachers with quality practices and resources in reading and language arts. It is a product of the partnership between the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the MarcoPolo Education Foundation.

http://www.readwritethink.org/

6. Doucette Index provides access to books and websites that contain useful teaching suggestions related to books for children and young adults and the creators of those books.

http://www.educ.ucalgary.ca/litindex/

7. CNN STORIES AND LESSONS is a learning resource site that offers instruction using current news stories. Each selection includes the full text and interactive comprehensive activities. The material is intended for adult literacy but can be adapted to learners of all ages.

http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/

8. Iditarod - Race Across Alaska - A great multimedia resource covering the recent Iditarod Race being held in Alaska.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/iditarod/index.htm

MATH Back

1. ENC FOR MATH AND SCIENCE, the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (ENC), provides curriculum resources devoted to improvement of K-12 mathematics and science instruction.

http://www.enc.org/?ls=bc

*Math links

http://www.enc.org/weblinks/math/

2. A Great Place to Begin Your Math Problem-solving Unit contains a list of Math Web Quests from Iwebquests.com. No grade levels are listed.

http://www.iwebquest.com/hotlists/mathwebquest.htm

3. Free MathHelp.com is a site that seems to be geared more towards students than teachers. It offers help in algebra, geometry, and arithmetic. This might be a site to send students to for extra help and math games and puzzles.

http://www.freemathhelp.com

4. FRACTALS, a website authored by Cynthia Lanius, is geared toward students at the elementary level and middle school. There are activities and lesson plans for teachers interested in teaching fractals.

http://math.rice.edu/%7Elanius/frac/

5. The Math Forum, funded by National Science Foundation, provides resources, materials, and activities that support mathematics education.

http://mathforum.org/

*http://mathforum.org/geometry/geom.lessons.html

6. The site entitled, Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles, is just that, a site which has games and puzzles in all areas of mathematics.

http://www.cut-the-knot.org/content.shtml

7.This is a list of math resources devoted to mathematics compiled by SCORE.

http://score.kings.k12.ca.us/lessons.html

*Schools of California Online Resources.

http://score.kings.k12.ca.us/additional.html

8. Flashcards for Kids is a site where kids can come and play drill games to improve their skills in mathematics.

http://www.edu4kids.com/math/

Science

Back

1. This site entitled, Weather: Weather and Climate Information for Teachers, provides information on the weather. You can find weather observations, five-day forecasts, and data on weather for locations around the world.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wteach.htm

2. This site from the Science Learning Network provides resources for Interactive Science Activities

http://www.sln.org/resources/index.html

3. The following sites provide information on the science of genetics and DNA.

*The Gene Scene, a site which is linked to Ology , the American Museum of Natural History's website for kids. Geared toward students from the ages of seven through twelve, age appropriate material can be found on archaeology, astronomy, biodiversity, marine biology, paleontology, and physical science. Check the Educator's Guide for tips on how to use this web site.

http://www.ology.amnh.org/genetics/

*Putting DNA to Work, a site which is linked to the National Academy of Sciences. On their homepage you will also find units on Global Warming and the Wonders of Science. Best suited for students thirteen and older.

http://www.koshlandsciencemuseum.org/exhibitdna/

*This site entitled, Eureka Science: I Can Do That Page, provides information on DNA basics. This site is recommended by the National Science Teachers Association.

http://www.eurekascience.com/ICanDoThat/index.htm

*Kids Genetics

http://genetics.gsk.com/kids/index_kids.htm

4. Spider Hunt is one of a number of activities for kids who are interested in Entomology from the University of Kentucky.

http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/ythfacts/resourc/tcherpln/spiderdebate.htm

5. Explore the Fantastic Forest - Here you'll encounter a variety of habitats&emdash;places perfectly suited for particular plants and animals. These are important parts of the forest&emdash;and our environment.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/96/forest/index.html

Social Studies Back

1. Netstate.com is a site which provides information on the 50 states.

http://www.netstate.com/states/

2. Good geographical reference which deals with countries, climates, and flags of the world

http://www.geographic.org/

3. History Social Studies K-12, the purpose of this page is to provide resources on the Web for teachers of social studies in grades K-12.

http://home.comcast.net/~dboals1/boals.html

4. This is a list of units and resources developed by Score: History/ Social Science. It is part of the Online Resource Center that links the WWW to the California Curriculum. Units are listed by grade level. When you click on the grade desired, units will be listed with activities and resources. Web Quests, activities utilizing the Internet, and lesson plans can be found.

http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/

*http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/gradelevel.html

5. Lesson Plans and Resources for Social Studies Teachers is a list, compiled by Dr. Marty Levine, Professor Emeritus of Secondary Education, California State University, Northridge (CSUN), which contains lesson plans and resources from the Internet which social studies teachers might find useful.

http://www.csun.edu/%7Ehcedu013/index.html

6. The American Memory Project is an online archive of over 100 collections of items that relate to American's heritage. There are more than 7 million primary source documents that reflect the history of America. The Learning Page gives teachers ideas for using the information found in this collection.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/index.html

Webquests Back

1. The site entitled, Ozline.com, includes all the basic information you need pertaining to Web Quests and their formulation. This is an everything you always wanted to know about Web Quests but were afraid to ask.

http://ozline.com/learning/index.htm

2. This Web Quest Page from San Diego State University lists web quests by grade levels and subject areas. There are 3 different categories:

• Top: the quests on this list have been evaluated as good examples
• Middling: the quests on this list have been evaluated; these sites have a number of good features although the overall site may not be effective
• New: these sites have been submitted but have not yet been evaluated

This is a very comprehensive site and is always recommended when searching for Web Quests.

http://webquest.org/

3. Welcome Web Quests is a list of Web Quests arranged by subject. Grade levels are included, but these are arranged under subject headings. Therefore, if you are looking for a specific grade, you will have to wade through each subject to find what you are looking for. Many of these sites are graded for high school students; however, the ideas may still be applicable at lower levels. Some do follow the Web Quest format; others do not. Still, if you have time and are looking for ideas and websites on specific topics, you might find this site helpful.

http://www.techtrekers.com/webquests/#English

4. This site, Technology Challenge Grants, is part of the Triton and Patterns Projects initiated by the San Diego City Schools to integrate technology with standard based education. The units are listed under the following (see side bar):

• Grade Level Projects
• Literature Based Projects
• Ocean Themed Projects

http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/projects/gradelevel/6_8grade.html

5. Locating and Evaluating Web Quests by Annette Lamb provides background information on Web Quests. It lists projects according to grade level. It has an extensive list of links to many other sites. It also provides the means to evaluate web quests. This is an invaluable resource recommended by Kathy Schrock.

http://annettelamb.com/tap/topic4.htm

6. This website created by the Manteno School District contains 114 Web Quests Online and is listed according to grade level and subject.

http://www.manteno.k12.il.us/webquest/

7. Another website created by Annette Lamb lists Web Quests for middle and high school levels. It is part of a page entitled, Creating Web Quest Learning Environments.

• If you click on Return Index at the bottom of the page, you will find a section which discusses all aspects of Web Quest development.
• If you click on Return to Web Quest Use at the bottom of the page, you will find other projects.

http://www.eduscapes.com/sessions/travel/mhswebquests.htm

8. Another site, Understanding and Using Web Quests comprised by Midge Frazel, recommended by Kathy Schrock, includes an extensive list of websites on Web Quests.

http://midgefrazel.net/lrnwebq.html

9. Educational Web Design is an index which provides teachers with websites for educational use. This page was also created to give teachers the tools to make web pages for their students. There are links to sites where you can find information on Web Quests, obtain free graphics and animated gifs. Hope you are not put off by the spiders that roam over this page.

http://www.oswego.org/staff/cchamber/webdesign/edwebdesign.htm

10. The website entitled, Reading and Training Materials, is an index of websites for teachers who are interested in learning more about the creation of Web Quests.

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/materials.htm

11. The website entitled, Web Quests: Patti Flannery and Judy May is an index of Web Quests and Internet related websites for all grade levels.

http://www.grisd.net/campus/es/users/flanpa/idrive/content%20dev%20web/WebQuests.htm

12.Think Quest Winners

http://www.thinkquest.org/library/winners/2003/tqusa/

*PLEASE NOTE: Many of the sites found on this page were recommended in the book entitled, Teaching with the Internet: Lessons from the Classroom, Third Edition, (2000), by Donald J. Leu, Jr. and Deborah Diadiun Leu. This is an excellent resource for anyone who is looking for valuable Internet websites and ideas for incorporating technology into instruction.

Last updated: 4/25/05 

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