Web reviews in alphabetical order by Class and student name:
Here, for your information, are the web site reviews from my educational computing students for the Spring 2005 semester.
After studying a number of sites, the students wrote reviews for Web Sites they judged to be well designed and useful to educators. Please feel free to forward these reviews to anyone who might be interested.
The reviews are organized by class and alphabetically by student name. To find what you want you can use your web browser to search all the reviews by keyword or character string.
The URLs and email addresses are "hot linked."
EDUC 222-1
Resources for Social Studies Lessons
http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_parker_socialst_12/0,9123,1350681-,00.html
Reviewed by: Bobbie Conrad
e-mail: crayonabc123@yahoo.com
I discovered this website while using this text. Social Studies in Elementary Education, Twelfth Edition, by Walter C. Parker. Even though some viewers may not have access to the text this is still a valuable resource. Many links and connections can be found for Social Studies lessons and materials. These include Web Links that provide additional avenues for research and discovery about Social Study curriculum. Also, the author has included sample Lesson Plans from selected chapters which any student can use in their elementary classrooms. A Standards connection also provides links to various websites that outline different standards in social studies education. These resources have been reviewed and found to be accurate and dependable. Many other valuable links can be found at this address, among those found here.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids
The White House "kids page."
http://www.ncss.org/
Home page for the National Council for the Social Studies. http://www.ushistory.org/libertybell/index.html
Visit the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
http://educate.si.edu/
The vast resources of the Smithsonian Institution.
This is a valuable resource for anyone needing Social Studies support and information. I think that some aspects of Social Studies may be hard to create lessons for such as social understanding, civic efficacy and curriculum goals, this site offers quality suggestions and links to cover topics such as these.
EconEdLink
Reviewed by: Bobbie Conrad
e-mail: crayonabc123@yahoo.com
While taking my Social Studies Method course I had to teach an Economics lesson. How do you teach economics to second graders? This site provided many wonderful lessons that helped me find just the right one. EconEdLink provides a premier source of classroom-tested, Internet-based economic lesson materials for K-12 teachers and their students. With over 406 lessons to choose from, teachers can use as many of the lessons as they would like and as often as they would like. Some of the lessons have related activities that will allow students Internet experience. Others can be adapted and used with or without technology. This site also offers lessons that are related to current events. The information is reliable and accurate. Each of the lessons includes a teacher's version as well as a student's version which can be used in a variety of ways. Each of the lessons are designed to be delivered in a variety of formats and classroom settings.
I would recommend this site for anyone trying to teach an economics lesson. The information found here is dependable and accurate as well as age appropriate. It is often hard to find lessons that relate to current events but this site offers this already prepared with suggestions for implementation.
Yahooligans
e-mail: crayonabc123@yahoo.com
Yahooligans is an invaluable source of information. The site is colorful, easy to read, full of graphics, and fun to use. The content is generally accurate and child friendly. The information is easier for children to both read and understand. The sites found in Yahooligans! range from ones with many pictures and little if any text, to text-only documents full of concepts and information. Depending on the grade level and ability of your students, one site on a particular subject may be better for them than another. Yahooligans provides parent information, teacher and student information. Many types of games can be found; educational as well as recreational. The sites you find in Yahooligans will be safe and appropriate for kids in the 7 to 12 age ranges. Instructional materials, links to current hot topics, math, science, language arts information and activities as well as tons of other safe and secure data. This site can be very educational as well as interesting to students.
I have used this site for research about wildlife as well as to find help for how to use negative and positive integers. I am comfortable with this site and feel it is an invaluable resource for educators as well as students. Yahooligans provides a kid-safe directory in tune with school curriculum as well as updated features such as news, sports, jokes, and new and cool pages. Many opportunities present themselves for students with access to this site examples includeÉÉ
Review 1
The History Channel
http://www.historychannel.com/
Reviewed by Evan M. DeWalt
Email: emdewa01@morehead-st.edu
The source of the content is from historians, educators, biographers, and other informed sources with expertise on many subjects. I can tell it is reviewed and concrete with sources cited after every article and offered information.
The History Channel is a recent cable channel dedicated to the history of everything from the Cold War to automobiles. In the site www.historychannel.com there are many tools educators can use for their classroom. Social Studies teachers and History teachers can go to the CLASSROOM section of the site and print of study guides for A-Z subjects and order videos or DVDs from the site for their class. There are hundreds of study guides and videos that teachers can integrate with their classwork so students can better understand a certain period of time. There is also a forum for educators in the site that allows teachers and historians debate important historical topics and events. Also included in the CLASSROOM section are teacher ideas for class activities for historical events ranging from Ellis Island to the Alamo. The site has many options for teachers to use in their classes and is a very interesting site.
The history channel is one of the greatest cable inventions ever and the site is just as great. You can be informed on any historical topic or event and use the site to discuss, research, and teach. The CLASSROOM section of the site is useful in that as a teacher you can get study guides and order videos for your class. Students can also go to the site and search for any historical event and learn about interesting historical people. I think the site is a great tool for educators and students when it comes to exploring history. I think that the site understands how important history is to students becoming well-rounded people.
Review 2
Art for Kids
www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/for-kids.htm
Reviewed by Evan M. DeWalt
Email: emdewa01@morehead-st.edu
This site is for Art teachers and has many great links to other sites useful in teaching Art. The site includes lesson plans, info on famous artists, and interesting ideas on how you can use the internet in lessons. A cool section of the site is where you can look at studentÕs artwork. There are also sections in the site where you can explore different kinds of art like Ceramics, Sculptures, Crafts, and other interesting forms of artwork. The site also expands on many cultures including art from Africa, Asia, Egyptian, Australian, and Rome. The site has many links to other great sites and allows you to have an organized group of sites to access anything in Art.
I picked this site because it shows an appreciation of art and everything that comes with it. You can access many sites and topics that are useful for art teachers and students. I like how you can look at studentÕs artwork and look at Art Museums online. The site is kind of a headquarters for everything Art and gives interesting lesson plan ideas for teachers. I think that the site is for many ages of kids ranging from middle school and on.
Review 3
Social Studies for Kids
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/
Reviewed by Evan M. DeWalt
Email: emdewa01@morehead-st.edu
This site has a very broad range of information for social studies students and teachers. The site has a cool fun facts on history section and an on this day in history which allows students to be connected to historical events. The site includes a massive history glossary, allows educators and students to discuss on a forum, and offers mini lessons on subjects like history, geography, economics, holidays, religions, current events, and even archealogy. The site is brief, but is a great reference and glossary of subjects in Social Studies. In the site you can also access interesting articles on topics discussed in the massive glossary.
I think this site can be very helpful to Social Studies students and teachers. You can access many historical and important events and timelines. You can also be informed with the glossary which is cool, because you can get all different kinds of interesting information. I think kids could enjoy the site, because it has games and allows the kid to go throughout time and learn about so many different and important events.
Scholastic
http://www.scholastic.com/kids/
Review by Josh Logan
email: Joshlogan04@hotmail.com
My first site is that of Scholastic.com/kids for kids. This page offers book reviews of book for their ages, a places called the ÒHomework HubÓ aimed at helping students write good research papers, reviews, improve test taking skills, do better and more efficient research, as well as offering printable calendar for improved organization. This site was a fun and effective way for students to be introduced to helpful tools for learning.
I chose this site because I think introducing students to these types of helpful information could be beneficial to their education. They see some of the things they will be doing later on in their schooling years and have a chance to get somewhat of a head start.
Scholastic
http://teacher.scholastic.com/
Review by: Josh Logan
My second review is that of Scholastic.com. This is the main web-site of scholastic and is not only for children. This site has branches for teacher including lessons plans for grades k-12, tools and activities. Also a branch for Administrators involving new trends and solutions. Lastly, it has a branch for librarians, for products, services, and resources.
I chose this second site from Scholastic because I feel it has a lot of helpful tools, not only for students, or students but also for the school administrators and the librarians. This could be a very helpful implementation to any school district.
National Science Teachers Association
Review by: Josh Logan
My third and final review is for the site of the National Science Teachers Association. The site offers a membership for full access to the site. The NSTA mission is to Òpromote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.Ó It also offers a huge variety of helpful accommodations to teachers including projects and experiments, job and career center, publications and many other tools.
I chose this site because I enjoy the wide field of science and all its offerings. I think that this is also another helpful site that can implement a lot of help to student from the teacher using this site. It gives new ideas to teacher and helps improve the teaching skills through hints of other teacher from around the nation and world.
Eva Mangun
EDUC 222 01
The Southwest Educational Developmental Laboratory
http://www.sedl.org/reading/topics/myths.html
This website was written by Sebastian Wren. I believe it has been checked for quality and accuracy because there are no grammatical errors, he cites a lot of sources in his article, and at the end of the article he posts a lot of other sources and evidence you can look at to back up his points. Yes, this site has been checked for accuracy. In the link ÒcreditsÓ, they list the editorÕs names. This site has won awards for its clarity and effectiveness. This site is a newsletter for the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. This is a newsletter from November 2002. The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory is mainly sponsored by the United States government, but their research is not influenced by governmental opinions. It seems that every month they publish a newsletter there is a particular focus to what they write their newsletter about, and during November 2002, the focus was reading. The article that I was reading was entitled ÒTen Myths of Reading Construction.Ó This article discussed the various myths people have about how people learn to read, what methods are best in educating children to read, reading disabilities, and other related topics. This article explains that we still struggle to find ways to teach children how to read because it is a very unnatural skill; it has only been developed for the last thousand years of human existence and focused on as an essential skill for a few hundred years. Spoken language is very natural and if there is no language around a child for them to pick up on, the instinct to speak is so great that they will form their own language. Because our minds donÕt recognize this as an essential skill, it is difficult to teach. This article expands on this by explaining different methods of teaching this and why some people have more difficulties with this than others.
I choose this site because of several personal experiences I have had with reading and learning to read and write. When I first began to read I fell very far behind many of my classmates and was having a really hard time learning to read, despite the fact that my Mom and Dad would read with me every night and I was getting tutoring during the day. I was latter diagnosed with a learning disability in reading, however, because of the persistence of my Mom and Dad in continuing to practice reading with me, I eventually became a very good reader and when I finally learned to read it became one of my strongest subjects in school, and could read past where I needed to be for my grade level. So this subject was of a lot of interest to me and I found this to be an interesting article.
Net Frog: The Online Dissection
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/frog/Frog2/
This website was published by Mable Kinze, Richard Straus, Jean Foss, Bill Looney, Jason Mitchell, and Marti Julian. I think that it must have been checked many times for accuracy because it has won many awards. Net Frog: The online Dissection is an online alternative to dissecting a frog. This website breaks down the dissection of a frog into nineteen smaller web pages, one for each step. There are also web pages for the set up and clean up procedures. Every web page has a similar format, on the far right side of the page there is a picture of what part of the frog you are dissecting. There is a small menu on the left side of these pictures that will take you to a link that will explain the incisions, organs, set up and clean up for whatever step you are on. When you are reading the information about these things, some of the more difficult terms can be clicked on and will give you the definition. At the bottom of the page there is narration and video clips of live frogs being dissected so that you can better understand what is being explained with words and still pictures. There is also a button that you can click called ÒGuess what?Ó which gives you interesting facts about how frogs live that are loosely related to what is being dissected at the moment. In the glossary on the left side of the pictures there is a quiz after every step so that the teacher can be sure that the student has learned everything they need to know before progressing to the next step.
I chose this site for several reasons. The first one being is strictly monetary. Many schools are struggling with finances these days, and oftentimes they deal with these situations by canceling unnecessary programs, such as having science labs and dissecting frogs. It is likely that many teachers might have to make due without a science lab, and online assignments like this one would be better then just reading a textbook and this would not cost a lot of money. There are also many people who do not believe it is right to kill frogs in the name of science, and students should not be forced to dissect a frog against his or her beliefs. In these instances a program like this is a good substitute for practicing the actual experiment.
The Story Place.
http://www.storyplace.org/bookhive.asp.
This site is an online library for children. Many childrenÕs books are online that will be read to a child with the words showing the audience. There are even some stories that you can insert the childÕs name and a character into, and they can imagine themselves in the story as they listen to the story being narrated. They have activity sheets and coloring sheets for each story. They create some of the stories that the child can be a part of themselves, but most of the books that children can just listen to are classics. You can search for a book by title or author. One flaw I found was in the selection. Many of the books that were shown were only newer books, published in the last few years, excluding older books except for classics. For example, one of my favorite childrenÕs authors was Tommy De Paula, and none of his books where listed, despite the fact that he is a well known and award winning childrenÕs author. I do not know who publishes this site. I believe it has been edited because it has won many awards for being an outstanding educating tool.
I choose this website because I thought it was an interesting concept to teach children how to read online, with animated illustrations and narration. This could potentially be very helpful to teachers to use as a resource when their schools do not have a very big library. It could also be a good way to reinforce reading with kids as a reward during free time if a child does well in their other work. It could be a good tool for kids with short attention spans because there is more going on to keep their interest.
Teachers helping Teachers
http://www.pacificnet.net/~mandel/index.html
Reviewed by: Keri Miller
Email-krmill01@morehead-st.edu
As far as I can tell the website is reviewed for quality and accuracy. I didnÕt find any mistakes and it is updated weekly during the school year.
This website is titled Teachers helping Teachers. It has lesson planes for all types of subject areas; for example, classroom management, language arts, math, science, art, special education, social studies, and book reviews. Teachers send in lesson plans that have worked for their classrooms for all of these different subjects. There is also a weekly stress reduction activity to use with the children and teachers. A weekly poem is on the website also with links to teacher focused magazines. There is also an educational resource page that you can get other links for teacher websites that also includes many different subject areas.
The reason I picked this website is because I liked the idea that teachers are the ones giving the information. Teachers that that have done many different lesson know the lessons that will work and ones that will not work. I also like that they give links to other websites, books, and other things that can be very helpful to teachers.
Helping your Child Learn Math
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/index.html
Reviewed by: Keri Miller
Email-krmill01@morehead-st.edu
This website is directed toward teaching children math. In this website there are many different areas that you can look at and they are: math in the home, math at the grocery, math on the go, math for fun, what our children are learning, and recourses. It includes parent teacher involvement tip, sometimes it is very difficult to get parents to get involved in their childÕs school, and so, that is an important topic. There are lessons in each of the different categories that list the material that you will need and the exact steps that you would do if you were to do a lesson.
I liked this website because it gave many different math activities that you could do with your students. It also gives the parents different activities to do with their child at the home, so if you child is struggling you can reinforce mathematics at home. I really liked that because it involves the parents in their childÕs learning.
Gradekeeper
Reviewed by: Keri Miller
Email-krmill01@morehead-st.edu
Gradekeeper is a grade book designed for teacher to keep track of their grading; sometimes it is hard for teachers to find a good method of grade keeping. Gradekeeper is a very good program to use. You can use this website for 30 days to determine if you like the product and then you must pay to use it. This website has many different ways that you can view the grades; you can have letter grades, or percent grades. You can keep track of their attendance, change the different quarters, create a seating chart, and print off individual grade sheets. It has many options.
I like this website because it is very useful for teacher. You do have to pay money for the product but I think that it could be worth it if you couldnÕt find any other way to keep track of your grading. I like all of the different options that are available for you to use. I think that it would be a very useful tool for teacher to use.
Education World
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr155.shtml
Reviewed by Chad Muncy
email: wcmunc01@morehead-st.edu
This website helps educators in understanding how they can create a climate that is good for learning and provides techniques to make their classrooms be efficient. Part of this site tells how the teacher should set goals for themselves such as not talking too much, providing different activities throughout a class, and making parents their ally. The next part of the site helps teachers in making a contract between the students, their parents, and the teacher. This helps clear up the responsibility of these individuals. This site also has advice from other teachers across the United States on how to make classrooms more effective.
I picked to review this site for a couple of reasons. First of all, one of the things that quickly grabbed my attention was the contract between the students, their parents, and the teacher. It gave an example list of what kind of responsibilities each individual should posses. The other thing that grabbed my attention was the recommendations on how the make the classroom environment more effective which was from actual teachers with experience in schools across the United States.
ERIC Digests
http://www.ericdigests.org/1997-3/shy.html
Reviewed by Chad Muncy
email: wcmunc01@morehead-st.edu
This website deals with how to work with shy or withdrawn students. The site first explains how many students experience some sort of shyness but that teachers should recognize when this shyness begins to become a problem. The site also goes on to tell some of the causes of this shyness or withdraw such as it being part of the studentÕs personality, being caused by the studentÕs environment, or being their response to stress. The site concludes with strategies for teachers on how to get these shy students more involved such as peer involvement or teacher intervention. With these strategies it lists other things to try such as teaching the shy students how to open up socially with other students.
I picked this site because not only did it provide very valuable information but it also touched on a topic that seems often overlooked in education and that topic is how to deal with these shy or withdrawn students. The website gave background for the teacher to understand what might be causing the studentÕs shyness and then gave a large amount of strategies that could be used to help these students become more involved.
Tools for Teaching
http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/motivate.html
Reviewed by Chad Muncy
email: wcmunc01@morehead-st.edu
This website provides the teacher with many different strategies on how to motivate their students in the classroom. The site starts out with the concept that students are naturally eager to learn but need their teachers to instruct and challenge them. This leads into the websites strategies for motivation. It includes general strategies, strategies that incorporate instructional behavior that motivates the students, and how to structure the course in order to motivate the students. It concludes with explaining the importance of getting students to de-emphasize grades, get students to do readings, and how the teacher should respond to the studentÕs work.
I chose this website because of not only the material but the design of the website. The main topics of motivation were highlighted and each strategy in the topic was bold with a description of that strategy included. The material was also an attraction because it didnÕt give you just general strategies for motivation but went in depth into things such as how to structure the course to motivate students and how to respond to their work.
PE Central
Reviewed by Jessie Plante
Email: jessie10_10@hotmail.com
This website offers a great deal of information about health and physical education. It is useful for teachers, parents and students. It contains numerous lesson plans and ideas for all age categories and abilities, gives educators the tools they need to encourage their students to be active, the latest news or developments in the field, and much more. Also, it allows for teachers to send in their own lesson plans to have them reviewed by other teachers, and the editors of the website, who are all well established educators or consultants themselves. By doing this, it makes it possible for fellow teachers to learn and get new ideas from one another.
I picked this site because I am going to be a health and physical education teacher and I found it very informative. It is easy to access and to find what you are looking for. I like how teachers have the option of sending in their own lesson plans to get critiqued and improved on or simply just to share with their colleagues. Also, it has numerous lesson plans for all grades and all abilities so it can be used by teachers of both elementary and secondary schools. It also contains many articles and reviews that talk about the importance of being active, and how to relay that message to children at a young age.
PBS Teacher Source
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/math.htm
Reviewed by Jessie Plante
Email: jessie10_10@hotmail.com
This is a website that provides teachers from kindergarten to grade twelve with information in any of the following subjects: arts and literature, health and fitness, science, social studies and mathematics. You just have to choose what grade level you are teaching, and what subject, and it will come up with a wide variety of lesson plans and activities for educators to use in their classrooms. The material on this website is provided by trained and practicing teachers and regularly seeks educator feedback through surveys and focus groups, and receives ongoing guidance from the team of exemplary teachers who make up the Teacher Source Advisory Group.
I chose this website, because it is easy to use and find information quickly on. It is useful to all teachers, no matter their grade level or the subject they teach. It covers all subjects present in todayÕs curriculum, and the lesson plans and activities are posted by people who have been in the field for years and also those who are just beginning. I think this is good, because younger teachers may have something new and creative to offer to their field.
Teaching Ideas for Primary Teachers
http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/index.shtml
Reviewed by Jessie Plante
Email: jessie10_10@hotmail.com
This site provides primary teachers with many great ideas to implement into their teaching. It contains resources on all subject matter, and provides teachers with creative lesson plans, activities and worksheets. It also contains a variety of Òtime fillersÓ which are activities that can be done in any classroom, to fill up spare time. It also provides the user with lists of other educational websites that may be useful in planning a lesson, or just on how to improve their teaching styles. The website was designed by a primary teacher in UK, and has flourished due to the feedback it has received from teachers all over the world. There is an area on the site where teachers can write in to ask questions, or post things up on, for other teachers to see and possibly use in their classrooms.
I chose this site because it is very user friendly, and has a great deal of information for primary teachers. Since it is designed by an actual primary school teacher, you know he has an idea of what he is talking about, and actually has experience in the classroom with the youngsters. To keep children interested in learning, lessons need to be creative and exciting, and I think this site provides educators with a lot of good ideas on how to teach young children the necessary material without boring them.
Normandy 1944
Web site: http://search.eb.com/normandy/
Nick Rose
Email: njrose01@morehead-st.edu
Britannica.com
This site allows anyone to learn what happened in the invasion of Normandy. The first link of the site is Build up. This gives when the invasion was conceived, 1941-43. It also gives links for leaders and generals, training, fortress Europe, and the seven types of soldiers in Normandy. The next link from the main page is the Invasion. This link has the Normandy Beachhead, June 1944, Omaha, Pointe du Hoc, the Orne River, Sword, the Contentin Peninsula, Utah, Juno, Gold, and the landing craft in Normandy. The site also has what type of fighting took place inland in Normandy and the Allied breakout and the fall of Germany.
I picked this site because I like to hear about Normandy. I think everyone should know what happened on one of the days that shocked the world. Plus has you learn about Normandy, you are honoring those that fought in that invasion. You will also feel closer to those you fought.
National Geographic
Web site: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/education/
Nick Rose
Email: njrose01@morehead-st.edu
National Geographic Education
This National Geographic web site is made for teachers. This site offers lesson plans, maps and photos, professional development, and current events. It also has links for the students such as, adventure and exploration, animals and nature, history and culture, maps and geography, and news. This also offers a quiz of the day for students.
I picked this site because it did a good job in putting it information out in the open. The quiz was a good touch. It is just a good resource for any new geography or history teacher.
World Health News
Web site: http://www.worldhealthnews.harvard.edu/
Nick Rose
Email: njrose01@morehead-st.edu
Harvard School of Public Health
This site offers articles on topics such as; aids, cancer, child welfare, flu, substance abuse, and the list goes on. This site is a way for someone to find out about health related topics from the comfort of their own homes.
I picked this site because health is a very important topic and the more you know the better off you will be. Plus this site is run by the Harvard School of Public Health; you canÕt get much better than that.
New York Philharmonic for Kids
http://www.nyphilkids.org/main.phtml
Reviewed By: Mallory Tackett
Email: mptack01@morehead-st.edu
This website is a place where children and educators can come to explore different aspects about music. The New York Philharmonic sponsors this website and it is absolutely free to view and use for anyone. On the main page there are links that will lead you to different ÔroomsÕ within the site such as a composition workshop where you can compose your own minuet and email it to your friends or see how a piece of music sounds being played by different instruments. There are also links to composers gallery, conductors/soloists dressing rooms, newsstand, meet some NYP musicians, orchestration station, instrument lab, musicians lounge, game room and the instrument storage room. This site is amazing and useful when you want to teach a group of younger children about music. It has areas to learn about composers and instruments as well as fun activities and games to play which makes it even more attractive to use in a classroom.
LandmarkÕs Citation Machine
http://www.landmark-project.com/citation_machine/index.php
Reviewed By: Mallory Tackett
Email: mptack01@morehead-st.edu
Citation machine is an interactive website designed to assist educators and students to cite material using the proper format. The website has a homepage that is designed to first teach you how to effectively use the Ôcitation machineÕ properly. It gives clear directions on how to first choose what the resource in which you are to cite; these are listed on to the left of the directions. After clicking on your resource you fill out the information sheet that appears and which style you wish to cite your paper (APA or MLA). When this particular part is finished the citation will appear and you just copy the citation and paste it to your word document. This site is very helpful when you are not familiar with a certain style of citation and it also can be used to teach students how to properly cite the sources that they use in their papers. It can be used at any age level and can prove to be quite effective in helping a student cite a source they do not know how or complete a works cited page quickly when needed.
Grade Saver
Reviewed By: Mallory Tackett
Email: mptack01@morehead-st.edu
Here is the ultimate site for editing! It is the only editing service that is solely for academic, professional and educational editing. It can also be used for proofreading and can be used by high school students, college students and those that are post graduates. The editors on the site specialize in college application essays, theses, cover letters, and resumes. The editors are Harvard graduates and the services that are included are complete grammatical, substantive, technical, and stylistic revision of your essay or document while still focusing on the academic environment. This site also provides cliff notes for students on a wide variety of books. There is also a resource room within the site that can provide help in the writing process of certain essays. This is an amazing site to use in a classroom or to make available to students to obtain help and editing on certain essays and papers. The cliff notes are made available to help students understand complex works of literature. This site is an amazing resource and the results you receive from the editing room are entirely useful.
Discovery School
Reviewed by Jackie Thacker
Email: jmthac02@morehead-st.edu
The Discovery ChannelÕs Òdiscoveryschool.comÓ offers homework help and study tools for science students of all ages. There is also a site for educators, which contains pre-organized lesson plans, curriculum tools, a teacher store, and a homework helper. This site offers studying materials, challenging games, and a wide variety of clip art to utilize. This site offers study tools that include Brain Boosters, Puzzle Makers, Science Fair Central, and Web Math. There is also Fun and Games to be enjoyed that educate students on a range of concepts that include Animal Cams, Geo Game, Clip Art Gallery, and Riddle of the Sphinx Game. In addition to these links there is also links to Learning Adventures. Find out information about almost anything!
This is a great site where teachers and students alike can gather information for the classroom and personal learning. Activities, resources, classroom tools like Puzzle Maker and Quiz Center make teaching a little easier. Students can browse through a number of links to learn valuable information on a number of subjects.
Scholastic
Reviewed by Jackie Thacker
Email: jmthac02@morehead-st.edu
This educational site is a wonderful resource for teacher, families, kids and schools. There are links for everyone to access that helps with teaching and is designed to aid in a number of ways. For teachers it offers lessons, activities, and tools that range from online activities, teaching strategies, and ideas for teachers whether they are in their first year of teaching or on their twentieth year. It offers games, contests, and books for kids and has activities, information and advice for families concerning education and their children. Administrators can also benefit from this site by learning information about news, trends, and solutions.
Check out this site for a variety of information on teaching. They have a Scholastic Favorites List that includes books, educational materials that range from assessments to special educational materials and resources and bilingual resources. Popular brands such as the Magic School Bus, Clifford, and Maya and Miquel are just a few of their products. Guess what! ThereÕs also a section of free services for teacher to use!
Homework Spot
Reviewed by Jackie Thacker
Email: jmthac02@morehead-st.edu
Homework Spot is a great site to acquire lots of educational resources. It has a range of educational information that includes main pages on elementary, middle, and high school grades. Major content areas are readily available to review and within these topics you will find general sites, topics, quick references, fun activities, and contests concerning the content selected. Resources and materials can also be accessed for homerooms, technology, and study breaks that allows students to have a break from studying. There is also a reference section and parent / teacher hotspot. Here teachers and parents will find additional sites, references, and online activities that will enhance learning for everyone.
This site offers educational materials that teachers, families, and students can benefit from. Here you can explore all the curriculum areas, Science, Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Technology, Arts and Crafts, and Health / Fitness, as well as quick links such as current events and news for kids. These quick links can also be search by grade levels. ItÕs a great resource.
Mad Libs Junior FunBrain
http:// www.funbrain.com
Reviewed by Tommi Sue Tussey
Email: tommitoe@hotmail.com
This site was created by the Mad Lib Junior game makers and had lots of games and activities for kids in grades k-8 to do and have reviewed online. There are tool bars in which you can pick activities by grade level or by subject. They have arcade type games, web books and ideas for playtime activities. You can even watch short and educational animated films online and do activities over the lessons the movies taught. There is a quiz lab that teachers can assign and review, and there are sections that students can go into and compete against one another at quiz questions and at the game mad libs.
I picked this web site because it was fun and educational. A teacher can let students do the work online or they can go in and find classroom activities and use the web site as an aid. The site is great on feedback, and lets students play games and learn at the same time. I also like it because it appeals to a varied age group.
New York Phil Harmonic Kidz Zone
http:// www.nyphilkidz.com
Reviewed by Tommi Sue Tussey
Email: tommitoe@hotmail.com
This website is a branch of the New York Phil Harmonic established in an effort to help strengthen music programs in public schools. The site has a section where students can learn about all the instruments in an orchestra and how they are played, a section where they can learn facts about famous composers throughout history and a section where they can create their own composition by combining the different types of instruments. The most teacher friendly part of the site however is the quiz section where kids can test themselves over what they learned and can print or email the results to their teacher.
I though this site would be a great aid to music teachers, especially in schools where the music department is weak. It had easy feedback and multiple quizzes that kids can take as they master more material. The site can be adjusted to different age levels and it appropriate for most school age children.
Learning Planet
http:// www.learningplanet.com
Reviewed by Tommi Sue Tussey
The web site learning planet is a web site designed for use by students from kindergarten to 6th grade. It offers games, worksheets for drill and practice and homework help in up to 15 different categories. A teacher can make an account and have her students complete online work that is automatically graded and placed in her online mailbox. The website touches on everything from seasons to running a business in their business tycoon game. This would be a great website to use in a classroom during downtime or after instruction to test students content understanding.
I picked this web site because I think it can add a lot of structured play to a classroom, because it had worksheets to be printed off and a homework help section that students can easily access. I think the ideas presented on the website are very encouraging and it is something students would look forward to doing. The set up is simple and self explanatory.
World Almanac for Kids
Reviewed by Elizabeth Vallejo
Email: ervall01@morehead-st.edu
Here is where the World Almanac presents facts and exploration for children ages eight and up. This website includes facts about animals, environment, historical birthdays, inventions, nations, populations, presidents, religion, space, sports, and the U.S. history timeline. This site offers a variety of activities for the classroom from great science inventions to how human activities can help preserve our planet. This site is composing materials that can act as tools in teaching in the classroom. With online classroom contests and quizzes children can explore and test their knowledge about past and current facts that affect oneÕs everyday life.
What a great way for children to learn and explore through facts that have affected the human race throughout time. Children can explore and learn facts from animals to amazing inventions. This site is full of past events that shape our world and test their knowledge through fun classrooms contests and fun games. Teachers and families can take pride in knowing their children are learning through positive exploration about our world.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra for Kids
Reviewed by Elizabeth Vallejo
Email: ervall01@morehead-st.edu
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra provides a website about musical learning suitable for any home or classroom. This site provides activities from listening to music to learning facts about different musical instruments. Throughout this site, children can learn different techniques of how to play an instrument, learning about famous composers, as well as composing music. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra for Kids also provides links for teachers in preparing lesson plans, how to make instruments for the classroom, and links to future youth orchestra concerts. Teachers also have access to discounts in activities for music education. This site also offers activities and a variety of sheet music for classrooms from preschool age to secondary grades.
Calling all music lovers of every age and expertise level. This site provides an excellent range of activities and information on developing an appreciation of music to children of all ages. Dallas Symphony provides helpful link to children and teachers to allow adequate levels of music education in the classroom. Through learning of different composers to making their own instruments and composing their own music, children can develop a love of music and take a sense of pride in developing their own music talents. Experiences in music education can enhance childrenÕs lives for years to com.
National Geographic Kids
www.nationalgeographic.com/kids
Reviewed by Elizabeth Vallejo
Email: ervall01@morehead-st.edu
National Geographic for kids presents a site where children can explore and learn about topics that face our universe. This website composes articles, games, contests, and links for parents and teachers on informing children of the world around them. Also included in this site are e-newsletters, which can link National Geographic classrooms around the world that provides suggestions for lesson plans, activities, and other National Geographic content. This site also provides information on how schools can receive the National Geographic non-fiction literacy programs from ages Pre-K and up.
Through theme-set based instruction for preschool to grade specific map skills for ages up to the eighth grade this site provides excellent examples of their commitment in education for all children. Families have access to helpful homework links that can allow the child to explore and comprehend research from articles to picking out topics for reports and presentations. Whether it is articles, games, contests, or curriculum fro teachers, National Geographic provides a variety of materials for successful learning about our universe that can be benefited in and out of the classroom for future generations.
Kinderart
Reviewed by Teresa Williams
Email: tree03renay@yahoo.com
Here is where you can find art lesson plans for K-12. It can be used by teachers, parents, homeschoolers and kids. Kinderart features kid's gallery, art trivia, and teacher exchange and art supply recipes. Included in this are techniques and also plans and examples of the finished art after you have gone through the lesson plan with the kids. It also breaks the lesson plans down to where kids can even understand how and what to do to accomplish their master works of their own art work. It also has a store that you can get art supplies and art appreciation symbols for example buttons that say I Love Art on them.
I picked this site because it caught my eye with all of the different art types that you can teach like art history, drawing, and painting. There are a lot more plans that you can choose from but when you choose a subject it takes you straight to the project and the lesson plans on how to do the project. It also will show you what the project will look like when you and your child are finished.
Ancient Africa
http://members.aol.com/TWard64340/Africa.htm
Reviewed by Teresa Williams
Email: Tree03renay@yahoo.com
Here is where you can take a lesson plan of arts and help teach African history. By this you can give a little background on history and have lessons on history and then at the end of the day or week let the kids have a fun day to where they can also get a little of African culture into there learning. This is a site to where you can do African art like masks, shields, and Kente Placemats. This gives the child an opportunity to look into the African heritages and art work.
I picked this website because you can teach a little history and also culture of the subject at the same time. It gives the child to have a more broaden aspect of knowledge of the culture and helps them to be creative show that they can also do the same art that the Africans do.
Incredible Art Lessons
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/elem/elemlessons.html
Reviewed by Teresa Williams
Email: Tree03renay@yahoo.com
Here is where you can pick out of about 50 lesson plans of art. The lesson plans consist of paper, ceramics, wire, and many more fun and interesting ways that you can teach art to kids to help them learn shapes, colors, and also it is just fun for kids to do. You can teach the child what the picture and colors also the shape of the pictures how it relates to the ancient artists. Also how the colors represent how you can mix the colors and you get this color. Just not only give them a project to do but what can the student learn from the picture and how the picture is textured and how it is drawn.
I picked this website because it just does not give you lesson plans on how to accomplish the project but also how you can teach the history and the aspects of the art itself. It is also not just for elementary but for all grades and it can be useful to use to get art across to young kids but also adults.
EDUC 222-2 Web Reviews
Sanford Adventures
http://www.sanford-adventures.com/create/create.html
Reviewed by Laura Calhoon
Email: ljcalh01@morehead-st.edu
Here teachers and students can find great in-depth technique demonstrations in a large range from drawing techniques to color techniques. This site also offers a vast amount of hands-on activities for you to try at home or in the classroom, such as architecture: drawing floor plans and portrait: using color symbols for a self portrait. Included in this site are sample activities, art techniques, a section devoted to the study of art, art games, featured artists and examples of their work, and a special section designed to help teachers teach art.
This site is not only useful to teachers, but students as well. The layout is simple and easy to follow and the text is exploding with interesting art techniques and ideas on how to create you next work of art. I like this site because it is ideal for all ages. It can teach beginning students the basics of lines and shapes all the way up to the advanced students with shading techniques.
United States Geological Survey
http://www.usgs.gov/education/
Review by Laura Calhoon
Email: ljcalh01@morehead-st.edu
The United States Geological Survey (usgs) provides a detailed learning system dedicated to the K-12 education range as well as teachers. It is designed to help students explore our world as we know it through land, water, plants, animals, and maps. Included is a section designed for students where they can receive project ideas as well as homework help, a teachers section full of lesson plans, activities, and even paper models for classroom projects. They even offer an explorers section which presents research tools on careers and information on earth hazards. For a bonus, this site also offers hands-on games as well as a place to design your own maps.
In this day and age where our environment is in its greatest need of our help, this site helps to bring environmental awareness to students and teachers of all ages. This site also gets children to learn about the world around them through fun games as well as providing a homework helper to keep interests high. This would be a great asset in any science classroom.
Education 4 Kids
Reviewed by Laura Calhoon
Email: ljcalh01@morehead-st.edu
Education 4 Kids is a site designed to help students from K-12 strengthen their skills in math, social studies, language, and science. Each section has a number of games and drills that students can use in a fun and educational environment. It allows students to learn at their own pace and create a drill in a specific area of each section that they feel they need the most help with. Throughout each drill, this site provides immediate confirmation of the students answer and gives feedback to whether the answer was correct or not. If the answer was not correct, it shows the student the correct response so they can go back and see where they made their error.
By giving feedback at all times and recording the students answer as well as showing the correct answer I think this site would be useful for any teacher especially in the field of mathematics. Some of the games and drills have a timer on them so the student can keep track of their own progress as they play the games. Both fun and informative I think this could become a classroom favorite.
Reviewed by Mandy Harmon
Email: mandyk_22@yahoo.com
This website provides a variety of ways to learn and teach different subjects such as math, reading, writing, spelling, and much more. It also provides activities for each subject for one to give their students to practice. It provides extras for teachers to use such as assignment sheets, awards, flashcards, bookmarks, calendars, etc. New material is added on a continual basis.
I feel this is a very useful website with a variety of tools for one to use when trying to educate someone. It is very accurate and up to date. I chose this website because I am thinking about going into the teaching field. I feel it would be helpful and save me a lot of time. It offers a variety of ideas and teaching methods that a teacher could use, especially for beginners.
Reviewed by Mandy Harmon
Email: mandyk_22@yahoo.com
This website offers a variety of useful information on medical diseases, conditions, and health topics. It allows you the viewer to ask questions on any topic dealing with health issues. It contains up to date news on cures, ways to help fight certain diseases, and things one should stay away from or things that donÕt necessarily work.
I feel this website is accurate and up to date. It is a URAC accredited health website and a Health on the Net Foundation. I chose this website because I find health to be very important. It is also something that everyone should keep check on. I thought it would be very useful to people who are afraid to go to doctors, or just simply donÕt like going. One is able to type in their symptoms and it tells you things it could ÒpossiblyÓ be. Although everyone must keep in mind that they are not able to make a diagnosis on their own, they should still go see a doctor if something is wrong or bothering them.
Reviewed by Mandy Harmon
Email: mandyk_22@yahoo.com
ÒNo TobaccoÓ presents different methods of teaching people to say no to tobacco. It offers educational videos, motivational talks, tips on how to quit, and much more. It is targeted to teach individuals the importance of not smoking and the dangers it causes.
I feel this website is a great website for people to view and very helpful. Smoking causes so many diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease, and emphysema. Not only does this website target youth, it also targets adults. This is an accurate and valuable website that is joined by the Foundation of a Smoke Free America that I feel is very educational. An individualÕs health is vital.
Discovery School
Reviewed by Amber Hillerman
Email: alhill01@morehead-st.edu
The Discovery School website provides fresh ideas to enhance classroom learning. There are many educational links on the homepage for parents, teachers and students. One educational feature, the Weekly Study Starter, would be a good way to start any class period. The Curriculum Center link provides activities, worksheets, puzzles, and quizzes to use in the classroom. There is also a Clip Art Gallery, which allows you to choose from hundreds of clip art pieces and animations. Other useful links are TodayÕs Featured Lesson Plan, Human Body Health, and TeacherÕs Store.
My favorite feature is the Lesson Plans Library. It allows you to choose a detailed lesson plan for a desired grade level and subject at no expense. The lesson plan is right there for you! It gives the objectives, materials, procedures, evaluation rubric, vocabulary terms associated with the lesson, and a link to academic standards. Pretty cool, huh?
History Channel
Reviewed by: Amber Hillerman
Email: alhill01@morehead-st.edu
The History Channel website is a cornerstone for history educators and students. This website provides the This Day in History link, which would be practical for starting the day in a history class. Another useful link is Classroom Features. This link provides scholarship challenges, which are available to history students, and a History Topic Search that allows teachers to choose the historical era in which they want to teach. Another helpful link is Classroom Study Guides, where educators can derive teacher manuals from. The Classroom Calendar is especially helpful in suggesting what should be taught each month considering the occurrence in history.
If you are a history teacher, this is the site for you! It hosts so many useful features that you can implement in your classroom. My favorite link is Feature Exhibits, where you can play the Past Master game and test your History I.Q. Another cool feature is the History Greetings link where you can create greeting cards that implement a certain day in history. Check it out!
Education World
Reviewed by: Amber Hillerman
Email: alhill01@morehead-st.edu
Education World is the educatorÕs best friend. The Lesson Planning link contains activities, crafts, projects, grammar lessons, puzzles, math problems, worksheets and more. The Professional Development link gives classroom management tips and strategies of the week. If youÕre a computer nut, youÕll especially enjoy the Technology Integration link. It includes technology tips, lessons, sites, and other activities. This site also provides financial tips, fundraising ideas, teacher tools, templates, parent involvement strategies, and a reference library. You can choose any subject and grade level for your desired lesson plan. Try it today!
You have got to check out this cool site, primarily for educators. There are so many featured links that can be beneficially used for the classroom. Many proud sponsors of the website include Target, Hewlett-Packard, Walden University, Ashford University, Kaplan University, George Washington University, and more, so you can be sure that it is credible. YouÕll love it!
BioKIDS Critter Catalog
http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/index.html
Reviewed by Jessica Legg
Email JessicaNicole04@excite.com
In this very helpful website BioKIDS present the students with a Òcritter catalogÓ that consists of nine extensive groups of animals ranging from birds to insects. When you click on the group of animals that you want to investigate it gives you very many different types of that animal, different breeds and information about each. This website also identifies some important scientific terms that would be suitable for elementary age children. The website shows pictures and the sounds of the animals so that children would be able to learn more about the animal instead of just words, children are able to learn about the animals more in depth.
All children are curious about the animals that surround them and want to know more about what they are. This website is like an online zoo but it goes a step further because it even shows information about insects. Children will love the feature that allows them to hear the sounds these animals make.
Raders Chem for kids
Reviewed by Jessica Legg
Email JessicaNicole04@excite.com
RaderÕs chem for kids shows the very basics of chemistry allowing them to teach themselves on a variety of topics involving chemistry such as matter, atoms, elements, reactions and biochemistry. This website gives a broad definition of these topics so that children of elementary age will be able to fully grasp and absorb this information without it being too difficult for them to understand. In chem for kids children can read in depth about each topic and move at their own pace during the ÒtourÓ of chemistry. Students can pick which area they want to start on and learn about the ones that interest them the most.
In chem. for kids students can teach themselves at their own pace by choosing when they move on the stop of the chemistry tour. Students will love how the information is presented because it allows them to choose how much they learn about the different chemistry topics. Children will feel independent because they taught themselves.
Kids Health
http://kidshealth.org/kid/index.jsp
Reviewed by Jessica Legg
Email JessicaNicole04@excite.com
Kids Health is a great website to explain to children a variety of things they may be or will be going through. The website gives children information on topics ranging from dealing with the death of a pet, a parents divorce, puberty, bullies at school, nightmares and homesickness. Included in this website are healthy recipes for children to do either with their families or even as an activity with their class and teachers. There are games on the website that allow children to learn about the special things they are going though in a fun and interesting way. Health topics are explained to children in a way they are able to understand
Children will enjoy learning about what is going on in their lives and with their bodies with this interactive and kid-friendly explanation website. Child hood, puberty, family and school problems can be very hard to address, this library is a great way to teach children that there is an explanation for what is going on and it is perfectly normal and happens to other children too.
Discovery School
http://www.school.discovery.com
Reviewed by Brittany Roark
Email: cola4soda@yahoo.com
Discovery School does a fantastic job with its web page. Easy to move about, and is an awesome website for Teachers to get lesson plans on any subject, to get brain busters, find educational information on the TV and more. It also includes a puzzle maker to help Teachers and Students make easy to difficult puzzles. The website also offers another link to go to Kathy SchrockÕs Guide for Educators which is also sponsored by Discovery School. The page also contains a Curriculum Center, Clip Art Gallery, Science Fair Central, Homework Helpers, and much, much more.
Exploring the wild, and math all at the same time what elementary school teacher wouldnÕt want to do that. I choose this site because it is the one of easiest to get around. It offers cool geological tour of different places that something is happening, for example right now it has a featured ÒExplore the active geological place of Yellow Stone National Park.Ó Could you imagine how interested the children will be when they see this!!
Can Teach
Reviewed By Brittany Roark
Email: cola4soda@yahoo.com
Can Teach is an interesting website for Elementary School Teachers. Can Teach offers lesson plans in every subject including Math, English, Fine Arts, Technology Education and much more. Can teach also offers educational songs about special days of the year and seasonal songs. There is also a part were you as a Teacher can learn how to create a club and activities that you can do. Can learn also offers games that teachers can incorporate into the classroom; one game was called Who Am I? This is where the students act like a certain person or time period and the students have to guess what subject.
I like Can Teach because it brings some interesting games, and songs that usually no one has heard of. It also gives teachers ideas for after school clubs and activities. It is important for students to be interactive with each other. Can Teach gives lesson plans that look like the students would be really interested in, so if you want some easy ideas for songs or something else visit Can Teach.
Education World
www.educationworld.com/projects/
Reviewed By Brittany Roark
Email: cola4soda@yahoo.com
Education World offers many interesting and in depth projects. I believe that most of the projects can be incorporated into different grade levels. Even though most of the activities are articles for educators, this site helps with some lesson planning and also has great ideas. One idea is a Math Trail in which the students go about their community and make up real world application problems and have their classmates figure out the problems. There are different content areas like Math, Science, History and much more. Education World offers lesson plans for different ideas, one was Lessons For Frosty Days and it gave me five lesson plans for this idea only.
I like Education World because it offers lesson plans with creativity. One idea I read about was when studying somewhere were the students have never been, turn the room into that place which will make learning a little more fun Education World example was a Trip to Paris France.
Science Direct
Reviewed by Nicholas Rudd
Email: nxrudd01@morheadstate.edu
Science Direct has one of the largest electronic collections of science, technology and medicine full text and bibliographic information. The website also allows for a search of published scientific articles in a wide variety of scientific fields as well as general topic searches for scientific terms. Many of the journals are backlogged allowing research to stem back to the first publication. Registration is free and allows for searches to be saved as well as optional emails on subject areas of interest to the user.
If you have students doing any sort of science related research or science related papers, this is an excellent website. ItÕs quite simple to navigate and has such a wide range of information about most scientific related topics that it not only answers questions but sparks new interests as well.
The Math Forum
Reviewed by Nicholas Rudd
Email: nxrudd01@moreheadstate.edu
The Math ForumÕs mission is to provide resources, materials, activities, person-to-person interactions, and educational products and services that enrich and support teaching and learning in an increasingly technological world. They offer online help of math problems for students, as well as online math projects with varying difficulties for grades 3 – 12. The site also has in-depth reviews of mathematical instructional material with authorÕs statements and reader reviews. These also offer reviews from users as well as discussion groups. The site is free however registration is required to participate in the forums and leave personal reviews of products.
Mathematics is often seen as one of the most difficult and challenging of the subjects. Math Forum provides excellent help for students as well as ideas for teachers to make learning math easier. The website is easy to use and provides much useful information to students of many grade, and difficulty levels.
Fact Monster
Reviewed by Nicholas Rudd
Email: nxrudd01@moreheadstate.edu
Fact Monster promotes itself as an online almanac, dictionary, encyclopedia, and homework helper. Within the site it contains all of these features geared toward children. A variety of topics can be researched varying from places to animals to events in history. Its main page contains links to various subjects as well as educational oriented games, analogy of the day and famous peopleÕs birthdays. It also contains a section for improving skills such as writing, listening, and even studying. A commonly asked question section in homework help allows for quick finding of common information in their respective subjects.
Fact Monster is an excellent tool for young students. It contains a plethora of tools and subjects to help them along with whatever homework assignment they may have. Fact Monster also has educational games which can be played without having an assignment and can further students questioning and learning. The daily updated features provide the site with something different on a daily basis and could keep kids coming back.
Lesson Plans 4 Teachers
http://www.lessonplans4teachers.com/
Reviewed by Michelle Tanner
Email: cmtann01@morehead-st.edu
This website is an excellent source if you are stuck on a lesson and need a quick lesson plan. This site consists of numerous different subjects that have available lesson plans. There is a spot on here where you can just have help making lesson plans or there are actual already prepared lesson plans available to teachers at no charge. You can choose this easily by choosing the subject area that you need the lesson for and you can also choose the grade and age level of the students that will be completing the lesson. The lessons that are contained in this site are both entertaining and educational for both the teacher and the student.
I really liked this site because my teaching component is in Social Studies. It is extremely difficult to find decent and enjoyable lesson plans that students will appreciate. Face it, children donÕt really care for history or geography. The different lessons that they have on the site are really neat. I try to look for lesson plans that would grab my attention if I were a student in my class. These do the trick!
States and Capitals
Reviewed by Michelle Tanner
Email: cmtann01@morehead0st.edu
This is a great website for those social studies teachers out there. If you teach in an early elementary setting and your focus is on the states and capitals then this is all that you need to get the importance of different states across to your students. On the website there is a list of all the states. When you click on the link to the different states piles and piles of information on each state come up. There are also worksheets that are available for print if you would like to have your students complete those.
I will definitely use this when I am a teacher. These little fun facts are great. They will make great quick quiz questions for extra credit questions for my students. The worksheets are a provided on the website is great. I plan to have my students go on a scavenger hunt of the website. This would be great practice for learning how to use a website.
The Frugal Shopper
http://www.thefrugalshopper.com/teacher.shtml
Reviewed by Michelle Tanner
Email: cmtann01@morehead-st.edu
WOW!!! My goodness, what a site. When you first look at it you think that this site is a waster of perfectly good internet space. Not hardly. Since it is so hard to find materials and find the funds to purchase these. This site contains freebies of little trials kits that can be used to enhance a childÕs education. Also on the website are free printables. IÕm sorry but no teacher can have too many printables. There are also special offers such as coupons and such to help better your chance of getting the teaching resources that are needed for your classroom. The printables available are really good. These are good worksheets for students to do weather for learning or for just passing time.
I really think that I am going to use this site when I get into the classroom. There are so many printables available that will make excellent worksheets for my students to complete. They are both fun and educational which I can really appreciate as a teacher since it is so difficult to find worksheets that students will enjoy doing!
marcopolo
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/
Reviewed by Michael Wagner
MarcoPolo: Internet Content for the Classroom is a nonprofit consortium of premier national and international education organizations and the MCI Foundation dedicated to providing the highest quality Internet content and professional development to teachers and students throughout the United States. First launched in 1997 as a collection of standards-based, discipline-specific educational Web sites for K-12 teachers, MarcoPolo features seven content Web sites with lesson plans, student interactive content, downloadable worksheets, links to panel-reviewed Web sites and additional resources created by the nation's leading education organizations. It is a great place to find information to help you out in the classroom.
I first found out about macropolo in a regional teacher technology conference. I have used this site many times to either get ideas about lesson plans or actually used one from the site. There is a Kentucky specific marcopolo site that focuses on KentuckyÕs core content and program of studies.
Disney Online
http://disney.go.com/home/today/index.html
Reviewed by Michael Wagner
People of all ages like Disney. This site is broken into many subjects. Inside Disney has corporate information & the story of Walt Disney. Kids Island is where students may learn about cyber safety while playing an interactive game. ThereÕs also a glossary and parentÕs and teacherÕs guides. There are many projects available for students, teachers, and parents alike. The Walt Disney Family Museum has audio and video clips on Walt and education including articles on the art school set up by Walt. ThereÕs also a Disney Dictionary and Guide for Teachers on how to combine education and outright fun.
I choose the Disney site because I believe cyber safety is a major concern in todayÕs world. I have a cyber safety unit geared toward the middle school but I needed some mare material for the elementary level. IÕm not much of a creative person so the craft projects ideas in the family fun area work great in the classroom.
United Streaming
http://www.unitedstreaming.com
Reviewed by Michael Wagner
unitedstreaming is a digital video-on-demand service brought to you by Discovery Education. The site has over 4,000 educational videos available online to either stream of download. The standards-based video-on-demand applications have shown to increase student achievement. The site is not free though united streaming offered each school district one building free access to the videos for one year. The videos cover a wide array of topics. The site allows you to either stream a whole video or it breaks down each video if you only need a clip of it for your lesson. Along with the videos there are backline masters and teacher guides to go along with them.
I use united streaming at least two times a week when teaching. There are some things that a video can explain that I donÕt have the resources to do. Although the site licensees are expensive ($1,000 per K-8 building or $1,500 per high school building) this is actually cheap than purchasing individual videos. I have a username and password that doesnÕt expire until the end of the year if you would like to check it out.
Weasel World
http://www.educationindex.com/education_resources.html
Reviewed by Scott Warner
E-mail: sdwarn01@morehead-st.edu
This site is like a search engine for a bunch of other sites. It is broken down to go to a certain area of study and provides good websites to go to for them. Say if you are a botanist then you will click on the botany link and it will take you to a helpful website for your major. It includes all of these subjects: Agriculture, Anthropology, Archaeology, Architecture/Design, Art, Astronomy, Biology/Life Sciences, Botany, Business, Chemistry, Communications, Computer Science, Conservation, Construction Trades, Economics, Education, Engineering, and so on all the way up to Women's Studies. If you want some good information that deals with your area of study then check out this site.
I like this site because it could help college kids or teachers find information on their field of study. It has a lot of fields and is very easy to use, as long as youÕre computer isnÕt really slow, like mine.
Great Web Sites for Kids
Reviewed by Scott Warner
E-mail: sdwarn01@morehead-st.edu
This site is put on by the American Library Association. It takes kids to edited websites that are appropriate for young viewers. For example—the first link under animals takes you to a site that gives kids a chance to look at information on certain animals. There is even a site that takes you to a zoo where you can view animals through a live webcam. It has thirty eight different links divided up under seven main subjects: Animals, Literature and languages, Science, Art, Math and computers, History and biography, Social studies, and a subject called Look it up.
I would recommend this site to a child in my class because even I was entertained and IÕm twenty. It had a lot of sites to go to and you donÕt have to worry about finding some other vulgar site by accident.
Superkids: Education for the Future
Reviewed by Scott Warner
E-mail: sdwarn01@morehead-st.edu
This site has a ton of information for teachers to use. They have lesson plans, worksheets, games, and news and current events all in one website. The one bad thing is that it has a little too many advertisements but it is understandable because it gives out a lot of information for free. It is fairly easy to browse through and is pretty organized because it has all of the subsections of the website listed on the left-hand column along with all of the links of the subsections listed below them.
I like this website because it really caters to teachers and their classes. If youÕre looking for educational software or a good lesson plan, then check out this site. You should like it.