Internet for Educators
Part 3 (Teacher Resources)
prepared by
Pat Boyd
Roseburg Public Schools
Teacher Resources
A second major way to use the Internet in your classroom is as a tool to locate resources that will enable you to be a more effective teacher. One obvious type of resource would be lesson plans or activities to use with your students. The Internet can also be a valuable professional development tool by providing a highly convenient method to research general educational issues of all types.
This section provides links to an extensive collection of activities and lessons. While some of the lessons and activities are traditional, many are designed to be implemented using internet based resources. The term "WebQuest" is sometimes used for an inquiry-oriented activity that integrates the use of internet resources. You can learn more about the concept of WebQuests and how to develop your own at http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html .
SCIENCE:Elementary
- School Gardens at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/kindergarden/kinder.htm offers educational activities relating to raising a school garden.
- Fledgling Corner at http://birding.about.com/msubmenu13.htm offers educational activities relating to birds.
- Air Travelers at http://www.omsi.edu/sln/air/ offers activities on buoancy, properties of gases and the technology involved in hot air ballooning.
- In Classifying Galaxies at http://www.smv.org/hastings/galaxy.htm , students use the classification system of Edwin Hubble to assign galaxies to different groups. This lesson is designed for grades 5 - 9.
Secondary
- Which Disease? at http://www.bham.wednet.edu/online/disease/disease1.htm is a student research activity that puts the learner in a problem solving role. The activity was designed for 7th grade students.
- Space Available at http://octopus.gma.org/surfing/space.html offers numerous lesson plans and activities in environmental science.
- The Biology Project -- University of Arizona at http://www.biology.arizona.edu/ is an excellent source of online tutorials, problem sets and activities for Biology.
- Hello Dolly: A WebQuest on Cloning at http://powayusd.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/dolly/default.htm requires students to ask good questions, access current information, analyze the validity of sources, apply new knowledge to evaluate a current controversy, and reach consensus with peers.
- In BioDesigns, Incorporated at http://www.itdc.sbcss.k12.ca.us/curriculum/biodesigns.html , student teams research and invent a new genetically engineered product. Team members include a geneticist, a biologist, a lawyer and an ethicist.
- Netfrog at http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/frog , your Biology students can practice dissecting a frog online.
K-12
- Exploratorium Science Snacks at http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/snackintro.html contains a large number of science activities appropriate for grades 6 - 12.
- Internet Projects at http://www.ced.appstate.edu/whs/goals2000/projects/websites.htm provides a collection of Math and Science activities developed by teachers participating in a Math/Science Institute at Appalachia State University.
- The Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative provides a collection of Math and Science resources at http://www.arsinet.org/rc/
- The Math-Science Learning Coalition at http://www.eecs.umich.edu/mathscience/sitemap.html provides lots of lesson plans and resources in a variety of science areas.
MATH:
Elementary
- In Let’s Have a Field Day! at http://www.itdc.sbcss.k12.ca.us/curriculum/fieldday.html , sixth grade students are asked to plan a field day for their class.
- PlaneMath at http://www.planemath.com/ contains math lessons for grades 4-7 that involve planes and flying.
- Math Word Problems for Children at http://www.mathstories.com/ is a collection of math word problems designed to help improve math problem solving skills.
Secondary
- Project SkyMath at http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/staff/blynds/Skymath.html is a middle school mathematics unit that incorporates acquiring and using current environmental and weather data.
K-12
Some excellent sites for mathematics include:
- The Math Forum at http://forum.Swarthmore.edu
- Internet Sites for Math Teachers at http://people.clarityconnect.com/webpages/terri/sites.html
- The New Math Teacher's Homepage at http://people.clarityconnect.com/webpages/terri/terri.html
- The Ultimate Puzzle Site at http://www.dse.nl/puzzle/index_us.html
- Math Goodies at http://www.mathgoodies.com
Try these two great sites for more resources for both Math and Science:
- Science and Mathematics Consortium for Northwest Schools at http://www.col-ed.org/smcnws
- The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse at http://www.enc.org/classroom/index.htm
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Secondary
- The Biography Maker at http://www.bham.wednet.edu/bio/biomaker.htm provides online lessons on writing a biography.
K-12
- CyberGuides at http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cyberguide.html offer supplementary units of instruction on core works of literature.
- KidNews at http://www.kidnews.com is like a newswire service for kids. Kids can use stories posted there for their own school’s newspaper as well as post their stories to the newswire.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Elementary
- Abraham Lincoln at http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/lincoln/index.html provides activities and resources related to Abe.
K-12
- Decisions, Decisions Online at http://www.tomsnyder.com/ddonline allows students to role play legislators faced with a critical situation.
HEALTH AND PE:
Elementary
- Games Kids Play at http://www.corpcomm.net/~gnieboer/gamehome.htm offers the rules to all the games that you may have played as a child.
- In The Real Scoop on Tobacco at http://www.itdc.sbcss.k12.ca.us/curriculum/tobacco.html , students attempt to help a fictitious peer quit smoking. This activity is designed for grades 5 - 9.
Secondary
- In Personal Trainer at http://www.itdc.sbcss.k12.ca.us/curriculum/personaltrainer.html , students assume the role of personal trainers and must develop customized diet and exercise portfolios for clients.
ARTS:
K-12
- @rt room at http://www.arts.ufl.edu/art/rt_room/@rtroom_home.html provides many guides for art activities.
- Art for Sale at http://www.itdc.sbcss.k12.ca.us/curriculum/artforsale.html offers students the opportunity to research the art of the Northwest Coast natives to learn about their culture and their art. It also includes strategies in marketing and presentation.
- The Children’s Art Gallery at http://redfrog.norconnect.no/~cag/ provides students with a place to display their art work on the Internet.
- ArtsEdNet at http://www.artsednet.getty.edu/ArtsEdNet/Resources/index.html offers lessons and other resources in the Arts.
- START at http://www.open.k12.or.us/start/ is another excellent resource for art lessons and activities.
INFORMATION LITERACY / LIBRARY:
K-12
- The Big Six at http://www.big6.com/ offers an online tutorial on information problem solving skills as well as some sample lesson plans.
- The Children’s Literature Web Guide at http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html is a great resource for teachers and librarians.
- The Primary Source Network at http://www.primarysources.org provides students with real data from which to construct new knowledge.
The following are also great sites for librarians:
- Library Land at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/LibraryLand/
- The Librarian's Index to the Internet at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/InternetIndex/
- The Librarian's Information Online Network at http://www.libertynet.org/lion/
- LibrarySpot at http://www.libraryspot.com/
- The Oregon Educational Media Association at http://www.teleport.com/~oema/
VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL:
Secondary
- Energy Conservation Enhancement Project at http://ecep.usl.edu/ecep/ecep.htm offers 14 modules containing lessons in areas such as automotive technology, carpentry, drafting and design, construction, and more.
- School to Careers at http://www.swep.com/schooltocareers/index.html offers curriculum guide models based on career clusters.
- Vocational Education Resources at http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~sorg/vocation.html is the most comprehensive single site in this field.
COUNSELING
Secondary
- Think College Early at http://www.ed.gov/thinkcollege/early/tce_home.htm is designed to help middle school students to begin preparing for college.
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE:
K-12
- The Internet TESL Journal at http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/ is a comprehensive site for teachers of English as a second language.
MUSIC:
Secondary
- WholeNote - The On-Line Guitar Community at http://itp.nyu.edu/wholenote/ offers guitar lessons as well as tools to help build your own lessons.
K-12
- ChoralNet at http://www.choralnet.org/ is a useful website for choir directors.
TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION:
K-12
Some examples of how teachers are integrating technology into their lessons are provided at the following sites:
- Classrooms@Work at http://www.netc.org/classrooms@work
- Oregon Content Standards and Technology at http://otn.uoregon.edu/eisenhower/
- Intel ACE Lesson Plans at http://www.eduniverse.com/edu/lessonp.asp
For state-wide technology guidelines take a look at OETC's home page at http://www.oetc.org . By the way, you can find the latest OETC price lists there as well. Note that in order to buy at these prices, your district must be a member of OETC.
ALL SUBJECTS:
K-12
- Encarta Lesson Collection at http://encarta.msn.com/schoolhouse/lessons/default.asp is a collection of lessons designed by teachers that use MicroSoft Encarta.
The following sites are particularly comprehensive:
- Web Site’s and Resources for Educators at http://www.csun.edu/~vceed009
- Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators at http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/
- The Blue Web’n Applications Library at http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/
- Classroom Connect's A+ Web Sites at http://www.connectedteacher.com/library/search.asp
Professional Development:
Beyond lesson plans and activities, teachers are interested in keeping informed on general education issues such as the many components of school reform and various instructional strategies. Here are a few good resources in this area.
Technical Support:
Another type of resource available on the Internet for teachers is technical support sites. Here are a few: