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BBC Schools Online -- OVERALL: A+
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If you have a sense of adventure, then you'll enjoy this great collection of sites created as a part the British Broadcasting Company's Education section. BBC Schools Online site hosts 27 different educational Web sites for K-12 students, teachers, and parents. Most of those sites have highly interactive content, first-rate graphics, and clear learning objectives. Teachers can find something for every grade level. One of my personal favorites is Spywatch, a takeoff on a BBC television program that takes a group of kids, sent to the country during the 1942 bombing of London, on a search for spys. This site, for second and third graders, engages kids in literacy activities that are so fun they won't even know they're learning. Other great sites include Medicine through the Ages -- a high school science history site, the Little Animals Activity Center for pre-K-3 students, and tons more! Beware, most of the sites are the kind that will make your students want to stay in for recess. Bookmark it!
GRADE LEVEL: Pre-K-12
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Brain Pop -- OVERALL: A+
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Want to add a little pizzazz to your health and science classes or make homework more fun? Brain Pop is a fun interactive site that teaches about health and science through on-line movies, quizzes, and other activities. The site features an impressive list of movies on the functions of our body's 12 systems and other science topics. In these short movies, Tim (a serious young man) explains a science topic while his sidekick, Moby (a goofy robot), provides comic relief. While waiting for the movies to load, users may take quizzes on the selected subject. Each section also has additional activities related to the selected subject to explore. Users who register are able to accumulate points for going through the various activities and tasks; when they collect enough points, the registered users become eligible to win prizes.
GRADE LEVEL: 2-8
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Champion Middle School Partnership -- OVERALL: A+
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Champion Middle School Partnership is an inspiring site designed for middle-school educators. It includes a variety of helpful resources, including lesson plans, forums, articles, team projects, and more! The goal of the site is to provide middle-school educators with tools to make positive change within their school communities. Included are a high quality list of relevant Internet resources and a large body of original content that is impressive in its depth. The Teachers section includes pages for each area of the curriculum, forums, and more. The Administrators section has a some excellent resources designed to help breath new life into middle schools across the nation. Don't forget to bookmark this one! The site was recently redesigned, and new material is posted regularly, so keep checking back to see what's happening.
GRADE LEVEL: 6-9
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Decisions, Decisions Online -- OVERALL: A+
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Bring contemporary issues alive in your classroom with the new Internet version of the Decisions, Decisions series. This is the kind of site that will stimulate discussions that start inside your classroom and continue outside in the hallways as students role-play legislators faced with critical decisions. The set of downloadable movies is a key aspect of this curriculum. The films are set up to make the students feel as though they are participating in a video conference call and that they are senators hearing arguments for and against the current topic. The films allow students to have an emotional connection to the facts, and they provide understanding about the possible consequences of their decisions. Users must register (free) to have access to vote on the topics. Teachers should be sure to read through the Teacher Instructions section for valuable tips for using Decisions, Decisions in the classroom. This site is an excellent resource for debate, social studies, government, and civics classes.
GRADE LEVEL: 5-10
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Energy In The Air: Sounds From The Orchestra -- OVERALL: A+
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Energy In The Air: Sounds From The Orchestra is a platinum award winner in the 1999 ThinkQuest Junior competition and a phenomenal site! An excellent resource for both primary- and middle-school music education, the site includes information on each of the various instruments in the orchestra plus downloadable music clips and quizzes. Also included is a brief description of sound waves and examples of the types of waves different orchestral instruments produce. To make a good site even better, the Activity Center gives directions for making a large collection of musical instruments from ordinary household items.
GRADE LEVEL: 2-8
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Family Village -- OVERALL: A+
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Family Village is a great guide to Internet Resources for people with disabilities and their families, friends, teachers, and caregivers. The Library section contains a huge listing of resources related to general issues and specific disabilities. The School section lists lots of valuable links about assistive technology, disability awareness, IEP guidelines, and more. Check out the Hospital section for resources on health care, transportation, nutrition, etc. That's just the beginning! Family Village also contains a Coffee Shop with chat rooms and discussion lists, a great section on Recreation and Leisure, a Community Center with family specific resources, and other important resources to help make life better for individuals with disabilities. Special education teachers and parents of children with disablities should bookmark this exceptionally helpful site!
GRADE LEVEL: Parents & Professionals
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Glacier -- OVERALL: A+
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Have you ever wanted to be involved in a scientific field study? Do you like cold weather? Well, you may want to participate in the Glacier project. Designed to promote awareness of Antarctic and Arctic environmental science in K-12 classrooms, Glacier provides first-class online resources. It also sponsors the Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic (TEA) program that sends lucky teachers into the field to study the remote environments and report back to their students and colleagues. Teachers will appreciate the list of teaching modules created by former TEA teachers that have returned to their classrooms. Look for them in the Teachers Experiencing Antarctica section. Other sections include Introduction, Expedition, Weather, Ocean, and Ice. Don't miss the soon to be launched Global Connections section! Be informed that you could get hooked on this one and find yourself in Antarctica next year!
GRADE LEVEL: 5-12
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Highwired National Edition -- OVERALL: A+
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The quality of student writing on this site is impressive. The articles, written by high-school students from more than 1,500 schools in 24 countries and all 50 states, are updated every few days. The editors look not only for outstanding writing but also for unique perspectives on current events. A wide range of writing styles is represented, each with its own brilliance. This is an excellent resource for current-events lessons, especially at the middle-school level. Teachers should definitely look into the special features offered on this site for getting classes (all subjects), clubs, activities, or school newspapers on the Net. Just click on the Highwired.com icon in the top left corner of most pages. The submission process is painless for Internet beginners and requires no HTML skills. Highwired National Edition is an excellent showcase for student writing and a helpful classroom resource.
GRADE LEVEL: 7-12
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The Journey North -- OVERALL: A+
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The Journey North is an outstanding collaborative Internet project that involves classrooms in the study of wildlife migration and the changes to the environment as spring moves north across Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A smaller sister site, (Fall's) Journey South, prepares students for the (Spring’s) Journey North. The project will track the migratory patterns of a dozen species. Students share their own field observations and are linked with scientists who provide their expertise directly to the classroom. Several migrations are tracked by satellite telemetry, providing live coverage of individual animals as they migrate. As the spring season sweeps across the hemisphere, students note changes in daylight, temperatures, and all living things as the food chain comes back to life. A database of information is gathered as students report their data and sightings of migratory creatures. Students can access archived data from past years to examine long-term patterns and possible causes for shifts in those patterns. Classes interested in the spring's Journey North are encouraged to participate in the Fall's Journey South activities, such as planting tulips for spring observations and collaborating with classrooms in Mexico about the migrations of monarch butterflies. Don't miss this one!
GRADE LEVEL: K-12
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MathMol K-12 Activity Page -- OVERALL: A+
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MathMol is a fascinating starting point for K-12 students and teachers interested in the field of molecular modeling and its application to mathematics. This high-tech site includes a set of hypermedia textbooks for grades 3-12, image libraries of both 3-D geometric and molecular structures, plus tutorials and reviews. This site is being developed by the NYU/ACF Scientific Visualization Laboratory to help inspire young people to move toward careers in the fast-growing molecular modeling field, and offers high-quality lessons in math as they relate to molecular structures. The textbooks are interactive and test the users' knowledge all along the way. The elementary-level textbook has a set of fairly short units for each grade 3 through 5. The intermediate/high-school textbook is much more extensive and has a large body of materials. Home school families will love the comprehensive nature of these lessons. A truly outstanding set of resources!
GRADE LEVEL: 3-12
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The Mint -- OVERALL: A+
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The Mint is an economics and finance site for youth that teaches through exploration. Students learn "How to Be a Millionaire" by filling out calculation forms that show them how long it will take to earn their million depending on the type of investments they make and how much they save each year. (It's easier than they might think!) They can also play the Real World Credit Card Game or any of several other interactive games and quizzes available on the site. Kids learn about creating a sound financial future for themselves by actually making the decisions they will face as adults. This site gives young people an opportunity to get a feel for how those decisions can affect their futures. Teachers and parents have their own section that includes lesson plans, quizzes, and links to other good finance sites. The Mint is a collaborative effort between the Northwestern Mutual Life Foundation and The National Council on Economic Education.
GRADE LEVEL: 6-12
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National Geographic Society Xpeditions -- OVERALL: A+
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National Geographic has done it again! This is a truly awesome site set up around the U.S. National Geography Standards (USNGS). It includes a description, lesson plans, and family activities for each of the 18 standards. Check out the Xpedition Hall for an amazing adventure in geography that also supports the USNGS. It can be explored graphically, or look for the map on the right and hold your mouse over the Roman numerals to find the six wings that house the main categories of the USNGS. Move out into the wings and explore the nooks and crannies to find the curriculum materials related to the individual standards 1-18. Images appear in a window on the left as you move around. Click on those image maps to get into the curriculum. This is a site to click, click, click away in, to find all the tidbits in each area. The Atlas is also a good place to explore and download maps from all over. The discussion forums are fun and fruitful. Watch out though, you could find yourself staying in with your students during recess to look around this site!
GRADE LEVEL: K-12
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PBS Kids -- OVERALL: A+
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Parents will love PBS Kids! It's full of high-interest, safe sites for children. Kids can return repeatedly and still find new places to explore. The individual sites are based on PBS children's television programs and are full of familiar characters. Targeted at a variety of grade levels, many of the sites are appropriate for a wide range; others, such as Sesame Street (PreK-K) or WayBack (2-6), are intended for a narrower audience. Several of the sites also have navigational help sections to assist parents in guiding their young children around the site. PBS is known for its high-quality education programming, and this Web site maintains the standard. Have fun!
GRADE LEVEL: PreK-6
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PlaneMath -- OVERALL: A+
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PlaneMath teaches mathematics through a set of highly interactive lessons on aeronautics. The site was designed, with assistance from NASA, to encourage students with physical disabilities to consider careers in aeronautics but is useful to all classrooms for its outstanding lessons. TIn fact, teachers using this site may have a hard time getting students to move on to other work. The activities are deeply engaging, encourage high-level thinking skills, and include teacher's guides. Users can virtually research and design airplanes, plot flight courses, pilot helicopters, become air traffic controllers, and plenty more. The list of activities on this site is truly impressive. Teachers, beware; if you spend too much time on this site, you may find yourself wanting to switch to a career in aeronautics!
GRADE LEVEL: 4-7+
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Seussville -- OVERALL: A+
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Visit the Cat in the Hat, the Lorax, Yertle the Turtle, and many other Dr. Seuss favorites here at Seussville! The site is a great place for family Internet fun, offering plenty of activities that will appeal to young children of all ages. Dr. Seuss's timeless rhymes and colorful characters come to life in kooky interactive games that embody the spirit of joyful adventure. Included are printable games and activities that bridge the gap between electronic media and the family refrigerator door. Parents, be sure to let your kids have a turn now!
GRADE LEVEL: PreK-5+
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Stories of the Dreaming -- OVERALL: A+
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Stories of the Dreaming "come from the cultures of indigenous Australians and have been collected from all over Australia." These remarkable stories are available in text, audio, and video formats. An excellent literature and cultural studies site, Stories of the Dreaming will make an impression on students of all ages. The audio and video clips also make this a great site for use in the one-computer classroom and with special needs students. A glossary of terms helps explain the meanings of Aborigine terms used. The stories shared on this site have great significance in Australian Aboriginal culture. Hearing and seeing a story told by the "custodian" of that story is a rare treat. Be sure to read the background information pages so you can share with your students the cultural treasures these stories represent.
GRADE LEVEL: K-12
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Textbook Information Network -- OVERALL: A+
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Are you searching for textbooks but feeling overwhelmed and confused by the process? The Textbook Information Network is a place where you can research and compare the books and products of more than 300 publishers in one easy-to-use location. Just click on the Publishers Directory and you're off! Links are also provided to other vendors of educational products. The site does not endorse any of the publishers or vendors but does highlight certain publishers each week. The site also features chat rooms, a message board, and is linked into two high-quality companion sites: the Teacher Information Network and the Homeschool Haven.
GRADE LEVEL: K-12, Administrators, Professionals, Parents
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The Valley of Shadow: Two Communities in American Civil War -- OVERALL: A+
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The Valley of the Shadow Project looks at two communities, one Northern and one Southern, through the lens of the American Civil War. The project is an extensive archive of sources for the period before, during, and after the Civil War for Augusta County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Those sources include newspapers, letters, diaries, photographs, and maps, plus church, census and military records. The Valley of the Shadow Project is an outstanding opportunity to expose students to historical research with primary sources. Students can explore different dimensions of the Civil War conflict and write their own histories, reconstructing the life stories of women, African Americans, farmers, politicians, soldiers, and families. The site provides a comprehensive set of teaching materials, including lesson plans, for use in 7th- to 12th-grade classrooms and at the college level. The resources available can give students a rare glimpse into the ordinary lives of people and communities on both sides of this historic conflict. This excellent resource is still growing and expanding!
GRADE LEVEL: 7-12+
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The WorldWatcher Project -- OVERALL: A+
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The WorldWatcher Project is an awesome science and geography education site that includes the revolutionary (and downloadable) WorldWatcher scientific visualization environment software that engages students in inquiry-based learning, exploring, creating, and analyzing scientific data. WorldWatcher is a research project into the feasibility of incorporating the cutting-edge scientific visualization environment used by professional scientists as a teaching tool in middle-school and high-school classrooms. This high-quality software is free and can be downloaded at the site. Users can also request CD-ROM versions by e-mail. Data sets will continue to be added to the site to augment the program. An on-line, ten-week global warming curriculum for grades 8 to 10 is also available and includes a rich array of downloadable teaching materials. Workshops are offered over the summer for educators interested in becoming field test teachers. Make sure your science and geography departments know about this one!
GRADE LEVEL: 6-12
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