Reading in the Middle, Junior and Senior High Schools, Fall, 2011

The website that I found that I really liked was http://www.internet4classrooms.com/ it is a huge resource. You can choose your grade level and subject area. Special Education is also an option, something that is very rare for these types of websites. Once you choose your area you are taken to a page that has the common core on it. You pick the area that you wish to be teaching from and you then get a huge list of resources and lessons about how to meet each standard. Most all of the lessons provide further links to websites for the students to use and browse. I was really impressed with the links for high school students since interactive educational sites on their level seems to be a rarity.

The website that I found is scholastic.com. There are tons of resources on here for teachers, parents, kids, administrators and librarians. Under the teacher section of the website, there is so much there for the teacher. There are lesson plans, activities, a planning calendar, strategies, ideas, new teacher support, student activities. There is a filter at the top of the page for different grades, so you can just look at the site for the grades that you are interested in teaching. It not only has English, but it also has math, science, special education, health and safety, social studies. It has a nice variety of subject areas. This website really impressive and had a lot of great resources for teachers.

I found a great educational website called http://www.pbs.org/teachers/. This seems to be a really great resource for teachers and PBS is a very reputable source for these kinds of areas. The site is divided up into grade level and then subject matter tabs and each includes great lessons plans in that subject area. You can follow new developments on the site by reading the blog at the bottom of the home page. Since it is PBS, there are lots of links to educational media like videos as well. This would be a very useful source in my classroom.

An educational website that I found that I thought was pretty cool was http://www.hippocampus.org/. I liked this website because it's mainly geared towards high school subjects, and it provides videos and simplified readings for subject area. There are subjects in English and Spanish which I really like because it makes the website accessible for a wider range of students, and this website would be a great supplement for students who were capable of learning in English, but did better when they heard the subject matter in Spanish. I also like how much information is on this website, and how all the readings have pictures. No matter how old you get, videos and pictures are still awesome ways to learn.

There are literally thousands of resources for teachers and students on http://smithsonianeducation.org/educators/index.html. There are resources for every subject, but most of the focus on the website is on science and history. This is not too much of a surprise considering that it is a website run by the Smithsonian Institute. There is also an area where you can choose your lesson based on educational standards. You can filter lessons by how they line up with state, federal, and common core standards. This is obviously a very valuable tool for teachers. The site includes ideas for lesson plans, field trips, professional development, and way to connect online with students. I would most certainly consider this website “outstanding.”

The educational website that I really liked is www.wonderopolis.com. This website was designed to help students wonder and learn through discovery, imagination, and learning. This website is affiliated with the National Center for Family Literacy. On this website their are different questions that are involved in the daily life of everyone. They are questions that most people wonder about, but never take the time to research and understand. some examples are, Can You See Sound? What Do You Call More Than One Moose? What Does It Mean To Be A Native American? I really like this website because I think it would be a fun tool to incorporate into the classroom. I think there is a lot that can be done with exploring the wonders of children. Wondering can open the door to lots of positive learning experiences.

The website that I found is quizlet.com. I chose this site because of the wealth of information it holds for teachers, students, and parents. Teachers can look for vocabulary and definitions, students can take practice quizzes, and parents can learn ways to help their students study for tests. This site will save me tons of time when I am looking for vocabulary to teach with literature units, making worksheets, and helping students learn how to study. Also, there are foreign language resources and resources for different subjects.

The educational website that I found was pbs.org/teachers. I really liked this website because you could select a grade level and subject area and it would take you to hundreds of different links. You could view lesson plans, see activities, and explore games to play with your class. There is a discussion board where teachers can blog about what they found and how affective certain strategies are. There are also videos that can be shared with a class. I think this is a trustworthy resource because it was created by PBS.

So, I've been using this website for a couple of years now. Random House Publishing company produces MANY wonderful adolescent literature novels which are great to use in the classroom. Its website, http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/index.pperl, is incredible. It lists all of their books and includes many resources that students and teachers can use while reading. It also has a great teacher page which categorizes the grades and suggests appropriate books.

This site rocks. Anyone who is planning to use literature in their classroom should at least pay a visit to it. There are so many resources. Many of the authors even provide their own resources!

The education website that I look at is http://illuminations.nctm.org/ I only look at the math portion of the site, and I found it to be amazing. It have lessons plan, which listed the grades level, standards and if the lesson associate with any online activities. Most of the lesson plans are self-explanatory, it very detailed in the instructional plan, have picture to accompany the lesson, and interactive animated picture, and it give many examples with solution. The website “Set forth a comprehensive and coherent set of learning goals in mathematics for all students from pre K through grade 12”. It listed all grades level and what standards are require for each grades without much searching the site. And again it a lot of example and java to plan to with, and also a section of video reflections for students to watch and have discussion after the lesson are taught.

The website I chose is http://webquest.org/index.php. To use this website, you divide your students into groups and give them a “role” or specific area to research. As the teacher you can either search for an already made webquest or make one of your own for your class. First you make an introduction where you describe what you want your students to do for the webquest and the purpose of the activity. You then provide your students with a list of what they need to do to complete the activity and how to accomplish that. Usually, you provide a list of web links for them to follow to complete the assignment. Webquests are so great for students because it provides a practical and safe way for students to get information, have discussion, debate issues, be involved in role play situations, and just engage in what they are learning.

The website that I think is really helpful in the classroom is quizlet.com. My internship teacher used this in her classroom to give quizzes, especially vocabulary quizzes. And the students really liked it also because it gave them games and way to study for the quizzes. It is also really teacher friendly and student friendly. I think that I will use this in my classroom because of all of the resources and things that are already on it. And also because of the things that I can add to it.

The website that I found is called teachertube.com. This site is very similar to youtube, but it is regulated more tightly. Many schools also have their Internet set up to where students and teachers are not able to access youtube. However, teachertube, allows teachers to show video clips or upload videos online for the class to view. The site is very user friendly and has lots of options for video clips. I would love to have my class make videos for projects and this would be a simple way to upload, store, and turn in the students' work.

For my website, I looked at the Discovery Channel's teacher dedicated website www.discoveryeducation.com. This website includes a wide variety of free teacher resources for all grades. While some things are more focused on the sciences, there are still many lesson plans, work sheets, brain boosters, high quality artwork and photographs, and other resources for teachers. Also, the website provides information for professional development and educator networks. Finally, the Discovery website provides ways to enter many different classroom challenges and contests. Some of the prizes and free resources for the classroom through these challenges are really very nice. For example, on challenge based on Science provides free resources that deal with Artificial Intelligence, Communications, Computers, Nanotechnology, and robotics. This is a very large website and it seems that there are resources for nearly every situation contained in it.

I found a website called educationworld.com. It has a lot of things going on on it, there are sections for lesson plans, professional development and other tools for the classroom. I haven't explored it in great depth, but what I've found so far seems promising.

The website that I really enjoy using in the classroom is http://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp. I've used it in my internship before as a mini lesson to introduce communications during the Civil War, especially newspapers.

I like this website because it has multiple uses. The site creates an outlet for students to write with a more journalistic approach. Students input an article and the generator creates a template for a newspaper.

I really like http://libcat.bucknell.edu/genres/mystery-fiction.html for my unit plan.

It offers many links to activities that revolve around the theme of mystery. It lists authors, books, films, characters, and all sorts of amazing resources! There are other categories too - not just mystery. Check it out!