Parents and Teachers

Especially for Parents and/or Teachers

DiscoverySchool is an amazing site from the folks at the Discovery Channel -- things for kids, teachers, parents. Although there is a lot of opportunity to spend money here, some of the best features are free. Definitely worth a visit.

The 50 States Quarters Program comes to us from the U.S. mint. There are downloadable lesson plan ideas here for grades K through 6 that employ the issuing of 50 different coins that commemorate each state, released in the order in which they joined the Union. Some are more interesting than others, but it's a good idea, and children are always attracted to activities that involve money!

The Digital Classroom is brought to you by the National Archives and Records Administration. Primary documents, images, teaching ideas -- probably a good use of our tax dollars. I found it while investigating barbed wire in terms of its social as well as technological effects.

Bad Wolf Press writes musicals for classes from kindergarten to ninth grade, and their material is really brilliant. They describe it as aimed at "musically timid teachers" but it's really suitable even for those of us who are quite comfortable putting together a musical production with 10-year-olds. The scripts come with a CD of songs that are complete and that are just accompaniment. The running time of most of the plays is 20 - 30 minutes, leaving lots of room for inspired students to add material and actions of their own. Samples of scripts (and even a few complete ones) are available for preview at the site, the costs are very reasonable, and the themes are ones that are common in classrooms -- rainforests, holidays, immigration, weather, Shakespeare, the gold rush, and many more. These folks are worth checking out!

CLN Theme Pages What a treasure trove! This site, part of a larger Canadian effort, contains links to information and lesson plans for K-12 on an amazing list of topics: bubbles, Antarctica, human digestion, pirates, math history, Shakespeare, whales . . . it just goes on and on. Well-organized through an index, you could spend an entire snow day just browsing your favorite topics.

Epistemology and Learning Group at MIT is a thought-provoking site that challenges our assumptions about technology and its role in education.

Education World Curriculum Center has things for teachers, parents, (and kids) on all kinds of subjects with links to many sites you might not find on your own.

Educational Software from Owl & Mouse is a site that has a lot of free software. Some of it is not quite up to a professional level. For example, the Europe map puzzle software is insistent on very precise placement of countries before they are counted as right. The grammar of some of the informational pages is not altogether correct. However, the programs are attractive, quick to download, and come with very clear instructions for installing. Overall, a site worth investigating.

Teaching With Historic Places describes itself like this: "One of Teaching with Historic Places' primary offerings is a series of classroom-ready lesson plans. Created by National Park Service interpreters, preservation professionals, and educators, these lessons use historic sites to examine developments throughout American history and across the country. TwHP lesson plans are designed for middle school students learning history, social studies, geography, and other subjects in the humanities. However, the lessons are easily adaptable from upper elementary through high school, and even for college courses. Each lesson includes maps, readings, and photographs, all of which are accompanied by questions; at the end are activities that pull together the ideas students have just covered, and require them to initiate their own research."

The Coordinated Campaign For Learning Disabilities is a site created by a consortium of six major organizations who seek to educate teachers, parents, and the general public about a wide range of issues that cause children to struggle as learners. Lots of resources and links.

TeacherVision.com could make my life as a teacher a lot easier, if only I could find the time to plumb it fully. Lesson plans, teaching materials, good curriculum links and more are here. There are some things for students, too, but it's mostly a site for teachers and interested parents.

CoreKnowledge is a deep site based on the premise that there is a body of information and skills that we should have, that it can be defined, that it can and should be taught in school, and that a badly-needed element of educational reform is to put "core knowledge" back into the classroom. Whether you agree with that or not, there is a wealth of material here in the form of resources and lesson plans that any teacher should find useful.

Schoolhouse Tech -- These folks make just a few products, but they're available for download free or at low cost, and they are constantly improving and updating the programs. The math-worksheet-generating program is excellent, and there are a lot of options and controls built into it. The language-related program is also excellent. Great for classrooms or for parents who want to help their children keep up their skills over the summer or during long breaks.






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		Especially for Parents and/or Teachers DiscoverySchool is an amazing site from the folks at the Discovery Channel -- things for kids, teachers, parents. Although there is a lot of opportunity to spend money here, some of the best features are free. Definitely worth a visit. The 50 States Quarters Program comes to us from the U.S. mint. There are downloadable lesson plan ideas here for grades K through 6 that employ the issuing of 50 different coins that commemorate each state, released in the order in which they joined the Union. Some are more interesting than others, but it's a good idea, and children are always attracted to activities that involve money! The Digital Classroom is brought to you by the National Archives and Records Administration. Primary documents, images, teaching ideas -- probably a good use of our tax dollars. I found it while investigating barbed wire in terms of its social as well as technological effects. Bad Wolf Press writes musicals for classes from kindergarten to ninth grade, and their material is really brilliant. They describe it as aimed at "musically timid teachers" but it's really suitable even for those of us who are quite comfortable putting together a musical production with 10-year-olds. The scripts come with a CD of songs that are complete and that are just accompaniment. The running time of most of the plays is 20 - 30 minutes, leaving lots of room for inspired students to add material and actions of their own. Samples of scripts (and even a few complete ones) are available for preview at the site, the costs are very reasonable, and the themes are ones that are common in classrooms -- rainforests, holidays, immigration, weather, Shakespeare, the gold rush, and many more. These folks are worth checking out! CLN Theme Pages What a treasure trove! This site, part of a larger Canadian effort, contains links to information and lesson plans for K-12 on an amazing list of topics: bubbles, Antarctica, human digestion, pirates, math history, Shakespeare, whales . . . it just goes on and on. Well-organized through an index, you could spend an entire snow day just browsing your favorite topics. Epistemology and Learning Group at MIT is a thought-provoking site that challenges our assumptions about technology and its role in education. Education World Curriculum Center has things for teachers, parents, (and kids) on all kinds of subjects with links to many sites you might not find on your own. Educational Software from Owl & Mouse is a site that has a lot of free software. Some of it is not quite up to a professional level. For example, the Europe map puzzle software is insistent on very precise placement of countries before they are counted as right. The grammar of some of the informational pages is not altogether correct. However, the programs are attractive, quick to download, and come with very clear instructions for installing. Overall, a site worth investigating. Teaching With Historic Places describes itself like this: "One of Teaching with Historic Places' primary offerings is a series of classroom-ready lesson plans. Created by National Park Service interpreters, preservation professionals, and educators, these lessons use historic sites to examine developments throughout American history and across the country. TwHP lesson plans are designed for middle school students learning history, social studies, geography, and other subjects in the humanities. However, the lessons are easily adaptable from upper elementary through high school, and even for college courses. Each lesson includes maps, readings, and photographs, all of which are accompanied by questions; at the end are activities that pull together the ideas students have just covered, and require them to initiate their own research." The Coordinated Campaign For Learning Disabilities is a site created by a consortium of six major organizations who seek to educate teachers, parents, and the general public about a wide range of issues that cause children to struggle as learners. Lots of resources and links. TeacherVision.com could make my life as a teacher a lot easier, if only I could find the time to plumb it fully. Lesson plans, teaching materials, good curriculum links and more are here. There are some things for students, too, but it's mostly a site for teachers and interested parents. CoreKnowledge is a deep site based on the premise that there is a body of information and skills that we should have, that it can be defined, that it can and should be taught in school, and that a badly-needed element of educational reform is to put "core knowledge" back into the classroom. Whether you agree with that or not, there is a wealth of material here in the form of resources and lesson plans that any teacher should find useful. Schoolhouse Tech -- These folks make just a few products, but they're available for download free or at low cost, and they are constantly improving and updating the programs. The math-worksheet-generating program is excellent, and there are a lot of options and controls built into it. The language-related program is also excellent. Great for classrooms or for parents who want to help their children keep up their skills over the summer or during long breaks.



		copyright 2009 Lynn Hughes / The Miquon School