Where Do I Find the Good Stuff?

I NEED SOME WEBSITES TO HELP ME IN CLASS…

As a teacher we are always on the lookout for websites and software to make our classrooms better. Where do I look at? This can be a difficult thing, but we are here to help.

These are Some Tried and True Websites.

• Department of Energy. Educational resources in science, technology, energy, math, and more. Even an Energy Glossary! www.eere.energy.gov/kids

• The Educator’s Reference Desk. More than 2,000 lesson plans, 3,000 plus links to online education information, and more than 200 question archive responses. www.eduref.org

Do You Want to Teach About Other Cultures?

www.peacecorps.gov/wws/ This site is designed to help students gain a greater understanding of other cultures and countries.

Books and More!

• www.gutenberg.org More than 40,000 free ebooks. You can download them or read them online. Classics and more. If you don’t have the budget to purchase the book here is an option.

• www.booksshouldbefree.com This site lets you listen to many classics while sitting at your computer. You can also download the book to be listened to at a different time on your iPod. Listen to it while riding in your car.

Walk on the Moon!

• www.nasa.gov This awesome website covers NASA’s extensive education program. They even have a NASA kid’s club. The games are rated “F” for fun!

Know Your Students

Students In Indiana

WhiteAfrican AmericanAsianAmerican IndianNot His-panicOther RaceTwo or more races

• As a teacher try to understand where your students come from and what their life is like. There might not be much diversity in race but they are each individuals.

Software and Websites Don’t Have to Break Your Budget!

There are sites that we can purchase as a school and all take advantage of. www.skillstutor.com This is a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt site to use in conjunction with our textbooks and teaching material. The students can even access it from home.

The Arts Also Have a Place in the Schools!

• National Gallery of Art. (NGA) Home to the world’s finest paintings and sculptures. www.nga.gov

• Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies. Lesson plans and resource guides. www.smithsonianeducation.org

• National Association for Music Education (MENC) Their mission is to advance music in education. They want to include music as a core subject of study. www.menc.org

Don’t Forget About Your Parents!

Get your parents involved. They need to be included in the education process. National PTA (PTA). This group facilitates parent education and involvement in schools. www.pta.org

Science and Our World

• Environmental Protection Agency for Students and Educators (EPA). This site provides facts sheets, interactive games, and more. Kid and student friendly. www.epa.gov/epahome/students.htm

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA provides information about the weather, oceans, satellites, fisheries, climates, and more. www.noaa.gov

Let’s Get Physical!

• National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). It’s mission is to enhance knowledge and increase support for high-quality physical education among other things. www.aahperd.org/naspe

Don’t Be Scared of Technology

• If you are worried about the internet and you need to sharpen up some of your skills, there are options. You can go to Ivy Tech and take some computer skills classes. Don’t be afraid to get the help you need to keep up with the new technology.

School Counselors are Not Just for the Students.

• American School Counselor Association (ASCA). This organization provides information and resources that support school counselors’ efforts to help students focus on academic, personal/social, and career development. www.schoolcounselor.org

• As a teacher, we can send a student to the counselor for help or we can tell the counselor about the student. If we have questions about how to handle a situation the counselor can help us too!

History, Don’t Keep it in the Past.

National Register of Historic Places: Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP). TwHP offers great lesson plans and guidance on using historic places in teaching and learning. www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp

www.pinterest.com

• This site is amazing and one of the newest fads! A content sharing service that allows members to "pin" images, videos and other objects to their “pinboard”. This site allows us to share with each other ideas. Ideas from crafting, to home decorating, to gifts. This site is full of lesson ideas and printables. Give it a chance and you might be surprised.

THE GOOD STUFF IS ON THE INTERNET IF YOU JUST TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK.

Don’t be scared to ask for help. If you have found a website to be good or bad share your feelings. Technology can be a good thing if we just give it a chance.

References:

www.census.gov