Links
Useful links for students, parents, and teachers.
Faith West Academy in The Independent Schools Directory
30 Sites in 30 Minutes - Compliments of Karen Solomon
1. 30 Boxes - http://www.30boxes.com/welcome.php
Create a calendar that you can share with friends. Consider putting your homework schedule online for students, and more importantly parent, to view. You must create an account, build your calendar, and then add all of the email addresses for people who will be your “buddies.” Your buddies need to create an account to view your calendar and add you as a buddy.
View TONS of information about each of the 50 states. Includes links to additional information. Would be great for the 4th grade Texas Notebook and 5th grade lessons about the states.
3. A to Z Teacher Stuff - http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Free stuff for teachers to use. Build word search puzzles for spelling tests, generate writing practice sheets for K-5 and even pre-school. There are loads of free printables for lower elementary. Some items are for a fee, but much is for free. Check out the tabs along the top of the page, especially the “Tips” and “Printables” tabs.
4. Atlapedia - http://www.atlapedia.com/
View full color physical maps, political maps as well as key facts and statistics on countries of the world.
5. Boundaries of the Continuous United States - http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/48states.html
Watch as the boundaries of the Unites States are drawn and redrawn from 1650 to present day.
6. Counting Money - http://www.hbschool.com/activity/counting_money/
A great site to teach counting skills to a class. Would be great with a converter box and overheard TV.
7. Dan’s Wild West Weather - http://www.wildwildweather.com/index.html
A fact-filled site for kids 6 - 16 that is filled with great information about the weather. Each topic contains learning activities, most of which are rated by grade level.
8. Discovery Education Free Resources - http://school.discoveryeducation.com/
Free puzzlemakers, lesson plans, educator links, and clip are gallery. The puzzlemaker is one of the better ones that I have seen for word search and crossword puzzles. I could probably do another session just on the links available from the “Guide for Educators” section. Spend some time on this one.
9. Facts on File from Region IV - http://www.fofweb.com/
Don’t forget about the free databases available from Region IV. The ID is esc4 and the password for this school year is star. A great place for research projects for upper elementary, jr. high and high school. Everyone uses the same ID and password.
10. God Tube - http://www.godtube.com/
Just for fun. Contains many video clips. You never know what you’ll run across. Search for Psalm 23 and watch as a preschooler recites Psalm 23. And check out A Moms Overture to hear Anita Renfroe recite those phrases that moms everywhere are known to bore their children with.
11. Hard to Find 800 numbers - http://www.hardtofind800numbers.com/
Just because you never know when you’ll need an 800 number and not know where to look.
12. US Mint - http://www.usmint.gov/kids/
The official site if the US Mint. Learn about the state quarters and new coins that are now circulating. Some online games are available, but they are more for fun than learning. Teacher resources and additional links are available.
13. Local Public Libraries - http://www.hcpl.net/index.htm and http://www.fortbend.lib.tx.us/
Free information never looked so good. All you need if your public library card number to have research at your fingertips. Also check out the free downloadable audiobooks and Tumblebooks.
14 I-Google - http://www.google.com/ig
Customize Google by adding custom links. Select from 1000’s of items such as weather, news, bible, games, and reminders. Organize your “stuff” by adding tabs and selecting themes.
15. Love to Learn Place - http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/
A site established for homeschool families and Christian schools. Use the book report forms, math facts, and scavenger hunts. Probably something for all ages and disciplines. Check it out.
16. Math Game Subtract - http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/mathssub.html
Math Game Add - http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/mathsadd.html
Brought to you by Oswego School District in New York. These subtraction and addition games are great practice tools for lower elementary math facts.
17. Nation Master - http://www.nationmaster.com/index.php
NationMaster is a massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare nations. NationMaster is a vast compilation of data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD. You can generate maps and graphs on all kinds of statistics with ease.
18. Our Timelines - http://www.ourtimelines.com/
Generate a timeline to see what has happened in your lifetime or in your student’s life. It would be great for discussing decades and centuries.
19. Project Gutenberg - http://promo.net/pg/
Provides free online access to books whose copyrights have expired and who have moved into the public domain. This typically means books printed before 1923 (75 years prior to thee current date.) Currently there are 6267 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks available on this site with new ones being added each year.
20. Study Stack - http://www.studystack.com/Home.jsp
Study stacks are flash cards that were created by users of the site and made available to the general public. I’m not going to lie. This is a time consuming tool to create. But on the other hand, you might search through the existing stacks and find one that fits your purposes.
21. Teaching Time - http://www.teachingtime.co.uk/
This is one of the most amazing sites that I have seen for teaching how to tell time. You can use the main clock for illustrations and then allow your students to work on their time-telling skills. Level one tests on half hour skills while level five teaches military time. Fun for the teacher and the student.
22. Text Message Survival - http://www.txtdrop.com/abbreviations.php
Another site just for fun. No clue what your students are messaging (or including on their English papers without even thinking?) Check out the abbreviation list.
23. The Mint.org - http://www.themint.org/index.html
Learning about money--earning, spending, investing, and more. There are sections for parents, students, and educators.
24. Vocab Test - http://www.vocabtest.com/
Do your students use the orange Vocabulary books? Then this is the study place for them. For most levels, they can choose from learn definition, reverse definitions, vocab sentences, synonym practice, reverse synonym practice, antonym practice, and reverse antonym practice. Not all tests are available for all levels. But a great site for your students who find vocabulary a difficult subject.
25. MedLine Plus - http://medlineplus.gov/
An Internet Directory. Medical reference at your fingertips
26. The Virtual Library - http://vlib.org/
An Internet Directory. Geared more toward secondary teachers.
27. Kids.gov - http://www.kids.gov/k_5/k_5_math.shtml
An Internet Directory. Find links to government and other kids' sites -- grouped by age and subject. Explore, learn, and have fun!
28. The US Government Made Easy - http://www.usa.gov/
An Internet Directory from the US Government to you.
29. KidsClick - http://www.kidsclick.org/
An Internet Directory. Although intended as a database resource for kids, it is an excellent resource for teachers that provides links to other great places of interest. Check it out.
30. Yahooligans - http://kids.yahoo.com/
An Internet Directory for you to see what kids are interested in. Jokes, videos, stuff that kids today are interested in.