Curriculum

Explore the following sites to find information and ideas for enhancing the curriculum.

• http://www.abcteach.com/
  This is the place for kids, parents, student teachers, and teachers. Over 5,000 free printable pages and worksheets.
• http://www.arachnology.org/
  Stories and poems and other scientific information. Under arachnology pages, scroll down to arachnology by subject, then click on "Kids, for the Young Ones and Their Teachers".
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
  BBC news - updated every minute or every day.
• http://www.britannica.com
  Access to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Full-text articles free of charge.
• http://www.bry-backmanor.org/
  A place for people who care for young children or children with special needs.
• http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr273.shtml
  Education World site for useful bulletin board resources on the Net! Includes links to ten bulletin board ideas for all grades.
• http://bensguide.gpo.gov/
  With Ben Franklin as a guide, the Government PRINTING Office's site is filled with information about almost every aspect of our government. Choose the following site pages for in depth, age appropriate information on neighborhoods and community helpers, geographical information about our nation, symbols of the U.S. Government, an ABC list of government-related vocabulary, plus games and activities. The Parents Teacher page provides, among other topics, a teaching guide for the web site and many curriculum web links.
  • http://bensguide.gpo.gov/k-2/index.html (k-2)
  • http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/index.html (3-5)
  • http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/index.html (6-8
  • http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/index.html (9-12)
  • http://bensguide.gpo.gov/pt/index.html (For Parents and Teachers)
• http://catalog.loc.gov/
  The Library of Congress is the place to find book titles by a specific author. Click "using library catalog". Conduct a basic search by last name of author, first name, click on "search".
• http://www2.ed.gov/free/index.html
  Federal resources for educational excellence.
• http://www.eric.ed.gov/
  The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, produces the world's premier database of journal and non-journal education literature. Search this huge data base for a variety of literature-based lesson plans, articles on general education, librarianship, education technology and much more.
• http://www.eduref.org/
  The Educator's Reference Desk brings you the resources you have come to depend on. 2,000+ lesson plans, 3,000+ links to online education information, and 200+ question archive responses.
• http://www.thegateway.org/
  The Gateway to Educational MaterialsSM is a Consortium effort to provide educators with quick and easy access to thousands of educational resources found on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites.
• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html
  Information on explorers, the Mayflower, dinosaurs, monthly calendar of activities, geography, maps, flags - printouts, games, diagrams of animals, little books. Too much more to mention.
• http://www.familyeducation.com/home/
  Both parents and teachers can find school solutions, homework help and expert advice. Activities, games, printables, and entertainment.
• http://historicaltextarchive.com
  Historical Text Archive: The numerous links provide teachers with excellent information and visual access to documents, artifacts and links. Site publishes high quality articles, books, essays, documents, historical photos and links screened for content for a broad range of historical subjects.
• http://www.ipl.org/
  Internet Public Library: Includes information by subject, ready references, kids' space, and reading room information.
• http://kidshealth.org/
  An excellent site which gives options for either parents, kids, or teens. Click on your option and find movies, games, health issue explanations in parent speak, kid speak, or teen speak. Find out about your body, safety, health issues, etc.
• http://www.learningplanet.com/parents/alphabet/
  Learning activities and tools which empower home school parents as well as classroom teachers.
• http://www.lil-fingers.com/
  A storybook site for toddler age children with games, storybooks and coloring pages. Their free toddler stories, activities and holiday sections are designed with bright colors and big buttons for little fingers to click on. Good for children learning to read and write.
• http://pbskids.org/lions/
  Stories, coloring sheets, games with special pages for teachers and parents.
• http://www.riverdeep.net
  Contains teachers' section. Create standards-based lesson plans with tools that spark imagination and help students better understand their world.
• http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/
  Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Updated daily, this is a huge classified list of Web sites that are great for curriculum enhancement and teacher professional growth. Also subject access, lesson plans, teacher helpers.
• www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cyberguide.html
  Dozens of web-based instructional units centered on literacy works. Each guide has teacher and student editions, objectives, detailed activities, web sites and assessment rubric.
• http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm
  Graphic organizers, rubrics, journaling, literature.
• http://www.storiestogrowby.com/
  Whootie Owl's stories to grow by which includes free teacher stuff, a parent's guide to story telling, fun and games, and fairy tales from around the world that help kids grow.
• http://teachnet.com/
  Teacher's Edition Online - Tools for Teachers: Explore lesson ideas, "Take 5" micro activities, and the Internet links for the current featured topic. The site is searchable. Includes "How Tos" (ex: bulletin board ideas, classroom management tips)
• http://www.teachervision.fen.com/
  Lesson planning center and other literature teaching helps.
• http://www.rubrics4teachers.com/
  Rona's Ultimate Teacher Tools - Ready Made Rubrics
• http://www.tolerance.org
  Tolerance.org is a principal online destination for people interested in dismantling bigotry and creating, in hate's stead, communities that value diversity. If you want to know how to transform yourself, your home, your school, your workplace or your community, Tolerance.org is a place to start - and continue - the journey.
• http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php
  The best of the "web". The editors of PC World magazine, identified what they consider the best 64 sites in 32 categories.
• http://www.wfu.edu/~cunningh/fourblocks/
  The four blocks literacy model.

Amazon and Your Curriculum

http://www.amazon.com/

Language arts/writing: Students can practice their book review writing skills and post the final products online using an option provided by Amazon. After a review is carefully written and edited, have the student search for the book's entry page. Scroll down the page until you see "Spotlight Reviews", then select the "Write an online review" . You may have to sign up to get a password; but this should be free. Kids under 13 will be asked to fill out a "Kid Review Form. The student will have to write a one-line summary of the review, rate the book from 1 to 10, type in the review, put in an e-mail address (Select "yes" or "no" for Display e-mail address?), and write his or her geographic location. The reviews should be carefully typed and edited. (To avoid spelling and punctuation errors, students can "copy" and "paste" their reviews from a word processing program into the review box.) Students should not sign their reviews with their full names. However, they enjoy seeing their reviews with their initials or nick-names, and it is nice for readers to see the age of the reviewers.

You can also go beyond the holdings of your local library and bookstore by connecting to this site. It lists numerous subject options under each title, usually includes descriptive notes, and sometimes has an author interview. The extensive search options make it easy to find related books for curriculum areas, bibliographies, and reader's guidance. A large number of books are in stock, all are available at discounted prices and delivery is quick.