Recommended Websites

Somewhat self-explanatory, this site has information about historical figures and artists, covering social studies, art, writing and reading for all grade levels.

On this website, students and educators cab play games, take bilingual quizzes, and practice vocabulary and review grammar.

Don and Alleen Nilsen, professors of English at Arizona State University, have lived in Afghanistan for three years with children, and have set up a basic site on Afghan culture. Photos, activities, and puzzles will help student learn about this country from a source other than the news. Recommended Grades: 1-6

A resource from the Library of Congress provides a focuses set of materials in an engaging format. The sections are called, Meet Amazing Americans, Jump Back in Time, Explore the States, Join America at Play, and See, Hear, and Sing. Multimedia presentations require Window’s Media Player or Apple’s Quicktime. Recommended Grades: 3-10

Run by the American Physical Society, this site has some great resources for science teachers and students, K-12 and even through the college level.

This focuses on arts, orchestra, dance and theater. There is information on musicians, artists, and instruments with videos and multimedia resources. The site is in French and English because of the Canadian origin. Recommended Grades: 3-8

This offers an exciting way to peruse the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Walker Art Center. The site has interactive games and videos for students and a guide for teachers. Recommended Grades: K-12

This is a companion to a PBS television series that helps young kids with phonics and early literacy skills. There are links to over 70 illustrated stories, along with many games, songs, printouts and activities. Many of the links require Media Player, Shockwave, or Quicktime, but there is a choice of programs that could be used. Recommended Grades: K-3

This is an informative site with articles about historical and political figures, athletes, musicians and artists. Great resources for Social Studies in grades 6-12.

This is a great website that features the non-profit program allowing disadvantaged schools to have stories read to their kids by professional actors. The goal is to have the students become more enthusiastic about reading. There are 20 national chapters on the site, including one in the Carolinas. Videos of the readings can also be accessed through the site. Recommended Grades: K-3

This provides students a remote control of a scanning electron microscope with the application to the site. Without application to the free site, the users may still see a large gallery of magnifications that will excite students and teachers. Recommended Grades: K-12

This is a teacher’s dream website, though a subscription does cost money. This site is very helpful in assessment of students’ progress and achieving district, state, and national objectives. It will generate tests for you, and students of all ages and grade levels love it – many schools throughout the U.S. subscribe to this site. They will even offer you a trial run for free!

With the founding of Challenger Center, the families of the Challenger 51-L crew assembled a network of concerned educators, corporations, and organizations to explore new and exciting ways for students to learn science and mathematics. Our primary audience encompasses students and teachers in grades 5-9. A comprehensive array of programs was created specifically for students in late-elementary and early-middle school grades because this is the age range when many young people begin to lose interest in learning. By sparking the curiosity of these young minds, we make a difference at this important developmental age.

The Art Institute of Chicago has developed a site that takes students through a multimedia presentation of Ancient Egypt, Italy, and Greece with the unifying element of Cleopatra. Information on art works and artifacts can be accessed through a map, a timeline, and a matrix of the countries. There is a glossary and pronunciation guide. Lesson plans are given along with links to related sites. Recommended Grades: 4-12

This is a very fun website for math instruction at all grade levels.

CountryReports.org was established in 1997 out of a love for international relations and culture. Entirely web-based, we offer more than 26,000 pages of content covering a wide-range of topics. Our statistical data and cultural information has proven to be valuable to students, parents, teachers, and researchers alike. In a sea of competing websites, CountryReports.org stands out as a leader, according to accolades received from prominent media and national organizations.

This site contains puzzles and games to go along with a science curriculum. There are well-designed handouts and activity sheets, as well as power point presentations, an interactive periodic table and on-screen calculator. The site goes along with British measurement and school systems, but could be adapted to American classes as well. Recommended Grades: 10-12

This site offers lots of activities for students, including games, quizzes, pronunciation practice, idioms, and stories, as well as forums for professional development and resources for ESL educators.

This site has curricular resources, assessment guides, and helpful information on Professional Development.

DLTK's Crafts for Kids features a variety of fun, printable children's crafts, coloring pages and more including projects for holidays, educational themes and some of our children's favorite cartoon characters.

This well-designed site for young music lovers is an extension of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Resources include an instrument encyclopedia, photographs, audio samples, explanation of musical time periods, profiles of famous musicians, musical games, and resources for teachers. Recommended Grades: K-5

edHelper.com is dedicated to providing teachers a single shop for educational resources. The site features downloadable books and worksheets, monthly theme units, puzzle creators, foreign language units, and much more.

This website was created by a husband and wife team with education backgrounds. On the site you will find information on high tech learning, distance learning, as well as many links to sites with K-12 lesson plans.

This site offers free English lessons and ESL/EFL resources for all skill levels. Students can even exchange messages with other students, and submit questions.

This site has a great Q&A forum for educators, as well as free ESL worksheets, flash cards, games, articles and links for teachers and students.

This site has games, worksheets, songs, and pronunciation exercises for ESL students. There are also links to a TEFL guide and student sites.

Great for historical exploration, this website gives links to essays, discussions, and timelines about the 1839 revolt on the slave ship, Amistad. There are pictures in an archive that may be useful, and ideas for the classroom in the curriculum section of the site. Recommended Grades: 9-12

This site is maintained by the Zoological Society, and revolves around research activities done by the organization. With each project, visitors may see profiles of animals such as elephants, red wolves, and polar bears along with profiles of the region, the project, and the research being collected. There is a large collection of classroom activities and also discussion groups and polls students may find useful. Recommended Grades: 4-12

Popular topics on this site include El Nino, hurricanes, plate tectonics, air pressure, and atmospheric ozone. A few activities are provided and could serve to supplement a unit on several science subjects. Recommended Grades: 3-10

The educational programs section of the FDR library site offers assistance to students conducting research with primary source documents. There is a research guide and a document analysis worksheet, along with historical information from FDR’s time period. Recommended Grades: 6-12

his site has educational games, movies, web books, blogs and comics for all grade levels in reading and math.

The Get Ready to Read site provides tools for early literacy in English and Spanish, printable cards with activities to improve reading skills. There are also games that focus on letter names, blending sounds, and word recognition. There are also links to information about learning disabilities and reading development. Recommended Grades: Pre-K-1

This site allows visitors to listen to, watch, and read stories of North Carolina Ghosts like Blackbeard and the Legend of Gimghoul. The site was developed by UNC communication students and is not updated regularly, but s a good addition to instructional units. Recommended Grades: 3-8

This is Wikipedia’s list of Greek and Latin roots—great help for studying vocabulary.

The focus of this site is the historical and cultural context of money through the world. A trip to France allows students to have an allowance and spend money for souvenirs during the trip. A time line and articles highlight several times and events and a news area inform students of recent events such as commemorative coins. There are several teaching guides also for different subject areas. Recommended Grades: 1-5

The companion to the PBS television series teaches the methodology of historical research. There are a number of mysteries presented about wars, historical figures, legends, and other entertaining mysteries. Ballistics, DNA analysis, document examination, forensic anthropology, and property searches are topics of research. There are two main lessons on going to historical sites, and also searching for attic artifacts. Recommended Grades: 6-12

This is a Canadian web site that offers a suite of teacher utilities for creating web-based activities. There are places to generate quizzes and puzzles and online tutorials to help with the process. Recommended Grades: Instructor/Teacher

HyperHistory is an expanding scientific project presenting 3,000 years of world history with an interactive combination of synchronoptic lifelines, timelines, and maps.

This is an interactive website for students and educators in language arts and math. It has skill building exercises, standard assessment tools and quizzes for all grade levels.

LD OnLine offers accurate and up-to-date information about learning disabilities and related issues, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

This site offers resources for teachers, including curricular and professional development programming.

This is a business simulation which allows kids to set up a lemonade stand and see how much they sell each day. Details like inventory, pricing, quality control, and purchasing are choices for the players of the game. This is a good introduction to marketing and business. Recommended Grades: 6-7

LessonPlanz.com is searchable directory of free online lesson plans and lesson plan resources for all grades and subjects. Subjects include: literacy, math, social studies, science, the arts, and much more.

The Math Forum is a leading online resource for improving math learning, teaching, and communication since 1992. They offer a wealth of problems and puzzles; online mentoring; research; team problem solving; collaborations; and professional development. Students have fun and learn a lot. Educators share ideas and acquire new skills.

This site offers good places to begin looking for individual middle school math lesson plans or materials on which to base them.

Affiliated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this site specializes in science for all grade levels.

NASA Quest Challenges are FREE Web-based, interactive explorations designed to engage students in authentic scientific and engineering processes. The solutions relate to issues encountered daily by NASA personnel.

National Council for the Social Studies is an association of over 25,000 educators who have come together to strengthen the social studies profession and social studies programs in the schools. NCSS Members take advantage of award winning publications, recognition programs, conferences, information services, and special offers. Whether you're looking for lesson plans, textbooks, or new insights, you'll find it in NCSS.

Since 1888, we've traveled the Earth, sharing its amazing stories with each new generation. National Geographic's Mission Programs support critical expeditions and scientific fieldwork, encourage geography education for students, promote natural and cultural conservation, and inspire audiences through new media, vibrant exhibitions, and live events.

Since its inception in 1973, National Middle School Association (NMSA) has been a voice for those committed to the educational and developmental needs of young adolescents. NMSA provides professional development, journals, books, research, and other valuable information to assist educators on an ongoing basis. Their Annual Conference, attracting nearly 10,000 attendees, is one of the largest professional development events in education today. NMSA also publishs the highly acclaimed Middle School Journal and Middle Ground magazine to support members throughout the year, in addition to publishing over 100 books on a wide variety of middle level education topics.

Sections from the National Park Service on air, biology, and geology in the national parks are provided for students on this site. There are links to other environmental web sites along with an overview of the National Park Service’s goals, accomplishments, and activities. Recommended Grades: 6-12

News Hour Extra provides the news in a student-friendly format, with categories of daily news reports in Arts and English, Science, Math and Economics, the World, History, Health and Fitness, and the Media. The reports include discussion questions. Other packages on the site contain information on certain subjects, such as Mark Twain and African Art in the English section. Video clips and sites for Debating the News are also provided. An editorial section allows student essays to be submitted, and an archive of lesson plans is made for teachers. Recommended Grades: 10-12

This is as clearinghouse for information about collaborative online projects for grades K-12. Guidelines, templates, and tips on the site can assist the beginning user in getting involved or making their own online project. Recommended Grades: Instructor/Teacher

Language Arts instructors can find both professional development and a virtual teaching community with access to free poetry resources online, including innovative, classroom-tested curricula. This is a program of the Academy of American Poets. Recommended Grades: K-12

This site has plenty of resources for educators, including discussion forums, classroom resources and Teacherline, a forum devoted to Professional Development for Educators.

This site specializes in science. They have wonderful innovative suggestions, tools and resources for all grade levels.

Primary Games is a site for teachers, parents, and kids featuring free educational games, coloring pages, interactive e-books, holiday activities, musical postcards, crafts, and more!

This is the offical website of all North Carolina Public Schools. Check out curriculum for grades K-12 and learn more about No Child Left Behind, report cards, and testing policies.

This is the website for the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. It offers lessons, standards, web resources and student materials for English and Language Arts curriculum at all grade levels, K-12.

Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab was created to foster a love for science in kids. Reeko hopes parents will find this page interesting (the reading level is slightly above elementary in some cases). Hopefully they'll sit down with their kids and attempt some of these experiments. Reeko believes they will have read the science facts so they understand the underlying principles behind these experiments. Then when the little one begins peppering them with questions, they'll explain the how and why of these experiments to their kids. Reeko believes you should always give your child the benefit of a doubt, no matter how difficult you think the topic may be - they may surprise you!

SchoolExpress has a variety of educational materials. We have lots of FREE items and an online store. Teachers, homeschooling families, parents, children, and grandparents use our site.

San Fransisco Symphony kids provides a fun way for people of all ages to hear, learn, and have fun with music !

Dr. Marty Levine, Professor Emeritus of Secondary Education, California State University, Northridge (CSUN), has gathered lesson plans and resources from the Internet which social studies teachers will find useful. Topics include: Lesson Plans and Teaching Strategies, Online Activities, Educational Standards and Curriculum Frameworks, and much more.

This reflects the project of a teacher and a physicist who have developed an early reading program with animation, sound, and video. Works well in two sections for early and advanced emergent readers. Uses games and riddles for practice and has resources for teachers. Recommended Grades: K-3

A wonderful site that has diverse suggestions and ideas about teaching in general; in fact, there are discussion forums for teachers, and you are encouraged to email the author of the site if you have questions about current or future teaching issues.

This is a really great website, with tons of free videos for teachers to use in the classroom, on English, Math, Science and Social Studies for all grade levels.

This site contains a number of recommended book lists complied by various sources, from children book authors to the New York Public Library.

GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program. GLOBE's vision promotes and supports students, teachers and scientists to collaborate on inquiry-based investigations of the environment and the Earth system working in close partnership with NASA and NSF Earth System Science Projects (ESSPs) in study and research about the dynamics of Earth's environment.

This site, founded by the University of Michigan’s School of Information, is enormous. Educators and Students can find links, articles and resources on any subject, at all grade levels.

This site gives a diverse amount of information on the journey of Lewis and Clark and also the historical period of the time, including politics and culture. The source contains multimedia features such as a photo album, and an education section with cross-curriculum lessons and resources. Recommended Grades: 4-12

MENC: The National Association for Music Education, the world's largest arts education organization, marked its centennial in 2007 as the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. More than 142,000 members and supporters represent all levels of teaching from preschool to graduate school. Since 1907, MENC has worked to ensure that every student has access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, and high-quality program of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. MENC's activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the promotion and guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education.

The Star*s Family resources offer outstanding features such as a twenty-year tradition/experience in compilations, a resulting excellent exhaustivity of entries (including thousands of entries without WWW link), an homegeneous coverage of all practical data, a permanent updating and quality checking scheme (including authentication of data originators), the largest amount of URLs available in a set of astronomy resources, a unique astronomy-oriented dictionary of acronyms and abbreviations, and so on.

This website has lots of resources for teachers, including prompts, worksheets, lesson plans, reference tools, software, tons of links and a special section devoted to professional development.

The U.S. Department of Education's website contains top stories dealing with national education issues, information centers on grants, student finanical aid, and policy, as well as teaching resources. You can also learn more about No Child Left Behind and the Secretary of Education.

This is a great place for teachers, students and parents to find internet resources in all subjects.

The Center of Innovation in Engineering and Science Education has created another great project for kids. This allows students to develop their own equipment for measuring the weather. The project is organized into a well-planned curriculum with units to learn about elevation, temperature, and climate. Recommended Grades: 5-12