Great Web Sites for Educators.

These are some of the web sites I find most useful for educators. There is a broad range of sites here. Everything from High School to Elementary School. To get on this list a web site must meet these criteria: 1) Site has to be free, or at least have a lot of free content; 2) Site has to save me time as a teacher, or enhance my teaching/students learning. If you find a broken link please email me and let me know about it.

1) 4 Teachers.org - A fantastic site, sponsored by your tax dollars so it is all free. Quiz Star, allows to create and administer online quiz's. RubiStar - Creates Rubrics. TrackStar - Allows you to design web based Tracks(similar to webquests). To many things to mention, you should check out this site.

2) Discovery Channel - What I really like here are the "Tools" that allow you to create your own crossword, word search, etc.

3) Eduscapes - Look at the 4 to explore section. Have a topic to teach that you want to find information on? These two hardy internet travelers, have done all the research for you. Including activities for the topic.

4) ABCTeach.org - I still remember buying the big spiral bound book full of handouts, dot to dots, crosswords, etc. for the subject I was teaching. This site gives you many of those things for free. They do have a pay section that allows access to even more, but I have found the free section to be quite nice.

5) Citation Machine - My friend David Warlick has created one of the best sites on the internet. The site will format citations in MLA or APA format, that you can then paste into Microsoft Word. This site has been so popular he has had to move it because it was crashing under because of all the hits.

6) Homes of Our Own - This is only a web page that allows you to request this free software. The software is wonderful, allowing students to construct homes in 3D. Students must get financing, solve problems, and then sell the house. Software will appear in a couple of weeks at a school address.

7) CNN News for Kids - This is the CNN site for Kids. Many news stories come with discussion questions for the students, and some even have activities. Watch the Students news which is viewable online and produced for kids.

8) The Global Schoolhouse - Simply the place to go if you want to have your students do an online collaborative project with another class. You can join a project or create one of your own. Great way to get students from other cultures involved in your class.

9) Cyberchase - A fantastic site to accompany the PBS program that teaches students math. Teachers can download lesson ideas that go along with the shows, or have students use interactive games to practice the topics covered in the shows.

10) Illuminations - While this whole site is wonderful, the Math tools that they offer are fantastic. Box plotters, circle graph makers, this site has a lot of free applications for math.

11) Big Idea Fun - A good place for kids to practice basic skills. Learning is made fun by use of the popular Veggie Tale Characters.

12) Learning Planet - A drill and practice type of site where students can compete against each other in math drills, etc. This site does have a lot of "for a fee only" content. But, there is still some really good free things too.

13) Jurassic Park Institute - Designed by the people that made Jurassic Park the movie, this site has it all for dinosaurs. If you are planning a unit on dinosaurs this is a must stop.

14) Marco Polo - This site actually links to lots of indiviaul web sites for educators. Origianlly funded by World Com it is a fantastic resource.

15) Babel Fish - Great for quick translations. Not always perfect in the way it translates, but this free tool can be invaluable with non english speaking students.