Share your favorite, teacher tested web sites with us. Email the URL with a one or two sentence explanation describing the value of the site to the following contacts:

 

 

Deborah Thomas if the site is appropriate for elementary school use,
Eileen Diamond if the site addresses middle School needs,
Margaret Blevins if the site addresses high school needs,
Terry Billock if the site addresses ATPA/Technical issues, or
Jeff Buchanan if the site addresses University level interests.

 

Middle School Teacher Resources

Eileen Diamond

Magazines and Publications

Midlink Magazine - http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/  Updated quarterly, this online magazine shares student work.
Teacher Magazine – http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/index.html
Very informative online magazine
Teacher's Edition Online – http://www.teachnet.com
Good place to search for instruction ideas, lesson plans, humorous articles, etc.
Technological Horizons in Education – http://www.thejournal.com
News about computers and related technologies that improve teaching and learning for all ages
This Week's News – http://www.edweek.org/ew/index.html
A site that introduces local, regional, and national educational issues

Public and Private Organizations

Association for Educational Communications and Technology – http://www.aect.org   A site that links professionals who have a common interest in educational technology
ERIC – http://reading.indiana.edu/
A site for finding lesson plans, bibliographies, and so on
International Reading Association – http://www.ira.org
A good place to find reading research, projects, conferences, and conventions
International Technology Education Association – http://www.iteaconnect.org/index.html
An association devoted to enhancing technology education through experiences in our schools. An information clearinghouse
National Council of Teachers of English – http://www.ncte.org
An association devoted to improving the teaching of English and the language arts at all grade levels of education
National Middle School Association – http://www.nmsa.org
--An association which serves as the voice for people interested in the educational and developmental needs of young adolescents
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence – http://www.free.ed.gov/  This site consists of a group of over thirty federal agencies who use the Internet as a means to make resources available to educators

Reference Sources

Roget's Thesaurus – http://www.thesaurus.com
online thesaurus
http://www.dictionary.com
An interactive language arts and journalism project for middle schools
developed by ThinkTVNetwork, Dayton, Ohio. – http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/yourtown/writesite.shtm

Grants and Funding

Resource Guide to Federal Funding for Technology in Education
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/tec-guid.html
Information about grants related to technology

Lesson Plans

Teachnet.com – http://www.teachnet.com
A site providing many lesson plans for teachers

Language Arts

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site – http://www.carolhurst.com
– This site is sponsored in part by Teaching K-8 Magazine and offers many resources for children's literature
Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest – http://www.bulwer-lytton.com
– A site inviting students to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels
Create Your Own Newspaper – http://crayon.net
Literary Resources on the Net – http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit
Online English Grammar – http://www.edunet.com/english/grammar/index.cfm

General

Busy Teacher's K-12 Website – http://www.ceismc.gatech.edu/busyt
– Big Information Site; hundreds of links
The Chalkboard – http://thechalkboard.com
– This site will provide information on grants, programs, curriculum, scholarships
Resources of Middle School Teachers. http://tosa.pausd.org/techtosa/middlelinks.html
Intercultural E-Mail Classroom Connections – http://www.stolaf.edu/network/iecc
A site linking teachers and classes with partners in other countries
Pedago Net – http://www.pedagonet.com
– Online "classifieds" section that lets teachers buy and sell learning resources
Education World Curriculum – http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr174.shtml
MiddleWeb includes resources for teachers of middle grade students – http://www.middleweb.com
Middle School Net – http://www.middleschool.net

Writing Contests

Karate Angels – http://www.karateangels.com
Writing Contest sponsored by Children's Writers Newsletter – http://www.writingcontests.com
Vangar Publishers home page lists periodic contests and helpful information – http://members.aol.com/vangarnews/vangar.html
Directory that has topics that, when selected, may list various contests (example: Creative Writing) –  http://ca.dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/Literature
(Formerly Inkspot.com) Focusing on African American/Urban artists, The Callboard section has information on auditions, grants, competitions and jobs in arts-related organizations – http://www.Creators-Child.com/nation/nation.html

ATPA/Vocational Resources

Terry Billock

Professional Resources

ACTE online – http://www.acteonline.org/
Ohio ACTE online – http://www.ohioacte.org/
Ohio Department of Education—Office of Career-Technical and Adult Education – http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEPrimary.aspx?page=2&TopicRelationID=2
Ohio Department of Education—Office of Career-Technical Professional Development
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEPrimary.aspx?Page=2&TopicID=2&TopicRelationID=1379
Custom-designed courses that fulfill professional development needs –
http://www.careerteched.com/
November Learning – http://www.anovember.com/

Student Resources

Business Professionals of America – http://www.bpa.org/
DECA—An Association of Marketing Students – http://www.deca.org/
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America – http://www.fcclainc.org/
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America: Ohio Division – http://www.ohiofccla.com/
Ohio Future Educators of America – http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=561&Content=19069
Ohio Future Farmers of America – http://www.ohioffa.org/
Ohio Skills USA – http://www.ohioskillsusa.org/

Lesson Planning

The Gateway to Educational Materials – http://search.thegateway.org
Meridian Community College Tech Prep WWW Lesson Plans – http://www.mcc.cc.ms.us/techprep/lessons.htm

Weatherford College Tech Prep Consortium: Integrated Lesson Plans – http://www.wctechprep.net/Integrated%20Lesson%20Plans.htm
Vocational Information Center – http://www.khake.com/index.html
Web English Teacher – http://www.webenglishteacher.com/

Legislative Resources

Governor Ted Strickland's Homepage – http://www.ohio.gov/gov/
Ohio Department of Education Website – http://www.ode.state.oh.us/

Hot Links to the English Language Arts

Library Links

Ohioana Library – http://www.ohioana.org/
Buckeye Children's Book Awards – http://www.bcbookaward.info
Buckeye Teen Book Awards – http://www.bcbookaward.info/teens/index.html
State Library of Ohio – http://winslo.state.oh.us/
US State Libraries – http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/statelib.html
Ohio Public Library Information Network – http://www.oplin.lib.oh.us/
Library of Congress – http://www.loc.gov/index.html

Treasures for Teachers

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators – http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/
Classroom Connect – http://www.classroomconnect.com/
The Global Schoolhouse – http://www.gsn.org/
MiddleWeb: Exploring Middle School Reform – http://www.middleweb.com/
The Big 6:Teaching Technology and Information Skills – http://www.BIG6.com
Teachers First – http://www.teachersfirst.com
Innovative Teaching Newsletter (Archives) – http://surfaquarium.com/NEWSLETTER/
A site for current PBS programming that impacts and compliments teaching – http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/

Composition

6 + 1 Writing Traits – http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/department.php
Paradigm Online Writing Assistant – http://www.powa.org/
Creative Writing for Teens – http://teenwriting.about.com/teens/teenwriting/mbody.htm
Internet Public Library A+ ResearchPaper Guide – http://www.ipl.org/div/teen/aplus/
ResearchPaper.com http://www.researchpaper.com/
Create Your Own Classroom Newspaper – http://crayon.net/
NoodleTools – http://www.noodletools.com

Literature Links

Internet School Library Media Center – http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/childlit.htm
Young Adult Books from About.com – http://yabooks.about.com/teens/yabooks/mbody.htm
Books for Kids from About.com – http://kidsbooks.about.com/kids/kidsbooks/mbody.htm
Children’s Literature Web Guide – http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html
ALAN Homepage - http://www.alan-ya.org
Reading Rockets - http://www.readingrockets.org

 

Lesson Plans

Webquest Homepage – http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html
New York Times – http://www.nytimes.com/learning

Electronic Connections

(Teacher-to-teacher; teacher-to-student; student-to-student)
Filamentality – http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/
Internet Classroom Assistant – http://www.nicenet.org
Tapped-In – http://www.tappedin.org/
Kidlink Network – http://www.kidlink.org/english/general/index.html
E-PALS Classroom Exchange – http://www.epals.com/index.html
Site of the School Day mailing list – http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/sos.html

Standards and Outcomes

Learning to Read – http://toread.com/
Ohio Resource Center – http://www.ohiorc.org/
Ohio Department of Education – http://www.ode.state.oh.us/
eTech Ohio – http://www.etech.ohio.gov/
INFOhio – http://www.infohio.org
NCTE – http://www.ncte.org

Poetry Links

Poetry for kids by Kenn Nesbitt – http://www.poetry4kids.com
Poetry writing with Jack Prelutsky – http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/index.htm
Magnetic Poetry – http://www.magneticpoetry.com/magnet/
Poetry Daily, a new poem everyday – http://www.poems.com/
Rhyme Zone find words that rhyme – http://www.rhymezone.com/
Favorite Poem Project – http://www.favoritepoem.org/
John Fox – http://www.poeticmedicine.com/
Poetry Alive – http://poetryalive.com
Sara Holbrook – http://www.saraholbrook.com
Poetry Page – http://www.poetrymagic.co.uk/
National Federation of State Poetry Societies – http://www.nfsps.com/
Welcome to ByLine Magazine – http://www.bylinemag.com/default.asp

Print Resources

Abeel, S. Reach for the Moon. Minnesota: Pfeifer-Hamilton, 1994.
Cecil, N. For The Love Of Poetry: Literacy Scaffolds, Extension Ideas, And More. Winnipeg: Peguis Publishers, 1997.
Fox, J. Finding What You Didn’t Lose. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1995.
           Poetic Medicine. New York: Jeremy P. Tarchery/Putnam, 1997.
Heller, K. Merry Go Round: A Book About Nouns. New York: Putnam & Grosset Group, 1990
           Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs. New York: Putnam & Grosset Group, 1998.
           Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives. New York: Putnam & Grosset Group, 1998.
Kewit, S. In The Palm Of Your Hand: The Poet’s Portable Workshop. Maine: TilburyHouse, Publishers, 1995.
Wooldridge, S. Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life With Words. New York: Three River Press, 1996.

Educational Sites that Span Ohio's Ten Standards

http://www.ohiorc.org The Ohio Resource Center supports standards-based learning in Ohio. ORC serves as a trusted source of easily accessible, peer-reviewed, high-quality, and effective resources.

http://readwritethink.org/ A project of National Council of Teachers of English, International Reading Association and Marco Polo, ReadWriteThink provides “educators and students access to the highest quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction.”

http://www.cardinalvalley.fayette.k12.KY.us/library/langarts.htm
Providing links for everything from Grammar to Other Languages, this school-based site provides opportunity for students to test their skills.
http://www.readingonline.org/default.asp This online journal, published by International Reading Association, focuses on K-12 practice and research in various aspects of reading instruction.

http://www.thinkfinity.com Thinkfinity provides searchable resources and lessons that support standards-based learning. Resources are provided by content specific organizations.


http://www.readingrockets.org/ Reading Rockets is a PBS series, and the site focuses on resources for working with children who struggle with reading and writing.

Standard 1. Phonemic awareness, word recognition and fluency

Standard 6. Writing process

Phoneme Center http://www.literacycenter.net/parents_teacher/phoneme_center.htm#

Phonemic Awareness assessment tools. http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/patti/k-1/teacher/assessment/tools/tools.html

Type in a topic of your choice (for instance, phonics) and a number of articles and resources are suggested. http://www.earlyreading.info

This large readers theater site provides many opportunities for students to read and practice fluency.
http://www.spiritsd.ca/teacherresources/ela/3-5/35ls.htm
This “Writer’s window” guides each writer (and teacher) through writing workshop. http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/writers/workshop.html

Ideas for writing in the K-12 classroom http://its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/writing.htm

A web guide that helps students write biographies. http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/biograph/

Defines and helps with implementation of the 6 Traits of writing. http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/department.php

Standard 2. Acquisition of vocabulary

Standard 7. Writing applications

Explains many word origins.
 http://www.etymonline.com/

Developed by Virginia teachers, this site guides you through helping students with vocabulary development. http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/Reading/wordsalive_voc_acq.html

Lots of word play here - both games and instruction. http://www.wolinskyweb.net/word.htm

Challenges students’ knowledge about such features of language as parts of speech, irregular verbs, and homonyms. http://www.quia.com/shared/eng/
A teacher’s guide for helping children write. http://www.meddybemps.com/7.022.html

Lots of writing ideas to get children started. http://kidswriting.about.com./mbody.htm

The Read to Write Project uses a variety of genres, written by children from around the world. http://www.rialto.k12.ca.us/curriculum/ReadtoWrite/Welcome.html

3. Reading process: concepts of print, comprehension strategies and self-monitoring strategies

8. Writing conventions

Small storybooks, many of them narrated, are accessible on this site. http://www.lil-fingers.com/storybooks/index.html

Lots of graphic organizers to download. Great for students to show their reading comprehension. http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/

Provides information and guidance in the many components of reading and writing instruction. Ideas for read alouds, guided reading, and more. http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/curric/vsc/english.html
Provides downloadable forms for evaluating writing. http://www.time4teachers.com/Samples/LanguageArts.htm

Online activities for children. http://www.literacycenter.net/index.htm

Games, news features and various resources in the constantly changing website. http://www.factmonster.com/

The Purdue Lab provides ideas, support and suggestions for improving writing. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Online resources for writers, such as Bartlett’s Quotations, a thesaurus, and more. http://www.protrainco.com/info/links/gramlink.htm

Standard 4. Reading applications: informational, technical and persuasive text

Standard 9. Research

Navigates students through the internet. http://www.learnthenet.com/english/index.html

A webquest that guides students through the use of persuasive text.
http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/studentpage.htm

A broad range of grade levels – this site suggests ways to integrate technology across the curriculum.
http://www.lite.iwarp.com/

A student friendly guide for evaluating web sites.
http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html

How to use evidence.
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/using_evidence.pdf

Basic steps in the research process. http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/

Writing a researdch paper.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/argutemplate.html

How to write a term paper. http://gale.cengage.com/free_resources/term_paper/take.htm

Constructing the argumentative essay. http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/success/sl29.htm

You Quote It, You Note It. http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/

Critically Analyzing Information Sources. http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill26.htm

Searchpath - sign in as a guest to participate in this tutorial that will help you find and evaluate resources.
http://www.wmich.edu/library/searchpath/

5. Reading applications: literary text

10. Communication: oral and visual

Steps for close reading. http://theliterarylink.com/closereading.html

Support for K-8 readers, their teachers and parents. http://www.readingrockets.org/

Resources for reading literary texts. http://www.ncte.org/collections/texts
 
Critical Reading: A Guide. http://www.brocku.ca/english/jlye/criticalreading.php

Explores and defines critical literacy. http://www.discover.tased.edu.au/english/critlit.htm

Reading resources for grades 4-12. http://www.adlit.org/
Oral Literacy Strategies. http://www.saisd.net/ADMIN/Curric/curricms/documents/springb/sb-oral-lit-strat.pdf

P:icture This: Visual Literacy activities. http://www.museumca.org/picturethis/visual.html

Visual Literacy K-8. http://www.k-8visual.info/

Media Literacy Clearinghouse. http://www.frankwbaker.com/

Center for Media Literacy. http://www.medialit.org/
 
The best tutorial for helping students (and teachers) learn the basics of PowerPoint. http://www.actden.com/pp2003/

Resources for creating PowerPoint presentations. http://www.esu5.org/techteacher/powerpoint.htm
 

OJELA "Half-Dozen" Resources

Digital Half Dozen

Literary Half Dozen

Assessment Half Dozen

 

 

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