This International Kids Club site has activities, books, and crafts to help students understand each other around the world. Information links include lots of material on world clocks, religions, customs, organizations, and art. Specific links include “I” Kids, “I” Share, “I” Shop, “I” Learn, “I” Craft, and “I” Play. One fun part is finding out how speakers of different languages think animals sound. What is "meow" in an Asian language, for example? Sound files give examples of the sounds of many languages, as well. Some of the links are slow to open at times, so you may want to open them before you are ready to use them in class.
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Become a smart online consumer and computer user. Use the Topics, Games, or Videos sections to learn Internet safety at home and through life. From Phishing to Computer Disposal and Health Online, find helpful information for all ages. At the topics link you will find information on Wireless Security, Social Networking Sites, Spyware, Kids Privacy, and many other topics. The interactive (games) are highly engaging and include “Online Lineup,” “Invest Quest,” “The Case of the Cyber Criminal,” and many other online topics. There are a few videos to view also. Click on Tools for other resources including subscribing to "Cyber Security Tips." Although this site is useful for teachers of all grade levels, if students are using this site independently it is best suited for secondary students.
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This interactive graph (created with information from the U.S. Census) shows all jobs and the percentages of people who worked them from 1850-2000. Students can scroll up over any given year to see any job and the percentage of Americans working that job during that year (gender indicated). A few do have “missing data,” but most are complete. By clicking on the job, a new screen appears which shows the percentage of workers but divides the workers into male and female (pink and blue traditional colors help to differentiate between the genders). The site reflects the growing number of female workers, the loss of agrarian occupations, and the changing fields of importance, to name a few trends. Besides viewing the breakdown of male and female employees, you can also select one field and analyze its place in society today and during any given year. Occupations range from teachers to salesman to farmer to clerical worker and countless others. You can also search by letter and all the occupations beginning with that letter will come up graphed by percentages across the span of years.
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This website offers a fairly comprehensive like/dislike work personality profile. (There are other quizzes and occupation information available at the homepage). It is a very long survey (180 questions at the time of this review), but it can be saved in process which is a very helpful feature. Students answer simply “like,” “dislike,” or “not sure.” Once the profile is completed, an interest profile is developed and the meanings of the interests can be referenced in the first type of assessment. Jobs that are highly related to the individuals’ interest profile are linked here. The specific occupations are linked to information on the career including descriptions, education requirements, experience and skills needed to perform the job. Also, basic career information is also available by search without doing the interest assessment.
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Explore the science of fear with this fun and interesting site. Click on “Explore Fear Online.” View "Fear and the Brain" to understand how the brain responds to fear. Learn animal responses in "Fear in the Wild." Other links include "Fear and the Media," "The Fun Side of Fear," and "Dealing with Fear." Each link includes several more specific topics. There is also a Parent’s Guide with some of the topics.
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Based upon Gardner’s Eight Styles of Learning, this inventory allows your student to understand how they learn. Through 80 questions, the user will be told which learning styles are his strength or weakness. It’s simple to use. Simply type in a username, if you are male or female, if you are right or left handed, and your age. Click to Begin. You will be provided a USER ID number. Make sure you write down the user ID number assigned to each student, as entering that number is the only means to look at your inventory results. All information is confidential; no names are entered, therefore the ID number is essential. The site allows a maximum of 40 users on the inventory at a time. They provide the current number of users on the main page.
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This website offers a cache of Learning Disability information for teachers and parents submitted by members of this “community.” Articles, discussion boards, courses, intelligence tests, and links offer a full array of resources for you, for parents, or for staff development. Because content is user-submitted, there is a wide variety of information, and a few self-serving posts to “plug” a certain product. Most content is useful, easy to understand, and “agenda”- free. There are sidebar ads. You must do a quick sign-in to access all this site offers, including customizing your own webpage within this site. Sign-in does require an email address.
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Have students that are not sure what they want to be when they grow up? Do many students think that there are not many job opportunities in Math or Science? Share this site with students. Answer the quiz to uncover possible interests for future careers. Students can choose categories such as Music or Sports to view additional possible careers that many students would not think about. Click on Teachers and Instructors to view Lesson Plans and other activities, Resources, or Career Counseling. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. Get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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This site, created by Brenda Nicholson, a mom and trained ADD coach, offers a blog-like format with reference information and more -- all related to ADD. If you have ADD/ADHD students in your classroom, you may want to save this gem in your favorites. There are links for ADD students, life skills, organization, time management tips, RSS feed newsletters, a search engine, and other topics. Although the site includes podcasts, they do not seem to be working at the time of this review. You will definitely want to steer the parents of your ADD/ADHD students here. Be aware there is some commercialization of products (books and coaching) by the web owner, but the advantages warrant a “thumbs up” for this site.
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This comprehensive website, written by four teachers, offers an excellent starting point and whets the appetite for anyone seriously looking into autism. Autism4teachers offers a snapshot of many of the current and research-based concepts in the area of autism. The information provides enough information to enable you to research even further. There are numerous specific topics highlighted at this website including Communication, Social Skills, Classroom Structure, TEACCH, Inclusion, Behavioral Support, Parent Support, Visual Support, Community Support, Autism Awareness, Assistive Technology, Sensory Based Activity Room, Thematic Units, Data Sheets, & several others. Don't miss the MANY lesson ideas and activities provided with the topics. This website requires Windows Media Player. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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This is an unusually complete directory of autism resources for teachers, parents, and others who interact with autistic children. The content includes numerous teaching and behavioral strategies, links to additional resources, support information, and networking opportunities. This is a great resource for everything from basic definitions to options for teaching strategies. This site offers a number of links. Some of the links do require Adobe Acrobat or Flash. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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This comprehensive directory lists thousands of summer learning opportunities for kids of all ages. Day and overnight camp choices include those focusing on sports, special needs, family, self-improvement, arts, adventure, and academics. The site also includes advice for parents about selecting, paying, and packing for summer camp.
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While planning for careers and higher education is complex, this site does a nice job of breaking the process into understandable steps. While it’s by no means a complete resource, users can get a feel for the process they will want to go through as they investigate career possibilities. There are also plenty of links to other topical resources. This one’s a nice starting point.
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This is a teacher and professional resource containing lesson plans and links for promoting diversity and addressing racial divides. This site contains excellent lesson plans on diversity, discrimination, multiculturalism, and tolerance. Each plan focuses on a person or event of a specific racial group, or a problem common to all multicultural groups. The plans do not specify a grade level, though many could be adapted for use from middle elementary level to high school. From Japanese internment to celebrating Thanksgiving in an American school, the plans and activities are excellent, varied, and fresh. The lesson plans are VERY detailed and provide objectives, but no correlation to standards. Many of the individual stories are available in MP3 format. You can listen to the stories using Windows Media Player or on any MP3 player, as well. Some of the lesson plans require Adobe Acrobat. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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TeachersFirst's sister site, TeachersAndFamilies, offers this article and accompanying ideas for school and family to help children and teens understand and cope during tough economic times. The article includes information reprinted by permission from the National Association of School Psychologists and extensive, practical ideas and activities to help families cope together. Included is a printable of these activity ideas.
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Need to keep up-to-date on hot teen websites, technology, and the safety concerns swirling around both? Designed for parents and teachers, this site will help you learn oodles, especially if you desire to communicate with your middle and high school students about web issues and the latest news. The blog-style format makes it easy to read and navigate. To receive its valuable information in email format, sign up for this free service. Many of the links require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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Need a PowerPoint? Check this site first to find one on a topic you need from the vast array available. The free PowerPoints and interactive activities are easily downloaded. To find the FREE PowerPoint presentations, click on the FREE Presentations in PowerPoint Format link found directly under the red train. There are literally hundreds of topics (over 1,200 at the time of this review). Topics are listed in alphabetical order. There are so many topics: Plagiarism, Integers, Interjections, IQ Tests, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Graphic Organizers, Graphs, Gold Rush, the Bible, Economics, Amelia Earhart (and many other heroes), Descriptive Writing, Coral Reefs, Civil Rights Movement, Autism, Ancient Civilizations, Presidents, Louisiana Purchase, Money, Music Instruments, How to Write an Outline, Rosa Parks, Resumes, Terrorism, Vietnam War, and many MANY others. Primary teachers will appreciate simple activities on Dolch words and other sight vocabulary! Pages are arranged in topics such as "Plants and Animals," "World History," "Biology, Chemistry, and Physics," and "Problem Solving." Each page includes a vast array of subtopics. Other links on the page include "Greta's Game Station" and "Hannah's Help" which offers information on researching. Some of the links at “Greta’s Game Station” require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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This collection of downloadable, printable pdfs covers a wide range of topics for managing crisis and traumatic experiences among children and teens. The Crisis Management Institute provides fee-based training and support services for schools, but they offer these downloads for free, as long as users abide by copyright restrictions in printing them exactly as-is and NOT excerpting or adapting content. The downloads are written for different audiences: teachers, parents, administrators, and counselors, and cover many topics of school violence, terrorism, grief, trauma, suicide, school crisis management, Hurricane aftermath, helping displaced students, and more. There are several printables on 9/11 and handling the anniversaries of this traumatic day. The printable section is searchable, as well.
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This informative and friendly article from the National Association of School Psychologists provides easy-to-implement suggestions for teacher and parents in helping children and teens cope tough economic times. Many of the tips are similar to what we may already know about helping students in times of stress, but this article refocuses adults to tune into the economic crisis from the point of view of the child/teen.
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Economics and the stock market have taken center stage since the crises of 2008. This site provides a nice overview of the world of personal investment including sections on earning, saving, spending, investing, giving, owing, safeguarding, and tracking. There are also a number of interactive features that can provide insight into the student's attitudes toward money. Online calculators help students understand how finance charges affect the "bottom line" for purchases bought on credit, and how saving in interest-bearing accounts can increase assets. The "Ideas for Teachers" link includes lesson plans and other tips for using the site in an educational setting. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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