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Curricular Supports
/ Educational Content Sites
What it is:
The Internet is a growing resource for educational content. Web resources allow the teacher to:
- find lesson plans,
- enhance existing lessons with new resources,
- adapt lessons for the full class or groups, or
- create their own lesson plans.
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How does it work:
Large banks of graded lesson plans designed to meet specific standards can provide the teacher with appropriate activities for the students that are struggling, as well as those that need more challenging work.
MarcoPolo: Internet Content for the Classroom is a standards-based collection of resources developed by recognized experts.
GEMS (Gateway to Educational Materials) is a federally sponsored consortium that offers 40,000 lessons and instructional resources from more than 400 organizations, searchable by topic, grade level, etc.
FREE allows a search of educational resources from fifty federal agencies.
Most web-based educational resources fit into four broad categories: presentations, materials, links to others, and interactive activities.
Online presentations include interactive exhibitions, guided tours, documentaries, slide shows, demonstrations, videos, audio clips, and other multimedia. These can often be used as an exciting way to introduce a new topic to the entire class, as in the example of hearing Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech. Online presentations can provide important background or a dramatic overview, engaging a wide range of students.
Internet materials such as maps, charts, graphs, timelines, articles, and handouts can enhance lessons. They can be printed out for classroom use or used electronically. They can be edited and changed to fit with different lessons or students. Students who need extra practice or more concrete examples can benefit. See examples at: Maps and Geography from National Geographic, and Understanding Geologic Time from UC Berkeley.
Links to other people are a strength of the Internet, including links to other students around the world or researchers that are on a voyage of exploration. Some projects engage students in cooperative research by gathering data from around the world or match classes with pen pals for the purpose of practicing a foreign language. NASA's Science in Space Challenge invites K-4 classes to submit an experiment they would like conducted in space. High school teachers have found student blogs to be motivational for writing. A blog is a web log where people can easily publish their thoughts and stories online. A number of libraries sponsor blog sites for teens. These types of activities are motivating to students who appreciate the real world context and relevance.
Online learning activities include games, tests, puzzles, and simulations. They engage students in thinking and doing. Examples include lab simulators where physical properties such as gravity and mass can be altered, or the National Geographic's Lewis and Clark Expedition: Create Your Own Adventure where students design their own extreme adventure. Activities may be appropriate for a whole class, students working in teams, or individuals. They can be used as part of pre-assessment for skill acquisition, or for re-teaching. They may also allow students to demonstrate mastery of a skill or concept.
Some sites, such as Windows to the Universe, allow you to view the same material at different ability levels (such as Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced.) This feature can allow all of your students to access the content at a level they can understand. This site is a free "learning system" which includes games, an online journal space, video clips, science information and activities, current news stories, and a wealth of accessible materials.
National Public Radio has over 100 podcasts, which include very brief items such as Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac, PRI's The World - Geo Quiz, and the Loh Down on Science to full programs including Science Friday.
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BrainPOP
Holocaust Wiki project
Lesson Plan Builder
Sebran's ABC- online learning games for K-2 in 23 languages
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