Sites of the Week

Site of the Week #4 (May 28th)
http://www.rif.org/readingplanet/
This site has so many fun reading and writing activities that it has definite appeal to students of varying ages. There are also some great resources for teachers and parents. One of the best tools on the site is the Book Zone. In the book zone you can browse different book lists, post and read reviews, listen to stories, and find out about your favorite authors. Another great feature is the Activity Lab. This area of the site allows you to explore several different language arts activities. The search feature in the Activity Lab allows you to look for activities within specific topics and age groups. I simply typed in "story" with "9-12" year olds and many activities came up. Of course students will probably most enjoy the Game Station area of the site. The games I looked at included a poetry activity, a story-maker, and several word study games. The only drawback to this site is that some of it requires membership. But even with that, there is so much to do and explore that it is a valuable site.
Learning Standards: 1a Apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to comprehend selections. 1b Apply reading strategies to improve understanding and fluency. 3c Communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety of purposes.


Site of the Week #3 (May 14th)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/
This website, which is part of Education World, offers many lessonplans, tips, articles, games, and templates for teachers to use in theclassroom. The site, which focuses on technology integration, has manythings for teachers to explore as they look for more effective ways toinclude technology in the classroom. One article I found interesting was about 5 technology lessons toimplement in the classroom that focus on teaching about technology.These lessons include activities to teach students about surfing theInternet, word processing, and using e-mail. In addition to this onearticle, there are also hundreds of links to other technology-orientedlesson plans for all grade levels from kindergarten through high school. I think this website can be a great resource for anyone - fromcomplete novices to those people who regularly integrate technology inthe classroom. It is definitely a site worth exploring.
NETS standards: all


Site of the week #2 (April 30th)
http://www.infoplease.com/states.html
This website has information on all 50 states. This information includes facts about states' geographic features, history, economic activities, and government. It is also has games that help students learn the names of states and their capitals. I use this site with my fourth graders as we learn about each region of the country. The especially like playing the games to learn the states because each set of games comes in a variety of levels. That way they can challenge themselves as much as they want.
Learning Standards: 17a Locate, describe and explain places, regions, and features of Earth. 17c Understand relationships between geographic features and society. 17d Understand the historical significance of geography.


Site of the Week #1 (April 16th)
http://www.aaamath.com
Website description: This site provides practice for several mathconcepts over several grade levels. It is organized for students ingrades kindergarten through 8th grade with a variety of options forgames and math practice. Games can also be accessed by math conceptinstead of grade level. Some of the math concepts that students canpractice with are: algebra, comparing, counting, decimals, division,equations, estimation, exponents, fractions, geometry, graphs,measurement, multiplication, naming numbers, patterns, percent, placevalue, properties, ratios, statistics, and subtraction. The site isalso available in Spanish.
Learning Standards: 6a Demonstrate knowledge and use of numbers in their representations ina broad range of theoretical and practication settings.6b Investigate, represent and solve problems using number facts,operations and their properties, alogrithms and relationships.6d Solve problems using comparison of quantities, ratios, proportions,and percents.7a Measure and compare quantities using appropriate units, instrumentsand methods.8b Interpret and describe numerical relationships using tables, graphs,and symbols.8d Use algebraic concepts and procedures to represent and solveproblems.9a Demontrate and apply geometric concepts involving points, lines,planes, and space.10a Organize, describe, and make predictions for existing data.