Return to Network Nugget Archive's Main Index
Education World is one of those web sites that you want to visit on a regular basis. Each week they publish at least one lesson planning 'article' designed specifically for teachers. Many of these articles are based on a theme (e.g., the Depression, the new Millenium, Grandparents Day) and provide leads to Internet resources that will help you develop that theme in the classroom.
Other articles are focused on professional development and that's where today's Nugget fits. It's a collection of twelve quick tips on helping you to manage your classroom more effectively. You'll find suggestions for getting to know your students, communicating with parents, and starting the day of on a high point. The article is quite brief - the tips are easily and quickly described. That will give you time to take a look at the other lesson planning articles. Articles are organized chronologically or by subject. Personally, I like the chronological index because that allows me to check for the new articles since my last visit, however if you're interested in just one or two fields, you might like the subject index.
There's much more to Education World than their lesson planning - take a browse from their home page when you have an hour or two to spare - you're bound to find something that will catch your interest.
Simple Tips for Successful Teachers is hosted by Education World and is suitable for K-12 teachers. It is located at:
The archives for all of Education World's articles on lesson planning are at:
Education World's home page is at:
http://www.sbcss.k12.ca.us/sbcss/specialeducation/ecthematic/Winter/
Looking for teaching ideas and resources for the upcoming holiday season? This early childhood site has 14 categories to choose from including cooking ideas, language development, music, bulletin board ideas, and fine motor/art. Although some sections can be brief, overall the site has plenty of ideas that you can draw from.
For example, if you wish to use a gingerbread theme, there's a gingerbread recipe, a gross motor activity (Jump the River), a pre-academic activity (sorting and matching), a fine motor activity (Sandpaper Gingerman), as well as the story itself. Or, if you want to discourage parents from visiting the classroom :>), have the students serve them reindeer sandwiches. They're created out of bologna, cheese, pretzels, and maraschino cherries. Yum. Apparently the children love them - it must be that mystifying combination of conflicting tastes that enthrall them.
The Winter Holidays site is hosted by Kathy Van Velzen and is suitable for kindergarten teachers.
Looking for ideas, activities or worksheets for elementary students? You'll find a wide variety at this site - organized under the subject headings of English, Science, Design and Technology (D&T), Geography, Music, Religious Education (RE), Maths, Information and Commuication Technology (ICT), History, Art, and PE. Some subjects are broken down further, for example English has three sections for Reading, Writing, and Speaking & Listening.
This site would be a good resource for K-5 teachers looking for teaching ideas that can be put to use quickly and easily. The subject organization makes the site easy to navigate and there are sufficient suggestions in each area to make your trip worthwhile. You'll also find a feature titled "Time-Fillers". This is a collection of short activities which can be used within a number of subject areas to fill a few spare moments during the day.
Teaching Ideas for Primary Teachers is hosted by Mark Warner and is suitable for all teachers of grades K-5.
Here's the complete Encyclopedia Britannica online, and for free! The articles themselves are similar to those of the print version except, of course, they're digital and accessible through an online search function. Once you've found the information you're looking for, you can print it or email it to yourself, view image(s) associated with the item, access associated articles in the encyclopedia, and see a list of links to Internet sites on the same topic. (Caution: this last feature worked very poorly for me in my test runs as the links that were provided had little relevance to my search.) In addition to the Encyclopedia, the site offers a directory of web links organized under 15 topics. Each topic gives access to hierarchical subdirectories as well as news stories from leading magazines.
This site would be useful as an online reference tool for students collecting information in any subject area. It offers the strength of the traditional Britannica encylopedia but in an electronic form with all of those inherent advantages. Unlike some other encyclopedia sites, it's free! Teachers could also use the site as a directory (e.g., Education: Teacher Resources) to educational resources on the web but they may find that the depth of the coverage is limited when compared to sites that focus exclusively on education.
The Encyclopedia Britannica is hosted by Britannica.com and is suitable for all students in grades K-12.
If you're a fan of online games, this Halloween collection will give you the equivalent to the high your students are going to have the afternoon of October 31st. You could try to fight the manic moods ("Sit down or we'll have a pop quiz!") or try to focus their energies into some learning activities.
Choose the type of game you want depending on the amount of technology power you can scrape up (Online, Javascript, Shockwave) and then browse through this list of activities (45 in total) to find the perfect alternative for Sugar High Syndrome. If you're looking for other types of Halloween activities, use the navigational button at the bottom of the page to go to the site's home page ("Halloween Home") where you'll find clip art, jokes and riddles, word finds, craft projects, and many more ideas. In fact, it's not necessary to wait until the afternoon of the 31st to use these ideas. There's plenty here to feed the frenzy for an entire week ahead of time. You can always phone in sick on the 31st, right?
Online Halloween Games is hosted by Kid's Domain and is suitable for students in grades K-7
Every Day Activities are fun and yet educational for your students to
become involved in. Of course the ideas that are presented are only a
small sampling of what you could have your students do with the information
available on this site. Examples of the various topics are: Everyday
Activities: Language Arts (Cool Fact of the Day, Buzz Word of the Day,
Cool Word of the Day), History (This Day in History, This Day in Life,
Those Were the Days), and PotPourri (Famous Birthdays, Idea of the Day, Old
Farmer's Almanac)
The Every Day Activities site is hosted by Education World and is suitable
for students in grades K-12.
This site has a new brain teaser each Wednesday. Various grade groupings
are given, as well as archives so you can find some other ideas. The
problem is stated and clues are given to help those students that just need
that little extra explanation. This week's questions are: Animal Facts,
Towers of Flowers, and Relative Rainfall.
The Brain Teasers site is hosted by Houglin Mifflin and is suitable for
Math students in grades 3-7.
Do you know what "Core Knowledge" is? This site has lesson plans that
address those very topics that are considered essential to a student's
education (by a group of school reformers). The various lesson plans in
the site are divided into easy accessible grade groupings. Each lesson
follows the format of: Abstract, Overview, Skills to be Taught Background
Knowledge, Resources, Materials, Vocabulary, Activities, and Evaluations.
One caution is you may find some of the topics are different in scope from
what your students may be learning at a particular level. For example
there is a Midsummer Night's Dream lesson that is focussed on a Grade 5
class.
The Core Knowledge is hosted by Core Knowledge Foundation and is suitable
for students in grades K-8 .
Now that Baseball season is here, you may want to explore this thematic
site with topics and links for: Language Arts, Science, History, Math,
Personal Development, and Geography. One such link to the San Francisco
Giants, provides word problems for your students to figure out the various
costs of attending a game. Advertising unfortunately is on the outer
frames.
Take Them Out to the Ball Game is hosted by Education World and is suitable
for students in grades 3-10.
http://www.innerbody.com/innerauto/http://www.innerbody.com/default.htm
Do you have students who have difficulty visualizing what happens when a
car's brakes are pressed? Have you always wondered how the oil goes
through the engine? This site 'shows and tells' all about the automobile.
Animations and descriptions include: Brakes in Action, Cooling System,
Engine Lubrication, V8 Engine, Front Suspension, 4 Speed Manual
Transmission, Differential, and Front Wheel Driver Powertrain. Also
included are extensive sets of images and a search tool.
The Automotive Learning On-Line is hosted by Informative Graphics and is
suitable for Technology Education students in grades 8-12.
http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/Yahooligans/Celebrate_Moms
I know it is late to be sending out this site, but I just found it and I hope some of you will get a chance to use it with your students!! This site contains two main areas: Things You Can Do For Mom (Best Mom Certificate, Make Mom's Bed, Mom's Day Super Checks, Mother's Day Ultimate Breakfast, and the Promise Card), and Mother's Day Web sites (Billy Bear's Happy Mother's Day, History of Mother's Day, It's Our Mother's Day Celebration, Mom's Day Clip Art, Mom's Day Fun at Kid's Domain, and Mother's Day 100 Moms). I especially liked the Country Kitchen Ultimate Mother's Day Breakfast link. The song from the Spice Girl's is a great idea to incorporate into your student's Language Arts or Music lessons.
The Happy Mother's Day site is hosted by Yahoo and is suitable for students in grades K-7 .
The number of young smokers has increased by 388,000 this year already.
This site is an attempt to lower this number. The table of contents
includes: 6 Facts about Kids and Smoking, The Real Deal about Tobacco, Up
in Smoke, Is Smokeless Tobacco Safer Than Cigarettes, Be an Ad Buster,
Smoke Free from Coast to Coast, and 10 things You Can do to Make Your world
Smoke-free. The graphics are colourful and attractive, and the text is
clear and easy to read.
The SGR 4 Kids is hosted by Center for Disease Control and is suitable for
students in grades 4-12.
This new site contains pertinent information on this important issue.
Various links include: Canada Safety Council, Impaired Driving, Drinking
and Driving, Driving while Intoxicated, and a couple of sites from the US
that are debating the .08% limits. One very interesting link was the Guide
for Detecting Drunk Drivers at Night.
The Drinking and Driving Theme Page is hosted by CLN and is suitable for
students in grades 8-12.
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec670/Cardboard/cardboardcognition.html
Do you wish you knew of some different education card and board games? Well
this site has 100's!! Some of them are old favorites, others are
adaptations, and some are new (well to me anyway!) The site is divided
into these subjects: Art and Music, English/Language Arts,
Computing,Foreing Languages, Health, Job Skills, Life Skills, Math, P. E.,
Science, Social Studies, Education Technology, and Others. One interesting
game was The Key to Effective Meetings, which included an example of the
board needed to play.
The Cardboard Cognition site is hosted by San Diego State University and is
suitable for students in grades K-12.
Not sure how to integrate Information Technology into your other curriculum
areas? This site gives you those answers. Various grade activities K-3,
4-6, 7-9, 10-12 all contain lessons devleoped to integrate other subjects
with Info Tech. Each of the lessons contain the following headings:
Setting the Stage, Student Tasks and Assisgnments, Resources, and Assesment
Rubrics.
Teaching and Learning with Technology is hosted by the Calgary Regional
Consortium and is suitable for students in grades K-12.
I had a request from S. Staples for a circus site for K-3 students. Well
here is one that you may find interesting. Some of the main topics covered
are: The Great Circus Parade, Circus Showgrounds, and The Great Circus
Trains. There is a great deal of information in this site, as well as
colouring pictures you can print off for your students. You can even see a
picture of a "Temple Tableau".
The Great Circus Parade is hosted by Compuware Corporation and The Great
Circus Parade, Inc. and is suitable for students in grades K-4.
Do you have a student teacher or a first year teacher in your school right
now? You may want to direct them to this site. It contains such topics
as So Much More Than a Job, Tips and Strategies from First-Year Teachers,
How Can Principals and Administrators Help First-Year Teachers, Veteran
Teachers Talk, and best of all A Checklist of Tips.
What to Expect Your First Year of Teaching is hosted by The U.S. Department
of Education and is suitable for student and first year teachers
I had a request from S. Skelton in Cranbrook for a site on
students constructing a school web page. Well, I think this theme page is just what he is looking for! Not only does it give the educator a great deal of
examples on constructing web pages, but it also has many student links
showing them how to actually develop their own school web site. A great
deal of the schools in B.C. that have their own web sites are listed so you
can go and see what others are putting into their sites!
Creating Web Pages is hosted by CLN and is suitable for students in grades
4-12.
If you are a grade 12 teacher, or a parent of a grade 12 student, you may
want to explore this site. There are two main sections: one for university
students, and one for grade 12 students. Various categories in the grade
12 area include studying, examinations, preparations, choose your path,
scholarships, and education news. The university content includes searching
for a summer job, financing your education, registering, housing,
commuiting, campus life, and jobs and careers. Various discussion groups
also exist with my favorite being "I am the Roommate from Hell" which
contains many examples of various problems that could and do occur living
with roommates. It also contains ideas for dealing with these problems. I
am sure some of you experienced this!!
Go Higher! - A Guide to Canadian Universities is hosted by Cher Primeau and
David Main and is suitable for students in grades 10-12.
With Easter soon to be here, I thought you may enjoy some activities to do
with your students. Various activities listed are: How To Make Ukrainian
Easter Eggs, Quick Easter Craft, Colouring Eggs, and Easter Games. Also
included is a good list of Easter customs from all over the world,
including the History of the White House Easter Egg Roll (I didn't know it
existed!!).
The Easter Theme Page is hosted by The Donn's and is suitable for students
in grades K-12.
If you are looking for some ideas to integrate telecommunications with
other subject areas in the curriculum. this is it!! This site was suggested
by R. Hoger from Alberta. The main headings include: Collaborative
Learning Projects, Professional Growth and Mentorship, Curricular Resource
Links, Research Skills and Strategies, and communication Technologies.
The list of projects is huge, and almost any subject area you would want is
developed. A couple of interest to me was Mutual Funds and Probability
(good at this time of year!!), and Pirates and Buchanneers. Each project
that is listed contains an overview, content goals, process goals, an
implementation sequence, links to the the projects, educational
telecommunications lessons learned, and a great graph showing the time
frame, resources needed, project status, # of classes and participants.
The www.2Learn.ca site is hosted by Because We Care Education Society of
Alberta and is suitable for students in grades K-12
Here is the St. Patrick's Day site that some of you may be wanting to use this week before spring Break!! The section Fun for the Kids includes links to such sites as: A Green Quiz for St. Patrick's Day, Irish Fun and Games, and St. Paddy's Irish Word Puzzle. There is also a section on History/Traditions, Genealogy, and Irish Blessings.
The St. Patrick's Day in Cyberspace is hosted by Rosalind Fruchtman and is suitable for students in grades K-7 .
This site contains many links that deal with the following topics: a database of what drugs look like, what drugs do to a person, FAQ on drugs, and a section for parents (useful for teachers too). The data base contains a complete list of any drug you may know of, and even if you've only heard the slang term it will probably be described here, Included in the data base are pictures and descriptions of all the drugs. The Help for Parents links contain the following headings: What Do You Know?, Help? My kid's On Drugs, The Parent's Role, Tips for Parents, and Resources for Parents.
Information about the dogs, the trail, and the history of the race is included.
The Partnership for a Drug Free America is hosted by Partnership for a Drug-Free America and is suitable for teachers and parents.
With all the snow that is still falling, I thought you primary teachers out there would enjoy a thematic unit to help you get through to Spring Break (if the snow lasts that long!!). This site contains the following topics: Snow Science, Snow Art, Snow Literature (with actual text right in the link so you don't have to hunt for the story), Snow Food, and Snow Links to other web sites.
My favorite activity was the "Build a Borax Snowflake". All the activities are clearly described.
The Kids Snow Page is hosted by The Teel Family and is suitable for students in grades K-5.
This site is like having your own internet resource guide!! It includes
such topics as: Arts & Crafts, Children's Literature, Geography, Government
(U.S. mostly), P.E. and Health, Holidays, Languages, Mathematics,
Newspapers, Online Projects, Puzzles & Games, References, Search Engines,
Science, Social Studies and Technology. Also included are teacher
resources and lesson plans, web graphics, motivational links, poem pages,
computer calendars, and freebies.
Tammy's Tidbits is hosted by Tammy Bushey and is suitable for students in
grades K-12.
The annual Iditarod Race takes place on March 6. Here you have all the official information about the race, including the Jr. Iditarod race for ages 14-18. Included in this site are ideas for elementary students, especially learning about the life skills that are needed by the mushers and their dogs. A full curriculum rationale is provided for middle and high school students as well. Information about the dogs, the trail, and the history of the race is included.
The Iditarod Sled Dog Race site is hosted by Iditarod Trail Committee and is suitable for students in grades 3-12.
This site contains a great amount of information on the Gifted child. Such topics as Articles and Research, Books, Education Tools, Internet Investigations, Journals and Magazines, Kids and Teens Stuff, On-line Support, Organizations and Conferences, Parent to Parent, and What's New. Each of the topics contains links to more information.
Hoagies' Gifted Education Page is hosted by Carolyn K. and is suitable for Gifted students in grades K-12.
'This site contains lessons in time management for students. Four lessons form the basis of this site. Each lesson contains various activities and links. The lessons themselves have student friendly activities, such as time monsters and solutions. The graphics are entertaining yet do not detract from the "message" being taught. Included in the site is background information for teachers, parents, and administrators.
The Beat the Clock site is hosted by Day Runner and is suitable for
students in grades 6-9.
http://www.minnetonka.k12.mn.us/support/science/lessonsk1/hundred.html
This100 Day site is for those teachers that have been counting the days of school, usually in their early morning calendar acitivities. There is a list of books to use with your students, as well as 15 other acitivities that are described. This site is basically text based, but would prove valuable to early primary teachers. (Maybe you might want to print it off and give it to a primary teacher on your staff.) My sources tell me that here in Victoria, the magic day is Feb.8!!
The 100 Day is hosted by Minnetoknka Elementary Public Schools and is suitable for students in grades K-2.
This site contains many ideas "to bring Africa Alive" to your students. It has an excellent teachers' lesson page, Liberian Folk Tales, Power Plays written by students, Recipes, and additional African Links. The Play section contains ideas for auditions, costumes, job assignments, and rehearsals.
Deep in the Bush is hosted by Phillip Martin and is suitable for students in grades K-8.
'Canadiana: The Canadian Resource Page' is a meta-listing
of sites that are, well, Canadian. You can look up postal
codes and telephone numbers, find out about our history,
government and sports teams, learn the words to our national
anthems, access Canadian daily news and weather, explore the
job market, get travel information and much much more.
There's a parallel site in French as well.
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has just opened the
'electronic doors' to a new service called TeacherSource.
As the title suggests, it's an online source of educational
materials for teachers.
Categories include the arts, sciences, technology, health,
social studies, math and special topics. Each link provides
information related to PBS television programming as well
lesson ideas and activities that can stand on their own.
In addition, PBS 'Teacher Previews' is a new weekly online
newsletter from PBS Online designed specifically for preK-12
educators. Each week, you'll find new web features with
classroom resources and activities, details on PBS broadcast
programs with educational taping rights, station resources,
professional development opportunities and more.
You can subscribe by visiting the PBS Teacher Previews
subscription page at:
http://rbcm1.rbcm.gov.bc.ca/leoexhibit/index_leo.html
RBCM Leonardo da Vinci Exhibition
Since the "largest ever touring exhibition" of the works of
Leonardo da Vinci will be featured October 1, 1998 through
February 28, 1999 at the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM)
right outside my door here in Victoria, it's no wonder that
Leonardo's work is one of the first topics that comes to my
mind when thinking about what's appropriate for the Nuggets
list. The RBCM website (above) has information about the exhibition
along with outreach programs and activities (ranging from
essay contests to designing bridges from pasta).
As the ultimate "Renaissance Man" Leonardo is a perfect focal
point for the integrated curriculum with a focus on creative
achievement. A thorough study of this great mind would include
history, math, science, art, engineering, philosophy and more.
Here are some websites to get the K-12 learner started on such
a pursuit (and if any of these students happen to ask, the
answer is NO, *this* Leonardo is NOT the one from "Titanic")
The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci:
Webmuseum: Leonardo da Vinci:
Leonardo da Vinci:
Finally, don't forget CLN's "Inventors and Inventions" theme
page, which links to the wonderful "Exploring Leonardo" site as
well as a range of other invention-oriented resources:
EDSITEment is a web site created by the U.S. National
Endowment for the Humanities, the Council of the Great
City Schools, MCI Communications Corp., and the National
Trust for the Humanities. The site serves as a gateway
to humanities-related educational content on the Internet.
The site encourages learners to use Internet resources
in a meaningful fashion, stating that "despite their
diverse subjects and specialties, humanities teachers share
a common purpose: to help students explore the ways men and
women make and find meaning in human life.."
Each link listed on EDSITEment has been screened by a
rigorous academic review process and endorsed by a
distinguished panel of educators and parents.
Art History, Literature, Languages, and History are
represented. I'd estimate that about 50% of the content
is international in perspective with links and lesson
plans related to Shakespeare, the Romantics, Dante,
Victorian Britian, multiculturalism and much more.
The remaining 50% has a focus that is mainly geared to
teachers in the U.S. (or those in other locations who are
teaching subjects such as American History or American
Literature). A wealth of information is included on topics
such as the Civil War, the New Deal, U.S. Congress, etc.
When it's time to browse the web with children, you might
want to start with a large collection of links selected
especially for that purpose by people who know kids and
really care about them.
The American Library Associations's Children and Technology
Committee has created such a collection (above), including sites
that are "amazing, spectacular, mysterious and colorful."
The suggested age range is preschool to age 14. Categories
include arts and entertainment, science and technology,
planet earth, literature and language, and more.
At the "Famous Mistakes" link in the Science and Technology
section, I learned that "Liquid Paper" (typewriter correction
fluid) was invented by a bad typist who also happened to be
the mother of a rather famous rock star (are you old enough
to remember the Monkees?)
The above webpage allows you to access the library of ThinkQuest entries. Each is a link to an Internet project of educational value.
Sonia McSweeney from ThinkQuest contacted me to ask if I could
disseminate the following information about the ThinkQuest
contest, which is now international.
ThinkQuest promotes the Internet Style of Learning in the
classroom. There is now a vast archive of educationally-
related web sites, designed by students, for use by teachers
in the classroom. The sites can also be used by students on
an individual basis for research and general knowledge. "
Find out more at the ThinkQuest contest:
http://www.artsednet.getty.edu/ArtsEdNet/Resources/Sampler/d-4.html
The topic of 'Masks and Maskmaking' relates to a range of K-12
curriculum areas. Well-represented on the world wide web, it's
easy to find mask sites that could be incorporated in lessons
on Culture and History, Art, Drama, Dance, Literature, Science,
Tech Ed, and Math.
"Masks as an expression of human celebration." The focus of
the above link which is a corner of the ArtsEdNet website. It's an online lesson plan covering
art, culture, concepts of beauty, and even the functional uses of
masks for protection (welders, divers, doctors, dentists ) or
warmth (skiers)
Other mask-related web sites include:
Information about the horrifying 'special effects'
masks used in the movie industry (and ideas you can try with
simple ingredients, such making scars from gelatin):
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is a classified list
of sites on the Internet. It covers a fairly wide range of
topics and has won many awards.
I found the "Web Site Evaluation" links in the "Additional
Information" category to be extremely useful, and if you have
a graphical browser, you might want to check out some of the
slide shows, such as:
Simple Tips for Successful Teachers
Winter Ideas
Teaching Ideas for Primary Teachers
Encyclopedia Britannica
Online Halloween Games
Every Day Activities
Brain Teasers
Core Knowledge-Lesson Plans
Take Them Out to the Ball Game
Automotive Learning On line
Happy Mother's Day
SGR 4 Kids
Drinking and Driving Theme Page
Cardboard Connection
Teaching and Learning with Technology
Great Circus Parade
What to Expect Your First Year of Teaching
Creating School Web Pages
Go Higher
Easter
www.2learn.ca
St. Patrick's Day
Drug Free Resource Center
Kids Snow Page
Tammy's Tidbits
The Idiatarod Sled Dog Race
Hoagies' Gifted Education Page
Beat The clock-Time Management
100 Day
Deep In the Bush
The Canadian Resource Page
PBS TeacherSource
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/previews/subscribe.html
Leonardo Da Vinci
http://banzai.msi.umn.edu/leonardo/
http://sunsite.unc.edu/wm/paint/auth/vinci/
http://www.ultranet.com/~rsarkiss/DAVINCI.HTM
http://www.cln.org/themes/inventors.html
EdSITEment
700+ Great Sites for Children
ThinkQuest
"ThinkQuest is an annual contest that challenges students,
ages 12 to 19, to use the Internet as a collaborative,
interactive teaching and learning tool. Over a million
dollars in scholarships are awarded every year.
http://www.advanced.org/thinkquest/thinkquestions.html
Masks and Maskmaking
Masks as part of a lesson in mirror symmetry:
http://www.tenthplanet.com/Geometry/resource/2inv2.html
http://ericir.syr.edu/Projects/Newton/10/lessons/MnstrMkup.html
http://www.monstermakers.com/
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators
The above links address issues that are important to the
effective use of the internet as an educational tool.
![[Previous Page]](/global/previous.gif)