My Favorite Stops on the Internet

Crayola

    This is a teacher and student resource.  This site can be adapted to be used in all content areas.  The site features many creative lesson plans, information about art materials and new ways to use them in the classroom.  For students, the site includes interactive games.  The educators' portion of the site has no interactive features.  The site requires no special plug-ins.  I would be careful to prevent students from attempting to place orders on the online catalog.  Some classroom activities from this site might include art lessons, construction lessons and ways to incorporate writing with art.  There is an art teacher's and a classroom teacher's resource guide.  My favorite thing about the site is its immense creativeness.

Count On

    This site is primarily a student resource with some teacher resources.  This site is mainly appropriate for mathematics.  The site features many interactive math based activities, links to other math sites, history of individual numbers and much more. The site includes many interactive games, a matrix, numberland and puzzles.  The site requires Flash Player 6 and Shockwave 8.   If this site was used in a classroom I would be cautious that students were viewing at level concepts because the site contains some advanced math.  This site can be used to prove that math can be fun, useful and has historical significance.  There is a teacher's resource guide.  My favorite thing about the site is the inviting and lively format.

Chateau MeddyBemps

    This is a teacher and student resource.  This site is primarily geared for language arts.  The site features games, stories, a teacher's guide and a parents' guide.  The site includes many interactive games such as Egg-tivities, and Deep Blue Sea.  The site does not require any special plug-ins.  I would be cautious about students visiting this site because there are upper-level, geared activities.  Ideas for center activities could be borrowed from this website. My favorite thing about this site is that it makes reading a fun, enjoyable pursuit. 

For kids: How to Write a Story by Bruce Hall

    This is mostly a student resource. The site is specific designed to help students write effective stories.  The site features links to purchase works by the author, ways to reserve a visit from the author, and a comic strip.  The site does not contain interactive features. The site does not require any special plug-ins. I would be cautious to prevent students from attempting to order products from this site. The classroom activity that most readily comes from this site is writer's workshop.  Students can read, or be read this site and apply the concepts to their own work.  There is no teacher's resource for this site.  My favorite thing about this site is the plain language it employs to speak to kids about writing. 

A to Z Teacher Stuff

    This is entirely a teacher's resource.  The site contains applications for all content areas.  The site features over 300 lesson plans, printables, themed lessons, links to educational sites and discounted supply sources. The site includes an interactive chat forum for educators. The site does not require any special plug-ins. I would not directly use this site in my classroom, but many classroom activities could be developed from this site.  These activities  include guided reading work, centers activities, and whole and small group lessons in many content areas.  There is no resource guide for teachers on this site. My favorite thing about this site is that it was created for teachers, by teachers.