10 Helpful Links for Elementary School Teachers

I listed these sites for things that I felt would be beneficial to me, as a third grade teacher in my classroom. There is no one focus on the sites, I looked for a variety of topics, and sites that I have used in the past, and/or have heard of being useful to other teachers. I felt a broad scope would be more beneficial to me than focusing on just one topic.

1. Interactive Social Studies Websites
URL - http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interact-socst.htm
Summary - This website provides a number of different links regarding a variety of social studies projects and activities targeting a variety of age groups.
Commentary - Pros - Helpful with a variety of resources, so it is a site that warrants more than one viewing. Summaries are brief but accurate. Cons - Could be a bitter better organized to make searching easier.
Score - 4.25/5

2. Proteacher Behavior Management and Positive Discipline Plans
URL - http://www.proteacher.com/030001.shtml
Summary - This website provides different behavior management plans and strategies that have been found effective by a variety of teachers from around the country.
Commentary - Pros -Many good ideas present in this website, not only ways to modify behavior, but also ways to accentuate the positive things that are already happening. helpful summaries that really help you find a site that is appropriate for you. Cons - This site could also be a bit better organized.
Score - 4.75/5

3. Classroom Rewards
URL -http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/more/management/contents02rewards.htm
Summary - This website provides different ideas that have been proven effective to reward students for positive behavior, and maximize student excitement in the classroom. A nice add-on to the previous website's behavior management emphasis
Commentary - Pros - More organized than the previous websites, a bit more clearly laid out. Has a good variety and number of resources Cons -Some of the descriptions seem to be a bit too vague to determine practicality at a given grade level, so searching may take a while.
Score - 3.75/5

4. The Clarifying Routine: Elaborating Vocabulary Instruction
URL - http://www.ldonline.org/article/5759
Summary -This article offers different ideas for vocabulary introduction in the classroom. This website emphasizes using diferent techniques in order to gain comprehension and add words as functional vocabulary for students.
Commentary - Pros - Very helpful with regards to giving teachers options for different approaches to introducting vocabulary. Cons - A few more examples and some activities would make this article even more useful.
Score - 4/5

5. Monthly Calendar of Events (Monthly Days to Celebrate Calendars)
URL - http://familycrafts.about.com/od/holidays/tp/specialdays.htm
Summary - This website gives classroom art and craft ideas based upon the months of the year. Easily divided up so that you can find appropriate activities based upon the month.
Commentary - Pros - Very well organized by the month, making it easier to plan ahead and quicker to search for materials desired. Cons - Could use a few more craft ideas maybe, but what they give you is very well organized.
Score - 5/5

6. Fun Science Experiments
URL - http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments.html
Summary - Science experiments that show you the title of the experiment, and summarizes the supples and steps required to complete the experiment.
Commentary - Pros - Well done experiments, easy to follow instructions and nice list of supplies required to complete the experiment. Cons - It would be nice if the website provided a video of the experiment being performed.
Score - 4.75/5

7. Multiplication Activities
URL - http://www.multiplication.com/activities.htm
Summary - Activities, games and worksheets provided to help assist students in the process of learning about multiplication. Helpful in providing different ways to introduce and explain the process in a way that is meaningful for students still learning the concept
Commentary- Pros - Well organized, the main site is also very helpful, with different ideas and strategies presented. Cons - Compared to some other sites, this particular page on this site doesn't have the scope or variety of activities the others do. the main page should be checked as well for additional ideas.
Score - 3.5/5

8. Merpy.com Stories
URL -http://www.merpy.com/index_stories.html
Summary - Website with online stories used to give students extra reading practice in the classroom. Other activities are also included in the website to extend student learning and provide them with additional opportunities to practice different skills essential to reading.
Commentary - Pros - Easily navigatable website, well organized and instantly understandable. Cons - It would be nice if there was a bit more of a variety of levels in the stories, to reach a broader range of students.
Score - 3.5/5

9. ALA Great Websites for Kids
URL- http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfmsection=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/default.cfm
Summary - This website was created for a variety of topics that the elementary teacher is expected to cover, the site is created so that you can click on hyperlinks to navigate to additional links that can be of use to the inquiring teacher.
Commentary - Pros - Easy to navigate and very well organized. The link of the month at the top of the page is a useful addition for educators to look at. Cons - Some of the links off of the main page could use a few more sites listed, but none of the ones that I checked out seemed too. empty. This is a very minor criticism.
Score - 5/5

10. How to Set Up Your Classroom for the First Day of School
URL - http://k6educators.about.com/od/classroomorganization/ht/setupclassroom.htm
Summary - Helpful tips and ideas to assist teachers in setting up their classroom on the first day. Obviously this site would be very helpful for beginning teachers, but as a teacher with some experience, I still found it useful to look it over, and think about why I do things, and if there is a better way to get my classroom set up.
Commentary - Pros - Helpful, easy to follow, and gives good ideas/reasoning. Cons -A few more creative ideas, activities would be beneficial for this link.
Score - 4/5