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 *August 19
Online Printable Lesson Planners
This web page features multiple formats for your style of teaching. Just scroll down, pick the format that fits your family and print. This valuable page even features type-able lesson planners.
*September 9
The beginning of the school year is a great time to start a student personal journal. This is a place where students can write freely or with prompts, for a few minutes 2 or 3 times a week. It is best to just let the writing or illustrating flow without corrections of spelling and grammar and get creative. The 99 Cent store on South Street is a great resource for composition journals for both the primary and intermediate grades. Here is a valuable web page for journal prompts on those days that the ideas are not flowing:
Writing Prompts
Journals are a fun place to record personal history and are a treasured keepsake. *September 6Enhance your lessons with over 50,000 video clips. This is a subscription that Valley Oaks supports at no cost to you. To get started just go to the website, enter the school pass code 99A9-3DE1, then enter the required fields.What is United Streaming?United Streaming - www.unitedstreaming.com Discovery Education United Streaming is a digital video-based learning resource from Discovery Education. With Discovery Education United Streaming, educators gain on-demand access to 50,000 content-specific segments from 5,000 full-length educational videos.
Your Discovery Education unitedstreaming subscriptions provides: -
The largest and most current K-12 digital video/video segment library available today. -
The only standards-based video-on-demand application shown to increase student achievement. -
Practical and easy-to-use learning resources for students and educators. -
Access to the highest quality producers--including Discovery School, United Learning, Scholastic, Standards Deviants, and Weston Woods. -
State-of-the-Art Professional Development sessions for online and onsite support.
*September 16
The Great Idea Finder
Age Range: 8-18
This website was created by an Internet consulting company to inspire the "inventor" in everyone. It showcases the history of remarkable inventions, inventors, and great ideas throughout time. This site features:
*History Facts & Myths - Explore an incredible archive of history's most interesting inventions and the stories behind them including the Abacus, Car, Coca-Cola, Frisbee, Hair Dryer, Internet, Jell-O, Liquid Paper, Microwave Oven, Post-It Notes, Slinky, and many more. Each invention includes a bibliography for further reading as well as links to more sources of info on the Internet. Plus, you'll find:
*Inventor Biography - Read the biographies of notable inventors such as Steve Jobs (Apple Computer), Ed Johnson (Christmas Lights), Harvey Ball (Smiley Face), Alfred Butts (Scrabble), and many more.
Innovation Timeline - Search any era in history (from ancient BC to the modern 21st Century) to learn about the innovations that occurred during that time period. Includes photographs, quotations, and resources for further learning.
*Innovation Games & Trivia - Don't be afraid to take this test BEFORE you explore the site. The questions are intriguing, so if you don't know the answers and your curiosity gets the better of you -- find out instantly by clicking the "answer" button. A great way to introduce the topic of invention and segue to a history lesson. :)
*Idea Showcase - The point of innovation is to improve the quality of life. That said, inventors like making income by selling their inventions. In this section you can check out award-winning inventions and purchase them as well.
*Features - Find out how many inventions were the result of an accident. See how inventors improve upon the inventions of others to "build a better mousetrap." Check out inventions that changed civilization and had an enduring effect on the world.
*Resource Center - Find resources for further learning and investigation including websites, books, movies, and a listing of contests, competitions, experiments, and projects for the young inventor. (Some are available for free, others for a fee.) Find resources for invention mentors too.
*History Articles - Read in-depth articles on historical innovations, inventors, pioneers, and entrepreneurs. Find out about the Patent Act of 1790 and explore some patents that have become products.
*September 26
Looking for a great way to have fun while learning new vocabulary and as a bonus doing something for world hunger? Try this user friendly website. It even adjusts to individual levels. Beware it is addicting!
Free Rice
For each answer you get right, Free Rice donates 10 grains of rice through the World Food Program to help end hunger.
*October 3
M.E.S.H (Math, English, Science, History)
We
now have curriculum packets that are not featured on the grade level
grids at our Tehachapi location filed in room B/C. Packets are available
through your resource teacher only. Click below for available
resources.
MESH Drawer Materials
*October 10
Website:
Science Made Simple: Fall Leaves
It's fall and kids everywhere are asking, "Why do leaves change color in
the Fall?" This site answers everything kids want to know about autumn
leaves that includes scientific information, quick-and-easy science
experiments, and a fun word-scramble puzzle.
But wait, there's more! When you're through satiating your curiosity
about Fall leaves, look at the menu on the left side of the page and
click on "Home." In the center of the page you'll find, “Easy Science
Projects” using common household items that explore topics such as:
* What is static electricity?
* Why is the sky blue?
* How do animals spend the winter?
*October 14
How the Body Works
This
website is a perfect companion to studying the human body systems. This
resource is packed with information, games, and activities.
*October 21
If you have always wanted to add current events to your curriculum, but could not find content appropriate for elementary age students give these free sites a try.
Ideas to try:
Have your student pick and read one article a week and write a short summary, opinion, or reaction to the article.
Time Magazine for Kids
Great resource for adding Current Events to your weekly curriculum. Features quizzes and reading levels.
Scholastic News A great resource for current events*October 27 - Creating Student Portfolios
Now is a great time to start a 2011-12 School Year Student Portfolio. It can be as simple as using a file folder or notebook to store student work and writing, including final drafts, illustrations, science experiments, book reports, journal entries, awards, timelines, math assessments, maps, field trip information, photos, PowerPoint presentations, and graphic organizers. The Portfolio can be organized by subject or work can be placed in chronological order.
The 99 Cent Store and The Dollar Store are great resources to make the Portfolio special. Try using notebooks with clear covers and insert a special page for a front cover featuring your student. It can be a terrific resource for the end of the year Extravaganza project. This great family project can be treasured for years to come.
Creating Student Portfolios
Now is a great time to start a 2011-12 School Year Student Portfolio. It can be as simple as using a file folder or notebook to store student work and writing, including final drafts, illustrations, science experiments, book reports, journal entries, awards, timelines, math assessments, maps, field trip information, photos, PowerPoint presentations, and graphic organizers. The Portfolio can be organized by subject or work can be placed in chronological order.
The 99 Cent Store and The Dollar Store are great resources to make the Portfolio special. Try using notebooks with clear covers and insert a special page for a front cover featuring your student. It can be a terrific resource for the end of the year Extravaganza project. This great family project can be treasured for years to come.
Spelling City
Spelling City makes spelling practice easy and fun. If you set up a free account at SpellingCity.com, you can enter your own list of spelling words each week. The computer will read the words aloud, create an online test, games and flash cards It will even print out a test and show which words they missed.
December 8
Website:
NASA Science News
NASA has a great e-newsletter for homeschoolers NASA's Science News. It keeps you posted on the latest and greatest scientific discoveries and events in space. It's free to subscribe, and you'll get links to stories that you can read online that often include an audio narration or a video to watch on NASA's YouTube channel. For example, here are a couple of recent alerts:
*Super-Sized Lunar On Saturday morning, Dec. 10th, sky watchers in the western United States and Canada will witness a total lunar eclipse swollen to super-sized proportions by the Moon illusion. The action begins at 4:44 AM (Pacific Standard Time). You can read the full story by clicking on the link above, or watch a video version.
*Kepler Confirms First Planet in Habitable Zone of Sun-like Star. In a significant milestone on the road to finding Earth's "twin" elsewhere in the galaxy, NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the habitable zone of a distant sun-like star. Read the full story.
*NASA's Citizen Science - Find out how you can help NASA conduct their research from your own backyard.
*NASA'S The Space Place - A great place for kids to explore the solar system.
*NASA's Mission: Science - Engaging science and educational resources for teens, including a timeline of the Physical Sciences.
Christmas Math DIMACS: 12 Days of Christmas This website, sponsored by Rutgers University, offers an interesting exploration of Pascal's Triangle (used in algebra and probability) through the lyrics of the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. ( Click here to just listen to the tune and see the printed lyrics of the song.) When you get to the site, you'll find the lesson plan and instructions for leading your students through this fun math exercise. If you like working with triangles, the site offers another interesting lesson plan using The Star of David. Students can also have fun calculating the cost of purchasing the 12 items mentioned in The 12 Days of Christmas. Click here for the Lesson Plan. Christmas Music and Language Arts Here is a selection free, audio holiday stories. They are available as audio recordings to listen to on your computer, to burn to a CD, or to download to your portable audio player (mp3). Choose from a great selection of classics including: * A Visit From St. Nicholas by Clement Moore - This is also known as The Night Before Christmas. Written in 1822, this is the poem that named Santa's 8 reindeer including, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen. * A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - "This is the classic tale of what comes to those whose hearts are hard. In a series of ghostly visits, Scrooge visits his happy past, sees the difficulties of the present, views a bleak future, and in the end amends his mean ways." (Summary written by Kristen McQuillin) * Good King Wenceslas - Listen to the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas and the story behind the song. * The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry - This short story is about a young couple who are very much in love and also very poor. For Christmas, they each make a sacrifice to purchase a gift for the other, with ironic results. * The Elves and the Shoemaker - This traditional fairy tale is a short story about a Christmas gift. A poor shoemaker receives some unexpected help just when he needs it most.
Attention iPad Users The iPad is a very powerful educational tool for all ages. The link below features "Best of 2011 iPad Apps Perfect for Elementary School". Have fun. 65 iPad Apps for Elementary School
December 23
*Winter Solstice
SciJinks: What's a Solstice
The Winter Solstice will soon be here (for those in the Northern Hemisphere of planet Earth). It marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The winter solstice is celebrated by various cultures and religions worldwide. But what exactly is a solstice?
At this NASA-sponsored website, scientists provide an easy-to-understand explanation of the solstice complete with illustrations and photographs. This presentation includes information about: - The Equator
- Earth's Axis of Rotation
- Arctic Circle
- Tropic of Cancer
- Tropic of Capricorn
- Antarctic Circle
- Spring and Autumnal Equinox
When you're through exploring the solstice page, use the menu to access mini-lessons and games that teach about: - Weather
- Hurricanes
- Clouds, Water, and Ice
- Tides and Oceans
- Atmosphere
- Satellites and Technology
- And More!
*Math Winter Activities
Mathwire.com
What do winter, gingerbread, snowmen, and penguins have in common? At this website, the answer is math. This site archives an assortment of fun and challenging winter-themed math activities with illustrations, animations, and downloadable worksheets that meet the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' standards. When you get to the site, you'll see "December 2011" at the top of the page. [Note: If you visit this site after December, 2011 you may need to enter the names of the activities listed below in the search engine to find them.] Scroll down the page slightly to explore:
*Winter Math Activities - Click on the links to activities that were created for Winter in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Use an interactive program to learn about triangles as you create your own Koch Snowflake, explore making winter glyphs, make pattern block snowflakes, and discover math-literature connections.
*Gingerbread Man Math - Learn about measurement, symmetry, probability, glyphs, and play a gingerbread man game that helps students practice coordinate graphing skills.
*Snowman Math - Enjoy snowman skip counting, estimation, symmetry, glyphs and graphing, and test your addition skills by playing "Last Snowman Standing!"
*Penguin Math - Learn about Pascal's Triangle, play "Capture the Penguin" or a "Penguin Bowling Game" and discover coordinate graphing, use your math skills to solve problems about penguins. January 19
ClassicsForKids.com
When you get to the site you will see the current month’s featured composer, and a horizontal menu tab below it that includes:
*On The Radio - Includes the current week's radio show, an archive of past shows, and activity sheets that include wordsearch puzzles, games, and trivia.
*Composers - Read biographies of about 90 different composers (across a timespan from 1685 to 2010) including Bach, Bernstein, Brahms, Britten, Chopin, Debussy, Gershwin, Handel, Joplin, Liszt, Mozart, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Sousa, Strauss, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Verdi and more!
*Games - Play fun, interactive, online games that teach rhythm and notation.
*More About Music - Hear music, learn the instruments of the symphony orchestra, explore a musical dictionary, and learn about musical careers.
*For Grownups - Access free lesson plans, activity sheets, and get tips and advice for music education.
January 23
This is a great site for students that will be studying Shakespeare (especially 7th graders)
Shakespeare for Kids
*Words, Words, Words - Unscramble letters to reveal words from Shakespeare's plays, learn new vocabulary by discovering the meaning of "Weird Words" in Shakespeare's works. Try creating Shakespearean insults or compliments. Learn some common idioms that originated in Shakespeare's plays. Print out scripts for plays and perform scenes at home.
*Fun Facts - Learn trivia about Shakespeare's life and times.
*Games & Coloring Puzzles - Enjoy playing interactive mazes, crosswords, and word searches based on Shakespeare's plays. You can color and do jigsaw puzzles too!
*Shakespeare Challenges - Answer trivia questions about Shakespeare's plays, or read a quote and try to guess which character said it.
*Who Am I? - Use clues to identify characters from Shakespeare's plays.
Want to have a little more in-depth fun? For historical perspective, be sure to click on the links to "Discover Our Collection" and "Queen Elizabeth."
3rd and up Grammar to Wacky Tales Website:
Wacky Tales
Houghton Mifflin (the education textbook publisher) sponsors this website that helps kids learn parts of speech - nouns, adverbs, adjectives, verbs, etc. Using interactive stories called "Wacky Web Tales" they offer an online version of the classic car game, Mad Libs.
When you get to the site you'll see a menu of Wacky Web Tales titles. Click on any one and a new page opens that reveals the story title and a form. The form requires you to type in parts of speech (such as a singular noun, adjective, or present tense verb). The words you enter will be used to create a Wacky Web Tale -- simply click on the "See Your Wacky Web Tale" button at the bottom of the form.
If you are unsure what an adverb (or any other part of speech called for on the form) is - just click on the "Parts of Speech Help" button for some quick definitions.
Because you don't know how the parts of speech you filled in on the form will be used in the story - the resulting Wacky Web Tale can be pretty funny. :)
This is a painless way to learn, reinforce, or remediate parts of speech.Smithsonian: History of Sweetheart Candies
Age Range: All
The Smithsonian recognizes "Sweetheart Candies" as a cultural icon and offers a terrific article on the history of the little Valentine confections. When you've finished reading, be sure to click on the link near the top of the page that says, "Ten Out-of-the-Ordinary Valentine's Day Customs." It's sure to ignite a family discussion!
Then, take a virtual field trip to the Necco's Candy factory to see how their conversational sweethearts are made. Here's the link:
Necco: Virtual Plant Tour of Sweetheart Candy Factory
Science News for Kids
Age Range: 9-14
The Society for Science & The Public in Washington, D.C., sponsors this free, ad-free, award-winning online publication for kids. It offers current and interesting science news stories accompanied by suggestions for hands-on activities and resources for further learning. When you get to the site, you'll see some featured science news stories. Use the horizontal menu at the top of the screen to explore:
*Atoms & Forces - Read an assortment of fascinating articles that teach about chemistry, physics, and light and radiation. Topics cover: Self-cleaning clothes, why DEET confuses mosquitoes, the speed of neutrinos, and much more!
*Earth & Sky - Learn about the Earth, environment, pollution, space, and weather. Discover a "ghost lake," find out how scientists are mapping dark matter, and learn about the link between air pollution and rainfall.
*Humans & Health - Find out how genes help to explain the loss of ancient civilizations, learn about brain behavior and how babies "read" lips, and discover why fats encourage overeating.
*Life - Discover urban agriculture, learn about the amazing things animals do, explore dinosaurs and fossils, enter the weird world of microbes, fungi and algae, and find out how plants "talk".
*Tech & Math - Be amazed at the science game-changers in computers and electronics, find out how many times to shuffle a deck to improve the odds of winning "Old Maid," discover how lasers can identify the country where a gemstone was mined, and see the cars of the future.
Don't' miss the mini vertical menu on the top right side of the home page. Click on "Educators," "Parents," or "Kids" to find many more helpful resources and activities.
Long, Long Time Ago Stories
Age Range: 6-11
Children's book author, Rohini Chowdhury, retells a collection of timeless tales for kids that you can read online or print out to read offline. There are no bells and whistles at this website just interesting stories that children will enjoy reading or hearing.
When you get to the site you'll see a menu that includes:
Fables
Folktales
Fairytales
Myths
Festival Stories
Tales from History
Classics
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Stories Behind Great Discoveries
Tales Behind Nursery Rhymes
Short Stories
Click on any item and a new page opens with a brief historical introduction and a short menu of stories in that tradition. Most are retold by Chowdhury, unless otherwise indicated. The stories are presented in plain text, and a few of the stories are accompanied by colorful illustrations.
LeapYearDay.com - Kids Page
Did you notice the date this week? It was February 29th - Leap Day! It only comes once every four years. At this website you can read all about Leap Day and Leap Year and enjoy some fun facts and trivia.
Then, at ReadWriteThink.org you'll find a Language Arts classroom activity for Leap Day that can be tweaked for use with the whole family. You'll find links to other resources there as well.
And at The Teacher's Lounge, you'll find 12 Lessons Ideas for Leap Day 2012 that will help you and the kids leap into learning. :)
Go Social Studies Go!
Grades 4-12
This is amazing! A Social Studies teacher created this ad-supported website to make social studies awesome and claims that it "brings to you the most complete Social Studies teacher resources in cyber space." The Social Studies material is all organized into free, engaging interactive books. You just click on a corner of the book to turn the pages that contain free social studies interactive lessons, games, videos, photos, and sound and music clips.
When you get to the site, you'll see an icon menu that includes:
*Global Religions - Study African Animism, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Shinto.
*History - You won't believe the extensive content available under each major category that includes: Ancient History, World History, 20th Century History, American History I, and American History II. Topics include the Mayans, the Silk Road, the Black Death, Feudal Japan, Marco Polo, the Trial of Galileo, American Revolution, the Donner Party, Salem Witch Trials, Underground Railroad, the Hindenburg Disaster, the Dust Bowl, the Titanic, the Rwanda Massacre, and more!
*World Geography - Discover the countries and cultures of the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Russia, Africa, India, Korea, Japan, China, and Australia.
*History Hunters - Go on an interactive History Adventure! Become a character in a story that allows you to make choices that determine the outcome. Choose from "The Underground Railroad" and "Immigrant Experience."
Learner.org: Elements of a Story
Age Range: 8-11
When you get to the site, you can watch and listen to an animated version of the fairytale, "Cinderella." Then, through watching a series of animated presentations, you'll learn about the various literary elements of a story including:
Setting
Characters
Plot
Exposition
Conflict
Climax
Resolution
As explained at the site, "The presentations are followed by a series of activities to enhance students' understanding. Students will be asked to put plot developments into the correct order, select appropriate settings and characters, and sort events and exposition."
Once you've completed the interactive lessons, click on "Test Your Skills" on the menu bar to take a quiz.
Exploratorium: Pi Day
Age Range: All
Did you know that March 14 was International Pi Day? Pi is the ratio of a circle's cirumference to its diameter that is represented as 3.14. The Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco offers this website with fun activities to learn about Pi. When you get to the site, you'll see a welcome message and video. Use the horizontal menu at the top of the page that includes:
*A Brief History of Pi - Find out what ancient Babylonians, Archimedes, Zu Chongzhi of China, and French Mathematician Georges Buffon knew about Pi.
*Activities & Links - Get instructions for doing some hands-on activities to explore the concept of Pi. Then be sure to check the assortment of links to other Pi sites where you can immerse yourself in Pi videos, mnemonic odes to Pi, and much more!
Getty.edu
Age Range: 9 and up
The Getty Museum in Los Angeles sponsors this website that teaches kids about art through fun online games and activities.
When you get to the site you'll see a menu of games including:
*Detail Detective - Pay attention to the detail in various works of art. Then, try to match random images to the correct piece of art.
*Match Madness - Use the power of your memory in a variety of artistic games of concentration.
*Switch - Look at two images of one painting. Can you find what's different about them?
*Jigsaw Puzzles - Put the scrambled pieces together to assemble a work of art.
*Make Art at Home - Download free printable instructions on how to make a bookmark, mask, or your own version of Claude Monet's Wheatstacks.
How Stuff Works Videos: Stuff to Blow Your Kid's Mind
HowStuffWorks.com offers a free science video series titled, "Stuff to Blow Your Kid's Mind." The videos are as entertaining as they are educational and cover a variety of science topics. All of the videos are prefaced with an advertisement, so parents must supervise Internet use. When you get to the site a video advertisement will launch automatically followed by the featured science presentation. Scroll down the page (below the screen) to see all of the video titles available including:
Atmospheric Pressure
Gravity
Magnets
Monsters
Rainbows
Salt
Scale
Solar Power
Static Electricity
Volcanoes
The videos are about 4-6 minutes in length and include explanations of the science behind the experiments that are performed, along with interesting facts and trivia.
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