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Showing posts with label Karen Schweitzer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Karen Schweitzer. Show all posts

Thursday, February 11, 2010

10 Places to Find and Share Lesson Plans Online

The following is a guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Her previous guest post, 15 Free Resources for Young Readers, was a big hit, so I'm pleased to have her with us again.

Finding and sharing lesson plans online can help teachers save time and engage students in new ways. There are several sites that have been set up specifically for this purpose. Here are ten quality lesson plans sites for teachers to try throughout the school year.

Thinkfinity - More than 55,000 lesson plans from sites like ReadWriteThink, EDSITEment, Illuminations, and Xpeditions can be located through this digital learning platform. Lesson plans can be located by subject, grade level, and keyword.

Discovery Lesson Plans Library - This lesson plan library from Discovery Education offers hundreds of original lesson plans for K-12 students. New lesson plans are featured each week.

Teachers Network - Teachers Network provides lesson plans that have been designed by teachers for teachers. Site visitors can choose from lesson plans created by new teachers or veteran teachers.

Learning to Give - Learning to Give develops free lesson plans that focus on volunteerism and civic engagement. More than 1,400 lesson plans for K-12 students are available through the Learning to Give site.

The Learning Network - The Learning Network is a special site from The New York Times that makes it easy for teachers to find lesson plans and other teaching resources directly related to recent news headlines. Specific resources on The Learning Network include a blog, a daily news quiz, a lesson plan search engine, and a student opinion section.

The Educator's Reference Desk - The Educator's Reference Desk has a large collection of more than 2,000 lesson plans written by teachers all over the country. Users can search the collection to find lessons by subject, grade level, or keyword.

Shmoop - Shmoop provides engaging study guides for literature, history, civics, and music. The site also has a special section for teachers that explains how the guides can be incorporated into daily lessons.

We the Teachers - We the Teachers (WTT) combines social networking with aspects of teachers resource sites. Educators can use WTT to create and upload lesson plans or find lesson plans created by other teachers.

Teachade - This community of educators allows teachers to contribute their own lesson plans and search for resources that have been created by other teachers. Teachade also allows users to upload files and links from existing class resources.

Tapped In - Tapped In is an online community of K-16 teachers. The site encourages educators to plan learning projects with colleagues, mentor other teachers, and share classroom resources.

Thanks, Karen, for these terrific resources! Karen Schweitzer is the About.com Guide to Business School, and she also writes about online degree programs for OnlineDegreePrograms.org.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

15 Free Resources for Young Readers

This is a guest post by education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online school for OnlineSchool.net.

Incorporating technology into the reading and learning process can motivate young people to read more. There are many different sites online that are designed to engage children and encourage a lifelong love for books. Here are 15 Free Resources nearly every young reader will enjoy.

Book Adventure - Book Adventure is a free reading program for reluctant readers. The program motivates kids by encouraging them to create their own book lists, participate in online activities, and earn points that can be traded in for prizes.

Big Universe - This award-winning website is an online community for k-8 readers and writers. Big Universe users can read, create, and share books online.

Read Print - Read Print is a free online library with more than 8,000 books, poems, and short stories. The site hosts the best-loved classics from thousands of different authors.

International Children's Digital Library - The ICDL is a multicultural library for kids. Offerings include hundreds of high-quality historical and contemporary books that can be read online.

Storynory - Storynory provides free audio stories for kids. A new story is published each week.

What Should I Read Next? - This free web application allows users to type in a book they like and receive suggestions on what to read next. Suggestions are pulled from a pool of nearly 70,000 reader favorites.

DogEared - This book blog from National Geographic Kids is written by kids for kids. Readers can find book reviews, get book recommendations, and submit books for consideration.

Kids' Review - Kids' Review is a UK site that offers book recommendations and book reviews for young readers. All of the reviews are written by kids and authenticated by teachers.

RIF Reading Planet - Provided by the non-profit organization Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), Reading Planet is a good place for young readers to find books to read. Users who sign up for a free membership can also write their own book reviews.

GoodReads - This social networking site for booklovers was not created specifically for kids, but it does offer children's literature recommendations. Young readers can also use the site to keep track of what they have read and share book reviews with friends.

BooksWellRead - Readers who use this site can create private book lists to keep track of what they have read. The site also offers a place to take book notes and get recommendations from other users.

BookGlutton - BookGlutton is a site where older children can read and discuss books at the same time. The site is perfect for anyone who wants to start an online book club.

Jen Robinson's Book Page - Devoted entirely to promoting children's literature, this blog provides book reviews, book recommendations, information on book events, and a weekly newsletter.

Growing Readers for Life! - Aimed at parents and teachers, this blog explores different ways to encourage reading among kids. The blog also has a companion newsletter with additional tips.

The Reading Tub - The Reading Tub is a non-profit organization that promotes reading and literacy among children through book reviews, recommendations, author interviews, newsletters, and a blog.

Thanks, Karen, for sharing these sites!