Lesson Improvement Resources

What are some excellent Web sites with lesson improvement resources?

Web Site Resources for Lesson Improvement

• Let's explore some Web sites that feature exemplary lessons and/or useful lesson improvement resources.
• As you explore, please assess these resources using the Learning Activity Checklist and our five lesson improvement questions.
• What is an authentic, engaging problem that students might address in doing this lesson?
• What are the academic and 21st Century Skills standards that students will work on?
• What are the student steps and teacher directions needed to work through the problem situation posed by the lesson?
• What are some ways that technology can enhance teaching and learning throughout the lesson?
• How will student success be measured against the selected standards?

Task

Review and assess one or more of the following exemplary sites:

Thinkfinity
http://www.thinkfinity.org
This site delivers free, top-quality online educational resources to strengthen problem-solving, creativity and critical thinking skills for success in the 21st Century. All resource materials/links have been reviewed for accuracy and appropriateness for classroom use by subject-matter experts.

WebQuests
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquest.html
WebQuests are teacher-created lessons found on the Internet with a strong problem-based orientation. This is one place to look for lessons related to a topic of your choice. You might also do a search for a topic and WebQuest to find others.

SCORE
http://www.score.k12.ca.us/
This site hosts online resources for educators. It was originally funded by a project titled Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE). Many resources are available in a variety of content areas.

Pima County Regional Support Center Wiki

http://pimarsc.pbworks.com/

Our page has a sidebar full of resources for all sorts of technology-enriched lessons with well-vetted links.

Emily's Diigo Page

eMINTS - eThemes
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/index.shtml
eMINTS is a Web site designed to support educators as they integrate technology into best teaching practices. The eThemes section has a vast collection of reviewed, age-appropriate Internet resources searchable by subject and grade level. Resources are reviewed by graduate students in the Missouri University system.

Others from Session 2:  "Find a Hook"

Discovery School
This site has a library of creative curriculum resources, including Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators, a puzzle maker, worksheet generator, and lesson plans. Sponsored by the Discovery Channel, it also provides information on television resources.

abcTeach-Elementary
abcTeach provides helpful educational ideas to teachers, kids, and parents. Forms and letters can be printed directly from the screen and teachers have permission to reproduce these pages for classroom use.

Education World
Education World's goal is to make it easy for educators to integrate the Internet into the classroom. They provide a search engine for educational Web sites, lesson plans, site reviews, and online forums to discuss important issues in education.

TeacherVision.com
TeacherVision is created by teachers for teachers. It provides free high-quality materials to help teachers with planning and preparing teacher materials. You must be a member or use a free-trial membership to access some parts of the site.

RubiStar
This 4Teachers site features a flexible tool that generates ready-made rubrics for numerous performance competencies (oral presentations, products, multimedia use, etc.) and subjects. Teachers choose rating scales and assessment criteria, and may add, delete, or change any text.

FunBrain.com
FunBrain has a host of educational games and quizzes for children of all ages. Use the teacher resource pages to find games appropriate for your students age level.

The Daily Dose
Provided by the Memphis City Schools, this site provides resources to start each day using an Internet resource. You will find "question of the day" sources, daily math problems, and more.

TeachersFirst.com
TeachersFirst is a division of Network for Instructional TV, Inc., a not-for-profit learning technologies corporation.

ENC
Located at Ohio State University, ENC provides the most comprehensive collection of mathematics and science resources on the Internet. The resources include lesson plans and professional development resources for teachers. Information is now subscription only, except for searches for curriculum materials and kits.

Blue Web'n
Blue Web'n is an online library of 1,200+ outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (lessons, activities, projects, resources, references, and tools). You can search by grade level, broad subject area, or specific sub-categories.

ProfilerPRO: Personal Growth Surveys
ProfilerPRO provides comprehensive surveys that help educators measure the impact of technology integration. The service is free but requires registration.

ETSC Pilot
A professional development resource to help educators identify their strengths and weaknesses in educational technology and chart a course for improvement.

Students’ Classroom
A user-friendly site that lets you search the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) database by school. Offers tools for students to make graphs, play games, and take quizzes, and provides a place to post or read technology or arts reviews.