Elementary/Middle School/ High School

Kidsread.com http://www.kidsreads.com/index.asp  has something for all ages. Are you looking for the latest titles to hit the bookstore shelf? Would you like to know what inspired your favorite author to write a particular book? Would you like to drop a note to your favorite author to let her/him know what you think about a book? Are you looking for biographical sketches of an author? Are you wondering what books have been turned into movies? Do you want to read a review of a title before you actually purchase it? Have you ever wanted to start a book club but just didn’t know how to get started? You will find information at this site to help you with any of the above questions and much more. There is even a free newsletter to let you know what is new in the world of books.

Considerations and Strategies for Parenting the Gifted Child
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/reports/rm95218/rm95218.pdf

Parents of gifted children are typically the single most important influence in their child’s development, outlook, and fulfillment of talent. In addition to being their child’s primary caregivers, parents of gifted children alternately function as “mentor,” “praiser,” “disciplinarian,” “playmate,” “teacher,” and sometimes “best friend”—to name just a few. Parents are truly the guardians and nurturers of their children’s talents.

This opening paragraph in Dr. James Alvino’s paper sets the tone for the content. His (free) document will give you suggestions and activities you might do at home to foster academic and creative potential. Topics include “Parenting Styles Make a Difference,” “The Enriched Environment,” “Nurturing Your Child’s Creativity,” and “Academics at Home.” The summary of parenting tips at the end reminds us all of some very critical points in raising children.

EARTH DAY 2009: THE GREEN GENERATION
If you are looking for resources to promote Earth Day, Earth Week, and Earth Month, the  National Environmental Education Week site has many available. You will find suggestions for “Green Reading for Teachers” and “Green Reading for Kids”; there are nature bees (quizzes), nature blogs, and a wide range of environmental education links. The Carbon Footprint Calculator is a tool that definitely will raise an awareness in your students.
http://www.eeweek.org/
http://www.neefusa.org/programs/eeweek.htm

Elementary
www.rhymezone.com
Rhyme Zone has several resources located in one spot – a rhyming dictionary, a thesaurus, a homophone dictionary, a quotation search, and even a search for words in the works of Shakespeare. So, if you are looking for just the right word for that poet, essay, or project, you might try Rhyme Zone for some help.

Middle School/ High School
www.rhymezone.com
Rhyme Zone has several resources located in one spot – a rhyming dictionary, a thesaurus, a homophone dictionary, a quotation search, and even a search for words in the works of Shakespeare. So, if you are looking for just the right word for that poet, essay, or project, you might try Rhyme Zone for some help.

http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/forparents/a/resolutions.htm
10 Ways to Help You Raise Kids Who Love Reading
Are you wondering what you might do at home to foster that love of reading in your child? This site provides some excellent ideas to do just that. Although the suggestions are listed as Grades K-6, most of these guidelines are applicable to all readers. As you well know, reading is the key to just about all successful learning!

http://www.mathcats.com/grownupcats/fractionsites.html
Are you looking for some fresh material for exploring fractions? This site might have some approaches that will interest your students and, at the same time, increase those fraction skills and problem solving abilities. Several additional fraction links are included on this page

Elementary
Egypt: Secrets of an Ancient World
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/
Have you ever wondered how those pyramids were built? What’s inside of them? Which one is the smallest and which one is the largest? How long did it take to build a pyramid? These and many more questions can be answered at this National Geographic site. Explore the videos, photos, timelines, and text to become the pyramid expert in your family!

Middle School/ High School
How Everyday Things Are Made
http://manufacturing.stanford.edu/
Stanford University has created a video-based site that explains how numerous items we use everyday are manufactured. How are those jelly beans made? What does it take to build a Harley Davidson? How is the denim for jeans and jackets produced? Videos showing these processes and many more can be found at this site. Information about careers in manufacturing is available, as well as video tours of such companies as Ken Smith Bass Guitars, Steinway Pianos, Hershey’s Chocolate Factory, BMW, and many more. Think about preparing yourself for a career in engineering or manufacturing. There are lots of great post-secondary schools that specialize in these areas!

Elementary
Amazing Space
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/
Are you curious about the objects in this month’s night sky? How about the Hubble telescope or black holes? Looking for a moon calendar for this month? This is the site to explore if you are interested in astronomy and our solar system.

Middle School/ High School
How Stuff Works
http://www.howstuffworks.com/
Are you interested in engineering? technology? cars? adventures? or just science in general? How Stuff Works covers it all. You will find a multitude of videos, photos, and more explaining all kinds of fascinating questions. There’s even a spot for you to ask your own questions!

Super Thinkers ~ Parents’ Page
http://www.superpages.com/enlightenme/pta/
The “Enlighten Me” section of the Super Thinkers website will give you a wide variety of ideas from promoting literacy in your home to getting your children involved in community service to internet tutorials for you. Check out the additional links at the bottom of the page, also!

 

Elementary
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
Are you interested in people, places, and animals? Well, this site is designed especially for you! You will find games, videos, stories, maps, and fabulous photos from every corner of the world. It doesn’t get any better than National Geographic.

Middle/High School
http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a scientist or what science careers are out there? Need some guidance with that science fair project? Do you have a question you would to ask of an expert in the field?  At the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Cool Science site you will have access to webcasts, videos, text, and actual scientists in a variety of science fields. It’s the next best thing to being on a college campus or in a laboratory!

http://www.sengifted.org/
SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) provides valuable information for both teachers and parents concerning the long-neglected areas of the social and emotional needs of our high ability students. Videos from national speakers and an excellent library of articles address many issues high ability children and adults encounter. You may sign up for a free newsletter to stay abreast with the latest news in this field.

http://www.sengifted.org/
SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) provides valuable information for both teachers and parents concerning the long-neglected areas of the social and emotional needs of our high ability students. Videos from national speakers and an excellent library of articles address many issues high ability children and adults encounter. You may sign up for a free newsletter to stay abreast with the latest news in this field.

Elementary
smART Kids
http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/smartkids/home.html
The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, located at the University of Chicago, has developed an amazing website for children. smart Kids helps the learner explore ways to view art, introduces a variety of works or art and artists, and explores the words of art with both text and illustrations. The sketchbook feature will allow the learner to record thoughts, examples, and just have a great time investigating art. The open-ended activities will provide hours of hands-on experiences with art. Although this site is billed for 7 – 12 year olds, learners of any age will enjoy exploring and learning at smart Kids!

Middle School/ High School
The latest copy of the CollegeBoard January Newsletter for Seniors is now available.  Be sure to check out the Tip of the Month and the Scholarship Search tool, as well as many other important links. If you want to subscribe to this FREE newsletter, the link is www.collegeboard.com/newsletters. There are also FREE newsletters for Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors. (Seventh and eighth grades, it won’t hurt for you to take a look, also! The better informed you are, the better your college plans will be!)

The ABCs of Gifted
http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=956

The National Association for the Gifted (NAGC) has a very informative section for parents. There are parent resources that address a wide range of topics, such as identification, achievement, child development, and social and emotional needs of high ability children.

IMAGES: Improving Measurement and Geometry in Elementary Schools
http://images.rbs.org/

This site is devoted to helping teachers provide a more in-depth understanding of measurement and geometry in the elementary classrooms. There are many excellent hands-on, concept-building activities, lesson plans, and teaching strategies. The resource section lists many titles of children’s literature that are connected to measurement and geometry. The video tab will lead you to an Annenburg/CPB Video Library where there is a free sign up to access the free video-on-demand library. There are 52 half-hour videos for teachers on various math topics (11 on measurement and geometry).

Elementary
2009 Inauguration Resources has many links to information about presidents and inaugurations past and present. There is also a fun section from the Smithsonian about children of the presidents.
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/Inauguration.aspx

Middle School/ High School
As you begin to think about what you will do after high school, check this site for loads of information about colleges. Be sure to sign up for the free SAT Question of the Day!
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/index.html?student

You and your child have probably already had numerous discussions about college. This site will provide you with information that will be very help in your planning, and it’s never too early to begin that plan! This site also has a great deal of information about scholarships and financial aid. Be sure to sign up for the free parent newsletter!
http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/

This site from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics contains dozens of Java-based, interactive e-examples (electronic examples) that are aligned to the national mathematics standards for Grades K-12. Each example has a description and clearly identifies the standards addressed, i.e., Algebra Standard, Geometry Standard, Number and Operations Standard, etc.
http://standards.nctm.org/document/eexamples/index.htm