Start your year on the Internet! - Internet sites for teachers

Instructor, Sept, 1997 by Monica Entzminger, Lori Vassallo

Back-to-school activities don't have to be predictable. Launch great lessons from the first day with a little time spent surfing the Web. Teachers, use the Internet to enhance and enrich your curriculum: start a term theme, connect with a classroom across the country, or map a route to the Far East. Students can use the Internet to access information and participate in online clubs and activities.

Here's a listing of start-the-year sites we picked from Scholastic Network's Internet Guide - a collection of thousands of sites reviewed by teachers. (For a free preview, got to http://scholastic.com/network.)

SOCIAL STUDIES

The CIA World Factbook http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/

We think you'll love this well organized, easy-to-use Web site. It's a great source of maps and data on population, geography, economics, and governments of countries A through Z.

Maps and References http;//www.cgrer.uiowa.edu/servers/servers_references.html

This site includes exhaustive lists of maps, tutorials, atlases, geographic and book references, and much more. We imagined dozens of uses for our classrooms!

SCIENCE

World Famous San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park http://www.sandiego zoo.org/

This enormous site will make you and your students virtual tourists to the San Diego Zoo, exploring and learning about the zoo, its inhabitants, and the endangered species of the world. Teachers can download a crossword puzzle and students can play games; send a free electronic postcard or view the exhibits.

Discovery Online: Nature http://www.discovery.com/area/nature/nature.html

Students in elementary through high school studying nature and animals will find this site an invaluable tool. It features a collection of articles from the Discovery Channel, as well as photos of flora and fauna from around the world.

MATH

Blue Dog Can Count! http://kao.ini.cmu.edu:5550/bdf.html

This site for primary teachers and their students can be used in the classroom. Blue Dog will bark the answers to math problems involving addition, subtraction, and multiplication. (You'll need a sound plug-in for your browser to take full advantage.) This site is fun for students, but you'll find that adults will love Blue Dog as well.

The Internet Pizza Server http://ecst.csuchico.edu/zzpizza/

Create your own pizza with a choice of sizes and toppings that range from the ordinary - such as mushroom - to the not-so-ordinary: hardware, junk food, and more. Students and teachers from elementary through high school will find this site enjoyable. Teachers will also be provided with a link for a complete lesson plan they can use with this site.

Math Parent Handbook http://www.hmco.com/school/math/res/parentbk/

Don't let the title of this site throw you. Parents of K-6students as well as teachers will find this site useful. Designed originally to support Houghton Mifflin math texts, this site is appropriate for all elementary math students at home or in the classroom.

LANGUAGE ARTS

The Young Writers Club http:///www. cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~david/derya/ywc.html

Challenge students to join this club for young scribblers to read peers' work, send in their own, and participate in contests and activities.

ART

Crayola Art Education http://www. crayola.com/art_education/

The projects available are as many and varied as crayons. Lessons are easy to implement. The ideas can be printed and colored in offline.

Free Stuff for Crafting http://www.ppi-free.com

Here's an abundance of freebies - craft instructions and craft materials - and all you have to do is write away for them. What a great real-world opportunity for kids to practice writing business letters!

MISCELLANEOUS

Publishers Hunt Questions ftp://ftp.cic.net/pub/hunt/questions

Now that you've gotten interested in the Internet, you and your students probably need a little practice in seeking out information. This collection of files is set up just for that purpose. Here you will find sets of "hunt questions" that require the searcher to probe the Internet to locate information. This site is great for developing thinking, reference, and Internet skills.

Monica Entzminger and Lori Vassallo teach at the Wadleigh School in New York City. Last summer they worked as teacher-interns for Instructor and Electronic Learning in Your Classroom. This article was based on their first Internet-surfing experiences.