Terry Young

SLM 521

Teacher Made Websites

Mrs. McGowan's 2nd Grade – This teacher made site is geared towards a second grade class in H.W. Mountz Elementary School, in Spring Lake, NJ. The teacher shares examples of the curriculum for every subject on her site. This site is very valuable for students as well as parents. It provides links to the school website, search engines, links that pertain to the curriculum, current projects, and examples of student work. The site also has basic information for parents that pertain to topics such as birthdays, show and tell, class rules, etc. http://www.mrsmcgowan.com/2nd/index.html

RECOMMENDATIONS:

-Limit the number of links on the page. This can be confusing for parents and students trying to use the site at home. They can get lost easily in the site.

-Maybe add the links to the topics as the year progresses. This is too much information at once to look at.

-Not necessary to use as many examples of past years projects. Some are great, but don’t need as many that was provided.

COMMENDATIONS:

-Great idea of using listing the expectations, procedures, and rules. This eliminates questions that can be answered by accessing the site.

-Super sources for math and reading. This provides the students and parents with great resources to learn the curriculum.

-Examples of projects are great to have as a reference to look at. Again, this gives the students and parents an idea as to what the teacher is looking for when the project is completed.

NORTHVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 2nd GRADE WEB SITE – This website is completed by a second grade team. They posted the homework requirements for the week in reading, spelling, and math. This site is useful for parents to see what the students have for homework. It also has important dates for the parents to remember.

http://www.northviewgrade2.com/

RECOMMENDATIONS:

-Provide examples of what assignments/projects should look like. This helps to eliminate questions as to what the assignment should look like. It also helps the parents know how to help the students without giving them the answer.

-When there’s a reading assignment, for example, Adverb Jingle, provide a link to this poem. This would be helpful for those students who lose their work, or for those who don’t have a copy of a book or article.

-If the assignment sheet has to be turned in, accept it via email. This would eliminate paper and it would guarantee that the students are turning it in.

COMMENDATIONS:

-Very specific with assignments for the week. The parents know what the students have to do in advance or if the student misses a day.

-Important dates are a great feature on the site. We all forget! This is nice to provide the parents with a little reminder.

-Objectives in math are very precise. This lets the parents know what the students are doing besides page 110 or graphs for example.