Meghan Christensen
SLM-521
Web Bibliography
References for First Grade Teachers
As teachers, it is hard to find the time to do anything. You plan and you plan and you plan, but sometimes your brain doesn’t work the way you want it to. Some days we just need a little more guidance or support to help us get across a good lesson. The lesson has to be meaningful to the students. They need to understand why they are doing something before they learn to do it. The following web bibliography was created to help teachers find ideas to aid in their lessons. There are five different categories in this bibliography: ILA, Math, Science, Social Studies and a category dedicated to websites that contain all subject areas. Some of these sites contain sections that students can use. Other sites are just teacher resources that may help or provide lessons. Enjoy!
ILA
This site is wonderful for students to use. It is an
interactive way for students to brush up on their phonics skills. With audio
and video books, this is a great site to use as a computer center during ILA
independent time. Date visited:
http://www.starfall.com
This is a great site for teachers to retrieve resources to utilize
in the classroom. This site provides teachers with different ideas for holidays,
phonics, phonemic awareness, themes, games, word families, the alphabet, etc.
The activities review what children have learned in kindergarten and continues
through first grade. This is another great tool to use for independent centers.
Date visited:
http://carlscorner.us.com
This site offers teachers the ability to choose lessons
right for their students. There is a “Lesson Plan Selector” that teachers can
use to choose the grade level, the literacy strand and the literacy engagement
that they want to teach. The lesson is broken down to show how long it is, the
student objectives, the theory behind the lesson,
questions, assessments, extensions and standards. Date visited:
http://www.readwritethink.org
PBS has great resources to help students better understand sentence
structure, phonics, vocabulary and fluency. With several different games to
choose from (for free), students can have fun while they learn. There is also a
section on Professional Development courses teachers can attend, but this does
cost money. Date visited:
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/classroom/k-2/reading/resources
Math
An interactive site filled to the brim with math games for
all ages. By using strategy and logic, students will have fun learning math
without even knowing it. This site also contains lessons and ideas for teachers
to try new ways to teach math. Date visited:
http://www.coolmath4kids.com
James Madison University: Elementary Economics Lessons
James Madison provides a site for teachers to use to teach
children about economics at the appropriate grade level. Most of the lessons incorporate
a book that is usually shared in ILA lessons, so this is familiar to the
students. Each link directs you to a lesson plan that any teacher can adapt
into his/her classroom. Date visited:
http://cob.jmu.edu/econed/Elementary.htm
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
Using manipulatives is very
important when teaching mathematics to primary grades. This site provides manipulatives that children can use on the computer. The
areas of teaching found on this site include numbers and operations, algebra,
geometry, measurement and data analysis/probability. Each area has a game or
graph of some sort for the students to complete. It also has the answers for
students to check on their own when they are finished. Date visited:
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vLibrary.html
This site is similar to the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives site. It has problem solving games for
students to work through. It also has professional development articles,
guides, webcasts and e-workshops for teachers. In
order to see some of the hands-on activities and articles, teachers must
subscribe to the site. Date visited:
http://www.nctm.org/resources/elementary.aspx
Science
This is a great site for research! This site is not age
appropriate for first graders to use on their own, but teachers can gain extra
information on plants and animals before teaching a lesson about them in class.
Higher level reading groups may be able to find information on this site, but I
recommend using it with a whole group lesson. Date visited:
http://www.backyardnature.net/index.html
Children will love this site. It is very informative and
interactive for students. There are videos, games, stories and activities that
students can do while they learn about animals or the community. When a student
clicks on a particular game, it provides related links such as videos and
activities that can be used with that game. Very cool! Date visited:
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids
This science site provides extra activities for teachers to use that also ties in with Your Big Backyard magazine. Teachers can download coloring pages or crafts that children can make. This site also has book reviews, recipes, coloring pages and games for students to play. Date visited: 6/22/09
http://www.nwf.org/kidzone/kzPage.cfm?siteId=2
Social Studies
Students will know the Smithsonian because of the movie A Night at the Museum, but they should also know it as a museum of information and a gateway to our past. This site provides different topics for children to explore, such as, heroes, fast cars, sports, interesting facts, American history, ancient history and fun facts. There is also a game that students can play to test your knowledge. Date visited: 6/22/09
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/
If your school gets Time magazine, this is a great site to use for resources. This site provides teachers with worksheets, printable quizzes and graphic organizers to accompany the magazine. Even if you do not get the magazine, these activities can be incorporated into any social studies lesson. The worksheets are broken down into themes, making it easier for a teacher to find the topic she is teaching. Date visited: 6/22/09
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/bp/0,27955,090327,00.html
If you enjoy the Discovery Channel, you will enjoy this
site. It has activities for the appropriate age group listed out for the
viewer. This site also allows teachers to create their own word search puzzles
and choose from a number of worksheets. This site also provides lessons for
specific themes of science that are taught in the classroom. Date visited:
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/
All Subjects
Fun Brain is filled with math and reading activities for any
primary student/teacher. Teachers can choose games and activities by grade
level. This site provides children’s stories on the web, so that they can read
the story without even checking it out from the library. The math games provide
great independent centers. Date visited:
http://www.funbrain.com
Do not be fooled by the name. Yes, it says kindergarten and
not first grade. No, it isn’t a waste. This site reviews kindergarten material
but it also includes center ideas, word games, math activities and science
activities that can still be used in the first grade classroom. This is a very
handy resource for teachers that need some fun activities to help with their
lessons. Date visited:
http://www.kellyskindergarten.com
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence
This site is a good one for teachers. It has hundreds of topics to choose from about any subject matter. This is a good site to use for research or to better acquaint your knowledge of a subject before it is taught. Date visited: 6/22/09
http://free.ed.gov
Interactive Websites for Grades Pre-K-12
This site provides all subject areas and links to their
activities. Teachers will find resources and lessons that can be used, but this
site is many an interactive place for students. Games can be set up by the
teacher or by students (once they know how to play). Just find the subject and
topic you are teaching and this site will provide a game for it. This is another
good site for an independent center. Date visited:
http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interactive.htm
This site provides teachers with lessons and worksheets to
use in the classroom. It also provides games for students to play. Students can
also watch videos about other students and their love of learning. The
scholastic site has an area for teachers, students and parents to purchase
books and become apart of a book club. Most teachers may have a subscription to
this site, if your school does not provide one, some
of the materials can not be used unless you are a member. Date visited:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/home.jsp
Carol Hurst’s Children’s Literature Site
Many teachers have a classroom library at school filled with
children’s books. Not all teachers may know how to utilize those books with
their curriculum. This site offers that support by giving reviews of books and how
to use them in lessons. It also has activities to use for any subject or theme.
Date visited:
http://www.carolhurst.com/