Technology has created a convenient platform for quickly and easily searching for relevant instructional information with a few key strokes or swipes of a screen. Educators are able to access engaging material for their lessons and have more opportunities to interact with other educators now more than ever before. Here are five websites for curriculum and instruction that can add depth to planning lessons.
1. Scholastic
As the largest publisher of children’s books, scholastic promotes literacy for all ability levels. Scholastic is well-known for their book clubs, but they have so much more available to assist with planning curriculum and instruction. In fact, there is a link to resources and tools just for designing and planning lessons. Additionally, there are planning calendars, daily starters, printables, and of course a multitude of book titles to support instruction within all subject areas. Furthermore, the strategies and ideas link on the website will lead to professional resources, teacher support and teacher blogs.
2. Smithsonian Education
On the Smithsonian Education homepage, educators can search for lessons that support art and design, science and technology, history and culture, as well as language arts. Not to mention, there is a link for professional development, which will provide even more programs and opportunities to learn about resources that can assist with curriculum and instruction. The Smithsonian Collections has more than 500,000 images, videos and sounds from the library and new material is added each day. The Smithsonian Institution has a plethora of resources for educators, families, and students.
3. TeacherTube
Sharing, connecting, and learning are all possible with TeacherTube. This informational video sharing website can assist in planning lessons or add another dimension to an already planned lesson. TeacherTube is a great resource to engage students by using multimedia material. Similar to YouTube, but geared towards educators, the TeacherTube site is chalk full of videos, audio, photos and more. With more than 200,000 educational videos, educators have a decent amount of resources to support instruction.
4. Thinkfinity
Thinkfinity is a searchable database of standards-based lessons for all content areas and ability levels. There are many extension activities and suggestions to broaden lessons and provide further exploration. Classroom instruction is enhanced with access to professional development opportunities and video resources. Social networking on Facebook and Twitter allow users to stay connected and even subscribe to a monthly newsletter and RSS feeds.
5. Edutopia
Edutopia’s mission includes “focusing on practices and programs that help students acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, skills and beliefs to achieve their full potential.” They provide community connections and real-world information to help plan instruction. Topics such as game-based learning and classroom technology allow users to read more about subjects that are relevant to curriculum and instruction. This website is specifically geared towards those who are passionate about transforming education with innovative ideas and programs.
Related Resource: 5 Great Books for Gifted Resource Teachers
Visit one of these educational websites to open doors for planning exciting and engaging lessons. There are so many interesting resources for curriculum and education that are waiting and ready to be utilized.
