Take a moment to explore these Web resources and list of recommended books. Know of a great resource that isn't listed here? Tell us about it!
Web resources
- A to Z Teacher Stuff- A to Z Thematic Units Index
- ASCD Education Bulletin- Subscribe to this newsletter for short items of interest to people who care about K-12 education (including early childhood).
- Big Chalk- Sign up for one of their newsletters for the latest in education resources.
- Brainpop- This site contains tons of animation on science and health issues. Great for students, even have mini movies
- A Commonwealth of Knowlegde- Virginia's site for educators with information on SOL's, news and lesson plans.
- Dr. Terry's Instructional Resource- INST 303 course support site.
- Education Place- This site provides information and activities for all subjects but is especially good for reading. It is offered by Houghton Mifflin, a textbook publisher. Other publishers have similar sites.
- ETS Teaching and Learning Division- "committed to supporting learning and advancing good teaching through a coherent approach to the licensing, advanced certification, and professional development of teachers and school leaders.
- FunBrain.com- Games, flashcards and quizzes for your students. You can even set up electronic quizzes for your students to take and have FunBrain email the results to you.
- Free Worksheets- Here are over 2000, free to print and use, worksheets covering math, science, language arts, social studies, phonics, reading, thinking skills and more. Answer sheets, too!
- Hamptonroads School Zone: SOL Center- All you want to know about the SOLs and local school ratings. Pages also include sample test questions.
- Math and Science Literature Connection-Use childeren's literature to plan and enhance math and science lessons.
- Mathgoodies- Need help with math? This site includes lesson plans, puzzles, games and even math chat.
- McRel- The MidContinent Research for Education and Learning- applied research.
- NASA Spacelink- Resources from NASA
- National Council of Teachers of Mathematics- the world’s largest organization dedicated to improving math education .
- Poetry4kids- Great site to teach students about poetry, also a link for Symantec dictionary.
- Problem Solving in Mathematic- Math problems for K-5 learners.
- Professional Teacher- Offers everything you need to renew and advance your teaching certification- includes information on state requirements and professional development.
- Puzzlemaker- Need a puzzle in a hurry? This site will create any number of puzzles for word search, mazes, even math puzzles. Solutions are also provided.
- Rubric- Need a rubric? This site will help you creat rubrics for all curriculum areas.
- Schoolexpress.com - This site is an education web site offering free worksheets and software.
- School History - This site provides many resources for use by teachers and students.
- Teach-nology- This site provides a review of sites specifically for teacher resources.
- Test Question of the Day- To prepare for the Praxis I test, try practicing with the Question of the Day.
- Virginia Department of Education- Official Website with information on SOL's, certification and job listings.
Books
Bosch, K.A. & Kersey, L. The First Year Teacher. Washington D.C.: NEA Publishing Library, 2000.
This book is designed to be a practical, hands-on guide for the first-year teacher. It provides a self-help format that suggests rather than directs, creates feelings of competency rather than inadequacy, and instills confidence rather than insecurity.
Bosch, K.A. Planning Classroom Management. Arlington Heights, California: Corwin Press, 2006.
This book provides a model for classroom management by demonstrating it as a process. By following the steps in the process, teachers learn to observe and identify how classroom management works then develop and implement personal classroom management plan (CMP) in their classrooms.
Cothron, Julia, Giese, Ronald, and Rezbe, Richard. Students and Research. Practical Strategies for Science Classrooms and Competitions. Kendall Hunt Publishing Co. . Dubuque, Iowa.
This book suggests techniques for teachers to teach students the skills of scientific investigation and discovery. The book has field tested strategies for developing research skills in students at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Suggestions are provided for modifying existing laboratory activities to teach students how to design experiments and analyze data. A student version of the book is also available.
Cunningham, Patricia. Phonics They Use: Words for Reading and Writing. New York: Longman, 2000.
This practical book has only four chapters. Chapter 1 details the large amount of information brought to school by children who come from homes in which literacy is a priority. Chapter 2 describes specific activities teachers can use to speed word recognition and spelling. Chapters 3 and 4, designed for teachers of second and third grade, emphasizes decoding and writing.
Danielson, Charlotte. Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching. Virginia: ASCD, 1996.
The framework for teaching described in this book is based on the PRAXIS III: Classroom Performance Assessments criteria developed by Educational Testing Service. This framework identifies those aspects of a teacher's responsibilities that have been documented through empirical studies and theoretical research as promoting improved student learning.
Flesch, Rudolf. Why Johnny Can't Read. Buccaneer Books, Inc., 1998
The revised edition still give insight on how the educational system works and how parents can give children a head start in their education.
Glasser, William A. The Quality School: Managing Students without Coercion. HarperTrade, 1998 (3rd)
Shows that traditional coercive management in schools is the root of today's educational problems.
Kozel, Jonathan. Amazing Grace. HarperTrade, 1996.
Amazing Grace is a book about the hearts of children who grow up in the South Bronx - the poorest congressional district of our nation. Without rhetoric, but drawing extensively upon the words of children, parents, and priests, this book does not romanticize or soften the effects of violence and sickness. It asks us questions that are, at once, political and theological. What is the value of a child's life?
Kidder, Tracy. Among Schoolchildren. A year in the life of an American urban schoolteacher.
Kidder's portrait of Mrs. Zajac restores the human element to the ongoing national debate on education, giving us not abstractions but the real human contact between teacher and students.
Kozel, Jonathan. Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools. HarperTrade, 1992.
National Book Award-winning author Jonathan Kozol presents his shocking account of the American educational system in this stunning bestseller. An account of the inequity of the American educational system explores the deplorable conditions - decaying buildings, overcrowding, understaffing, deteriorating neighborhoods - in which inner-city children are educated.
Piper, Mary. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. Ballantine Books, 1995.
A therapist who has worked extensively with young girls reveals firsthand evidence of the damage that can be caused by growing up in a "girl-poisoning culture", raises a call to arms, and offers parents compassion and strategies for survival.
Pollack, William. Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood. Henry Holt, 1999.
Based on William Pollack's groundbreaking research at Harvard Medical School over two decades. Real Boys explores why many boys are sad, lonely, and confused although they may appear tough, cheerful, and confident. Pollack challenges conventional expectations about manhood and masculinity that encourage parents to treat boys as little men, raising them through a toughening process that drives their true emotions underground.