How well I remember the old ‘mimeograph’ and ‘spirit-master days, when cut and paste meant that literally, not just figuratively. And who could forget when ‘laminating’ consisted of fighting with a huge sheet of Contact Paper which stuck to everything but the thing you were trying to cover (unless you got it crooked; then it seemed to stick too well!) Thankfully for this generation of educators, you’ll never have to experience that ‘Ecstasy like’ high from all the duplicating chemicals, the hours of cutting out 100 construction paper pickles (don’t ask!). You have a handy little gadget called the Internet.
But for some reason, many educators don’t avail themselves of the wealth of resources. Perhaps their administration is too ‘curriculum-bound’. Maybe they believe that Internet materials are too expensive.
And in the home-schooling arena, I find similar issues. Many would-be home-schoolers who are disgruntled with a traditional school options, or who need to keep a child home due to illness or travel, are reluctant to consider home-schooling because they fear the massive time and financial investment. Were we living 10 years ago, that would be a more legitimate concern. When I home-schooled our children, we purchased lots of expensive curriculum.
Upon reflection and research, I have found that any child can get a complete education, comparable to any school, with only a computer, printer and Internet-access. There is literally a plethora of high-quality free Internet websites with material, instruction, tutorials and activities on all subjects. Best of all students are self-guided, developing responsibility skills. Internet instruction is self-paced which prevents the constant burn-out and frustration that so many students experience.
At almost any age, a child can work productively online with assigned tasks and basic monitoring. This is especially true as a child gets a basic grasp of reading. And her reading skills will dramatically improve with guided use of websites. In fact children develop a great deal of their reading just by what I call cultural reading or reading for a purpose: reading signs, ads, menus and marketing or media related material.
To develop your online curriculum, here are many websites to explore. I’ve organized them by content. Review the sites listed. Select activities for your child to complete. Make a weekly list of work. give your child choices about what to complete each day. This will teach her organization and planning. For his online activities, create a ‘favorites’ file in which he can store his work for you to review.
Include a variety of activities. Select some tutorials to view and practice, online games to play, pertinent articles to read for research, memorization activities to complete, materials to print and create a project with, experiments to try, diagrams to complete, maps, content related crafts and some activities for you to enjoy together.
Provide a box with pencil, paper, scissors, markers, colored pencils, tape, stapler, glue etc. For any science experiments, review the webpage’s materials list and assemble them ahead of time. Store them in a bin, for her use when she is ready. If you need to go somewhere, print off materials ahead of time and place in a folder. Please see my other articles related to good websites and organizing craft supplies for a educational use.
Children like to feel that they are being productive and doing important things. They also like to be plan their own work as much as possible. Here are my top picks for sites to use for each subject. I will note any cost, pop-ups, add-ons needed and if the site is lesson plans for teachers to use with students.
— www.apples4theteacher.com Huge assortment of lessons for all ages and contents. Each is an online activity, game, puzzle or diagram that the student can fill in. All are based upon ‘test appropriate’ material for curriculum and standards for each grade. There are reading, language arts, writing, math, social studies, science and arts lessons to explore. Don’t miss this one.
— www.enchantedlearning.com My personal favorite for good solid content instruction using diagrams, maps, booklets and an online library written for an elementary age reader. Your child can utilize the site for reference, research and to practice acidities related to material. For a $20/ year site fee, you have unlimited access to 100s of printable books, charts, diagrams, maps and activities for students to fill in and learn content. Offers math, reading, social studies, science, crafts and projects. You will need Adobe Acrobat to view and print. You really must check out this site.
— www.pbs.org/teachersource This site boasts over 3,000 lesson plans correlated to the fabulously educational shows that air on PBS. These shows educate viewers of all ages from 2- 102. You’ll find shows like NOVA, POV, American Experience, Great Performances, Masterpiece Theater, Cyberchase (kids math cartoon), Big Blue Marble, 3-2-1 Contact, and all kinds of productions from all over the globe. The PBS channel is a curriculum in itself, but with the bolstering of these activities, I’d say this is the ideal curriculum. As with all PBS venues, it’s free. I keep a few of these lesson plans in my attache case when I substitute teach.
— www.kids-courier.com This site is great for children to use independently to practice their concepts.
— www.mrdonn.org Here is a teacher who has graciously assembled a plethora of lessons on all subjects for us to use. I tell you, some of these teachers are the ultimate humanitarian! They have uploaded years, maybe decades of work for us to use. This site offers mostly social studies materials, but really I like to plan my whole curriculum around literature and social studies.
— www.lessonplanspage.com This site is devoted to plans that teachers from all over have contributed on all sorts of subjects. It’s a forum as well as a plan site.
— www.atozteacherstuff.com This is a clearinghouse of free printables, activities, lessons, etc, based upon curriculum, theme and age. Features a search function for you to access just what you need. You will be directed to all sorts of links for free activities and materials based on your request.
With these sites at your fingertips, you’ll have more than enough stuff to keep you and your students or children learning and enjoying their studies. Remember the maxim, ‘I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I learn.’
