Best of the Web for the Classroom

Sites that Deliver Again and Again

The Granddaddy of "Free Stuff" Web Sites
The U.S. Department of Education maintains Free—more than 1,500 lesson plans, primary documents, science animations, math challenges, and works of art, literature, and music from the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, National Archives, National Science Foundation, National Gallery of Art, and many other federal agencies. Go to www.free.ed.gov.

Classroom Behavior
Instilling a sense of civility in class and helping students learn manners that will serve them in their personal and professional lives is an expected part of classroom curriculum. To help promote thoughtful, respectful behavior, NEA has created Do the Right Thing, a Web area with articles, tips, research, videos, discussion boards, and much more. Go to www.nea.org/dotherightthing.

Help with Math

• Webmath—Students of any age can turn to this site to solve specific math problems. A user types a problem into fill-in-forms. Powerful algorithms analyze the problem and, when possible, provide a step-by-step solution. Covered are basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, and even life skills math. Go to www.webmath.com.
  
  
• RUReady?—The University of Utah built this learning and self-assessment site to help high school students gauge their readiness for calculus and intermediate algebra. The tools analyze student test responses and provide feedback on error patterns. Users can work at their own pace. Go to http://ruready.net.

Super Science Sites

• Extreme Science —Discover the biggest and baddest in the world of extremes and learn about the science that makes each the supreme example of its kind. (Think sharks, cyclones, superconductors.) Go to http://www.extremescience.com.
  
  
• Jonathan Bird's Blue World —Here's a beautifully filmed, award-winning underwater ocean exploration series with short, 7–10 minute video segments, each containing a complete story with an educational component. Go to http://blueworldtv.com.
  
  
• Educators National Science Standards Lesson Bank —Teachers teamed up with the Space Foundation to develop more than 200 science lesson plans for preK–12 that focus on space, science, engineering, math, and technology. Includes background materials and assessment criteria. Go to www.sciencestandardslessons.org.

For Teachers and Students of ESL
Behind this site's deceptively plain index page lie more than 1,000 ESL links to everything from articles to class handouts, lesson plans to pronunciation guides, vocabulary lists to classroom humor, and more. Students will find "culture guides," project ideas, speaking prompts, tips for coping with slang, and quizzes. Go to http://iteslj.org/ESL3.html.

On Exhibit: Everything
You expect the Louvre or the Smithsonian to have a Web site, but the Circus Historical Society? The Archive of European Aeroplane Silhouettes? The International Gallery of Matchbooks? Two meta sites contains links to hundreds of museums worldwide, large and small. Visit Museum Stuff at www.museumstuff.com and the Museum of Online Museums at www.coudal.com/moom.