Search Engines
Research Help
Tools for Learning
Keyboarding
Printable Resources
Ask Jeeves for Kids
http://www.ajkids.com
Searches database of selected sites.
Awesome Library
http://www.awesomelibrary.org
Over 17,000 reviewed resources, selected for teachers, kids, teens, parents, and librarians.
Berit's Best Sites for Children
http://www.beritsbest.com
Recommended web sites are reviewed and given ratings, now with search capabilities.
Cybersleuth-Kids
http://cybersleuth-kids.com
An Internet search guide for the K-12 student.
Education World
http://www.education-world.com
A search engine for educational Web sites only; now over 500,000 sites.
TheFreeDictionary.com
http://www.thefreedictionary.com
This is a search engine that combines dictionary, encyclopedia and thesaurus in one. Each word has a button you can click on to hear how the word is pronounced. It also offers definitions, pictures, related words, synonyms, antonyms and an example of classic literature using the word in context. You can also sign up to have the Word of the Day emailed out to you.
The Internet Picture Dictionary
http://www.pdictionary.com
The Internet Picture Dictionary is a completely free, online multilingual picture dictionary designed especially for ESL students and beginning English, French, German, Spanish and Italian language learners of all ages. And here is a tip... after you have selected the language of your choice, click on the Wanna Learn icon to access more resources.
Internet Public Library - Youth Division
http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace
A directory of sites selected for children ages 4-11, their parents and teachers.
NEW! ithaki 4 KIDS
http://kids.ithaki.net
Ithaki 4 KIDS is a metasearch engine that helps to quickly find the best sites just for kids via searching in real time several search engines such as DmozKids, Yahooligans, FactMonster, ArtKIDSRule, AolKIDS, AwesomeLibrary & KidsClick!.
KidsClick!
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!
“Created by a bunch of librarians.” Sites are annotated with reading levels.
NEW! Quintura for Kids
http://kids.quintura.com
Designed specifically for kids, this new search engine demonstrates a new way people search and find information on the Web. The intuitive nature of the cloud allows kids to develop and refine their search by clicking on key words that appear in the cloud. The interface also allows for relevant searches around a set of rotating icons on the site. Quintura operates the See & Find™ visual find engine.
TekMom - Search Tools for Students
http://www.tekmom.com/search
Everything is here...
Yahooligans
http://www.yahooligans.com
Searchable directory of Internet sites for kids, approved by educators.
Ask Dr. Universe
http://www.wsu.edu/DrUniverse
Science questions and answers for kids of all ages.
NEW! Ask Us!
http://www.epl.ca/EPLAskAQuestion.cfm
Are you trying to find out how many stripes are on a zebra or how many different kinds of trees are native to Alberta? Check out Ask Us! a chat feature of the Edmonton Public Library. Regular online hours are Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Berit’s Best Sites for Children
http://www.beritsbest.com/SeriousStuff/HomeworkHelpers/index.shtml
Review of homework related websites and links to their pages.
CNN Student News
http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/fyi
dMarie Time Capsule
http://www.dmarie.com/timecap
A simple tool to help locate news headlines based on the date you enter.
Discovery Kids
http://kids.discovery.com
Enchanted Learning
http://www.enchantedlearning.com
A person could spend their life at this site. Excellent resource for K-6.
Factmonster Homework Center
http://www.factmonster.com/homework/index.html
Search or browse for helpful homework information from Factmonster's articles, or just have fun with educational quizzes and games on this site from Information Please.
Google Maps
http://maps.google.ca
Enter a street address, city, state or province to find a moveable map or satellite image of the area you are searching for. You'll find the map is clear and can be dragged around. Use google.ca for Canada; google.com for the US...
How Stuff Works
http://www.howstuffworks.com
HowStuffWorks explains hundreds of subjects, from car engines to lock-picking to
ESP, using clear language and tons of illustrations.
Internet Public Library Youth Division
http://www.ipl.org/youth
Click on the subject categories to find hand-picked web sites which will help you learn about math, science, arts, music and more... from the University of Michigan's School of Information.
Junglewalk
http://www.junglewalk.com/frames.asp
Animal photos, sounds, and movies.
LearnAlberta.ca
http://www.learnalberta.ca
LearnAlberta.ca is a web site that provides quality online resources in English and in French to the Kindergarten to Grade 12 community in Alberta. You will need to contact your school for a UserID and Password to access some of the resources on the LearnAlberta site.
National Geographic for Kids
http://www.nationalgeo.com/kids
Excellent for research.
NEW! EPL Pathfinders
http://www.epl.ca/EPLMaster.cfm?id=PATHFINDERS00001
The Edmonton Public Library Pathfinders list books, sites and other info about specific topics or assignments. Pathfinders was created just for students and covers many different topics. A 'pathfinder' is a list of books, web sites and other information students will find useful while doing their homework.
Pathfinders
http://infozone.imcpl.org/kids_pathfinders_alpha.htm
Subject Pathfinders for Kids are a web pages that contain a list of library materials, web sites, and other information about a topic. Sometimes pathfinders contain helpful directions or hints for finding out about a topic.
Research Guide
http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/00_Introduction.asp
This research guide will take you step by step through the process of "doing research" so that you don't get lost along the way.
San Diego Zoo
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/index.html
Lots of information about animals, habitats, and ecosystems.
Time for Kids
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK
Child-friendly presentation of national, international news.
NEW! Capzles
http://capzles.com
The site this week is an interesting little tool called Capzles that allows you to easily combine videos, photos, blogs and mp3s into rich, multimedia storylines.
Class Tools
http://classtools.net
Classtools.net allows you to create free educational games, activities, and diagrams in a Flash! Students can work right on the Internet and print off their work or they can host the activities on a blog or web site. Activities are listed on the right-hand side. Some of my favourites are Diamond 9, Fishbone, and Lights Out!
Create a Graph
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/Graphing
The best site ever for creating and printing your own graphs.
Google Earth – Explore, Search and Discover
http://earth.google.com
Want to know more about a specific location? Dive right in -- Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips. Fly from space to your neighborhood. Type in an address and zoom right in; tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings; save and share your searches and favorites and even add your own annotations. Google Earth is the perfect tool for exploring the geography of a country, searching out famous landmarks of cities under study, or learning how latitude and longtitude work. Parents should give themselves some time at this site first because it is hard to share the keyboard at this site! (Google Earth is a free download and does not load any spyware on your computer.)
fd's flickr toys
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr
Creating a movie poster, trading cards, magazine cover, or CD cover are just a few of the fun tools found at this website!
NEW! Ginger Spell (Beta download)
http://www.gingersoftware.com
Ginger provides an automatic spell checker, assisting people with learning difficulties such as dyslexia or those for whom English is not their native language to improve their writing skills, through an intelligent automatic context-based correction of spelling mistakes and misused words. Ginger Spell runs within Microsoft Word for Windows, and requires an Internet connection. As the user works in a familiar word-processing environment such as Microsoft Word, the system responds quickly and accurately to automatically produce error-free texts.
*Compatible with MS Word 2003 and 2007, and Microsoft Windows;text-to-speech capabilities coming soon; Mac version is being worked on; a commercial version of Ginger Software will be available in mid 2009.
Graphic Organizers
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/index.html
Homeworkopoly
http://www.teachnet.com/homeworkopoly
Homeworkopoly is a fun way to encourage children to do their homework! This gameboard is a favourite in the classroom but there is no reason that it can't work at home with a little imaginative input from both parent and child.
How to Do Soduko Puzzles
http://www.sudokuforkids.com/How%20to%20do%20Sudoku%20Puzzles.pdf
Soduko puzzles are challenging and require perseverence but develop logical thinking and decision making skills. Once kids figure out how to be successful with these, they might even have a hard time putting them down! This site offers a printable step-by-step tutorial on how to complete simple to more challenging Soduko puzzles. (And, yes, there is inconsistency in the spelling of Soduko. I found it varied from site to site and even within sites!)
NEW! JeopardyLabs
http://jeopardylabs.com
JeopardyLabs allows you to create a customized jeopardy template without PowerPoint. The games you make can be played online from anywhere in the world. Building your own jeopardy template is a piece of cake. Just use the site's simple editor to get your game up and running.
My Brochure Maker
http://www.mybrochuremaker.com/brochure-microsoft-template-word-fun.html
Currently free, this tool lets you create a brochure online. You can choose a template then customize the text and graphics. It only takes a few simple steps to create a high-quality color brochure. RequiresFlash and Microsoft Word.
1-Click
http://www.answers.com
A quick and easy tool for older kids (and adults!) to use when they run into a word or concept they don't know. 1-Click provides easy access to definitions and more information on any topic. This is a free download from Answers.com. Install 1-Click on your computer - Mac or Windows- to create an interactive page with any document. Using a special key combination, any word in a Word, Open office, Web page or email document, will be hyperlinked to the definition. There is no spyware or any other unwanted features that are downloaded with this program.
Pivot Stick Animator
http://www.geocities.com/peter_bone_uk/pivot.html
Pivot Stickfigure Animator is a unique software, that allows you to create stick figure animations easily and without any artistic skills. You can move the sections of the sick figure and easily create a chain of animation frames that can be previewed as you go. You can use more than one stick-figure in the animation, and even create your own stick figures using an easy to use visual editor that lets you assemble objects out of lines and circles. In addition, you can optionally set animation size, speed and more. The result can be saved as animated GIF file. Fun and easy to use! (Recommended for Div. 2 students)
NEW! Poster Razor
http://sourceforge.net/projects/posterazor
Want to print a poster? PosteRazor cuts an image file into pieces and you can print then on your printer and glue them together to a poster. Easy FLTK based user interface. Uses FreeImage for image loading. Creates PDFs as output. Poster Razor will allow teachers to print SMART slides, or any other image, to a poster format.
Puzzlemaker
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com
Make your own word puzzles…an incredibly fun site by Discoveryschool.com
ReadPlease
http://www.readplease.com
Readplease, for Windows only, features both a free and for purchase tools that can assist with text-to-speech conversions. The free version once downloaded to the computer can function as a simple word processor or screen reader. Any text can be copied and pasted into the Readplease window. Users can customize the voice, size and color of the text.
Research Guide
http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/00_Introduction.asp
This research guide will take you step by step through the process of "doing research" so that you don't get lost along the way.
NEW! Sam Animation
http://www.samanimation.com
SAM Animation is software designed to give students the power of making stop-action movies to share their ideas and understanding. The software is easy to use and provides a unique experience for students to explore challenging problems in any subject through creating animations. SAM Animation is free for MACs and PCs, as long as individuals are willing to register so that they can keep you updated with new beta versions, news, and classroom activities.
Smilebox
http://www.smilebox.com
With Smilebox, you can create animated scrapbooks, photobooks, slideshows, postcards, and ecards for any occasion, and email them to anyone. It's free, easy to use, and the results are amazing. Be creative and explore how Smilebox can support research projects at school...
Soundsnap
http://www.soundsnap.com
Soundsnap is an excellent place to find and share free sound effects and loops- legally. It is a collection of original sounds made or recorded by its users, and not songs or sound FX found on commercial libraries or sample CD's.
The site features more than just sound effects. There are also samples you can use for creating music. Have fun!
NEW! Tar Heel Reader
http://tarheelreader.org
Tar Heel Reader is a great resource for beginning or struggling readers and English language learners. This collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books has the option to be read silently or read aloud. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces (i.e. switches, alternative keyboards, touch screens, and dedicated AAC devices). The finished books may be downloaded as slide shows in PowerPoint, Impress, or Flash format and can be opened in Apple’s Keynote and put on an iPod (Nano, Classic, or Touch) for mobile reading.
Besides reading a book, students also have the option of creating their own books. Ideas for using Tar Heel Reader might include having teachers, parents, or students create custom stories with meaningful photos (field trip, social stories, personal, or retelling another story), make a student a main character in the story, have older students create books for younger students around curriculum topics, or use created stories with an interactive white board (SMART Board) for whole group instruction.
To create a book of your own you will need to register for free. For a fun read and to see patterning using The Very Hungry Caterpillar, check out The Hungry Bear under Fairy and Folk Tales.
Word Game Boards - (Unfortunately, this site doesn't seem to be available any more...)
http://208.183.128.3/tutorials/gameboard.htm
Need to study for a science or social test? Or come up with a project for a novel study? Create a game board and make your own cards at this site. It also offers templates for game boards to fit dozens of different themes as well as the cards to go with them and a variety of different spinners and dice. This is a very worthwhile and valuable site for students and teachers alike!
NEW! Wordle
http://wordle.net
Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends. How does this fit with curriculum? Think about brainstorming everything you know about a concept (friendship, respect, Alberta, bridges etc) as a review for a unit of study. Teachers... could you use Wordle for assessment?
Writing Paper Templates
http://www.vickiblackwell.com/makingbooks/writingpaper.htm
Is your child tired of writing on a blank Word document? Spice up writing tasks by using one of these colourful PowerPoint templates and there are so many to choose from! Remember though, you must first save the file to your computer by "Right Click > Save Target As." Choose where you want to save the file and then click "Save".
A+ Math Worksheets
http://www.aplusmath.com/Worksheets/index.html
Print out the worksheet, then click on the "Get Answers" button and print the answers.
FlashCardMath.com
http://www.flashcardmath.com/flashcards/flashcards.htm
Choose either picture or numbers, print out your flashcards, and get busy mastering those addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division basic facts!
Graph Paper Maker
http://incompetech.com/beta/plainGraphPaper
Graph Paper Maker is a useful site that makes PDFs of graph paper according to the parameters you choose - size, color, line weight and layout. You can choose squares, dots, triangles, hexagons, diamonds, horizontal lines with light verticals, and even 'axiometric perspective' (I had to ask, too.) If you scroll down further, you can also generate number lines, Cornell Note taking pages, penmanship pages, and even Chinese character, guitar fret and Celtic knot guides. What more could you ask for?
Learn to Print
http://www.mymoondrops.com/spelling.html
Type in your child's name or any word. The program automatically opens a new window and then fills the page.
Make Your Own Soduko Puzzles
http://www.edhelper.com/sudoku.htm
Many of the printable puzzles are free on this page but the ones you create yourself require registration at this site.
Super Kids Math Worksheet Creator
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math
Make your math worksheets by simply selecting the type of problem, the maximum and minimum numbers to be used in the problems, and then click on the button! A worksheet will be created to your specifications, ready to be printed for use.
Personal Educational Press
http://www.educationalpress.org/educationalpress/Index.asp
Create free educational worksheets such as flashcards, game boards, and quizzes to print directly from your browser.
Printable Paper
http://www.printablepaper.net
Hundreds of papers you can download and print for free... Printable Paper has graph paper, story paper, penmanship paper, music paper, and more available in a variety of sizes. You'll need Adobe Reader to print the paper. Fortunately, Adobe Reader is free, just like the paper on Printable Paper!
Printable Worksheets
http://busyteacherscafe.com/worksheets.htm
Printable worksheets for different subject areas. Money and measurement are not Canadian.
School Express
http://www.schoolexpress.com
Click your way through to the free activity pages and then make sure you click on the bottom frame to print without the advertising. Choose from all curriculum areas.
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