Art Skills: You and your students can use the ArtSkills Poster Wizard to make virtual posters! This poster tool will walk you through making a poster: from color selection to templates to glitter, borders and lettering. Then you get a thumbnail image of your poster and a supplies list to recreate (by hand) your best poster ever!

• All America Reads -All America Reads is a national reading and literacy program produced by the Wish You Well Foundation. The ongoing program is designed to encourage reading and discussion of novels with broad appeal and accessible themes. The project intends to select additional novels and develop reading strategies and lesson plans for use in classrooms across the nation.
• Jane Austen - complete works
• Big 6 Research Model - The Big6 is an information and technology literacy model and curriculum, implemented in thousands of schools - K through higher education. Some people call the Big6 an information problem-solving strategy because with the Big6, students are able to handle any problem, assignment, decision or task.
• Copyright Guidelines -This web page represents the authors best attempt to explore"fair use" in the not-for-profit educational setting and present it in an informative and entertaining way. It's meant to be fun.
• ESL Links - A fun study site for learners of English as a Second Language
• Figment - http://figment.com/ - provides a space for students to publish their original writing and receive feedback online.
• Good Reads - Get great book recommendations from people you know. Keep track of what you've read and what you'd like to read. Form a book club, answer book trivia, collect your favorite quotes.
• Google Lit Trips
• NC Writing Assessment Proposal
• The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - contains everything you want to know about Poe and his writings
• Poetry Classroom - Here you will find a wealth of resources, including Discussion Forums where teachers can share ideas and seek help from colleagues; Pedagogical & Critical Essays about poetry; extensive links to relevant websites; Curriculum Units & Lesson Plans; biographies of hundreds of poets; and over 2,000 poems.
• Poetry Teacher - Learn how to inspire a love of poetry in your students and teach kids how to write different types of poems.
• Random Super Hero Generator http://www.rps.net/cgi-bin/stone/randpower.pl - could be used for a writing prompt
• ReadWriteThink is a partnership between the International Reading Association (IRA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and the Verizon Foundation. It provides lessons, standards, and student materials.
• Reading for Success
• Shel Silverstein http://shelsilverstein.com/html/home.html - poetry site for kids
• Scripps National Spelling Bee
• William Shakespeare - the complete works
• US History and Government
• UNCIEF: Voices of Youth - includes an interactive game on the cost of life and many other resources
• VisuWords - online graphical dictionary — Look up words to find their meanings and associations with other words and concepts. Produce diagrams reminiscent of a neural net. Learn how words associate.
• Web English Teacher

• Dimensions of Math - A colorful, interactive poster serves as a portal to the realm of dimension, with destinations ranging from Flatland to hyperspace. Meet authors Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time), E.A. Abbott (Flatland), and Michio Kaku (Hyperspace). Ponder Penrose tilings, gravitational lenses, and tic-tac-toe on a torus. Play with geometric shapes.
• DPI Math (Week by Week) Resources
• DPI Math Instructional Resources
• Education World Math Machine - find links to more than 50 online games that will help you teach and reinforce important math skills.
• Gamequarium - Geometry games
• Gap Minder - applying daily stats
• Geometry UCONN - It covers 6 areas and is specifically targeted for 5th grade ( Points and Lines, Angles and Triangles, Polygons, Area and Perimeter, Circles, and the Coordinate Plane ). There is an assessment after each lesson that is interactive with the Smartboard.
• Glencoe Online Learning Center - Math
• Home School Math - Online math resources
• Mathalicious - real-world math applications
• Math Play - Geometry Math Games, great for Smartboard
• MR Haydenn http://www.mrhayden.com/resources.php - lots of math resources
• NASA e-clips - Middle school students (grades 6-8) explore mathematics in action through Real World: Mathematics. These video segments connect classroom mathematics to 21st century careers and innovations. Learning experiences are aligned with middle school mathematics standards of learning, and are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem-solving.
• Paper Models of Polyhedra - directions for making hundreds of 3-D polyhedra
• Rotating Houses - Geometry Interactive Site. You get 20 questions about buildings consisting of cubes. For each situation you have to find the correct view. You can rotate the building until you get the right (side) view.
• That Quiz - Math activities for all grade levels
• Ultimate Geometry Resource - a collection of online resources, activities and more in order to be used by teachers and parents alike so that their students can grasp the fundamentals of geometry
• WolframAlpha - computational search engine

• Aerodynamics for Beginners - NASA's Glenn Research Center offers an extensive online tutorial on the basics of aerodynamics. Aimed at elementary and high school teachers, the site provides lots of useful information and has slides and worksheets suitable for classroom use at various levels.
• Arbor Day Foundation Materials for educators who want to inspire their students to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.
• Atoms Family - Dracula doesn't want to suck your blood. He wants you to enter his online library and learn about the properties of light, waves, and particles. Here at "The Atoms Family" Web pages, created by the Miami Museum of Science, Dracula and four other silver-screen ghouls invite Web surfers into their laboratories to try out physics experiments geared to children from kindergarten to grade 12.
• Biology Corner - http://www.biologycorner.com/ - The Biology Corner is a resource site for biology and science teachers.  It contains a variety of lessons, quizzes, labs, web quests, and information on science topics.   You can find lessons related to biology topics in the links  listed under “topics” on the sidebar.  Topics include:  Ecology, Genetics, Anatomy, Cells, Scientific Method, and Evolution.   
• Cells Alive - http://www.cellsalive.com/ -
• Chem Demos - They may not be as dramatic as the real thing, but online video and descriptions of lecture demonstrations involving combustion and other chemical and physical effects still fascinate. The Chemistry Learning Center at the University of Illinois offers tantalizing glimpses of methanol combustion, electrolysis of water, hydrogen ignition, the effect of liquid nitrogen on a rose, an ammonium dichromate volcano, and more.
• ComPADRE - a collection of electronic resources in physics and astronomy education
• Cooking Science -
• The Exploratorium's "Science of Cooking" Web pages offer all sorts of advice on how to improve your cooking—with a pinch of science. Information, recipes, and activities focus on spices, bread, meat, eggs, and more. Experience the thrill of pickle making and learn about a zesty dish called kimchi. Recorded Webcasts explore the science of cooking your holiday turkey and other topics.
• Cybermission - eCYBERMISSION is a FREE, web-based science, math and technology competition that allows students to compete for regional and national awards while working together to solve problems in their community
• Darwin, Charles - the complete works online
• Discovery Channel
• Earth Day Network - Find over 300 standard-based lessons, school greening tips, grants for teachers and more than 25,000 teachers to share ideas with.
• Einstein - Accompanying the Einstein exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, this Web site offers a captivating portrait of the most famous scientist of the 20th century. Several online essays probe Albert Einstein's theories, providing insights into light, time, energy, and gravity. Others explore aspects of his life and times.

• 911 Memorial - http://www.911memorial.org/ - The lessons are about many different topics - creating a museum, everyday heros, resilience, memories, timelines, art, etc. There is also a "Tribute" page with art by students and individuals. Under "Memorial" and "Museum" you can take a look at pictures and do a virtual visit.
• BBC News One Minute World News
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/
• Quick overview of some top world headlines each day in one minute. Pick a news item and discuss or have kids find out more about it.
• Best History Sites - award-winning portal that contains annotated links to over 1200 history web sites as well as links to hundreds of quality K-12 history lesson plans, history teacher guides, history activities, history games, history quizzes, and more.
• The Big Picture - http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/ From The Boston Globe.  They put together amazing pictures from around the world thanks to the Associated Press, Reuters, Getty and others three times a week.  They include a caption with the picture and a brief description.  Most of the pictures focus on current events.  You can also click on a link to find more related photos.
• Bubble US - simple and free web application that lets you brainstorm online.Create colorful mind maps online. Share and work with friends. Embed your mind map in your blog or website. Email and print your mind map. Save your mind map as an image.
• CNN's Where in the World...? http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/08/world/where-in-the-world-10-08-12/index.html?hpt=wo_t5 Each Monday CNN posts a picture under this heading on their site. They put up a picture from somewhere around the world and reveals the answer later in the day.This might be a good warm up, closing activity, or something you could use once in a while to make class "global". The pictures could be related to a story on CNN or just something they found to be unusual around the world.
• Civil War
• ChristianAid Games - http://www.christianaid.org.uk/resources/games/play.aspx
• There are also stories on this page about kids and things they are dealing with. One of the games looks like a virtual game of Chutes and Ladders (if anyone remembers that game!) but based on figuring out what is fair/not fair in human rights.
• Countries of the World Quiz http://www.jetpunk.com/quizzes/how-many-countries-can-you-name.php
  How many countries can you name?  How many can your students name?  If you want a challenge or to give your students a challenge, check out this website.  It asks you to type in the name (spelled correctly) of as many countries as you can in 12 minutes.  It will shade in countries as you type the names in.  Once you finish it will tell you how many you got and show you in red which ones you missed. 
• Country Reports - http://www.countryreports.org/index.htm - CountryReports provides over 35,000 pages of online content on the cultures and countries of the world. With unique content from around the world.
• Fact Monster - http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0770063.html Really interesting site - includes country statistics, specific looks at kingdoms and monarchs around the world, most/least corrupt, international organizations, communist countries past/present/future, 50 poorest countries, etc. Lots could be looked at, discussed, questioned, etc.
• Izzit.org offers exciting classroom tools, from the daily current events service to classroom videos by television producers who create and distribute programs that spark curiosity and lively classroom discussions.
• Free Rice - Game in which each answer you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.
• Gap Minder:World - For a fact-based world veiw, Animated graph: Press play after the link below uploads to watch the countries move into the 21st Century
• GeoGuessrhttp://geoguessr.com/This is a neat website/game that could easily become addicting for a teacher or a student.  It might be an interesting website to use for a warm up too.  This website uses Google Earth technology and asks the user to try and make a guess about the location/country/region of the world they are seeing just based on the visual.  You can manipulate the screen and zoom in and out, turn the visual in a 360 to get a better idea of what is around, the kinds of cars there are, what language is on signs, etc.  This would be a fantastic way for students to start understanding what different places around the world look like just by recognizing the landscape, language, etc.  The little things are important too though - dirt roads, paved roads, size of the cars, etc.  You click an area on the map in order to make a guess.  It will then show how close or how far away from the actual location you are (in kilometers - could convert to miles!) and give points.
• Global Arcade - http://www.globalarcade.org/home.html - Images along left hand side of the screen have info, resources, links and several games students can play.
• Global Education Conference -http://www.globaleducationconference.com/ This is a FANTASTIC resource for YOU as a teacher. Each year there is a group on this site that organizes a virtual conference that is FREE to educators. Proposals are made and presentations are drawn up. They set up moderators and a virtual location for the presentation. There are TONS of session choices that are available to learn about anything and everything from connecting to other schools around the world to technology and project ideas.
• Global Trek: Virtual Tour Around the World - http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/globaltrek/index.htm
• Students book a virtual flight to another country and keep a travel journal of things they learn about different countries. There is also a "map man" activity.
• Google Cultural Institute http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/home?hl=en This is a site curated by Google through partnerships with museums, organizations and countries all over the world to archive world and cultural pieces online.  This is a fantastic resource - I see many possible uses for social studies, arts, etc.  Language Arts could use the visuals for writing pieces, as a part of research, etc.  There are links to the Cultural Institute on YouTube and they have spots you can search for an art project, historic moment, world wonders, photos, specific museums or organizations, sift through collections, countries, dates, people, events, etc.
• History Channel -
• History of Human Rights Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCQWwkERit4 This is a GREAT video that helps you understand what human rights are.  It's engaging, well put together, and very clear.  It is about 10 minutes long but again, very good.  It doesn't just give the history, it asks the questions we may be wondering about - why are people still enslaved?  Why are people still uneducated?  There are many others.  It also puts out the question - how can we make a difference?  Social Studies teachers will LOVE it, but regardless of what subject you teach, it could easily be applied. 
• History Pin - This is a neat website that lets people around the world share information and pictures - to share their story with the world.  They can upload images and place them in a certain location to tell what happened there and how it relates to them or the world at large.  You can do searches all over the map for different places, dates, events and subjects.  You can also look for collections on certain topics or themes.  Tours take you through particular content. 
• Holiday Insights - you will find fun, information, and lots more about every holiday you can imagine. We've got you covered on the big ones, the small ones, and all of 'em in between. So, whether you are looking up information, doing a school report, looking for Ecards or screensavers, clipart perhaps, or just having fun, surf on through and come back often.
• icivics -http://www.icivics.org/ Shared by Sandra Day O'Connor on Face the Nation.
• If It Were My Home - http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/
• This is a great site that will let you compare any country to our own or any other (US/Norway or Norway/Russia, etc.).  You can compare health, salary, energy/resources, births, etc.  You can simply choose a country and it will give statistics regarding these things.  After going through the list it asks - Would you rather live in Algeria (Botswana, Austria, etc.)?
• http://www.izzit.org/ - A  not-for-profit providing more than 300,000 teachers with engaging educational videos
  and materials promoting critical-thinking and thoughtful discussion among students.
• Mapping the Nation - http://mappingthenation.net/  When you first get to the site, you can choose to look at specific states, infographics, maps and a teacher toolkit at the top.  If you scroll down, they ask the question: "Is the U.S. ready for a global future?"  A great question we're trying to prepare our students to be ready to answer.  If you click on "infographics", you'll find pieces on international trade, international education and how the US stacks up, language, etc.  Under "Maps" you can link global to local - click on a state (NC or have students pick different states for wider comparison) and then look at specific indicators, demographics, education statistics, etc. for students to compare and contrast.  There are links and information at the bottom for further research, questions students can answer for themselves/our school, etc.  These could easily be used to:
  • Use data to learn about percentages, using graphs, etc.
  • Comparing and contrasting information about the US to other countries (any subject)
  • Defend or make new proposals on how to handle certain aspects of education
  • Discuss how prepared students think they should be to handle jobs in the future
  • Any number of other topics that could be used for comparison or thinking for the future
• Mighty Maps - http://mightymaps.orgThis website is pretty cool.  It is still in the process of "coming alive" with new resources being added, but the premise is really neat with many different subjects likely finding a map they could use for one topic or another.  They are blending the understanding and use of maps with exploring different social issues around the world.  You can look through the site to see a cause they are standing for (a homeless community in Seattle), a project they are working on with Ethiopia, some fun maps of the Lower 48, and on the resources page you can download maps, venn diagrams, flags, links to other mapping sites and other interesting links.
• Museum Box - This site provides the tools for you to build up an argument or description of an event, person or historical period by placing items in a virtual box. What items, for example, would you put in a box to describe your life; the life of a Victorian Servant or Roman soldier; or to show that slavery was wrong and unnecessary? You can display anything from a text file to a movie. You can also view and comment on the museum boxes submitted by others.
• Newseum - Washington D.C.'s Most Interactive Museum
• Nobel Prize - http://www.nobelprize.org/ - official site of the Nobel Prize
• 100 People Portrait - http://www.100people.org/videos_all.php
• Check out this site with the different statistics on what the world would be like if there if were made up of 100 people. Watch a few of the videos on global issues and about specific countries. What do students notice about these places? What links the subject area you teach with the world as a whole? How is it important and how could it be used to come up with solutions ot some of the global issues presented?
• Open Vault WGBH Media Library and Archives - We provide online access to unique and historically important content produced by the public television and radio station WGBH. The ever-expanding site contains video, audio, images, searchable transcripts, and resource management tools, all of which are available for individual and classroom learning.
• OxFam Education http://wwww.oxfam.org.uk/education/ This is a GREAT website from Oxfam International.  Oxfam itself is a partnership between 15 different organizations around the world (over 98 countries!) working together for justice and to end poverty.  The education aspect of the organization has put together TONS of great resources.  You will find lessons for specific ages, whiteboard activities, case studies, photos, and links to other sites through their page.  They cover all sorts of global issues: conflict, fair trade, food crisis, human rights, citizenship, etc.  You can search for resources and lessons based on topic, resource type, curriculum area, or even continent.  I highly recommend this site.  ANY subject area will find useful information here (even PE, music, drama, careers/technology!).  Check it out!
• PBS: Time for School - This is a video series by PBS looking at education in 7 different countries.  hey began following the students involved in 2002 and will continue to do so through 2015.  It's great for discussion, writing and reflection.  Countries included - Afghanistan, Benin, Kenya, Romania, Brazil, India, and Japan.  There are links at the top specifically for educators.
• Smithsonian Education - links to hundreds of online resources and access to everything the world's largest museum complex has to offer
• Speeding Around the World in 5 Minutes Time Lapse Video http://geogeo.co/speeding-around-the-world-in-5-minutes-time-lapse/ This is a really neat video that visits all sorts of places around the world in the span of 5 minutes (for us) and returns to several locations as a part of the time lapse through the course of a day.  They list the locations on the screen so students know where it is.  Some places will be very recognizable.  Lots of potential activities here - choose a location to learn more about, write up a description of a visual the teacher pauses on, look at time zone differences in various locations, etc.
• Stumble Upon - http://www.stumbleupon.com/ helps you explore things from every corner of the web
• TEd Talks - http://www.ted.com/ - TED talks are short presentations that are given by some of the most innovative, creative, forward thinking and inspiring people around the world today. You can find talks about anything -science, tech, language, math, magic, education, current events, laughs, reading, history, etc.
• This Day in History - See what happened today throughout the years
• Tween Tribune - site that is free and jam packed with current news stories that are chosen by site coordinators from the Associated Press for the "tween" (age 8-14) audience. Middle school audiences will find the articles easy to read and relate to. The site is easy to navigate with a subject indexed toolbar and it is searchable. There is even a "your town" section for local news stories. 
• UN Cyber Schoolbushttp://www.un.org/pubs/cyberschoolbus/index.shtmlThis website from the UN has country profiles, quizzes, games and other resources that both teachers and students can use individually and in the classroom.  Lots of great stuff here!
• The World at Seven Billion - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15391515 You (or your students) can type in your birthdate and find out what number you were.  Add in a few other pieces of information and it will tell you more about the population in your country as well as life expectancy.
• United Nations CyberSchoolbus
• http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/index.shtml
• A lot of information, resources, curriculum and games/quizzes for students (these in particular are about half way down the page on the left side). They also have webcasts from UN meetings so student can see these live. There are also webquests - current one is on Child Soldiers.
• World Mapper - This site has over 740 maps.  The cool part is that it distorts the map to show how much or little the continent is involved in that topic.  Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. Maps 1-366 are also available as PDF posters.
• World Strides - WorldStrides offers educators, students, and parents a personalized approach to student travel. Our goal is to create an educational experience for each student that is truly unforgettable.

Civil War Sites

• www.civilwar.org
• opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/category/disunion
• http://edsitement.neh.gov/search/content/civil%20war
• www.gilderlehrman.og/institute/era_civilwar.php
• http://www.loc.gov/search/?q=civil+war
• http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/civil-war-reconstruction.html

U.S. History and Government

• The Center for Civic Education posts the national standards for civics and government, as well as programs for teachers and students, such as "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution"
• Smithsonian Education offers various resources linked to U.S. history, culture and other subjects.
• EconEdLink and Thinkfinity provides online lessons for all social studies and economics standards and concepts.
• Education World® posts various links to national standards in social studies, U.S. history, and civics. The site offers various activities that integrate current events into the study of these subjects.
• Federal Resources for Educational Excellence provides links to teaching and learning resources in U.S. history and government, created by various federal government agencies. All resources are electronic or available to teachers at no cost.
• American Heritage Education Foundation provides its "America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty" curriculum free via download or CD.
• Politopia, produced by the Institute for Humane Studies, is an interactive website that offers a political model that differs from the usual Left-Right labels. Where do you fit in?
• The American Ideal of 1776: The Twelve Basic American Principles
• Exploring Constitutional Law explores some of the great issues and controversies surrounding the U.S. Constitution.
• The U.S. Courts educational outreach web site provides a wealth of information about the role of the federal courts and the Constitution.