Free PreK-12 lesson plans, activities, and resources
GLOBE provides grade level-appropriate, interdisciplinary activities and investigations about the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and soil/pedosphere, which have been developed by the scientific community and validated by teachers. GLOBE … learn more
A short introduction to Janice VanCleave and list of her many books making science accessible to students.
NASA has developed this education resource broken out by grade level to provide images, data, and information on the Ozone Hole in the Southern Hemisphere and the ozone … learn more
This map, maintained by National Drought Mitigation Center and updated weekly, tracks the current conditions in the United States. With droughts now impacting nearly every part of the … learn more
The College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment at the University of Delaware offers K-12 teachers a variety of free or low-cost resources on the earth, oceans, and environmental … learn more
Everyone needs fresh water to live, but fresh water is limited and precious. This site provides videos, lesson plans and more about the importance of fresh water, watersheds, … learn more
For the last 15 years, KidWind has been focused on teaching the world about renewable energy. We have helped thousands of educators bring wind and solar power to … learn more
Their goal is a world in which action-oriented education enables every child to understand and value water, ensuring a sustainable future. Includes on-line resources, regional workshops, student sites … learn more
Includes a wide range of simple projects including a wind powered vehicle, air movement, local air quality, a wind vane, and solar oven, along with games and quizzes.
Almost everyone agrees that flooding is bad. Most years it’s the number one natural disaster in the US by dollars of damage. So being able to characterize flood … learn more
The Gulf Stream is part of a global conveyer belt — a large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by differences in the density of the ocean water. It … learn more
This real-time wind map started out as a personal art project. Click the map to zoom in on your region. This map displays in real-time the current wind … learn more
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Discover resources and programs for educators, students, and anyone who wants to learn more about our ocean and coasts! Middle school students … learn more
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln maintains this resource, with information on current conditions, drought risk areas, climate data by state or specific location (e.g., your school), and basic information.
The Alternative Fuels Data Center provides maps, data sets and tools on alternative energy options.
Learning about fuel cell technology always rears up when an energy crisis appears. Go to How Stuff Works for an understanding of alternative fuels.
The Edison Electric Institute offers 80 some experiments in basic concepts of electricity for grades 4-8.
An entertaining video by Steve Gagnon showing what happens when you touch 200,000 volts, how lighting rods really work, and why 120 volts could hurt you but 200,000 … learn more
The Center for Environmental Journalism in Colorado is a useful ‘zine model from which students can learn publishing skills in this particular domain.
The viability of biofuels has been debated, especially among scientists. Since it requires multi-disciplinary understandings, students would be well-served to learn about it.
What better way for students to learn about energy and energy transformation than building their own windmill. This post from PBS includes a lesson plan, worksheets and templates.
The Department of Energy has a wide range of resources for K-12 classrooms at it Energy Kids Page.
Columbia University in New York has mounted a site for wildlife preservation and monitoring environmental conditions. While the bulk of the resources have traditionally pertained to New York … learn more
Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on … learn more
While Tony Phillips day job is Professor of Mathematics, he has an affinity for the songs and calls of New York State birds. The special attraction of this … learn more
For specialized tools and data important in the study of marine life look at the National Data Buoy Center via NOAA.
If you took the water out of salt water, would it just leave salt? Grant Thompson wanted to find out. Hint: It’s more than just NaCl (sodium chloride).
Just how deep does the ocean go? Way further than you think. This animation puts the actual distance into perspective, showing a vast distance between the waves we … learn more
Jeff (no last name) has compiled a time lapse video showing what it’s like to be on the ocean for 30 days, transporting cargo around Asia. Sailing in … learn more
Aquanauts fund the easiest way to study the health of marine organisms is by becoming their neighbors. The month-long project aimed to study the effects of global warming … learn more
The Ocean Science Education Institute deploys high quality curriculum and labs for middle school students by collaboration among universities, science centers, and teachers.
Bartleby has almost 400 titles of literature, reference and verse available for free online. Includes homework help for all subjects. The collection spans Henry Adams and Aesop to … learn more
Project Gutenberg is a library of over 60,000 free eBooks Choose among free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online. You will find the world’s … learn more
Google has started a project to digitize whole libraries of books, with full on-line access available to those books that are out of copyright or where the author … learn more
The Southern Oregon Write Site (SOWS) project originated as support for the writing process, but evolved into an online discussion forum. What the Internet adds to the writing … learn more
The Concord Review publishes academic essays of high school students, especially on topics for college AP exams.
National Scholastic Press Association, with more than 1,350 members, is a national community of student journalists and scholastic journalism advisers. NSPA advances journalism and media as a vital … learn more
Purdue OWL offers over 200 free resources for a wide variety of student groups including ESL learners, junior high and high school students, adult education and even professional … learn more
How do you write a short story really quickly? Choose a style, opening and type of ending, name your character, choose a few adjectives and Plot Generator will … learn more
A well-told story can help a person see things in an entirely new way. It can change a law, inspire a movement, and make people care fiercely about … learn more
StudyGuide was created by Mrs. Adams, a teacher in Birmingham, Alabama. Lessons include how to write a research paper, note-taking, and examples from different genres. Keep up with … learn more
Outta Ray’s Head contains 250 very interesting lesson plans; in addition to Ray, lessons were developed and tested in classrooms. The literature and poetry sections are very good.
Use these free English teaching and learning resources for English, Literature, and ESL classes.
Poets’ Org contains a listening room as well as biographies and links. This site is more representative of American poetry than others and is a good research launchpad.
The American Writers series, developed by C-SPAN, offers many resources, especially in the modern period, but new technologies, such as streaming video of interactions among celebrities, for instance, … learn more
Awesome Library-Language Arts is a collection of hundreds of lesson plans, some better than others.
The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) is committed to helping educators countywide build capacity and confidence so they can provide high-quality, evidence-based instructional and assessment practices which … learn more
Clive Thompson has an interesting take on Minecraft and games like it. In addition to instilling spatial reasoning, math, and logic, it also teaches something else: good old-fashioned … learn more
This video looks at the origin of the term OK, tracing how a cheesy joke from the 1830s became the most widely spoken word in the world. A … learn more
Carol Hurst’s site, in addition to book reviews, integrates books with themes, including math and science, and provides links for professional development.
Wattpad is a writing community in which users are able to post articles, stories, fan fiction, and poems. Users are able to comment and like stories or join … learn more
The Encyclopedia Britannica has devoted a site to Shakespeare, including the remodeling of the Globe Theater and Elizabethan life. Different renowned actors read similar passages and it is … learn more
Welcome to Jane Reichhold’s world of poetry that will make you say, “Ah-ha!” as you discover and explore the many short-form genres of poetry AHA! POETRY utilizes the … learn more
Google Lit Trips, is an educational technology project of GLT Global ED. The site is not part of Google, but integrated Google Earth into it’s presentations. Their goal … learn more
Here’s an example Dreamtime Story. Fun for younger students and a great introduction to storytelling for older students.
Dreamtime Stories is a collections of folk tales from Australian aborigines, many never set to paper. The oral nature of these stories lend themselves better to new technologies … learn more
The Perseus Project is an evolving digital library of resources for the study of the humanities. They are funded to perform research on developing tools to provide users … learn more
Lewis Carroll’s influence remains far-reaching today. His writings and ideas have sparked countless creative efforts of all kinds in all fields of the arts and sciences, all over … learn more
Robert Pinsky, the 39th Poet Laureate of the United States, believes that poetry is a vocal art, an art meant to be read aloud. Reading a poem silently … learn more
Computer hope has compiled 12,000 computer and technical terms and definitions, broken out by areas like Cell Phones and Gaming. Learn the different between WiFi and Widget or … learn more
Understanding 16th century English can be a challenge for students. This site lists thousands of words, from abjure to wot, provides their definition, and shows where each word … learn more
Created by the Great Schools Partnership, the Glossary of Education Reform is a comprehensive online resource that describes widely used school-improvement terms, concepts, and strategies for journalists, parents, … learn more
If you ever wonder the meaning of an astronomical word, check out this site to find the definition of the space term, from Absolute Magnitude to Zodiacal Light … learn more
This is a quirky web site that can be used to generate random words, phrases, sentences, and whole paragraphs. Great for “use this word in a sentence” or … learn more
Roget’s Thesaurus has been re-imagined into this graphically rich site. Enter a word and search thru related words using tabs, sliders and word links. While not as animated … learn more
The Merriam-Webster dictionary was originally compiled by Noah Webster and has been a student standard for many decades. It is another example of the many dictionaries and thesauruses … learn more
The Free Dictionary combines a dictionary, thesaurus, medical dictionary, legal dictionary, financial dictionary, acronyms, idioms, and an encyclopedia into a single online reference. Check out the hangman’s game … learn more
Asserting that one must first know the rules to break them, this classic reference book by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White is a must-have for any … learn more
Here’s another view of a data center. Who knew that the Internet included man traps, a kitchen, cooling towers, and bathrooms … keeping your data secure and the … learn more
Wonder what “the cloud” really looks like. Here’s a look at a Google data center, one you can explore yourself, on the web.
You think of this web site as k12irc.org. Your computer or phone thinks of it as 165.140.71.129. How a web site name is converted to an Internet address … learn more
While aimed at younger students, the quiz is fun and can be taken by students (and teachers) of any age. It covers topics like Internet shopping, data backups, … learn more
How big is the Internet? How about approaching 2 billion web sites! This page shows the growth of the Internet and the year some of your favorite web … learn more
Matt Cutts from Google explains how search engines work. Everything from spiders to quality ratings to the ads.
The internet is not a fuzzy cloud. The internet is a wire, usually buried in the ground. Aaron Titus takes you on a journey, showing how your computer … learn more
This journal article compares the use of WebQuests with traditional instruction. While the results were mixed, with WebQuest, the students seemed to have more ownership and sense of … learn more
Zunal is one of the original Internet sites that allows you to create web quests quickly and easily. It’s also a great place to see what other teachers … learn more
Leslie Lott created this walk through a few years back on using the WebQuest tool, Zunal.com. Using a tool like Zunal.com or QuestGarden.com, you can quickly create a … learn more
This article from the British Council shows how WebQuests can help students learn. The article covers… Defining a webquest Reasons for using webquests Structure of a webquest Producing … learn more
Scavenger hunts are a quick and simple activity that students will enjoy doing. They can help supplement lessons and get students involved in new and different ways. You … learn more
This post goes thru the process of creating a WebQuest step-by-step and looks at some of the attributes that will make your webquest a success. Have a “hook, … learn more
I’m happy to formally announce that CC Search (with the new name Openverse) is now part of the WordPress open source project. Both Matt and I are long-time … learn more
Baidu – China’s version of Google – provides image search. While the site is in Chinese, it will easily process English search terms.
Located in San Francisco, California, the Exploratorium is a public learning laboratory exploring the world through science, art, and human perception. We value lifelong learning, curiosity, and inclusion. … learn more
Bing has gotten high marks for its video search feature. Google and Yahoo also do video searches. Most of the results are YouTube videos. If you are not … learn more
Google Images has indexed millions of images on the Internet. Odds are you can find an image for just about any topic here. Bing and Yahoo can also … learn more
USZip indexes geographic and demographic data by zip code or city name. Information includes population age and race distributions and income, employment and housing data. Sites like these … learn more
The idea for this page and many of these links came from Phil Bradley’s Internet Search Engine page. While no longer maintained, Phil listed over 180 web search … learn more
Abbreviations.com is a large and comprehensive directory and search engine for acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms on the Internet. Abbreviations.com holds hundreds of thousands of entries organized by a … learn more
Freesound is a good place to search for sound files. Its goal is to create a huge collaborative database of audio snippets, samples, recordings, and bleeps, … all … learn more
BASE is one of the world’s most voluminous search engines especially for academic web resources. BASE indexes more than 150 million curated documents from more than 7,000 sources. … learn more
Carrot2 takes search results and assigns them into thematic folders. Search on a topic like 3D Printing to see it in action. It was created originally as a … learn more
When searching, you’ll start with the most popular pages pages for your search term. But you won’t see relevant or interesting results “way down the list”. BananaSlug is … learn more
Back when the Internet was starting, Yahoo was the go-to search web site. Yahoo still maintains an independent web search engine that provides good results.
Compute expert-level answers using Wolfram’s breakthrough algorithms, knowledge base, and AI technology Wolfram|Alpha is a fundamentally different way to get knowledge and answers, processing questions rather than matching … learn more
Google is our webmaster’s preferred search web search site. For better results, click on the the gear icon when searching and check the following settings… : SafeSearch : … learn more
