Using the Internet to Help You Teach the "Standards"
By Ria Mastromatteo, Educational Technology Consultant
Too many kids! Too little time! Too much to teach! Now add "Teach to the standards!"
Are those realities enough to send a teacher's heart into rapid acceleration? There's no need to give you a definition of standards we've been inundated with information about them for years. What needs to be done is to find ways that we can easily accomplish the goal of using the standards to help students master the content goals in your subject area. Can the Internet help?
Let's look at some sites that might be useful.
Mathematics at http://www.illuminations.nctm.org/index2.html . Illuminations is designed by the NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) and has ready-made lesson plans and projects using the Internet. Pre-K to Grade 12 lessons and projects are available. The text of the Principles and Standards document is also available in a searchable format. This is an excellent site for ideas and information.
Science at http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/. (Science NetLinks) This site has recently been updated. "At the heart of Science NetLinks are standards-based lesson plans that incorporate reviewed Internet resources, and can be selected according to specific benchmarks and grade ranges." This site is produced by the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science).
General McREL: Lesson Plan Index Standards Activities at http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks/activities/index.asp . You select the subject area and the grade level and you get standards-based lessons in that area.
If you are interested in creating your own standards-based lesson go to The Teachers' Internet Use Guide at http://www.rmcdenver.com/useguide/. This site gives you a template to make your own standards-based lesson plan. It also has a lesson bank.
A free Web workshop titled Teaching to Academic Standards is offered at http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/month3/index.html .
These Web sites provide a wealth of ideas, online curriculum and resources to help you align your curriculum with state and national standards. Check them out!
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