Instructional Websites

Instructional Websites

    One thing that I have learned since I started teaching is that you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you want to teach something. The internet is a great source of information that can be used at any point in the day. A teacher has the ability to surf the web and find virtually any piece of information that they are looking for on any topic. One website that I use quite frequently in my teaching is You-Tube.
   Yesterday, I had to teach a lesson on whales simply because that is what the students are reading about for the week (the difference between baleen and toothed whales). I went on You Tube and discovered that they had an excellent five minute video about the differences between baleen and toothed whales. Since this was a video, the students were completely engaged in it, and learned a lot from the video. I then showed a video about the gray whales of La Laguna San Ignacio. By having the students see videos on the topic of whales, they were able to develop a deeper understanding of the content and I believe they developed a love for these animals. I have also used the You Tube website for supplemental instruction in my science classes.  The students are currently learning about space and its characteristics.  I went on You Tube to show the students the video of the meteorite that just landed in Russia. The students thought it was the coolest thing ever and they were then ready to start our science lesson on space. You Tube is great website to use for instructional purposes and i highly recommend it to anyone in the education field.
    Another website that I use frequently is math drills.com.  This website provides teachers with numerous math activities and worksheets on all topics of math.  I use this website to download worksheets that I give the students for homework as well as tests/quizzes. This websites provides me with more time during the day simply because I don't have to take time out of my day to develop my own math worksheets, and as most elementary teachers will say, extra time is hard to come by.
   Both of these websites are great for instruction at any grade level.  They provide teachers with excellent teaching materials as well as excellent supplemental lessons on many different topics.  The internet helps teachers to not have to reinvent everything they teach, and I'm grateful for that cause now I have more time to spend with my students.