Top 10 Sites for Students

Back to School Sites and Resources for K-12 Students

There are scores of sites on the Web, aimed at students (or their parents) who are seeking learning tools, a little help with research, homework helpers and good clean after-school fun. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Starfall - It's nice to see sites out there for younger children that can help them learn to read without charging for books, videos, etc. Starfall is that kind of a site. Start them off with the simple concept of learning letters and how to pronounce them, then move on to interactive reading, word search puzzles and even elementary school plays. Starfall also offers free teaching journals for parents.
2. Kids.gov - is an information portal designed just for kids. Grouped by age or subject, it provides links to U.S. government and non-gov sites. It links to over 1,200 web pages from government agencies, schools, and educational organizations, all geared to the learning level and interest of kids. The K-5 section features the arts, games, math, money (where they can create their own,) individual states, and much more. For older kids, there are links to Computers, Technology, Health & Fitness, Science and other areas of interest.
3. Homework Spot - a free homework information portal that features the very best K-12 homework-related sites. With the help of students, parents and teachers, their team of educators, librarians and journalists has scoured the Web to bring you the best resources for English, math, science, history, art, music, technology, foreign language, college prep, health, life skills, extracurricular activities and much more.
4. Family Fun - is just that. There are ideas for cooking, planning parties, travel, arts and crafts, and new back-to-school gadgets. Also featured are wholesome games designed for entertainment and/or learning. There are how-to videos with everything from Blue Jean Bags to Silly Sandwiches. Don’t be surprised when your kids get together and decide they want to make Snail Snacks.
5. SciVee - For whiz kids who want nothing less than victory at the Science Fair, there's a new site just for them. SciVee, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and SDSC’s Supercomputer Center, encourages young Einsteins to publish their paper and video projects. They also have drop-down windows for references, data, and comments. One of the unique aspects of this site is that proposals are rated by peers.
6. AOL Reference - If your kids complain that they can't finish their homework and you find them having trouble with online researching, turn them on to AOL Reference. There is a dictionary, theasaurus, translator, world atlas, and information to access such subjects as science, history, space, and global warming.
7. Dr. Seuss - I don’t know of any small children, including my own, that were not raised with the assistance of Dr. Seuss. Seussville combines learning with fun for your grade-schoolers. There are click 'n play games, print and color sheets, and my favorite "Create Your Own Book," so simple that even kids who cannot yet read will appreciate. There are also links to merchandise and book related events for parents.
8. Creating Music - If you have a budding Mozart or Bon Jovi in your house, Creating Music allows kids to compose and play music. Amazingly simple, it only requires a mouse click to make piano notes, add brass, woodwinds, and accoustics, alter the tempo, or even play it backwards. The site is expanding, but what's already there is sufficient to get your children a good start. CM also sells musical software for either PC or Mac for more extensive study.
9. Multiplication Quiz - This site features a good learning tool for students needing help with math skills. Surfnet Kids features electronic math games such as this one for multiplication. Think of it as a way of letting your kids use the computer for awhile and, at the same time, you not having to spend hours with flash cards.
10. KidsClick - is a search engine for your grade school kids. Developed by librarians, it features over 600 sources for almost any theme or subject and posts what reading skill level is needed to understand the material. We found everything from reading, writing, and arithmetic sites, to computer learning, and sports and recreation sites. So if you can’t find anything we recommended that serves your needs, check out the site for yourself.

Looking For A New School?

Thinking about a private school, charter school? Maybe you're moving and want to know about the public schools in another city. Here's a cross-referenced listing of ALL public and private schools in the USA. You can browse by state & city, or search for a school by name and/or location. You can get a list of all public schools in Anaheim California, or search for all Catholic schools in Anchorage Alaska.

Each directory provides the name, address, phone number and other information about the schools in a city. For public schools, you can see the name of the school district, other schools in that county, grades covered, number of students, full-time teachers, and the student/teacher ratio. For private schools, you'll find the same stats for students and teachers, the type and affiliation, and whether it's co-ed, all boys or all girls.

• All Public Schools - http://www.AllPublicSchools.org
• All Private schools - http://www.AllPrivateSchools.org