Share these web resources on your teacher web page or copy the printables to encourage parent involvement and help them know how best to support their students. Many of them are available in other languages.
This article offers parents tips for successful parent-teacher conferences. Topics include school and parent contributions and how to prepare for a conference. One of the files requires Acrobat Reader.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page or in a newsletter or note sent home.
Nothing is more frightening than the first time you have to call a parent. New teachers, pre-service teacher candidates, student teachers, substitutes, or any teacher seeking advice on phone conferences will enjoy the humor and practicality of these podcasts by an experienced teacher and an experienced teacher/supervisor/administrator. Those who join the site (free) can also submit questions that will be addressed in the twice-monthly podcasts spanning many new-teacher topics. Visit the site to listen on your computer or subscribe to the entire podcast series through iTunes syndication.
In the Classroom: Listen to this podcast before you make that first parent call-- or afterward to find out what you could do to make the next oe better! Get together with other newbie teachers for munchies and a beverage as you listen --and maybe talk about the ideas and your related experiences. Make it a ritual to beat the isolation and frustration of being a new teacher as you relax together twice monthly with Mike, Glen, and some in-person peers for the entire podcast series. You will find the collaboration really helpful in making teaching the career you had hoped it would be. You choose the location to listen, and the podcasts will help with the rest.
Confused by BRB and PWOM? Use this handy online acronym look-up to find out what these tand thousands of other little abbreviations mean. Parents and teachers can monitor internet safety and be more aware of what their children are saying. Teachers may even be able to decipher notes passed in class! Thought the site calls it "teenspeak," children as your as five are picking it up. The site mentions software, but you do not need to install anything, join anything, or pay to use this online look-up tool. The site also includes several articles for parents.
In the Classroom: Share this link at parent conferences or on your teacher web page. They will thank you for it! Your principal and other teachers will appreciate it, as well.
This site provides suggestions for parents to help their children deal with stress. Specific topics include "When Hassles Become Stress", "Stress In Children", "What Parents Can Do" and "Resources".
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page, at selected conferences, or in a newsletter or note sent home.
This site provides homework tips for middle school students. Highlights include organization, avoiding procrastination and more.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page, at conferences, or in a newsletter or note sent home.
Ed PubsGrade K to 12
- US Department of Education- 9386
This site offers free publications about teaching, literacy, reading instruction, child development, math, and school safety. The offerings include materials for all levels (brochures, posters, videotapes, newsletters, and more). The intended audiences include students, teachers, parents, and administrators. Many publications and also site information come in Spanish and English.
In the Classroom: Share this site on your class website so parents can learn about this free resource. Include links to specific publications tha fit your class’ needs. Or choose helpful information with your particular parents/students and share the pdf files as print-outs at conferences or via email to help parents.
This website offers a variety of books for parents (about parenting topics). Some topics include gifted students, helping your child manage stress, money management for kids, homework tips, sleeping guides and more.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page, at conferences, or in a newsletter or note sent home.
Video GamesGrade K to 12
- TeachersAndFamilies- 7586
This article addresses the current statistics of video games. This is an eye-opening article for all ages.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page, at conferences or in a newsletter or note sent home.
Encourage parents to become involved with their children's education using these helpful, downloadable booklets on helping your child with science, history, math, reading, homework, early adolescence, preschool, general success in school, and being a responsible citizen. Some are geared for elementary only and others extend through middle school. Most are also available in Spanish version. Download as a pdf (Acrobat file) or Word document. You can order copies, but it may be easier and faster to simply print your own. Remember that you need Acrobat Reader to open pdf files. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Hand these booklets out at back to school night, open house, or conferences. Encourage parents to become involved supportively.
Read the tips on this web page or download a single sheet of suggestions to make reading together fun and funny for parents and kids together, while encouraging the skills to make a lifelong reader. Teachers can download the tips for third grade in NINE languages in addition to English to print out and send home with your ESL/ELL students. Their parents will appreciate the opportunity to participate in their learning, and everyone wins. Printables require Acrobat Reader.
In the Classroom: As students approach their first high-stakes testing, every little bit helps. Give these tips out at conferences, in backpacks, or as a link on your teacher web page.
During parent conference time, the topic of homework inevitably surfaces, and parents are anxious for advice on how to help their children get the most out of assignments and projects. This online resource provides many useful tips on helping children develop good study habits and a positive attitude toward the learning process.
Combine writing, an explorers' study, and fall celebrations using this activity which asks students to compose an epitaph for an explorer of their choice. Writing and art opportunities abound, and the end product makes a great display for parent-teacher conferences.
This article provides information about safety on the Internet. This is a general list of helpful tips. Some examples of tips include checking the Internet history, setting time limits, using filtering software and more.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page, at conferences, or in a newsletter or note sent home.
This article discusses the benefits of music lessons for children. Specific topics discussed include when to start, which instrument to play, finding a teacher, how much practice time is necessary and more.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page, at conferences, or in a newsletter or note sent home.
This article deals with teaching students self-control. Skills, suggestions and resources are provided. The material is geared towards elementary students, but some of the strategies could be used with children (and adults) of all ages.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page, at conferences, or in a newsletter or note sent home.
This website provides a diverse collection of games for family fun. There are a variety of difficulty levels, types of games and skills necessary to play.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page, at conferences, or in a newsletter or note sent home.
This set of "take home" fliers is designed to help parents help their students. You can personalize each of these fliers with your own name so they look like you created them especially for your class. (Well you did, didn't you?) These fliers will print directly from your browser; there are no special plug-ins required. You can also preview each flier in a new window before personalizing it. Topics include reading tips, homework tips (separate ones for elementary and middle school), and customizable SuperGram!! - Give a compliment to a student who has earned one!
In the Classroom: Use this handy link to make handouts for back to school night, end-of-summer letters to greet new students, or conference handouts. Of course you'll love the convenience of sending "Supergrams" in a flash to reinforce GOOD things in your classroom. Mark this one in your Favorites, for sure.
SchoolTube.comGrade K to 12
- Lightspeed Technologies; SchoolTube, LLC- 9437
TeachersFirst Edge Review: for any technology user comfortable with watching video and/or using video cameras. You can be as adventurous or not as you wish! This safe, free site lets students and teachers show off their talents by sharing their appropriate videos to be viewed all over America. With a simple registration, you can upload your classroom video, which then goes into a “holding” area. That video then awaits approval by the website’s moderator before becoming available. Because of the layering of approval, this site poses no security concerns to students or schools. Not only can teachers and students upload videos, but administrators may also want to post welcome or informational videos to be viewed by parents and students. You may also wish to share some of these videos with your class. Teachers will find videos suitable for classroom instruction (and lesson plans). Use the search box at the top of the webpage to look for topics that relate to your current units of study. If your school blocks streaming video sites, consider accessing this site and choosing videos at home, using a tool such as Vixy (reviewed here) to bring them in on a USB stick for class use. Searching the site and simply viewing the videos does not require any registration or log-in. There is a link to SchoolTube Games , as well. Viewing the videos and games requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page. See a sample video at the end of this review.
In the Classroom: Skills Needed: no special technological skills are necessary to search the site or view the videos. If you wish to upload your own SchoolTube video, you must register as a user at the site. Registration is free. Create and save your edited videos where you can find them on your computer. (Windows Movie Maker or iMovie are great, free tools for video). Then upload to SchoolTube. You can share the video via link or by embedding it in another web page (see sample below).
Safety/Security Concerns: If the teacher is the one uploading, the only potential concerns include posting videos with identifiable information or images about your students, school, or class. Check your school policies about posting pictures of your school. If you post student videos, obtain written parent permission to post student work, again within school policies. Any student visible in a video should also have parent permission in accordance with school policies.
Possible Uses: Students can use SchoolTube to share videos with sister schools, or to broadcast weekly news from their school or classroom. Students can also produce project videos on any curriculum topic. Try making “You Are There” videos about different events in history! Teachers may want to use this site to share ideas and lesson plans with other teachers across the nation. Make “how to” videos to share with parents and friends. Embed SchoolTube’s video player into your school’s website and encourage parents to view school news or clips from events they were not able to attend.
Here is sample "embedded" video shot for us by the SchoolTube folks at the NAESP conference, 2008. We included it here by simply copying the "Embed" code from the Schooltube site and pasting it into our site, just as you could with your teacher web page or wiki:
Leap into video production with help from the Kids’ Vid site! Kids’ Vid steps you and your students through the process with tips on scripting, storyboarding, shooting video, and editing it into a visual masterpiece. The site has classroom ideas, short exercises for story writing and learning video shots, an online storyboard creator, and lots of useful help from experts and kids on how to make the whole process an exciting educational experience. Some of the activities require Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Start the activity by showing the student-produced videos on the web site. Use the resources on the site for a whole class jig-saw exercise. Assign small groups the task of learning one aspect of the process and then reporting and showing it to the rest of the class. Share the knowledge by creating working groups, which contain an expert from each aspect of the process. Use one of the many class ideas as practice activities for students to learn the finer points of video production before they start their masterpieces.
Video is a great tool for authentic assessment – especially for ESL, ELL, and Special Education students. Think about letting each of your students create a short video about what they know for their parent conference meeting or Open House. Explore the realm of possibilities by having students develop and ask peers a “Question of the Week” and document the responses on video. Let students produce a walking tour of the school and key personnel as an introduction for new students. Post this video on the school website, but check the district and students’ Acceptable Use Policies before videoing any student faces. You may want to ask your school’s funding sources to consider purchasing a few USB plug-in "flip" video cameras that cost about $100 each so students can do these projects with an “indestructible” tool.
English for AllGrade 7 to 12
- US Department of Education- 8818
This multimedia online program allows teachers to set up English classes for ESL/ELL students from all language groups. The website includes online stories, accompanying print materials, videos, and optional videos and CDs for purchase. Teachers can set up this FREE program (including 20 lessons) for unlimited classes. Each lesson has vocabulary, a video, support work, listening requirements, grammar, and a test. Students go through a series of activities; results are reported back to the teacher. Videos are available as downloads or podcasts. Teacher guides are provided. This site requires Flash and Quicktime. Get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Be sure to take advantage of this FREE website to help your ESL/ELL students improve their English. For older students, this program can help them prepare for the world of work. Some parents of ESL/ELL students may even appreciate the resource for their own learning. ESL teachers may want to share the site at an open house or conferences as a non-invasive way of drawing parents into the process.
This author page features plenty of ideas about how to help kids enjoy reading and includes many stories. Hear Mem Fox reading her own stories (click Hear Mem Read Aloud). She gives advice on how to read to children and gives great examples. This author page has many good suggestions for promoting literacy and love of reading. There is also a section of advice on writing your own picture book for children, an excellent writing activity for upper elementary and middle school students. Parts of this site require Quick Time. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Create shortcut to Mem reading aloud on your classroom computer for a center activity for primary grades, and place a copy of Mem's book there for students to follow along. Print out Mem's suggestions for reading aloud to give to parents at conferences or share this site on your teacher home page for parent and students to access from home. For older students, this site is an excellent resource for planning cross-grade reading activities for Read Across America or other special times, including having middle school students write picture books for young students, then share them at an in-person visit or on a podcast recording.PowerPoint slides are an easy way to "create" and share large format picture books electronically.
No filtering will ever protect our students completely online. It is important to teach them to protect themselves, as well. Wired Safety is a compilation site about internet safety concerns and includes information for parents, teachers, librarians, and children. PDF printables for parents in Spanish and English make the information easy to share. A special Hot Topics section keeps the site up to date with subjects such as cyberbullying, MySpace, child pornography etc. A collection of lesson plans under the educator link offer resources and ideas for the classroom.
In the Classroom: Some portions, such as the cyberbullying "quiz" are easy for students to complete on their own (on laptops or in a lab) and follow up with a discussion. Take some time to explore the various areas of this site so you'll know where to look when questions come up and can address internet safety every time you use computers at school, rather than as a separate "lesson." Share the printables with parents at open house or conferences.
Animals of the World is a game where elementary students can guess the correct animal by using written and picture clues that are provided. The clues are based on various animal characteristics such as habitats, eating habits, protection and size. The range of topics goes from reptiles and amphibians to mammals and birds, with many more. The site builds understanding of animals by characteristic, an excellent way to build the higher level thinking skills of attribute listing and comparison.
In the Classroom: Since students must correctly type the name of the animal, teachers should provide an animal picture dictionary, word wall or some other type of resource for animal names. Early spellers may struggle with some names such as giraffe or scorpion. This site would be a great option for a center or activity on a computer cluster in your classroom, especially since it has MANY different "who am I" quizzes so answers will vary.
After your students have mastered the animal concepts, have them make a "Who am I?" quiz of their own for others to try on two PowerPoint slides: one with the questions (with answers hidden under draggable "autoshape" boxes), and a second with the answer. You can combine the slide pairs into a whole class challenge for parents to try while waiting in the hallway for conferences!
This site offers information to children, teens, and parents about how to stay safe online and keep your computer safe. It contains information sheets for various levels, downloadable parent and child online safety pledges, and slide shows about Internet safety. The slide shows do require the user to register at myspace.com, so this requirement may preclude usage at school. There is even a SafeKids song, but it downloads slowly, even on a fast connection (opt for the dial-up version). Younger children will also enjoy the online safety quiz. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Include this site on your teacher web page for students and parents to access as a reference. Share the printables with parents at open house or conferences. As you introduce web-based activities in your classroom, pause to rmind students of these safety rules, even if someone else is supposed to "cover" them in their classroom. Parts of this site require the use of myspace, so be sure to preview it and match the requirements to your school's regulations.
This award-winning site focuses on Internet safety. Advertised as being the "the country's leading specialist on cyber crimes" (Boston Globe. March 10, 2000), the site offers downloadable guides of different levels for parents and students, training for schools, and a variety of information about how to protect oneself against cyber crime. There are downloadable student and parent Internet user agreements, brochures,and tip sheets. Some areas of the site are still being developed.
In the Classroom: As you start any class activity that uses the Internet, refer to the basics you learn from this site. Even if your school "teaches" Internet safety in another class, YOU need to reinforce it every time you have students online so they realize the universal importance of safety principles -- even with older teens.
Include this site on your teacher web page for students and parents to access as a reference.
Share the printables with parents at open house or conferences.
Play Grow ReadGrade K to 2
- Kent District Library- 8279
This library-prepared website is all about helping parents develop early literacy skills. Options include video demonstrations of how to read books to kids and many developmental activities including things to do around the house, pre-reading activities, early reading skills information available in TWENTY-SEVEN languages, and many printable reading activities. Check out the Make and Take section: hands-on activities that help children develop the habit of using books. Activities include Activities for Print Motivation, Print Awareness, Phonological Awareness, Vocabulary, Narrative Skills, Letter Knowledge etc. These well-explained activities are fun and original. Many parts of the site are available in Spanish as well as English. Videos on this site require RealPlayer and Windows Media Player. Get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Share the printables and information about the website with parents at open house or conferences and include the link on your teacher web page. Spanish-speaking families will enjoy hearing about this site as well.
This site has an (almost) endless supply of suggestions for what students, parents, and teachers can do to encourage more and more reading and literary involvement. Students participate in reading, dramatic, discussion, and artistic activities to reinforce their connection to the printed word and build comprehension in a very active way!
In the Classroom: Use this list as an idea generator for book report alternatives or even for lesson ideas. Share the link or some of the ideas on your tecaher web page for students to choose a book report product/project/performance. Print these suggestions out and share all or some of them with parents in a newsletter,at conference times, or before summer vacation. Give credit for your source, of course!
Authors and Illustrators on the Web provides a large quantity of author and illustrator homepage links. Simply find the author/illustrator (listed in alphabetical order) and click on their homepage link. Watch out for the sites that are maintained by fans as opposed to authentic author/illustrator homepages. This is a great resource for Author Spotlight curricula.
In the Classroom: Share this on your teacher web page for students doing book reports or research on authors. When your students have completed creative writing book projects, have them create a mock-up site about themselves as authors! they can use PowerPoint or create an offline web page, depending on the resources available in your school. If you use PowerPoint, be sure to set it on a computer running automaically for parents waiting at conference time. If you display the student books on a nearby table, parents can learn "about the authors"!
Use this set of simple online tools to generate worksheets for everything from magic squares to converting fractions, decimals, and percents. You set the requirements for the worksheet, add a title and directions, and the generator "makes" the sheet, ready for you to print and copy for classroom use. Topics include: premade sheets from Gr 1-4, flashcards, math bingo, metric conversion, multiplication charts, Least Common Multiple,Greatest Common Factor, Exponents, and more. Teachers from Gr 1 to pre-algebra can use this one!
In the Classroom: After you print the worksheet and before you close the page, be sure you click to generate the answer sheet! Share this link on your teacher web page for parents and students to make practice activities for at-home review. Be sure to include directions on your web page for what settings students should use (number of decimal places, for example).
Younger students will love "playing teacher" and making sheets at home for their parents or for each other at school. If they check the answers manually, they will practice, too! Suggest this idea to elementary parents at conferences and give your students some stickers to "correct" their parents work!
This website provides an extensive listing (and definitions) of numerous terms used in special education.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page or in a newsletter or note sent home.
This article provides extensive information for parents regarding special education. Types of disabilities, testing for disabilities, a detailed glossary and more are provided.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page or in a newsletter or note sent home.
This article provides information regarding gifted students. Specific topics include how to spot a gifted student, making the "gifted" label more comfortable for your child, nurturing your gifted child at home, why "advanced work" is not the whole answer, helping your child get more out of school assignments and projects and resources.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page or in a newsletter or note sent home.
This article discusses the importance of accepting diversity. The site offers numerous suggestions to use with students to promote acceptance. These suggestions could be used with students of all ages.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page or in a newsletter or note sent home.
This site provides seven tips/strategies for watching the news. The strategies are geared towards teenage students.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page, at conferences, or in a newsletter or note sent home.
See No EvilGrade K to 12
- TeachersAndFamilies- 7585
This article discusses staying safe while online. Specifics topics include virus protection, surfing safely, security and high-speed connections.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page, at conferences, or in a newsletter or note sent home.
This site provides homework tips for elementary students. Highlights include prioritizing, guiding - but not correcting, establishing a routine and more.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page or in a newsletter or note sent home.
This site provides practical advice for talking with your child. A few suggestions include have a daily "check-in" time, give honest "age-appropriate" answers and know when to ask for help.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page or in a newsletter or note sent home.
As if traditional bullying were not enough, we know have cyberbullying! This web page offers a great explanation and examples of cyberbullying. It also lists strategies by which to help children who are being cyberbullied. Do not forget to visit the link provided that helps to locate cyberbullies and their web pages.
In the Classroom: Include this link on your on classroom web page or share the information at conferences with parents. As an Internet safety activity, teach about the cyberbullying, then have students create pamphlets based on cyberbullying information to send home to parents. Or have them create posters to hang around school about cyberbullying, using terminology you teach from the web site.
Students will need you to present the information, since the site is directed toward parents, not students. Use scenarios such as those described in the article to spark discussion.
This group of pdf printable brochures suggests behaviors and activities that can assist parents, preschool teachers, and early elementary teachers in getting children ready to read. Available in both color and black and white formats, the brochures are also downloadable in Spanish. The brochures encourage people to use books, songs, stories, and word games to reinforce the importance of reading in education. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Make these brochures available to parents of the very young. The added bonus of having some of the brochures available in Spanish makes the development of good readers a task shared by parents and educators alike. PLace some on the table in your conference waiting area or send them home in backpacks!
This article on the importance of study skills and ways to encourage children to develop good study habits is especially useful for parents. There are sections on time management, encouraging your child, organization, study tools, and more. The skills apply to all students and would be especially helpful for learning support students even earlier in their academic careers.
In the Classroom: Share this link with parents at open house or conferences. Publish it in your classroom newsletter or on your teacher web page. You might even print out one section at a time as a series of mini-help sheets for parents. Middle school students could use it in class as a discussion starter to help themselves develop independence with their school work.
Read this web page or download a single sheet of suggestions to make reading together fun and funny for parents and kids together, while encouraging the skills to make a lifelong reader. Teachers can download the tips for th in NINE languages in addition to English to print out and send home with your ESL/ELL students. Their parents will appreciate the opportunity to participate in their learning, and everyone wins. Printables require Acrobat Reader.
In the Classroom: Bring in the parents to help prepare children for third grade reading testing by getting them involved. Send home the printable, give it out at conferences, and/or include the link on your teacher web page. Everyone will win!
This site has extensive resources on internet safety for adults and students alike. Visit the Xblock section where kids and teens can become "i-mentors," helping their peers and adults to better understanding Internet safety or go to the iLearn section for tutorial modules for kids, parents, and even senior citizens. You have to join, but it is free. The site may be good for schools looking to develop rules and policies for safe classroom internet use. It also discusses some of the information sharing risks children should be aware of when using internet resources.
In the Classroom: Share this resource with parents at open house or conferences. They will thank you for it!
AVI is a nonprofit international membership organization that promotes listening and speaking as a way of life for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The auditory-verbal approach helps these children learn in regular classrooms and living environments and to become independent, participating citizens in mainstream society. They offer a newsletter, information on conferences and events, and a chat room. This site is more for parents interested in this approach for their child.
This article offers parents tips for successful parent-teacher conferences. Topics include school and parent contributions and how to prepare for a conference. One of the files requires Acrobat Reader. 
This site offers free publications about teaching, literacy, reading instruction, child development, math, and school safety. The offerings include materials for all levels (brochures, posters, videotapes, newsletters, and more). The intended audiences include students, teachers, parents, and administrators. Many publications and also site information come in Spanish and English. 
Combine writing, an explorers' study, and fall celebrations using this activity which asks students to compose an epitaph for an explorer of their choice. Writing and art opportunities abound, and the end product makes a great display for parent-teacher conferences. 
TeachersFirst Edge Review: for any technology user comfortable with watching video and/or using video cameras. You can be as adventurous or not as you wish! This safe, free site lets students and teachers show off their talents by sharing their appropriate videos to be viewed all over America. With a simple registration, you can upload your classroom video, which then goes into a “holding” area. That video then awaits approval by the website’s moderator before becoming available. Because of the layering of approval, this site poses no security concerns to students or schools. Not only can teachers and students upload videos, but administrators may also want to post welcome or informational videos to be viewed by parents and students. You may also wish to share some of these videos with your class. Teachers will find videos suitable for classroom instruction (and lesson plans). Use the search box at the top of the webpage to look for topics that relate to your current units of study. If your school blocks streaming video sites, consider accessing this site and choosing videos at home, using a tool such as 