Amy's Notes

Resource Pages

My resource page (http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/teachers/apyle/links) is constantly growing and changing as we explore new curriculum. I think as more families obtain home access to the Internet a resource page will become even more valuable. I use it as a parent reference, a student reference and as an organizational tool for myself.
Student reference: My students are seven and eight years old and can not type accurately. I definitely do not want them typing addresses into the computer. It is too easy to make an error and open an unwanted website. I bookmark the sites that they are to use and then they just need to click on the bookmark. Each morning when they use the computers, they check the direction sheet and click on the appropriate bookmark.
When we complete beginning research projects, I also bookmark appropriate sites for the students to use. This not only keeps them from visiting unwanted sites, but also helps to focus them and saves them from hours of searching through unhelpful material.
Parent reference: I add links to our class web page for parents to explore with their children. These links help with reviewing concepts or extend activities that we complete in class. For example, the students need to be able to complete 100 addition problems in five minutes. This is very difficult for some students. The web page has several links for practicing math facts. We are also studying the moon currently. I added a link to the web page that explains the phases of the moon and another link that shows pictures of how the moon should appear each night in the sky.
Teacher reference: This resource page also helps me to organize the useful sites that I have found. I don’t have to find that scrap of paper or search through my bookmarks for the great website address that I remember from last year. It also helps other teachers in my building to find good websites without spending the search time. I also look at other second grade teachers’ resource pages to “borrow” great sites from them!
I can’t imagine using the Internet effectively without some sort of resource page. I could continue to bookmark sites, but I find the resource page more friendly and easy to use. When the resource page is a web page, it is convenient to share with other teachers saving some time searching for appropriate sites. It also becomes accessible by my students’ families at home. This helps to build that home-school connection that is a great asset to student success.