Web Site Review

I searched for a few hours on the Internet for a site to review – one that would be new, exciting and useful to me. I was not happy with my own findings but a colleague told me to check out a site that had been useful to her: www.a-zteacherstuff.com. When I got to the home page it looked a little too busy to me, with an abundance of text and graphics, but it only took me a minute to get oriented and begin exploring. The menu lets you begin your search by choosing a grade level, and/or by selecting a topic: themes, lessons, tips, articles, discuss, store, printables, subjects or grades. A user may also type in a specific search request.

First I went to kindergarten themes, and I was initially disappointed when I saw the typical kindergarten themes that have been standard fare for many years (i.e. All About Names, Friendship, Pumpkins); I thought I had seen it all. As I scrolled through the ideas I did see some of the familiar activities I had expected, but I was amazed by the volume of ideas across subject areas and also the depth and novelty of some of the ideas. I took notes! The kindergarten ideas were very satisfying, and I believe that the site has cross-grade appeal; the colleague who enthusiastically told me about this site is a middle school teacher.

This site, with its many links, kept me very engaged. When I went to “articles” I was pleased to see several current topics of personal interest. Choosing Brain Based Teaching led me to The Latest on How the Brain Works and Teaching Kids About the Brain, with several articles listed under each one. I know it is a good site when I keep saying, time after time, “I’ll just read one more thing.”

This is a site that I will refer to again and again. It is user-friendly and it is filled with ideas and possibilities