Marco Polo

The MarcoPolo program provides no-cost, standards-based Internet content for the K-12 teacher and classroom, developed by national content experts. Online resources include panel-reviewed links to top sites in many disciplines, professionally developed lesson plans, classroom activities, materials to help with daily classroom planning, and powerful search engines. A popular highly respected site among media specialists and technology integration leaders. Read how technology coach and MiddleWeb diarist Marsha Ratzel use this site.

The Annenberg Teachers' Lab

Experiment with new teaching and learning ideas in math and science -- and identify activities you can use in the classroom. This site features labs based on the professional development series and workshops broadcast on the Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Project Channel. Each Lab combines online activities with background information and interactive polls or worksheets participants can use in their classrooms, plus links to related Web sites. And be sure to visit the Annenberg/CPB homesite to find resources in every content area.

ALPS - Harvard's Teacher Lab

The site includes model lesson plans and activities; curriculum design tools; online educational publications; interactive forums, workshops and conferences; and teacher journals refecting on practice. The site is built around three themes: Teaching for Understanding; The Thinking Classroom; and Education with New Technologies. Important for everyone interested in improving teacher practice. Of special interest to middle grades educators: A Year of Teaching 7th Grade English; A Year of Teaching 8th Grade Science; The Colonial Biography Unit for 7th Grade History.

The ENC Inquiry and Problem-Solving Site

"Inquiry and Problem Solving are central to standards-based teaching of mathematics and science," begins this page at the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse site. Articles show how classroom teachers all over the country encourage their students to become inquirers and problem solvers. The page also links to resources from the ENC Collection that can help teachers use inquiry and problem solving techniques in the classroom.

Best Teaching Practice in the Middle Grades

The Maryland State Department of Education has developed a series of webpages where teachers can link to resources about best teaching practice. This section focuses on the "middle learning years" and includes brief materials on homework, abstract concepts, praise and rewards, student accountability, organizing and presenting instruction, goals and purposes, monitoring student success, meaningful school and community participation, rules and rountines, managing disruptive behavior, learning skills, student team learning, setting high expectations, and more.

Education World

Supported by advertising and corporate contributions, the Education World site just gets better and better -- both broad and deep, offering original material on important education topics, lesson plans and teaching ideas, a massive index to internet sites, and -- most important -- an energetic and innovative staff that continues to search for ways to best serve educators. This link leads to a site guide that will ease exploration of this large site. Also see EW's "Great Sites for Teaching." And sign up for one or more of their mailing lists (including "Teacher Lesson Plans") -- they add great new stuff all the time.

PBS Teacher Source

Includes more than 1,000 free lesson plans (matched to standards), teacher guides and online activities--and you can explore these resources by subject or grade level or with keywords. The site includes information about how teachers and media specialists can legally tape PBS shows for classroom use. The site also includes advance schedules and info about ordering PBS videos.

PBS is also offering a new service called Teacher's Domain. An excellent resource for managing streaming videos and classroom content.

Edutopia Online - George Lucas Educational Foundation

This may be the best site on the Web about cutting-edge teaching and learning. Of course, there's an emphasis on technology, but the resources here go far beyond that. You'll find stories about innovative middle schools, videos that show ideas in action, interviews with experts, and whole sets of information on topics like "Project-Based Learning." Explore this site -- it's worth a couple of hours!

Apple Learning Interchange

Microsoft Classroom Teacher Network

We're even-handed here at MiddleWeb (although we're Mac-based), so here are the teacher pages offered by both Apple Computer and Microsoft. Both sites include lesson plans and other resources, often technology-oriented or web-based. We found the Microsoft materials to be more product-oriented, but they often included more details (including handouts, etc.). Both Apple and Microsoft include lesson plan search engines. Apple has been at it longer and has more original material to offer (see Middle School Math, for example). Microsoft pulls from other sites across the Web. Try them both! And speaking of Microsoft, you might also visit the education section of the Gates Foundation website, where you'll learn about the foundation's initiatives and grant opportunities.