ChompChomp! is an English website that gives students practice with a variety of grammar skills, from simple punctuation to complex pronoun-antecedent agreement. This website is very useful because it provides students with both notes and a variety of exercise with which to practice these skills. Also, all material is available is printable and interactive formats, so students and teachers can choose how they would like to use the material.
This collection of videos is a must for history teachers for any level. The makers take popular songs and replace the lyrics with stories from history; they manage to make the songs pretty witty and even funny at time. Students actually pay attention to the content in ways that are often not present in the classroom. Be aware, however, that the majority of the content is directed toward world history. That being said, these videos are a great way to break the monotony of the classroom!
This may be a very trite selection; however OWL is one of the best centers for information on citation. What makes it very useful is its inclusion of both APA and MLA styles, which are both covered in tremendous depth. Students can even find example papers with notes on how to do everything from selecting font to setting the margins. Students may be overwhelmed by all of the content at first, but with time they will find that this tool can ease the tedious task of research.
I have used this tool numerous times in both English and History with great results. The site itself is geared toward younger students, but it allows for the free creation of a timeline without having to register or sign up for anything. It doesn't even ask for an email address! You can find more complex tools for this purpose online, but they usually require some fee or sign up. Also, I am very fond of the format of generation, which is a tree map. This is a great tool when covering any historical period! I have used it for short literary periods, and I have used it to cover the entirety of human history! Either way, it's a great and simple to use resource.
Citation Machine is a great resource for students and teachers who already have some knowledge of citation. This fill-in-the-blank tool allows students to create parenthetical citations and references without having to consult a guide. Also, it covers MLA, APA, Chicago, and Turabian styles! A word of caution is that each citation only adheres to the edition of the citation listed on the website. I ALWAYS tell students to check with their teachers to make sure that this edition is appropriate for their classes. Otherwise, it is a great tool to help students to cut time from research without sacrificing the learning behind the research!
HyperHistory is something that I just started using this semester. It is not great as far as interface, but it provides a ton of great content. Looking through the website, you can find maps of expansion, timelines, and links to content on important people and events. This site even has information about the religions, art, and music of the different periods, so making cultural connections is much easier. I have used this in conjunction with biography.com and history.com and had some great results. It is a great way for students to be introduced to historical research because of its simple navigation and content.
We are all familiar with SparkNotes.com and what a destructive force it can be for our students. However, such sites can be beneficial if used carefully. For instance, the NO FEAR SHAKESPEARE can be great for lower readers, and so can Cliffs Notes. What I like about Cliffs Notes is that it provides other content to help students understand complex literature, which can be great for students with disabilities or students who have trouble reading. Check out the videos on the side of the page. They are so funny! Also, they take the time to explain important themes and literary material, so their purpose goes beyond simple summarizing. As I said, this can be very helpful to struggling readers.
When history has to be serious, there is not better resource than the BBC. Their collection of content and videos is simply unrivaled, and the quality is outstanding. Of course, the major drawback is that the content is not always very involving, so it is best used in small doses. However, their reports and materials go into so much more depth than the typical textbook and can help to fill the holes that are left by such texts. Also, if you register with the site, they will send you daily updates, many of which I have used in class with great results.
While I am calling this an English site, it can be used for almost any discipline. Project Gutenberg provides free, full texts of materials that are in public domain. Some do contain minor errors, as they are created by volunteers, but they are a great resource to help your students save some money. This is especially true for those students who struggle financially and cannot afford the extra money for a copy of Huck Finn, so I always inform my students as to this website's existence. I also often put links to it on my website. Many tell me that they really appreciate not having to pay for texts that are available for free. Who wouldn't?!
My Diary is a tool that I use with my English and History students because it allows for online journaling that can be either private or public. I have students keep their names off of their posts and have them post under the same account to protect them, but with older students, you could have them create their own accounts and simply search for their usernames to read their input on a topic. This can be a very helpful reflective tools, and we are, in fact, using it right now with Much Ado About Nothing. What is great is that they will post thoughts that they would never share in class, so you get a deeper sense of how they are processing material. Do be aware, of course, that students can read the thoughts of others, which are not always very nice, and they should be cautious about sharing information in this way. If you teach secondary or elementary school, you shouldn't use this tool without a serious talk about safety.
I had to throw this in at number 11 because it can be used by teachers of any level or discipline. This website takes the pressure out of searching for educational videos on YouTube because it only contains educational videos. Give it a browse and see if you like anything! I use it sometimes and have found much of the content to be useful.