Free Online Resource Guide for Elementary School Teachers

Introduction
This guide is a collection of Websites offering free, high quality content and valuable resources for elementary school teachers of grades K-6. Included herein you will find Websites that provide lesson plans, printable worksheets, educational computer games, teacher training, access to grants, free audio books and more. This guide is geared toward the beginning teacher, but even seasoned professionals and veterans will find something here that they can use to enhance their classroom instruction.

Key Search Terms
Use these in a search engine, with or without quotation marks, to find additional free teaching resources similar to those that I have provided for you here. Using them with quotations marks will result in Websites using those exact words in their descriptions, perhaps narrowing the search to a more managable number of hits. If, however, you find the results to be too narrow, then remove the quotation marks to expand your search.

"free elementary school lesson plans," "free lesson plans for elementary teachers,"
"free elementary teacher resources," "free elementary educational games K-6"
"free educational videos elementary teachers"

Web Sources

Education Resource Database:

ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center)
http://eric.ed.gov
A collection of bibliographic records on education literature, an increasing number of which are available as full text downloads. A type of educator’s wiki, it is a great place to begin your search for educational materials that can be used both in the classroom and by parents to help their children at home.

Free Lesson Plans for Grades K-6

Hotchalk
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/
A diverse collection of information and resources free to parents, students, and teachers throughout the world. The site houses a collection of over 4,000 lesson plans that cover all subject areas for grades K-7 as well as a “Lesson Plan Guide” to help beginning teachers create lessons of their own.

Discovery Education
http://discoveryeducation.com
Hosted by the Discovery Channel, this site is an extensive source of lesson plans, videos, clip art, book lists and more that are free to teachers, parents and students from grades K-12. Subject areas covered include math, science, English, social studies, technology and world languages.

Teachers.net
http://teachers.net/lessons
Teachers.net houses a collection of over 4,000 free lesson plans for grades Pre-K – 12. Subject areas include Arts & Crafts, Science, History, Social Studies, Geography, Mathematics, Reading/Writing, Literature, Music, Computers, and much more. There are also a Chat Center, Chatboards, & a Chatroom where teachers can interact with one another.

Free Printables

Apples 4 the Teacher
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/
A culturally diverse assortment of coloring pages, craft ideas, games and activities sorted by subject area and specific needs. Links for Homeschooling, Just for Kids, and Parenting provide additional resources that may be helpful in assigning homework, as well.

School Express
http://www.schoolexpress.com/
Over 16,000 free worksheets and a generator for creating custom worksheets, free thematic units every week with a free newsletter subscription, educational online games, 25 free flash video and audio books, 130 free software programs for Windows and Macintosh, and more.

Free Educational Videos

Annenberg Media: Learner.org
http://www.learner.org/
"Annenberg Media [is a vast collection] of educational video programs with coordinated Web and print materials for the professional development of K-12 teachers. Many programs are also intended for students in the classroom and viewers at home."

KidsKnowIt Network: The Totally Free Children’s Learning Network
http://www.kidsknowit.com
32 free educational movies and over 500 free online educational games, free educational posters and more. Covers all subject areas and many skill sets for grades K-12.

Free Audio Books

Storynory
http://storynory.com/
A diverse collection of free online audio books that includes a wide variety of stories from well-known classics to international folktales. The site also includes an interactive feature for ESL (ESOL) & EFL students that offers direct translation of words while they are being read.

Free Professional Developmental Resources

Elementary-Teacher-Resources.com
http://www.elementary-teacher-resources.com/
A site created and maintained by a seasoned elementary school teacher with over 10 years of experience, for beginning and experienced elementary school teachers. A collection of teaching materials and lesson plans, as well as extensive information about and for teachers to assist them in running a classroom of students grade K-6.

Monetary and Materials Grants:

National Council of Teachers of English
http://www.ncte.org/grants/elem
A collection of grant providers for elementary, middle, high, and secondary school teachers, as well as students enrolled in education programs, with a focus on English Studies, Literacy, and Language Arts. A great place to go if you are needing books for your in-class library, the types of grants include both funds and materials.

Rockford Public Schools
http://webs.rps205.com/departments/rd/tchr.html
National research, federal program and educational grants for elementary school teachers of grades K-12. Monetary and material grants are available for a wide variety of projects covering such subject areas as science, immigration, and general community improvement.

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