270toWin.com is an excellent tool for reinforcement instruction in government, the Electoral College, and the way our country elects its leaders. The level of interactivity is amazing, as it allows students to play out different scenarios, respond on blogs, take quizzes, etc. Regardless of the year, this site can be used for instructional purposes. Previous presidential elections are archived for reference. This year's Senate races are also highlighted.

While Scholastic's site is well known for its helpful lessons and resources for teachers, this page lays out five excellent lessons that address student health issues. Teachers can also use reproducibles that go along with each lesson.

This site provides teachers many teaching points on Georgia's five main habitats as well as the plants and animals that live within each one. While the Habitats Research page is a preporatory page for the in-school "field trips" the company provides, it is still an excellent resource for science instruction (regardless of whether you order the program or not).

Students from New York City Public Schools, DC Public Schools, and many other urban areas throughout the country have created multiplication songs that go with some of the newest hip hop songs. Students are encouraged to create their own lyrics, record songs, and create dances. Originally created by an Ohio teacher, Spark the Mind has been featured on Good Morning America, CBS News, and other reputable programs. Smart Shorties is a proven program changing low math test scores and improving student achievement.

In this lesson plan, teachers work with ESL (English as a Second Language) students to practice present and past tenses of verbs. They also work to differentiate between simple and progressive tenses, as well. They listen to an audio component and then complete identification-type tasks using an Excel spreadsheet and MS Word document. Students receive immediate feedback.

This example of technology integration involves the use of SMART Board technology. Teachers can use the provided instructions to post different versions of number grids and hundreds charts. Students then participate in routine activities where they drag counters over numbers or manipulate numbers and shapes to represent certain patterns on the posted grids.

These videos, provided by the Apple Learning Interchange, provide a short snippet about a particular topic (in this case, the changes humans cause on animal habitats) and then launch into a multifaceted lesson. Teachers have a purpose, learning activities, resources, and examples of student projects to use to guide them through the provided lessons. Standards are clearly represented through an "Evidence of Learning" section (with rubrics) as well as NETS and 21st Century Learning Skills Alignments sections. Teachers can use many available photos and interviews during the lesson, as well.

This is a video that can be played for classes of various sizes, as it captivates your attention with relevant examples and graphics. The teacher on the video takes you through each step in the process of converting fractions to decimals in a way that is easy to understand and relate to. The pictures that are used are very current (Michael Phelps, Barack Obama, etc.), making it even more fun. Independent practice and extension activities could be easily planned after watching.

BrainPop is a highly-regarded, Flash-based video site that offers an array of movies on all kinds of curricular topics covered during the school year. This particular site provides the framework for a teacher to teach a lesson on animal habitats. Beyond just watching the movie and answering the quiz questions, the educator site gives the objectives, materials, preparation, lesson procedures, vocabulary, and extension activities to do with the students. You will have to create a free educator account to gain access to this page.

Funbrain (and counterparts like Mathbrain) is a fun, interactive game environment where students can go to brush up on skills already taught or attempt new ones based on teacher guidance. The site offers a curriculum guide and standards finder in order for teachers to properly target the games. Games can be played in conjunction with lessons in the classroom, or students can benefit from using the program in the computer lab or at home.

In this interactive program, students go through a series of buildings (the house and the tool shed) and rooms trying to guess where the simple and compound machines are and how they are used. As they click around on the different parts of each room (like the faucet in the bathroom), the parts come to life shortly before a couple of questions are posed about that machine. Essential vocabulary (lever, pulley, wedge, screw, and incline) is covered in a fun, entertaining way.

These web-based modules would be especially helpful to a teacher teaching a life-skills unit in conjunction with instruction by a guidance counselor. All five lessons (important relationships, resolving disputes, dealing with loss, rules and roles, and celebrations and family gatherings) all center around important people in children's lives, namely friends and family. Students can interact with the website and post feelings about what they've learned. The Kidlink site is great overall.

This is a very informative video on place value. It takes the students through several relative scenarios and does a great job explaining why it's important to know that a digit's value is based on its position in a number. The video is easy to stop and start, and it would be helpful to students if shown on a mainstream classroom projection system (or in a computer lab, if need be).

Braingle is a site full of teasers and teaser activites for teacher use. This particular page has several examples of math brain teasers of various levels. Students can open different tools as they work to solve problems.

This Syvum site provides math puzzles and brain teasers for students at varying levels (easy, medium, and challenging). All activities are interactive and provide immediate scoring.

This website, supported by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, provides curricular support to educators, students, and families. The site is loaded with supplemental activities, diagrams, maps, stories, etc. You do not need to be in possession of a certain textbook in order to gain access to the site.

Internet4Classrooms is great website for teachers. The site provides large collections of links, online practice modules, and assessment assistance. This page in particular points to math brain teasers available on the web.

VoiceThread is another Web 2.0 presentation tool where users can interact with presentation slides via video, voice, and text commenting. Presenters can get real-time feedback on posted presentations, and users can interact with each other, sharing ideas related to the content covered.

Education World is a great online tool for teachers that offers a variety of applicable uses. Teachers can download and share lesson plans, find professional development opportunities, incorporate technology integration ideas, blog on current school-related issues, and much more. It is a go-to site as a teacher. Looking here before Googling can save time and energy.

SlideShare provides users a way to post slide presentations through online features. This service was one of the first Web 2.0 sites to provide a way to upload presentations, tag them, create discussion groups, and invite other users to build upon them. It is a forward-thinking alternative to the usual PowerPoint presentation that allows interactivity and accessibility not seen before in typical presentation tools.