Not necessarily appropriate for students, but very entertaining.

Okay--this is not necessarily appropriate for students, but is valuable for educators who need to handle the demands of the work by acknowledging that sometimes, there is nothing you can do but just laugh. If you run across something worthy of notice among your own classes, you can immortalize your students' writing gems by submitting them to the blog. Educational applications? Well, there are some fine and entertaining mistakes which could provide fodder for exercises in editing, revision, etc. as well as discussion on the importance of choosing the right word. If you check out the site, you'll see what I mean. Enjoy!

A logophone's dream. While I would love to possess a revered hard copy in my classroom learning center, I would definitely have this site bookmarked.

This link to the Oxford English Dictionary is an invaluable resource for Middle School ELA and Secondary Ed English teachers. I can see it as a frequent "go-to" site for Student Researchers, providing more interesting content than a standard online dictionary. Because the OED is concerned with word origins, I believe it would be helpful in creating bridges with ELL students as well, giving them a chance to see the linguistic contributions their language has made to ours. Check out the link in the lower center column for teachers and students (resources and lesson plans).

This site--English pedagogy guru Jim Burke's ning--is a treasure trove for middle school and secondary English instructors. Joining requires verification of your relationship to a learning institution. The site is well organized, allowing me to browse by general topics and within forums. It's a virtual teacher's lounge, allowing for quick takes on strategies for teaching any number of things, or in depth discussion on the viability of Literature Circles for Shakespeare study. I could easily get lost in the forest of great ideas here.