the Curriculum Group
Recommended Online Resources

Resource Categories:

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Organizations

Classroom Connect: their site contains links to educational resources on-line, discussion groups, and up-to-date articles and links to information on current issues in education.
http://www.classroom.com/login/home.jhtml

Blue Web'n Learning Sites Library: searchable database of web-based activities and projects; unit and lesson plans; and curriculum resources.
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/

McRel (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning)
A clearly organized website with links to informative articles, lesson plans and other resources, McREL also contains a searchable database of standards and benchmarks for all curricular areas.

Project Achieve
Project Achieve works at the state level to provide assistance in forming benchmarks for standards. It provides a searchable database of state and international standards whose contents can be browsed by subject, state, grade level, topic, and keyword. A highlight of this website is the ability to juxtapose the same standard from two different states for comparison purposes. Achieve also provides a fairly comprehensive list of links to various educational organizations on a regional, national and international scale.

ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation
Here you will find links to some of the best full-text books, reports, journal articles, newsletter articles and papers on the Internet that address educational measurement, evaluation and learning theory. A wide range of information is accessible through the use of their database.

Teacher/Pathfinder
The Teacher/Pathfinder site is organized as an "educational internet village." By clicking on the schoolhouse link, you can browse through assessment resources as well as resources tied to specific academic areas. There is also a professional development link and a resource section for parents. Teacher/Pathfinder is extremely easy to navigate.

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
The Northwest Regional Education Laboratory helps establish educational programs for children, youth and adults. They have an Assessment and Evaluation Program, Mathematics and Science Education Program, as well as other beneficial sites filled with excellent links and examples. I especially like the section on building a Technology Plan.

ARTSEDGE
ARTSEDGE supports the place of arts education at the center of the curriculum through the creative and appropriate uses of technology. ARTSEDGE helps educators to teach in, through and about the arts. Excellent links to standard- based curriculum that places art in all discipline areas. Informative professional resources are also available. Great source for learning how to integrate art across multiple disciplines.

The MiddleWeb Guide to Standards-Based School Reform
This site consists of collections of stories, research articles, databases and useful websites for schools and organizations committed to higher standards in education. It is an excellent starting point for researching and implementing standard-based learning.

Project 2061 - American Association for the Advancement of Science
Project 2061 - named after the year Halley's Comet will return - created, among other resources, the Benchmarks for Science Literacy that pinned down a specific set of learning goals at several grade levels within the K-12 span. They have also established, with the help of six school district teams, new tools that educators can use to change the way they think about and make use of curriculum materials, instructional strategies, and assessments. Of great value is the access to science benchmarks, blueprints as well as professional development programs. This is an excellent resource for science educators.

Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence
The CREDE mission is to assist the nation's diverse students at risk of educational failure to achieve academic excellence. This website provides a free, downloadable template that is available for you to accommodate to your district or school. The portfolio template provides a system to guide teacher professional development and evaluation, based on CREDE's Standards for Effective Teaching. The process of portfolio development facilitates teacher planning, continuous improvement, professional dialogue with peers, and reflection.

The Teachers' Internet Use Guide
A usable guide to help educators in creating standards-based lessons using the internet that are aligned to the Texas state standards. The site assists teachers in developing, designing, implementing and evaluating standards based lessons by providing step by step instructions as well as examples for teachers to peruse. A bit cluttered, this site provides yet another process of developing standards-based instruction.

Performance Assessment Links in Science
PALS is an on-line, standards-based, continually updated resource bank of science performance assessment tasks indexed via the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and various other standard frameworks. It is one of the most useful sites I have found for educators. Not only does it provide a searchable database of tasks (lesson plans), but each lesson contains student directions and response forms, administration procedures, scoring rubrics, examples of student work, and technical quality data calculated from field testing. Not only is the access to the resource bank free, it is also extremely user-friendly.

Articles

Andrade, Heidi Goodrich (1997). "Understanding Rubrics," Educational Leadership. Vol. 54, no 4. http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/rubricar.pdf
In this article, Heidi Goodrich Andrade focuses on using rubrics as tools for conduction "authentic assessments." She concisely defines what rubrics are, including in her explanation how to create and use these assessment tools efficiently. This article is a must-read for individuals struggling with the question, 'What makes a rubric effective?"

Norton, J. (Fall, 1997). "LBUSD's Full-time Middle School Reformer Talks About Standards and Student Achievement," Changing Schools in Long Beach. Vol 2, no 1.
http://www.middleweb.com/CSLB3Kahl.html
An interview with Linda Moore, middle school teacher-turned reformer, explores her work to make standards - instead of textbooks - the driving force of education. Moore presents a very honest portrayal of the triumphs and struggles that come with implementing standards-based learning. Most effective is her description of a lesson plan that has been transformed from activity-based to standards-based.

Regional/State Websites

Rhode Island Beginning Teaching Standards
http://www.ric.edu/sehd/project_performance/ribts.html
Rhode Island has created a list of eleven standards to help guide new teachers and their practices. This is a straight forward compilation of Rhode Island's teacher expectations.

Colorado Department of Education
http://www.cde.state.co.us/index_home.htm
The Colorado Department of Education has provided both Colorado's State Standards as well as suggested grade level expectations for some subject areas. This site also provides information on how the state of Colorado is handling education assessment.

Seattle Public Schools
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/acastan/index.dxml
Seattle Public Schools Online Standards include four major sections that outline the standards and grade level benchmarks for reading, writing, communication and math. Each section begins with the Essential Academic Learning Requirement set by Washington State. An amazing example of a district that has created and disseminated their grade level outcomes.

Vermont Department of Education
http://www.state.vt.us/educ
The state of Vermont has done an excellent job of consolidating resources into one, effective site. Of great support is the searchable index called the Vermont Performance Resource Bank created by the Vermont Standards and Assessment Consortium (http://www.dbweb.ed.state.vt.us/arb/) that allows visitors to explore an array of assessment tools and rubrics. Many states and organizations reference back to Vermont's standards and objectives for language and structure.

Chicago Public Schools
http://intranet.cps.k12.il.us/
The Chicago Public School System has their act together! The CPS Instructional Intranet allows teachers and visitors to the site the opportunity to explore topics such as standards, lessons, and assessment, providing a wealth of information regarding each area. A wonderful resource full of clear writing and examples, the Chicago Public Schools have provided an excellent resource tool.

Standards in Teaching Websites

www.ncate.org
The NCATE is a site dedicated to examining standards for the education of teachers.
The standards established at this site are created for college accreditation of teacher education programs. Of particular interest are the NCATE teacher standards.

Bellarmine College - School of Education
http://education.bellarmine.edu/portfolio/
As part of a 1999 grant, teachers at the Bellarmine School of Education in Kentucky had to create Electronic portfolios that reflected both state and national standards in teaching. Of exceptional help is the actual listing of the standards that teachers had to achieve, plus the rubrics that were used to evaluate teacher performance.

The Collaborative Communications Group
http://www.publicengagement.com/
Based in Washington D.C., the Collaborative Communications Group are "using innovative communications strategies, products, and technologies to bring people together for the improvement of organizations, schools, and communities." Their collaborative spirit is clearly evident in the number of meaningful ideas and tools they provide via their website to help districts understand and realistically implement standards-based education. Especially helpful is the Online Engagement Tool Kit with agendas and flyers for events that engage parents and innovative methods to assess achievement and change practice in support of standards-based reforms, especially in middle schools. Clear examples and meaningful, straightforward procedural ideas make this website a must to visit.

Teacher Study Groups

Teacher Study Groups
http://www.tiu11.org/~kcalkin/studygroups.html
If you have thoughts of starting your own teacher study groups, this site offers everything from a study group action plan to links to various articles to help facilitate discussions. An excellent jumping-off point for valuable information.

Standards-based Report Cards

The Collaborative Communications Group
http://www.publicengagement.com/tools/standards/index.htm
Definitely a great place to start when researching standards-based assessment, standards-based report cards, and creative ways to communicate information to parents. Not only are terms clearly defined but there are also plenty of examples accompanied by the contact information of the creators. An informative site that we highly recommend.

Lewis, Anne C. (Spring 2001) Partnerships: Parents Need "Standards 101", Reforming Middle Schools and School Systems. http://www.middleweb.com/CSLBfinal/CSLBfinal1B.html
In the Long Beach public schools, standards-based reforms make the perennial problem of involving middle school parents in their children's learning even more important - and more difficult. This article outlines the steps Long Beach has taken in order to ensure that standards-based report cards are a success with parents in the district.

Report card examples:
Saratoga Union School District, Saratoga, California
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ope/sarc/

Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach, California
http://www.lbusd.k12.ca.us/research/update2001/index.html

Pajaro Valley Unified School District, Watsonville, CA
http://www.pvusd.net/html/report_cards.html

Assessment Resources

Bond, Linda Ann, (1995) Director of Assessment, North Central Regional Educational Laboratory "Critical Issue: Rethinking Assessment and Its Role in Supporting Educational Reform" Critical Issue Summary. http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/assment/as700.htm
Reevaluation of the skills and knowledge needed for success, the understanding of how students learn, and the relationship between assessment and instruction are changing our learning goals for students. Linda Bond summarizes some new thinking in this area and the importance of assessment reform as a means for setting more appropriate targets for students.

Marzano, Robert J, (Sept. 1997) "Eight Questions You Should Ask Before Implementing Standards-Based Education at the Local Level" Mid-continent Research of Education and Learning (MCREL) http://www.mcrel.org/products/standards/8questions.html
Within this document you will find clear and concise arguments regarding how benchmarks and standards should be assessed. Along with other valuable insights, Marzano provides a variety of simple yet frequent assessment techniques that can be used as part of regular classroom instruction.

Wiggins, Grant, (1990) "The Case for Authentic Assessment." ERIC Digest. http://ericae.net/edo/ED328611.htm
Grant Wiggins is a leading author and presenter on assessment. In this article he talks about the significance of authentic assessment and why we need such "labor-intensive" forms of assessment.

Fuchs, Lynn S., "Connecting Performance Assessment to Instruction: A Comparison of Behavioral Assessment, Mastery Learning, Curriculum-Based Measurement, and Performance Assessment." ERIC Digest E530. http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed381984.html
This document analyzes how the performance assessment movement is needed to reconnect large-scale and classroom assessment to learning so that assessment affects learning positively. Questions asked and discussed include: "In what ways can assessment enhance instruction?;"and "What criteria should assessments meet if they are to inform instructional decisions?;"

McMillan, James H. (2000). "Fundamental Assessment Principles for Teachers and School Administrators."Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(8).
http://ericae.net/pare/getvn.asp?v=7&n=8
"In light of current assessment demands and contemporary theories of learning and motivation," this article presents eleven "basic principles" to guide the assessment training and professional development of teachers and administrators.

Education Research Report
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/OR/ResearchRpts/
This site offers brief, research-based explanations of current concepts and topics and is published for teachers, parents, and others interested in current education themes.

General Information

AskERIC Virtual Library: large collection of activities, lesson plans and curriculum units. Includes link to The Gateway to Educational Materials, a directory of over 2900 education resources.
http://askeric.org/Virtual/Lessons/

Ask an Expert: Searchable database of websites and e-mail addresses for worldwide experts on various subjects who will answer student and teacher questions.
http://www.askanexpert.com/

Apple Learning Interchange: Includes links to technology-integrated units and Internet resources, including non-English resources. Sponsored by Apple Computer.
http://www.ali.apple.com/

Busy Teachers' Website K-12.
http://www.ceismc.gatech.edu/busyt/

Classroom Strategies - Lesson Plans.
http://www.idcnet.com/~cstewart/elibclsr.htm

EDSITEment.
http://edsitement.neh.gov

Education World.
http://www.education-world.com/

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators.
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/

K-12 Lesson Plans.
http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/places/lessons.html

K-12 Sources - Curriculum - Lesson Plans.
http://www.execpc.com/~dboals/k-12.html

Lesson Plans and Teaching Strategies.
http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/plans.html

Canada's SchoolNet: Sample Projects and Contests.
http://www.schoolnet.ca/home/e/resources/browse_results.asp?
SECTION=1&SUBJECT=81&LangID=1&SEARCH=index.asp

SchoolWorld Internet Education.
http://www.schoolworld.asn.au/schoolworld.html

Educational Technology Links, Indiana University Indianapolis.
http://education.iupui.edu/PROGRAMS/computer-links.htm

ProjectMaker Work Page.
http://www.macomb.k12.mi.us/wq/wqbc1.htm

Websites and Resources for Teachers.
http://www.sitesforteachers.com/

Evaluating Internet Resources

CyberGuides.
http://www.cyberbee.com/guides.html

Evaluating Information Found on the World Wide Web. http://www.webliminal.com/search/search-web12.html

Thinking Critically About World Wide Web Resources. http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/

Evaluation Criteria.
http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html

Evaluating Internet Resources: A Checklist. http://www.infopeople.org/howto/bkmk/select.html

News and Current Issues

Education Week.
http://www.edweek.org

ESchoolNews.com.
http://www.eschoolnews.com

Massachusetts Department of Education.
http://doe.mass.edu

SyllabusWeb.
http://www.syllabus.com

Reference

Acceptable Use Policies.
http://www.rice.edu/armadillo/acceptable.html

American School Directory.
http://www.asd.com

Tips on Searching the Web.
http://www.monash.com/spidap.html

WebQuests

The WebQuest Page: Links to WebQuests, inquiry-oriented activities utilizing Internet resources. Also contain s a template for creating your own WebQuest.
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/

Educational Media and Technology WebQuests. http://www.itdc.sbcss.k12.ca.us/curriculum/webquest.html

Some Thoughts About WebQuests.
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/about_webquests.html

WebQuest Index.
http://www.macomb.k12.mi.us/wq/webqindx.htm

Fine Arts Resources

ArtsEdNet
http://www.getty.edu/artsednet/

ARTSEDGE
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
http://thinker.org

The Louvre
http://www.louvre.fr/louvrea.htm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
http://www.metmuseum.org/

Smithsonian American Art Museum
http://www.nmaa.si.edu/

The Musee D'Orsay
http://www.musee-orsay.fr:8081/ORSAY/orsaygb/HTML.NSF/
By+Filename/mosimple+index?OpenDocument

State and National Standards for Art Education

Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework
November 1999
Massachusetts Department of Education

National Standards for Arts Education
Developed by the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations
American Alliance for Theatre and Education; Music Educators National Conference; National Art Education Association; National Dance Association
1994
National Art Education Association (NAEA)
ISBN 1-56545-036-1

Adaptations of the National Visual Arts Standards: National, State and District Examples
Larry N. Peeno, Editor
1995
National Art Education Association (NAEA)
ISBN 0-937652-91-1

How to Use Standards in the Classroom
Douglass E. Harris and Judy F. Carr
1996
ISBN 0-87120-268-9
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
$10.95 members $8.95

Becoming a Teacher of Art
Jane K. Bates
2000
Wadsworth/Thompson Learning
ISBN 0-534-52239-4

Exemplary Art Education Curricula: A Guide to Guides
NAEA Task Force
1994
National Art Education Association (NAEA)
ISBN 0-937652-72-5

Learning In and Through the Arts: A Guide to Discipline-Based Art Education
Stephen Mark Dobbs
1998
The Getty Institute for the Arts
ISBN 0-89236-494-7

Davis Art Education in Practice Series

Assessment in Art Education
Donna Kay Beattie
(1997)
Davis Publications, Inc.
ISBN 87192-363-7

Thinking Through Aesthetics
Marilyn G. Stewart
1997
Davis Publications, Inc.
ISBN 87192-3629

Talking About Student Art
Terry Barrett
1997
Davis Publications, Inc.
ISBN 87192-361-0

Davis Adventures in Art Series

Adventures in Art: Levels K-6
Laura Chapman
Davis Publications, Inc.
Davis Order Codes:
Kindergarten - 7089
Level 1 - 323-8
Level 2 - 324-6
Level 3 - 325-4
Level 4 - 326-2
Level 5 - 327-0
Level 6 - 328-9

Integrated Curriculum Resources

Planning Integrated Curriculum: The Call to Adventure
Susan M. Drake
1993
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
ASCD Stock #61193025
ISBN 0-87120-208-5

Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Design and Implementation
Heidi H. Jacobs
1989
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
ASCD Stock #611-89156W16

Local Professional Organizations

Massachusetts Directors of Art Education (MDAE)
Contact: John Michael Gray, President
(617) 552-7632
e-mail: John_M._Gray@mec.edu

Massachusetts Art Education Association (MAEA)
95 Berkeley Street - Suite 410
Boston, MA 02116

World Languages

Yamada WWW Language Guides
http://babel.uoregon.edu/yamada/guides.html

I Love Languages
http://www.ilovelanguages.com/

World Languages Links
http://pitman.k12.nj.us/resources/ResWorldLang.html

The Electronic Text center at the University of Virginia
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu

ELA Resources

The Online Books Page
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/

The Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu

A Word a Day
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/

CyberGuides
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/SCORE/cyberguide.html

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
http://www.bartleby.com/100/

RhymeZone Rhyming Resources
http://www.rhymezone.com/

Mathematics Resources

The Math Forum: sponsored by Drexel University.
http://mathforum.org/

Frank Potter's Science Gems - Mathematics: database of internet resources for mathematics, searchable by topic.
http://www.sciencegems.com/math.html

Database of Math Lesson Plans and Courses
http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/html.f/resource.xml

Cornell Math and Science Gateway for High School
http://www.tc.cornell.edu/Edu/MathSciGateway/

SciEd: Science and Mathematics Education Resources
http://newton.physics.wwu.edu:8082/jstewart/scied/

Internet Tour for Secondary Mathematics Teachers
http://cesme.utm.edu/resources/math/SecMathTour/SecMath.html

The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Math and Sciences: Math Topics
http://www.enc.org/weblinks/lessonplans/math/

The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Math and Sciences: Real World Math and Science
http://www.enc.org/topics/realworld/

Euclid's Elements
http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/elements.html

Social Studies Resources

American Memory Home Page
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amhome.html

Documenting the American South: The Southern Experience in the 19th Century
http://docsouth.unc.edu/

Getting Word: The Monticello African American Oral History Project
http://www.monticello.org/gettingword/

Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States
http://www.bartleby.com/124/

The Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu

CIA World Factbook 2002
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

The American Civil War Homepage
http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/

Vietnam: Yesterday and Today
http://servercc.oakton.edu/~wittman/

SCORE History: Social Studies Resources
http://www.edserv.sjcoe.k12.ca.us/SCORE/

Letters from an Iowa Soldier in the Civil War
http://www.civilwarletters.com/home.html

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/

AskAsia: A K-12 Resource of the Asia Society
http://www.askasia.org/

What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?
http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/WWII_Women/tocCS.html

The Ancient World Web
http://www.julen.net/aw/

Middle Ages
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/

Science Resources

NASA Spacelink
http://spacelink.nasa.gov

Frank Potter's Science Gems
www.sciencegems.com

NASA Quest
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov

The Heart: An Online Exploration
http://sln2.fi.edu/biosci/heart.html

The Chemistry Page
http://www.ncsu.edu/sciencejunction/terminal/imse/lowres/1/chemistry.htm

Solar System
http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/overview.html

Cornell Math and Science Gateway for High School
http://www.tc.cornell.edu/Edu/MathSciGateway/

The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Math and Sciences: Real World Math and Science
http://www.enc.org/topics/realworld/

The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Math and Sciences: Science Topics
http://www.enc.org/weblinks/science/

Franklin Institute Online
http://sln.fi.edu

Athena: Earth and Space Science for K-12
http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/

Science Learning Network
www.sln.org

Expanding Universe
http://vrl.tpl.toronto.on.ca/expanding_universe/

Cells Alive!
http://www.cellsalive.com/

MendelWeb
http://www.mendelweb.org/