Classroom and Teacher Pages

Second graders, middle schoolers, and high school seniors can all be involved with the development of a classroom page. Whether the page will post homework or be used to share student poetry, classroom pages are a great way to break down the walls of your classroom. Many schools now have a directory to staff websites. Check out some of the Teacher Websites for Huron City Schools (OH).

Mrs. Vilenski's 7th Grade Life Science Connections includes class information such as policies and grades, units such as the life science safari and human body adventure, as well as tons of student interaction such as entry skills assessments, online activities, project guidelines, resource links, reviews, and quizzes.

Consider projects that involve students in technology-rich projects. Share information that is unique to your area. For example the first grade classroom at Highland Park Elementary developed a project to teach people about growing cotton. Children in another part of the world might share how they grow rice or corn.

As you design a class web page, consider the purpose. For some teachers, a class page is a way to reflect on classroom activities and forecast the future. It serves as a living classroom portfolio for both the teacher and the students. For others it's a tool to assign homework and guide learning. Visit Chemistry Geek page, Mr. Leckie's Web Page, and Mr. Donn's Ancient History page. Think about how children, parents, and the teacher use these pages.

Whenever possible, get students involved with the development of the class page. For example, you could assign small groups particular tasks or ongoing activities. Students could do their work in a word processor or graphics package, then you could put it together for the web page.

Go the Cool Classroom Pages from Teacher Tap or Teacher Pages from Brick by Brick and explore examples of classroom pages. As you explore classroom websites, look for the following elements:

• Classroom Information
  
  • Rules
    
  • Policies
    
  • Guidelines
    
  • Teacher Information
    
  • Student Information
    
  • News
    
• Assignments
  
  • Homework
    
  • On computer activities
    
  • Off computer activities
    
• Project Sharing
  
  • Writing Projects
    
  • Drawing Projects
    
  • Multimedia Projects
    
• Communication Projects
  
• Collaborative Projects
  
• Instructional Content
  
  • Information
    
  • Tutorials
    
  • Simulations
    
  • Case Studies
    
  • Tests
    
  • Webquests
    
• Links and Pathfinders