Ancient Civilizations
  

Art

Character Development

Health and Safety

Image Resources


Math


Physical Education

Reading

Resources

Science

Social Studies

Virtual Field Trips

Writing and Grammar

Back to Family Page

Sycamore Tree 
Home Page


Ancient Civilizations

Collapse: Why Do Civilizations Fall?
Join this site and explore the collapse of four ancient civilizations. You'll learn what happens when a society collapses and how archaeologists find and interpret evidence. You can visit the Maya city of Copán and search for clues to its collapse. You can also try your hand at "garbage-ology" and study what trash can tell us about a society.

Daily Life in Ancient India
What did the ancient Indians wear? What did they eat? Did kids play with toys? Did they go to school? This site shares daily life in three major time periods of ancient India history; the mysterious and so cool Indus Valley Civilization, the Vedic & Epics Periods, and the Age of Empires.

Exploring Ancient World Cultures 
This is an on-line course supplement for students and teachers of the ancient and medieval worlds. It features its own essays and primary texts. Over time it will include chapter-length histories for each of the eight "cultures" represented: The Near East, India, Egypt, China, Greece, Rome, Early Islam and Medieval Europe. Chapters on Rome, Greece and Medieval Europe will be appearing soon.

Webquest
Elementary and middle students can now enjoy locating information on Ancient Egypt! Learn about Ancient Egyptian daily life, Egyptian mummies, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, King Tut (Tutankhamen), Egyptian games, and Archeology. You will accept missions to find clues that will lead you to the burial mask of King Tut.  During these missions you will learn about daily Egyptian life, mummies, hieroglyphics, archeology, and more.

Return to top 


Art

A. Pintura: Art Detective
With this online game about art history and art composition you'll examine paintings by famous artists. Each example highlights an art concept such as composition, style or subject. The artists featured are Raphael, Titian, Millet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Picasso.

@rt room 
Check out great art activity guides and "@rt sparkers, @rtrageous thinking, @rt gallery, @rt demos, @rtifacts, @rt library," and "@rt links."

Crayola Creativity Central
This site has Coloring and Activities, Arts and Crafts, a Card Creator, a Color Corner, Lesson Plans and more. There is even a "Stain Removal" section that will tell you how to get Crayola products off all kinds of surfaces.

The Kennedy Center: ArtsEdge
"NewsBreak:" A daily update on what’s happening in the arts and education, "Teaching Materials:" Standards-based curriculum that puts the arts in all the disciplines, and "Professional Resources:" A library of planning, research, and contact information for teachers.

Orange County Art Source 
Information on the Arts and Culture of Orange County, California including an "Arts Calendar," "What’s hot this month," and Orange County Arts Organizations.

Return to top 


Character Development

GoodCharacter.com
You'll find teaching guides for K-12 character development education, information on how to teach service learning and character in sports, links to where you can take action, web resources and more.

Return to top 


Health and Safety

FEMA for Kids
This site teaches you how to be prepared for disasters and how you can prevent disaster damage. You can also learn what causes disasters, play games, read stories and become a Disaster Action Kid.

FEMA for Kids: Flood Safety
Take a quiz, play a game, read a story, and you'll learn about flood safety.  This site will also show you how to make a disaster kit and keeps your pets safe during a flood.

FEMA for Kids: Wildfires
Learn about wildfire safety at this website.

Girl Power
Check out this national public education campaign sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help encourage and motivate 9- to 13- year-old girls to make the most of their lives. Girl Power! seeks to reinforce and sustain these positive values among girls ages 9-13 by targeting health messages to the unique needs, interests, and challenges of girls.

Kid's Health
Here is a descriptive website that covers numerous health topics including feelings, staying healthy, illnesses and diseases, the body, growing up, and more. It is easy to understand and gives the pronunciation for hard words.

Risk Watch Web Site
This website is based on an injury prevention program. There is a "Kid's Only" section with games that teach safety. The parents page has lots of useful tips to keep your home safe.

Smokey Bear
Only you can prevent forest fires. Smokey Bear has been working for over 50 years to remind Americans of the importance of outdoor fire safety and wildfire prevention. Learn all about fire by reading stories and playing games.

Return to top 


Image Resources

The Amazing Picture Machine
Here is a search engine for images.  Just type in what you want a picture of, and this site will search it's database for it.  It will also show you how to cite images and pictures.

Awesome Clipart for Kids
They have Teacher, Student & Family-Friendly FREE clipart, coloring pages, backgrounds, banners, fonts, icons, lines, worksheets and wallpaper with aliens, animals, cats, creatures, dogs, education, holidays, robots, sports, toys, weather & more - updated weekly by 15-year-old Tom Brown and his family!

The Clip Art Gallery
Discovery School makes it easy to add graphics to your next project, whether it's for home or school.  Choose from hundreds of original clip art pieces, including animations.

Graphic Organizers
Here are lots of charts and diagrams for you to download and print out for your students.  It has everything from word clusters to an idea wheel to story maps to time lines to the Venn Diagram.

Pics4Learning
This site is full if images you can use to enhance your learning experience.  You can probably find of photo of anything you are studying. Check out the Cool Collection and the Lesson Plan of the Month.

Return to top 


Math

Ask Dr. Math
This website is a question and answer service for math students and their teachers.  Students submit questions to Dr. Math by filling out a web form and answers are sent back by e-mail.  The best questions and answers are gathered into a searchable archive organized by grade level and topic.

Cornell Theory Center Math and Science Gateway
Links to resources in mathematics and science for educators and students in grades 9-12. Even has a spot to "Ask-an-Expert."  You'll explore information about astronomy, agriculture, biology, chemistry, computers, earth and environmental science, engineering, health and medicine, mathematics, meteorology, physics, and a monthly math or science topic.

Famous Curves
Click on the name of a curve to see its history and some of its associated curves including it's equation. 

Flashcards for Kids
Make selections of the type of math (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division), the complexity, and the number size used (from 0-9 to entering your own to as many as you want).

Interactive Math Tutor
A free membership to this service gives you access to lots and lots of math worksheets for basic math, algebra, geometry an trigonometry.  Solutions to the problems are at the end of each worksheet. A perfect resource for kids needing extra drills.

Mathematics Archives 
Teaching materials, resources, math contests and competitions, math on the web, math links and so much more. From Kindergarten through calculus.

Orange County Department of Education Math and Science Network 
A digital network for professional educators to communicate and receive information regarding their fields of interest.

RobertNiles.com
Numbers can't "talk," but they can tell you as much as your human sources can. But just like with human sources, you have to ask!  Here, described in plain English, are some basic concepts in statistics that every writer should know...  Robert Niles is a senior producer at latimes.com and an occasional contributor to the Los Angeles Times.

SuperKids Math Worksheet Creator
Have you ever wondered where to find math drill worksheets? Make your own here at SuperKids for free! Simply select the type of problem, the maximum and minimum numbers to be used in the problems, then click on the button! A worksheet will be created to your specifications, ready to be printed for use.

Return to top 


Physical Education

American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance 
An alliance of six national associations and six district associations designed to provide members with a comprehensive and coordinated array of resources, support, and programs to help practitioners improve their skills and so further the health and well-being of the American public.

Orange County Department of Education: Science K-12 
Resources and programs, framework standards and issues, partnerships, grants and legislation, technology applications, professional development, and more.

Return to top 


Reading

Book Adventure
Book Adventure is a FREE reading motivation program for children in grades K-8. Children create their own book lists from over 6,000 recommended titles, take multiple choice quizzes on the books they've read offline, and earn points and prizes for their literary successes.

The Real Mother Goose
Here is a full collection of Mother Goose classic rhymes. All of the ones you remember from when you were a child and even the ones you can't are all here. 

Reading Online 
 The International Reading association provides information on critical issues, media literacy, technology literacy, and more.

Reading Rockets
This site contains research-based articles on teaching kids to read and helping those who struggle; daily news headlines about reading; monthly recommended children's books; exclusive interviews with top children's book authors and illustrators; forums for sharing ideas and thoughts about kids and reading; and links to national and local literacy organizations and resources.

Return to top 


Resources

Awesome Library
This site organizes the web with 22,000 carefully reviewed resources, including the top 5 percent in education. The include, the arts, English, mathematics, science, social studies, health and PE, technology, languages, and much more.
The Sycamore Academy has not reviewed the websites listed. 

Daily Lesson Plan
Here is a website that has a different lesson plan every day.  You can even look at past lesson plans and do a search to find one on the subject you are studying. Great for unit studies!

Discovery School Homework Help
This site's motto is "If you can't find it here, then you just can't find it." It has over 700 links to sites that will help you with everything from Art to Social Studies.

Encyclopedia.com
In addition to an online encyclopedia you can search, you will find a "today in history" section where you'll learn who was born, who died, and special events that occurred each day in history. You can search the encyclopedia by keywords or letter of the alphabet.

Federal Citizen Information Center
If you want any information about your rights as a consumer, then this is where you need to go.  It mostly has information for adults but there is stuff for kids too.

Houghton Mifflin Education Place
K-8 resources for teachers, students, and parents. Includes Reading/Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Intervention, Professional Development, activities, games, and textbook support.

Internet Public Library
It's all here; Reference Center, Reading Room, Searching Tools, Youth Resources, Subject Collections, and Special Collections.

Ivy's Internet Search for Kids
Here you will find lots of search forms for the major Internet search engines for kids.  They are family-friendly.

K-8 Kid's Place
You can play games, show your brain power, or learn about books to read by grade level all at this site sponsored by
Houghton Mifflin.

Kid's Click! Web Search
Here's a web search for kids made by librarians.  It has 600+ subjects. Lots of clip art resources.

Kids Hub
Kids Hub is a fun interactive learning center for elementary and middle school students.  It includes educational games, puzzles, quizzes, spelling activities, and subject guides.

Laura Candler's File Cabinet
Here are all sorts of activity sheets and blackline masters. All of them are in PDF format, so you'll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in to view and print the files. Subjects include math, health, science, language arts, social studies, and literary lessons. 

LearningPage.com
The site is a collection of professionally produced instructional material including lesson plans, books, worksheets and much more for you to download and print.

The Library of Congress
It is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, and it serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with more than 120 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include more than 18 million books, 2.5 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.5 million maps, and 54 million manuscripts.  You can access it along with other information here.

The Library Index
Here you'll find a worldwide directory of library homepages, web-based OPACs, Friends of the Library pages, and library e-commerce affiliate links.

Library Spot
Here are listings of libraries, an online reference desk, a reading room, help for writing papers and poetry, a "you asked for it" section, links to addition helpful sites, and lots more.

Libweb
This site currently lists over 6600 pages from libraries in over 115 countries.  You can search by location, library type, name or other information.  Its is updated daily at midnight, Pacific Time.

Merriam-Webster OnLine
Not only is this an online dictionary and thesaurus, but there is a word of the day, word games, a word for the wise, and more.  

Orange County Department of Education: Information Literacy 
Lots of websites and resources including "Ask a Librarian." There are also links for evaluating web site content and plagiarism. 

PBS - Teacher Source
This site has
education's best resources by curricular subject, topic and grade level and standard, in-depth online professional development through PBS TeacherLine, details on PBS station outreach activities in your community, tips on how to effectively teach with technology, PBS television programs with extended taping rights for educators, access to convenient online shopping for your favorite PBS videos, convenient tools for teaching, such as recommended books and Web sites, interdisciplinary teaching suggestions, and a free weekly electronic newsletter highlighting new TV and online programming from PBS.

Scholastic
Teacher resources, online activities, book clubs, book fair info, and more. The teacher resource center has lots of teaching ideas and the online activities include language arts, math, social studies, and science. Also check out the More Projects section where you find more educational information.

Surfing the Net with Kids
This site says it's the guide to the best kid sites for all ages. It has links to lots of websites that Sycamore Academy has not reviewed but it is a great resource.

Study Guide and Strategies
Here you'll find lots of tips for learning, studying test-taking, writing, math, and so much more. Great ideas and you can view the site in 25 languages. Don't worry, English is one of them.

Teaching K-8
This is actually a magazine for teachers but has teaching tips and ideas that you can use with your own children. 

Teachers@Random
Find teachers guides, authors and illustrators, resources, a planning calendar, and more. It even recommends books about holidays in each month.

USGS Facts About Hazards
This webpage lists hazards by theme and has an article about it.  USGS activities in the hazards theme area deal with describing, documenting, and understanding natural hazards and their risks. These activities include long-term monitoring and forecasting, short-term prediction, real-time monitoring and communication with civil authorities and others during a crisis.

WebPlaces.com
Know there is a website for something but can't find it?  This page has lists of other webpages for searches, news, business, computing/tech, software, shopping, topics, internet, multi-searches, yellow pages, newsgroups, international, and specialized.  All of the websites on this page have not been reviewed by Sycamore Academy.

Yahooligans!
Just like the search engine for adults, but is more kid-oriented.  This site has lots of stuff.

Yahooligans! Parents Guide
"Safe surfing" is a family affair. As a parent, it's all about being informed, Internet savvy, and open to the possibilities of the online world for you and your child.  This site will inform you of ways you can keep your kids safe on the Internet.

Return to top 


Science

Adventures of Squirmin' Herman the Worm
Follow Herman through the website to learn the history of worms, how the help us, what they eat, the anatomy, where they live, and how to start your own worm bin. The worm history is from an evolutionist view but the worm information is really good.

Butterflies: On The Wings of Freedom
This site has lots of different sections about butterflies including their life cycle.   There are even lots of games and activities about butterflies.

The Catalyst 
Chemistry resources for the secondary education teacher on the web including links, a teachers’ forum, Q & A, a bulletin board, and more.

Cornell Theory Center Math and Science Gateway 
Links to resources in mathematics and science for educators and students in grades 9-12. Even has a spot to "Ask-an-Expert."  You'll explore information about astronomy, agriculture, biology, chemistry, computers, earth and environmental science, engineering, health and medicine, mathematics, meteorology, physics, and a monthly math or science topic.

DiscoverySchool.com 
Fresh ideas to enhance learning for parents, teachers, and students. Lots of great stuff including a Science Fair Organizer and a Custom Classroom that you create.

Insecta-Inspecta
The world is covered in bugs, so shouldn't you know a little more about them? 
Insects, they're everywhere. They inhabit all the continents, roam your backyard, and are even in the spaces between the walls of your home.  Learn all about them here.

Learn about Earthquakes
Here are the answers to frequently asked questions about earthquakes including aftershocks, Richter scales, damage, and whether animals can detect them or not.

Eisenhower National Clearinghouse 
ENC's mission is to identify effective curriculum resources, create high-quality professional development materials, and disseminate useful information and products to improve K-12 mathematics and science teaching and learning.

Enature.com
If you want to learn about anything in nature, this site is a great resource. You will find sections for wildlife lists, backyard habitats, a nature theater, online field guides, and ask an expert section, bird tips, and lots more.

Explorer 
This is a collection of educational resources including instructional software, lab activities, lesson plans, student created materials, and more. For K-12.

ExploreScience.com
This online community is dedicated to the teaching and learning of Science through online activities.  

Frank Potter’s Science Gems 
Over 14,000 science resources organized by category, subject, and grade level. For high school and above.

Froguts
Want to dissect a frog virtually?  This website will let you explore organisms in an eco-friendly manner.  You can currently dissect a frog, learn the parts of a squid, and examine owl pellet but more demos are coming soon.

Great Plant Escape
Your Mission: Detective LePlant needs your help to solve the mystery of plant life! To solve this case, you must identify the different parts of plants, what each part does, and how plants grow. Good luck!

Mini Beasts
Animals in this category are insects, arthropods, arachnids, worms, and molluscs and this website will teach you all about them.

The National Arbor Day Foundation: Teaching Youth About Trees
If you want to know anything about trees, this is the place.  You'll learn how trees grow, tree biology, tree history and facts, tree products, and trees in literature, song and verse.  You'll even play "Treevial Pursuit" and "Who Want's to be a Treellionaire?"

National Park Foundation
The website will teach you all about national parks and how they are connected to the American people.  There are links to "Plan Your Park Trip," "Kid's Programs," purchase "Parks Pass," and so much more.  You can also tour (virtually, of course) about ten national parks.

National Park Service
Learn why we have national parks. This website has sections that include: Visit Your Parks: Experience America, Links to the Past: Histories, Cultures and Places, Nature Net: Nature and Science in the Parks, Learn NPS: For Teachers and Learners, and Info Zone: Servicewide Information.

National Weather Service Forecast Office
Studying weather? You have to visit this website.  There are calculators to convert temperatures among Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin, wind chill, a heat index, wind speed conversions, relative humidity, pressure, and precipitation. There is other stuff on the website too.

National Weather Service: Lightning Safety
In the United States, an average of 73 people are killed each year by lightning. That's more than the annual number of people killed by tornadoes or hurricanes. Many more are struck but survive. This website will teach you all about lightning, including the risks, why it happens, and how to stay safe.

Plant-Parts Salad
Learn to identify the parts of plants that we eat by building a salad.

ScienceFair.org
Participating in a science fair but don't know where to start? Start here! You'll find helpful hint, project steps, ideas, and more.

Schools of California Online Resources for Education: Science
Contains a kids corner, teacher’s place, science search, ask-a-scientist, science networks, and more.

Science Education Gateway 
A national consortium of scientists, museums, and educators working together to bring the latest science to students teachers and the general public.

ZooBooks
This is a kid-friendly website about animals. You'll find educational games and fascinating information about the animals kids love—just like the monthly magazine.

Return to top 


Social Studies

American Memory 
Historical collections for the National Digital Library. You can search by topic, time period, place or library division.

The American Presidency
Your study of presidents will be much more enriched with this site.  With hands-on activities, you will learn about the many roles of the president, the children who lived in the white house, read letters from children who wrote to previous presidents, create and color a presidential seal, and much more.

Ben's Guide
Benjamin Franklin is your host at this site where you can learn all about our government and our country.  This site provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. 

California Heritage Collection 
An online archive of more than 30,000 images illustrating California's history and culture, from the collections of the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley.

Flights of Inspiration
Learn the stories of Orville and Wilbur Wright and John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown who made the first non-stop transatlantic flight. You'll also design your own aircraft and learn what makes planes fly.

Hillman Wonders of the World
You've heard of the seven wonders of the world, well here are the top 100 wonders of the world?  Each one has a photo and a description.

History with the History Net 
You can search through history archives with topics like 20th Century, African, African-American, American, Ancient/Classical, British, European, Medieval, Military, and Women’s. 

K-12 History on the Internet 
Contains information for education projects, doing research, professional development, general information resources, and more.

Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
The mission of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation is to stimulate public appreciation of the Lewis and Clark Expedition's contributions to America's heritage, and to support education, research, development, and preservation of the Lewis and Clark experience.  You can also visit http://www.lewisandclark200.org/ to find out more about the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial.

The PBS Kids Democracy Project
This fun and educational website teaches kids how the government affects them, shows all about voting and it's history, and lets kids be president for a day. 

NOAA History: A Science Odyssey
Here you will find the stories of many dedicated public servants, the stories of their agencies, and the stories of the development of a major segment of American science.

Orange County Department of Education: History and Social Science 
A constantly evolving portal for standards information, curriculum support, lessons, instructional resources and events.

Presidential Libraries
Here is a list of Presidential Libraries. You can visit them in person or online.

Schools of California Online Resources for Education: History Social Science 
You can find resources and lessons, learn about frameworks, standards, and assessments, take virtual projects and field trips, and more. For Kindergarten through middle school.

Return to top 


Virtual Field Trips

The Cave of Lascaux
If your kids are interested in cave drawings, then they should definitely check out this site. It has pictures from the Cave of Lascaux in France. The site takes a while to load but the pictures of the cave walls are fascinating. They will have fun learning about time and space, the 1940 discovery of the cave, and the 1963 closing of the cave. They can also take a virtual tour. (There are references to evolution).

Windows Into Wonderland
Here is an out-of-this-world adventure in Yellowstone National Park! "Stow away with rangers from the Intergalactic Park Service as they explore Hayden Valley’s unique natural history, vegetation, and wildlife. Hazard a peek at the Yellowstone Hotspot, venture into a volcanic caldera, study the soils, learn about the life forms..."  You have to register first but it's free.

Xcursion Central
Want to take an internet field trip?  You can create and modify a trip or you can just take an online theme-based journey. You can browse for Xcursions by subject or by grade level. The list of topics is extensive.

Return to top 


Writing and Grammar

Children’s Literature Web Guide 
A categorized index of internet resources related to books for children and young adults.

Education Week 
Independent K-12 education insight.

Guide to Grammar and Writing
Levels include word and sentence, paragraph, easy research paper, and peripherals and PowerPoint’s. There is also a section where you can ask grammar questions, take quizzes, and do search. 

The Grammar Lady Website 
Get answers to quick grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other points about language.

National Council of Teachers of English Home Page 
Lots of information, resources, and links for parents and teachers.

The Online Books Page 
18,000+ books online. You can search by authors, titles, subject, serials, and more.

Schools of California Online Resources for Education: Aligned to the California Content Standards 
Literature guides, language arts framework, an activity bank, the phonics link, reading initiative, and more.

Rainy Day Corner Publishing 
Making writing a family affair. Links to new articles, markets, contests and workshops, the Scribble Corner, ideas and writing exercises, writing by young writers, resource for teachers, homeschoolers and parents on how-to teach writing creatively, and more.

Vocabulary.com
Participate in these FREE vocabulary puzzles to enhance vocabulary mastery. Teachers have endorsed this site which enriches classroom curriculum. These exercises help prepare for PSAT/NMSQT*, SSAT*, GED*, SAT* and ACT* tests. They supplement personal vocabulary acquisition and are being used in home-schooling and ESL programs.

Wacky Web Tales
Remember Mad Libs?  This website is full of them.  Your kids will practice using different parts of speech to create "Wacky Web Tales."  Lots of fun.

WritersDigest.com 
Lots of writing contest information and lots of great prizes for the winners.


Sycamore Academy has viewed all of these websites. We have screened them for any objectionable material including pop-up boxes and advertisements. Unfortunately, websites change and there may be some things we have missed. Please let us know if you find anything that should not be supported by Sycamore Academy. Additionally, if you know of any websites that should be added to our list please email us at webmaster@sycamoretree.com.

Return to top