Five Websites Every Teacher Should Know (and a few extras!)
Many of the websites I recommend come from one place. The resource is a site called www.4teachers.org and it is the home base for many of the sites on this page. They have collected a number of great websites for teachers – each one serves a different function.
Check them each out and use the ones that fit your style.
Quizstar http://quizstar.4teachers.org/
Quizstar is a site that allows you to make online quizzes for students. What a great way to individualize the pacing of your class!
The online tool allows you to:
- Access QuizStar from work or home
- Create quizzes for students to take and review online
- Utilize the robust Report Management tools
- Create multi-lingual quizzes
Although I may not use Quizstar for my final exam because security is a bit loose, it makes for a great tool to assess student progress and review learning.
Quizstar is not the only online quiz tool out there, but my feedback from hundreds of teachers tells me it is the best.
Trackstar http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/
Trackstar revolutionized the way I used the internet in the classroom. I used to have a hard time sending students to a website to do research unless the site name was very simple. If the website address was too difficult, I knew they would make a typing mistake and it would all go downhill in a hurry.
Trackstar changes everything. With Trackstar you can send your students through a series of websites in the order you want them to view the sites. In addition to that, you get to annotate each site with your own comments!
Trackstar is easy to use – don’t be afraid. If you are not going to make your own “Track” you can also go to the site and search other teacher’s tracks. The chances are very good someone has already made a track with a bunch of great websites on the topics you are teaching. You can search their database of tracks by subject, grade level, or keyword.
This is a great website that truly can change the way you teach!

Web Worksheet Wizard http://wizard.hprtec.org/
The Web Worksheet Wizard is the perfect tool for those of us who will never become computer programmers! In as few as five minutes you can have your own web page up on the internet!
Why would you want to do this?
It is a great way to introduce a new topic to your students
It is a great way to organize a project
It is a great way to organize resource websites like a dictionary, thesaurus, etc.
There are literally thousands of uses – and it is so easy! Just pick a title, add some text, choose a picture, and add some links to other websites if you wish. Done!
Like Trackstar, if you do not want to make your own web page, you can search existing web pages. You can search their database by subject, grade level, or keyword. You are almost sure to find a page about your next unit, next novel, next holiday – you name it!
Project Poster http://poster.hprtec.org/
Everyone who goes to the Web Page Wizard thinks that it would be great for students to use – but they are not allowed to use it. Instead, the Project Poster site has been created for students to use.
Much like Web Page Wizard (but for kids) it is an easy way to put a web page up in about five minutes.
In many of my Differentiation recommendations I speak of giving students multiple ways to complete assignments. I always include power point presentations and web pages as ways students love to complete assignments.
Kids love this stuff – and they will work for hours to create a good web page. Make it easy using this fun and student-friendly website!

Rubistar http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
Rubistar is the first of two websites I will tell you about on this page. Both sites have the power to change the way you evaluate student learning.
Everyone knows they should use rubrics. The reason most teachers don’t use them more often is that they take a long time to create and to be used correctly you should have them completed and give them to the student before you give the assignment!
Well, this site makes creating rubrics easy and FAST! Plus it is filled with great ideas on evaluating different types of student work.
Rubistar lets you choose the type of student work from a list that includes Oral Projects,
Research, Writing, Reading, Math, Art and many others. Then you choose the categories to evaluate and in minutes you are printing out a completed rubric.
There a no longer any excuses not to use rubrics! (Unless your computer is broken!)
PBL Checklists http://pblchecklist.4teachers.org/
The second of the two student evaluation sites is similar to Rubistar, but with checklists instead of rubrics.
You pick the subject, you pick the type of work, and you pick the categories in which you wish to evaluate student work. The Checklist maker creates a ready-to-print checklist of items to evaluate.
A typical checklist for third grade punctuation might look like this:
I use a period at the end of each sentence.
I use a question mark at the end of each question.
I use an exclamation mark at the end of an exclamation.
I use commas between words in a list.
I use quotation marks in dialogue.
I use apostrophes in contractions and possessives.
These checklists will move you from a teacher who grades student work to a teacher who gives feedback on how to improve. I have students staple a checklist on top of any writing assignment and fill it out before they hand it in. The quality of student work goes up almost immediately because students begin finding and correcting their own mistakes.
On big assignments, I have the students evaluate themselves and have a friend fill out a checklist as well. Utilizing peer evaluation just became easier because of this website.
Using the two websites on this page can change the way you give feedback for students. If you check out only two sites from this chapter of the book, make it these two.

Global School House http://www.gsh.org/
This site allows you to participate in projects with other classes and schools around the country.
If you are not creative with projects, go here and browse other teachers’ projects that they would like you to participate in.
If you are creative with project, this site will allow you to gather participants from around the country. For instance, if you wanted to have your students work with other students from
20 different states to check the weather around the country, you could find the other classes to participate at this site.
A great way to find big and exciting projects for your students.
Kidlink http://www.kidlink.org/
One of the most popular uses of internet networking is connecting children internationally.
More than just electronic penpals, children enter carefully designed discussions on current events, culture, geography and personal interests, among other topics. These services are often free - the only investment required is access to a networked computer.
One of the best sites for doing this sort of activity is Kidlink. Safe, secure, and popular – if you want to expand your students’ horizons, Kidlink is the place to do it.