The Youth Services staff has selected the following resources especially for educators to assist with curriculum development, lesson planning, and classroom challenges.
To browse and visit the kid-friendly Internet resources that Library staff has selected for students, check out Homework Help in the Kids section of our website. Many of the "especially for kids" websites that we've selected for students include helpful resources for teachers, too!
If you're new to the Internet and would like to learn what it's all about, visit Back to School: The Electronic Library Classroom 101 for an online tutorial and lessons designed especially for librarians and other researchers.
For more information about Skokie Public Library’s Youth Services resources, contact Susan Heist Carlton at 847.324.3144 or by .
Please note: The Youth Services staff makes every effort to select websites that are suitable for children; however, the Library has no control over individual website content, sponsors, or advertisements. We encourage parents to explore and enjoy these websites with their children.
Web resource 
Available with Skokie Public Library card 
Available in Library only
Library Resources for Teachers
Resources and Tools
for Teachers from Skokie Public Library
Follow these links to helpful Youth Services tools for teachers including the Teachers Guide, Skokie School Connection newsletter, Assignment Alert, Come On In!, and information about services especially for teachers and classrooms.
Skokie Public Library General Information
Learn all there is to know about the Library: address, contact information, loan policies and services, driving directions, and more.
Lesson Plans... and More!
Apple Learning Interchange: Teaching & Learning
This collection of educational exhibits showcases lessons, standards, and student work from classrooms across the country. Many of the exhibits explain how teachers incorporated into the assignments the use of computers, Internet resources, website design, and technology.
Assignment Calculator
Use the Assignment Calculator to create a timeline for planning a student project. Enter the date that the assignment is due and the Assignment Calculator will tell you when students should begin working on the different parts of the project: selecting a topic; writing the thesis statement; finding and evaluating books, magazines, and websites; writing the outline and first draft, etc. The website also includes links to information about citing sources, proofreading, writing style, and more!
The Educators Network
This collection of online resources and tools for teachers includes lessons, worksheets, theme units, rubrics, and more.
The Educator's Reference
Desk
The Educator's Reference Desk provides a search interface to the ERIC Database. Get connected with AskERIC's lesson plans, links to online education information, question archive responses, and more than one million bibliographic records on educational research, theory, and practice.
National Geographic Education Guide
From the folks who bring you National Geographic magazine, this online teacher's helper is jam packed with activities, maps, geography resources, lesson plans, history activities, and much more!
netTrekker
netTrekker is a special search engine geared for students from kindergarten through high school. It searches over 180,000 educational websites to find information, and includes interactive timelines and a "Famous Person Search." For teachers, lesson plans and state-specific learning standards are also available.
NOVA
Teachers
A collection of online teaching resources designed to work in partnership with the PBS science documentary series NOVA. The site includes a teacher's guide organized by program title and subject, viewing ideas, classroom activities, ideas from other teachers, and interactive activities for students.
Science NetLinks
This website provides free online science resources for teachers of grades kindergarten through twelve. Content is updated often and includes lesson plans and prescreened Internet resources.
Teachnet.com
Billed as "smart tools for busy teachers," this large collection of lesson plans, power tools, and classroom resources includes downloadables, a sharing space, and "The Teacher's Pit" daily comic strip especially for teachers.
Classroom Resources
Beginning
Teachers Tool Box
This website is designed especially for new teachers. Resources include a Survival Kit for new teachers, classroom and professional resources, a support community, and more.
CongressLink Classroom Resources
This resource from the Dirksen Congressional Center offers lesson plans, Internet activities, online historical materials, and information to help teachers teach about the federal government. A Congress for Kids page is available to teach students about the federal government and its functions.
DiscoverySchool's
Puzzlemaker
Make your own puzzles with Puzzlemaker! Try crosswords, mazes, word search, letter tiles, math puzzles, and more. Puzzles may be printed from the website or copied and pasted into Microsoft Word.
Great Web Sites: Sites for Parents, Caregivers, Teachers & Others
From the Association for Library Service to Children, this website was developed as a guide to some great websites for kids, parents, educators, and caregivers.
Dr. LeBeau's HomePage
Developed by a teacher, this easy-to-use Web directory for "teachers, students and curious adults" is filled with links to websites in many school subjects and areas of professional development.
NASA Quest
This website is especially for educators, kids, and space enthusiasts who are interested in learning about the national space program. Resources include profiles of NASA experts and a peek into their workdays, lesson plans, student activities, live interaction with NASA professionals, a question and answer service, and lots more.
PBS
TeacherSource
This collection of more than 3,500 lesson plans and activities was developed by the Public Broadcasting System and trained educators to help meet the classroom needs of preK-12 educators. The site includes curricular resources arranged by subject, topic, and grade level; tips on how to effectively teach with technology; a guide to PBS television programs with extended taping rights for educators; tips and ideas from other teachers; interdisciplinary teaching suggestions; and much more.
Postcards
From America
Follow along with Priscilla, a former history teacher, and Ken, a photographer, as they travel America in "Harvey the RV." Each week, the couple sends two "Live-at-the-Scene" postcards that can be used to teach American geography in the classroom. The site includes a diary of their travels, a postcard gallery, and a Governor's Page that includes greetings from several state governors.
Quiz Hub
Online Learning Activities
Especially for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, these online quizzes and puzzles are designed to help students master vocabulary, math, science, social studies, and English language skills. The underlined puzzles are free; all others require a paid subscription.
Resources for Educators
This web index is filled with Internet resources for educators: staff development courses, projects and lesson plans in all school subjects, "global community" links, and more.
Scholastic Teachers
Scholastic, Inc.'s website for teachers includes all kinds of classroom and teaching resources: ready-to-go lesson plans and activities, timesavers, professional support, and more. A Teacher Store and product information is also available.
TeachersFirst.com
This collection of lessons and web resources for K-12 classroom teachers is arranged by subject area and grade level. The site includes original content, Internet resources, and lesson plans from around the world.
T.H.E. Journal: Educators Road Map to the Web
From Technological Horizons for Education, this web directory will help you find your way to all kinds of Web resources in several subjects including arts and humanities, special education, guidance and psychology, history, math, science, and technology.
United States Department of Education: Just for Teachers
This web index features a wealth of information for today’s teachers and the teachers of tomorrow on topics such as professional development, how to find teaching jobs, lesson ideas for improving student performance, bilingual education, parent involvement, education reform, and more. The site also includes information about the No Child Left Behind Initiative of 2001.
Character Education
Character Counts!
"CHARACTER COUNTS! is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian coalition of schools, communities, and nonprofit organizations working to advance character education by teaching the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship." Resources include news, ideas, lesson plans, and articles.
Character Education: Creating a Framework for Excellence
The University of Illinois Urban Programs Resource Network Character Education program is one of many programs available for Illinois residents, families, and communities. Resources on this site include an overview of character education, an online brochure called "Teaching Kids to Care," and a collection of classroom activities.
Character Education Sites on the World Wide Web
The University of Illinois Urban Programs Resource Network maintains this comprehensive directory of Internet links to character education websites. Selected links include resources for teachers and schools on topics such as peacemaking, cultural respect and understanding, environment, wisdom, and more.
Educating for Peace: Classroom Resources
This Resource Guide for schools helps to connect teachers with classroom materials designed "to help build a peaceful, just, and sustainable world" for all children. Topics include conflict resolution, rights and responsibilities, world issues, special days, and more. All resources are listed with a description of the resource, the appropriate grade level, the supplier, and the cost of the resource (where applicable). The site also includes links to other web resources.
Precious Children: Diversity in the Classroom
Brought to you by the Public Broadcasting System, this collection of articles, activities, and related readings is designed to help educators (and all grown-ups) teach children a greater awareness of racial and culture diversity.
The Random
Acts of Kindness Foundation: Get Started in Your Classroom
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation was established in 1995 to inspire and facilitate kindness throughout the world. Their education resources include free ideas, information, and lesson plans to help teachers encourage kindness in the classroom. RAK also includes links to other "kind" website.
Teaching
Tolerance
Teaching Tolerance provides resources to help K-12 teachers and other educators to promote respect for differences and appreciation of diversity. The site includes downloadable teaching materials, web links, current events, a newsletter, and more. Free teaching materials are available to assist with developing anti-bias classroom activities.
Reading Resources
African Children's Literature
From the Africana Collection at the University of Florida's George A. Smathers Libraries, this website was developed to help scholars (and others) find resources for learning and teaching about African children's literature. Available information includes brief author biographies, booklists of their published stories, and links to related resources.
Big Universe: A World of Online Children's Books
This online community invites kids, parents, teachers, publishers, authors, illustrators, librarians, and others to explore the exciting world of online children's books. The site includes hundreds of fiction and non-fiction children's books for online reading, a self-publishing tool to create and publish children's books, blogs, and an online shopping mall for children's books.
Recommended by Publisher's Weekly Children's Bookshelf and Louise in Youth Services!
BookMuse Kids' Corner
The Kids' Corner of the BookMuse website offers book reviews, discussion questions, book group tips, reading group guides, book lists, author interviews, and literary criticism for children's literature.
Carol Hurst's
Children's Literature Site
This website is filled with reviews and ideas for bringing children's literature into the classroom. Resources include book reviews, subject-specific activities, lesson plans, curriculum areas, themes, and professional topics.
Children's Literature - Resources for Teachers
This page from the Children's Literature Web Guide is filled with children's literature classroom resources, lesson plans, activities, teaching ideas, and more.
Children's Literature Comprehensive Database
Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) contains an extensive array of information about children's books, video and audio recordings, film strips, and other children-focused media. The database contains more than 130,000 critical reviews of thousands of children's books, ranging from the earliest baby board books to novels and nonfiction for young adults, and an average of more than 1,500 new reviews are added to the database monthly.
CoolKids Collection from Skokie Public Library
Find out what books (and more!) the Youth Services staff is recommending for kids of all ages! We've arranged our favorites so that you can browse by title, author, illustrator, genre, awards, reading level, and material type.
Database of Award-Winning
Children's Literature
Use this database to create a tailored list of quality children's books based on various criteria such as ethnicity, gender, period, location, and more. The database also includes lists of forty-nine children's literature awards and their winners.
Heartland Story League Links
The mission of Heartland Story League is to "promote the love and joy of storytelling." Browse their online directory of links to connect with all kinds of websites that celebrate reading and storytelling.
Multnomah County Library Book Discussion Guides
This huge collection of book discussion guides includes titles from children's authors such as Lemony Snicket, Avi, Richard Peck, E.L. Konigsburg, J.K. Rowling, and many more. Each book discussion guide includes a brief summary of the book, page count, grade level, suggested discussion topics, and links to related resources.
NoveList K-8
NoveList K-8 is a guide to fiction especially for children from kindergarten through 8th grade. Find favorite authors, book titles, or series, or find something new by searching for similar authors, subjects, or award-winning titles. For the classroom, NoveList K-8 offers reading resources, thematic units, booktalks, picture book extenders, and more.
PlanetEsmé.com: A
Wonderful World of Children's Literature
This website is a treasure trove for teachers, librarians, homeschoolers, parents, and anyone who enjoys reading. Find ideas for themes, storytimes, and special programs; reading recommendations; links to related websites, and a "Teacher Feature." Developed by Esmé Raji Codell, author of Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year.
The SurLaLune
Fairy Tales Site
This "portal to the realm of fairy tale and folklore studies" features annotated fairy tales, information about their histories, similarities with other tales, alternate tales, illustrations, artwork, a discussion board and archives, and more.
TeachingBooks.net
TeachingBooks.net offers easy access to audio excerpts of book readings by authors and professional actors; book discussion guides; original movies featuring authors and illustrators at work in their studios; and links to author websites, biographies, activities, and contact information. An "Educator Area" provides thematic booklists, information about children's book awards, and links to related resources in twenty-five categories. The TeachingBooks.net content is divided equally between elementary school-aged content and middle/high school-aged content.
TumbleBook™ Library
A collection of animated, talking picture books, puzzles, and quizzes adapted from existing picture books. Choose from story books, "readables," life stories, puzzles and games, and language learning.
UNDER the COVER: Book Reviews by Teens from Skokie Public Library and Old Orchard Junior High School NEW ISSUE RELEASED FEBRUARY 2008!
Book reviews written by teens at Old Orchard Junior High School. These students were chosen by their teachers to read and write about new books that are hot off the press.
Special Education Resources
Come
On In!
The Library is a special place for children with disabilities! Specialized services, programs, resources, and a variety of stimulating activities are available at the Library for children with disabilities and the educators who care for them.
Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
This is the online home of the Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs, which is dedicated to "improving results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities." Resources include information about programs and projects, grants and funding, legislation and policy, research, and much more.
ParentPals.com: Special Education Guide
This website offers support for special needs children with more than one thousand links to special education resources on the Web. Professionals and parents are invited to share information in an online "community" format.
SERI Parents &
Educator's Resources
This directory of special education resources on the Web includes links to help educators and parents provide support for their special needs students and children. Topics include lesson ideas, educational resources by area, parents helping parents, sibling support, and much more. The site's home page includes links to additional information and resources.
Special Education Services from the Illinois State Board of Education
Information and resources to help educators and parents learn about the state and federal requirements for services to students with specialized educational needs. Includes news, downloadable pamphlets, and information about complaint investigation, mediation, and due process.
