ESL Independent Study Lab -Content Study

Content Study

There are many excellent collections of content-rich sites on the Internet. I've included my favorites on this page, organized by language level. This page can be used by students who want to learn about a particular topic or by teachers who want to use Web resources to supplement classroom lessons. Teachers, click here to see ideas on how to integrate Web resources into your teaching.

Level 100 and up.

EnchantedLearning.com - The content of this site is written at a basic level of English with *lots* of supporting images. Though designed with younger learners in mind, it appeals to all age groups. The content of the site can be accessed via the site index as well as the Little Explorers Picture Dictionary and the Zoom School. Check it out. There is something for everyone!
http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/Home.html

Level 200 and up.

Kid's Click: Web Search for Kids by Librarians - Created by a group of librarians, Kid's Click was seen as a better alternative to filtering software. Rather than screen out "bad" sites, the librarians wanted to provide kids with "good" sites. Kid's Click is a searchable directory divided into 15 categories. Every entry is rated for reading level and amount of illustration, which is *very* useful for determining use with ESL students with varying language ability.
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/

Level 200 and up.

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - Continually updated sites categorized by topic, e.g. arts/lit., business, education, health, history, holidays, humor, math, news, etc. Aimed at K-12 but lots of excellent resources useful for ESL/EFL. Pay special attention to Schrock's "Content-rich sites." You can also sign up to receive Kathy's Site of the School Days (S.O.S) in which she highlights a site in a weekly email.
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/

Level 200 and up.

ReadWriteThink: Student Materials - great collection of Flash-based, interactive activities target literacy skills for all grades; you can supplement your own lessons with the tool or use one of the included ideas. Also don't miss their very comprehensive Web Resources Gallery. One final thought: the Lesson Index provides everything you need to put the great Web resources into practice ASAP!
http://readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp

Level 300 and up.

Blue Web'n - A searchable database of outstanding Internet learning sites categorized by subject area, audience, and type (contains lessons, activities, projects, resources, references, & tools). Blue Web'n does not attempt to catalog all educational sites, but only the most useful sites -- especially online activities targeted at learners. You can subscribe to the Blue Web'n Update listserv and receive weekly notification of sites added to the Blue Web'n Database. Well worth it! To subscribe, use the online form at http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/ OR send an e-mail message to listserver@pacbell.com with "subscribe bluewebn" in the body of the message.

Level 300 and up.

Thinkfinity - This is a shining example of an Internet resource that will enhance teaching and learning. A comprehensive site, Thinkfinity is multidimensional. There are Web resources and lesson plans, based on national content standards, in the areas of economics, geography, humanities, mathematics, science and the arts (links on right side of page). There is also a flexible search engine (Thinkfinity Search) at the top of the page, allowing searches by content and grade level. Thinkfinity offers training to teachers on incorporating the Internet into teaching, with extensive materials available for download. All this is provided free of charge at
http://www.thinkfinity.org/home.aspx

Level 300 and up.

Multnomah County Library Homework Center - Over 4,000 sites were especially selected for Multnomah County students. The resources are pitched at the middle to high school level. Site is updated constantly. Excellent job by this library based in my home town of Portland, Oregon!
http://www.multcolib.org/homework/

Level 300 and up.

Topics of Interest (John McVicker - Ohio University) - Over 60 "pages" organized around themes from "Abortion" to "Weather Science". All pages have useful links and you can use them as starters for your research paper or other writing assignments. Pages which are marked "Our page" include definitions, background links, pro and con links, newsgroup links, Internet searches, electronic discussion links and more.
http://www.ohiou.edu/esl/project/index.html

Review by Hassan Abouabdelkader, Morocco

Do you want more?
See many more content-rich websites and sites designed for ESL/EFL learners. There is enough here to keep you busy for a very long time! Here is a page of high quality content specifically for younger learners.

Return to top.

Return to ESL Independent Study Lab.

AES, Academic English Studies, Lewis & Clark College
Michael Krauss Home Page

Created by: krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 1/14/07

Level 100 and up.	EnchantedLearning.com - The content of this site is written at a basic level of English with lots of supporting images. Though designed with younger learners in mind, it appeals to all age groups. The content of the site can be accessed via the site index as well as the Little Explorers Picture Dictionary and the Zoom School. Check it out. There is something for everyone! http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/Home.html

Level 200 and up.	Kid's Click: Web Search for Kids by Librarians - Created by a group of librarians, Kid's Click was seen as a better alternative to filtering software. Rather than screen out "bad" sites, the librarians wanted to provide kids with "good" sites. Kid's Click is a searchable directory divided into 15 categories. Every entry is rated for reading level and amount of illustration, which is very useful for determining use with ESL students with varying language ability. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/

Level 200 and up.	Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - Continually updated sites categorized by topic, e.g. arts/lit., business, education, health, history, holidays, humor, math, news, etc. Aimed at K-12 but lots of excellent resources useful for ESL/EFL. Pay special attention to Schrock's "Content-rich sites." You can also sign up to receive Kathy's Site of the School Days (S.O.S) in which she highlights a site in a weekly email. http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/

Level 200 and up.	ReadWriteThink: Student Materials - great collection of Flash-based, interactive activities target literacy skills for all grades; you can supplement your own lessons with the tool or use one of the included ideas. Also don't miss their very comprehensive Web Resources Gallery. One final thought: the Lesson Index provides everything you need to put the great Web resources into practice ASAP! http://readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp

Level 300 and up.	Blue Web'n - A searchable database of outstanding Internet learning sites categorized by subject area, audience, and type (contains lessons, activities, projects, resources, references, & tools). Blue Web'n does not attempt to catalog all educational sites, but only the most useful sites -- especially online activities targeted at learners. You can subscribe to the Blue Web'n Update listserv and receive weekly notification of sites added to the Blue Web'n Database. Well worth it! To subscribe, use the online form at http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/ OR send an e-mail message to listserver@pacbell.com with "subscribe bluewebn" in the body of the message.

Level 300 and up.	Thinkfinity - This is a shining example of an Internet resource that will enhance teaching and learning. A comprehensive site, Thinkfinity is multidimensional. There are Web resources and lesson plans, based on national content standards, in the areas of economics, geography, humanities, mathematics, science and the arts (links on right side of page). There is also a flexible search engine (Thinkfinity Search) at the top of the page, allowing searches by content and grade level. Thinkfinity offers training to teachers on incorporating the Internet into teaching, with extensive materials available for download. All this is provided free of charge at http://www.thinkfinity.org/home.aspx

Level 300 and up.	Multnomah County Library Homework Center - Over 4,000 sites were especially selected for Multnomah County students. The resources are pitched at the middle to high school level. Site is updated constantly. Excellent job by this library based in my home town of Portland, Oregon! http://www.multcolib.org/homework/

Level 300 and up.	Topics of Interest (John McVicker - Ohio University) - Over 60 "pages" organized around themes from "Abortion" to "Weather Science". All pages have useful links and you can use them as starters for your research paper or other writing assignments. Pages which are marked "Our page" include definitions, background links, pro and con links, newsgroup links, Internet searches, electronic discussion links and more. http://www.ohiou.edu/esl/project/index.html Review by Hassan Abouabdelkader, Morocco

Do you want more?	See many more content-rich websites and sites designed for ESL/EFL learners. There is enough here to keep you busy for a very long time! Here is a page of high quality content specifically for younger learners.

Return to top.