Now that summer is in full swing, it gives me time to reflect on all the great, free, Internet resources available to teachers. The lazy days of summer are the perfect time to browse the possibilities before the hectic days of school begin again. Sites for Teachers has a wealth of free resources organized by popularity as does Internet 4 Classrooms.

Elementary school teachers can find lots of pictures, signs, labels and flash cards for their classrooms at SparkleBox. Light up your Brain has audio stories for listening centers and lots of educational games. Storynory, Book Adventure, and Children’s Books Online also offer a great resource for online stories. Interested in writing and publishing your students work? Kid Space, Kids on the Net, and BAB Books all offer reading and writing opportunities on the web. Educational games abound at FunBrain, PBS Kid’s Island (en espanol), and Gamequarian.

Older students will enjoy Young Writer’s Resources, Best Websites for Kid’s Poems, and Big Dog’s Grammar (en espanol) to sharpen their reading and writing skills. Kidlitosphere is your window into the latest “hot” reads in children’s and young adult literature. Interested in blogging with your students this year? Classpress offers free classroom blogging for teachers in a private classroom environment. Web Tools 4 U to Use links teachers to a variety of free web 2.0 tools which include blogging, photo-sharing, drawing, mapping, and management tools. My latest favorite is Prezi, an alternative to powerpoint presentations. Wondering how this Internet fun might fit into your curriculum? Check out the activities on our Summer Reading ning. So click, wander, play, and maybe even save some of the links to enliven your lesson plans.