Web Links for Catholic Students, Parents, Teachers and Catechists

For Students For Parents and Guardians For Teachers and Catechists

For Students

ALFY - The Web Portal for Kids
www.alfy.com/
ALFY, the largest web portal for kids, was developed so that for the first time ever 3-9 year olds could safely and easily experience everything the cyber world has to offer. ALFY is a fun, accessible, educational center stocked with interactive stories, games, crafts, activities, and much more. Designed with the guidance of an Advisory Board of world-leading psychologists and educators, ALFY is revolutionizing the way kids learn and play online.

BrainPOPS
www.brainpop.com
BrainPOP.com, LLC, formerly a division of Kadmed, LLC, has developed a health, science and technology (HS&T) website oriented towards the needs of young people. The site features a wide variety of animated movies with a cast of dynamic characters that make it fun for young people to learn about HS&T.

Educational Web Adventures
www.eduweb.com/index2.html
At Educational Web Adventures LLP (Eduweb®), we believe learning should be a journey of exploration and discovery—an adventure. To achieve this goal, we develop interactive Web sites, learning modules, and Web adventures that bring your content to life on the World Wide Web.

Electronic Library
www.elibrary.com
eLibrary Tracker will search our database for new articles on your favorite topics, and deliver the headlines to your email address FOR FREE.

ePlay
www.eplay.com
Don't let the name fool you - ePlay is home to some serious homework - help tools. Kids can explore the featured activities by grade (3 to 6) or browse topics in the World Almanac for Kids 2000.

Encyclopedia Britannica
www.britannica.com
Britannica.com is a free knowledge and learning center for people who seek thoughtful and engaging context to today's affairs. Only Britannica.com lets users simultaneously search the world's most respected encyclopedia, expert reviews of the Web's best sites, timely articles from leading magazines, and related books. Special interactive features extend these resources to create a distinctive, authoritative Internet destination.

Family Education Network
www.familyeducation.com
Family Education Network has at its core one of the most valuable missions in society: the success of our next generation. We use technology -- specifically the Internet -- to bring together a caring community of parents, teachers, school administrators, and professionals whose expertise involves children. We've forged public/private partnerships that bring a uniquely powerful mix of resources to our audience. With this community, we form a supportive, helpful network of people dedicated to children's learning in school and in life.

Kid's Castle
www.kidscastle.si.edu
Smithsonian magazine created this interesting site for kids ages 8 to 16. Topics include Air and Space, History, Personalities, and Sports.

The Kid's Domain
www.kidsdomain.com/kids.html
Join the KD-Kids to read the latest about what's new on the Kid's Domain. Find out all about the latest games, downloads and activities.

Scholastic News Research Zone
www.scholastic.com/kids/index.htm
Scholastic is a global children’s publishing and media company in both education and entertainment. Scholastic’s 78 year reputation for quality, learning and fun is based on a long-term relationship with teachers, parents and children, and its unique ability to understand what kids want and need for their education and entertainment. 

Yahooligans
www.yahoo.com/r/yg
Yahooligans! is a browsable, searchable directory of Internet sites for kids. Each site has been carefully checked by an experienced educator to ensure the content and links are appropriate for kids aged 7-12. In addition to our directory, we also have a number of fun features, including a Hypersite, a Joke of the Day, a Cool page, and lots more.

Zeeks.com
www.zeeks.com
ZeekFactory, kids can use pictures, sounds, and text to create their own multimedia projects. Zeeks.com also lets youngsters play games, make their own calendars, and sign up for free e-mail.

For Parents and Guardians

Kid's Domain Grownups Place
www.kidsdomain.com/grown.html
We're glad if you stop by. Kid's Domain is a kid oriented site, with fun stuff for kids to make, do and see. Kids, parents, caregivers and educators will all find items of interest here.

Office of Catholic Education
http://schools.archdiocese-chgo.org/ 
The Office of Catholic Education exists to enable schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago to be Catholic, excellent and vital.  
This Web Site contains news, resources, links and information to serve the schools and their communities. 

Scholastic Parent Zone
www.scholastic.com/parents/index.htm
For more than 77 years, Scholastic has introduced young people to the joys of reading, while creating quality materials designed to enlarge their understanding of the world.  Scholastic is one of the leading publishers and distributors of children's books in English; publishes classroom and professional magazines, core curriculum materials and educational software; and also produces family-oriented video and television programming.

For Teachers and Catechists

Catechist Formation Program
http://www.udayton.edu/~catechis/
The Catechist Formation Program may be unlike any educational program you may have encountered. Based on adult learning models, the Catechist Formation Program employs study circles gathered around a selected learning facilitator who helps guide the group through their learning experience. Unlike traditional classroom models, the facilitator is not the "teacher" for the course. Instead, each member of the study circle brings his or her experience and gifts to the learning environment, providing an enriching and mutually beneficial learning opportunity for all members of the learning circle. The facilitator helps to guide the learning circle toward its goals, helping to keep it on the right track.

Catechist Magazine
http://www.Catechist.com
Catechist has been the leading magazine for religious educators for over 30 years. Published seven times per year by the Peter Li Education Group, more than 50,000 religious educators across the United States and Canada subscribe to Catechist with a total readership of over 185,000.
Each issue of Catechist features articles for catechists, DREs, and religion teachers working with preschoolers through adults.

Catholic Educator’s Resource Center
http://www.catholiceducation.org/
The Catholic Educator’s Resource Center provides an internet library of journal articles, essays, book excerpts, and other texts chosen for their objective, concise, and clear presentation of Catholic teachings, history, and culture. We are also in the process of developing lesson plans which will communicate the beauty and truth of Catholic social and moral teaching, and provide a fair representation of the history and contribution of Catholic faith and culture to world civilization. Any of these materials may be downloaded and copied for use in the classroom as supplementary reading materials for the students or used simply as background by the teacher wishing to be better informed.

Catholic Links.org
http://www.catholiclinks.org/
Catholiclinks.org (catolicos.org) emerges as one more painstaking declaration on the part of Christians from all over the world to bear witness to all of mankind the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Faithful to the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church, Catolicos.org has been using since 1997, all viable means (in this case the Web) to swiftly inform those who are interested all that pertains to Catholicism.

Chicago Office of Catholic Education
http://schools.archdiocese-chgo.org/
The Office of Catholic Education exists to enable schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago to be Catholic, excellent and vital. This Web Site contains news, resources, links and information to serve the schools and their communities.

Chicago Office Of Catechesis
http://www.catechesis-chicago.org/
The Office for Catechesis is the representative body through which the Archbishop directs the catechetical activities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. We serve the catechetical leaders in vicariates, deaneries, clusters, families and other Archdiocesan agencies.  Our mission is to provide advocacy, leadership and vision for the catechetical ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and Other Clearinghouses
www.ed.gov/EdRes/EdFed/ERIC.html
The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), funded by OERI, is a nationwide information network that acquires, catalogs, summarizes, and provides access to education information from all sources. The data base and ERIC document collections are housed in about 3,000 locations worldwide, including most major public and university library systems. 

Educating.Net
www.educating.net/
Educating.net is the only education portal that offers complete opportunities for training in all areas of life. Educating.net is unique in all of the Internet because we use real human intelligence to seek out websites, visit them, write a concise summary of the site, then categorize and add it– but only if the site meets our high standards. No computer search engine can match the quality, accuracy, and completeness of our education portal.

Illinois State Board of Education
www.isbe.state.il.us/
This is the official website of the ISBE. It includes a wealth of information about the state school system including the Illinois Learning Standards, ISAT & PSAE Assessments, Professional Preparation, Certification and Certificate Renewal, Right 2 Reading Initiatives, Current News and Events, State and Federal Legislation and Financial Resources.

How Stuff Works
www.howstuffworks.com
This how-it-works collection has ageless appeal, but curious teens in particular are sure to be fascinated by dozens of articles explaining the inner workings of such things as telephones, CD, and human cells.

National Center for Pastoral Leadership
http://www.ncpl.com/
We're an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the growth and quality of leadership in the Catholic Church.
Our mission and services are shaped by the outcomes of a two-year collaboration with 500 Church leaders throughout the US. They assessed the current situation in ministry -- our strengths and our weaknesses -- and faced the critical issues that need addressing.
And they formed a compelling and compassionate Vision for Ministry that is: Faith-Based, Inclusive, Collegial, Outwardly-Directed, Communal and Empowering. As you explore our Website, you'll see how we're developing resources to support your ministry today with this vision as a guide for our future.

National Geographic.com
magma.nationalgeographic.com/education/index.cfm
National Geographic's website for teachers, with lesson plans, online activities, and our complete catalog of products for your classroom.

Teacher's Desk - The Ultimate Resource Center
http://www.teachersdesk.com/ 
Teacher's Desk is the educational resource area for lesson plans, educational links, discussion groups, jobs, educational news, and an abundant source of most everything for educators.

Scholastic News Zone
teacher.scholastic.com/newszone/index.asp
Scholastic is one of the leading publishers and distributors of children's books in English; publishes classroom and professional magazines, core curriculum materials and educational software; and also produces family-oriented video and television programming.

U.S. Department of Education
www.ed.gov/
The U.S. Department of Education's (ED) mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence for all Americans. ED's web site provides information about the Department's offices, programs, information and assistance services, funding opportunities, education statistics, publications, and education initiatives of the President and Secretary Richard W. Riley."

Ask ERIC
ericir.syr.edu
Ask ERIC is the card catalog of the Internet--a listing of thousands of educational articles as well as lesson plans from CNN, NASA, and PBS to name a few. A brief summary is given as well as information on how to get the entire text either electronically or through a local library. You can search the database for grant information, lesson plans, journal articles, and much more. You can also ask questions via e-mail and get free help from ERIC experts.


K-12 Resources for Teachers and Students
www.cnidr.org/k12.html
This hub site provides searching mechanisms and links to selected Web sites for educators.

Teacher's Edition Online
www.teachnet.com
This online weekly newsletter offers education news and lesson plans that include objectives, resources needed, and teacher preparation descriptions. It also has micro activities for the classroom day and practical tips on everything from classroom decor to getting organized.