I’m always on the lookout for web sites that offer free educational resources, so I was delighted to find a web site that enables you to make a scale model pyramid. If you are doing a project on Egypt, you’ll love this site! It has a printable full-color template and step-by-step instructions to assemble the four sheets into a remarkably realistic small pyramid. Bonus: Two printable sheets of stone patterns to make more models!

I’m always on the lookout for new ways to use digital photos. Recently I’ve been experimenting with making them into jigsaw puzzles. The results are many different puzzle making options, including templates in IntelliTools Classroom Suite and HyperStudio 5 formats, PDF Puzzle Patterns for off computer puzzles, and a links to pages where you can make online puzzles, all using your photos.

I’ve just posted finished jigsaw puzzles in four different formats that complement three of the activity sets,Petting Farm, Little Toot, and Tide Pools. You’ll find links on this page to download all the puzzles I’ve done so far. In some cases, the puzzles and the other parts of an activity set are all in one download. In other cases, you can download just the puzzles from a unit. You’ll also find links to all seven online puzzles. After seeing all these puzzles, you’ll want to make some, too!

Visiting A Petting Farm takes students on a virtual exploration. They can go to see all the animals on the farm in whatever order they wish. They also have a chance to feed and pet the animals, and when they do, they hear the sound the animal makes. When they decide to leave, students hear all the animals sound off together to bid them goodbye. Bonus: Puzzles and Photo collection!

I’ve found a web site that is a treasure trove of free online activities in areas across the entire curriculum. Actually, the link you see at the foot of this page leads to an index of Jo Edkins’ many separate educational pages.

Snow includes two anchor books, a sequencing activity, and a phonics activity using some of the “ow” words from the Snow story. There are also cloze activities in some formats. The Snow story uses photos and movies to illustrate a perpetual winter problem for those of us who live in cold areas: What can we do with all this snow? Making A Snowman answers that question! Bonus: All 7 photos used in Snow and 14 more, plus clip art!

Little Toot is a charming story about a real boat, a water taxi that operates in the Santa Barbara, California harbor. Readers get on board for a ride, with Little Toot pointing out everything along the way. Better yet, the reader drives the boat and has a chance to toot the whistle. Bonus: In the Credits page of the online version, there is a link to the real Little Toot’s web page!

Wrapping A Gift is an interactive make-it-yourself activity. Readers choose the wrapping paper and ribbons to wrap a virtual gift package. On the final page their gift design becomes part of a printable card. Bonus: Clip art collection and printable gift tags!

The Tides Pools activity set includes so much material that I have broken it into two separate study units. The first unit, Tide Pools, includes Exploring Tide Pools and two supporting books. Exploring Tide Pools is set up so that students can wander through in any order, finding exciting discoveries along the way. The second unit, Tide Pools Writing And Review, includes the tests and three writing activities. Bonus: Vocabulary Cards and a Photo Collection!

Annie’s Books Online is a section of Annie’s Resource Attic which has the main and anchor books from the various activity sets in HTML format. You can see all the action in these books online by going to them from your browser, just as you would go to any other web page. This page will serve as an index to all the online activity sets and you’ll find some tips below about what’s required to use these books successfully with whichever browser you are using.