Freely Educate

Our Most Popular Free Finds for High Schoolers

We're continuing our Best of FreelyEducate.com series by sharing a few favorite free educational finds for high schoolers.  Click on the titles or screenshots for a full review of the site:

Alice: Computer Programming

LiveMocha: language learning

GCF: math and computer skills

HippoCampus:  Algebra, Biology, Physics, History, to name a few!

Do you have any free high school finds to share with us?  If so, please do in the comments!

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Alice: Computer Programming

LiveMocha: language learning

GCF: math and computer skills

HippoCampus:  Algebra, Biology, Physics, History, to name a few!

Do you have any free high school finds to share with us?  If so, please do in the comments!

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Free Comic Books on Finances (in the mail or online)

Think our students need to study finances?  You bet they do!  The Federal Reserve has published quite a few comic books on the topic of money (banking, foreign trade, saving, and more). 

You may view the comic books online or order hard copies of them to arrive in your mailbox.  I went through the ordering process today and found both methods hassle-free and 100% free, no catches, not even a registration requirement.  You may order up to 35 copies of each comic book.

Here is a peek at one of the comic books:

 

How to Get This Freebie:  Visit the Federal Reserve Comic Books site (while there, you may want to browse around for other free, non-comic-book, publications)

For:  Elementary, Middle, and High School Students

Update added 7/23/2010:  I wrote this post on Saturday, the 17th, and ordered two comic books that day as a review of their process. We received the comic books on Thursday, the 22nd!  Our teen was immediately interested in them and claimed them as his own.

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Today's high quality, 100% free, educational find comes from reader Carrie Bon. Thank you, Carrie! 

Have a resource to share, too?  Email me at freelyeducate@gmail.com

A Great Budgeting Program = Great for Economics Students

We're going to have our teenager work on our family bills and budget this year.  We figure there is no better teacher than Real Life, so what better way to teach him economics than to have him take care of the real deal? 

Mint is created for your budgeting needs, not necessarily for use as an economics course, but I think it's going to be just the right program for us this year:

At Mint, you set up your accounts (super safe), then watch as the system figures out a budget for you, including automatically putting new credits and deposits in the correct budget accounts.

Worth Noting:  You can't move around money at Mint - it's strictly for budgeting purposes - so you don't have to worry about your teen skimming pennies from your accounts.

How to Get This Freebie:  Visit Mint.com

For: Middle, High, and College Students who are studying Economics. And, it's for You.

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The Periodic Table of Videos

If your students had an Einstein-look-alike with a British accent teaching chemistry, do you think they'd listen more attentively?

If so, you're in luck.  He, along with other scientists from the University of Nottingham, have created the Periodic Table of Videos.  

Lisa, a Freely Educate reader, suggested this site to you.  She says, "There is a fun and instructional video for each element and many will have a cool experiment to show the properties of the element discussed."

How to Get This Freebie:  Visit the Periodic Table of Videos

For:  All Ages Studying the Elements

Thank you for suggesting the site, Lisa!

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Practical Skill: A Unique Geography Idea

It's hot.  Let's stay indoors this weekend and embroider a globe, shall we?

This idea comes from the Piece Work magazine site.  They offer full instructions, a history of embroidered globes (1840s schoolgirls used to do this), and stitching details.

If you embroider a globe, please comment below with a link to a photo so we can admire your piecework!

To Get the Instructions:  Visit this Embroider a Globe page 

For:  Students over age 9, give or take, should be able to handle a needle without difficulty.

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Learn How Careers use Math (for grades 4-12)

Your students will like this site!  Math Apprentice teaches a student how various careers use math.  But they don't teach math through a boring, lengthy, text-based method.  No, Math Apprentice gets your student happily involved by allowing them to choose a character who skateboards through town, visiting the different careers:

The student then interactively works on math problems related to the career of choice:

Description from the site author:  Math Apprentice ... connects math to real world careers by allowing students to be apprentices at various companies, applying their math skills to real world challenges. 

For more about the site, or to view how to use the site in a middle school classroom, including classroom examples, visit this informative page. 

How to Get This Freebie:  Visit Math Apprentice.  To get started right away, click on the Explore the Math button at the bottom of the home page. 

Targeted Grade Level:  Grades 4th-7th, but I  found the site had a lot to teach me, so I'd recommend it for high schoolers, too. 

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Free Science and Math Simulations for All Grades

The University of Colorado at Boulder created a site full of dozens of interactive simulations in subjects such as physics, biology, chemistry, earth science, and math.

How to Get This Freebie:  Click the orange "Play with Sims" button.

Good Starting Points:

• Access the Simulations by Grade Level
• This Teacher Page has activities created by other educators

Recommended Grade Levels:  All!  From Elementary, to Middle, High and even College Level

Free 6' U.S. Presidential Timeline Poster (in the mail) & a Lot More @ C-SPAN Classroom

( This one is a good one!)

Here is what the site creators say about C-SPAN Classroom:

C-SPAN Classroom is a free membership service for social studies teachers. Our mission is to enhance the teaching of social studies through C-SPAN’s primary source programming and websites.

Membership [free, homeschoolers welcome] gives educators access to their own library to store C-SPAN Classroom videos and video clips, supplementary materials such as lesson plans and handouts, and special offers like our American Presidents Timeline poster.

How to Access C-SPAN Classroom:  Go to C-SPAN Classroom to browse and complete a free membership form. 

About that free American Presidents Timeline poster:   "The 6ft long poster details the lives and public service careers of every president, plus key historical events, Supreme Court cases, and technology milestones throughout 280 years of Presidential history." 

How to Get the Free Poster:  Go to the Special Offers page to order the poster, but you'll have to register with the C-SPAN Classroom site to receive it (free, no catches). The poster will be delivered to your mailing address for free.

p.s. I'm not sure of their quantity in stock, but imagine that this may be a Limited Time Offer.

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An Education on the Gulf Coast Oil Spill II: What Would You Do?

(our son with a live & soon-to-be-released blowfish -?- on the now-oily-and-closed Perdido Bay)

What would you do if 13,000 barrels of oil were to arrive at your shore within 10 hours?  That's one of the questions asked at NOAA's Spill Tools site. Spill Tools was created for oil spill planners and responders who need to assess what actions to take when confronted with oil heading their way.  We're welcome to download and use the tools, too. 

The Spill Tools:

• Dispersant Mission Planner 
• In Situ Burn Calculator 
• Mechanical Equipment Calculator 

are free to download and use.  

Here is more information on each Spill Tool:

Dispersant Mission Planner

In this exercise, you'll estimate whether you have the resources to treat the slick with chemical dispersant and, if so, how long it would take. You have a single Bell 212 helicopter (a small, twin-engine helicopter) to apply the dispersant. The helicopter base is 20 kilometers away from the location of the slick.

(view an example of the Dispersant Mission Planner)

In Situ Burn Calculator

In Part 1 of this step, you'll estimate the time needed to burn part of the slick. For equipment, you have two vessels that you can use to tow fire-proof boom in order to capture and burn part of the oil from the slick. In Part 2, you'll estimate the extent of the smoke plume generated by the burn, and determine whether it might pose a hazard to people downwind of the burn.

(view an example of the In Situ Burn Calculator)

The Mechanical Equipment Calculator

In this step of the Spill Tools exercise, you'll estimate how much of the spilled oil you could skim off the sea surface during the time remaining before the oil is predicted to reach the sensitive site. You have on hand a single, small skimmer vessel, a Sandpiper (skimmers are boats and other devices that can remove oil from the sea surface before it reaches sensitive areas along a coastline).

(view an example of the Mechanical Equipment Calculator)

Learn more about the NOAA Spill tools by visiting their Information Page.

Grade Level:  I think the Spill Tools are at a high school to college level, although middle school students may enjoy the challenge, too.

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A Free & Simple Trigonometry Course

Dave's Short Trig Course was created by a teacher of mathematics at Clark University (Massachusetts).  It is not, in his words, a complete course or to take the place of a classroom or textbook trig course with many exercises to complete. 

Dave's Short Trig Course would be most useful to anyone who wishes to peek at trigonometry this Summer before taking it this Fall, or it may be useful to those who need to brush up on it this Summer before going on to higher math in the Fall, or it may be useful to you curious types who have a notion to know more about trigonometry. 

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Have a resource or giveaway to share?  Email me at freelyeducate@gmail.com (Thank you, Alice, for mentioning today's high quality, 100% free educational find!)

Free Assessment Tests

The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) is online for free!  These tests will give you a good idea of how your homeschooled children are doing compared to the national (or, Texas?) average student. 

I'll add a screenshot of the available exams, below.  It's a bit blurry, but gives you an idea of what to look for when you arrive at the TAKS site:

 

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Thank you, Sprittibee, for mentioning this high quality, 100% free educational find!

Do you have a resource to share?  Email me at freelyeducate@gmail.com.

Free Online Bible Degree

I know not everyone adds the Bible to their school curriculum, but for those who do, here is an option for your high school or college age students (or you!):  Grace Notes:  Diploma in Bible Teaching.

Grace Notes offers training in Biblical Studies.  The curriculum is 100% free and you can look at many of the lessons online.  Your student will complete a lesson, complete a quiz, send the completed quiz to Grace Notes, and thus obtain access to the next lesson and eventually earn a diploma. 

For more information on why Grace Notes is free, how to obtain a degree, and how to complete the courses, go to this informative page.

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Free United States Government Documents and Lessons

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government was created especially for kids.  Divided by age group, the site offers just about all the documents and information you would want for teaching United States history. 

Here is an example of what the site offers to 9-12th graders:

And here is an example of what is offered to K-2 students:

(There are also chalkboards for 3-5th grades and 6-8th grades)

Here is the description of the site from the creators:

"Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids is brought to the World Wide Web as a service of the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office. This site provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. These resources will teach how our government works."

p.s. A good starting point is the Parents & Teachers page.

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Thank you, Michelle, for sharing this high quality, 100% free educational find with us!

Free Customizable Flashcard Program

I've highlighted a flashcard program before on Freely Educate, but this one, FlashcardDB, looks like it might be better than any I've seen.  Create your own flashcards or use flashcards already created for virtually any academic subject. 

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