Scholastic Inc. expects teachers to have an easier time of finding free content and teaching resources at Scholastic.com after the children’s publishing, education and media company unveiled an upgraded teacher site.
Scholastic, a publisher and retailer of books, magazines and educational materials, is No. 54 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.
As part of the site redesign, launched earlier this week, Scholastic added faster, more targeted search and browse functions, new all-in-one-place collections of ready-to-use content, more interactive content for electronic whiteboards and more classroom help.
Visitors to the Scholastic site now have access to more than 100,000 pages of free content and teaching resources, as well as the Book Wizard search tool that helps teachers find books for their students, Scholastic says. The tool searches for books based on reading level, interest level, grade and genre from a library of 50,000 children’s books.
“This site redesign streamlines the search for content and resources teachers use in their classrooms every day, helping them save time and be more effective in meeting the needs of their students,” says Dick Robinson, president and CEO of Scholastic.
The new Everything You Need collections include lesson plans, resources, photos and videos, classroom activities, and practical ideas for specific lessons on topics ranging from Abraham Lincoln to volcanoes. The redesigned site also features grade-specific activities to begin the day or a class period.
The redesigned site offers more than 7,000 free lesson plans and resources; more than 400 student activities for interactive units or computers in reading and language arts, social studies, science and math; Scholastic teacher bloggers with tips and ready-to-use resources; and the Teacher Helpline, a discussion board where teachers can ask and answer questions about teaching issues.
Teachers receive educator-online discount pricing on more than 25,000 fiction and non-fiction books and collections, instructional programs, and professional resources at the Teacher Store Online.
Scholastic.com will be relaunching upgraded areas for parents and kids in the upcoming year, the company says.