Shmoop!

www.shmoop.com

Shmoop is an informational site for both students and teachers. It has resources written by highly qualified educators about literature, history, and how it all fits together. For students, it has resources about specific titles of novels and poetry. Additionally, in the teachers' section, it has numerous videos of lessons and case studies. Under this section "Teacher Resources" there are also links to a myriad of teacher editions of novels and time periods. Within the Shmoop teacher editions, it includes assignments and activities, essay and discussion questions, reading quizzes, and current events and pop culture. The only problem with these lessons is that they are not all free. Parts are free and I think you can still get ideas from the overarching themes. Back in the general section of the site, there are links and resources that could be brought into the classroom.

Another interesting aspect of the site is the ability to convert the information into a pdf, app, or ebook. I think this is definitely something that is changing and we need to realize how our students are absorbing information. Students may be more receptive to the information if they can access it on their iPhone or Kindle. This site is very modern and is a resource for the new and researching classroom.