Exceptional Student Education (ESE) teachers often need to think outside of the educational box when choosing learning supplies for their students. Coloring pages can be quite useful for younger students, students who are just learning English, students who have difficulty reading, or for students who need visual aids to help remember information. The following five websites provide educational coloring pages or printable worksheets that will help students excel in a variety of subjects.
Crayola Learning Coloring Pages
This link will take you to a variety of educational coloring sheets, which cover the alphabet, colors, penmanship, numbers, science, and social studies. Additional coloring pages are also available that focus on skills such as cutting, identifying shapes, and fine motor control. The website also has a variety of holiday, animal, transportation, and community options as well.
National Geographic Coloring Book
National Geographic is well known for the breathtaking photographs featured in their magazines. Their coloring pages offer exquisite details for a variety of animals such as butterflies, bears, seals, sharks, and owls. In addition to a large image of the animal, each picture also features close up images of specific features. Links are provided to videos and articles that give more information about each animal.
The Biology Corner offers a variety of printable worksheets that are separated by topics. Topics include anatomy, evolution, ecology, genetics, and general education. There are also images and interactive media available for some skills such as dissection. Many of the worksheets offer a coloring sheet to help students grasp how something, such as DNA, looks by having them color specific sections so they can see how they relate to one another.
Discovery Education Puzzlemaker
Discovery Education has a wide array of tools and printable for teachers to utilize. The puzzlemaker is unique in that it allows you to fully customize ten different puzzle styles with information from your current lesson. This allows students to play a game while reviewing material for an exam or to simply help them reinforce information provided in class.
Numerous county, state, and federal government websites have free printable coloring sheets, worksheets, and pamphlets for children. Unfortunately, it can be quite time consuming to locate them all as there is no central clearinghouse maintained by a government agency that lists descriptions and locations of the materials that are available. The Evergreen State College of Washington has compiled a lengthy list of government resources. This is an excellent place to find numerous printable resources from departments such as Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the USDA.
What websites do you routinely visit to find the best free printable material for your students? Do you prefer resources provided by government or educational establishments or have you had better luck from commercial or private websites?