This page gives you quick links to a number of useful Internet sites for English teachers. At the same time it gives you some quick practice in using the World Wide Web. Just click on the name of any of the sites and - provided that you are online - you should be taken straight there.

Of course, you can also type the full address of any website into the address line of your browser. Addresses (URLs in geek-speak) are written like this: http://www.google.co.uk or often just www.englishonline.co.uk. You'll notice the underlining: this means they are links - click on the link and your browser will attempt to take you to the site.

Bookmark these sites
When you visit Internet sites, you'll discover many you want to remember. Simply click on the 'add' button in the Favorites (Internet Explorer) or Bookmarks (Netscape) menu in your browser. You can then pull down the list and click on the name to visit the page again whenever you want. Try that when you visit the sites here.

We'd suggest you start with

Google

Google seems particularly clever at seeking out obscure sites dedicated to specific authors. You can restrict your search to UK sites if you wish - this can make the results less daunting!

AltaVista

This is another very useful site.

You can find most non-copyright texts on the Internet though you may need to try more than one library. Using a good search engine can sometimes make this quicker, though they may also include much else (short extracts, illustrations, comments, etc) that can slow down your search. These sites are good places to visit for online texts.

Project Bartleby

Electronic Text Centre - University of Virginia

Great Books Online

Literature resources from MIT

Online Books Page at the University of Pennsylvania

Project Gutenberg

This is a very comprehensive source of texts, though usually you need to download the complete work before you can view it. Files are often compressed to make them smaller; it is normally a simple matter to unpack them.

A Catalogue of Electronic Texts on the Internet

A Medieval Sourcebook

The Internet Public Library

This is an easy to use online library - try the IPL's Shakespeare Bookshelf for the plays.

AltaVista Image Search

This is possibly the best image search engine on the Web. Simply click on "Images" on the row of buttons at the top of the page. It has a very useful option of a family filter, which you can switch on or off. If the filter is on then it attempts to avoid images whose content might be questionable.

Google image search

The Google site also offers an image search facility. The "mature content filter" operates in a similar way to AltaVista's family filter.

English Online free lesson plans

There are about 50 lessons here to download and adapt.

Try the lesson on Jabberwocky; there's a copy of the poem you can print out, complete with Humpty Dumpty's comments - and you can manipulate the file to fit how you might want to teach the poem. The notes provide an outline of two lessons looking at word types, etc. Is this a resource you might want to adapt for your own use?

Teachit's English Teaching Resources

A vast hoard of free resources; they can only be downloaded and printed, not modified by you - but it's still an invaluable resource.

TeacherNet

Useful lesson plans and resources are reviewed on this site from the DfES. You'll need to select English and the Key Stage you want; you can then choose a scheme of work (these are simply shown in years in a drop-down list) or a keyword to find what is available. The site also has quick links to further lesson resources from the National Curriculum site.

Department for Education and Skills

Government documents and links to numerous other official sites for teachers, such as the Virtual Teacher Centre.

QCA

The place to find information on topics such as Key Stage 3 Tests, Curriculum 2000, etc.

National Curriculum

Download the English National Curriculum to use in your own documents.

Standards Site

This has a number of useful documents, for example for the NLS Framework such as the NLS KS3 spelling bank.

Teacher Training Agency - Using ICT in secondary English

This is a very long document - 45 pages - so don't print it out! However, you might be able to copy and paste some useful pointers on using ICT in the classroom for your portfolio.

Writers Online

This is a simple, free resource that requires only access to the Internet site and email for students to submit their work, receive feedback and possibly see their work online.

These are examples of school English departments on the World Wide Web. As well as giving you some ideas, they have valuable links and resources. They began humbly enough with the work of individuals - they may inspire you to do the same!

South Hunsley School English Department

This site has been built on the work of Andrew Moore.

Gosford Hill School English Department

As an example of how good work can be shared, see the students' own study guide on Measure for Measure, now available for other groups.

English Teaching in the United Kingdom

This site is run by Harry Dodds, the previous Head of English at Gosford Hill School. A labour of love over many years, it has many excellent links.

BBC Online: Ask Bruce

This section of the BBC Webwise site offers 'instant answers to your Internet questions'. The information covers a wide range of ICT topics, not just about the Internet, in a straightforward way, from Acrobat to webmail.

Becta's ICT Advice

Advice on selecting equipment and using ICT in the classroom.

Of course, there are many other ways you might want to use the Internet, whether for planning your next trip to see the Royal Shakespeare Company or booking a well-earned holiday. Here are a few useful sites.

You may also want to show your students how to use the Internet in this way - it's another aspect of literacy.

The AA

The AA's route planner will provide you with detailed guidance on getting from A to B throughout the UK: select "routes and maps".

Amazon UK

Amazon.co.uk is the UK branch of the best-known online store, selling books, music, video and more. Shopping here is not quite the same as browsing in a friendly local bookshop but the choice is vast, there is at least a synposis of the text (and often reviews as well) and delivery is normally quick. Prices are usually discounted - though you pay for postage. Those outside the UK (and UK shoppers wanting to locate a title not available at home) might want to visit the Amazon site in the USA - again, do check the delivery charges.

National Rail Enquiries Online

The National Rail enquiries service is the quickest way to check train timetables online. You can't buy tickets here but the site includes links to train companies' online booking services - or you can go direct to sites such as The Trainline, Virgin Trains or Midland Mainline.

There's also a very informative independent travel site from the station at Chester-le-Street in County Durham, which claims: 'Chester-le-Street has a tradition of making complex things simple, from the Bible in the first Millennium to the National Fares Manual in the third. Both are complex documents, not open to easy understanding, full of interesting information if you but know where to find it. Our local churches help you understand the Bible: we help you understand the National Fares Manual, and its companion famous work of fiction, the National Rail timetable. We are, after all, a very small station on a great main line....'

Streetmap

Trying to find somewhere? Just enter a street name or postcode and a map will appear on the screen - they know where you live!

Your own free email address

If you don't already have your own email address, there are several services that give you free Internet email. It only takes a few minutes to sign up and you will then be able to read your email from any computer - at school, at home or on holiday abroad. Yahoo! mail is a good one to try.

Two tips:

• Make a careful note of your new email address and password, as you will need to enter these each time.
• Check each question - you will normally be sent promotional emails unless you remove the tick in an "I agree" box.

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