Highly Engaging, Research Backed Games and Activities
Community Review for PBS KIDS Lab
My Take
This site features terrific games and learning activities using characters that students with whom students are already acquainted (Curious George) or whom students can quickly take a liking to. This is not a site where you can "just send the kids." A good deal of the activities are meant to be shared via interactive whiteboard, and the teacher should also be aware that once you arrive at an activity, it isn't at all clear how to get back to the main homepage. The site offers the research evidence proving that the activities are effective, and resources for the teacher beyond the student activities (including some that can be done off-line).
How I Use It
I've used activities from this site with younger students I've tutored, but could easily see its applicability to a whole class situation. In all cases, the activities loaded quickly and worked as predicted. Even better, the activities are well chunked, and give feedback often enough that a student is neither fatigued nor bored before being offered encouragement and a quick break. Once students have seen the site navigated, it's likely they could find their way to favorite activities, but again, as mentioned above, returning to the main homepage is difficult, and can't always be managed by using the Back arrow. Individual activities and games reside at unique URLs, so website links could easily be shared with those parents seeking additional help or extension activities for their child.