Happy holidays!  It is December, and the season of shopping is upon us.  You'd be surprised by how much money we can spend while taking mini-breaks from working on this website!

So much has happened with this site in the last month.  We have been updating individual pages, which has created a few glitches.  If a page looks a bit wonky, have no fear...we are working on the problem.

We are also working to improve and increase our interactive vocabulary games.  It's a lot of work, but we as well as you want to have online vocabulary games for each of our college-prep vocabulary lists.  This task is underway, and we will hopefully make a lot more progress by the new year. 

As you know, the educational image galleries continue to grow.  Keep your fingers crossed that we maintain our momentum!

We have likewise changed the layout of a few pages, particularly the citations and graphic organizers.  Some of you have reported back that the pages load more quickly, which is terrific.  We were hoping for this.  We were also trying to mix things up a bit by making the individual web pages more varied.  The "same" is good for the most part, in terms of users always being able to find the information they need on a page, but a little diversity helps to keep the eyes from tiring.

Is it really November already?  Is Halloween actually over?  Did I really eat that much candy?  Yes, yes, yes.

Every month we write in our news, "We've been sooooo busy!"  This month is no exception.  As many of our new and old visitors know, we not only are now on Facebook, but Twitter as well.  This is our main Student Handouts Twitter account.  Try our free study games Twitter account if you (or your students) are interested in getting a single daily test-prep game.

So what have we been up to?  We've been working to improve our teaching jobs pages.  In the olden days, we had all of this information (on the 50 states and beyond) on a single page.  This was easy for us, but was A LOT of information to scroll through.  A few months ago, we created individual pages for each state.  At the time, though, we never got beyond giving the basic links on each page.  We've since started enriching these individual state web pages with more official links, as well as more detailed information.  Hopefully this task will be completed by the end of the year (famous last words).

From user feedback, we have been thrilled to learn that numerous teachers have been using our games and tests with groups of students.  Typically, the teacher takes her or his class to the school computer lab where the students locate this web site on the internet.  Simultaneously, the students play a game or take a test.  We are absolutely delighted that so many teachers are finding our interactive content so fun, easy, and practical to use!  There is no joy quite like learning that your hours upon hours of hard work, thrown like seeds into the world, are taking root and nourishing others.  Keep using the games and spreading the word!  And, as always, if you have a suggestion...for the love of cheese...send us an email!  We check studenthandouts[AT]gmail.com at least a few times a week.

One visitor asked why we do not offer RSS feeds.  Honestly, we first had to search Google to find out what on earth these are.  It turns out that RSS feeds are alerts sent to visitors every time we update a web page or upload content.  We spent about 1.2 seconds thinking about adding RSS feeds, and the answer was a resounding no.  Why? This web site is absolutely enormous, and we are on our laptops constantly tweaking this and that.  If we set up RSS feeds for you to receive, you might be driven mad enough to toss your own laptop or personal computer out of the window.

Instead, at least for the near future, we intend to keep you informed about the site like we always have...through this news article, as well as on our blogs, Twitter, and Facebook.  If you are looking for something in particular, try the Google search box which is located at the bottom of nearly every page.

This Thanksgiving season, then, we are grateful for our loyal visitors, who keep growing in number.  We are grateful for the fact that we have created useful course content that is accessible to all educators, regardless of type or location.  We are grateful for whatever success we may be having in reaching our goal of helping to make the field of education a more equal playing field for all students.  Thank you.  We hope you enjoy your turkey (or tofurkey).

Many terrific teaching materials have been added to the site over the course of the last month. These include new galleries, new games, and new printables. We have posted a new batch of games (and more) covering the Tang and Song dynasties of China. Click to test your knowledge of this important period in early Chinese history.

As always, we are open to your suggestions. If you have an idea for the website, please contact us at studenthandouts AT gmail.com.

Another school year has begun. As usual, we are hard at work to create meaningful educational experiences for you to share with your students.

Is it back-to-school time already?  We are working gangbusters to revamp the website in time for school this fall.  As our regular users have noticed, we have spent the summer creating interactive games for the website.  So far, we've created interactive games (meaning you can play them online) for every topic.  Not only are these great for students to play at home (as test-prep review), but they can be played in classrooms.  Simply divide the class into teams and play the games on your SmartBoard or projector.

Just in time for the fall, we have also reworked our Substitute Teaching Emergency Kit.  Now is the time to get your sub folders ready.

Welcome to the modern age!  At long last, we signed up for a Facebook page.  Click here to "like" Student Handouts on Facebook.  About once a week, we post a link on our page to some of the latest things we've created at the site.

The end of the school year approaches! We hope that you have enjoyed this academic year as much as we have.

Our plan is to keep as busy as possible. Currently, we are working on quizzes and other fun stuff to keep kids mentally engaged throughout the summer. You might want to link students and parents to our site and blog so that they can enjoy the puzzles and interactive activities that we will be adding throughout the summer.

Have fun and stay safe and sane!

May day!  It's that time of the year when there is simply too much to do to stop and write about it.  (Or is it this way every month?)  We are continuing to work on our American History tutorials.

Spring break! This means enjoying a much needed rest. Unfortunately, it also means trying to get kids' minds back on school after they've enjoyed a taste of summer freedom.

We have been very busy revamping the site.  Regular visitors will notice that the internal links options (that list of web pages on the left) have been expanded.  Also, galleries have been created based on historical themes (e.g., Ancient Egypt, Imperialism, World War I).  For those of you interested in getting a head start on next school year, we have uploaded a printable (.pdf) 2010-2011 weekly planner for the school/academic year.  Just click here.

We have been busy creating and uploading lots of materials, particularly quite a few new PowerPoint presentations under American History and World History.  So some good has come of this bitterly cold weather!  Our hope is that all of you are enjoying a busy and productive school year, as well.

As promised, we are updating the left sidebar to provide faster access to specific, popular web pages on the site.

We are also adding more textbook-specific materials.  We understand how it is--you get a new textbook with a bundle of fancy CD-roms, etc.--but you can't find simple handouts to go along with each section of a chapter.  Check here often to see if a textbook your class is using has been added to our database.