TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Mar 25, 2012
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
Respondo! - Ian Byrdseed
Grades
4 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Bring some creativity into your literature lessons using this site that goes way beyond rote answers. Choose skills from drop boxes, identify one or two stories to analyze/compare,...more
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Bring some creativity into your literature lessons using this site that goes way beyond rote answers. Choose skills from drop boxes, identify one or two stories to analyze/compare, choose your thinking skills, and decide what the final product will be. For example, "Substitute The Giver's setting for A Wrinkle In Time's setting. Dramatize how this would affect A Wrinkle In Time's plot. Create a skit," or "Rearrange Oh The Places You Will Go's plot. Analyze how this would affect its tone. Create a photo essay ." Choose whatever book(s) are relevant to your class. Experiment with different ideas easily until coming up with the perfect response question for your class or individualize easily for different student responses. The creator of this site does admit that it is a rather new site with a few kinks. His email is provided if you see any issues. Our review team noticed nothing unusual, and all options were functioning properly, at the time of this review.
tag(s): blooms taxonomy (7), characterization (16), creative fluency (5), creativity (90), critical thinking (111), debate (38), literary devices (13), literature (214), plot (10), setting (4), stories and storytelling (47)
In the Classroom
Use this site to create unique lessons and literature responses that require critical thinking responses from your students. Share with students and allow them to create their own response at the end of a unit when comparing two books or reflecting on one book. Use this site as a resource for incorporating different levels of Blooms Taxonomy into your classroom and for differentiation among students. Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, Vevox, Animatron, Renderforest, and Canva Inforgraphic Maker.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Chartle - Zygomatic
Grades
6 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Create various types of graphs and charts - easily! Input data quickly, and explore multiple ways to show the data using the various types of graphs available. Quickly see the ...more
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Create various types of graphs and charts - easily! Input data quickly, and explore multiple ways to show the data using the various types of graphs available. Quickly see the relationships between the data as you play with the graphic. Note: Take (and save) a screenshot of your chart as not all charts have been saved correctly. Once a chart has been published, it can no longer be edited.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): charts and graphs (169), data (147)
In the Classroom
You will want to play with this tool before using it in class. Use it anywhere numerical data is collected and is best shown in a chart. Collect data in a science, survey, or math class and display it using different graphs to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using each graph type. Use for quick creation and sharing of created graphs. Create charts together easily on an interactive whiteboard when introducing the different types. Have students operate the board while others offer instructions on what to do next. Use graphs to portray different sets of data about a topic in a new and unique way. Use this tool to create graphs and charts for presentations and reports. Make quick charts students can share with others such as "How I spend my time" and "Places I have visited." During political campaign seasons, create charts to visualize better what the pollsters are saying.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Evil Mad Scientist - Evil Mad Science
Grades
6 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Discover irreverent, creative new projects featured every week in Evil Mad Scientist blog. This blog features applied science and math concepts in unique or unusual ways. A few of them...more
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Discover irreverent, creative new projects featured every week in Evil Mad Scientist blog. This blog features applied science and math concepts in unique or unusual ways. A few of them push the envelope, but all will get you thinking. Every Wednesday, new projects tickle your imagination. Watch videos, read the latest stories, or comment on existing projects. Browse the shop,-- not to buy, but to see and analyze remarkable inventions. Join a mailing list to never miss new projects. Note: a few of the ideas involve hacking electronics and computers, so the site may be blocked by school filters. Preview to know for sure. See notes below on ways to share specific articles.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creativity (90), inventors and inventions (71), scientific method (46), STEM (269)
In the Classroom
Inspire creativity and original thinking with Evil Mad Scientist. Use as inspiration or examples for student projects in art, science, or music, research, or applied creativity. If you share a link with students, you may want to link to a specific post or use Readability Test Tool, reviewed here, to provide a "clean view" of the post. Evaluate projects together on the IWB to help students identify characteristics of creativity and talk about how the ideas may have come to be. Use this site during a unit on scientific method so students connect the discipline of research with the creative results. What kind of experimenting took place? What principles of science? Compare the inventions available in the Shop with inventions from the Industrial Revolution. How is today a different environment for inventors (or is it?) Begin your own Evil Mad Scientist blog to feature your students' creativity or slightly irreverent ideas in a safe and school-appropriate environment, almost as an STEM graffiti wall.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Festisite Money - Festisite
Grades
K to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Have you ever wanted to see your own face on a dollar bill? Use this online image editor to personalized bills with your own picture. Just upload your picture (or ...more
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Have you ever wanted to see your own face on a dollar bill? Use this online image editor to personalized bills with your own picture. Just upload your picture (or any image) using the photo link at the bottom of the page. Images can be moved around within the picture frame, and there is an option to adjust the image size by zooming in or out. Save the edited image by right-clicking the image and selecting "save" to download the output image to your computer. Then print the dollar bill with your image. The site offers currency from many different countries from Antarctica to Yugoslavia, and you can create posters, decks of cards, and more.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): currency (14), financial literacy (92), money (117)
In the Classroom
Have fun creating personalized money for students to practice counting! Allow students to buy classroom rewards using your own classroom dollars generated using this site. Use class-made manipulatives from this site to teach basic economic concepts with simulations: running a small business, supply and demand, or simply making change. Use custom made currency as a behavior incentive system to help emotional support students build self-control. If students study different cultures, why not have them design their own country, complete with currency? Share this site with parents to use at home with their students or for the PTO/PTA to create fun money for school events.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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