TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Aug 5, 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
PieColor - Create a Pie Chart - Piecolor.com
Grades
3 to 7
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Easily create and download a colorful pie chart with PieColor. Enter the number of slices you want, the percent for each slice, and a label (example - 48% girls, 52% ...more
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Easily create and download a colorful pie chart with PieColor. Enter the number of slices you want, the percent for each slice, and a label (example - 48% girls, 52% boys). Adjust colors as you like by clicking on the color wheel for each slice. Options include a title, background color, and size of text. Download or embed in your blog using links at the bottom of your pie chart.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): charts and graphs (170), data (148), percent (58)
In the Classroom
Collect data in your classroom and quickly create a graph to represent it. Share through links or adding images to blogs, wikis, or websites. Graphs can also be shared on an interactive whiteboard or projector for better analysis of data by the class. Graph results of a test, answers from students, favorite foods, fictitious budgets, class schedules, and whatever else is applicable in your classroom. Use the pie charts students create to teach their peers how to read charts that accompany informational texts. Have cooperative learning groups create their own graphs to share with the class on the class wiki. Use this tool to create quick pie charts on your interactive whiteboard whenever you count class votes or encounter other data so students "see" data on a regular basis and visual students have another way to absorb the information. Keep the link handy on your web page to access it quickly in or out of class.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Around the World with 80 Schools - Silvia Tolisano
Grades
K to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Get started with Skype in the classroom or enhance current lessons with this remarkably informative site that includes lesson ideas, flyers, videos, and much more all about Skyping...more
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Get started with Skype in the classroom or enhance current lessons with this remarkably informative site that includes lesson ideas, flyers, videos, and much more all about Skyping for educational purposes. The focus in this site is on making Skype calls truly educational and meaningful learning experiences. View explicit directions about student roles when Skyping and how to plan, prepare, and assess activities. Be sure to learn all about The Mystery Skype Call by doing a key word search for mystery; results provide an informative video explaining how to get started and complete a successful call. Another highlight of the site is the page on Skype Jobs for students - find this by searching on the right hand tool bar or doing a key word search for jobs. You are sure to find a great deal of information to begin effective and interesting Skyping in your classroom!
tag(s): professional development (407), tutorials (54), virtual field trips (101), webcams (16)
In the Classroom
Check out the TeachersFirst review of Skype here as an introduction and for more classroom ideas. Participate in a Mystery Skype call with another classroom to compare and contrast local geography, collaborate on book projects, or as an introduction to a careers unit. Locate authors, scientists, or directors of museums interested in Skyping with classrooms, and take your students on a virtual field trip. Skype with other classrooms in your district without having to leave the building! For specific ideas for Skype author visits, be sure to see Meet the Author from TeachersFirst's Help I Lost My Library/Media Specialist series.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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World of Reading - Ann Arbor District Library
Grades
2 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
The World of Reading allows you to submit your own book reviews with this easy to use site. Additionally, click on the Email Book Club tab and sign up to ...more
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The World of Reading allows you to submit your own book reviews with this easy to use site. Additionally, click on the Email Book Club tab and sign up to receive short excerpts from librarian-selected books you might enjoy. By clicking on the Book Search tab, you can read peer reviews of books you have enjoyed or might enjoy in the future. A wonderful thing about this site is that reviews come from children from all around the world; every submitted review appears on the site.
tag(s): independent reading (86), literature (217), reading lists (78)
In the Classroom
After checking with your administration about submission policies, have your class submit group or individual reviews of books they are reading. Also, students can check to see if books they've read have a review. If not, have them write one. Bookmark the site on a classroom computer so students who finish work early can look for a new book to read. Put a link to this site on your teacher page for parents and students for access at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tesla - Master of Lightning - PBS
Grades
4 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Flash to PBS to get a bolt of learning about Nikola Tesla. Discover a compressive view of Tesla from his early years and his coming to America. Follow his ...more
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Flash to PBS to get a bolt of learning about Nikola Tesla. Discover a compressive view of Tesla from his early years and his coming to America. Follow his accomplishments while harnessing the Niagara. Discover the true mystery about who invented the radio. Trace his inventions and accomplishments. Inside the lab, discover the AC motor, the Tesla coil, radio, remote controls, and improved lightning. Resources include a timeline of electricity and radio, Tesla's patents, and articles about Tesla. Explore discussions from experts about Tesla's life and accomplishments. There are lesson plans for teachers. Some materials are for sale.
tag(s): electricity (62), energy (131), industrial revolution (22), inventors and inventions (78), motion (50), radio (20)
In the Classroom
Add intrigue and mystery, to your science unit on electricity, motion, or inventors as you study the life and accomplishments of Nikola Tesla. Excellent lesson plans include a concrete understanding of potential energy, mechanical energy to electrical energy. Use on an interactive white board to begin your unit or create a "Who Dunnit" with electricity or radio. Follow the structure of ideas presented to create an online "famous scientist" wiki, blog or PowerPoint to add to your class website. Use a Socratic seminar to debate which scientist should get credit for the induction motor, radio, and even the Industrial Revolution. Use the readings for older students, advanced readers, or gifted students, as they are far above the reading level of elementary and early middle school students. In language arts, writing topics could include "What a shock electricity is in my life" and "Will the true inventor of electricity please stand up?" The ideas and resources are electrifying!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pass Creator - Passcreator
Grades
1 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
This tool generates passwords with a random assortment of letters and numbers. Do you need a specific number of letters, numbers, or characters? No problem! Click on the Options tab...more
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This tool generates passwords with a random assortment of letters and numbers. Do you need a specific number of letters, numbers, or characters? No problem! Click on the Options tab to check off the options needed from the drop down menu.
tag(s): internet safety (112)
In the Classroom
Use this simple and effective tool for creating random passwords. It's great for use in generating passwords for students or sites that you use. Unfortunately, Passcreator is unable to help us remember the generated passwords! For help with that, we recommend creating a document or spreadsheet to keep track of passwords for your students. Computer teachers can also use this tool when teaching about online safety/security.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Spotzi - Spotzi.com
Grades
4 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
A picture is worth a thousand words; a map with information is worth many thousands more. The World Atlas map powered by Esri is unique with its many layers of ...more
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A picture is worth a thousand words; a map with information is worth many thousands more. The World Atlas map powered by Esri is unique with its many layers of information. Layers include temperature data, habitats, volcano locations, natural resources, and more. The map uses street view and high detail aerial maps. Zoom into any aspect of the Earth, regardless of political boundaries (thanks to NASA, the World Bank, and Spotzi data). Browse from a variety of themes available including animals, temperatures, and tectonic plates. Use the search bar to zoom in to a specific area. Several tools are available along the top including a measuring tool.
tag(s): business (51), diseases (69), ecology (102), environment (245), natural disasters (16), natural resources (37), resources (87)
In the Classroom
Use Spotzi to make information more relevant and meaningful when paired with an actual map. Find trends easily. Have students choose a topic and investigate maps to identify and develop general statements from the data. Ask students to generate questions to further research the topic. This tool is invaluable for environmental, ecology, health, economics, and other research topics. Use this map to add new dimensions of information about places in the news. Share on a projector or interactive whiteboard to learn more about countries participating in the Olympics. Use data to compare countries and discuss possible cause/effects for poverty, health challenges, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Frank - FRANK
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Frank is about the facts and dangers of drugs use. This realistic view of drugs' effect on the body and on a person's life is a fresh (and "frank") approach ...more
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Frank is about the facts and dangers of drugs use. This realistic view of drugs' effect on the body and on a person's life is a fresh (and "frank") approach to the topic. Sections of the site include how to react to pressure to try drugs and what to do if you believe a friend is experimenting with drugs.
tag(s): difficult conversations (61), drugs and alcohol (28)
In the Classroom
Use this site as part of a science or health class on drug and health related topics. Share this site in a collection of links for students to reference when researching such topics. Have students role-play a video or create a talking avatar on how to resist peer pressure to try drugs. Use a tool such as Voki, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Open Source Shakespeare - Eric Johnson, Bernini Communications LLC
Grades
9 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Open Source Shakespeare is not just another ordinary collection of the complete works of William Shakespeare. You can use an advanced search, read the plays, and look up words in ...more
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Open Source Shakespeare is not just another ordinary collection of the complete works of William Shakespeare. You can use an advanced search, read the plays, and look up words in the "concordance." It is a comprehensive, free electronic bookshelf built with flexibility, user-friendliness, and powerful search functions that easily enables scholars, casual readers, or Shakespeare lovers to read the plays, poems, and sonnets. At the same time look up terms, phrases, quotations, passages, or search for answers to questions about characters, acts, or scenes in an infinite number of ways. This is an incredibly ambitious online project that provides quick, easy access and enables you to retrieve, store, and print. The simple appearance also makes the site functional on any mobile device, such as iPads, without concerns about Flash or other non-mobile features.
tag(s): literature (217), OER (43), plays (31), shakespeare (99), sonnets (6)
In the Classroom
Use this inclusive resource as you prepare to teach any of Shakespeare's classics. By making a direct link available from your class web page, you are opening the door for your students to have easy access and help when preparing for AP tests and other exams, as well as an ongoing method to guide independent reading and understanding for the many complexities in Shakespeare's literary works. The electronic text enables you to project it on your whiteboard, perhaps for a class reading where you could assign students parts to read aloud, or for students to highlight and "mark-up" evidence of literary techniques, or to critique or interact with the words in a variety of ways. One neat feature is that you can choose to place any two sonnets on a single page to view them side by side. This opens a world of opportunity for comparing and contrasting. You may want to enhance learning and use a Venn Diagram tool, reviewed here. Mark this collection in your favorites to use for planning during any of your units on Shakespeare. In a class where textbooks might be in short supply, or if there is a piece that you want to draw everyone's attention to, this is an excellent site to ensure everyone has access, just as long as they have internet access.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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