TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Feb 17, 2013
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
Multiplication - Krimsten Publishing
Grades
1 to 6This site includes advertising.
tag(s): multiplication (121), operations (72)
In the Classroom
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector when introducing new facts. Use this site at centers or as a homework activity. Find all necessary tools for your class including flashcards, quizzes, practice sheets, and bingo cards. Motivate your reluctant learner as well as add challenge to gifted learners. Give this site to parents as a resource to practice multiplication at home.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Sound Maps -- British Library - The British Library
Grades
K to 12tag(s): cultures (145), multimedia (46), sounds (42)
In the Classroom
This site is a great addition to any world language, history, music, English, or science class. Use the oral history section to hear stories from Holocaust survivors. Listen to accents from around the world. Have you ever wanted to know what a cicada sounds like? Use the recordings from the nature and environment section. Science and music teachers can use the site to show how sound waves look. Use the site to demonstrate how to create an oral history. Then have cooperative learning groups create podcasts demonstrating their understanding of a particular topic you are studying. Use a site such as PodOmatic (reviewed here). In world language classes, have students explore locations to learn more about the sound of that country. Then have them create a recording that uses recorded sounds as background to their own spoken words in their new language.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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SciStarter - Science for Citizens LLC
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animals (289), archeology (26), birds (46), citizen science (27), ecology (102), environment (245), geology (62), insects (68), medicine (56), oceans (149), Project Based Learning (26), science fairs (20), scientific method (48), sound (73), space (217), transportation (31), weather (161)
In the Classroom
Find a great project for your students to participate in, entering data and looking at the results. Search by activity or topic to find a project geared towards your students age range, curriculum, and ability to complete. Have students make a multimedia presentation about one of the "projects" using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Slides, Animatron, Vibby, and Inkscape. This resource lends itself to project based learning.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ESA Space for Europe - European Space Agency
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): earth (185), solar system (109), space (217), sun (71)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a learning station. The text portions are challenging, so you should pair weaker readers with a partner as they research on this site. Have cooperative learning groups create podcasts demonstrating their understanding of one of the concepts. Use a site such as PodOmatic (reviewed here). Have students create posters on paper or do it together online as a class using a tool such PicLits (reviewed here). Or use other online tools such as Padlet (reviewed here), PodOmatic (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fetch - PBS Kids
Grades
2 to 8tag(s): animal homes (57), birds (46), dinosaurs (41), diseases (69), literacy (116), machines (14), simple machines (17), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Invite Ruff Ruffman into your classroom to add spice to your science, language arts, and math curriculum. Although contestants are ages 10-14, younger students would benefit by watching the activities. Some may be too challenging for younger students to complete on their own. Students will identify with the contestants as they learn and laugh along with Ruff. Add a Ruff adventure or interview as an anticipatory guide for a unit. Share a clip or experiment on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use as a way to enrich during your unit on mammals, motion, or problem solving. Have older elementary students (or middle school) become familiar with the show's format and create an "episode" based on your unit of study. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create videos to share using a site such as TeacherTube. Create a writing experience from episodes given. Use an episode as a spark to begin a further area of inquiry. Add to your computers as a center time activity, or even as a special earned award. Share on your website as an enrichment source, or a great place for educational learning.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Future Me - Write a Letter to the Future - Matt Sly and Jay Patrikios
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): back to school (62), creativity (91), digital storytelling (152), letter writing (19), Teacher Utilities (159)
In the Classroom
Future Me is a wonderful tool to use at the beginning of the school year. Ask students to send themselves (or you) a "future" email with what they would like to learn this year, subjects they do and don't like, and goals for the school year. Send and share the emails on a date near the end of the year to see how they have changed. High school seniors may want to write a letter to themselves four years in the future with their goals for college and the future. Share with parents, and ask them to write a letter to their student for future delivery. Have students write an email to you describing what they know about any topic or person before beginning a unit, have the email delivered upon completion of the unit as a reminder of how much learning has occurred. Have middle schoolers write emails with summer goals before summer break and have set them for delivery in September so students can see whether their summer was as productive as they had hoped. What a great way to teach goal-setting!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Scoop.it! - Scoop.it Inc
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): bookmarks (46)
In the Classroom
Create Scoops for projects so that students have a one stop shop to research. Create a Scoop with information and sites for students to use as a study guide. This also gives you some control over the information to which your students are exposed. Have students sign up for their own free account. Students could use this as a working bibliography of the resources they use for research, posters, and presentations for all classes. Assign students to create a collection of online literature about a specific topic as an assignment. Have students use the "add your insight" text box to provide a mini review of the articles.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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