TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Mar 2, 2014
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
Typing Club - TypingClub.com
Grades
3 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Practice and learn keyboarding with this free online program. Click on a lesson level to begin. Follow tutorials that teach the correct hand and finger placement. Continue moving through...more
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Practice and learn keyboarding with this free online program. Click on a lesson level to begin. Follow tutorials that teach the correct hand and finger placement. Continue moving through different lessons by earning three stars based on accuracy and speed. Save your work and track progress by creating a free account. Create a school account to add up to three classes and two instructors with unlimited students and the ability to create and customize lessons. You do not have to register to use this site, only to track your progress.
tag(s): computers (109), keyboarding (27)
In the Classroom
Create a link to Typing Club on classroom computers or in the computer lab. Demonstrate how to use this site (for younger students) on your projector. Use this site for students to practice and learn keyboarding skills. Share a link to the site on your class newsletter or website for students to practice at home.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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The Hunger Games Gender Empowerment Lesson Plan - Glenn Wiebe
Grades
8 to 12
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Use the popularity of The Hunger Games books and movies to teach about gender empowerment and gender roles in society using this complete lesson plan. This lesson includes three...more
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Use the popularity of The Hunger Games books and movies to teach about gender empowerment and gender roles in society using this complete lesson plan. This lesson includes three activities focusing on gender relationships found within The Hunger Games . Explore features of the main characters through ratings charts, writing activities, and class discussion. This lesson is in PDF format for easy download and printing.
tag(s): book reports (26), characterization (18), creative writing (123), sociology (22)
In the Classroom
Download and save this lesson plan for use when reading The Hunger Games in your classroom or as an extension when discussing gender roles and stereotypes. Have students share what they have learned by creating personalized images (with text) using PicFont, reviewed here. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about one of the main characters in The Hunger Games . Use these lesson ideas less formally in an afterschool book club.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Futility Closet - Greg Ross
Grades
6 to 12
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Futility Closet is a large collection of entertaining and interesting tidbits from history, language arts, literature, and more. There are mind-stretching puzzles and many thought-provoking,...more
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Futility Closet is a large collection of entertaining and interesting tidbits from history, language arts, literature, and more. There are mind-stretching puzzles and many thought-provoking, true tales. The collection contains close to 8,000 tidbits (some with photos or video clips). More are added daily. Choose from categories such as hoaxes, poems, puzzles, or technology to narrow your search. Scroll through the site to find items by date added. This entertaining site will have you returning over and over to explore and find new bits of trivia! Some of the videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): logic (152), poetry (192), puzzles (149), trivia (17)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save Futility Closet as a resource for thought provoking trivia throughout the year. Share one item on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) at the beginning of each class for class discussion. Allow your gifted students to explore this site independently, and perhaps even start their own blog collections. Allow students to explore the site and find interesting items to research and explore further. Use the search tool on Futility Closet to search for trivia on current lessons such as Shakespeare, angles, or any keyword - you will be surprised at your findings! Some of the "curiosities" would be great writing prompts for students to take a position and research/support with evidence. Have students share one item they find interesting and create a project using a tool such as Padlet, (reviewed here). Subscribe to Futility Closet using your RSS Feed Reader. Teacher-librarians would love to use these as research prompts. Include one during your school newscast or PTO newsletter (with proper credit to the source, of course).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Barat Primary Source Nexus - Barat Education Foundation
Grades
2 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Find high interest primary sources for anything from teddy bears to Abraham Lincoln to King Kamehameha and much more. There are also primary sources for world connections for Serbia,...more
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Find high interest primary sources for anything from teddy bears to Abraham Lincoln to King Kamehameha and much more. There are also primary sources for world connections for Serbia, Iran, and Cambodia. Common Core emphasizes "reading" of visual sources of information, and this is the perfect source. Be sure to click on Learning Resources and Teaching Resources for lesson plans for Literature Links, Lesson Plans, Tech Tools, Integrating Tech, and much more. This is a growing resource, so be sure to sign up for their newsletter. The Primary Source Nexus is the online support resource for the TPS-Barat Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program. This is a great place to look for ideas to use for History Day! For instance, use the search bar to find several resources for Juneteenth. Preview before sharing with students.
tag(s): advertising (24), black history (126), cross cultural understanding (175), history day (38), immigration (81), journalism (72), Juneteenth (22), lincoln (66), martin luther king (42), poetry (192), presidents (150), primary sources (120), professional development (281), roosevelt (17), slavery (79), writing prompts (57)
In the Classroom
Take a look at the free professional development for using primary sources for teachers. Search for Connecting to the Common Core, where there are writing prompts for K-5 plus a link to the triangle activity. Download and use the PDF for the Thinking Triangle. Have older students research an interest and report to the class using a tool like Google Slides, reviewed here.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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The Florence Nightingale Museum - The Florence Nightingale Museum
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
The Lady With the Lamp, Florence Nightingale, is best known as the inspiration for the International Red Cross. Find out more about her life, and see some of the clothing ...more
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The Lady With the Lamp, Florence Nightingale, is best known as the inspiration for the International Red Cross. Find out more about her life, and see some of the clothing and accessories she wore. View items that she used in her career as a nurse during the 19th century. There is a searchable collection and a comprehensive biography. The best information for educators and students are the Learning and Resource tabs on the top menu.
tag(s): biographies (92), heroes (23), medicine (56)
In the Classroom
Florence Nightingale is a favorite subject for biographies, particularly during Women's History Month. The biography and digital artifacts from her life will be useful to students who are researching the impact she made on modern medicine and nursing. Use this research information to create a simple infographic about Nightingale, using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, or Venngage, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Flickr Bad Maths Group - Danny Nicholson
Grades
6 to 12
3 Favorites
1 Comments
The Flickr Bad Maths Group shares photographic examples of crazy offers, signs, and specials where the math just doesn't "add up." Some are obviously bad; others may take some calculations...more
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The Flickr Bad Maths Group shares photographic examples of crazy offers, signs, and specials where the math just doesn't "add up." Some are obviously bad; others may take some calculations to spot the error. Scroll through to find actual images from stores offering specials such as $10/month or $199 for 18 months. Click on any image to view or share using social networking links. The site was created in the UK, so some of the pronunciations and spellings (and some of the currency) may differ from those in America. However, American dollars are also shown at this site.
tag(s): financial literacy (90)
In the Classroom
Use Bad Maths images as a great class starter discussion. Display an image on your interactive whiteboard and challenge students to find the flaw. Since many photos show British currency and metric units, use these images as a way to learn conversions to more familiar units. Challenge students to find their own examples of Bad Maths in your neighborhood and share in class. Give them bonus points for taking a cell phone shot and sending it to you! Have students take a picture of the "bad math" and create personalized images (with text) using PicFont, reviewed here.Comments
Patrick, , Grades: 9 - 12
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Quotes Cover - QuotesCover.com
Grades
1 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Design and create beautiful images from quotes using Quotes Cover. Click Quote on the to menu bar to find many quotes to use divided into categories like happiness, life, love ...more
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Design and create beautiful images from quotes using Quotes Cover. Click Quote on the to menu bar to find many quotes to use divided into categories like happiness, life, love success, attitude, knowledge and many more. Follow the steps along the way. Choose from e-cards, wallpaper maker, prints for posters, and other options. The print section offers many size options from business cards to large posters. Edit and personalize using tools provided such as fonts, colors, custom background pictures, and drawing tools. You can download the finished image as a PNG file or share it on various social networks.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): back to school (52), firstday (22), images (250), posters (42), quotations (19)
In the Classroom
Create posters with students' favorite quotes, book titles for a bulletin board, All About Me information, or whatever your imagination produces! Have students include a poster as part of a research project or choose a favorite quote from class reading materials to "cover" a book talk. Create a poster with a quote from any figure in history and personalize it using Creative Commons images. In primary grades enter sight words and other basic vocabulary to create word posters. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Wikimedia Commons, reviewed here. Have students create a poster for Back to School night to share with parents. Use this tool for students to make posters of the class rules they agree upon during the first week of school. Create quote images to use as Facebook "cover" photos for a famous person or fictitious character. World language teachers and students can create clever vocabulary or sentence posters to help master the new language.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Qwant Search Engine (Beta) - Qwant.com
Grades
4 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Qwant is a search engine that allows you to search several forms of media at once, share easily, or create bookmarks and lists. Type in any search term to display ...more
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Qwant is a search engine that allows you to search several forms of media at once, share easily, or create bookmarks and lists. Type in any search term to display results in columns sorted by web, news, graphs, social, and shopping. Or click to view in classic view. Click the Boards tab to browse collections by others (similar to Pinterest). Account creation isn't necessary, but it allows the option to save, tag, and organize sites into public or private lists.
tag(s): bookmarks (32), search engines (42)
In the Classroom
Create a classroom account to create and share resources for any subject. Allow students to add information found on their own. You may want to have students cooperatively "tech out" Quant on your projector or interactive whiteboard so they know how to use all its features. Bookmark Qwant on classroom computers as an alternative search engine to the one you already use. For an alternative research project, have cooperative learning groups research a certain topic and share their resources using this tool.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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