Featured Sites Week of: Dec 23, 2018 -
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
Learning with Santa Tracker - Google
Grades
K to 8
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Google for Education provides a collection of games and lessons tailor-made for the December holidays at their site for teachers. Choose from games for social studies, language, computer...more
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Google for Education provides a collection of games and lessons tailor-made for the December holidays at their site for teachers. Choose from games for social studies, language, computer science, and geography. Games include topics like coding, learning other languages, and understanding maps. Click the home page icon in the upper left corner to find translations for offered in several languages and more.
tag(s): christmas (35), coding (110), cross cultural understanding (167), cultures (302), game based learning (295), holidays (292), map skills (68), maps (222)
In the Classroom
Add this site to your tool kit of December teaching resources. Include the games on classroom computers and add to your class website. Replace paper posters and have students share their favorite activities using an on line poster creator like Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here. After practicing coding using the games provided on this site, enhance learning by challenging students to create their own game using a tool such as Scratch, reviewed here.
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Santa's Village and Tracker - Google
Grades
K to 6
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Google's annual Santa's Village features a Santa Tracker for Christmas Eve along with an many educational and entertaining games full of surprises. Find featured holiday games and educational...more
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Google's annual Santa's Village features a Santa Tracker for Christmas Eve along with an many educational and entertaining games full of surprises. Find featured holiday games and educational resources like coding games and a visit to the North Pole. Start checking this site on December 1 to find the latest goodies offered!
tag(s): christmas (35), cross cultural understanding (167), cultures (302), holidays (292), maps (222), seasonal (47)
In the Classroom
Share a link to the Santa's Village on your class website and classroom computers. Allow students to explore and try options offered each day. Replace paper and pencil and have students share information from the daily activities on a blog using edublogs, reviewed here. Include images and videos of activities with blog posts. Use the site to introduce a unit on Holidays Around the World and for a final project enhance learning and have students use Google My Maps, reviewed here, to create a virtual field trip around the world featuring some of Santa's stops.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NorthPole.com - Northpole Productions, LLC
Grades
K to 7
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Enjoy a colorful look at Santa's Village. NorthPole has interactives (concentration, word searches, counting money, telling time, mazes, and more), and you can even play checkers with...more
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Enjoy a colorful look at Santa's Village. NorthPole has interactives (concentration, word searches, counting money, telling time, mazes, and more), and you can even play checkers with Santa. Attend the Elf Academy, read stories about your elf, send animated Christmas postcards, write Santa a letter and get a reply! For those into the maker movement, there are holiday crafts to make with directions and free templates. Create an account and register your students at the same time. Students will be assigned a user ID and password.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Introduce the NorthPole to students by projecting it for all to see the different areas to explore. Add a link to classroom computers for the entire site or specific areas. Post a link on your class web page or newsletter for parents and students to use at home. With younger students, consider demonstrating how to write a letter to Santa or send a postcard to a relative from this site. Take photos, or have older students take photos, of the crafts and recipes the students make and post them on your website for parents to see. Engage older students by having them post the photos with and explanation using a portfolio tool such as bulb, reviewed here. Alternatively, students could enhance their learning by annotating images taken of their activities with text, URL's, or videos using Genially, reviewed here.
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Online Tools and Timesavers Editor's Choice Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
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This collection of Editors' Choice FREE, reviewed resources was selected to help teachers and students save time using handy online tools that get the job done and make your classroom...more
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This collection of Editors' Choice FREE, reviewed resources was selected to help teachers and students save time using handy online tools that get the job done and make your classroom run smoothly. Find tools for organizing and communicating, managing your classroom, do-it-yourself creating, sharing links, useful utilities, saving paper, and much more. For a more extensive collection, see our full listing of online tools.
tag(s): classroom management (154)
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your favorites as a sanity saver. You may not remember the name of each handy timesaver, but having the collection close "at hand" will help you find them easily. Use your free TeachersFirst membership to rate them or mark individual favorite tools and share them with your students on your public page.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 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Future Me is an email service that allows you to write an email and have it delivered in the future (up to 50 years later). Insert your email address, subject, ...more
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Future Me is an email service that allows you to write an email and have it delivered in the future (up to 50 years later). Insert your email address, subject, and write your email. Choose a future date for delivery, and it's ready to go! Options include adding an image and making the email public or private. Note - the public gallery is unmoderated so may contain content not suitable for school. Also, some of the advertising is in the form of clicking on free PDFs which will take you away from the Future Me website.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): back to school (57), creativity (93), digital storytelling (177), letter writing (15), Teacher Utilities (233)
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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Gifts of Character Read alouds - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 6
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This readaloud collection is part of the Help I lost my library/media specialist series. Although nothing can replace the specialized knowledge of a teacher-librarian, this...more
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This readaloud collection is part of the Help I lost my library/media specialist series. Although nothing can replace the specialized knowledge of a teacher-librarian, this collection of books and activities was created by an experienced elementary library/media specialist. The list of books to read aloud and accompanying activities center on the character traits we typically associate with the holiday season and try to instill: generosity, benevolence, philanthropy, compassion, service, and kindness. If your library does not have the books you want from this list, try using the ISBN numbers to borrow them on interlibrary loan from a public library nearby.
tag(s): christmas (35), holidays (292), independent reading (85)
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your favorites to bring out in late November, just in time for the holiday season. Or include it during a character education unit. Maybe invite some parents to volunteer as readers, modeling how adults give of their own time to support others.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Todoist - Todoist
Grades
4 to 12
14 Favorites
1 Comments
Todoist is a simple, task manager. With the free account you will have access to 5 personal projects, one week activity history, integration of a built in calendar and email, ...more
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Todoist is a simple, task manager. With the free account you will have access to 5 personal projects, one week activity history, integration of a built in calendar and email, and more. Set up free accounts in minutes with email. The intro and support videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
tag(s): calendars (37), DAT device agnostic tool (134), organizational skills (92)
In the Classroom
Your students need to know about time management skills. odoist will help you teach them and give them practice. Any student would appreciate having an online time management account, but learning support students and disorganized gifted students need one. You may want to model using this online tool to help middle and high school students learn better personal organization. Make a demo account for a mythical student and organize his/hers together so students can see how it works. Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector the first week of school to help students set-up their own accounts. Parents may appreciate learning about this site also. Use this site professionally to keep yourself organized!Comments
What a fabulous organizational tool for teachers and students!Melissa, , Grades: 0 - 5
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The Giving Tree Lesson - TeachersFirst
Grades
2 to 8
5 Favorites
0 Comments
A Christmas gift from one of our own staff, this lesson based on Shel Silverstein's book The Giving Tree is sure to get students thinking about the Christmas spirit. We're ...more
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A Christmas gift from one of our own staff, this lesson based on Shel Silverstein's book The Giving Tree is sure to get students thinking about the Christmas spirit. We're also offering a place for you to share your students' responses on TeachersFirst's own giving tree.
tag(s): charactered (87), christmas (35), empathy (80), guided reading (30), writing (303)
In the Classroom
This lesson can be adapted for use in a language arts class with students of varying ability levels in grades 2 - 8. This lesson is also well-suited to a multi-age activity with "big buddies" and "little buddies" from upper and lower grades working together. School counselors and emotional support teachers may find this activity helpful for small groups working on social skills, character education, and specific traits such as empathy.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Official Kwanzaa Website - Official Kwanza Website
Grades
K to 12
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Developed with the cooperation of the man who began it all, this site offers lots and lots of detail on every facet of the Kwanzaa observance and celebration. This makes ...more
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Developed with the cooperation of the man who began it all, this site offers lots and lots of detail on every facet of the Kwanzaa observance and celebration. This makes it a great resource whether you're planning your own celebration or developing a lesson about the holiday. For students with Kwanzaa questions, this would be a great resource.
tag(s): cross cultural understanding (167), holidays (292), kwanzaa (22)
In the Classroom
Enhance student learning by having students create blogs on Telegra. ph that share their learning and understanding. Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph, you click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or X (formerly Twitter) link. This blog creator requires no registration.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Dates That Matter - TeachersFirst
Grades
5 to 12
21 Favorites
1 Comments
Dates That Matter provides a new perspective on history by placing each day-in-history event in a broader context and explaining its long-term impact. History is a fabric woven of many...more
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Dates That Matter provides a new perspective on history by placing each day-in-history event in a broader context and explaining its long-term impact. History is a fabric woven of many events, and Dates That Matter helps students see the full tapestry. Each entry opens with a date and a single intriguing sentence about the event. A set of guiding questions then appears one at a time -- click Reveal to uncover each answer and surface the next question. When all questions have been explored, the full historical event is named, and a Why It Matters explanation fills in the remaining context and offers curated links to learn more. Teachers who work with struggling or reluctant readers may find these daily entries a natural way to practice the reading strategy of connecting new information to prior knowledge. You can also preview upcoming dates to select entries that align with your current unit -- but be aware that the preview page shows the answers, so keep it for your planning only.
tag(s): calendars (37), substitutes (33)
In the Classroom
Begin your social studies class once or twice a week by projecting a Dates That Matter entry and working through the guiding questions together as a class -- clicking Reveal one at a time to spark discussion before the answer appears. Use the Why It Matters links as extra credit or enrichment opportunities, or ask gifted students to investigate one entry per month and become the class "expert" on that event. Add a link to your teacher's webpage so students and families can explore it together outside of school. Substitutes will also appreciate this meaningful, discussion-ready routine that connects today's lesson to students' prior knowledge -- no prep required.Comments
This is a terrific site for daily writing and "Do Nows" for my ELA classes. In addition, the site can be used for Morning Meeting/Advisory.Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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Victorian Christmas - TeachersFirst
Grades
4 to 8
4 Favorites
0 Comments
This collection introduces Victorian Christmas customs and offers several activities which students can complete to show their understanding of Christmas celebrations from over a century...more
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This collection introduces Victorian Christmas customs and offers several activities which students can complete to show their understanding of Christmas celebrations from over a century ago.
In the Classroom
Save this site as a favorite on your desktop and use it to add supplementary activities to your classroom before Winter Break. Many of the sites can be used as webquests, classroom activities or Learning centers. This could be a great way to mix the holidays into content, comparing today's celebrations to those of the 19th century.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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