TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Aug 23, 2020

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

 

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CurriConnects Booklist: The Artist's Eye - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 12
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This CurriConnects features books about artists and their style and Caldecott winning authors who have unusual or beautiful layouts. Treat your students to the possibility of exploring...more
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This CurriConnects features books about artists and their style and Caldecott winning authors who have unusual or beautiful layouts. Treat your students to the possibility of exploring color and its power to communicate feelings and ideas, that art can be in the eye of the beholder, finding art (and joy) in the shapes of nature, different ways to look at perspective, and much, much more! This thematic list includes fiction and nonfiction, interest and grade levels, ISBNs for ordering or searching, ESL levels and Lexiles (where available) to match with student independent reading levels to challenge, not to frustrate.

tag(s): artists (77), colors (65), drawing (60), perspective (11)

In the Classroom

This list will be a natural fit for anyone teaching art whether in elementary, middle, or high school. Use the books to introduce concepts in art and have students create digital sketchbooks about the styles and concepts they like. Replace the paper journal or sketchbook with one that can be accessed anywhere and never left behind. Use a digital "idea bin" collector like Padlet, reviewed here, that offers tools for creating shelves or grids to organize information about the concepts learned and post ideas and photos. Be sure to share this list of CurriConnects books about art with parents on your teacher webpage.

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Plum Pudding Illustration Agency - Plum Pudding

Grades
K to 12
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Plum Pudding Illustration Agency features the work of leading children's illustrators. Scroll through the home page to choose from images sharing the work of each artist. After selecting...more
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Plum Pudding Illustration Agency features the work of leading children's illustrators. Scroll through the home page to choose from images sharing the work of each artist. After selecting an artist, browse through their work to view the pictures shared. Be sure to click the illustration to see thumbnails of additional images and a biography of the artist.

tag(s): artists (77), literature (217)

In the Classroom

Use this site to find and compare the work of different children's book illustrators. When reading books with pictures by these artists, share their different images with your students to compare and contrast the different styles in the books. Ask students to browse through the site to find images that inspire them, then have them create illustrations to accompany their own work using the same style. Use those images when publishing student work using Book Creator, reviewed here. Don't forget to include a short biography of the author with the book!

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AutoDraw - Google Creative Labs

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K to 12
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AutoDraw matches your online doodles with professional drawings using any device. Begin a picture, and as you add to the image, AutoDraw's algorithms offer possible matches for your...more
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AutoDraw matches your online doodles with professional drawings using any device. Begin a picture, and as you add to the image, AutoDraw's algorithms offer possible matches for your attempt. Click on any of the matching images to replace your doodle with a completed drawing. Use the site's tools to add text, change outline and fill colors, and add shapes. When finished, download your creation as a PNG file to your device. Share your drawing using social media links or the URL.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (99), colors (65), drawing (60), images (270), painting (55)

In the Classroom

AutoDraw is an excellent tool for artists and non-artists. Use this site to quickly draw professional looking images for any number of classroom purposes. Create images to accompany presentations on an interactive whiteboard (or projector) or for use on your class website. Ask students to create drawings when retelling stories or creating math problems. Use with students who have any disability as an aid for conveying information through pictures. When teaching ESL/ELL and world languages, use AutoDraw to create images to replace words in texts. Have students create and personalize their images to include with multimedia presentations.

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Jamzone - Music Will

Grades
K to 12
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Learn to write music, play instruments, and sing with Jamzone. To start, choose from links to learn a song, take a lesson, or practice. Choose from the song list of ...more
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Learn to write music, play instruments, and sing with Jamzone. To start, choose from links to learn a song, take a lesson, or practice. Choose from the song list of popular music and artists to learn to play a song using options for different instruments. Narrow your choices by a level of difficulty, title, or artist. Use the Take a Lesson link to learn to play several different instruments. Short videos start at beginner levels and move up in difficulty. Practice skills using games and song jams.

tag(s): makerspace (41), music theory (45), musical instruments (45), musical notation (35)

In the Classroom

Be sure to check out the Teacher Zone and its free lesson plans and resources. This site is perfect for differentiation in the music classroom. Allow students to choose an instrument and learn at their own pace and level. Share a link on your classroom website for students to practice at home. Take advantage of the vocal lessons to learn about songwriting. After watching videos, have students write a song to summarize a novel, share information on climate change, or sing about an event in history.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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The Museum of Modern Art Exhibition History - The Museum of Modern Art

Grades
3 to 12
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This Museum of Modern Art site, though "plain Jane" looking, shares a plethora of history of all exhibitions at the museum from 1929 through the present. Browse through collections...more
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This Museum of Modern Art site, though "plain Jane" looking, shares a plethora of history of all exhibitions at the museum from 1929 through the present. Browse through collections by date, or filter by type of exhibition including film series, performance programs, and others. Choose the link to Art and artists to find collections by specific artists. Of particular interest in this section are audio tours including some specifically for kids.

tag(s): 20th century (59), art history (85), artists (77)

In the Classroom

Art teachers will love this collection for use when teaching various types of arts and artists. Be sure to take advantage of the audio tours for a wide variety of art information for students. Include a link with specific information on your class website for students to view (and hear) at home. Have students create a multimedia presentation using My Storybook, reviewed here. This site allows you to narrate a picture. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted to be reproduced), and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report.

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Noteflight - Noteflight, LLC

Grades
4 to 12
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Noteflight is an online music creating and sharing tool. Create your own music or view and listen to the works of other artists. After creating your account, click to begin ...more
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Noteflight is an online music creating and sharing tool. Create your own music or view and listen to the works of other artists. After creating your account, click to begin a New Score. Use the tools in the program to add notes, notation, and more to your composition. Be sure to check out the User Guide, Tutorial, and Reference Videos for full instructions on available features. Registration is not required to browse and listen to compositions shared by other site members. Noteflight works on all browsers and Safari Mobile iOS 6.1. The free plan allows you to create 10 scores. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): musical instruments (45), musical notation (35)

In the Classroom

Share students' musical creations online! Demonstrate the art of composition while using Noteflight on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Explore different musical instruments and how they affect the tone and mood of the piece. During a multimedia presentation, have students create their own music. In Destination Imagination or Odyssey of the Mind, use your scores to showcase talent. In honoring multiple intelligences, highlight the students' with musical talent. While reading historical fiction novels, have students compose a song typical of that period with the commonly used instruments and style. Offer in your after school clubs for music, guitar, or band.

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The Color - TheColor.com

Grades
K to 2
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Find and choose from 100's of online coloring pages sorted into categories at The Color. Choose from holiday categories, colors, alphabet, occupations, continents, dinosaurs,...more
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Find and choose from 100's of online coloring pages sorted into categories at The Color. Choose from holiday categories, colors, alphabet, occupations, continents, dinosaurs, nursery rhymes, numbers, and much more. Click on an image to begin coloring. You can color online or print the page to color on paper. Share finished images via email using the link provided. Registration isn't necessary, but if you register you may save finished projects for later viewing.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): alphabet (51), animals (278), birds (42), colors (65), continents (32), dinosaurs (38), holidays (159), numbers (119), nursery rhymes (9), planets (111), preK (254), presidents (120), space (212), transportation (32)

In the Classroom

Bookmark this site as a resource for coloring pages in many different topics. Share a link to the site with parents for practice at home. Color pictures of the continents during geography lessons. Explore the dinosaur coloring pages during dinosaur month.

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Sumo Paint 3.0 - Lauri Koutaniemi and Aaro Vaananen

Grades
6 to 12
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Sumo Paint is a free, web-based painting and photo editing application. Without even having to create an account, you can edit images from a URL or personal desktop file. Simply ...more
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Sumo Paint is a free, web-based painting and photo editing application. Without even having to create an account, you can edit images from a URL or personal desktop file. Simply go directly to the site and begin editing images or creating work directly from a web browser, or download the app to your desktop. The painting tools included are layering, cloning, blur effects, a magic wand, shape tools, paint bucket, lasso selecting, filters, and the ability to add text. The photo editing tools allow for the adjusting contrast, hue saturation, and color balance. The application works with JPGs, GIFs and PNGs and saves work as a JPG and PNG format. The support tutorials provide tips on how to use these various features. Sumo Paint also serves as a global network of artists and is available in over fifty different languages. Without an account, you can view work but cannot share or post comments. Signing up for a free account will provide artists an opportunity to share their work, comment, view, and rate the work others artists. A free account also grants access to features such as the ability save the layer data incomplete artwork, back up files, and participate in collaborative image creation.

tag(s): design (82), editing (93), painting (55), photography (131)

In the Classroom

Previous experience with layer-based design software editing such as Photoshop is extremely beneficial. The "Sumo Paint Help" page provides helpful tutorials but individuals without previous training may need additional support.

Challenge students to learn about the tools professional designers use today. Select and then project video help tutorials to the whole class. Before sending students off for independent practice, demonstrate how to use the image editing and painting tools on an interactive whiteboard or projector. The videos in this section link to YouTube, so systems that block YouTube access may not be able to access this. Rather than a traditional report, challenge students to write articles and create magazine covers for biographies, history or science reports using Magazine Cover Maker, reviewed here. Have students create icons for logos for websites. Have students create artwork for CD labels for portfolios or multimedia projects using CD Cover Maker, reviewed here. Post a link to Sumo Paint on your class website for student access outside of school. The beauty of this free cloud based software is that students can start a project in school, collaborate on a single image, and continue to work on it after school hours.

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Drop Me Off in Harlem - Artsedge

Grades
6 to 12
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Presented by the Kennedy Center's Artsedge program, this site is a wonderful kaleidoscope of information about Harlem from 1917 through 1935. It explores the artists of that time, including...more
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Presented by the Kennedy Center's Artsedge program, this site is a wonderful kaleidoscope of information about Harlem from 1917 through 1935. It explores the artists of that time, including writers, artists, actors, dancers, and musicians. Under Faces of the Harlem Renaissance there are categories for musicians, writers, actors, activists of the time such as W.E.B. DuBois and Charles Johnson, and more.

One of the nice things about this site is the easy access to the section they call "Classroom Activities." Scroll down to the bottom of any page to find it. Here they provide activities for grades 6-8 and 9-12 that are specific to grade level as well as links to lesson plans if you choose to use those. Under A Place Called Harlem, you will find the Media Player which still requires Flash, however there is so much information on this site that the media player will hardly be missed.

tag(s): 1910s (7), 1920s (15), 1930s (20), dance (26), harlem (8)

In the Classroom

Because of the sheer variety of links offered, this is an ideal lesson to spread among a class. As a culminating activity have a "Harlem Day" where students present their information. They might dress and speak as the person they studied; they might present music, poetry, or art from that time, or even create a Harlem "nightclub" to share their information.

Why not extend student learning and have them create video clips using Adobe Creative Cloud Express Video Maker, reviewed here, to share on your interactive whiteboard or projector via TeacherTube, reviewed here. Other project ideas could be a blog using Edublogs, reviewed here, written from the perspective of someone living in Harlem during the great depression, or a wiki written between one of the famous artists and the president at the time (Herbert Hoover, for example). A good wiki tool to use is PBWorks, reviewed here.

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Science Coloring Books - NIEHS

Grades
K to 2
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These lesson plans and activities from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human Services offer both online and printable versions of coloring books and pages...more
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These lesson plans and activities from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human Services offer both online and printable versions of coloring books and pages on science and health topics: from personal hygiene to environmental awareness. After you give a brief introduction to the visual spectrum of colors, you can select to color pages or to print a coloring book. Topics include dental health, plants, fitness, weather, healthy eating, and more.

tag(s): colors (65), drawing (60), environment (238), preK (254)

In the Classroom

Use this site as an engaging way to reinforce science concepts introduced in class. Share the printables with children to take home. Show children how the spectrum appears naturally in biology. You can also use the pictures as jumping off points for discussion. Another option that encourages creativity is a drawing game using javascript.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Art 21: Art in the Twenty-First Century - PBS

Grades
9 to 12
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See the many featured, twenty-first century artists and their work in slideshows and hundreds of streaming video clips that accompany the ninth season of this PBS series. The artists...more
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See the many featured, twenty-first century artists and their work in slideshows and hundreds of streaming video clips that accompany the ninth season of this PBS series. The artists speak quite articulately about their creative process and messages they wish to convey.

tag(s): artists (77), creativity (92)

In the Classroom

Make this site a link from your teacher web page for your art students to explore for inspiration. Many of the video clips would also be great introductions to studio assignments, cultural discussions, or writing assignments if shown on a projector. Find Teacher Guides for Art 21 here.

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Coloring-Page.net - Coloring-Page.net

Grades
1 to 2
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Choose from hundreds of print-friendly coloring pages for your students. Find an image that relates to a holiday or curriculum topic, or check out the online kids' activities that include...more
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Choose from hundreds of print-friendly coloring pages for your students. Find an image that relates to a holiday or curriculum topic, or check out the online kids' activities that include interactive word searches, memory games, classic word games and so much more! Printable connect-the-dots activities and mazes are also available. These are great "filler" activities your students will love.

tag(s): colors (65), printables (37)

In the Classroom

Bookmark Coloring-Page as a resource for teaching materials throughout the school year. Take advantage of the free printables for use on bulletin boards, classroom management, and centers. Choose materials from the site to use in substitute folders. Be sure to share this site with your fellow teachers! You might consider finding snow day and vacation day activities to post on your class website for parent and student use.

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National Museum of Women in the Arts - National Museum of Women in the Arts

Grades
7 to 12
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Here you will learn about prominent women artists of the past and great women artists working today. On the top menu, click Art + Artists to find a Collection of ...more
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Here you will learn about prominent women artists of the past and great women artists working today. On the top menu, click Art + Artists to find a Collection of works by women artists, search by artist or artwork, time periods, medium, and or topic. The rest of this page displays 225 artworks that, when clicked, give you information about the artwork and the artist. When you click Artists, you'll find photos and profiles of women artists. Search by time periods and or medium. This page displays photos of the artists, and there is an interactive button at the top where you can shuffle which artists are displayed. Teachers: From the top menu, you can also click Learn and then For Educators to find Art, Books, and Creativity (ABC) curriculum that uses artists' books to highlight natural connections between visual arts and language arts. Scroll down the page to find additional resources.

tag(s): artists (77), women (136), womenchangemaker (25)

In the Classroom

Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard (or projector). Take advantage of the free art lessons then allow students to explore on their own or in collaborative groups. Since many of the lessons include writing, enhance learning by having students create online posters individually or together as a class. Use a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here, to display a photo of the artwork or artist and explain what they learned. Then use the poster makers once again as a final project for the students "on their own" exploration.

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