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New Year's Resolutions - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
4 to 12
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As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for New Years. Find interactive vocabulary activities using the New Year's...more
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As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for New Years. Find interactive vocabulary activities using the New Year's Resolutions vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.
tag(s): new years (4)
In the Classroom
Share the puzzles on your interactive whiteboard or projector or make them available as links on your teacher public page. Replace pen and paper and have students write a blog entry about their New Year's Resolution using 6-10 of the words from this theme. Use Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph a unique URL is provided, and you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or X (formerlyTwitter) links. If you'd like to make this a bit more challenging, modify learning by encouraging students (or groups) to create their own illustrated dictionaries of terms using a tool such as Book Creator, reviewed here, or Bookemon, reviewed here. As you add more vocabulary lists during the year, have them select their favorite 6-10 terms from each list to add to their "book."You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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News for You Online - New Readers Press
Grades
4 to 10
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This online version of the traditionally used ESL/ELL newspaper, "News for You," has a few up to date stories available for free and an archive of stories from the past ...more
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This online version of the traditionally used ESL/ELL newspaper, "News for You," has a few up to date stories available for free and an archive of stories from the past few months as well. Besides reading the stories, students can also hear them. The accompanying teacher's guide in pdf format has comprehension and discussion questions, vocabulary help, and a loosely related grammar activity. A separate classroom ideas section has something appropriate for nearly all classrooms.
To read/listen to the articles, you must put in an email address. Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
To read/listen to the articles, you must put in an email address. Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
tag(s): news (221)
In the Classroom
Have students make a vocabulary list of new words they see/hear from the stories each week. Include a story from NFY every week to present a slightly different take on the television news or paper news headlines. Have your students create their own "headline" news and video the projects! Share the videos using a tool such as TeacherTube reviewed here.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Write Rhymes - Matthew Healy
Grades
1 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Need a rhyming word for those lyrics or poems? Simply type in your poem at this site. When a rhyme is needed, hold the Alt or Option (MAC) key over ...more
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Need a rhyming word for those lyrics or poems? Simply type in your poem at this site. When a rhyme is needed, hold the Alt or Option (MAC) key over the word and click on the specific word that you want to rhyme, and a window of rhyme possibilities appears. Students may print their poetry, or, they may opt to save their typed creations to their own Word files. The site is simple, but it sure beats digging through a rhyming dictionary. Some of the words are difficult to read due to the background graphics.
tag(s): poetry (192)
In the Classroom
Demonstrate this site having volunteers share their poetry on your interactive whiteboard or projector. For advanced poets studying meter, discussing the multiple syllable options makes the task easier. You can also use this site as you teach common letter combinations and sounds with beginning readers. Enter a simple word such as "fish" or "bat" and Alt-click or Option-click for dozens of rhyming words to read aloud with a small group at your interactive whiteboard.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) - Southern Poverty Law Center
Grades
K to 12
8 Favorites
1 Comments
Learning for Justice is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center and seeks to provide educators with tools to reduce prejudice of all kinds. You might already be familiar ...more
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Learning for Justice is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center and seeks to provide educators with tools to reduce prejudice of all kinds. You might already be familiar with this group's "Mix it Up" initiative which seeks to get middle school and high school students to sit with someone new for one day during lunch at the cafeteria. This site contains lesson plans, links for teachers, teens, and kids, current topics related to prejudice, an on-line version of the Learning for Justice
magazine, an order form for free curriculum materials, and links to other resources.
The Classroom Resources link offers Lessons, Learning Plans, Student Texts, Students Tasks, Film Kits, and other helpful pages. There is also a link to receive FREE kits and handbooks! There are online activities, recommended books, "talking points," and more.
The Classroom Resources link offers Lessons, Learning Plans, Student Texts, Students Tasks, Film Kits, and other helpful pages. There is also a link to receive FREE kits and handbooks! There are online activities, recommended books, "talking points," and more.
In the Classroom
Of course, the obvious uses for this site include preparing for Black History Month or Women's History Month, consult this site for more than that! Don't just visit the Classroom Resources, but check out the Topics and Podcasts that you can share on your projector or interactive whiteboard. If you are unsure of how to approach a touchy subject with your students--either a subject from the news like the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rules, or something that is happening in your school or community, this site can provide resources for you and your students. Subscribe to Learning for Justice's emailed newsletter, or order one of the curriculum kits; the newest one is Viva la Causa about Cesar Chavez and the struggle for justice for farmworkers in the 1960s. This is a great addition to your school's anti-bully program! Take advantage of the free lesson plans, class activities, interactive, and book recommendations. This is definitely one to list on your class website!
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
Comments
This houses a WEALTH of resources! Thank you, Teaching TOLERANCE.Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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The Problem site
Grades
K to 12
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Play interesting word, math, and other activities with this free site. Membership is not required though members receive additional benefits. Find an interesting challenge to try. On...more
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Play interesting word, math, and other activities with this free site. Membership is not required though members receive additional benefits. Find an interesting challenge to try. On its page, click to play the game, read the directions for play, bookmark the specific game, or generate a link for embedding in a website, wiki, or blog. Printable game worksheets that can be customized can also be found on this site. Some of the specific topics include magic squares, attributions, hangman, strategy games, and more.
Note: Ads appear along the side and students should be cautioned in clicking on these ads. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. Get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): problem solving (263)
In the Classroom
Share this eclectic site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Use these activities for problem solving drills and interest in words or numbers. Use this site for review. List the link on your class website for students to practice both in and out of the classroom. This is a great find for gifted students!
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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ePals - ePals, Inc.
Grades
2 to 12
4 Favorites
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ePals, a global community, offers students the chance to connect with other students around the world (200+ countries). This site is one of the largest worldwide communities for global...more
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ePals, a global community, offers students the chance to connect with other students around the world (200+ countries). This site is one of the largest worldwide communities for global collaboration. Don't worry about student email accounts as they are no longer needed! Don't worry about the language barrier either, there is a built-in language translation! This content-rich site offers a free "how to" webinar on the Support page on the bottom menu. There are several support videos on YouTube. If you district blocks YouTube they may not be available in you classroom. The program offers teacher to teacher and teacher to student communications, pen pal exchanges, Classroom Collaborative Projects, Spark!Lab Invent It Challenges, and more. In addition, you can click on the Collaborative Projects link to find several ready to use projects (Self Driving Cars, Hamilton, Habitats, Maps, Natural Disasters, Water, and others).
tag(s): black history (128), collaboration (105), communication (119), disasters (35), environment (248), habitats (100), maps (222), natural disasters (19), water (101)
In the Classroom
Navigating this site is rather simple. Simply scroll through the slide show at the top to find your area of interest: Collaboration Projects, Spark!Lab Invent It Challenge, etc. Parts of this site require log-in. Registration does require an email address. A lot of safety features are already put into place at this site. To learn more about the safety features at this site, check out the ePals webinar on YouTube link on the FAQ page. This site offers an amazing assortment of class activities and possibilities. Collaborate with schools in Africa (or 200 other countries) for a geography project. Have your students find ePals to correspond with and practice writing skills in English or in a language you are studying. Get additional ideas for projects, by visiting the "Projects" link or propose one of your own based on ideas from TeachersFirst suggestions you read in other reviews, lesson plans, and articles. After viewing one of the informative videos, challenge your students to study one of the topics available at this site and extend their learning by creating their own videos using FlexClip, reviewed here. Use a tool such as TeachersTube, to share the video clips.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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Tales from the Public Domain: Bound By Law - Center for the Study of the Public Domain (Duke Law)
Grades
9 to 12
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An online, interactive graphic novel created at Duke Law explains the highly sophisticated concepts of "public domain" and other intellectual property issues related to using film clips,...more
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An online, interactive graphic novel created at Duke Law explains the highly sophisticated concepts of "public domain" and other intellectual property issues related to using film clips, artwork, Broadway shows, and more in a documentary. In the digital world of the 21st century, copyright is a concept most foreign to our students, and this interactive book may only fan the flames of their outrage at such limitations to the "rights" they perceive in today's connected world. As one panel in the book itself says, "To many artists, the question of 'Fair Use' can seem like a game of blind man's bluff." These concepts are very challenging, even for adults, but this interactive comic book can at least alert users to some of the legal issues involved in intellectual property. The nitty-gritty of Public Domain starts on page nine.
tag(s): copyright (40), media literacy (112)
In the Classroom
Since this content requires concentration and an understanding of concepts beyond those of the typical high schooler, you may want to share selected frames from the book on your interactive whiteboard or projector as discussion starters or inspiration for debate on copyright issues. Whether you are introducing a research project that requires adherence to Fair Use and proper documentation, are coaching a debate team, or prompting a piece of persuasive writing on this hot topic, this resource will provide fodder for discussion. Don't expect mastery of the legal concept, but you will undoubtedly hear opinions as students navigate this "book."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Photovisi - Photovisi
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Create instant collages of photos using this free site. Choose a collage style and upload photos from your desktop or import from a flickr photo stream read about Flickr, ...more
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Create instant collages of photos using this free site. Choose a collage style and upload photos from your desktop or import from a flickr photo stream read about Flickr, here.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): collages (17), images (262), photography (133)
In the Classroom
Select pictures from your computer or Flickr photo stream. Choosing a collage type is important and users will need to already have an idea of the number and orientation of the pictures in order to choose the right collage. Download your collage easily. An additional link to purchase items with your collage is also found on this site.Students can use the collage picture as part of a presentation to the class in order to guide their discussion. This would be great to use on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Use this to create a picture collage in order to get students thinking or brainstorming about a topic or unit of study.
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Creative Writing Prompts - Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Looking for some "quick and easy" writing prompts, check out this list! While this site has multiple offers for you buy books (and some other unobtrusive advertisements) on writing,...more
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Looking for some "quick and easy" writing prompts, check out this list! While this site has multiple offers for you buy books (and some other unobtrusive advertisements) on writing, the key is the list of 329 numerals. Rolling your mouse over each number gives a different writing prompt-- some very simple, some more thoughtful, and several downright challenging. They are all rather unique which makes student writing and response more interesting and offer more variety for you.
In the Classroom
If you use journaling as a tool, this is one way to keep it fresh. Assign different numbers to each student in the room and rotate. With 329 there are almost endless permutations of writing possibilities among your students. You can choose to have them write a sentence, a paragraph, or a longer piece based upon the prompt. A student anthology might be a good publication opportunity for you students. Create a class wiki using one (or several) of these prompts. Not sure what a wiki is? Check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Newspaper Clipping Generator - fodey.com
Grades
2 to 12
9 Favorites
0 Comments
Create a fictional portion of a web page easily by entering a fictional Newspaper, Title of article, Date, and body of article. The final image will be downloaded and not ...more
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Create a fictional portion of a web page easily by entering a fictional Newspaper, Title of article, Date, and body of article. The final image will be downloaded and not retained on any website except the ones that you publish to. Note: Model ethical behavior: Do not plagiarize or use real names of newspapers or people.
There are also links at the top of the page to create: a newspaper, ninja text, wizard text, talking flowers, talking tomatoes, talking owls, a wanted poster, talking cats, talking squirrels, and a clapper board. Be aware: this site does include some minor advertisements.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): back to school (52), digital storytelling (158), firstday (22), news (221), posters (43)
In the Classroom
You must have the basic ability to enter text into fields and download and find the finished file. For files to be shared, understanding how to upload the file onto another site or blog is required. The "clippings" you make do NOT remain on the site for access later by URL. As files are downloaded to the desktop, you may want to create a Favorites folder, or other "collection" of students projects in one place for easy work at grading time. Another idea: use a class wiki with all projects. Create a fictional account of a happening or description to identify the errors or determine the item being described. Create an account of a class celebration or a fantastic project that should be shared. Students can use this site to create a fantastic account of a vacation or experience. Have students develop a newsworthy article on an event from the novel they are reading. Use this site as a "first week" activity for students to write articles introducing themselves to the class. Have them use pseudonyms in their "articles" and share them on your class wiki or web page. A week later, have a matching contest where classmates must identify the mystery students! You could do a similar "famous Americans" or "important scientists" activity where students learn and share.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Shahi Visual Dictionary - Abdullah Arif
Grades
2 to 10
3 Favorites
0 Comments
This visual dictionary is a Wiki which matches definitions of a target word with photos from Flickr, Google, and Yahoo (at the time of this review). Simple click the word ...more
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This visual dictionary is a Wiki which matches definitions of a target word with photos from Flickr, Google, and Yahoo (at the time of this review). Simple click the word you would like to search into the text box, and lists of definitions as well as MANY photos appear. As more words are searched, they simply are listed above the previous search. So a student could easily search several words together and visually see them all on the same screen. The definitions in the dictionary come from "WordNet." Within the definition, many words themselves are clickable; students can immediately find the definition of any of those words as well. Students learn about parts of speech, tenses, are given examples, and more.
Note:
Words and definitions available are from a "general public" dictionary and may include some words not appropriate for the classroom. Teachers concerned about students' accessing obscenities or body parts should test whether school filtering blocks such inquiries before allowing students to use the dictionary independently. Alternatively, use history to enforce school acceptable use policies, supervise usage, or use the visual dictionary as a whole-class activity.
tag(s): wikis (13)
In the Classroom
As with any dictionary, this reference book contains all sorts of words including words of a sexual nature. So be sure to preview your search and give students warnings about appropriate use!Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. This is very helpful for all students. However, especially for ESL and ELL students, who might need a quick picture to help define a type of tree, plant, or food not familiar to them. Why not have students create their own wiki about your current science or social studies topic (or any other subjects). Have cooperative learning groups use vocabulary words, provide the definitions, AND find some photos to share. Not sure what a wiki is? Check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.
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Cobocards - Cobocards
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This site allows you to create flashcards, and includes sharing and group capabilities. Many teachers will be able to navigate this free site very easily. Enter vocabulary terms and...more
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This site allows you to create flashcards, and includes sharing and group capabilities. Many teachers will be able to navigate this free site very easily. Enter vocabulary terms and definitions as well as any html (web page language), such as images and charts to create electronic flashcards and quizzes for word study to use in language or other content areas. Create individual sets of flashcards, or invite others to interact and learn the same words. Teacher or students can create groups to share word lists. As with other collaborative tools, the revision history is easily accessible.
tag(s): flash cards (43), grammar review (33), word study (58)
In the Classroom
Sharing with friends for collaboration does require the sending of an email invitation.Explore the guided tour to learn an overview or find answers to specific use questions. Save your "sets" and decide whether you want them to be completely public, just for you personally, or shared with a "group." Create your own groups for each class or subject. Publish your cards for others to use. Published sets can be altered to create a new and personalized set.
Teachers in lower grades will want to create cards their students can use and perhaps have more techno-savvy help with the process. Content and English teachers may choose to set up their own network of users. Learning support teachers could suggest that their students create their own flashcard sets to assist learning of the concepts. Use the interactive whiteboard or projector for quick flashcard or electronic testing using your sets as a whole class or in small groups in the classroom. Collaborate with other teachers to create useful sets for all to use. Rotate responsibility each marking period among student groups in your class to create a set for each chapter/unit/week for the rest of the class to use as review. Give a special award (or bonus points) for the most creative, complete set that marking period.
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E.ggTimer.com - David LeMieux and Ben Lew
Grades
K to 12
5 Favorites
0 Comments
This site provides an online FULL-SCREEN timer. Set the online timer to count down from any number. Simply type in the exact amount of time that you want to countdown ...more
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This site provides an online FULL-SCREEN timer. Set the online timer to count down from any number. Simply type in the exact amount of time that you want to countdown into the white text box. You can count by seconds, minutes, hours, days, or even years!
In the Classroom
What a fabulous alternative to a traditional egg timer. Project the time on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector while students take a test, solve a drag and drop, practice speeches, rotate between learning centers, or during cooperative learning groups. Be sure to turn up the volume for the "time's-up" alert! As you teach basic concepts of time in primary grades, use this timer for students to understand the real concepts of one minute or ten seconds. Show the relationships between minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, etc. You can even use it to teach counting backward from 60!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lessons From Literature - NCTE, Family Violence Protection Fund
Grades
9 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
This site offers lesson plans for teachers using Their Eyes Were Watching God and Lord of the Flies and other poems and plays from the point of view of preventing ...more
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This site offers lesson plans for teachers using Their Eyes Were Watching God and Lord of the Flies and other poems and plays from the point of view of preventing and dealing with violence and abuse in teens' lives. Besides the specific lesson plans, it offers a complete manual explaining to teachers how to help their students with these too-common problems, particularly focusing on relationship abuse. Other supports on the website include a printable poster, a resource library, extensive materials on how to help teens with date abuse, and links to NCTE standards as well as to other support organizations. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom
Read these materials carefully to learn how to introduce lesson plans that focus on relationship abuse. As with all sensitive issues, be sure you are within school policies in holding discussions, perhaps by involving the school counselor or health teachers, as well. Share this site with your counseling staff and psychologists. Create a class wiki to discuss this and other "hot topics." Obviously, students should not share specific personal experiences, but create more of a "what to do" type of wiki. Not sure what a wiki is? Check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Mathematical Fiction - Alex Kasman
Grades
K to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
This site provides countless books, films, plays, and television shows that all relate to specific math concepts. What a fabulous way to integrate math, language arts, history, and...more
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This site provides countless books, films, plays, and television shows that all relate to specific math concepts. What a fabulous way to integrate math, language arts, history, and more! The site includes the title, year, and brief description. Teachers can browse by genre, medium, motif, and/or topic. Media include everything from comic books to plays to television series. Genres include historical fiction, children's literature, adventure/espionage, fantasy, science fiction, and more. Sixty-three fiction offerings are even available FREE (in their entirety) online! The site is still developing and frequently adds additional fiction titles. Students who enjoy fantasy will also enjoy choosing books from this site, since the author admits that not all math mentioned in all the books is "real" math!! The site allows teachers to search by keyword and also to browse new offerings in the compilation of titles.
tag(s): logic (160), probability (128), statistics (128)
In the Classroom
Use this site to find extra reading choices for reluctant readers who are interested in technology and math. Use it also to show students that math processes are inherent in a lot of life's experiences. Search the site for your current math topics. Share this link on your class website for students (and parents) to use at home. Share it with your school librarian for a featured reading shelf. Challenge your more verbal/linguistic gifted students to write similar stories that feature a math concept and create an online book using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Diffen - Diffen
Grades
2 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Do you sometimes just want to compare two things and not need a lengthy explanation of either? Diffen offers the simple goal of entering two terms and instantly receiving the ...more
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Do you sometimes just want to compare two things and not need a lengthy explanation of either? Diffen offers the simple goal of entering two terms and instantly receiving the similarities and differences in a table format. View simple definitions under the information table. Need more information? Wikipedia style entries of information area also available on the page. There is a Top 5 list. At the time of this review, the Top 5 included "Gross vs. Net," "Affected vs. Effected," "Meiosis vs. Mitosis," "DNA vs. RNA," and "Fruit vs. Vegetable. While not ALL topics are included, the variety is impressive. You can add your own comparison of terms to the list. You may want to discuss with your class the fact that the information here is only as reliable as the people who submitted it, and ask them whether they agree with the comparisons you find here. NOTE: If you explore some of the ready-mades or requested topics, there are some topics "compared" that are not school oriented, such as comparisons of popular television characters. Preview before turning students loose or simply direct them to a specific "diffen."
tag(s): vocabulary (249)
In the Classroom
The options are endless. Search the differences between two types of soils, mitosis and meiosis, presidents or those running for office, of geometric figures, artists or musicians, places to visit. As a way to build higher order thinking skills, this site is ideal, since comparison of attributes requires analysis.Try creating some lists of your own as a class after using the ready-made ones here. This activity would be easy to do on an interactive whiteboard, with students hand writing the characteristics and dragging them into Similarities and Differences columns before entering them into Diffen. This site could be used in nearly every subject area. Share this site on your class blog or website, for students to access both in and out of the classroom. This is definitely one to save in your favorites.
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This I Believe, Inc. - Jay Allison, NPR, et. al.
Grades
7 to 12
6 Favorites
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This site offers essay-writing tips, podcasts, and more. Useful across a wide array of humanities topics, including English, social studies, art, music, religion, and speech, this site...more
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This site offers essay-writing tips, podcasts, and more. Useful across a wide array of humanities topics, including English, social studies, art, music, religion, and speech, this site is an inspiration to students and can serve as an essay starter, a discussion starter, or contemporary information about politics, economics, and the world. On its home page it states that this is "an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values that guide their daily lives." There are essays from the 1950's when the first incarnation of this idea was heard on the radio from famed journalist Edward R. Murrow. There are essays from those who are famous and those you never heard of.
All of the essays are short--usually no more than 400 words. You can hear some of them as they were first broadcast on NPR, and there is a general podcast you can play which defines the site. Anyone can submit their own "This I Believe" essay as long as it follows the guidelines given, and they include essay-writing tips and advanced essay searches to assist anyone interested.
The site includes special features which deal with specific topics and there are ideas for educators, students, and community leaders. The printable curricula require Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom
Searching the "For Educators" page gives you a wide variety of ideas for using this site and these essays. Since students enjoy using first person point of view in their writing, this might be an inspiration for some. You can use some of these essays as conversation starters on topics you are studying in class. (Example: Penn Jillette wrote his essay stating that he believes there is no god. This could be related to many books studied, such as 1984 or Brave New World.) Have students write their essays as blog entries or record them as podcasts using a tool such as Podomatic, reviewed here, or as an illustrated essay using ThingLink, reviewed here. Spanish teachers will want to explore the options to listen to or write essays in Spanish, as well.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Writing for Business and Pleasure - Stephen Wilbers
Grades
7 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
While this is a commercial site that does sell email courses and email columns, there is quite a bit of useful "free" information on this site. Combing through this site ...more
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While this is a commercial site that does sell email courses and email columns, there is quite a bit of useful "free" information on this site. Combing through this site gives some good ideas on helping students find errors often missed with subject/verb agreement, misplaced modifiers, pronoun/antecedent agreement, and word choice. There are two 30-second writing exercises that are updated weekly as well as several "challenges" for grammar, proofreading, punctuation, and word choice that are good practice with students and could be used regularly for review.
In the Classroom
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. These challenges are interactive, so students can test themselves. This might also be good for extra credit points for those students who are a little more advanced as writers. Challenge students to create their own writing exercise quizzes and share them on a class wiki. Not sure what a wiki is? Check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Writer's Digest-Writing Prompts - F+W Media
Grades
9 to 12
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An offshoot of Writer's Digest Magazine, this site is great for generating different ideas for focused writing. It presents writing tasks that are short (500 words or less), and therefore...more
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An offshoot of Writer's Digest Magazine, this site is great for generating different ideas for focused writing. It presents writing tasks that are short (500 words or less), and therefore can be done in half a class period or as a homework assignment. There is a place on the site to actually post the writing, and there are some good examples there; however, you WILL want to preview and monitor what students see. At the time of this review, one of the prompts included discussion of drinking. You can register on the site (for free), but you don't have to, to see the writing threads. This site also has random quotes by famous writers and others that are thought-provoking and might make good class writing starters.
tag(s): writing (306)
In the Classroom
Tired of reading 30 responses to the same prompt? Here is the opportunity to choose a variety of prompts that are short and to the point. Have students choose their own prompts from the list, or randomly assign them to spice up the lesson. Having students share their writing is a great way to generate enthusiasm and teach peer editing at the same time. Use an electronic writing space, such as a class blog or wiki for students to share their responses and comment to each other, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Way With Words - A Way with Words & Wayword LLC
Grades
7 to 12
1 Favorites
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If you are looking for podcasts to lure your students to the study of language and words, this is a great site to investigate. A Way with Words is an ...more
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If you are looking for podcasts to lure your students to the study of language and words, this is a great site to investigate. A Way with Words is an hour-long radio show on PBS, currently hosted by Martha Barnett and Grant Barrett. The show features lively discussions about "slang, grammar, old sayings, word origins, regional dialects, family expressions, and speaking and writing well." Listening to any of the old shows is entertaining as well as informative. The topics are listed on the home page along with summaries. Get more programs by clicking on "Get the podcast" in the right-hand menu. They are appealing, with provocative titles such as "What the Cluck?," "Elvis in a Cheese Sandwich," and "Coinkydinks and Big Boxes." There are full hour podcasts and mini-podcasts.
In the Classroom
Plug in your students to get discussion started about any relevant-to-your-class topic. Students increasingly want to listen through headphones; let them enjoy these entertaining and informative podcasts on language, then use class questions posted on an interactive whiteboard or projector to generate full-class discussion. Language never sounded so good! Have students create similar projects in cooperative learning groups. How about podcasts using a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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