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ScribbleMaps - Scribble Maps
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): directions (11), geology (61), landforms (37), landmarks (22), map skills (59), maps (215), space (216)
In the Classroom
Students and teachers will want to keep a written record or map URLS and passwords for future reference. Model this for students so they do not lose hours of work! Teachers can prepare partially-made maps or maps for students to make corrections and changes by giving the students the URL, then having them SAVE the map with a NEW ID. To SAVE the map with a new name and URL, click "Save map" in the menu, then enter your OWN map ID. Students could use a code including their initials, such as SJ12-3-09 for a map made by Sally Jones on Dec 3, 2009. Teachers should PASSWORD protect their originals so changes can only be saved under a new name. Similarly, if a student saves the map with a map password, they don't have to worry about other students vandalizing their work. But they DO need to remember the password! Wise teachers will keep a class list of maps and passwords for forgetful students! In primary grades, make maps of your local community together on your interactive whiteboard as you teach basic map skills. Create your own "key" with symbols you choose for playgrounds, etc. Have students help map locations of favorite playgrounds, grandparents' houses, stores, etc. as they gain basic understanding of map skills. Make sure you allow students to operate the tools! Save the map and share it as a link from your class web site (or embed it there). Keep names generic so it is "safe." Other ideas to challenge gifted student beyond the curriculum or elevate challenge for small groups include: natural resource maps, immigration maps, maps of civil war battles day by day, maps of key sites in the life of a famous person, artist, or author, maps of the settings in a novel, landform maps of a continent or state, "My life" maps of places important to an elementary student's family, annotated watershed maps of pollution sources, maps of the water cycle, maps of constellations in the night sky created by students to demonstrate understanding, maps of a dream community to be built in a vacant area (desert), including the water sources, etc. that will be needed, maps of a redesigned city/town on top of its current map. Teachers can provide map challenges or templates to be completed or corrected, including maps where students must label distances and cardinal directions between points (using map scale and skills). Or provide a teacher-created map with labels in the wrong places for students to correct the landforms, resources, etc. What will YOU do with Scribble Maps?You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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WordSearchFun.com - WordSearchFun.com
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): photography (121), puzzles (144)
In the Classroom
Share the relevant word searches on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups practice spelling or vocabulary words by creating their own word search. List this site on your class website for students to use both in and out of the classroom. This is a great one for those word search lovers in your class. Why not have students use a whole-class account to make their own word searches to challenge each other with new vocabulary and terms?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Olympic Sports - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
4 to 10tag(s): olympics (44), sports (81), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Share the puzzles on your interactive whiteboard or projector or make them available as links on your teacher public page. Have students (or groups) create their own illustrated dictionaries of terms using a tool such as 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."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Museum of Underwater Archaeology - The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): oceans (147)
In the Classroom
Who isn't fascinated by treasure buried under the seas? This site will help you sneak in history lessons by engaging students in the process of underwater archaeology. The site also makes a strong effort to integrate various curriculum areas from art to biology along with the historical importance of various excavations. Students might also want to follow one of the underwater blogs with information about ongoing projects. Have cooperative learning groups create a multimedia project related to one of the blog stories. For visual students, use an online poster creator such as Padlet. Have students use a tool such as Zeemaps. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose a location (on a map) where the story takes place.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Equal Exchange's Fair Trade Curriculum & Educational Resources - Equal Exchange
Grades
4 to 10tag(s): air (102)
In the Classroom
Use these lessons as part of a unit in social studies, Family and Consumer Science, or several other subjects. Take your students on a visit to a local food coop or invite one of their members to speak to your class live or via Skype (explained here.). Have students do a project comparing coop grocery sales with the more commercial establishments. Maybe even have student groups create an online Venn Diagram comparing the two using a site such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here). If you have international students from the Dominican Republic or other cocoa producing countries, share this site with them and allow them to compare what the students say on the video to their own experiences. Create your own videotaped interviews with food growers or their families. Share the videos using a tool such as Teachers.TV reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Google Earth in the Classroom - Joe Wood
Grades
K to 12tag(s): globe (12), landforms (37), landmarks (22), maps (215)
In the Classroom
Make this site part of your personal professional development or pair up with a teaching buddy to learn more about Google Earth (GE) and plan activities for your classrooms. Share the link with your students, as well, so your class can become GE experts together. Even if your access to GE is limited to a single class computer, work together with a small team of student "GEniuses" to prepare class placemarker files, then have the team teach other students, as well. If your school has personal professional development plans or allows teacher to suggest topics for professional workshops, include this link, along with other GE resources from TeachersFirst, as your inservice day agenda.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Google Earth - Google
Grades
K to 12tag(s): climate (82), earth (184), landforms (37), landmarks (22), news (228), oceans (147)
In the Classroom
Use tutorials from this site to learn more, or try some Google Earth files from TeachersFirst's Globetracker's Mission to get a taste of what the program can do. Get started by exploring the different LAYERS available in the left side and searching a location you know. Locate and try the tools to drag, tilt, zoom, and even measure distance. Extensive user forums are available through the help menus.Placemarker files created by you "live" on the computer where you make or save them and are not shared on the web. Note that your computer will ask whether you wish to save your "temporary places" (any places you have marked during a session) each time you close Google Earth. If many students use that computer, you may find you have a disorganized mess of saved places. Be sure to direct students to either name their saved places logically and file them into folders or NOT to save them to My Places! Students and teachers can create placemarker (.kmz or .kml) files and share them as email attachments, files on a USB "stick," or any other means you would use to share a file, just like a Word document.
Another practical tip: if students are using Google Earth on several machines at the same time, you may put a heavy load on your school network. Plan accordingly, perhaps having groups alternate their Google Earth time if it becomes sluggish.
Use Google Earth to teach geography or simply give location context to class readings or current events, especially on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Ex. you can tilt to show the peaks scaled by Lewis and Clark or volcanoes that rise in the Aleutians. Have students show the locations of historic events or literary settings and create placemarkers with links to learn more. Placemarker text is editable by going to the placemarker's "properties" or "info," so students can enter the text description, place title, and any inks they want to include, such as a link to a certain passage of text, an image of a character, or news image/article for a current events map. Students who know html code can get even more sophisticated in what they include in placemarkers. Have students/groups create and play a "tour" of critical locations for global warming, a comparison of volcanoes, or a family history of immigration. Navigate the important locations in a work of literature using Google Lit Trips or search the web for placemarker files connected to civil war battles, natural resources, and more. Turn layers on and off to look at population centers and transportation systems. Teach the concept of scale/proportion using a tactile experience on an interactive whiteboard and the scale and measurement tools. See more ideas at the teacher-created Google Earth 101 wiki reviewed here. Even if you do not venture into creating your own placemarker files, there are many already made and available for use by teachers and students. TeachersFirst's Globetracker's Mission includes a weekly file to follow the Mission.
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Study Stack - John Weidner
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): flash cards (43), greek (45), hebrew (16), latin (22), test prep (69), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Encourage parents to use this site as a study-at-home tool for their students. Link your blog or website to this site by entering your url at the bottom of the homepage. Make sure your guidance counselor at your school is aware of this site as a tool for studying those college entrance tests. Be sure to save this site in your favorites.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Over the Top - Canadian War Museum
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): europe (84), world war 1 (77)
In the Classroom
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector, if individual computers aren't available. If students are working in groups or individually, don't forget the headsets!Students can pass through the scenes by recording vocabulary words. Have students identify the minor and major difficulties that soldiers during world War I faced. Research how the needs of soldiers were met those days and the agencies or people that helped the troops. Have students create a podcast, or other multimedia project to share their findings. For a podcasting site, try PodOmatic (reviewed here). Compare and contrast military stories today with those of the past to find parallels and differences in military service throughout history. Have groups create an online Venn Diagram comparing the similarities and differences, try a FREE site like this one, (reviewed here). Create class discussions of propaganda, expectations of the military, and different ways that soldiers are portrayed by the media, the public, and in other print materials.
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Teaching with Historic Places - National Park Service
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): cities (17), inventors and inventions (80), landmarks (22), maps (215), states (124)
In the Classroom
Search for your state and see what this site has to offer. Looking for a specific topic (i.e. Civil War or Pearl Harbor), search using topics. Take advantage of these ready to go lesson plans. Infuse your lessons with technology by creating a class wiki about the lesson/topic being discussed. Maybe make a wiki guidebook to your state. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through. Save this site in your favorites, and check back as you plan throughout the year.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bubbabrain - Bubbabrain
Grades
K to 12Click the "Go" button to start your activity. Click on the correct answer to the question and then a new question appears. Prompts to try again appear if the answer is wrong and a percent right appears on your screen as you progress. Click on the teacher's link in the upper right hand corner for more information on becoming registered. Once registered, teachers can create their own games for the site. Your teacher ID can be entered by students to access created games.
tag(s): psychology (65), sociology (23), time (91)
In the Classroom
Use these activities for review of concepts or terminology with your class on specific topics/subjects. Wish there were a review game for a missing topic? Request a teacher ID, and have groups of students create the questions. Enter the information for the game and students can review by playing their game or one created by another group. Share the student-created games on your interactive whiteboard or projector.These games would be great to both help students review and help them figure out what kind of study methods work best for them.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ePals - ePals, Inc.
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): black history (130), collaboration (90), communication (129), disasters (37), environment (246), habitats (90), maps (215), natural disasters (17), 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 Typito. 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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Cinco de Mayo - The History Channel
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): cinco de mayo (10), hispanic (34), mexico (31)
In the Classroom
This site is ready to use in class. Have cooperative learning groups explore various aspects of the holiday and Mexican culture.If you have time, have them make their results into a class wiki with a page for each angle. Have students write a journal entry replacing pen and paper using a blog tool such as edublog, reviewed here, or Telegra.ph, reviewed here, from the perspective of someone living in Mexico during the 1800s. Share maps of Mexico on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups create commercials highlighting what they have learned (be sure they include some new vocabulary words) or even a video advertisement modifying their learning for your class's Cinco de Mayo celebration. For the video use a tool such as Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here. Share the videos using a tool such as Schooltube, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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FORVO - forvo.com
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): maps (215), pronunciation (34)
In the Classroom
World language and ESL/ELL classes (using a whole class account) or individual students (if a specific school permits students to join sites) can maintain their own word lists with pronunciations. They can submit words to hear them pronounced by native speakers or pronounce them themselves. A teacher could submit words or assign students to explore and find a list of personal words to learn each week. Students can also compare pronunciations of the same word by several different speakers coming from different countries (Mexican Spanish vs. Spanish from Spain etc.). ESL students will no doubt enjoy disputing the pronunciation of words from their native languages! This is a perfect collaboration of geography and world language classes. Share the maps on your interactive whiteboard or projector. This site could also be useful as a learning center, for students to practice pronunciation. (Don't forget the headsets!) List this link on your class website for students to use for at-home practice!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The China Guide - The Great Wall of China - The China Guide
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): china (81), virtual field trips (119)
In the Classroom
This site would be a great introductory lesson into a unit on China. Show the panoramic video on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Allow students to conduct the walk by choosing where the video takes them. Have students explore this site with a partner and then find a photo (legally permitted) of the Great Wall of China. Have students use PowerPoint Online, reviewed here, to narrate the photo that they chose. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Vecteezy, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Miniature Earth - Sustainability Institute
Grades
4 to 12The site can be viewed in English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, or German. Although the text and statistics are familiar, they have been updated for this video with its vivid closeups and haunting music. The text upon which the video is based is also online here.
tag(s): population (50), religions (90)
In the Classroom
Use this to introduce social studies units on countries in the third world. Use it as a jumping off point when asking your students thoughtful questions about the relative prosperity of people in the U.S. compared to a lot of the rest of the world. Use it also when studying recycling, tolerance, and world cultures.Share the video on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students respond to what they found most surprising using a class wiki or blog. In math class, use this video to start a real-world statistics/data analysis project or a discussion of proportion.
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Vacations - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
3 to 9tag(s): back to school (55), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Share the puzzles on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students work with a partner to try out the puzzles on their own. Have students (or groups) create their own word puzzles to share as a class challenge as a student-run interactive whiteboard activity or share them on a class wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Big Huge Labs: Map Maker - John Watson: Big Huge Labs
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): maps (215)
In the Classroom
Create a map to track where your students went on summer vacation (or have ever traveled). Create a map of places you have visited in a work of literature, or where students have written about going on fantasy vacations. Share the maps on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups work together to create maps related to lessons in your social studies, history, or literature classes. Embed multiple student project maps in your class wiki along with student writings that accompany the maps. Check out the Big Huge Labs educator account. Easily pre-register students to avoid creating logins, view and download their creations, and view the site advertisement free. You will find information about the Educator Account here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pete's Powerpoint Station - mrdonn and phillip martin
Grades
K to 12tag(s): 20th century (62), adhd (28), back to school (55), electricity (62), flight (34), inventors and inventions (80), literature (220), parts of speech (38), polar (11), politics (117), speech (68), states (124), war of 1812 (15), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (160)
In the Classroom
Use these PowerPoints to provide background information for projects or further inquiry in class. For example, use a PowerPoint on cells to give background information. Create questions for students to answer while viewing the PowerPoint or add your own "lecture" notes while showing to a class. Remember that PowerPoint does not HAVE to be shown on a screen. Students can watch them as tutorials at a center or computer cluster. Learning support teachers will appreciate having an alternate way to present basic concepts to visual learners. Assign students a particular cell part to research more information about the part. Explore professional topics on your own or together with colleagues during inservice time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TeachersFirst: Lesson Ideas for Lincoln - TeachersFirst
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): civil war (138), debate (42), lincoln (66), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
No matter what subject you teach, you can find something to fit in your plans for Presidents Day or the Lincoln Bicentennial. Use these ideas and adapt at will. You can even email an idea to your teacher colleague to save a friend time!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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