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American Verse Project - University of Michigan Press
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): poetry (195)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site to find poetry on a specific subject and also by author. This site includes American poems up until 1920, so it would be a great resource for papers and projects.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Benjamin Franklin: An Extaordinary Life, An Electric Mind - PBS
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and activities hosted on this site! This would be a great resource for an early American history class, be sure to save it as a favorite on your computer!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mosaic Maker - Big Huge Labs
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): back to school (53), book reports (26), collages (16)
In the Classroom
For security and safety, be sure to instruct students about copyright laws regarding the use of photos from the World Wide Web, and follow your school's internet security policies for use of social networking sites, such as Facebook and Flickr albums that are available from this web page. Students can use this tool to organize photos and images for numerous creative photo projects, such as report covers, to illustrate their interpretation of a theme, to analyze a character's traits, or to visually represent a topic or concept. For adventurous technology users, try pairing the Mosaic Maker together with another one of Big Huge Labs free photo projects, such as The CD Cover Maker, reviewed here for designing an amazing way to "package" a book report, research project, or other assignment. In lower grades, use mosaic maker for teacher-made collages of words that start with a certain letter or of animal classifications and hang them on bulletin boards for students to guess. 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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The Big Picture - Boston.com (Part of the Boston Globe)
Grades
6 to 12You are able to post comments. You may want to preview the comments before allowing students to view. Posting comments requires an email address. Check your school's acceptable use policy regarding student email use. 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 (223)
In the Classroom
This site would be great for a multitude of subjects and may be best implemented with an interactive whiteboard or projector. One suggestion is to show a picture on the board as students enter the room and pose one question about it. It would create a great prompt for discussion or journaling. Students could also access pictures and create their own stories or presentations of the actual events. Students could create a news story and post it to the classroom wiki where available. Do you want to learn more about wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Smartboard in the Classroom - Eduscapes
Grades
K to 12tag(s): iwb (29)
In the Classroom
Explore the sites provided to use as classroom resources in the computer lab, on classroom computer centers, and on your interactive whiteboard. The lessons/interactives could be used to enhance a unit on simple machines, dinosaurs, vaccines, panda bears, tornados, and much more. If an interactive whiteboard is not available, complete the activities in the computer lab or on laptops.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teampedia - Seth Marbin
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): back to school (53), creativity (89), firstday (27), problem solving (279)
In the Classroom
Use this site to find Icebreaker activities and options for the first week of school community building. Bookmark this tool for the first week of school or any time that you want to experience some "team-building" in your class. Use this site if you have weekly classroom meetings to build relationships among students. Share this site with students and have them create their own games based on research projects or as a review for major tests. Share this site with parent helpers to find ideas for classroom parties.Comments
So wonderful to develop creativity using tech. Love the idea of creating games based on research.Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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Writing Prompts/Journal Topics - CanTeach
Grades
2 to 8tag(s): writing (309), writing prompts (55)
In the Classroom
Use these prompts for morning work, journaling or blogging. Cut prompts into strips and place in a grab-bag. Have students "pull-a-prompt" from the grab bag as a guided reading center or after-lunch activity. The prompts could also be used as conversation starters during morning meetings.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Dreambeast Poems - Mark C. Bird
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): poetry (195)
In the Classroom
Select one or two poems to share with students using an interactive whiteboard or document camera. After discussing the poems, have students come up with questions for the poet. Post the questions on the blog. Or, modify classroom technology use and have students create an online poetry poster using Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, and list their questions. Leave the URL to your poster on his blog. It is sure to get his attention!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Poetry Month Editor's Choice Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): poetry (195)
In the Classroom
Make Poetry Month a participatory experience. Have students compose a limerick explaining a science term or historic figure. Have students collect a list of words from your current unit. Then offer extra credit for a poetic interpretation to be shared as a daily "poetry break" during April. Use one of the tools featured here to share poetic visions of biology, geometry, and more during April. Cover a classroom wall with white paper for "curriculum poetry" during April. Encourage students to share poetry graffiti (classroom appropriate, of course). Or, replace the papered wall for an online bulletin board like Padlet, reviewed here. For more poetic ideas check out the "In the classroom" suggestions included in each review.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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S. E. Hinton - S. E. Hinton & Limemachine Design
Grades
7 to 10In the Classroom
A good source of material about the author. This site will also steer kids to her other works. The BIO will probably answer questions many of your students have about her stories and where she gets her ideas, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bookcrossing.com - Humankind Systems, Inc.
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): book lists (163)
In the Classroom
Understanding that this is an open site worldwide is what puts it into the HS range-- plus the fact that most of the books addressed are adult books (rather than books written for juveniles). As a teacher, it is fascinating to gather information from other places-- and books are released from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and everywhere in between! There are sites on this web to look at the books and the people who release them. You must register to fully use the site, but it is free. This is definitely worth exploring for a variety of reasons, even beyond teaching reading and English. And if you are a book lover yourself, it is just plain fun! Recomment the site to your mature students to promote independent reading and life-long learning.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kids Open Dictionary Builder - K12 Open Ed
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): dictionaries (49)
In the Classroom
Imagine the sense of accomplishment your class will feel if you allow them to submit definitions to this site. They become the Merriam Websters in your own classroom. Definitions don't need to be perfect as the online community will continually edit them. One drawback at the present time is that not all words have definitions. This site is still "under construction" and being built upon daily. Classes can get in on the ground floor in providing definitions for these incomplete areas. Assign cooperative learning groups to explore various vocabulary words in social studies, science, math, music, or art class. Have the groups add their new vocabulary words into the "Kids Open Dictionary." You may find the usefulness of this site in the generating of definitions for now. (This will be a moot point as the dictionary becomes filled.) As you study dictionary skills, work as a class on your interactive whiteboard to write definitions together and discuss the format of dictionary entries.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Free English Lessons Online - esolcourses.com
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): grammar (140), listening (119), reading comprehension (147), vocabulary (252)
In the Classroom
You may want to complete some of the selections with a projector and your interactive whiteboard for the whole class as there are listening activities, reading activities and quizzes about holidays, etc. You could differentiate by having small groups of students or individuals listening and reading at their different levels while you work with another group, or small groups of students can listen at a station that is one of several literacy stations in your classroom. Since each of the selections has activities in several language arts strands, one selection could make up your student's instruction for the day, or week. Students could rotate through a station for listening, one for vocabulary development, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Newsela - Matthew Gross
Grades
2 to 12In case you're wondering - Newsela features current events stories tailor-made for classroom use. Click "Products" on the top menu and slide down to browse content in subject areas (social studies, science, etc.). Stories are student-friendly and can be accessed in various formats tailored to different reading levels. Use Newsela to differentiate nonfiction reading. Newspaper writers rewrite a story four times, resulting in a total of five Lexile levels per story. All articles feature embedded Common Core-aligned quizzes that align with reading levels, allowing for checking comprehension, customizable assignments, writing prompts, and annotations. An account is required to use Newsela, both for teachers and students. However, students sign up using a teacher- or parent-provided code rather than an email address. Click the Resources tab at the top to find guides and short webinars. Teachers can create classes and assign reading-level-specific articles to individual students or download printable PDF copies of the article in any of its reading-level versions. There is no outside advertising.
tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (132), differentiation (102), guided reading (32), independent reading (84), news (223), reading comprehension (147), remote learning (32)
In the Classroom
Achieve two goals here: help students improve their reading comprehension and keep them current with what is happening in our nation and the world. When assigning articles, choose to have the class read at one reading level, or select individuals and set the reading level for them. There are five categories from which to choose. You may want to set up different articles at different learning stations on the computers in your room. Have the students rotate daily through the stations, completing one or two a day until they have completed all five articles. Since Newsela is cloud-based, even students absent from class can easily complete the missed work. If you and your students are teaching and learning remotely, or you have a blended classroom, Newsela will work perfectly for those! Teachers of gifted students can utilize this site to accelerate or enrich their students' reading skills. Find each student's individual levels for reading nonfiction. Teachers of Learning Support and ENL//ESL students will love this alternate way for their students to meet nonfiction/current events requirements.Comments
This is an excellent article. Thanks for sharing this information. Please keep sharing content like this.Cassandra, IL, Grades: 0 - 12
This is an excellent site and allows differentiation while everyone is reading the same text.Renee, NC, Grades: 0 - 5
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MindMeister - MeisterLabs GmbH
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): brainstorming (18), DAT device agnostic tool (132), graphic organizers (57), mind map (31)
In the Classroom
Use this tool easily in your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom, as all students will be able to access it for free, regardless of their device. Realize that you can only make three maps for free, but you can always delete old ones to make room. Play with the tools and toolbars to create a mind map; use toolbars to collaborate, publish, or print diagrams. Creating the organizers is of easy to medium difficulty depending upon how elaborate you desire your organizer to be (don't miss the notes feature!). A handy revision "history" helps you see what changes were made when. See the blog for helpful video tutorials and tips. Note: To use the "real-time" collaboration feature, collaborators need individual email accounts to gain access. Note that maps that are "published" can be seen by the public (read-only, so they cannot be altered). If a map is shared via a URL, only those who were "invited" to view the map will be able to see it. However, this does require each viewer to sign up (free) on MindMeister to view this map. You can specify members who may collaborate and make alterations to a map that is not "published." You can also invite other members to view (but not change) unpublished maps. The class can create organizers together, such as in a brainstorming session on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Or, you can assign students in cooperative groups to create a mind map as a study guide for unit content, to collect information for a group research project, or to show examples of an important concept. Use this site for literature activities, research projects, social studies, or science topics. Use this site to create family trees. Have students collaborate (online) to create group mind maps or review charts before tests on a given subject. Have students organize any concepts they study; color-code concepts to show what they understand, wonder, and question; map out a story, plotline, or plan for the future; map out a step-by-step process (life cycle).Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
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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How Do You Play - howdoyouplay.net
Grades
K to 12tag(s): back to school (53), firstday (27), sports (87)
In the Classroom
Use this site to find games and activities for classroom centers or review activities. Icebreaker activities include options for the first week of school community building. Bookmark this tool for the first week of school or anytime that you want to experience some "team-building" in your class. This is a great site to use if you have weekly classroom meetings to build relationships among students. Share this site with students and have them create their own games based on research projects or as review for major tests. Challenge students to describe their "creations" using the models shown on this site. Share this site with parent helpers to find ideas for classroom parties.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Old Man and the Sea - Alexander Petrov
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): literature (214)
In the Classroom
This resource may be used in several different ways, depending upon the teacher's needs and goals. Although no curriculum packet or guide is provided, this site is a good resource to enhance the study of The Old Man in the Sea, as well as to meet the needs of the Turkish speaking population. This animated film adapted version can serve as a starting point to acquaint students with Hemingway's well-known literary work and introduce imagery and other significant literary elements. It can also be used as an extension activity that lends itself to oral and written expression, or as a supplementary aid to understanding the text. The subtitles are valuable for bilingual-Turkish speaking, ELL, and ESL students. Use your imagination to spark interesting discussions about the passages that might be difficult to understand in the text, develop a compare-contrast learning activity by using an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here), study the literary elements of the story, or interpret the artistic value.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bibliographic Blunders - Beacon Learning Center--Carolyn Garner
Grades
6 to 8In the Classroom
Use a projector to walk through the steps and information needed to create source cards and an MLA bibliography with the entire class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Multiple Intelligences Posters - Marek Bennett
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): back to school (53), comics and cartoons (67), multiple intelligences (7)
In the Classroom
Print and share posters to get your colleagues and students thinking about their own multiple intelligences. Be sure to maintain the attribution and copyright information on the posters. Explore with students learning about their own strengths in learning. Hang the posters in your classroom. Share information during parent conferences and professional development. Share posters on your board during back to school information sessions to help parents understand different types of intelligences. Encourage students to create comics of themselves using their most comfortable "intelligence" and use it as a locker decoration or on a class bulletin board during the first part of the school year. Use one of TeachersFirst's many comic/cartoon tools reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Inspirational Quotes for Teachers - Windows to the Universe
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): firstday (27), quotations (18)
In the Classroom
Post in the signature on your email, on your website, or even on your whiteboard! Encourage leadership, hope, and inspiration! Use quotes as a theme for writing prompts or even to relate to the theme of a story. Use the quotes as examples of figurative language. Add quotes to end of year picture CDs/DVDs. Use the quotes to inspire personal or classroom mission statements. Have students include a quote when turning in work, and explain how it inspired or helped them. Add music or art to explain a quote. During the first week of the school year, share this site with students. Challenge students to choose a "quote of the year" for themselves personally. Have students put the quote in their notebook, folder, or as a screen saver. Also, choose a few quotes to hang around your classroom. If you need more quotes, check out TeachersFirst's Bulletin Board Hangups.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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