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Helpful Animals and Compassionate Humans - National Endowment for the Humanities
Grades
3 to 5tag(s): plot (14)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plan hosted on this site! Be sure to save the site as a favorite on your classroom desktop to allow for easy retrieval later on.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Paul Revere Biography - Paul Revere Memorial Association
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): boston (11), colonial america (95)
In the Classroom
If you teach Johnny Tremain, you should include this site as a resource connected to the historical novel. Or share this as one of several sites for student reports on colonial times. Share this and other sections of the TeachersFirst Colonial America tour as part of your study of the colonies so students can see what these historic locations look like today.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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How to Make Your Own Nature Notebook - PBS
Grades
K to 4tag(s): habitats (105)
In the Classroom
Take your students outside to learn about nature and find examples of the adaptations and habitats they have been studying. Have students take digital pictures on the walk. Then have students work in pairs to create nature notebooks together, including their photos.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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BBC News - BBC
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): news (223)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for current events projects - assign students various weeks through out the semester in which they are to be the class news reporter, keeping their peers up to date and informed. Have students research whats going on via this news site, and present a small presentation at the beginning of class every day during their week. Students can either orally present, or for the technologically inclined, create a short video summarizing the same information. Have students create news briefs and share them using a tool such as SchoolTube reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Island of the Blue Dolphins - National Patk Service
Grades
4 to 6tag(s): novels (34), scott odell (2)
In the Classroom
If you use literature circles (small reading groups) in your classroom, using a unit like this and allowing the groups to go through the unit at their own pace, or suggesting a jigsaw approach to reviewing a set of chapters is a good way to make this unit "student centered." Learn about the Jigsaw cooperative learning approach at Jigsaw Classroom, reviewed here. Enhance student learning by asking them to make an Infographic using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, about what they learned from the novel; an inforgraphic would be a great conclusion for the lit circle project. Post the infographics on your web page for all your students and their parents to enjoy.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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SMART Board Goodies - Amber Coggin
Grades
K to 12tag(s): iwb (29), literacy (124), numbers (121), resources (80)
In the Classroom
Shop the site for interactive whiteboard resources to download for classroom use. Use the singing horses to teach cause and effect. Use the Facebook page template for students to create biographies of famous people, of themselves for back to school, or of teachers in your building for Back to School nights! There is much to explore at this "gem" of a site!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Venngage - Venngage
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): data (206), infographics (73), posters (45), vocabulary (252)
In the Classroom
Consider creating Infographics of material learned in class and for better understanding and connection with other topics and the "real world." Make curriculum content more real with infographics that students can relate to. Have students create their own infographics with this site to display what they have learned from a unit of study, how vocabulary words are related to the unit content, or as a review before a test. It could even be a replacement for the test! Connect data found on the Internet to information needed to understand that data. (Consider looking at different ways to show the data which can generate bias.) Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to allow student groups to present an Infographic about a book they've read, related news article, etc. Create Infographics about events such as Earth Day, D-Day, Take Your Child to Work Day, and other observances.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Poll Everywhere - Poll Everywhere
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): noregistration (74), polls and surveys (43), quiz (64), quizzes (89)
In the Classroom
Users must be able to determine the question and possible responses to generate the poll online. Practice creating your first poll even before creating a login. Enter the suggested question and possible responses to see how the codes are generated and displayed. Respondents text the code word to a specific number displayed on the screen. Be sure to check out the easy to use controls along the side of the screen.Ask a question. Voters choose from the responses and use the SMS code with their mobile phone to send their vote. Cast a vote also using X (formerly Twitter) or on the Internet. Click the gear icon next to the poll to change the size and color of various aspects of the poll. Use the panel along the side to view either a static or live chart, summary table, or response history. Be sure to click on the tab "Ways People Can Respond" to check not only SMS but other methods as well: Web Voting, X (formerly Twitter), and Smartphone. X (formerly Twitter) uses @poll followed by a keyword to tabulate responses. Use the "Download as Slide" tab to choose the type of slide you would like to create. "Share and Publish" using Posterous, X (formerly Twitter), or Blog/web page.
This tool does not show the individual votes of students. Though this tool can be used by students, it may be best used by a teacher.
Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study by asking questions about the material. Discuss in groups why those in class would choose a particular answer to uncover misconceptions. Use for Daily quiz questions to gain knowledge of student understanding and a means of formative assessment.
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Reggie Loves to Rhyme - Scholastic
Grades
1 to 2tag(s): rhymes (24)
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Harriet Beecher Stowe Center - Harriet Beech Stowe Center
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): abolition (14), civil war (138), lincoln (64), slavery (77)
In the Classroom
Have students compare Harriet Beecher Stowe to a powerful woman (of their choice) of the 21st century. Challenge student pairs or small groups of students to create a wiki for the comparison of Harriet Beecher Stowe and the woman that they learned about from today. Not familiar with wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Preceden - Matt Mazur
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): timelines (60)
In the Classroom
Create an ever-growing timeline throughout the school year by adding events discussed in class so students understand where events relate to each other in history. Create a timeline with events in American History and add a layer of authors' works to connect literature's time periods to history. Have your students use Preceden to create a timeline of their life and their family's life. Then use events from their life for writing a memoir, poetry, etc. Science students could create a timeline for the stages of mitosis for a cell or the life cycle of a forest or an animal. Have students in government or history create timelines related to topics you are learning about in class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Top Graphic Organizers to Help Students Learn About Character Traits - Scholastic Inc.
Grades
K to 8tag(s): characterization (16), graphic organizers (57), literature (214), preK (322)
In the Classroom
After reading a chapter or short story, have students complete a character traits organizer using evidence from the text. Students can work in pairs to identify examples of direct and indirect characterization and share their findings with the class. Use a compare-and-contrast graphic organizer to help students analyze static vs. dynamic characters or protagonist vs. antagonist relationships. Students can support their thinking with quotations and examples from the text. In small groups, students can participate in a "Character Hot Seat" activity in which one student acts as a character and answers classmates' questions in character.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Word Mover - ReadWriteThink
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): creative writing (123), creativity (89), grammar (140), poetry (195), sentences (22), writing (309)
In the Classroom
Word Mover is a perfect tool to use with an interactive whiteboard or projector for a class activity for constructing sentences. Employ this tool in this manner to teach simple lessons about subject-verb agreement, complex sentences (with proper punctuation), or any grammar lesson. Write a found poem from a descriptive informational article with the proper attribution and citation. Use on class computers and at literacy stations. If you are lucky enough to have iPads, have students use the text to speech feature to listen to their creations. ESL/ELL students especially will benefit from hearing their sentence construction. With older students, creating found poems can be a non-threatening outlet for creativity and self-expression. Have students use a found poem for a book they've read, or a particularly descriptive article about an interest of theirs (sports, animals, music, and more). National Geographic is an excellent source to find descriptive informational writing. You may want to enhance classroom technology use by having students start saving their work in a digital portfolio. Suggestions are Mahara, reviewed here, for older school students or Seesaw, reviewed here, for elementary students.Comments
PoetryDora, CT, Grades: 0 - 8
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Student Produced Video Field Trips - TeachersFirst
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Read through the step by step and get started! TeachersFirst offers all the practical advice you need to try this 21st century approach to real world learning.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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conjugation.com - Best Practice
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): grammar (140), parts of speech (39), speech (66), verbs (25), writing (309)
In the Classroom
This site has a source code you can embed on your own wiki or website. In class you can use your interactive whiteboard or projector to show students conjugation.com and have them suggest verbs to be entered and conjugated. They will also learn the names of the verb forms and tenses. Have the ESL and ELL students in your class use this site to check their writing. Underline the verbs in their writing that are not conjugated correctly and let them make the corrections using conjugation.com.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mark Twain House
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): architecture (83), mark twain (9)
In the Classroom
Teachers wanting to introduce some of Twain's personal life before or after reading one of his books can do just that with this site. Share the site with students on the interactive whiteboard, watching the virtual tour or examining the exhibits. There may not be a ton of information, but this is a great way to get students started on understanding just a little bit more about the famous author.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Life Picture Collection - LIFE
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): cultures (290), great depression (32), photography (136), politics (122)
In the Classroom
Use the photos found on this site for writing prompts. Search within the site or browse the subjects offered to find one that corresponds to a unit being studied. A good example is the images taken during the Great Depression. Pull up a select few of the images and prompt students to tell the story of what is happening in each image, the emotions it conveys, and the impact it is meant to have on the viewer. This site would benefit teachers of nearly any subject, especially history, language arts, civics, and science.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Feast of Homonyms - Quia
Grades
2 to 5tag(s): homonyms (8)
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FluxNow - fluxnow.com
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): literature (214)
In the Classroom
Offer this site only to your most discriminating readers. Look at this site frequently since its offerings change weekly. Offer this site only to your most discriminating readers. Look at this site frequently since its offerings change weekly. Share selections on a projector or interactive whiteboard for "quicky" book talks or take a screen shot (with credit, of course) to display a selected review on a digital picture frame in your library/media center. Set the frame to cycle through a slide show of new book selections! Other options for cycling book reviews would be to paste them into PowerPoint slides to run in a looped show on selected media center computers or to run the screenshots as screensaver images.Now sure how to take a screen shot? Press the PrtScrn button on a Windows computer (sometimes combined with SHIFT or Ctrl key, depending on the computer), then CONTROL+V to PASTE the screen image into an image program such as Paint so you can save it. Screenshots are even easier in Vista using the Snip tool. On a Mac, the screen shot function is Command+Shift+4 (the number 4), and the "picture" (a png image file) gets saved to your chosen location, usually your desktop. Be sure to copy the URL of the page you are "shooting" to give proper credit and place a label with your frame providing this information.
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Web Resizer - webresizer.com
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): images (271), noregistration (74)
In the Classroom
Provide the link to this site for students to use in altering and resizing images for use in presentations and online applications. Be sure students understand the file size needed for the various sites that are used in class.Comments
Use this all the time. Easy to use and SO helpful. You can use online, don't have to download.Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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