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Survey Legend - Jasko Mahmutovic
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This simple (yet fantastic) survey creator uses images for the multiple choices instead of text. Video tutorials on the site demonstrate how to create a survey; however, the process...more
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This simple (yet fantastic) survey creator uses images for the multiple choices instead of text. Video tutorials on the site demonstrate how to create a survey; however, the process is easy to follow. Click on Create a survey, choose a title, layout, and theme and start filling in your survey questions. Upload a picture for each response, and personalize the survey as desired. Completed surveys can be shared via url, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) or embedded into websites or blogs. Up to 100 responses are allowed using the free version.
tag(s): polls and surveys (43)
In the Classroom
Share polls on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start a new unit. Ask 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 as a means of formative assessment. Have student groups alternate to create a new poll for the next day. Place a poll on your teacher web page as homework inspiration or to ask questions to increase parent involvement. Older students may want to include polls on their student blogs to increase reader involvement or create polls to use at the start of project presentations. Use polls to generate data for math class (graphing), during elections, or for critical thinking activities dealing with interpretation of statistics. Use "real" data to engage students on issues that matter to them. Use visual polls to identify cells or other scientific images as a formative assessment.Edge Features:
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)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
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Jigsaw Planet - Tibo Software
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Create quick and simple custom jigsaw puzzles. Upload a jpeg image to the site. Choose how many pieces you want and the shape. Jigsaw Planet does the rest. Instantly create ...more
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Create quick and simple custom jigsaw puzzles. Upload a jpeg image to the site. Choose how many pieces you want and the shape. Jigsaw Planet does the rest. Instantly create a custom interactive puzzle for your students to play! Change the background using tools at the bottom of the puzzle. Puzzles can be saved for your own account, shared with students via a url, or embedded into your classroom website for easy access. This site requires Java.
In the Classroom
Use these puzzles on your projector or interactive whiteboard! Each puzzle is timed as you put it together. Split students into teams to see which team can complete the puzzle the fastest. Instead of the typical PowerPoint type presentation to teach students facts, create a puzzle for them to put together and have them read the fact once the puzzle has been completed. Turn your classroom rules into a series of jigsaw puzzles for students to put together. Honor your star student of the week by creating a puzzle of that student. Just take a picture of the student and upload to Jigsaw Planet. Students can use Jigsaw Planet to create their own puzzles. This is a great place for them to study. They can upload spelling words, math facts, maps, etc. Students will love creating their own jigsaw puzzles. If you have a projector or an interactive whiteboard, have students create a puzzle all about them. They can create a collage of things they like in a presentation program, take a screen shot of it, and upload the puzzle to Jigsaw Planet. Students can put together each other's puzzles and guess who the student is based on the pictures. This would be a great getting to know you activity for the first week of school!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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LearnClick: Create Gap-Filling Exercises - Learnclick
Grades
4 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Create interactive online activities quickly and easily with LearnClick's Create a Gap. Submit any text you'd like to learn and mark the text you want deleted for a fill-in-the-blank...more
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Create interactive online activities quickly and easily with LearnClick's Create a Gap. Submit any text you'd like to learn and mark the text you want deleted for a fill-in-the-blank type of activity. Easily create quizzes or tests for individualized students or your entire class. Create a free account with your email. Follow the simple steps to create tests in minutes with varying options for response style choices; blank boxes, generated drop downs, or drag and drop. Search the quiz bank to save time. The free version allows you to make up to five quizzes, which are published on your public page. Your public page allows a direct link to your quizzes.
In the Classroom
In the classroom, use as a review tool on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Assign as homework for a study aid. Create study aids for ELL/ESL, or learning support students to review and learn with a "techie twist." Let students take control! Have students create the tests, in order to find the main idea or quiz each other. Use in centers for a fun review of current vocabulary, concepts, or even mathematical practice. Divide the class into cooperative learning groups to cover all aspects of one topic. The subject areas are limitless. Use as a "Jeopardy" style competition. Post on your website as a resource for parents to help their students keep motivated to study in a fun way!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NetVibes - NetVibes.com
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Create a personalized dashboard that pulls together feeds and tools into one place -- for any topic. Optional registration allows access to updated information at anytime. This tool...more
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Create a personalized dashboard that pulls together feeds and tools into one place -- for any topic. Optional registration allows access to updated information at anytime. This tool has power as s simple resource collector "on the fly" or as a customizable way to monitor many tools from one place. Creation of multiple dashboards requires an email address and password or Facebook sign-in. Use it the simple way by typing in any topic into the search bar; wait a few seconds while information is compiled then explore the results. Results are posted in widgets that can be moved around to personalize the dashboard as needed. A wizard will walk you through it if you wish. Tabs are also included that separate news items, videos, conversations, and more. View pages in reader format or with widgets by choosing from options at the top of the page. You can copy the url of a basic topic dashboard to access over and over. Signing in on a free account allows you to customize and save your dashboards and harness the real power to pull everything into one place.
tag(s): Research (90)
In the Classroom
Demonstrate the power and uses of this site on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) with students to use as a resource for gathering research information. For example, create a dashboard on an environmental ("oil spill") or political topic. Gather current events from multiple sources into one place. Set up a dashboard on earthquakes or weather during science units so students can connect real world information with curriculum. As a professional tool, create a dashboard for monitoring feeds from student activity on multiple web-based tools at a time (wikis, blogs, etc.). You can also create a dashboard on professional topics to keep yourself well informed.Edge Features:
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be shared by URL
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Digital Booktalk - Florida Gulf Coast University
Grades
K to 12
7 Favorites
1 Comments
On the Digital Booktalk site, find high-quality book trailers that will whet your appetite for a good book. Search for books by content level and interests. Then click on a ...more
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On the Digital Booktalk site, find high-quality book trailers that will whet your appetite for a good book. Search for books by content level and interests. Then click on a book to be taken to the book's page. Included on each page is a short video (some created by students), book synopsis, Lexile level, publication date, the number of pages, genre, and ISBN. Teachers, library/media specialists, and students can join the project and contribute videos. Read the "UB the Director" area ( UB=You Be) for Lessons and Activities.
tag(s): book lists (163), independent reading (84)
In the Classroom
Digital Booktalk is an excellent place for students to start their search for a book that will hold their interest. Find a book trailer to introduce a novel that the whole class will be reading or set up classroom computers with a link to Digital Booktalk where students can be inspired to find their next read. Have students create their own book talks and submit to share the videos on Digital Booktalk, or use a tool such as TeacherTube, reviewed here. Share this site on your teacher web page for students and families to access during the summer.Comments
What a terrific summer resource for students and parents!Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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Honing Your Craft During the Dog Days of Summer - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 6
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This article in the series in the TeachersFirst Help! I Lost My Library/Media Specialist series reviewed here is just in time for summer break. Here...more
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This article in the series in the TeachersFirst Help! I Lost My Library/Media Specialist series reviewed here is just in time for summer break. Here you'll find an easy, quick read with some suggested activities: Read a Book - with several Professional, Children's, and Young Adult books suggested, and Take a Class suggesting several Teachers Institutes and Online Classes. Also, read about Professional Book Studies and Book Clubs under Extensions with suggestions for running the studies or clubs.
tag(s): book lists (163), independent reading (84)
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your TeachersFirst favorites, even if you have NO time to even LOOK at it right now. Share it with your student teacher, mentoree, recent teacher ed graduate, and newbie teachers as they go off on break, too. Read what you have time for this summer, and save the rest for a break later on.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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21 Must-Read Books - Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - Amer. Indian Lib. Assn & the Asian/Pacific American Lib. Assn.
Grades
K to 12
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0 Comments
Enjoy perusing this list of Asian American children's books, divided by age groups. The lists include a wide range of selections, from picture books to young adult books and poetry....more
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Enjoy perusing this list of Asian American children's books, divided by age groups. The lists include a wide range of selections, from picture books to young adult books and poetry. There is also a list of recommended authors and illustrators. If you are interested in similar book lists, TeachersFirst's CurriConnects found here offers several other curriculum-related, leveled booklists.
tag(s): asia (138), book lists (163), chinese (38), cross cultural understanding (177), hawaii (9), independent reading (84), japanese (53), korea (21), vietnam (41)
In the Classroom
Refer your class to this list for multicultural reading and reports. If you have any ESL/ELL students from these areas, they may enjoy reading literature from (or about) their homeland. Challenge students to read one of the books on this list and research the location. Have cooperative learning groups create a mash-up map using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge Tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Google My Maps, Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, StoryMap JS, Renderforest, and Genially.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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AnswerBag - Joel Downs
Grades
8 to 12
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0 Comments
Answerbag is a collaborative online database where questions are asked and answered by you. Search through questions using categories such as arts, education, science, and more. Responses...more
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Answerbag is a collaborative online database where questions are asked and answered by you. Search through questions using categories such as arts, education, science, and more. Responses are posted in order of ratings. Email registration is required to post and answer questions. An optional poll can be added to each question. Share questions using links to email share, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and many other share tools. Warning: if you are using questions from their database, be aware, questions may update frequently so it is a good idea to take a look immediately before sharing in front of young people.
tag(s): polls and surveys (43), questioning (37)
In the Classroom
Post a question as a homework assignment for student response using a specific url directly to that question. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create their own questions. Search for interesting questions already posted to use as a discussion/debate starter. You may want to preview the questions before using in the classroom as posts can sometimes contain language or content not appropriate for the classroom. Monitor use by using a whole class account to submit questions.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
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ShowMe - The Online Learning Community - San Kim and Karen Bdoyan
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
ShowMe is an open learning community where you can learn or teach any subject. Explore topics such as math, science, world languages, social studies, art, and more. Explore the links...more
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ShowMe is an open learning community where you can learn or teach any subject. Explore topics such as math, science, world languages, social studies, art, and more. Explore the links on the home page; results are divided into subtopics. Click Learn - teachers may be especially interested in the Common Core Lessons available through a link at the bottom of the page. On that page is where you'll find a search bar, too. Creating a ShowMe of your own requires logging in or a download of the app from the iTunes store (and an iPad). The download is free. If you are worried about students seeing questionable material, you may want to provide the link directly to the video you wish students to view. At the time of this review, all material appeared appropriate.
tag(s): blended learning (28), OER (53), test prep (70), tutorials (51)
In the Classroom
Extend your blended learning classroom by sharing the ShowMe site (or individual videos) with your students to access at home for homework help using the Facebook, X, (was Twitter), email, or embed link on each video. List the ShowMe link on your class website. View tutorials on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) as a whole class. Encourage students to share links to specific videos they find helpful on a "Video Reviews" page of your class wiki. For a very real challenge, have students create their own simple review videos using the ShowMe app on iPads (if available) then embed them on your class wiki for a year-to-year student-made study guide! For examples of sophisticated topics simplified in whiteboard stick figure videos, see Common Craft.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pigeon Presents - Hyperion Books for Children
Grades
K to 3
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Pigeon Presents is the website for award winning author Mo Willems. There are interactives, printables, author information, and teacher guides. Try activities such as the Elephant and...more
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Pigeon Presents is the website for award winning author Mo Willems. There are interactives, printables, author information, and teacher guides. Try activities such as the Elephant and Piggie Dance Game or the coloring page of the month. Watch video interviews of the author explaining his background and how some of the book characters were created. Information for teachers includes posters and guides for teaching with the books that include pre-reading activities, discussion questions, and hidden information found in the illustrations (see "Grownup stuff"). Be sure to check out the More Mo! link to find more games, books, and activities featuring Mo's friends. Some annoying ads may precede access into the site.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): authors (114), literature (214), preK (323), printables (35)
In the Classroom
Be sur to explore the "grownup stuff" area for activity ideas. After reading a Mo Willems book, show a video interview on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to help students understand the work that goes into creating books and developing characters. Use the site when teaching an author study unit on Mo Willems books. Posters available on the site are perfect for use on classroom bulletin boards along with displaying student writing.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Shakespeare Bookshelf - IPl2: Drexel-College of Information Science & Technology
Grades
7 to 12
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0 Comments
This attractive library of Shakespeare's literary works is organized just as you want it: each poem, comedy, history, and tragedy is bound in its own volume and placed in alphabetical...more
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This attractive library of Shakespeare's literary works is organized just as you want it: each poem, comedy, history, and tragedy is bound in its own volume and placed in alphabetical order on the appropriate shelf of the bookcase. The titles link to the 1914 edition of The Oxford Shakespeare at Bartleby and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare from Jeremy Hylton at MIT. This is truly a delight for librarians, English teachers, or any lover of literature! You can find the actual text of any Shakespeare work.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): literature (214), shakespeare (98)
In the Classroom
Students and teachers will enjoy using this Shakespeare offering because it is just "As You Like It"! Include this site on your classroom web page to provide students, parents, and yourself ease of access to reputable on-line versions of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and all the other literary works. This website will come in handy for projecting text on your classroom whiteboard to highlight, compare, and interpret particular scenes and lines. If you assign students to create multimedia interpretations of sonnets or passages from the plays, this is a great way to find copy/pasteable text. Two tool suggestions that give students a choice of projects to complete are Genially, reviewed here and Sway, reviewed here. Both Sway and Genially will allow your students to create multimedia projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ThinkExist - Harold S. Geneen
Grades
4 to 12
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0 Comments
Although somewhat dated, ThinkExist is a Quotation Search Engine and Directory with over 300,000 quotations by 20,000+ authors in English. Find quotes by author, topic, keywords, or...more
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Although somewhat dated, ThinkExist is a Quotation Search Engine and Directory with over 300,000 quotations by 20,000+ authors in English. Find quotes by author, topic, keywords, or contributors. Narrow your search by subtopics, such as nationality or themes, such as love or wisdom. Membership to the site isn't required to find and share quotes; however, registration with email allows you to save favorite quotes, receive a quote of the day email, and become a contributor.
tag(s): famous people (40), quotations (18), writing prompts (55)
In the Classroom
Use the site to have a quote of the day (or week) for your interactive whiteboard or projector. Share the site with students to use when in need of a quote for classroom projects. Find writing prompt quotes based on a search term. In literature or social studies classes, look at the list of quotes by an author or a famous person. Invite students to create online posters (or traditional bulletin boards) about the author/person using selected quotes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Adobe Express Image Editor - Adobe
Grades
6 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Adobe Express Image Editor is a free online tool for editing (and all that implies), animating, making collages, and sharing your digital photos. With the free plan, upload, edit, and...more
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Adobe Express Image Editor is a free online tool for editing (and all that implies), animating, making collages, and sharing your digital photos. With the free plan, upload, edit, and organize up to 32 of your photos plus images from the Library; you can also create videos from your photos, and you will find a limited collection of royalty-free videos and music, plus thousands of templates, and you can add collaborators. Save by downloading.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): editing (95), images (271), photography (136)
In the Classroom
Before asking students to use Adobe Express Image Editor, demonstrate how to create and save images. Consider recording a tutorial using Free Screen Recorder Online, then sharing a link on student and classroom devices. Discuss copyright and fair use best practices when editing images. Use Adobe Image Editor to enhance students' presentations and stories. For example, remove the background from a student's picture and then add a background with them in a location or setting that is part of their project. Choose a background image of a city being studied, a different time, or a far-away setting like the moon, then place your student image on top. Resize the image to fit the scene. Include this image as a starter for class projects. Use pictures on top of book covers for book talks, create images for story characters and heroes, or use them for weather reports. In art classes, look at the possibilities of quality photography. In upper-grade technology classes, create free galleries for each student (over 13) and highlight some of the latest photo editing software and apps. Use in science classes as a way to store data in digital images. In language arts, create stories through photos or make wordless picture books.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 shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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edublogs - edublogs.org
Grades
K to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Blog your way into the latest social technology using edublogs. Use the free service to set up a blog as a student, teacher, or campus. This education friendly tool avoids ...more
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Blog your way into the latest social technology using edublogs. Use the free service to set up a blog as a student, teacher, or campus. This education friendly tool avoids some of the "public interaction" that can offer inappropriate content. Upgrade to more advanced features, to include more options. The additional information on blogging makes this site very valuable even if you already have a blogging platform. Find a plethora of advice, tutorials, PDFs, and lesson plans for blogging. This site is a great reference site for all who are beginning to use blogs, or even look for more varied and effective ways to blog with students, or even other classes. Compare this tool to other free blogging tools mentioned in TeachersFirst's Blog Basics for the Classroom . This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): blogs (82), communication (126), writing (309)
In the Classroom
Save this site as a favorite for all of your blogging needs. Find very informative instructions on blogging, and follow the student blogging challenge lesson plans. Use this tool easily in your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom since all students will be able to access it for free, no matter what device they have. Peruse through the various subjects and discover how other teachers use blogging in their classrooms. Using the given PDFs on blogging start up, parent guidelines, incorporating into subject areas, and adapt to make them suitable for you. Look at a variety of examples to help devise your own unique style to meet your students' needs.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)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
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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The Story Starter, Jr. - Joel Heffner
Grades
2 to 6
3 Favorites
0 Comments
If you are looking to satisfy your appetite for creative, meaningful writing prompts to suit any young writer, this is just the place to quickly find over 700 instantly generated ...more
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If you are looking to satisfy your appetite for creative, meaningful writing prompts to suit any young writer, this is just the place to quickly find over 700 instantly generated ideas. All that you have to do is click on the "click here for your story starter" button. If you don't like the one you see, keep clicking for different story starters until you find the one that suits your fancy. Then, start writing!
tag(s): creative writing (123), writing (309), writing prompts (55)
In the Classroom
Save this site in your favorites and link to it from your class webpage. For even quicker access, save this as a favorite on your Teachersfirst membership page to come back to whenever you are planning a pre or post reading/writing assignment. (If you are not already a member, join TeacherFirst for FREE.) These creative ideas are also great to file in your "emergency" lesson plan folder for a substitute teacher or when you are just looking for a spontaneous writing or journal assignment. Students may use it the traditional way by writing the story starter sentence on a piece of paper. With access to a class set of computers students could copy and paste into a word document or class wiki page and start writing their stories, poems, or journal entries. Enhance student learning by challenging them to share their writing aloud on a podcast using a site such as PodOmatic, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Thunks - Get Thunking - Ian Gilbert
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking yes/no question that stops you in your tracks to look at the world in a whole new light. Over a thousand Thunks are included ...more
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A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking yes/no question that stops you in your tracks to look at the world in a whole new light. Over a thousand Thunks are included on the site with simple yes or no responses. View results easily, read comments, or submit your own comment by including your name, email (will not be displayed), and comment. Thunks can be chosen by categories such as good and bad, human condition, or friendship. At the time of this review, we found no evidence of inappropriate public comments (and we looked hard!) , but you might want to preview before turning young people loose on the site.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): logic (170), problem solving (279), questioning (37)
In the Classroom
Display a Thunk on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) as a discussion/debate starter. Have students choose a response and defend their answer. Allow students to discuss their answer throughout the week and survey responses again. Have students create their own Thunks to be discussed in class. Create a bulletin board and allow students to post comments and reactions to the question posed. Use a Thunk as a journal writing prompt. Make this page available for students who are "stuck" thinking of something to write about.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Zotero - Center for History and New Media at George Mason University
Grades
8 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Use this "easy-to-use" tool to help collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research sources. Under the Documentation tab, find many quicks start and other guides to help you understand...more
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Use this "easy-to-use" tool to help collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research sources. Under the Documentation tab, find many quicks start and other guides to help you understand all Zotero can do. Downloadable versions run as a stand-alone or as a Chrome Connector. Once installed, the tool saves information several ways: through a click at the bottom of the web browser, by a click on favorite/bookmark bar, or manually. Files already on computers can be included with files saved from the internet. Items can be grouped and sorted according to individual needs. Information saved through Zotero can be accessed on any computer that has the computer/browser extension downloaded. The site includes a helpful quick start video guide explaining features included with the program.
tag(s): citations (30), curation (27), evaluating sources (52), note taking (36), primary sources (135), Research (90)
In the Classroom
Depending on school computer settings, you may need to have tech support install the program for you. Use Zotero to collect and organize classroom resources. Share with older students as a resource for gathering and citing information. Demonstrate how to use the site on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector, including showing the quick-start video. One of the advanced features of the site is the creation of groups. Share this with students who may be capable of using the feature to collaborate with others.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Team Fink Book Groups: Extreme Speed Booking - Anastasis Academy
Grades
4 to 12
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Get inspired and motivated to explore different books with Extreme Speed Booking. Choose the "Books" tab to find a list of books. Take two minutes to look at the first ...more
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Get inspired and motivated to explore different books with Extreme Speed Booking. Choose the "Books" tab to find a list of books. Take two minutes to look at the first book. Click to go directly to the Amazon preview of the book, including several pages of the first chapter(s). When two minutes is up, record your impressions of the book and move on to the next one on the list. There is a "share page" option on the site to record responses; however, these go back to the site owners.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): book lists (163), independent reading (84), literature (214)
In the Classroom
Inspire reluctant or hesitant readers with this site. Have the entire class participate in one session. Ring a bell every two minutes, allow one minute for quick responses, then move on to the next book. Create your own recording document similar to the one on the site using Google Docs, reviewed here. Explore the Find a Book portion of the site and create your own Extreme Speed Booking site. Tailor it to your students' needs or class content using an easy to use website creator such as Weebly, reviewed here, or a class wiki. Have students create their own speed booking website based on books they enjoy reading. Create a graph to record students' interests in books to post for reading choices.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Children's Music Song of the Month - Nancy Stewart
Grades
K to 4
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Download a free song each month including the audio file, sheet music, MP3 recording, and accompanying activities from Children's Music by Nancy. Also available on the site are monthly...more
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Download a free song each month including the audio file, sheet music, MP3 recording, and accompanying activities from Children's Music by Nancy. Also available on the site are monthly archives since 2006. Many songs include links to similar songs available on the site. Search by categories such as Science, Language, Holidays or alphabetically. Simple instructions for downloading resources are included on the site along with directions for making your own CD with the songs.
In the Classroom
Use content area songs on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) and speakers to introduce new units. For example, when beginning a unit on the Solar System, play "In Our Solar System (Bye Bye Pluto)" to introduce students to the planets' names. Share the site with your school's music teacher as a way to extend activities between subjects. Help students learn Spanish or French by learning songs from the site together. Be sure to share this link with parents. They may want to put some of the songs on the family MP3 player to enjoy on car trips.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Reading Bear - Watch, Know, Learn
Grades
K to 2
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Reading Bear is a systematic program that teaches beginning vocabulary and concepts while introducing phonics patterns. The Getting Started video provides an overview of the...more
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Reading Bear is a systematic program that teaches beginning vocabulary and concepts while introducing phonics patterns. The Getting Started video provides an overview of the program, explaining the software, videos, and tips for using the system. Choose from any phonics sounds or start from the beginning of the program. Then choose from different video or slideshow tutorials (such as sound it out quickly, let me sound it out, or audio and silent sentences). As sounds are pronounced, the corresponding letter is highlighted. Quizzes are available at the end of each section. Choose from different settings to adjust font, letter color, or order of presentation. At the time of this review, 16 presentations are available. The goal of the site is to create 50 presentations in total. So check back often. Some of the video clips are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
In the Classroom
This is an excellent resource for use on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Choose from the different options when presenting letter sounds in your classroom to present letters in different formats. Create a link on classroom computers for a phonics center activity. Share this site with parents through your classroom website or newsletter as a wonderful way to practice and learn letter sounds at home. Use this site with ESL/ELL students. Speech pathologists and special education teachers may want to bookmark this excellent site, too.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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