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TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
There is nothing twicky about a wiki. Learn about this online collaboration tool: what a wiki is, how you might use it in your classroom, how to explain it to ...more
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There is nothing twicky about a wiki. Learn about this online collaboration tool: what a wiki is, how you might use it in your classroom, how to explain it to parents and administration, and how to get started. There are over 50 examples of activities you can do with a wiki and links to a free tool to get started. A fresh revision of the Walk-Through in 2008 includes comparison reviews of the top three wiki tools for education. We even give you the downloadable handout to send home.
tag(s): wikis (15)
In the Classroom
This is listed as a TeachersFirst "edge" entry, but our step-by-step walk-through takes the edge off and makes your wiki a walk in the park. Check it out now, while there is still FREE classroom wiki space available from the three wiki tools we review in detail.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Polite English - English Portal.com
Grades
2 to 8
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Polite English offers practice with many frequently-used expressions by category. Students can select to see all offerings or just those at their level: beginning, intermediate, and...more
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Polite English offers practice with many frequently-used expressions by category. Students can select to see all offerings or just those at their level: beginning, intermediate, and advanced. All lists have a series of remarks, quick quizzes, and immediate evaluations of the students' work. The quiz types include drag and drop, true or false, and multiple choice. The drag and drop feature is a bit difficult to manage, just remember to click on the word first to make it "moveable." The British English spellings may surprise some students. Unfortunately, there is not a pronunciation feature.
tag(s): grammar (141)
In the Classroom
Use this site for ESL and ELL students, or even basic grammar review in a regular language arts class. Help students learn "survival language," such as greetings or saying thank you. Save this site as a favorite on your classroom computer(s) so ESL/ELL students can add new expressions to their present knowledge. Send this site home (or list it on your website) so your international families can benefit from it.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Judy Moody Official Website - Candlewick Press
Grades
3 to 5
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Being moody is totally RARE, if you're Judy Moody! If you teach 3rd -5th grade, you know how quickly girls devour these books. Find activity suggestions and more Judy Moody ...more
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Being moody is totally RARE, if you're Judy Moody! If you teach 3rd -5th grade, you know how quickly girls devour these books. Find activity suggestions and more Judy Moody information in the Teacher's Guide section. The Clubhouse link includes several printable "not-boring" activities.
tag(s): authors (114), book lists (161), printables (35)
In the Classroom
Plan a Judy Moody Day by using the 'rare' ideas in the Teacher's Guide section. Don't leave the boys out--plan a joint Stink Day as well. (Stink is Judy Moody's brother, and more information about Stink can be found at www.stinkmoody.com.) For writing fun, write a 'moody' scene to expand a Judy Moody or Stink book. Create a Judy Moody comic strip (or one in your own style, perhaps using one of the comic tools found in /content/edge.cfm "TeachersFirst Edge. Have your school's art teacher teach your class how to draw the perfectly temperamental Judy Moody or develop their own characters. (There is also a link at the Clubhouse showing how to draw Judy Moody.)
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Little House Books - Harper Collins
Grades
1 to 5
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Are you a Laura or a Nellie? Click Extras at the top menu for you and your students to read about the girls of Little House to see whom you ...more
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Are you a Laura or a Nellie? Click Extras at the top menu for you and your students to read about the girls of Little House to see whom you are most like. Plan a big "Little House on the Prairie" event using the many suggestions and materials available. Printables, a classroom activities guide, lesson plans, games, author information, and more await you here.
tag(s): reading comprehension (146)
In the Classroom
Teachers, mark this site as a favorite to use when you plan your Little House or pioneer unit. If you need a quick quiz for any of the Little House books, you will find one already prepared for you. Directions to make your own autograph album, scrapbook, "Little House" recipes, and more are located in the Teachers section. The classroom activity guide features 17 pages of ideas!
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The Nile File - Liverpool Musems.org
Grades
3 to 6
1 Favorites
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Explore the Nile with Nakht-Amun, an ordinary ancient Egyptian! Dig below the glamour and glitz of Pharaohs and pyramids to discover the daily life of ordinary Egyptians. This delightful,...more
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Explore the Nile with Nakht-Amun, an ordinary ancient Egyptian! Dig below the glamour and glitz of Pharaohs and pyramids to discover the daily life of ordinary Egyptians. This delightful, straightforward site offers an easy-to-read tour of everyday ancient life at home and in school, followed by a quiz. Each section contains a nugget of information accompanied by drawings, photographs, or animations of architecture, artifacts, and maps. Underlined words and a clickable glossary take the explorer to brief descriptions and images of arts and crafts, typical occupations, temples, and gods. The site includes two simple offline activities: creating dioramas and drawing Egyptian figures using a grid. The Liverpool Museums in England present the Nile File, which contains unique English spellings of some common words.
tag(s): art history (105), egypt (60)
In the Classroom
This site can be a great introduction to a unit on Egypt for young learners. Put a link to this site on a classroom computer that can be used as an activity center for the Egyptian unit of study. Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to take the entire class on an interactive tour of life on the Nile.As a language arts activity, have students adopt the persona of an ordinary Egyptian and write a week-long journal or blog entries about their daily life. Tie in the visual arts by posing and tracing students' outlines on butcher paper on the floor. Students can strike an Egyptian-style pose that reflects their chosen person or occupation, and then draw in the clothing, headwear, and jewelry. Cut out these life-size images and combine them to create an Egyptian wall of stories. Let students fill in the background with hieroglyphic symbols.
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Visiting Authors - visitingauthors.com
Grades
K to 6
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Having an author visit your school is easy using this site. Author information, pictures and book lists, and hints on how to prepare for your author visit are all ...more
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Having an author visit your school is easy using this site. Author information, pictures and book lists, and hints on how to prepare for your author visit are all found here. Some of the authors include Marie Bradby, Timothy Bush, Nikki Grimes, Angela Johnson, Steve Lyon, Alexander Stadler, and many others. Learn where the author resides, fees, and more.
tag(s): printables (35)
In the Classroom
Have your students pretend to be an author who visits your school. Make a video of the "visits" from several "authors." Make a wish list of their expectations from the students. Have students create fictional stories of why the author wrote a particular book. Share them with the author for huge laughs. If you do invite one of these featured authors, make sure you read their books well in advance of the visit. Many of these authors have their own websites, so visit those sites as well. As a school event, you may be able to arrange a 'Lunch with the Author' fundraiser.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Matt Christopher, Official Author Website - Dale Christopher
Grades
2 to 8
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Promote guys reading books by visiting this popular author's website. Boys (and girls) love reading this #1 sports fiction author. At this site, you will find Matt Christopher checklists,...more
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Promote guys reading books by visiting this popular author's website. Boys (and girls) love reading this #1 sports fiction author. At this site, you will find Matt Christopher checklists, a word scramble, posters, a bookmark, a sports quiz, and author information. Matt is the author of over 100 sports books, and kids (especially boys) can't read enough of them. This site works as a bonus read for M.C. fans. Check out non-fiction biographies of our nation's popular sports figures. Biographies are found at the bottom of the individual sports pages. There is also a link especially for teachers and librarians with downloadable PDF files, a poster, brochure, and other literature materials. Some of the links require Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): sports (87)
In the Classroom
Encourage fictional sports books by having a Matt Christopher Day. Have students read a M.C. book about their favorite sport. On M.C. Day, students may bring sports memorabilia and enjoy book talks. Perhaps bring in a well-known local sports figure who grew up reading Matt Christopher books. After all, M.C. books have been popular since the mid-fifties. Teachers, find a complete list of individual sports books by using the drop down menu Choose a Sport .Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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YourDictionary - LoveToKnow Corporation
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
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A definitive authority on words, this free site gives you definitions, thesaurus entries, spellings, pronunciations, and etymology results. Add to that list an audio pronunciation system...more
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A definitive authority on words, this free site gives you definitions, thesaurus entries, spellings, pronunciations, and etymology results. Add to that list an audio pronunciation system that allows you to hear the word as well. YourDictionary also provides resources to help you find foreign language translation sites. It even directs you to medical, computer, or electricians' dictionaries, and many more. Haven't you always wanted to say a tongue-twister in the Asante language? Words have never so much fun. This site does include some advertisements.
tag(s): thesaurus (21)
In the Classroom
Send students to this site to look up those difficult words. ESL and ELL students can use this site to practice the pronunciation of new words. Be sure to mark this site as a favorite or share on your teacher web page for easy access.
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SUPER WHY! - PBS Kids
Grades
K to 2
1 Favorites
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This fantastic website, created by PBS, is a language arts dream! There are online stories, videos, interactive games, printable pages, and more. Topics include spelling, letter recognition,...more
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This fantastic website, created by PBS, is a language arts dream! There are online stories, videos, interactive games, printable pages, and more. Topics include spelling, letter recognition, phonics, rhyming, sight words, and other language arts topics. If you are looking for a new way to excite young readers, this is one to try. For most of the interactive activities, click on the GAMES link (they are all educational).
tag(s): alphabet (46), phonics (53), preK (322), sound (74), sounds (40), spelling (91)
In the Classroom
Turn up your speakers and use your interactive whiteboard or projector to display these engaging activities, and get ready for some excited students! Once the site is introduced, set this website up as a learning center (with headphones!) during your language arts block. Go to Super Stuff for printable language arts pages to use for extra practice. Share this link with parents via your teacher web page so they can help struggling readers enjoy learning.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Free Kids Music - Uppbeat
Grades
K to 8
4 Favorites
1 Comments
Endless children's music titles await your ears at this site. You will love the wide range of classic and contemporary children's songs. Lyrics to most songs are provided. Download...more
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Endless children's music titles await your ears at this site. You will love the wide range of classic and contemporary children's songs. Lyrics to most songs are provided. Download these songs onto your classroom's computer or to an mp3 player, and your class will enjoy the wide variety of music offered.
In the Classroom
Turn up your speakers and incorporate the lyrics and songs into your reading program. Singing lyrics is a great way to motivate the struggling reader. Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to display them.Note: This site is for personal listening only, which means you should not download for intentions of selling or distributing or playing before a large audience. They cannot, for example, be used as background for your class podcast!
Comments
I went through your webpage of Kid's Music. I think it is wonderful. Music is a wonderful way to keep children engaged. I use it almost everyday in my classes. Thank you, and keep those songs coming. Ray Rust Music TeacherRaymond, CA, Grades: 7 - 8
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Teachers' Guide: internet Field Trips - Scholastic, Inc.
Grades
K to 12
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This is a great site for teachers with limited experience working with students on the internet. It simply walks teachers through the step of taking an "internet field trip" with ...more
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This is a great site for teachers with limited experience working with students on the internet. It simply walks teachers through the step of taking an "internet field trip" with students, advising on the best way to set one up, giving tips for evaluating the site, and sharing it with students.
tag(s): field trips (6), virtual field trips (142)
In the Classroom
This is a good practice site for working with students, particularly younger ones; and it advises you on how to accommodate the different skill levels students have with the Internet.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Test Maker - Help Teaching
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Test Designer allows teachers to quickly and easily create multiple-choice, true or false, fill-in-the-blank, and open-ended questions for tests and worksheets. Browse through thousands...more
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Test Designer allows teachers to quickly and easily create multiple-choice, true or false, fill-in-the-blank, and open-ended questions for tests and worksheets. Browse through thousands of previously-created tests in subject areas such as Algebra, Earth Science, Geography, U.S. History, and Vocabulary. Test Designer also provides simple graphics that can easily be added. Teachers can e-mail tests and worksheets to students, teachers, and parents. Make sure to allow plenty of time to read directions and maneuver the site prior to creating tests. There are some minor unobtrusive advertisements at this site. The required membership is free!
tag(s): quiz (64), quizzes (89), vocabulary (254)
In the Classroom
Use this website to create personalized quizzes and tests for your students. You could also ask students to design their own tests for each other to review using your teacher log-in or appoint a student "quizmaker" each week for the content your class has covered, making this an assignment that each student does once per semester.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ESL Reading Lessons - 5 Minute English
Grades
4 to 10
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This teaching site has a variety of short readings at various levels that could be useful in an ESL, ELL, special education, or regular ed classroom. Some of the topics ...more
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This teaching site has a variety of short readings at various levels that could be useful in an ESL, ELL, special education, or regular ed classroom. Some of the topics include sentences with grammar errors, students must figure out what is wrong with each sentence. This is excellent practice for any student learning proper grammar. True/ false comprehension questions follow the reading in most cases. Most of the answers are provided at the bottom of the website - so don't scroll too quickly. Before the reading begins, students can study difficult vocabulary words presented in an attractive format. There are full units (with many mini-lessons): grammar, reading, vocabulary, listening, pronunciation, and writing. Some of the listening activities require Flash; however the rest of the site does not, making this site worth your visit.
tag(s): grammar (141), listening (117), pronunciation (33), reading comprehension (146), short stories (18), vocabulary (254)
In the Classroom
Use this site if you want your students to do additional reading. Project the topic, story, and questions on an interactive whiteboard or projector for group discussion. Have your students make up their own questions to go with the site. Have your students write up a similar subject relevant to their own culture and present it, along with questions to check for comprehension. This is a fabulous site to list 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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Profile Publisher - ReadWriteThink.org
Grades
3 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Reading literature with complex characters worthy of analysis and individual profiles? Do your students need practice creating their own polished "profiles"? This tool creates professional...more
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Reading literature with complex characters worthy of analysis and individual profiles? Do your students need practice creating their own polished "profiles"? This tool creates professional looking profiles of students or for a character in a book, historical figure, animal, or scientific object/concept. Amazingly, you may choose to set up a profile for nonliving creatures or even abstract concepts. You simply type in the requested information into the boxes, and immediately, you have a perfect profile layout, ready for photocopy publishing. (Saving your profiles is not an option, so all must be printed immediately.) This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
tag(s): literature (214)
In the Classroom
Teach Internet safety by having students create a mock profile to use on social networking sites. Printing out those profiles makes editing in small groups a breeze. Yearbook or newspaper staff may want to use this Profile Publisher to gain more information about people of interest. History comes alive when you profile historical figures or interview veterans and generate profiles of local heroes. Imagine students creating a blog entry by George Washington. Or ask students to profile a type of cell, an endangered animal, or a science concept such as climate change. With this tool and some creative thinking, anything is possible.Be SURE to warn students to PRINT before closing. The site does NOT save work. You may want them to draft their work in a saved document before pasting it into the profiler, just in case work is interrupted by a fire drill or the bell.
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Sleepover Planet - BBC
Grades
3 to 8
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This page has been archived, but the links still work. This highly motivating website demonstrates step-by-step how to prepare a school musical. The website includes lyrics, drama vocabulary...more
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This page has been archived, but the links still work. This highly motivating website demonstrates step-by-step how to prepare a school musical. The website includes lyrics, drama vocabulary terms, musical notations, scenery, props, and an introduction to various types of music (including calypso). There is a Directors link that includes curriculum information, a glossary, and more. Use the website to teach your class about calypso music, drama vocabulary terms, and many other details pertaining to music and drama. Some of the activities require Flash, but most of this doesn't.
tag(s): ireland (13)
In the Classroom
Use this website to prepare a drama and/or musical with your students. Or pick and choose smaller segments of the website to incorporate into your lesson plans. If you plan to have students write and perform short plays as part of a social studies or interdisciplinary unit, this site is a great reference. Share this lively website with your students on an interactive whiteboard or projector (be sure to turn up the volume).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Snoopy - United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
Grades
3 to 8
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Find out all you can about Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang on Snoopy.com. This site provides a variety of great comic strips that can be applied to ...more
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Find out all you can about Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang on Snoopy.com. This site provides a variety of great comic strips that can be applied to many classroom lessons. The site also provides an Author Spotlight on Charles Schulz. There is also a link for fun and games with printable pages, puzzles, word problems, and other "fun" stuff. Some of the activities require Shockwave. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
tag(s): comics and cartoons (66)
In the Classroom
Have students utilize and manipulate comic strips for dialog-writing lessons, summarizing, predicting and retelling stories. Use comic strips for literature responses. School counselors will also like the Peanuts strips as conversation starters about feelings. You could even use an online comic strip maker, such as Make Beliefs Comix to create your own class or student comic strips after looking at some examples from Peanuts. Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to share the Fun and Games . Then have students work on individual computers or with a partner to try some of the educational activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Seashell Identification Guide - Seashells.com
Grades
2 to 10
5 Favorites
0 Comments
If students ever wonder exactly what seashells they managed to collect at the beach last summer, this is the site to use. Clear photos click to an even larger and ...more
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If students ever wonder exactly what seashells they managed to collect at the beach last summer, this is the site to use. Clear photos click to an even larger and distinct picture of many varieties. Along with the larger picture are the common name, scientific name, region found, and maximum size. Links on the page include more information about identifying shells, cleaning, preserving, and using as decorations.
In the Classroom
Use this site as a kick-off when students return to write their "What I Did on my Summer Vacation" papers. If you're teaching research skills, this site is a good place to start, since it is highly visual but definitive. ESL and ELL students can independently use this site since the vocabulary is limited to names, regions, and sizes. Biology teachers can use this site as a reference when teaching about classification.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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AstroViewer - Dirk Matussek
Grades
3 to 12
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AstroViewer is an interactive night sky map that allows you to pinpoint constellations and planets. The online interactive sky map is free. You can also download the trial version of...more
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AstroViewer is an interactive night sky map that allows you to pinpoint constellations and planets. The online interactive sky map is free. You can also download the trial version of the sky map for free or purchase the license key to unlock a full download. The free online sky map uses controls for time of night, month, or year, or position on the globe to easily find objects in the night sky. A 3-dimensional view of the night sky provides details even for beginners of Astronomy to find stars, constellations, and planets. View constellations see from other parts of the globe. Forecast constellations that will be seen months from now or those from past months. The frequently asked questions answer the most common questions when using sky maps or looking at celestial objects. Download a PDF manual for using AstroViewer. Other functions available include a mini-night sky button or night sky view that can be added to your existing class website. The site requires Java.
tag(s): planets (124), solar system (125), stars (80)
In the Classroom
Use an interactive whiteboard or projection screen to share this interactive "sky map" with your class. Identify the changes in constellation location through the months of the year. Track motions of planets across the sky as well as the differences between Southern and Northern Hemispheres. Use these in a presentation about the mythology or significance behind constellation names. Or turn down the lights and use the "night sky" as a writing prompt during a poetry unit.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Biography Maker - Jamie McKenzie and the Bellingham Public Schools.
Grades
4 to 12
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Writing biographies is a staple of English and history classes. This site takes students through the process in a way that will make reading them more palatable. It will also ...more
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Writing biographies is a staple of English and history classes. This site takes students through the process in a way that will make reading them more palatable. It will also help students delve deeper into a person's life , making it memorable for them. Divided into four groups (Questioning, Learning, Synthesis, and Storytelling), it helps students understand how to take facts and apply them to a real live person. It wraps up with the six effective traits of writing, reminding students that biography writing shouldn't just be a recitation of facts. The "learning" section does link students to Yahoo encyclopedias and Google (with search hints included), so be aware of that feature. This site serves as a guide for writing a biography of anyone (including students themselves).
tag(s): questioning (37), writing (308)
In the Classroom
All material at this site is copyrighted, so it must be viewed online. For students who do best with step-by-step instructions, this site is a gem! You might have one group research authors from a particular country while others do artists, musicians, scientists, etc. A class report from each of these groups would do a good job of encapsulating a country or area of the world within any given time period. Teachers seeking independent projects for students who "test out" of a unit can assign this site's step-by-step instructions as a meaningful alternate activity.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kids' Vid - Mike Keating
Grades
3 to 8
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Leap into video production with help from the Kids' Vid site! Kids' Vid steps you and your students through the process with tips on scripting, storyboarding, shooting video, and editing...more
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Leap into video production with help from the Kids' Vid site! Kids' Vid steps you and your students through the process with tips on scripting, storyboarding, shooting video, and editing it into a visual masterpiece. The site has classroom ideas, short exercises for story writing and learning video shots, an online storyboard creator, and lots of useful help from experts and kids on how to make the whole process an exciting educational experience.
tag(s): tutorials (51)
In the Classroom
Start the activity by showing the student-produced videos on the web site. Use the resources on the site for a whole class jig-saw exercise. Assign small groups the task of learning one aspect of the process and then reporting and showing it to the rest of the class. Share the knowledge by creating working groups, which contain an expert from each aspect of the process. Use one of the many class ideas as practice activities for students to learn the finer points of video production before they start their masterpieces.Video is a great tool for authentic assessment - especially for ESL, ELL, and Special Education students. Think about letting each of your students create a short video about what they know for their parent conference meeting or Open House. Explore the realm of possibilities by having students develop and ask peers a "Question of the Week" and document the responses on video. Let students produce a walking tour of the school and key personnel as an introduction for new students. Post this video on the school website, but check the district and students' Acceptable Use Policies before videoing any student faces. You may want to ask your school's funding sources to consider purchasing a few USB plug-in "flip" video cameras that cost about $100 each so students can do these projects with an "indestructible" tool.
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