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TeachersFirst Brain Twisters - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 9In the Classroom
Brain Twisters work well as a whole-class activity projected on a screen or interactive whiteboard, with students pooling their knowledge to work through questions as a team. Thinking aloud together -- eliminating wrong answers, testing possibilities, debating what they know -- builds both content knowledge and test-taking strategies. Alternatively, use them in small groups with assigned roles: a moderator to guide discussion, a keyboarder to submit answers, and researchers to look up what the group doesn't know. This makes Brain Twisters a natural fit for teaching information literacy and research skills in a high-motivation context.Offer Twisters as an enrichment challenge or extra-credit option for students to complete at home -- consider giving credit simply for completing the quiz rather than for the score, since family members may want to help. The printable version and last week's answers make it easy to use Brain Twisters even without live internet access. Be sure to mark this as a favorite and share it on your class webpage.
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Plagiarism Checker - Darren Horn
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): plagiarism (32)
In the Classroom
Students can use this plagiarism checker to be sure they are turning in original work. Teachers can use this service to check the work of students (submitted electronically). Students should create accounts with their parents to check their work at home. Model this site to explain what plagiarism IS and how students can avoid it. The hands-on experience will help them understand this challenging concept. You might even want to provide several examples of plagiarized writing as an exercise for student to check and correct before they copy/paste their way to trouble in a research assignment. Another interesting exercise for researchers is to locate an article on a how-to topic, such as "How to Paint a Room," then see how many sites use the exact same text. As a class, discuss whether this proliferation is good or bad (is the web spreading misinformation, too?).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Intro to Learning Skills: Module 1: Self-Assessment - Red Rocks Community College
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): learning styles (22), psychology (60)
In the Classroom
Any teacher may want to use the site as a lead-in to the school year to help students develop stronger study skills. Have students complete the self-assessment then find their "match" for peer tutoring. Inspire student project ideas and options from the multiple intelligence information. Consider having students a clas wiki presenting the same curriculum content via various different "intelligence" channels.Comments
I had my sixth graders do this inventory as we started the school year. It helped them find "study buddies" for study hall times at school. This eased their adjustment to middle school and the heavier homework load.Thinking, PA, Grades: 5 - 10
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Learning to Give - Points of Light Institute
Grades
K to 12tag(s): african american (129), animal homes (54), animals (278), charactered (86), charts and graphs (182), colonial america (95), communities (40), data (206), diversity (56), ecology (115), environment (249), heroes (22), money (112), recycling (47)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for all subjects; search for a subject and browse the resources. Share with other teachers in your building or district, including teachers of the arts. Get your students involved! Challenge cooperative learning groups to create a multimedia presentation using one of many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here discussing one of the topics at this site. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Canva Infographic Maker, Lucidpress, Powtoon, and MoocNote.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Project Based Learning for the 21st Century - Buck Institute for Education
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): assessment (143), Project Based Learning (29), Research (89)
In the Classroom
Use these ideas in any subject area classroom. Aspects of PBL can be used in introductory activities or whole units. Use driving questions to stimulate student curiosity to know more about how curriculum applies to their lives. Use this PBL framework to give students freedom to research aspects of the content or problem of personal interest. Be sure to view the resources to adequately plan for a successful unit project that incorporates 21st century skills utilizing engaging activities and content.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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5 Minute Mystery - Mystery Competition, LLC
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): critical thinking (187), mysteries (28), reading comprehension (147), short stories (18)
In the Classroom
Use your projector or interactive whiteboard to show your students the directions for getting points by selecting the correct clues and solving the mystery. To begin with, as a class, read a mystery and discuss what the clues might be and whether they implicate or exonerate each suspect. Once the students have volunteered their ideas for which sentences are clues, submit them to see the score. The program will highlight the answers you should have had, if you got any wrong. Model for your students a discussion about why those are the correct answers and why the ones they submitted weren't. Eventually they can have this discussion by themselves in small groups. Those of you with multiple classes will want to create a league for each class. Eventually you can have small groups of students compete against each other by creating leagues. Have your students come to consensus about the clue sentences and who the real perpetrator is by voting using Tricider, or Vevox.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Interactive Raven - TeachersFirst
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
This is a great on-line independent study for students who need additional help with either vocabulary or poetic devices. Introduce the site on your projector (rollovers will not work on an interactive whiteboard), then have students work alone or with a partner to become acquainted with the full text of Poe's masterpiece, accessing definitions and literary devices on their own. Augment classroom technology use and challenge students to create their own dramatic readings of the poem using a tool such as podOmatic, reviewed here, or accompany their reading with illustrations using ePubEditor, reviewed here, where your can upload images and text and add audio.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Nutcracker Study Guide - Inland Pacific Ballet
Grades
4 to 8tag(s): christmas (33)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource during a historic examination of Christmas. Have students re-write their own version of the story using a different setting, time period, or both be sure that they consider how costumes, sets, characters, folk dances, music, landmarks, locations, events, and animals might be different. Have students consider the Dance of the Snowflakes scene in The Nutcracker. Discuss what animals they might find living in this kind of habitat? What else would you likely find living in this habitat (plants, trees, insects, etc.)? Have students record their ideas on a graphic organizer and draw pictures to go along with it, or replace the pencil and paper with a blog tool like Penzu, reviewed here. With Penzu you can add images or your own artwork as illustrations.Have students compare or contrast The Nutcracker with another folk tale, fairy tale or story they have read or are familiar with.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Aspects of the Antebellum Christmas - Tim Crumrin
Grades
7 to 9In the Classroom
Use this website as a resource during a unit on Christmas, or while looking at the differences in American life before and after the Civil War. Extend learning and challenge students to create a Venn diagram using an online tool like 2 and 3 Circle Interactive Venn Diagrams, reviewed here, and then writing about their learning and understanding using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or X (formerly Twitter) links. This blog creator requires no registration.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Victorian Christmas - Malcolm Warrington
Grades
4 to 8In the Classroom
Use this website during a unit on Christmas or Victorian history. Enhance learning and allow ENL/ELL students to try using Text to Speech Reader, reviewed here, which will allow these students to follow the highlighted text as the article or passage is read to them. Consider extending learning by having students create their own online Victorian "albums" using a tool such as Smilebox, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Video: Social Media in Plain English - Common Craft
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): blogs (82), podcasts (169), social media (63)
In the Classroom
If you are looking to learn more about various social media, check out this short video. Learn more about the "flavors" you could use in your own classoom. For research projects have students create a blog, wiki, or even a podcast and compare the pros/cons of each regarding communication and safety. Create podcasts using a tool such as podOmatic, explained here. If you use "centers" in your classroom, put the video on a "center" computer, do a "right click" on the video, select "save as" and save to the "center" computer.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Harry Potter's Page - Scholastic Books
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): harry potter (9)
In the Classroom
See even more Harry Potter resources at Pottermore, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Jackie French Koller - Privately Published
Grades
1 to 8tag(s): book lists (163), french (72)
In the Classroom
Use the menu bar on the left of the page and explore the Teachers Pages to find books with excerpts and activity pages. Also, look at the tab labeled Freebies and find free downloadable books!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Children's Book Council
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): reading lists (77)
In the Classroom
Use the book lists on this site for recommendations to parents who want suggestions on outside or summer readings. The lists are separated by age, gender and all kinds of category's - making it easier for parents to find what they need.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Webquest 101 - TeachersFirst
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
Mark this in your Favorites as a professional reference. You may even want to assign students to create their own webquests following these guidelines. If you mentor new teachers, share this resource when they are designing their first web-based projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Select and Speak - Google Chrome
Grades
1 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): listening (119), text to speech (23)
In the Classroom
Use Select and Speak as your teacher's helper. Be sure to test it out on classroom computers and devices before using it with students. During research or computer explorations, allow students to use this read aloud feature. Honor the students who heavily rely on hearing as their preferred form of comprehending material. In lower grades, research on computers now becomes an easier task. This extension is perfect for ENL/ELL or learning support students to help with vocabulary development, comprehension, fluency, and repetitions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Brainyquote - Brainymedia
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): authors (114), themes (16), writing (309), writing prompts (55)
In the Classroom
Save this site in your favorites on Teachersfirst. If you are not already a member, just click on "My TF" to join for FREE. When you are searching for a writing prompt or universal theme to connect with your curriculum area, a famous quote provides a springboard for students to reflect on the topic they just read or studied. After reading two or three literary works or studying historic figures, you might try changing the quote into a question. Have students compare/contrast how each of the characters would respond, and support their responses by citing specific examples. Then, students could answer the question from their own point of view to relate the meaning of the quote to their lives. Create a class wiki for the quotes of the day (and student responses). Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through. Or invite students to choose a favorite quote from this site and interpret it both visually and verbally by creating an online poster using ThingLink, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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PuzzleMaker - Discovery
Grades
1 to 9tag(s): crosswords (22), puzzles (172)
In the Classroom
Create your puzzles by following the simple directions. These can be used both online and in print form. You or your students can create games for use on an interactive whiteboard (students highlight the answers in different colors). Have students create their own to challenge classmates! If you have kinesthetic learners or those with weak fine motor skills who have trouble with pencils, the whiteboard is a real help. Make it a center. Build a class collection of student-made games and puzzles for use over and over. Tip: If you take a screenshot of a word search or print it to a pdf, you can save it electronically. Screenshots: Prtscrn key on a Windows machine, then PASTE into a document; Command+shift+4 on a Mac; press both buttons at once on an iPad to save a screenshot to the camera roll.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kids Know Your Rights - American Library Association
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): bill of rights (39), constitution (104)
In the Classroom
Share this pdf on an interactive whiteboard or projector as part of a class discussion (great for reading comprehension in the content areas, too!). Then allow students to use it and other resources for a class debate on the pros and cons of intellectual freedom. The constitution will come to life in a context that students care about.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Thinkport - Maryland Public Television and John Hopkins University
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): museums (55), patterns (79), reading comprehension (147), timelines (60), writing (309)
In the Classroom
Use these tools for any subject area and for any content. Be sure to look at the sample activities that are great to use as is or can stimulate thinking into your own projects. Use the timeline as an introduction to the first year by discussing their summer activities, major events in a students life, inventions or technology that made a difference in their life, events in their favorite book, and more. To understand content in perspective, create a timeline to be sure students understand why some events happen at particular times. For example, our understanding about biology greatly changes after the invention of the microscope. A great sample activity to Create your own Museum is the celebration of neighborhoods which can create a greater understanding about different people. Create a museum for each different kind of biome that showcases what would be found there. Create a museum for a time period in history but created by a specific group of people. View each of the museums and note the differences in what is portrayed using the lens of that various segment of the population. Create writings or blog posts portraying the differences in the museums and why these differences exist. Even young students can make a simple timeline of their own life of the life cycle of a butterfly to build the concept of linear representation of time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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