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Virginia Changemakers - Library of Virginia
Grades
4 to 12
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Virginia Changemakers from the Library of Virginia is a free educational resource featuring short biographies of influential Virginians who have made lasting contributions to their...more
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Virginia Changemakers from the Library of Virginia is a free educational resource featuring short biographies of influential Virginians who have made lasting contributions to their communities, the Commonwealth, and the nation. Organized by historical era and themes such as civil rights, education, science, government, the arts, military service, and business, the site helps students explore diverse historical figures through engaging, accessible profiles. Teachers can use this resource to introduce biography studies, highlight underrepresented voices, connect historical events to real people, and support inquiry-based learning in history, social studies, language arts, and civics.
tag(s): american revolution (99), biographies (100), civil rights (224), civil war (148), colonization (22), great depression (33), industrialization (14), virginia (16), womenchangemaker (83), world war 2 (169)
In the Classroom
After reading several biographies, ask students to identify common leadership qualities such as perseverance, courage, innovation, or service. Students can support their findings with evidence from the biographies and discuss how these traits apply today. Have students select a changemaker and prepare a first-person presentation or living museum exhibit. Using information from the website, students can dress as the individual (optional), share important accomplishments, answer classmates' questions, and explain how their contributions continue to influence society today. Assign each student a different changemaker to research. Students can create a trading card using Trading Card Creator, reviewed here explaining the individual's accomplishments and lasting impact.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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National Native American Hall of Fame - National Native American Hall of Fame
Grades
4 to 12
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The National Native American Hall of Fame is an educational resource that celebrates the achievements and contributions of Native American leaders, innovators, artists, athletes, military...more
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The National Native American Hall of Fame is an educational resource that celebrates the achievements and contributions of Native American leaders, innovators, artists, athletes, military veterans, educators, and other influential figures from tribes across the United States. Teachers can explore inductee biographies, photographs, videos, historical information, and educational resources that highlight Native American history, culture, leadership, and contemporary accomplishments. The site helps students gain a broader understanding of Indigenous perspectives while promoting cultural appreciation and challenging stereotypes, making it a valuable resource for history, social studies, language arts, and multicultural education.
tag(s): biographies (100), native americans (162)
In the Classroom
Assign each student or small group a Hall of Fame inductee to research. Students can create a slide presentation, podcast, or short video using Adobe Express for Education, reviewed here highlighting the person's accomplishments and lasting impact. During Native American Heritage Month or while studying U.S. history, have students explore the website's biographies and videos. Students can create a digital timeline using MyLens, reviewed here showcasing achievements across fields such as science, sports, government, the arts, and military service. Have students compare a Hall of Fame inductee with another influential historical or contemporary figure. Students can create a Venn diagram with Venn Diagram Creator by Canva, reviewed here, analyzing leadership qualities, challenges, and contributions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Women With Altitude - Lisa Wortley
Grades
8 to 12
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Woman With Altitude is a personal website that shares stories, reflections, and resources connected to outdoor adventure, travel, and personal growth. Teachers may find selected posts...more
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Woman With Altitude is a personal website that shares stories, reflections, and resources connected to outdoor adventure, travel, and personal growth. Teachers may find selected posts useful as mentor texts for reading and writing lessons, especially when discussing voice, descriptive language, goal setting, resilience, and learning from new experiences. Because the site is written for a general audience rather than for classrooms, teachers should preview individual articles and select sections that align with their students' ages, interests, and learning goals.
tag(s): descriptive writing (46), women (192), womenchangemaker (83)
In the Classroom
Choose a short, age-appropriate excerpt and ask students to notice sensory details, strong verbs, and descriptive language. Then have students write a short paragraph about a memorable place, challenge, or outdoor experience using similar techniques. After reading a post about a challenge or new experience, have students identify the obstacle, the choices the writer made, and what the writer learned. Students can create a written reflection or discussion response about a time they showed persistence. Use the site's themes of growth and trying new things as a springboard for students to set a personal, academic, or reading goal. Have students write a goal, list possible obstacles, and create a plan for responding when the goal feels difficult to achieve.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teaching Comics - The Center for Cartoon Studies
Grades
1 to 12
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The Center for Cartoon Studies' Teaching Comics page is a large collection of free resources for using comics, graphic novels, and cartooning in the classroom. Teachers can find short...more
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The Center for Cartoon Studies' Teaching Comics page is a large collection of free resources for using comics, graphic novels, and cartooning in the classroom. Teachers can find short creative exercises, complete lesson plans, study guides, handouts, and resources about visual storytelling, character development, dialogue, sequencing, editing, and literary devices. Many materials are available as printable PDFs, and several list recommended grade levels and Common Core subject connections. The site can support reading, writing, art, media literacy, and social studies lessons by helping students learn how words and images work together to communicate ideas.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (69), literary devices (14), sequencing (22)
In the Classroom
Have students use a simple six-panel template from Comic Strip Templates by Canva, reviewed here to tell a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. Encourage them to plan how each panel moves the action forward and to use captions, dialogue, and pictures only where they add important information. After reading a chapter or short text, have students create a comic response that shows an important event, a character's change, a conflict, or a theme. Have students add a brief written explanation that describes how their visual choices connect to evidence from the text. They can choose new vocabulary words from a reading, science, or social studies unit and create small comics that show each word in context. Classmates can use the illustrations and dialogue to infer the word's meaning before checking the definition.
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4 Writing Skills to Teach Using Comic Books as Mentor Texts - Learning at the Primary Pond
Grades
2 to 5
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A comic book can do more than entertain -- it can show young writers how words and pictures work together to tell a memorable story. This article explains how comic ...more
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A comic book can do more than entertain -- it can show young writers how words and pictures work together to tell a memorable story. This article explains how comic books and graphic novels can serve as mentor texts during writing instruction. It shows teachers how to use comics to teach skills such as sounding out words, writing dialogue, sequencing events, and adding details through pictures and text. Students can study how comic creators use panels, speech bubbles, and illustrations to tell a clear story, then try these techniques in their own comic strips and later apply them to traditional narrative writing. The post also includes ideas and free resources for using comics with primary students.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (69), narrative (17), sequencing (22), writing (310)
In the Classroom
Share a short, teacher-selected comic or graphic-novel page. Have students identify how the author uses panels, speech bubbles, captions, sound words, facial expressions, and color to help readers understand the action and characters' feelings. Have students collect examples of sound words from comics, such as boom, crash, whoosh, and zap. They can create a short comic scene that uses sound words to make the action more vivid, then revise a sentence from their narrative writing by adding precise action words or sensory details. Give students a wordless comic strip or remove the dialogue and captions from a teacher-created comic made with Free Comic Maker by Adobe, reviewed here. Have students infer what is happening, add dialogue and captions, and explain which details in the pictures helped them make their choices.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Affinity - Canva
Grades
6 to 12
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Affinity is a free professional design application that combines photo editing, vector illustration, and page layout tools into a single downloadable program for Windows and macOS....more
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Affinity is a free professional design application that combines photo editing, vector illustration, and page layout tools into a single downloadable program for Windows and macOS. Students and teachers can use its Pixel, Vector, and Layout studios to edit photographs, create original graphics and logos, design posters or infographics, and produce polished multi-page publications such as newsletters, brochures, and portfolios. Its layer-based tools and customizable workspace make it a strong option for digital art, media, and presentation projects, particularly when students need more precise design controls than a basic online creation tool provides. The core software is free, although some Canva AI features available within Affinity may require a Pro Canva plan, which is free for educators by enrolling in Canva for Education, reviewed here.
tag(s): artificial intelligence (353), editing (97), graphic design (57)
In the Classroom
Have students turn research from a science, social studies, or health unit into an infographic. They combine a clear title, concise facts, icons, charts, and visuals to teach classmates about topics such as ecosystems, weather, inventions, or historical events. After reading a novel or biography, have students redesign the book cover to show important themes, symbols, setting details, and character traits. They can write a short artist's statement explaining how each visual choice connects to the text. Have students use teacher-approved images to create a visual essay on a school, community, science, or social studies topic. They can edit images, arrange them on a page, and add captions that tell a clear story or support a central idea.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Boardous - Boardous
Grades
K to 12
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Boardous is an all-in-one online teaching space for virtual learning activities. The free version gives you a persistent, infinite whiteboard for real-time collaboration, plus built-in...more
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Boardous is an all-in-one online teaching space for virtual learning activities. The free version gives you a persistent, infinite whiteboard for real-time collaboration, plus built-in video and audio chat. You can create reusable lesson templates, schedule sessions on the built-in calendar, and import PDFs to annotate directly on the board with your students; everything saves automatically to the cloud, so your boards are always available to use right where you finished using them. Invite students by sharing an invitation code; they don't need to create a Boardous account.
tag(s): differentiation (102), Whiteboard (11)
In the Classroom
Use Boardous for small-group work or to assist individual students. If you provide virtual office hours, Boardous is a helpful tool for conducting online learning sessions via video chat and for using the included tools to support learning. Send an invitation code to absent students to review an annotated board created during a lesson, or to meet live and review information they missed. Boardous is also helpful for virtual parent-teacher conferences and for sharing information as you discuss your student's progress.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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150+ Exit Ticket Questions And Prompts For All Subjects - Dylan Cable
Grades
3 to 12
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Exit tickets are an excellent way to gather formative assessment information and gauge classroom learning, but writing quick, effective questions can take time. This article shares...more
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Exit tickets are an excellent way to gather formative assessment information and gauge classroom learning, but writing quick, effective questions can take time. This article shares over 150 general prompts to open communication and give you the information you need to assess student learning. Find prompts sorted into several categories, including all subjects, math, reading comprehension, and student reflections on strengths and weaknesses.
tag(s): assessment (141), Formative Assessment (48)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this article for inspiration when creating exit tickets. In addition to paper-and-pencil exit tickets, try using digital tools like Socrative, reviewed here, Google Forms, reviewed here, and Kahoot, reviewed here to gather exit ticket responses.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Independence Day Resources for K-12 Homeschoolers - Texas Home Educators
Grades
K to 12
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This ready-to-go collection gathers Independence Day lesson plans, printables, crafts, games, primary-source activities, and historical investigations for homeschool and classroom use....more
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This ready-to-go collection gathers Independence Day lesson plans, printables, crafts, games, primary-source activities, and historical investigations for homeschool and classroom use. Resources are organized into elementary (K-5) and high school (9-12) sections, with each entry listing its grade level, approximate time, cost, and access requirements. Younger learners can explore patriotic symbols through crafts, coloring, puzzles, bingo, and short readings. At the same time, older students can analyze the Declaration of Independence, examine Revolutionary-era perspectives, use an interactive map, and complete discussion or writing activities. Many selections are free, although Education.com, PBS LearningMedia, and Newsela require accounts, and several Teachers Pay Teachers materials cost approximately $4-$10.
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tag(s): american revolution (99), crafts (105), declaration of independence (26), holidays (292), july 4th (20), maps (223), preK (336), primary sources (165)
In the Classroom
Younger students can sketch and label an American symbol, create a paper flag, sequence events from a short read-aloud, or compare how families and communities celebrate the holiday. Have students place key events from 1776 into the Timeline Tool by ReadWriteThink, reviewed here. Students can develop a review game in Wordwall, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Indians in Children's Literature - Dr. Debbie Reese and Dr. Jean Mendoza
Grades
K to 12
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This blog highlights Native American writers and illustrators. Each blog post highlights how there has been a change in the number of Native American writers who have written books....more
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This blog highlights Native American writers and illustrators. Each blog post highlights how there has been a change in the number of Native American writers who have written books. A list of books is also featured, including Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Maillard, We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, and Keepunumuk: Weeachumun's Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Brown.
tag(s): montana (34), native americans (162)
In the Classroom
Teachers can share the book list with parents when they are teaching about Native Americans. Students can read books from the site's list and share their favorite. After finishing a book, students can complete a story element graphic organizer using Canva Infographic Creator, < a href="/single.cfm?id=17570">reviewed here.
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Montana: Stories of the Land, Chapter 3 - Montana Historical Society
Grades
7 to 8
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Support a study of early Montana history and tribal perspectives with this teacher resource page for Chapter 3 of Montana: Stories of the Land. The page supplements the chapter "From...more
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Support a study of early Montana history and tribal perspectives with this teacher resource page for Chapter 3 of Montana: Stories of the Land. The page supplements the chapter "From Dog Days to Horse Warriors" with ready-to-use teaching supports, including educational trunks, a printable "Takeaway" summarizing strategy, recommended websites and lesson plans, videos, possible field trips, chapter tests and answer keys, and standards-alignment information. A particularly useful teacher note addresses disagreements among tribal cultural experts and historians over when different tribes arrived in Montana and encourages discussion of how historical knowledge is constructed. Resources also connect students with the Seven Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians and tribal perspectives on sovereignty, cultural continuity, identity, and history. The page includes several YouTube videos. If your district blocks YouTube, you may not be able to view the videos.
tag(s): montana (34), native americans (162), primary sources (165)
In the Classroom
Have students read an assigned section of Chapter 3, complete the site's "Takeaway" activity by distilling the reading to its most important idea, then compare summaries with a partner and revise for accuracy and concision. Ask students to organize significant developments related to horses, intertribal exchange, and changing lifeways into a chronological sequence using the Timeline Tool by ReadWriteThink, reviewed here, then write a short explanation of which change had the greatest impact. Extend learning by asking students to examine one of the Seven Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians and post a student-friendly explanation plus one supporting example from Chapter 3 to Padlet, reviewed here for a collaborative class reference board.
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Google Gemini - Google
Grades
K to 12
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Google Gemini is a multipurpose AI chat tool that lets you text, code, and create images, audio, and video. The chatbot assistant includes many options to support users' needs, such...more
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Google Gemini is a multipurpose AI chat tool that lets you text, code, and create images, audio, and video. The chatbot assistant includes many options to support users' needs, such as uploading files from your device and Google Drive, photos, avatars, and Gemini Notebooks (formerly NotebookLM), reviewed here. Use the plus sign in the message box to stipulate the output; for example, choose create image, create music, or Canvas (code, write, or make slides). Gemini also integrates Google Gems, customizable apps for repetitive tasks. Choose the three dots at the end of any chat response to listen to the response, export to Google Docs, or start a draft in Gmail.
tag(s): artificial intelligence (353), chat (42), Google (21), search strategies (20)
In the Classroom
Use Gemini to support your personal and professional needs while saving time. View the archived session of OK2Ask: Google Gems Basics: Personalized, Interactive, and Safe AI Learning Experiences, reviewed here, to learn more about Gems or OK2Ask: AI Templates That Work: Quick & Easy Prompting Solutions, reviewed here, to understand how to create effective prompts to achieve the best results when using AI generation tools.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Be Calm on Ahway Island - Ahway Island
Grades
K to 5
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Build a calm classroom moment around Be Calm on Ahway Island, a large collection of original audio stories designed to help children relax as they explore positive social-emotional...more
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Build a calm classroom moment around Be Calm on Ahway Island, a large collection of original audio stories designed to help children relax as they explore positive social-emotional themes. Each episode begins with a child-friendly guided meditation, continues with a short fictional story, and includes a positive message. The site lets you browse by learning message, character type, narrator, episode number, title, character name, or keyword. Recent tags include empathy, friendship, emotional regulation, patience, problem solving, independence, relationships, and perspective. Episodes are typically 15-25 minutes long, making them useful for quiet time, transitions, rest periods, or focused listening activities. The site also links to YouTube for recent episodes and exclusive content. If your district blocks YouTube, you may not be able to view the videos.
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tag(s): charactered (88), listening (118), podcasts (183), preK (336), problem solving (287), social and emotional learning (208)
In the Classroom
Students can draw a scene from an episode and annotate it with labels showing what a character might be thinking, feeling, saying, and doing. Invite students to compare two characters or two episodes with the Interactive 2 Circle Venn Diagram by ReadWriteThink, reviewed here, focusing on similarities and differences in feelings, choices, and solutions. Ask students to work in pairs after an episode and sort character choices into helpful and less helpful responses, then explain which choice best demonstrates empathy, patience, or problem-solving.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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46 Best Podcasts For Kids - Feedspot
Grades
K to 8
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Looking for kid-friendly podcasts without searching one platform at a time? Feedspot's 46 Best Podcasts For Kids gathers a broad range of children's audio programs in one browsable...more
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Looking for kid-friendly podcasts without searching one platform at a time? Feedspot's 46 Best Podcasts For Kids gathers a broad range of children's audio programs in one browsable list, including science, history, storytelling, current events, imaginative fiction, music, and debate. Each entry generally includes a short description along with details such as hosts, producer or network, average episode length, ratings, and links to listening platforms or the podcast's website. Examples on the current list, at the time of this review, include Wow in the World, Story Pirates, Brains On!, Circle Round, Radiolab for Kids, Smash Boom Best, and But Why. The collection is updated periodically, so teachers can use it as a discovery tool rather than a fixed curriculum resource. Some entries also link to YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, you may not be able to view the videos. Feedspot also promotes its podcast database and contact-list services on the page.
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tag(s): debate (38), enrichment (19), listening (118), media literacy (133), podcasts (183)
In the Classroom
Invite small groups to compare several podcasts and build a class recommendation board using Padlet, reviewed here, adding the podcast topic, recommended audience, a brief summary, and a reason classmates might want to listen. Have students develop several listening-comprehension or content questions from a teacher-selected episode and turn them into a class review activity with Wordwall, reviewed here. Assign students pairs of podcasts with different formats, such as a science program and a debate show, and ask them to argue which format most effectively communicates information to a particular audience, using evidence from both programs.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Past and The Curious - Mick Sullivan
Grades
2 to 8
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Bring surprising stories from history into the classroom with The Past and The Curious, a history podcast created especially for kids and families. Host Mick Sullivan uses storytelling,...more
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Bring surprising stories from history into the classroom with The Past and The Curious, a history podcast created especially for kids and families. Host Mick Sullivan uses storytelling, humor, historical context, guest voices, and original music to explore well-known events, as well as people and stories that students may not encounter in traditional history materials. Episodes span American and world history and have covered topics such as the Declaration of Independence, the 27th Amendment, inventors, transportation, women's history, animals in history, and unusual historical events. The Episodes page archives past programs, and the creator also maintains themed episode suggestions for educators. Episodes are generally released monthly and commonly run about 30 minutes.
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tag(s): american revolution (99), animals (284), authors (116), declaration of independence (26), enrichment (19), nutrition (137), plants (144), podcasts (183), sports (90)
In the Classroom
Have students listen to an episode related to a current history unit and record three key facts, one surprising detail, and one question they still want to investigate. Have students place the people, discoveries, conflicts, or events from an episode in chronological context with the Timeline Tool by ReadWriteThink, reviewed here, then explain which events were causes, turning points, or consequences. Have students choose an unusual person or event from local, national, or world history, research it carefully, and script their own concise history segment modeled on the podcast's "You Have 30 Seconds" activity. The podcast specifically encourages children to write and read their own 30-second historical segments, with a parent or guardian handling the recording and emailing the work to the show if submitted.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Vocabulary Games - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
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Building a strong vocabulary is one of the most powerful ways to boost reading comprehension and overall academic success, and games make that practice feel more like play than work....more
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Building a strong vocabulary is one of the most powerful ways to boost reading comprehension and overall academic success, and games make that practice feel more like play than work. This collection features free vocabulary games and interactives, including word-matching activities, crossword and puzzle generators, flashcard tools, and engaging quiz-style challenges that reinforce word meaning and usage. You'll also find resources for building word walls, teaching context clues, and exploring root words, prefixes, and suffixes. Together, these tools offer fun, low-prep ways to strengthen vocabulary skills across grade levels and subjects.
tag(s): context clues (14), game based learning (329), prefixes (12), root words (11), suffixes (10), vocabulary (261), vocabulary development (111)
In the Classroom
Teachers can use these interactive games and low-prep activities for quick warm-ups, word-wall practice, or engaging literacy centers that help students master root words, context clues, and key definitions. Incorporating flashcard tools, puzzle generators, and word-matching challenges makes targeted vocabulary practice feel like play while reinforcing word meaning across all grade levels and subjects. Educators can also leverage these fun, low-stakes activities to informally assess student understanding and boost overall reading comprehension. Consider sharing these resources on your class website or your school's LMS.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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AI Tools for Communicating with Parents and Students - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
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This collection brings together a curated selection of AI-powered tools designed to streamline, personalize, and elevate classroom communication. These resources include generative...more
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This collection brings together a curated selection of AI-powered tools designed to streamline, personalize, and elevate classroom communication. These resources include generative writing assistants that instantly draft updates, newsletters, and reminders from simple bullet points, as well as intelligent translation engines that break down language barriers for multilingual homes. Additionally, the collection features automated feedback systems and content formatters that help transform complex academic jargon into clear, accessible messages tailored for both supportive family outreach and engaging student interaction.
tag(s): artificial intelligence (353)
In the Classroom
Teachers can use these tools to quickly convert daily bullet points into polished weekly newsletters, field trip reminders, and multi-channel parent announcements. Educators can also leverage built-in translation features to instantly rewrite dense academic progress reports into clear, welcoming messages in every family's home language. Additionally, teachers can use these tools to differentiate assignment instructions on the fly and guide students in self-editing their writing drafts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Vocabulary Ninja Mini Games - Vocabulary Ninja Ltd.
Grades
K to 6
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Turn vocabulary practice into quick gameplay with this collection of free, browser-based mini-games designed for children ages 6-11. Students can practice synonyms in Synonym Stars,...more
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Turn vocabulary practice into quick gameplay with this collection of free, browser-based mini-games designed for children ages 6-11. Students can practice synonyms in Synonym Stars, match vocabulary to environments in World of Words, experiment with sentence construction in Sentence Samurai, explore how verb choices affect stories in Magic Verbs, and analyze word parts and features in Vocab Lab. The games require no download and work on computers and mobile devices. Vocabulary Ninja states that the games are free, ad-free, and designed around vocabulary, grammar, and sentence-level priorities aligned with the UK National Curriculum.
tag(s): game based learning (329), grammar (143), sentences (23), synonyms (20), vocabulary (261), vocabulary development (111)
In the Classroom
Students can play Synonym Stars individually for five minutes at the start or end of class, then record three synonym pairs they encountered and use each pair in original sentences. Ask students to explore Magic Verbs and then compare how changing verbs changes the mood, action, or meaning of a story. Have them create a word cloud of their strongest verbs with WordClouds, reviewed here. Invite small groups to use Sentence Samurai as a model for expanding simple sentences, then challenge each group to revise the same basic sentence in three different ways and explain which version is most effective.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Teacher Toolkit: Frayer Model - Education Service Center Region 13
Grades
3 to 12
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Build stronger vocabulary understanding with this ready-to-use Frayer Model resource from The Teacher Toolkit. The strategy asks students to explore a target word or concept...more
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Build stronger vocabulary understanding with this ready-to-use Frayer Model resource from The Teacher Toolkit. The strategy asks students to explore a target word or concept through a four-part graphic organizer that can include a definition, examples, non-examples, characteristics, or an illustration. Teachers will find step-by-step directions, several variations, completed examples, and downloadable Google Doc templates in portrait, landscape, and folded formats. The page also suggests using the organizer individually or with partners, displaying completed models on a vocabulary wall, using the format for note-taking, and asking students to explain why examples and non-examples fit. This includes elementary, secondary, and secondary ESL videos. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
tag(s): Formative Assessment (48), graphic organizers (60), teaching strategies (86), vocabulary (261), vocabulary development (111)
In the Classroom
Have students work individually to complete a Frayer Model for a new vocabulary word, then underline the detail in each box that most clearly distinguishes the term from a related concept. Students can compare two easily confused terms by completing separate Frayer Models and then organizing similarities and differences with the Venn Diagram Creator by Canva, reviewed here, to create a visual comparison. Ask students to create an illustrated Frayer Model with Google Drawings, reviewed here, using labeled images, arrows, and short explanations to make abstract vocabulary more concrete.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Teacher Toolkit - Education Service Center Region 13
Grades
K to 12
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Looking for practical teaching strategies that are ready to put into action? The Teacher Toolkit offers a large collection of classroom techniques for management, opening and closing...more
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Looking for practical teaching strategies that are ready to put into action? The Teacher Toolkit offers a large collection of classroom techniques for management, opening and closing activities, checks for understanding, partner and group work, independent practice, reading, and games. Each strategy explains how and when to use it, and many include downloadable templates, variations, or examples of the strategy in action for elementary, secondary, and Spanish. Teachers can browse alphabetically or by instructional category, making the site especially useful for planning engaging lessons or finding a quick formative assessment or discussion routine. Some strategies include videos featuring educators and students demonstrating the technique. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
tag(s): classroom management (150), game based learning (329), graphic organizers (60), Teacher Utilities (224), teaching strategies (86)
In the Classroom
After a lesson, students can complete a 3-2-1 response by identifying three things they learned, two ideas they want to explore further, and one remaining question, then compare responses with a partner before a class debrief. Invite students to turn important concepts into physical Study Cards, or have them create digital review cards with Quizlet, reviewed here, for individual review or peer quizzing. Ask students to synthesize a lesson with a One Minute Sentence and then combine the strongest ideas from two responses into a clearer collaborative summary. Students could post final summaries on Padlet, reviewed here, for a whole-class gallery of key ideas.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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