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Top 100 Innovations of 2021 - Popular Science
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): engineering (141)
In the Classroom
Use when studying inventions and the industrial revolution. Today's inventions can be compared to inventions of the past. Students can explain how one of the innovations work or imagine the creation of a mashup of two of these inventions into a brand new gadget. Create an advertising campaign to sell these inventions. Ask students how they would improve on these gadgets. Discuss which gadgets are still being offered today and the improvements that were made on them. Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Presentious, Animatron, Renderforest, and Desygner.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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TagCrowd: Make Your Own Tag Cloud From Any Text - Daniel Steinbock
Grades
K to 12tag(s): speech (66), vocabulary (252), word clouds (12)
In the Classroom
This is a great visual tool to use. Take a poll and have your students type their answers into the word cloud builder. Then display on an interactive whiteboard or projector and see which answer was the most popular. Use this site as a way to help students see and memorize text, especially visual learners. Use it also when writing poetry or to "see" themes of repeated words and images. Have students paste in their own writing to spot repeated (and monotonous) language when teaching lessons on word choice. Use this site to surprise students with words that appear often in their writing. Have students work in groups to create word posters of vocabulary words with related meanings, such as different ways to say "walk" or "said" and decorate your classroom with these visual reminders of the richness of language. More ideas for primary grades: Dolch words, class names, numbers to 20, words with the same beginning letters, collection of ALL the words that hang in the classroom (so students can walk around and find/touch them on a laminated Word cloud card in their hands), or any collection of similar words.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wind Map - Fernanda Viegas and Martin Wattenberg
Grades
K to 12tag(s): atmosphere (25), energy (143), maps (221), weather (174)
In the Classroom
Watch the various wind patterns across the US. Ask students what they notice about the patterns and what could be causing them. Use this as an introduction into a weather unit or as part of the study of wind energy and alternative power. If students could map the wind around their house or community, how would they draw it? Be sure to share this site during March, when talking about the "lion" and "lamb" metaphor and the changing weather! Be sure to check it out during hurricane season, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Famous Scientists - famousscientists.org
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): inventors and inventions (89), scientists (72)
In the Classroom
The reading level of this site is rather challenging. Have weaker readers work together with stronger ones. While discussing scientists and inventors, use this site as a resource for gathering information. Have small groups of students research scientists from the same time period. Have them research their contributions including reactions of others to their discovery or invention. Research why these inventions were particularly important and the scientific knowledge that changed as a result. Have them present their findings to the class by creating a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, Vevox, Animatron, Renderforest, and Microsoft PowerPoint Online. Then, if you would like to take your students critical thinking up a notch and extend their learning, you could have the small groups compare the different inventions and decide how and why the earlier inventions had to come before a later invention could be developed. For this you might want to have students use a collaborative graphic organizer like Canva Edu, reviewed here, and have them report out their thoughts and discoveries to the class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Easy Bib - Imagine easy Solutions, LLC
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): citations (32)
In the Classroom
Use your interactive whiteboard and projector to show students how to use this tool for citing their sources. Share this web site for all of your projects using research so students know the correct procedure for citations. Be sure to add it on your class web site as a useful reference.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Useful charts - UsefulCharts Publishing
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): art history (105), charts and graphs (184), grammar (142), multiple intelligences (7), myths and legends (44), poetry (197), politics (121), psychology (60), religions (120), solar system (127), space (252), timelines (60)
In the Classroom
Share a visual overview of a topic on projector or IWB before teaching or as a reference before lessons that zero in on subtopics. Use this site to teach data and the graphic display of data. Allow groups of students to choose a graphic and report to the class on how the data was made more meaningful using the graphics that were chosen. You may also want to share this link as a research tool for debates or presentations on science or social studies topics. Share the timeline or graphic on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Discuss the science, history, or math behind the data collected. Discuss other information and ways of presenting the information in order to create a more interesting graphic. Have students try their hand at creating an infographic using a tool such as Snappa.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Explore Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emmissions - EPA
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): carbon dioxide (9), climate change (112), fossil fuels (11)
In the Classroom
Use this site during a unit on pollution. First, be sure to discuss what combustion is. Choose facilities found within your state to investigate. Compare similar facilities across various states to compare emissions. Have students or groups compare by facility type (especially different types of power generation), then research the fuel type to determine the resulting emissions. Research how emissions compare to the driving of automobiles and the use of agriculture. Research the types of changes and alternatives that could change these numbers. Have students create simple infographics to illustrate comparisons and draw conclusions. Try using a tool such as Venngage, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Twelve Ideas for Teaching with QR Codes - Andrew Miller
Grades
K to 12tag(s): qr codes (15)
In the Classroom
Choose one of the ideas suggested in the article as a starting point for using QR codes in your classroom; then try additional ideas a little at a time. Share the article with other teachers and split up the ideas for each to become an "expert" in one of the strategies. Share your experiences as you learn together, perhaps in a staff meeting.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Naked Scientists - University of Cambridge
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): experiments (68), genetics (84), oceans (143), podcasts (172), volcanoes (60)
In the Classroom
Use Naked Science to explore topics as an introduction in class. Or use these articles to hook students during a start-of-school "what is science" unit. Use the site to find answers to many of the tough questions that students can pose during classroom instruction. Provide time for students to research the facets of a topic as a group for lively group or class discussions. Discuss the set up of the problems, description of the theories, or how to separate fact from opinion. Research the backgrounds of the experts on this site. Teachers of gifted students and regular classroom teachers seeking ways to adapt for gifted students will find this site well-suited to the eclectic interests and angles of out-of-the-box thinkers. Be sure to share the link on your class web page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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PBS Video Online - PBS
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Teachers you can now access videos from PBS without having to record them. Use the subject search to find videos relevant to a unit of study. Display videos with your projector or add a link to your class website so students can watch at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Center for PRobing the NanoScale - Nano Activities - Stanford University
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): inventors and inventions (89), measurement (123), microscopes (9)
In the Classroom
Are you struggling to wrap young minds around the tiny world of nanoscale? Lessons are appropriate for grades two to twelve, but could be adapted if you are teaching middle level students who have never been introduced to the world of nanotechnology. As an introduction for students who have never thought about nano, talk about how the use of this technology created better underwear that help prevent odor and decrease sweating. This is sure to start an interesting conversation. Just make sure that you set boundaries before you begin the discussion. See what other lines of clothing students could "create" with nanotechnology. Have them share their "inventions" on a class wiki or in a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Genially, Animatron, Renderforest, and Desygner.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Foodskey - University of Nottingham
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): nutrition (136)
In the Classroom
Find information you may not see elsewhere, such as using plasma to stop fungal rot on strawberries, and using UV light to extend the shelf life of broccoli. Be sure to use this site in any unit when discussing food and health. Students can create public service announcements to share what they have learned about food and food safety. Do you know of an issue Foodskey does not cover? Consider assigning students to research it, and then create a video or podcast much like these to share what students have learned through the research.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Solar Storm Watch - The Royal Observatory Greenwich
Grades
5 to 10tag(s): earth (191), moon (88), solar system (127), space (252), sun (87)
In the Classroom
If you are teaching about space, and you need a complete review tool for the Sun and Earth system, this is a powerful interactive to share with your students. Project it on your interactive whiteboard (if you can do rollovers), or share the link with all of your students so they can interact with it on laptops. You could also create a list of questions to accompany this diagram and have students complete them as an introductory activity to the Sun and Earth parts of the Solar System.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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iPiccy - iPiccy.com
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): images (273), photography (136)
In the Classroom
Use this tool anytime that photos need to be edited for use on class blogs, wikis, or sites. Encourage students to use on images for projects or presentations. Use the editor to edit pictures to fit styles of pictures when doing historical reports or to set a mood. Use caption bubbles for the photos themselves to tell the stories. Have students annotate or label Creative Commons online images of cells, structures of an animal, and much more, sharing the results (with an image credit) on your class wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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GETeach - Josh Williams
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): data (211), earth (191), latitude (9), longitude (8), map skills (64), maps (221), plate tectonics (28)
In the Classroom
Use side by side Google Earth to teach geography or simply give location context to class readings or current events, especially on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Keep the earth's "big picture" open on one side as you zoom in to investigate on the other. Or arrange side by side comparisons. Example: compare the peaks scaled by Lewis and Clark or volcanoes that rise in the Aleutians. Compare various locations for global warming, compare of volcano activity, or a history of immigration. Compare historic maps from different time periods to show how countries and boundaries change. Turn layers on and off from Choose an Earth or onscreen options to look at population centers and transportation systems. Teach the concept of scale/proportion using a visual experience on an interactive whiteboard with the scale and measurement tools. Use one window to show human geography and the other window to show items from the CIA Factbook for comparison. Have students hypothesize connections between geographic features and statistics about human development.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Science Video Animation - Russell Kightley media
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): atoms (44), cells (82), colors (63), diseases (59), dna (53), earth (191), electricity (63), energy (143), engineering (141), geometric shapes (153), light (61), machines (17), molecules (44), solar system (127), sun (87), vision (41), waves (14)
In the Classroom
Use the simulations to help explain topics and concepts in class. Language arts teachers can use this site as a source for nonfiction reading comprehension. Science and language arts teachers can use the site as a learning center for students who need enrichment. Find great animations to help visualize various topics from different viruses to diesel engines, the Doppler Effect, to the garden sundial, and the vertical sundial to name just a few. Check the readability of the animations you want students to use on their own by using the The Readability Test Tool reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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pageOrama - pageOrama.com
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): multimedia (68)
In the Classroom
Use this site for students to post simple projects such as stories, poems, and art projects. Collect a master list of links to student pages on your classroom website, wiki, or blog for easy access. If students are creating pages, be sure to check with your district's policy on student use of email as well as publishing of student work.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tesla - Master of Lightning - PBS
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): electricity (63), energy (143), industrial revolution (21), inventors and inventions (89), motion (56), radio (16)
In the Classroom
Add intrigue and mystery, to your science unit on electricity, motion, or inventors as you study the life and accomplishments of Nikola Tesla. Excellent lesson plans include a concrete understanding of potential energy, mechanical energy to electrical energy. Use on an interactive white board to begin your unit or create a "Who Dunnit" with electricity or radio. Follow the structure of ideas presented to create an online "famous scientist" wiki, blog or PowerPoint to add to your class website. Use a Socratic seminar to debate which scientist should get credit for the induction motor, radio, and even the Industrial Revolution. Use the readings for older students, advanced readers, or gifted students, as they are far above the reading level of elementary and early middle school students. In language arts, writing topics could include "What a shock electricity is in my life" and "Will the true inventor of electricity please stand up?" The ideas and resources are electrifying!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Spotzi - Spotzi.com
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): business (51), diseases (59), ecology (116), environment (250), natural disasters (21), natural resources (33), resources (80)
In the Classroom
Use Spotzi to make information more relevant and meaningful when paired with an actual map. Find trends easily. Have students choose a topic and investigate maps to identify and develop general statements from the data. Ask students to generate questions to further research the topic. This tool is invaluable for environmental, ecology, health, economics, and other research topics. Use this map to add new dimensions of information about places in the news. Share on a projector or interactive whiteboard to learn more about countries participating in the Olympics. Use data to compare countries and discuss possible cause/effects for poverty, health challenges, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Frank - FRANK
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): difficult conversations (53), drugs and alcohol (29)
In the Classroom
Use this site as part of a science or health class on drug and health related topics. Share this site in a collection of links for students to reference when researching such topics. Have students role-play a video or create a talking avatar on how to resist peer pressure to try drugs. Use a tool such as Voki, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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