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Mindomo - Expert Software Application
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): graphic organizers (60), mind map (31), study aid (177)
In the Classroom
Have students create graphic organizers in cooperative groups as a study guide for unit content, to collect information for a group research project, or show examples of an important concept. Share and compare the organizers on an interactive whiteboard or projector in class and allow classmates to suggest changes. Skills needed: join the site, practice with the tools (don't miss the notes feature!). Save up to 7 "private" maps and an unlimited number of "shared" maps.Make a map available online by saving and clicking "yes" for sharing, then clicking the Save by URL icon. This will copy the URL onto your computer's clipboard so you can paste it into a word doc or even your teacher web page. Imagine sharing several student made "study guides" in the days before the unit test.
Note that maps that are shared can be seen by the public, but not altered. You specify members who may collaborate and make alterations. For students to collaborate using this tool they must have individual memberships, requiring an email account. These memberships must be activated from their email. So, if students do not have email that is accessible from school, classroom use BY STUDENTS will be severely limited. Editor's note: we asked the Mindomo folks about spell check and student safety issues. They are still developing this tool, so they MIGHT address these issues at a later date.
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The Freedom Trail - Boston National Historical Park
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): american revolution (99), boston (10), colonial america (86), game based learning (329), virtual field trips (153)
In the Classroom
Invite students to build an interactive geographic story with StoryMap JS, reviewed here, connecting Freedom Trail locations with historical images, quotations, and short explanations. Have students follow the official trail map and create a chronological route with Google My Maps, reviewed here showing how selected sites connect to events leading to the American Revolution. Assign small groups Patriot, Loyalist, British soldier, merchant, woman, or enslaved-person perspectives from the teaching guide, then have each group prepare and perform a town-meeting role-play about taxation or independence.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pyramids: The Inside Story - NOVA: PBS
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): archeology (26), egypt (60), pyramids (24)
In the Classroom
Use the lesson plan to build a scale model of a pyramid in your classroom or assign your students to explore the pyramids and collect information to compare them to burial customs of other ancient civilizations. You will definitely want to make this site available as a link from your teacher web page for further exploration. Teachers of gifted could use this as a springboard for an entire Egypt unit.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fort Matanzas
Grades
K to 12tag(s): climate change (112), colonial america (86), ecosystems (114), preK (336), primary sources (165)
In the Classroom
Invite students to complete an exit-ticket argument answering whether Fort Matanzas should be preserved and what responsibilities citizens have toward historic and natural resources. Use the NPS discussion questions as a starting point, then have students cite one historical and one environmental piece of evidence from the site. Have students compare Fort Matanzas with another colonial fort by sorting similarities and differences in purpose, materials, geography, and defensive design, then record their conclusions with 2 and 3 Interactive Venn Diagrams by Class Tools, reviewed here. Students can finish by arguing which fort was best suited to its location.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Colonial Williamsburg: Virtual Tours of the Town - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): colonial america (86), virtual field trips (153), williamsburg (6)
In the Classroom
If you have a whiteboard or projector, you will have a captivated class. Individual or paired computer experience will allow your students to walk through the streets on their own. How about having a cyber-scavenger hunt? You will need to walk through the town yourself to find tidbits along the way, then later, ask the students to find them. They must give you the location where they were found.Younger students will need to be shown how to cyber-walk through the streets. You can ask them to report to you about the citizens they meet along the way. Ask students to draw their own colonial town based upon a layout like Williamsburg.
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Mythology - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): greek (46)
In the Classroom
Use this site to reinforce and support vocabulary as you study Mythology. Share the word puzzles on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students create their own word activities from the same vocabulary list, such as matching or ranking challenges for their peers to try on the interactive whiteboard.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Academy of Achievement - Academy of Achievement
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): charactered (88), heroes (22), pioneers (13), social skills (23)
In the Classroom
If you assign any kind of "hero," "pioneer," or "leader" biography project, this site is a fabulous resource for students. The list of achievers includes many who may not be instantly recognizable to students and therefore provide more potential for discovery. In addition, the site is large enough and well-enough organized that students can start with this site and "dig" for a possible achiever to research, either by achievement area or by character trait. The site includes a diverse group of achievers, so is also useful if you're doing Women's History or Black History projects. Include this site on your teacher web page for students and parents to access as a reference.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure - PBS & Candide Media Works, Inc.
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): authors (116)
In the Classroom
Use this as a group activity in a lesson on Hemingway: the man and the author to involve students and make them responsible for sharing the information with each other. Clicking on "Classroom" at the bottom of the page will take you to a several lessons created by English teacher, Betsy Norris. These lessons are geared for grades 6-8, language arts and social studies. This site could be useful across a wide grade range.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Art Access - Art Institute of Chicago
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Take a few minutes to explore the art of a continent, country, or time period you introduce through social studies or literature. Include this site on your teacher web page as you study these related topics to students and parents can access it outside of class even if you do not have enough time to devote a full lesson. The images are not very large, so viewing on individual computers or using a projector that has a zoom function would help you share with a class. Teachers will like the creativity of some of the "family" activities and may want to use them at school or suggest them in a newsletter or on your web page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Google Drive - Google
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): editing (97), slides (39), spreadsheets (23), Storage (7)
In the Classroom
A "tour" and simple-to-understand directions make this site easy to use. Have your students set up collaborative groups for projects, lab data, and more. Or set them up yourself, giving them specific passwords to access their "space." Help your gifted students stay organized (and collaborate) using this tool. Users are normally invited to "join" via an email message. This may be problematic for many schools that do not permit student email access on school premises. Note that notifications sent by Google Docs may also land in "junk mail" folders or be blocked by spam filters. We suggest that you experiment with a small group of students to determine what will work in your particular situation. One option is to set up the groups with the teacher as a "member" but have students work from home, using their personal email addresses, for group projects. Make sure you are protecting the safety of student work and identity, and that you are in compliance with your school's Acceptable Use Policy. Anything students can do on a single computer, they can do collaboratively on Google Docs, accessing their work from any online computer.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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300 Spartan Warriors - 300spartanwarriors.com
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Include this site as one of the resources you offer from your teacher website for students doing individual or group projects on Sparta, the Greeks, or mythology. The site offers some useful research information and some good visuals.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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When the Personal Becomes Presidential - New York Times Learning Network
Grades
6 to 12The lesson plan starts with the familiar "read the story and discuss" format, but there are a number of good essential questions and extension activities provided that could be tailored into a strong classroom plan. The lesson plans have cross-curricular suggestions, and are tied to standards.
tag(s): elections (87), presidents (152)
In the Classroom
Be sure help your weaker readers and ELL students by sharing the listed vocabulary words prior to reading, either on a handout or by projecting on an interactive whiteboard and highlighting them in the text as you come to them.Use this lesson to discuss current events in politics (which changes daily). Have students discuss and debate the current issues. Have the students write a wiki about a current event in politics (for example, Governor Palin being the first woman VP on the GOP ticket).
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The Pocahontas Myth - The Powhatan Renape Nation
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Students usually enjoy "debunking" myths of history and learning ways that their teachers or textbooks might be wrong. This site provides another viewpoint in the well-known Pocahontas story. There are also possibilities here for discussions of racial stereotyping and the way Pocahontas is portrayed in the media, particularly in the Walt Disney film. Use this discussion to prompt a persuasive writing assignment or history essay on differeing views of history.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Geographia - interKnowledge Corp
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
This would be a good reference resource for students doing "country and culture" reports or displays or for background when reading a novel from another culture. World language teachers can also use this as a source for cultural information. Note: the reading level is comparable to the Wall Street Journal, so you may want to partner weaker readers with others or offer multiple options for sites to use.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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In Search of Safety - BBC
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): africa (162)
In the Classroom
Use a projector or interactive whiteboard to "tour" Sudan as part of a study of the African continent or world trouble spots. Although the topic of genocide is quite difficult, this site could spark discussions of international relations and would be a good accompaniment while studying the U.N., international relations, and current events. Include the link on your tecaher web page and allow students to choose from several world hot spots as they group or individual reports.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Iraq - BBC
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): iraq (26)
In the Classroom
If you do current events study or have students with family members in Iraq, be sure to include this site as a link from your teacher web page. As the 2008 U.S. elections approach, you may want to begin a "current events" collection of resources for students to use to develop better understanding of election issues.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Islam - BBC
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): middle east (47)
In the Classroom
If you are teaching your students about the religion of Islam or trying to introduce world cultures, this is one resource that you simply cannot do without. Include it as a resource for students trying to understand currenet events in a broader context.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Middle East - BBC
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): iran (7), iraq (26), israel (15), middle east (47)
In the Classroom
Include this link on your teacher page for middle and high school students to use as a reference and build better understanding of this tumultuous region. It will help even younger students understand the region, but parts of this website are not appropriate for elementary students. Preview before you take your elementary class on a virtual field trip to the Middle East.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Africa - BBC
Grades
4 to 10tag(s): africa (162), climate (99), climate change (112)
In the Classroom
Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to take your students on an African visit. The main topic of this website is the drought in Africa, however there is a great deal of information on many African subjects. Include this on your teacher web page as one of several links on different continents as you study world geography, cultures, or climate change.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Investigates Arson - BBC
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): fire (25), fire prevention (16), fire safety (16), safety (63)
In the Classroom
Share this link as one of several project topics for health, current events, or a criminal justice elective. It could also be a good source for background information in a debate class or club.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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