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The new $100 Note - Dept. of Treasury
Grades
3 to 12
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Get to know the new $100 bill through this resource provided by the Department of Treasury. There is an interactive video quiz and an applet to design your own bill. ...more
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Get to know the new $100 bill through this resource provided by the Department of Treasury. There is an interactive video quiz and an applet to design your own bill. The video quiz can also be seen with captions. In addition, there is a link to materials that can be downloaded for classroom use.
tag(s): currency (13)
In the Classroom
Take the quiz together as a class to learn about the features of the $100 bill. Research the reasons for changing from the old bill to the new style. Create and design a new bill that incorporates various security features and relevant symbols. You could also include this in your unit on national symbols and how they are used.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Popular Science - Bonnier Corporation
Grades
6 to 12
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Created as the online version of Popular Science magazine, Popsci.com offers a great variety of science articles and authentic science work. Information on science, cars, technology...more
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Created as the online version of Popular Science magazine, Popsci.com offers a great variety of science articles and authentic science work. Information on science, cars, technology and gadgets are searchable and easy to understand. The "DIY" section offers some wild and possibly adult level challenges that would be fun to consider by students. Be sure to check out the DIY options first, as some are not appropriate for middle school or immature high school students (such as making a flamethrower).
tag(s): machines (17), simple machines (21)
In the Classroom
Use the gadget portion of the site as a launch for student created machines. Look at some newly created products as a class on the interactive whiteboard or projector, and then have students design their own machine that would be marketable to current buyers or potential future buyers. Have students take a picture of their creation. Challenge students to narrate the picture using a tool such as ThinkLink.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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One Day on Earth: 10.10.10 - Kyle Ruddick
Grades
1 to 12
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This site is archived and may take a few minutes to load, but it is still worth a look and can make for an interesting class discussion. On October 10, ...more
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This site is archived and may take a few minutes to load, but it is still worth a look and can make for an interesting class discussion. On October 10, 2010 (10.10.10), One day on Earth, documents the human experience over a 24-hour period. Through One Day on Earth, you and your students can participate in making history and have a shared learning experience with schools in over 500 different locations around the world. Participation is free, but you need to sign up to get the toolkit to use with your students. The toolkit will provide a grade level appropriate video to introduce your students to the project, slide shows to help students brainstorm and plan their 10.10.10 experience, PDFs with lesson plans, and a step-by-step guide on uploading footage to the One Day on Earth website. After the date, the site remains as a living documentary of one day on Earth. You will be able to use your toolkit to show the documentary which will be the end result of the One Day on Earth project.
tag(s): diversity (55)
In the Classroom
Use your projector or interactive whiteboard to show the students the introductory video and the brainstorming slides. This project is the perfect opportunity to bring out student's talents! Those who have good organizational skill can create the storyboard or illustrated timeline for the project. Help them find an interactive timeline tool that can include images, text, and collaboration. Those who draw well can help with the storyboard or illustrated timeline art and help design titles and transitions for the project. Your more advanced technology students can create a website for storing and displaying the content. A wiki would be great tool to use as website to help students stay organized and to collaborate! Not familiar with wikis? Check out the Teachers First's Wiki Walk-Through. Students should submit their work without identifiable names according to your school policy. Of course, you will want written parent permission before submitting student work to this online documentary. You don't have to create anything. You can still apply for the toolkit, use your projector to show the introductory video, and use the interactive map on the home page of One Day on Earth to find out where information will be coming from. You and your students then choose a place that will be submitting to the project and go to the 100 People project, to see a little about the people of that area. This should elicit a rich discussion about diversity and possibly predictions about the type of information that will be submitted for the One Day on Earth project or what other communities that did not participate might have included.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Flag Day Resources - Fact Monster
Grades
1 to 12
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TeachersFirst doesn't normally review lists of "links," but this hotlist from Fact Monster was good enough to pass our review team. The links here provide all kinds of ideas for ...more
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TeachersFirst doesn't normally review lists of "links," but this hotlist from Fact Monster was good enough to pass our review team. The links here provide all kinds of ideas for classroom activities for Flag Day, including quizzes, puzzles, and a flag timeline. There's also additional information about the national anthem and Betsy Ross.
tag(s): american flag (9), american revolution (93), evolution (85), flag day (5)
In the Classroom
Use the U.S. flag quiz on this site as a learning center or station during a Flag Day celebration or national symbol unit. Have students complete the quiz in cooperative learning groups, allowing them to assist each other when there is confusion.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Star Spangled Banner - Smithsonian Institue
Grades
3 to 12
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This site from the Smithsonian provides ample information about the American Flag, as well as early American history. The Explore option on the site allows you to investigate and discover...more
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This site from the Smithsonian provides ample information about the American Flag, as well as early American history. The Explore option on the site allows you to investigate and discover important facts about the flag and its creation. There is also a section about the National Anthem, as well as an interactive quiz about the early days of American government. A great site for Flag Day or early U.S. history!
tag(s): american flag (9), american revolution (93), evolution (85), flag day (5), national anthem (2)
In the Classroom
Use the interactive quiz on this site as a review tool before an assessment or to introduce a mini-unit on the flag. Introduce the site on the interactive whiteboard before allowing students to complete the quiz individually on classroom computers. Because of the amount of reading on the site, be sure to provide lower achieving readers with the vocabulary beforehand or a tool to help them look up complex words. Younger students would do better with partner readers or whole-class reading on an interactive whiteboard where they could highlight new words.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History of the American Flag - FoundingFathers.info
Grades
3 to 12
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Although this site may look pretty simple, it has some great information on the history and evolution of the American Flag. The site hosts images of all the flags, including ...more
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Although this site may look pretty simple, it has some great information on the history and evolution of the American Flag. The site hosts images of all the flags, including the famous "Don't tread on me," flag from the revolutionary period. Besides images, each flag hosted on the site has a brief history accompanying it.
tag(s): american flag (9), american revolution (93), evolution (85), flag day (5)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource during Flag Day celebrations or a unit on national symbols. Use the site as an activity to help students better understand the significance of Flag Day, as well as the American Flag. Introduce the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector before allowing cooperative learning groups loose on the site. Have students investigate the "story" of the flag, presenting the information in a multimedia presentation. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education and Acast, reviewed here, Google Slides, reviewed here, and Microsoft PowerPoint Online, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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How Deep Were the Impacts of the BP Oil Disaster - Natural Resources Defense Council
Grades
7 to 12
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Go below the surface of the ocean to identify and understand the problem of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Use this resource to bring home the ...more
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Go below the surface of the ocean to identify and understand the problem of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Use this resource to bring home the fact that only a small amount of oil stays on the surface. Be sure to scroll up and down in the image as there is a lot of information there. Find additional fact sheets, news accounts, and footage of the oil spill disaster and its effects at the bottom of the page.
In the Classroom
Have students view the image to obtain basic information. Share the site on your projector or interactive whiteboard. In groups of four, have pairs read and discuss the poster together. Next have the pairs in the group share information learned from the site with the other pair in their group and discuss important points learned. Conduct additional research into effects of oil and the food chain(s) that are being affected. Determine the different types of populations of people affected as well by the disaster and write editorial letters of their viewpoint. Create a conventional or multimedia project that showcases students being these animals or people. Create a Voki, reviewed here, to share your information. Student groups can research additional information about specific organisms or problems to report back to the class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tracking the Oil Spill in the Gulf - NY Times
Grades
6 to 12
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Follow the footprint of the Gulf Oil Spill 2010 in this interactive map. Use this information to compare the impact of this spill to others past and present. The site ...more
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Follow the footprint of the Gulf Oil Spill 2010 in this interactive map. Use this information to compare the impact of this spill to others past and present. The site provides details about mapping the spill, as well as the geographic range the spill has affected.
In the Classroom
Use this site as a springboard for discussions about the environmental impact of oil spills and, in a broader sense, of human activity in general. Use the map on the interactive whiteboard or projector to show students the physical location of the spill, as well as where the spill has had an immediate impact.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Oil Spill Lesson Plans and Resources - NOAA
Grades
3 to 12
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Learn about the impact of oil spills. Use these lessons and information to compare the impact of spills past and present. The site provides details about cleaning up oil spills, ...more
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Learn about the impact of oil spills. Use these lessons and information to compare the impact of spills past and present. The site provides details about cleaning up oil spills, as well as the science of oil dispersal, how to clean animals, and more.
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and classroom activities on this site! Be sure to save this site as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval later on. Students can select different aspects of oil spill cleanup and mitigation and play the role of experts in a mock blog post playing their role. Use Blogger, reviewed here or Straw.Page, reviewed here for your students blogging tool. Have students continue their role play by commenting on each other's posts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Prince William Sound: Detecting Changes 25 Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill - NOAA
Grades
6 to 12
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Learn about the lasting impact of oil spills and how the environment does and does not recover, specifically from the Exxon-Valdez spill of 1989. Use this information to compare the...more
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Learn about the lasting impact of oil spills and how the environment does and does not recover, specifically from the Exxon-Valdez spill of 1989. Use this information to compare the impact of this spill to others past and present. The site provides details about the impact the spill had on the sound and wildlife, as well as how recovery has progressed over the years.
tag(s): 1980s (21), disasters (35), environment (253), oil (21), oil spill (14)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a springboard for discussions about the environmental impact of oil spills and, in a broader sense, of human activity in general. Share some of the text portions on a projectir or divide up the site among different student groups. Have student groups explore various aspects of oil spills and report to the class, perhaps sharing visuals from this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students create a multimedia presentation using PowerPoint Online, reviewed here. This tool allows for to narrating and adding text to a picture. Challenge students to find a photo of the oil spill, and then narrate the photo as if it were a news report. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Vecteezy, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Building Schoolwide Literacy With Free Web 2.0 Tools: A Grade by Grade Elementary Model - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 8
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The Source for Learning offers this model for elementary (or middle) schools to build skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening systematically in a schoolwide model including...more
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The Source for Learning offers this model for elementary (or middle) schools to build skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening systematically in a schoolwide model including students, teachers, and parents. The free Web 2.0 tools suggested here are by no means the only tools that might work. These exemplary tools were chosen by the TeachersFirst Editors for ease of use and versatility in classroom and home use and could easily be implemented at grade levels other than those suggested here. As students and teachers master a new tool at each grade level, they develop rich literacy skills and vital technology skills, all in the context of reading, writing, speaking and listening across the curriculum.
In the Classroom
Explore the tools and project suggestions by grade for your individual use as a teacher or work together with others in your school to build literacy across all subjects and grades by systematically adopting and repeatedly using a fixed collection of tools so students master the tool skills as an aside to reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Try the practical suggestions for implementing this model in your school or grade level team.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Web Resizer - webresizer.com
Grades
2 to 12
1 Favorites
1 Comments
This site is quick, easy, requires no registration, and FREE. Upload your image to this site in order to create a smaller file size for use on other sites and ...more
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This site is quick, easy, requires no registration, and FREE. Upload your image to this site in order to create a smaller file size for use on other sites and applications as well as adding effects such as corner rounding, rotating, tinting, changing contrast/brightness, or adding borders/edges. Upload an image up to 5 MB to alter easily with this site. Web resizer automatically reduces the file size to create an optimized image. Be sure to click "apply changes" once you have finished making selections. Click "start over" to remove previous changes. Download the image easily in a JPEG format.
tag(s): images (267), noregistration (75)
In the Classroom
Provide the link to this site for students to use in altering and resizing images for use in presentations and online applications. Be sure students understand the file size needed for the various sites that are used in class.Comments
Use this all the time. Easy to use and SO helpful. You can use online, don't have to download.Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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Safe Share TV - SafeShare.TV
Grades
K to 12
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This site allows you to safely share YouTube videos and crop the parts that you do not want from the video. The process is simple. Find a YouTube video that ...more
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This site allows you to safely share YouTube videos and crop the parts that you do not want from the video. The process is simple. Find a YouTube video that you would like to share with your students. Paste the link for the video into safe share TV, click to edit, and copy the link of your trimmed YouTube video. It can be pasted into powerpoint, webpages, social networking sites, and anything else you can think of! A safe and easy way to bring media into your class for free.
tag(s): noregistration (75), safety (63)
In the Classroom
Use this to put videos into your teaching presentations. Or, to help students create presentations without the typical YouTube distractions. Have students edit clips to include only the information that is relevant to their project. Or, add clips to your class webpage or wiki as part of homework assignments or discussions. You could even use a clip as a writing prompt.
This resource requires Adobe Flash.
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Jackson Pollack - Miltos Manetas
Grades
3 to 12
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Create your own piece of art using a style and technique similar to Jackson Pollack. Click on the screen to create art on the blank canvas. Just click your mouse ...more
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Create your own piece of art using a style and technique similar to Jackson Pollack. Click on the screen to create art on the blank canvas. Just click your mouse and watch the painting begin. Using your mouse, drag and click to disperse paint. Left-click to change the color of the paint. Right-click to save the image to your device.
tag(s): painting (49)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set on Jackson Pollack. Students can create a "painting" and share it with a partner or the class using a projector. Since the site paints via "mouse-overs," it can also work on interactive whiteboards that use a special "pen," but not on touch-sensitive ones, since these boards have no idea where your "mouse" is hovering. Research Jackson Pollack paintings and biographical information. Then go back to the site and have students again create a "painting" following Jackson Pollack's style. Have students explain why their painting follows Pollack's style. Create a class wiki to share paintings and explanations. Possibly compare these with images in other artist's styles. Want to learn more about wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Soft Schools - Soft Schools
Grades
K to 8
1 Favorites
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Soft Schools provides interactive quizzes and games for math, language arts, science, holidays, phonics, French, social studies, and more. Worksheets categorized under grade and subject...more
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Soft Schools provides interactive quizzes and games for math, language arts, science, holidays, phonics, French, social studies, and more. Worksheets categorized under grade and subject level make this a great teacher resource.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): calculators (36), grammar (139), quiz (62), quizzes (91)
In the Classroom
Save this site in your favorites on classroom computers and use it as a center. Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge prior to introducing a unit. Use it as a cumulative assessment by having students independently take a quiz and then print the results. Students can complete the quizzes and games independently or with a partner. After assessing students, create worksheets for students who may need more practice. Be sure to list this link on your class website for students to use both in and out of the classroom. Find a variety of calculators including windchill, cube root, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Goofram - goofram.com
Grades
K to 12
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Looking for the most from your search? Use Goofram to find the best of both Google and Wolfram alpha all in one place. View top Google searches using Safesearch as ...more
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Looking for the most from your search? Use Goofram to find the best of both Google and Wolfram alpha all in one place. View top Google searches using Safesearch as well as Wolfram alpha (which include definitions and abundant resources.)
tag(s): resources (80), search engines (42)
In the Classroom
This site is very simple to use. Simply type in the term you are searching and click "search."This site is as safe as any other search engine. Just be sure students are aware of the consequences of misusing the search engine.
Use Goofram the next time that you use search in your classes. Discuss the difference between each side of the screen where both parts appear. What is the advantage of Wolfram Alpha vs. Google? Use this site as you discuss how to search and use materials on the web. Practice showing different searches and aspects of the searches that are useful. Challenge students to use these sites for individual research projects.
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Stormboard - Edistorm.com
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Take brainstorming to a whole new level, including easy collaboration with others. Use Stormboard to place sticky notes, photos, and videos on a shared whiteboard. As you enter information...more
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Take brainstorming to a whole new level, including easy collaboration with others. Use Stormboard to place sticky notes, photos, and videos on a shared whiteboard. As you enter information on your sticky, new suggestions pop up along the bottom. Use this phenomenal aspect of Stormboard as suggestions by their "Idea Bots" may take you closer to your goal. Revisit "storms" as they are saved which adds more perspectives when viewing later. Let others' ideas incubate a bit and return to see what they have added. Free accounts allow up to 5 users, 1 administrator, and view only access with Microsoft Office 365 and Google Drive. Begin by entering the name of your storm, choosing privacy options, adding a description, and inviting users to join in (Stormboard members or by email). Type on the stickies. Drag them to arrange. Stormboard will suggest possible new stickies along the bottom. The center sticky on your screen will drive the "smart" suggestions. If Stormboard's suggestions take you away from your goal in your description, move another sticky into the center spot or close the suggestions area. Use the viewfinder to see where all your stickies are located. Group related ideas together by aligning them together or color-coding them. Contributors can drag an "idea vote" to mark the ideas that they like best. Click on the tab "Top Ideas" to view those with most votes. Click on "All Unrated" to view all, including those with no votes (great idea if you may have missed one).
tag(s): brainstorming (19), creative fluency (3), organizational skills (90)
In the Classroom
Consider creating a classroom account for use with your students. Require them to initial their stickies in order to know which idea is whose. Use for any decision-making activity such as "What kind of pet should I buy?" Also use to generate related vocabulary words about a topic by entering their first word and letting the "Idea Bots" suggest stickies along the bottom. This is especially good if students must find information for a presentation or learn about a particular theme or topic. Share this site with your gifted students to use for organization, brainstorming, or collaboration with others outside their class. Social studies classes could brainstorm on how they might travel back in time to solve a political crisis or avoid a war. Lit classes could "storm" better outcomes for a novel or play based on evidence from the first portion of the text (for example, what if Romeo and Juliet had used Stormboard first?). Many issue-based or ethics-based problems in Science and Health can also be organized, debated, and discussed in this space. Why are some ideas "Top rated" over others?Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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WordArt - WordArt.com
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This site takes any quotation or poem and creates a "word cloud" (graphical display) of the words in a passage of text. Paste in any passage or the URL for ...more
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This site takes any quotation or poem and creates a "word cloud" (graphical display) of the words in a passage of text. Paste in any passage or the URL for any blog entry or web page (including newspapers online) to create a word cloud of the text. Enhance basic word clouds by using this site to create clouds in various shapes, use mouse rollover options, use font effects, and more. Elevate your word clouds into an art form. Once registered, change your password by clicking the profile tab and entering your new password. Before creating a word cloud, agree to the terms that include only using appropriate content. Copy and paste a series of words or use the URL of a page where the words can be found. Choose a shape such as a heart, cloud, or geometric pattern. Choose a font and other options, then click "Build the Cloud." Preview your cloud before saving. WordArt.com is free for personal and non-commercial use. However, you can only download Standard Quality (SQ) images for free.
tag(s): images (267), vocabulary (251), word choice (12), word clouds (12)
In the Classroom
You must be able to copy and paste text or provide a URL to a page of text as well as determine parameters of more advanced word clouds. Alternately, these word clouds can be kept very simple. After creating the word cloud, be sure to save the image (or use a screen capture) to share with others. Another idea, use the url of the cloud or embed into a place to share such as blog, wiki, or site. This is a terrific visual tool to share on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Help students develop creative fluency by creating their own WordArt and ideas from scratch. Paste in a passage or URL for a political speech to visualize the politician's "message." Analyze advertising propaganda by visualizing the language used in TV or print ads. Create WordArt of historical texts of inauguration speeches as time capsules of the issues of the day. Use this site as a way to help students see and memorize text, especially visual learners. Use it also when writing poetry or reading passages of great literature to "see" themes and motifs of repeated words and images. Have students paste in their own writing to spot repeated (and monotonous) language when teaching lessons on word choice. Students will be surprised to see what words appear to be dominant. ESL and ELL students will eagerly use this site since word order will no longer be a problem for them. 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. Collect thoughts about the class subject at the beginning of the year and then again at the end of the year to determine changes in thoughts about the subject matter.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Khan Academy - Sal Khan
Grades
4 to 12
9 Favorites
1 Comments
There are plenty of helpful sites to learn content. What makes this so special? Created by an uncle wanting to help his nieces learn material, Khan Academy has grown into ...more
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There are plenty of helpful sites to learn content. What makes this so special? Created by an uncle wanting to help his nieces learn material, Khan Academy has grown into a Creative Commons attributed site for helping all students. What information is available? Maybe one should ask: What are you looking for? View a vast array of videos on many topics: SAT prep, Algebra, Geometry, Chemistry, Biology, History, Trigonometry, Calculus, Economics, Brain Teasers, Banking and Money, Statistics, Finance, Physics, and more....Whew! The only problem? The videos are hosted on You Tube. If your district blocks You Tube, then they may not be viewable. Ed note: An alternative is to access Khan Academy through iTunes U FREE downloads, assuming you can load and access iTunes!
tag(s): atoms (45), cells (79), energy (139), functions (61), homework (26), matter (52), molecules (43), photosynthesis (19), respiration (10), structures (15)
In the Classroom
Share the site with your students in order to access at home for homework help. List this link on your class website. If you are unable to view this site on student computers but You Tube is unblocked for teachers, consider using a projector or interactive whiteboard to show to the whole class. Use your google account to log in once you click on the exercises link. From there, find access to exercises that students can complete that are related to each video. Encourage students to share links to specific videos they find helpful on a "Video Reviews" (yes, that is a pun) page of your class wiki. For a very real challenge, have students create their own simple review videos in the Khan Academy style using FlexClip, reviewed here. FlexClip is designed to allow you to create short animated or explainer videos to share on YouTube and other social media sites, then, upload to SchoolTube, reviewed here, TeacherTube, reviewed here, or YouTube, whichever works best in your school. Embed them on your class wiki for a year-to-year student-made study guide!Comments
Linda R., , Grades: 0 - 12
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Study Skills Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help students learn their most effective study strategies. The collection includes specific study tools, reading...more
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help students learn their most effective study strategies. The collection includes specific study tools, reading strategies, review ideas, and notetaking methods that students and teachers can try as lessons in themselves or --even better-- as they go about the regular curriculum. Whether you want to use a graphic organizer, create your own electronic flash cards, or simply learn how to approach a test, there is a resource to help. Learning Support teachers and teachers of gifted will also want to share these alternate ways for students to organize and retain concepts, vocabulary, and more.
In the Classroom
Make learning how to learn part of your class routine at any grade level and in any subject. Feature one or more new study strategy each month and share this entire list as a link from your class web page for students and parents to access both in and out of school.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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