TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Sep 30, 2012
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
American Battlefield Trust - American Battlefield Trust
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): lincoln (111), gettysburg address (23), slavery (129), civil war (215), battles (27), gettysburg (36), emancipation proclamation (17), Juneteenth (22),
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site as an excellent resource for Civil War materials. Display different battle information on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector to discuss as a class. Share this site with students to use as a resource for class projects. Ask them to collect facts and resources using a bookmarking tool such as Wakelet, reviewed here. Have students use a mapping tool such as Google Earth, reviewed here, to create an audio (and visual) tour of pertinent battle sites. Challenge your students to use a site such as Sutori, reviewed here, to create an interactive timeline of important battles. With Sutori you can include text, images and collaboration. Have students make a multimedia presentation using Genial.ly, reviewed here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
People\'s Pie - iCivics.org
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): branches of government (83), financial literacy (129), game based learning (255),
In the Classroom
Demonstrate the basic concepts of the challenge on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then allow students to play on their own on the whiteboard or classroom computers, keeping a log of their actions and results. Have students create "talking pictures" to debate funding (or lack of) for a particular budget item using Blabberize, reviewed here. Use this game as a springboard for an economics or government class to debate and discuss the impact of financial decisions on different segments of the community. Have students research current candidates' financial plans and play the game using the politician's strategies. Have students compare and contrast the impact on the economy.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
ClipChoose - ClipChoose.com
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): polls and surveys (91),
In the Classroom
Challenge students to create their own polls then search for YouTube videos to support or explain each response. Create a ClipChoose poll as a teacher or whole class. Have students respond then write a response using quotes from videos to back up their choice. Administer a poll, then use the data for graphing practice. Display sample polls (made by you or the class) and data for practice with interpreting graphs. Collect parent or student opinions about any topic. Take a poll at back to school night to find out what parents' greatest concerns or misconceptions are. Obtain quick feedback from students about which curriculum topics are confusing them. Allow students to create polls as part of critical thinking exercises such as how poll wording may bias the results. Encourage students to include polls in oral presentations to increase audience engagement. Teach students about types of propaganda using up to 8 example videos in ClipChoose. Ask students to select the one that demonstrates the use of a particular propaganda technique.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Dr. Seuss Went to War - UC San Diego
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): dr seuss (23), comics and cartoons (113), world war 2 (244),
In the Classroom
This collection offers rich opportunities during the study of World War II. Students can trace the tensions and events of the war year by year or by issue. Extend students' learning by having pairs or small groups create their own comic about a current event and explain it using Phrase.it, reviewed here, an image annotation tool that allows you to reference images by URL, add text, links, audio and video.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Flipped Learning Network - Jerry Overmyer
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): professional development (530), teaching strategies (56),
In the Classroom
Find the time and resources to pique your students' interest as you venture into this newer teaching model. Use flipping in any subject, and any grade level. Meet on your own time and network with teachers with experience who know what will work in the classroom. Join focus groups that correlate to your teaching position.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Catch the Science Bug - Catch the Science Bug Foundation, Inc
Grades
2 to 6tag(s): engineering (199), data (250), solar energy (50), animals (498), environment (462), water (201), plants (244), trees (37), birds (80),
In the Classroom
Although the standards listed are for grades K-4, much of the material has far higher reading levels. View videos on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) as a class when introducing a science unit. Then complete activities provided on the site. The text passages on this site are at upper elementary to middle school level, so you may need to read them aloud or have weaker and stronger readers work together. The visual materials are quite useful for elementary and up. View videos and read biographies of the scientists during a career unit. Share this site as a resource for fun science activities to do at home and with gifted students for self-exploration. Add this to your list of recommended sites to prevent "summer slide." The teacher's guide on the site is an excellent resource for finding activities. Bookmark this on your computer or print and include in your lesson planning guide to use when planning lessons and units. Choose books from the reading list to include with guided reading instruction. For more science reading selections, check out TeachersFirst's CurriConnects lists for various science topics.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
What is nano? - Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network
Grades
K to 12tag(s): engineering (199), measurement (240), gravity (75), matter (80), atoms (68),
In the Classroom
Teaching nanotechnology theory can be hard. Make the abstract idea concrete with the activities in the DIY Nano section of this website. Use the activities in the lab. In no time at all, students will be wrapping their minds around the tiny world of nanometers and nanotechnology. Encourage students to download the application if they have a smart phone and experiment further at home with their parents. (It's FREE!) This could really ignite a worthwhile career for aspiring scientists!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
PDF Converter - pdfconverter.com
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): worksheets (89),
In the Classroom
Ever find really neat activity sheets, but they need to be tweaked a little to make them work for your classes? This tool helps you save time by allowing you to edit PDF files in Word to avoid reinventing the wheel. (Beware of copyrighted materials, however). Science teachers can take lab activities and refine questions or add instructions as needed for their classrooms. English teachers can add standardized test prompts to preexisting general worksheets to tailor the activity to suit their state's test needs. This is a helpful utility for students entering contests or completing applications offered only in PDF form.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Handspeak - Jolanta Lapiak, Handspeak
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): sign language (16), communication (166),
In the Classroom
With Handspeak, students can easily learn and acquire ASL in a simple straightforward method. Use as a world language option or as a supplement in your ASL class. Experiment with the world of non-hearing people, and find ways to communicate. Use on your interactive whiteboard for whole group instruction. Or use it as centers for individual learning. Use as a supplement to your units on senses, sound, or human body in science. At your health fair, provide the information as a station for expanding knowledge and understanding. Use as an analogy to figuring out vocabulary words in context. Add background to literature about differences, discrimination, or hearing impairment. Include in your list with inventors and inventions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
Close comment form