TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Sep 1, 2013
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
Rewordify - Neil M. Goldman
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): vocabulary development (181), vocabulary (467), reading comprehension (223), multilingual (72),
In the Classroom
This site is a must for saving and bookmarking for classroom use! Start the school year out by posting the link to Rewordify on your class website and parent newsletter for student and parent access from home. Be sure to share with learning support and ENL/ELL teachers and students. Save a link to Rewordify on classroom computers for students to easily paste text from any website to read in a simpler format. Copy and paste any difficult text into Rewordify and display on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to enhance student understanding or show meaning in complex texts. Have students guess meanings from context clues in the more complex version, then share the "rewordified" view to test their guesses. Have students create a word cloud of difficult words identified using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. Have students take a screen shot of passages that have been "rewordified" to share and discuss.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Drama Resource - David Farmer
Grades
K to 6This site includes advertising.
tag(s): acting (40), back to school (89), stories and storytelling (72), digital storytelling (300), bullying (85),
In the Classroom
Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects. If you are looking for ways to get students more involved with history lessons, drama may be just the thing. Take advantage of the free lesson plans included on the site. Use lessons and activities as part of your storytelling unit, for beginning of the year activities, or to promote higher level thinking skills. Have students create their own mini-drama moment: upload a photo they have taken and add voice bubbles for dialog using a tool such as Phrase.it, reviewed here. Have students create animated movies online demonstrating different drama techniques using invideo AI, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bomb Sight - Mapping the World War 2 London Blitz - The Bomb Sight Project
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): maps (415), churchill (10), hitler (16), england (81), world war 2 (244),
In the Classroom
This site is perfect for use on an interactive whiteboard or projector during any World War 2 unit to visually display the impact of the Blitz on London. Make the Blitz more "real" to your students by sharing the stories and images as first person narratives (primary sources). Have students use Fakebook (reviewed here) to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a resident of London during the time period. This would be a great way to help students understand why Britain came together so strongly during WWII, an experience that most students today cannot relate to.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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GeoGuessr - Anton Wallen
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): countries (116), cultures (215), maps (415), cross cultural understanding (214),
In the Classroom
Use this tool on an Interactive Whiteboard (or projector) with an entire class. Students can work as a class, individually, or in groups to identify clues in the image. Use the clues to discuss information about social structure, livelihood, religion, landforms, and other cultural information. Use this information to uncover and correct misconceptions and discuss cultural differences in countries outside the US. When the answer is revealed, the names of many other countries are shown. Use this opportunity to reinforce past learning of geography and culture. Go beyond the culture to learn about the various foods, agriculture, and other aspects of their lives. Research the local ecosystem to determine native plants and animals found in the country. Create a poem or story set in that locale using information learned through research. Are you a connected educator? Find other educators around the World using Twitter to make connections between classrooms. Join the Across the World Once a Week project to share about the culture where you live.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Game Ideas for Kids - Joanne McNulty
Grades
K to 4This site includes advertising.
tag(s): behavior (73), printables (52), puzzles (269), preK (423),
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site to use throughout the year as a resource for finding game ideas and printables. Use these activities for holiday parties, everyday review games, and more. Share with parents as a resource and suggest ways to incorporate learning into game play. Invite your students (or groups) to invent their own games based on what they learn in research projects or in class. Create a classroom game shelf of student-made games based on various curriculum units.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Quozio - Quozio.com
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): writing prompts (123), bulletin boards (32), images (487), quotations (34),
In the Classroom
Use Quozio to create a beautiful image to begin a unit. Start with an interesting quote or comment. View the finished picture on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) as a starting point for the unit. Make a bulletin board of quote images as writing prompts or verbal snapshots of an era, an author, or a famous person. Have older students be responsible for creating a Quozio image each week with a quote of the week or interesting comment on events that occur in class. Have students choose one interesting quote or piece of information from any text to create a Quozio then have students explain their choice as part of a class presentation.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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