TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Nov 30, 2014

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

 

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LifeSaver - The Resuscitation Council (UK)

Grades
7 to 12
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Lifesaver is a crisis simulation that fuses interactivity and live-action film to teach how to help someone during a heart attack and CPR in a new way. View different crisis ...more
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Lifesaver is a crisis simulation that fuses interactivity and live-action film to teach how to help someone during a heart attack and CPR in a new way. View different crisis simulations while reacting within acceptable limits. Scores give feedback at the end of each scenario. In addition to the simulator activities, view answers to medical questions related to heart health, CPR, and choking by scrolling down to choices at the bottom of the home page. This simulator works on any device. However, the CPR demonstration does offer more ease in the free app versions than on a personal computer. This site was created in the UK. American English speakers may notice some slight spelling differences. Tip: you must check that you accept the terms to "Enter" the site!

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (143), heart (27), medicine (55)

In the Classroom

Use Lifesaver as part of your heart health unit. Allow students to explore the site and participate in simulations while challenging them to increase scores with continued play. Include it as part of a child care unit in FACS. Share with your school nurse or health professional for use with professional training sessions. Share this link on your class website for students to view (and share with families) at home. Download the free app available for all mobile devices for even better use of this site. Moving the app up and down to do CPR demonstrates the technique much better than options on a personal computer. For an extra research challenge, have students compare this UK-based CPR training with U.S. Red Cross or American Heart Association training to see if there are any differences.

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Jessica's Pattern Block Templates - Jessica Brown

Grades
K to 4
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Find many resources for using pattern blocks at this site. Choose from many different pattern block templates sorted by categories such as holidays, vehicles, and alphabet. Click any...more
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Find many resources for using pattern blocks at this site. Choose from many different pattern block templates sorted by categories such as holidays, vehicles, and alphabet. Click any template to view the PDF for instant printing. When printing, do NOT "scale to fit page." Be sure to print at 100% or the actual size. The site is designed for use with standard pattern block pieces. However, if you don't have any, no worries! Select the Printable Blocks link for many print-and-cut options to use.

tag(s): geometric shapes (136), manipulatives (8), patterns (64), problem solving (226)

In the Classroom

Liven up your math centers with the many different templates found on the site. Print any template on cardstock and laminate for long-time use. Create take-home bags for students to work with pattern blocks at home. Share a link to this site on your class website for use at home.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Story of the Web - Jack Schofield

Grades
5 to 12
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Celebrate 25+ years of the World Wide Web with this retrospective in interactive form. Scroll through to read about the first ideas and learn about the explosive growth and important...more
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Celebrate 25+ years of the World Wide Web with this retrospective in interactive form. Scroll through to read about the first ideas and learn about the explosive growth and important events throughout the years. Choose auto-play to watch the timeline unfold or scroll at your own pace. As you progress through the story, watch for links to web stories. Viewers of the site share their personal memories each step along the way. Hover your mouse over the right side of your screen to link to the entire report in PDF format.

tag(s): computers (106), internet safety (113), inventors and inventions (71)

In the Classroom

Story of the Web is perfect for use on your interactive whiteboard or projector in a unit on technology and invention or in a computer literacy class. Share this site with students who have grown up on the Internet to provide an understanding of how quickly technology has developed. Compare it to the development of a human being over 25+ years! Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Venngage, reviewed here. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, comparing communication 25+ years ago to 2018.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Animated Trigonometry - Jason Davies

Grades
10 to 12
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Watch as the point revolves around the unit circle to see the graphs of each trig function at this visually stimulating site. As the point on the circle revolves, the ...more
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Watch as the point revolves around the unit circle to see the graphs of each trig function at this visually stimulating site. As the point on the circle revolves, the graphs of sin and tan project. Sin the "wave" is projected horizontally and cos projects vertically. This site was created using Javascript and works on all browsers except Internet Explorer.

tag(s): animation (62), charts and graphs (169)

In the Classroom

Animated Trigonometry is perfect for use on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to demonstrate graphing of trig functions. Challenge students to create their own graphs of each function then compare to points found on the animation. Be sure to include a link to this site on your class website or blog for students to view at home.

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Life Skills - Barclays

Grades
8 to 12
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Life Skills, created in the UK, offers programs for entering the 21st century work force. Begin by choosing the student (I'm here to help myself) or teacher (I'm here to ...more
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Life Skills, created in the UK, offers programs for entering the 21st century work force. Begin by choosing the student (I'm here to help myself) or teacher (I'm here to help others) portal. Student information includes People Skills, Managing Money, How to Gain Work Experience, and more presented through videos and interactive activities. Access lesson plans, worksheets, and online activities through the teacher registration. Registration is free with email. The site was created in the UK, so some of the pronunciations, spellings, and use of currency will differ from those in American English. The principles are the same, once you figure out slight terminology differences.

tag(s): careers (139), financial literacy (92)

In the Classroom

Help students appreciate that career planning is an ongoing process that includes education, aptitudes, and personality in order to find a "good fit." Life Skills is a great resource for helping students get more concrete information and insight into the sometimes vexing question of "what I want to do when I grow up." Use it in guidance classes or as part of a budgeting and life planning section in Family and Consumer Science or business classes.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Solve My Math - solvemymath.com

Grades
5 to 12
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Solve My Math offers a wide selection of math calculators, games, and information for all different levels of math. Use the drop down box to choose a math category such ...more
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Solve My Math offers a wide selection of math calculators, games, and information for all different levels of math. Use the drop down box to choose a math category such as general math or complex numbers and trig. Some calculators offer only a solution while others show step by step ways to obtaining answers. Choose Math Courses for a basic overview of math content sorted by topic. The Math Games section offers games for learning basic math skills. Spend time exploring how the site is organized so you can avoid clicking the ads!
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): addition (128), calculators (37), charts and graphs (169), decimals (84), division (98), fractions (159), numbers (119), probability (96), statistics (114), subtraction (109)

In the Classroom

Use calculators on the site to solve math problems. Show students how to find the appropriate calculator while avoiding the many ads. Ask students to demonstrate the problem solving process but use this site as a self-check. Share a link to Solve My Math on your class website for students to access at home. Create a link to games/interactives on classroom computers for use as a math center.

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Junior Rangers Online - National Park Service

Grades
3 to 8
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Join the National Park Service and become a Junior Ranger Online! Don your ranger hat and go for a virtual tour and watch videos. Explore the online interactives, including visits ...more
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Join the National Park Service and become a Junior Ranger Online! Don your ranger hat and go for a virtual tour and watch videos. Explore the online interactives, including visits to the Everglades and Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico. Choose from over 150 printable activities that offer opportunities to explore careers, build monuments, and learn about national parks across the United States. Learn how to complete activities and receive a Junior Ranger Badge and Certificate from the National Parks Service. The National Park Service also offers materials for educators, although they are a little difficult to find. Select the Menu icon with three bars and click on Educators or go here. Find lesson plans and activities using a keyword search and filters by subject, grade level, and Common Core Standards.

tag(s): animals (280), landmarks (18), national parks (27), plants (144), virtual field trips (80)

In the Classroom

Use the Educator's resources to find many curriculum connections and alignment to Common Core. Introduce one of the WebRangers' multimedia resources to your class on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Use this site as a precursor activity to an actual trip to one of the parks or as you study states and their major landmarks. Use this in science class as you study animals and habitats. Explore the landmarks in your own city or town and create multimedia presentations about them like the ones shown here. In the Teacher's Resource Guide, find the link to their Twitter account. Even if students are unable to physically visit and explore parks, use the virtual visits to learn about the National Parks around the country and offer students the opportunity to earn Junior Ranger certificates. Create a map using Google My Maps, reviewed here, and add places visited by your class throughout the school year. In addition to labeling locations, add images, videos, and student text to share information about each location.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Biomimicry Youth Design Challenge - Biomimicry 3.8 Institute

Grades
10 to 12
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Looking for a challenge that can really make a change? The Biomimicry Design Challenge encourages participants to solve real-world problems as teams, basing their ideas on nature's...more
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Looking for a challenge that can really make a change? The Biomimicry Design Challenge encourages participants to solve real-world problems as teams, basing their ideas on nature's own "design." Past challenges include Transportation and Water. You must be in a degree program to participate in the actual challenge, but anyone can read about current and past challenges. Read the Challenge details including judging criteria. View the Submission Gallery and past challenges to get ideas for your own challenge. Refer to the Biomimicry in Youth Education resource, reviewed here, for more information about the basics of Biomimicry.

tag(s): STEM (262)

In the Classroom

Use ideas from these challenges to plan a challenge at your school. Use the challenge to spark teams of students to think outside the box and be innovative in solving some of today's problems. The challenge would be a perfect way to excite Gifted students about science and engineering. Use the judging criteria to develop your own scoring of student projects. Display student designs during a school-based Science or STEM Fair. Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge Multimedia tools, reviewed here.

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