TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Mar 1, 2015
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
MediaFire - MediaFire
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (247),
In the Classroom
Use MediaFire to transfer files and images between devices quickly in your BYOD or 1:1 classroom. Student groups working on projects in class can gather and share data easily from anywhere. Use for any work students may wish to collaborate on. They can easily make documents public or private and share with others. What a great way for students to turn their work into you when completed on their devices! During curriculum development and other professional development activities, members of a department (or even school-wide) can share resources and documents easily with each other.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Random Name Generator Tool - Instant Classroom
Grades
K to 12tag(s): probability (179), classroom management (238),
In the Classroom
Use the Random Name Generator to select a student to do an activity or to answer a question. Allow students to use the name generator to choose the classmate who comes next. Create your list at the beginning of the year and SAVE it to use throughout the year. Use the Random Name Generator as part of your probability unit to chart how often names appear with random spins.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Nautilus - Nautilus
Grades
9 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): careers (222), scientists (93), expository writing (61), writing prompts (123),
In the Classroom
Share these articles as part of a broad discussion of the role of science in our world, such as during a unit on scientists or careers. Share Nautilus with your gifted or science-focused students to spark interests in scientific fields that are new to them. Assign gifted students to select an article and research it further when they have tested out of regular curriculum. They can share their discoveries as a multimedia presentation or write a blog post about them. Use articles from the magazine as fodder for class debates in English class or pull excerpts to use as writing prompts for informational or expository writing. The reading levels are high school and up, so be sure to partner weaker readers with a more capable reader if using this for class assignments. Check specific reading levels of an article by pasting its url into the Juicy Studio Readability Test, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Math Puzzles - Transum
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): crosswords (25), problem solving (407), logic (326),
In the Classroom
Share the math puzzles on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use as a math center or when you have an extra 5-10 minutes of time. Create a link to the puzzles on classroom computers or your class website. This is a great find for use with gifted students to practice logic and problem-solving skills. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs to explain their problem solving process and understanding using Webnode, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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US Digital Literacy - US DIgital Literacy
Grades
K to 12tag(s): augmented reality (13), professional development (530), digital citizenship (139), literacy (184),
In the Classroom
Become your school's technology guru. Find information to explore, try and share a piece at a time. Easily locate information to lead you to becoming a 21st century educational technology teacher (and leader). Be sure to document your professional growth as part of your yearly teacher evaluation. Present information at staff meetings to promote growth within your school. Explore various sections of this site to share with your class. Sign up for the newsletter to discover the latest information and resources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Travel By Drone - Jan Hiersemenzel
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): news (382), countries (116), video (456), cities (39), landforms (56), landmarks (37), setting (11),
In the Classroom
This site is continually adding new places to see. If you don't find what you want, check back frequently. Make geography come to life by showing students WHERE a story or news event takes place. Share the videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Use this tool to explore how it looks in the country or city studied in world cultures (or languages). Explore geography concepts, historical locations, famous battle locations, and more. Students creating a multimedia presentation with a setting can look at Travel By Drone to see if there is footage they can use.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History on the Net - Heather Wheeler
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): battles (27), victorian (29), elizabethan (28), myths and legends (33), vikings (14), egypt (99), greeks (49), romans (57), native americans (148), black history (174), african american (210), world war 1 (102), world war 2 (244), cold war (47), civil rights (273), olympics (74), britain (56), worksheets (89), aztecs (14), mayans (17),
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center. Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects. This site is a perfect addition to use with President's Day activities, when learning about the Olympics, or as part of a Black History Month lesson. Be sure to include this site on your class web page for students to access both in and outside of class. Enhance students' learning by having them use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a president, a passenger on the Titanic, a famous scientist, or another person learned about on this site. Have students modify their learning by creating an interactive, multimedia infographic sharing their findings using Venngage, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Springboard - Parul Gupta and Gautam Tambay
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): professional development (530), search engines (101),
In the Classroom
Share Springboard with your gifted students as a resource for finding enrichment resources or content not taught by your school. Search for and share free courses for all students to use for review of any topic. Use the Springboard search engine to find professional development courses for your own personal use.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Elementary Science Resource Kit - Tech4Learning
Grades
1 to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): biomes (244), animal homes (79), animals (498), solar system (189), planets (200), butterflies (25), life cycles (38), inventors and inventions (147), famous people (31), scientific method (84), scientists (93),
In the Classroom
Immerse students in hands-on, inquiry projects with these seven plans. Introduce them on your interactive whiteboard or projector and select a class project to complete. Have student groups choose a topic to research. Created for grades 1 to 5, with one for 5-8, any of the plans could be adjusted to fit any of these grade levels. The science kit lesson plans are free, and so are some of the resources they suggest using, such as Pics4Learning, reviewed here. However, the Pixie and Wixie program that the lesson advises using is not free. Instead, use QwikSlides, reviewed here, or 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. Be sure to bookmark these units for future use.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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