TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Apr 26, 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
Analyze My Writing - analyzemywriting.com
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creative writing (121), descriptive writing (39), expository writing (31), paragraph writing (15), persuasive writing (55), six traits of writing (4), word clouds (13), writers workshop (31)
In the Classroom
Share this excellent tool with your students for use with any writing project. Discuss ways to elevate the level of any writing piece by analyzing results found. Challenge students to increase the difficulty of readability or add interest to writing by using less common words. Be sure to include a link on your class webpage and have students print out a copy of the writing analysis to include with writing projects. Use this tool to polish your professional writing, parent newsletters, blog posts, and papers for grad classes!You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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StoryMap JS - Northwest University Knight Lab
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): maps (207), stories and storytelling (40), timelines (50)
In the Classroom
Be sure to stress Fair Use and Copyright with students when using online images and crediting sources. Find great resources and information on TeachersFirst. Of course, if possible use your own images. In Science, use this tool to upload a picture of a science experiment from class and retell the story of the "experiment" by connecting with each of the individual parts of the image. In a Technology class, use this tool to create a project of anything that could be considered "mappable." Some examples include a timeline tour of an event, tour routes of a favorite band, the movement of a character in a movie or novel, or various events in a War. Find various shapes in nature and buildings for a Geometry class, showing their locations in a map. This tool would be wonderful for gifted students to showcase an interest or extend learning from a concept learned in class. Use this tool to trace the history of various recipes or ingredients in a Family and Consumer Science class. Trace the history of people, religions, and events. In Science, create a tour of various animals found in specific areas of a given biome or locations of various types of rocks and their information around the world.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Oh nO - Martin Kool
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (143), logic (164), problem solving (226), puzzles (143)
In the Classroom
Oh nO is perfect for use on your interactive whiteboard, projector, or on individual computers. Introduce this game to students and then challenge them to move up in difficulty levels and speed up completion times. Use this site to challenge your gifted students. Share on your class web page or blog for students and parents to play together at home. Set up a station at your school's math fair for participants to try their hand at Oh nO.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The U.S. Map Distorted by Population - MyLife
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): population (47), states (122)
In the Classroom
This site is perfect for use on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Before sharing, have students create a list of what they think are the smallest and biggest states, then compare using the image map. Ask students to list what they think may be the most populated states and compare with this map. Use this image as a starting point for group projects. Challenge students to create similar maps based on average income, farm output, manufacturing, or other statistics. Have students use one of the many mapping tools available from the TeachersFirst Edge. Have students compare geographic state size to population size and discuss reasons for differences. For enrichment, have students find populations from 100 years ago and recreate this map using those statistics.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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PBS Interactive Whiteboard Games - PBS Kids
Grades
K to 5tag(s): design (82), environment (240), estimation (35), game based learning (171), gravity (42), literacy (110), measurement (126), operations (72), painting (56), patterns (63), reading comprehension (143), sight words (23), suffixes (9), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (90)
In the Classroom
Use activities from this site on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to supplement current lessons. Create a link to specific activities on classroom computers for use as a learning center. Allow students to explore these sites on individual computers. Share links to games and activities on your class web page for students to try at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Global Fund for Women - International Museum of Women
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): sustainability (44), women (137)
In the Classroom
Share stories and podcasts from Global Fund for Women on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Compare and contrast the roles of women in today's society vs. those in previous times. Enhance learning by having students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a woman featured on the site or as a woman many years ago. Extend learning by having students create timelines featuring strong women (with photos, text, and more) using Sutori, reviewed here. A suggestion for this project would be to use the campaign on this site titled Black History Month 2023: Celebrating #EverydayFeminists in Philanthropy.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Water Use It Wisely - Park & Co
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): conservation (83), natural resources (37), water (102)
In the Classroom
Use the information from this site for inspiration in the creation of digital or conventional posters for water conservation. Create a campaign for increasing water conservation in school and at home. Survey the school community on their water usage using a tool such as SurveyRock, reviewed here. Calculate the amount of water saved as a Math activity. Use this site on a computer during learning centers when studying other environmental issues.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ask Smithsonian - Smithsonian Institution
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animals (281), bacteria (21), human body (93), insects (69), plants (145), space (213), time (92), video (258)
In the Classroom
Share a few of these short videos on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Choose a video and have students complete a quick write or Know-Want-to-Know-Learned (KWL) chart to put down what they THINK they know about the topic. Find a ready-made KWL chart at 25 Language Arts Graphic Organizers, reviewed here. Show the video and have students write about what they learned. Use some of them as a segue into a subject you will introduce in class or for mini-research.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National Geographic Education - National Geographic
Grades
K to 12tag(s): animals (281), climate change (87), commoncore (75), earth day (60), ecology (100), energy (130), food chains (17), map skills (56), maps (207), migration (44), multimedia (43), oceans (147), STEM (263), weather (164)
In the Classroom
Be sure to bookmark (or favorite) this site for use throughout the year to find real-world resources for classroom use. Don't forget to look for materials on National Geographic for use with Earth Day and Arbor Day activities! Differentiate easily using the multiple levels of materials found within National Geographic. Some text portions are challenging, so you should pair weaker readers with a partner as they research on this site. Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Venngage, reviewed here. Have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. If you use Apple products in your classroom, be sure to download the interactive iBooks for use in classroom centers or independent reading.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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