TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of May 31, 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
Cometdocs - cometdocs.com
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Quickly convert, share, and manage documents with Cometdocs. Upload any file from your computer then choose from options to convert, transfer, share, or host the file. Options or file...more
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Quickly convert, share, and manage documents with Cometdocs. Upload any file from your computer then choose from options to convert, transfer, share, or host the file. Options or file conversions include to and from PDF, Word, Excel, image, and text formats. Create a free account to receive up to 2 GB in storage, upload files up to 150 MB, perform up to 5 conversions per week. Other options include downloading web and iOS apps for use. Login isn't necessary to do simple file conversions but is required for storage and hosting of files.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): worksheets (70)
In the Classroom
Did you 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 specific formats. Use sharing and storage options to create quick access to all documents for any unit or lesson.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be shared by URL
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Is It Down Right Now? - isitdownrightnow.com
Grades
4 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Find out instantly if the problem you are having opening a web site is YOUR problem or a website that is down. Is It Down Right Now (iidrn.com for short) ...more
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Find out instantly if the problem you are having opening a web site is YOUR problem or a website that is down. Is It Down Right Now (iidrn.com for short) instantly "pings" a site so you can tell whether the site is down for everyone or just for you (perhaps due to a glitch with your Internet provider). The Internet is never a sure thing, but this tool tells you whether it's just YOU having trouble. Although it sounds geeky, it's easy. Copy/paste or type the URL you are trying to reach into the box at top right, and click "Check." The results tell you how long it takes for the site to respond and how long it has been down (if it is). What a handy tool for ANYONE using the web! What this tool will not tell you is if you are mistyping the URL, so always double check.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your Favorites and remind your student to use it before they call out, "The page isn't opening!" in the middle of class. Make it one of the required tools as part of "ask three before me." If you have a class web page, this is a handy way to find out if your web page service (or district-provided web page server) is having trouble "serving up" the class page. Tell savvy students who are unable to access web sites to use this tool and take a screen shot of the results if a site assigned for homework is "down" for prolonged periods. This is simple "proof" worthy of a get-out-of-homework-free card if they can show that the site was down for three hours on the night of the assignment!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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40 Maps That Explain the Roman Empire - Timothy B Lee
Grades
8 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Learn about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire with these 40 impressive maps. Each map features a different aspect of the Roman Empire such as the vast size ...more
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Learn about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire with these 40 impressive maps. Each map features a different aspect of the Roman Empire such as the vast size of the empire, long travel speeds, and the spread of Christianity throughout the empire. Click on any map to view full size. All maps contain a short description of the contents while many also include links to additional information or clarification of terms.
In the Classroom
Use these maps to introduce your unit on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Include this site on your class web page for students and parents to access as a reference. Have students create a multimedia presentation using Slidestory, reviewed here. This site allows you to narrate a picture. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted to be reproduced), and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Shapes and Measures - S Riley Teacherled
Grades
2 to 6
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Find a collection of resources for teaching and learning shapes and measures. This site works well on any web enabled device. Teaching resources include: angle measurer, grids for measuring...more
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Find a collection of resources for teaching and learning shapes and measures. This site works well on any web enabled device. Teaching resources include: angle measurer, grids for measuring areas of virtual shapes, coordinate practice, isometric grid for 3D shapes, perimeter practice, rotation, symmetry creator, rotational symmetry of shapes, translations, and a virtual mirror. Each of these tools allows demonstration and some practice. Shapes and Measures will bring your geometry class alive!
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): geometric shapes (136), measurement (126)
In the Classroom
Engage your students by bringing technology into geometry. Introduce the concepts of angle measurement, area, perimeter, 3D shapes, rotation, translation, and symmetry as a whole group on your interactive whiteboard. Have students practice at centers during your unit. While preparing for summative assessments, assign for homework to practice. Highlight definitions, examples, non examples, and where this is found in the real world. Enhance learning throughout any of the lessons by sharing additional resources using a curation tool such as Padlet, reviewed here. Add links to videos, articles, or online activities related to the lesson's content. As you complete lesson activities, extend learning by asking students to share their understanding of using angles or symmetry by creating digital books using Book Creator, reviewed here, flyers made with Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here, or infographics created with Canva Infographic Creator, reviewed here. Post on your class website or blog for students to review and critique for further practice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Encyclopedia of Earth - Environmental Information Coalition
Grades
4 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Looking for a quality resource about the Earth, organisms, the natural environment, and their interaction with society? This Encyclopedia is a free, quality collection of articles written...more
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Looking for a quality resource about the Earth, organisms, the natural environment, and their interaction with society? This Encyclopedia is a free, quality collection of articles written by professionals, educators, and experts. The project is a collaboration, and articles are reviewed by other experts. Though written by professionals, the articles are not technical, proving useful to students and educators. It is also helpful to other professionals as well as the general public. View the authors and editors attributed to the articles. Be sure to notice the featured articles found in the center of the page. Find chapters or topics along the left side that cover every aspect of the natural and physical world as well as the many issues of human interaction with the Earth. Besides articles, find more at Encyclopedia of Earth including ebooks, lectures, and speeches.
tag(s): agriculture (49), animals (281), biodiversity (30), disasters (36), earth (185), ecology (100), ecosystems (73), energy (130), environment (240), forests (28), plants (145), pollution (50), water (102), weather (164)
In the Classroom
Use this resource when students are working on projects that pertain to any part of living things, the natural world, and man's role on the Earth. Be sure to bookmark this site on a class computer or your class website. Be sure to review the authors of the articles, following the links to their biographical pages to look at their expertise. Use this as an exercise in identifying whether information on the Internet is reliable and developing researching skills. As a challenge to your high achieving students, consider asking them to write entries that you can submit to this encyclopedia on classroom topics of interest to them. Students will have to analyze their language and writing style with more scrutiny than other assignments. Ask them to use Expresso, reviewed here, to help them achieve this. Consider creating an encyclopedia with content created by students modeled after the style of this tool. Use an online tool such as Weebly, reviewed here, to create a class encyclopedia. Note: As with other resources like Encyclopedia of Earth, content on the site is considered Attribution-Share Alike. Students should always cite their sources in accordance with this type of copyright.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Commercial Aviation - Smithsonian Institution
Grades
5 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Learn about the early years of air transportation through the jet age using this site from the Smithsonian. Scroll down to read an explanation of the earliest to newest planes, ...more
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Learn about the early years of air transportation through the jet age using this site from the Smithsonian. Scroll down to read an explanation of the earliest to newest planes, mail carrier uniforms, and documents. Find activities and lesson plans under the Learn tab and click Explore to find stories, collections, and topics that range from Aviation and Early Flight to Spaceflight. Use the left menu to find many more air and space aviation topics.
tag(s): 1920s (15), 20th century (59), aircraft (16), aviation (38), flight (31)
In the Classroom
This site will work well in any social studies class. In language arts or social studies classes use a projector or interactive whiteboard and read a few entries from the Stories section with your students. Ask students to write about a flight they remember (or any mode of transportation for a trip) in the same manner as the examples. In addition, language arts or social studies teachers can use this site's nonfiction reading to help satisfy student's reading goals for the Common Core Standards.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Math Arguments 180 - Curmudgeon
Grades
7 to 12
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0 Comments
Find interesting discussion topics for high school math classes at Math Arguments 180. This blog offers 180 days of ideas for discussion in math class. In fact, it has gone ...more
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Find interesting discussion topics for high school math classes at Math Arguments 180. This blog offers 180 days of ideas for discussion in math class. In fact, it has gone beyond 180 and is still counting. Scroll through by date to view topics or search the archives for past posts. Try clicking on the categories to find specific content such as geometry or probability. Find the most popular posts by viewing links on the right side of the home page.
tag(s): logic (164), probability (96), problem solving (226)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this blog or subscribe to it with your RSS feed reader to stay current with new posts. Use ideas in your math class as lesson starters, homework, or for extra credit. Have students create an annotated image explaining answers including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create video explanations and share them on a site such as TeacherTube reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Audubon Adventures - Audbon.org
Grades
1 to 6
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Connect your students with birds, nature, and the environment with the online Audubon Adventures. Find detailed articles, quizzes, and games about hummingbirds, raptors, and sea birds....more
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Connect your students with birds, nature, and the environment with the online Audubon Adventures. Find detailed articles, quizzes, and games about hummingbirds, raptors, and sea birds. A naturalist dictionary gives you a leg up on all the environmental lingo. Find activities, assessments, and resources for teachers with accompanying standards. An optional periodical is available for a fee.
tag(s): birds (44), conservation (83), environment (240)
In the Classroom
Introduce more nonfiction text into your classroom. Following the presentation of the hummingbird, raptor, and sea bird, challenge your students to create a report on a different animal. Make your own class blog with animals in your area, endangered animals, or invasive animals. If you have not started blogging yet, check out TeachersFirst Blog Basics. Investigate the local Audubon Society activities for classes and teachers. Use as a multiple resource for text analysis. Determine text features and text structure with the articles.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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