TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Dec 13, 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
GetEdFunding - CDW-G
Grades
K to 12
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GetEdFunding curates and collects an up to date database of grant and award opportunities for school systems. Create a free account using your email to search and view available grants....more
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GetEdFunding curates and collects an up to date database of grant and award opportunities for school systems. Create a free account using your email to search and view available grants. Once you have an account, save items of interest and stay up to date on upcoming deadlines. In addition to the site's very large database, be sure to check out the Resources link for articles, videos, a glossary, and access to the online community forum. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): grants (16)
In the Classroom
Create your account and explore GetEdFunding to find many grant opportunities. Apply for a grant using the tips provided in the Resources link. Be sure to share with your colleagues as an excellent resource for all grade levels and subjects. Consider creating a committee of interested teachers to divide up grant writing and win money for your school.
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Buzzsprout - Tom Rossi
Grades
K to 12
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2 Comments
Buzzsprout offers free, easy to use, podcast hosting. Sign up to receive two hours of hosting per month. Uploads remain available for 90 days. Buzzsprout's dashboard walks you through...more
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Buzzsprout offers free, easy to use, podcast hosting. Sign up to receive two hours of hosting per month. Uploads remain available for 90 days. Buzzsprout's dashboard walks you through creating and sharing podcasts and provides information on the time remaining in your current cycle. Copy and paste one line of code to include your podcast directly on any website. Attractive features include scheduling episodes for a specific date and time, adding links, lists, chapter markers, and a "Support the show" link to your podcasts.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): communication (136), digital storytelling (141), podcasts (73)
In the Classroom
Even if you aren't ready to create podcasts, share the How To Start a Podcast page with your students with excellent tips for creating any type of speaking presentation, create regular or special podcasts to share on your class web page or wiki to read/listen to in class AND from home, adding a touch of blended learning to your classroom! Have readers (perhaps older buddies) enhance their learning by building fluency and recording selected passages for your non-readers. Don't forget to have them listen and critique their podcast! Launch a service project for your fifth or sixth graders to record stories for the kindergarten to use in their reading and listening center. Have students create "you are there" recordings as "eyewitnesses" to historical or current events. Make a weekly class podcast, with students taking turns writing and sharing the "Class News." Have students create radio advertisements for concepts studied in class (Buy Dynamic DNA!). Have students write and record their own stories or poetry in dramatic readings. Language students or beginning readers could record their fluency by reading passages and listening to themselves. Allow parents to hear their child's progress reading aloud, etc. Compare world language, speech articulation, or reading fluency at two points during the year. Have your Shakespeare students record a soliloquy. Write and record a poem for Father's or Mother's Day (or other special events) and send the URL as a gift to that special person. If you have gifted students who lean toward the dramatic, this tool is simple enough for them to create dramatic mini casts without needing a video camera.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Comments
Great resource for podcast novices like me! I love the step-by-step instructions to help with creating a podcast as well as the helpful tips and ideas for a podcast. Can't wait to begin using with my K-5 students.Christina, , Grades: 0 - 8
The podcasting 101 information is incredibly helpful for anyone wishing to begin podcasting. It also establishes tips that can be helpful for any speaker (as the description says).Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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George Washington's Mount Vernon - Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
Grades
5 to 12
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You don't need to take an actual visit to Mount Vernon to enjoy a look at the life and times of America's first president with this comprehensive website. Choose from ...more
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You don't need to take an actual visit to Mount Vernon to enjoy a look at the life and times of America's first president with this comprehensive website. Choose from The Estate and Gardens or George Washington links to explore information about Washington's life and home. Each section includes full articles, including images and some videos. Be sure to check out the Educational Resources for students and teachers including lesson plans, interactive maps, animated presentations, and more.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): american revolution (81), presidents (121), primary sources (115), slavery (75), washington (25)
In the Classroom
Be sure to bookmark and save this site for use with any President's Day or American Revolution lessons. Take advantage of the free lesson plans for use in your classroom. Create a link to maps and animated presentations on classroom computers for students to explore on their own. You may also want students to take a virtual tour of George Washington's Mount Vernon, reviewed here. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about George or Martha Washington, one of his slaves, or a soldier in his army. Have students create timelines (it can include text, images and collaboration) about the life of George Washington using Sutori, reviewed here.
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GIMP - Jens T. Lautenbacher and Adrian Likins
Grades
K to 12
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GIMP is a free software download to use when working with images and photos. Features include paint tools, photo retouching, animation, and much more. GIMP provides an extensive tutorial...more
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GIMP is a free software download to use when working with images and photos. Features include paint tools, photo retouching, animation, and much more. GIMP provides an extensive tutorial library broken into categories for beginning through expert users.
tag(s): editing (92), images (269), photography (130)
In the Classroom
Use this tool anytime photos need to be edited for use on class blogs, wikis, or in presentation tools found here. In primary grades, this tool could be useful for teachers to use to edit pictures from a field trip, science experiments, and more. Share the editing process with your younger students using your interactive whiteboard or projector. Edit together! Encourage older students to use this site themselves on images for projects or presentations. Use this tool in photography or art classes. Use the editor to edit pictures to fit styles of pictures when doing historical reports or to set a mood. Use text options for the photos themselves to tell the stories. Have students annotate or label Creative Commons online images of cells, structures of an animal, and much more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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SRecorder - SRecorder Company
Grades
K to 12
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Record a PC desktop with or without sound using free software from SRecorder. This software works only with Windows Operating Systems. After downloading and installing the software,...more
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Record a PC desktop with or without sound using free software from SRecorder. This software works only with Windows Operating Systems. After downloading and installing the software, use the desktop shortcut to begin the recording. Choose to view the entire desktop or select a specific area using the crop box provided. Click the red button to record, then use the icons on the screen to save to your computer or share to social networking sites.
tag(s): video (257)
In the Classroom
Use SRecorder to record instructions for using websites. Share how to perform problems, step by step directions for any project, and much more. Leave a video message for your substitute teacher or even your class! Create a video message to share with parents about current projects, clips from field trips, and more. Share on your class website for students to view at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America - Library of Congress
Grades
5 to 12
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Explore American history through music with this extensive collection of digitized recordings, sheet music, artist commentaries, and videos. Use the keyword search to find specific...more
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Explore American history through music with this extensive collection of digitized recordings, sheet music, artist commentaries, and videos. Use the keyword search to find specific information. Narrow the search by date, subject, language, and more. Be sure to visit the About this Collection tab to find links to interactive maps and timelines as well as educator resources including several lessons correlated to standards.
tag(s): 1800s (72), 1900s (73), 20th century (59), poetry (189), songs (44)
In the Classroom
This site is a goldmine for finding music to accompany any American history unit! Use resources from the site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Play music from the period you are studying during reading or research time. Allow students to explore the site on their own, and then share their findings with classmates. Have students create timelines (it can include text, images and collaboration) using Sutori, reviewed here.
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Ranger Rick - National Wildlife Federation
Grades
K to 7
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Access trivia, jokes, interactives, and information about animals and people that are helping wildlife and the environment. Ranger Rick includes information geared more toward the primary...more
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Access trivia, jokes, interactives, and information about animals and people that are helping wildlife and the environment. Ranger Rick includes information geared more toward the primary grades and the Ranger Rick Magazine is geared toward grades 4-7. Find videos, projects, crafts, songs, printables, recipes, and outdoor activities to use with individuals or a class. It is full of bright colors, kid-friendly graphics and real life pictures that go along with the information. There is no login required for this site; you can hop on and dive right in. Be sure to see the Parents and Educators sections. Ranger Rick will work on any device with a browser and Internet connection.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animal homes (56), animals (280), game based learning (171), guided reading (32), independent reading (85), scientists (62)
In the Classroom
In the Animals sections, elementary students can conduct research on different kinds of animals including their place in the animal kingdom. At computer stations/centers have students look at the sets of animal pictures and identify common characteristics that are found for each set of animals to determine why they are categorized into each part of the animal kingdom. Use the interactive games as a center at an interactive whiteboard/projector. The games are fast and simple and can be used as a lesson opener to engage and capture the students attention.As a culminating activitiy, challenge students to write an adventure story where Ranger Rick and his animal friends have to get our of a sticky situation. Use a tool such as Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here, for a nontech rough and final draft. If you're new to using technology with your students, or teach younger students augment techology use with ToonyTool, reviewed here, for their final drafts. To modify tech use in your class and for more experienced, older students try Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here.
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Charity Navigator - Charity Navigator
Grades
1 to 12
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1 Comments
Discover a database of charities that include a rating system done by financial analysts to help you make an informed decision about which charities to support. Top ten lists select...more
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Discover a database of charities that include a rating system done by financial analysts to help you make an informed decision about which charities to support. Top ten lists select charities based on most followed, celebrity related, relying on public contributions, top notch, low rated, a charity worth watching, as well as many more categories. Learn about charities formed to help recent events (Hot Topics) such as Earthquake & Hurricane victims, California Wildfires, Support Veterans and Active Duty Servicemembers, Immigration and Refugees, and many others. The Hot Topics change with the times, of course, so check back regularly. Learn tips for donating such as the Tax Benefits of Giving, a Guide to Volunteering, and the 5 Steps to Informed Giving includes giving in the workplace and questions to ask before donating.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): communities (36), problem solving (226), service projects (17)
In the Classroom
Inspire your students to find worthy causes to give back and help other people in need. Give character education programs real purpose by discovering the many ways people need help. Challenge students to become an active part of your community and help others. Each class can choose a favorite charity to support through time or donations. Throughout the year, find ways to volunteer, collect money, or make a difference. Keep a class blog documenting progress, plans, ideas, and experiences. Substitute pen and paper writing journals by having students create blogs sharing their experiences using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. If you are teaching younger students and looking for an easy way to integrate technology and check for understanding, challenge your students to create a blog using Edublog, reviewed here. New to blogging? Check out TeachersFirst's Blog Basics. Challenge each class to enhance their learning by highlighting the journey of giving to your community through a video documentary using a tool like Adobe Creative Cloud Express Video Maker, reviewed here. Share videos using a tool like Schooltube, reviewed here.Comments
This is a "gift" to those who are interested in having their students realize that where they donate can be researched. Furthermore it shows how many are working to improve the world across multiple categories. This helps foster critical analysis. My students will be selecting a charity and arguing for its support.Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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401 Prompts for Argumentative/Persuasive writing - New York Times
Grades
7 to 12
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Find the updated link "401 prompts from the New York Times" (NYT) Learning Network's Student Opinion feature. Discover a multitude of topics of interest to teens and students will have...more
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Find the updated link "401 prompts from the New York Times" (NYT) Learning Network's Student Opinion feature. Discover a multitude of topics of interest to teens and students will have an opinion about at least a few of them! However, their opinion is not all they are supposed to give. To submit, teens will need to have evidence-based, concise editorials much like the ones the NYT publishes daily. Once submitted the NYT and the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University will use a rubric to select winners, and then publish those on The Learning Network. We suggest obtaining parental permission before submitting anything. If interested, you can also find a link for 650 prompts for narative and personal writing.
tag(s): news (229), persuasive writing (55), writing (315), writing prompts (58)
In the Classroom
English/writing, social studies, and current events teachers are sure to find something here for their students to write about. Introduce a few of the prompts and the winning student editorials using an interactive whiteboard or projector to get students interested. Have students define what concise means and what it should mean in their writing. Point out the good writing habits of the student winners. Students should read the NYT's article(s) that give information about the topic of the prompt(s). At this time, you could have students choose a topic, or you could select several from which students could choose. You could also use one prompt a day as an opener or closer quick write. Another idea would be to have students respond on a class blog to the prompts and then make comments on each other's opinions. Haven't started blogging yet? Check out TeachersFirst's Blog Basics.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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