TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Dec 20, 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
Keith Hughes Teaching Stuff YouTube Playlist - Keith Hughes
Grades
K to 12
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Keith Hughes' playlist includes 27 videos geared toward new teachers containing practical advice and tips in an entertaining way. Titles include 5 Ways For Teachers to Chillax Students...more
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Keith Hughes' playlist includes 27 videos geared toward new teachers containing practical advice and tips in an entertaining way. Titles include 5 Ways For Teachers to Chillax Students on Test Day, Teaching Advice for Dummies, and The Art of the Lecture. Most videos run ten minutes or less making them easy to watch and share. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): back to school (63), mentoring (6), professional development (395), test prep (66)
In the Classroom
Include videos during back to school preparation and planning with other staff members. Share with your student teacher as an excellent repository of teaching advice. Use these videos as examples for creating your own videos to share with your teaching colleagues.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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TomRichey.net - Tom Richey
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
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Over the years Tom Richey has taught several different history courses. His site shares many of his teaching materials. Choose the Courses drop-down box to go directly to different...more
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Over the years Tom Richey has taught several different history courses. His site shares many of his teaching materials. Choose the Courses drop-down box to go directly to different courses including AP History, AP European History, Modern World History, and more. Each course includes assignment information, primary sources, videos, and all information needed to set up a curriculum. Click on the PowerPoint selection to find a large variety of PowerPoint presentations for free download. Other links lead to review guides, video lectures, and flashcards. Be sure to check out this site when you have lots of time to explore the many resources included! If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): advanced placement (26), american revolution (82), colonial america (95), europe (75), greece (27), israel (14), medieval (31), native americans (91), primary sources (117), renaissance (32), romans (33)
In the Classroom
Tom Richey has put together an excellent resource for any secondary level history teacher. Take advantage of the many free materials to supplement your current curriculum. Share a link to videos and review information on your class web page for student use at home or view together on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Be sure to share with students as they prepare for AP exams.
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Galaxy Zoo - Zooniverse
Grades
8 to 12
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Help Hubble Scientists classify hundreds of thousands of images at Galaxy Zoo. Choose Classify to identify characteristics of galaxies, including shape, smoothness, and irregularities....more
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Help Hubble Scientists classify hundreds of thousands of images at Galaxy Zoo. Choose Classify to identify characteristics of galaxies, including shape, smoothness, and irregularities. Click on the Examples link for helpful illustrations when categorizing images. Create a Zooniverse account to enter the Navigator, offering additional tools for gathering and comparing data about galaxies.
tag(s): classification (22), space (213), stars (66), telescopes (9)
In the Classroom
Display Galaxy Zoo on an interactive whiteboard or projector and work together to compare and classify different images of galaxies. Be sure to create a Zooniverse account and save your classification choices. Use the data provided in the Navigator to further explore the data supplied. Have students create a simple infographic displaying different characteristics of galaxies using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here. Even if you aren't studying galaxies, this site provides many opportunities for teaching how to classify and compare information.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Re-Mission 2: Fight Cancer and Win! - Hope Lab
Grades
5 to 12
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Re-Mission 2 offers six interactives that teach about cancer-fighting treatments. These were designed to encourage young cancer patients to stick with life-saving treatments. The interactives...more
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Re-Mission 2 offers six interactives that teach about cancer-fighting treatments. These were designed to encourage young cancer patients to stick with life-saving treatments. The interactives offer all players a chance to learn more about this deadly disease. Choose Nano-Bot's Revenge as you target treatments on a growing tumor or become a stem cell defender fighting off deadly bacteria. Beat five levels in each activity to unlock Special Ops with new visuals and scenarios for fighting cancer.
tag(s): difficult conversations (58), diseases (66), medicine (55), mental health (34)
In the Classroom
Introduce these activities on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Allow students to explore and play on their own. Challenge students to create a story with cancer as the monster and one of the therapies they learned about as a cartoon figure hero. Then have students create an online or printed comic using one of the tools and ideas included in this collection. Re-Mission 2 would be especially useful if your students know someone dealing with cancer. It will help them understand what cancer is and some of the different treatments. It may also give them hope that the cancer can be treatable. Share these games with your school's counselors as an excellent tool for use with students facing cancer treatments either for themselves, a relative, or a friend.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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AppInventor - Learn to Build Android Apps - David Wolber, Univ of San Francisco's Democratize Computing Lab
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
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Create your own Android app using Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech video with this easy to follow tutorial. The Course In a Box includes several modules taking ...more
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Create your own Android app using Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech video with this easy to follow tutorial. The Course In a Box includes several modules taking you step by step through the app building process. Videos and practice exercises guide you through the app creation process while building up in complexity. Final lessons teach skills such as apps that communicate with the web and apps with user-generated data. Registration allows you to save your work. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos on this site may not be viewable.
In the Classroom
This site is perfect for use with any computer coding course. AppInventor has many tips and guidance for the classroom. Materials target students from middle school and higher. Work together as a class or assign as a self-paced activity. Share with students interested in learning computer coding as an excellent resource. If your school has an after-school computer club, use these training modules to encourage interested students to practice on their own. Once students get the hang of beginning programming tips, encourage them to make apps for other courses such as videos explaining photosynthesis, book readings from authors, or different genres of music and art.Edge Features:
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Zearn - zearn.org
Grades
K to 5
3 Favorites
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Zearn Math is a complete math program that provides Common Core aligned math lessons, personalized to individual learners, and based on Eureka Math / Engage New York. Lessons focus...more
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Zearn Math is a complete math program that provides Common Core aligned math lessons, personalized to individual learners, and based on Eureka Math / Engage New York. Lessons focus on three critical components: deep understanding, fluency, and problem-solving. Self-paced lessons allow for mastery of concepts before unlocking lessons providing the next level. Math Chat lessons provide video instruction similar to a small group lesson. Lesson Labs include drag and drop activities followed by quiz questions. Zearn currently offers K-5 lessons. Test the student lessons and teacher resources for a whole module with NO sign up required. Create a class account and add students using an Excel sheet or manually input student names to receive custom reports on student progress.
tag(s): addition (128), classroom management (128), data (147), decimals (84), differentiation (84), division (98), fractions (159), geometric shapes (136), measurement (126), multiplication (122), numbers (119), operations (72), subtraction (109)
In the Classroom
Use Zearn on a projector or an interactive whiteboard to demonstrate specific concepts or use as weekly math centers for student practice. Zearn provides data to target instruction to specific students or concepts needing additional reinforcement. Since Zearn is a complete math program, with individualized lessons for students to work on, teachers can conduct small group instruction while others work independently. Zearn is perfect to use for gifted or advanced students, allowing them to work at their own pace. Be sure to put a link to Zearn on your class web page for students to use at home. Zearn does not support Android devices but will work on all other devices with a browser and Internet access.
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Plum Landing - WGBH Educational Foundation
Grades
1 to 3
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Join Plum, an alien video game designer from another planet, and explore the natural world through interactive games, videos, adventures, and real life activities. Live videos feature...more
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Join Plum, an alien video game designer from another planet, and explore the natural world through interactive games, videos, adventures, and real life activities. Live videos feature kids exploring different biomes and recording data for Plum. Before each game, learn about the environmental focus that will help you win the game. Ideas for exploring and investigating outside bring environmental concepts to your own community. Post images, thoughts, and ideas to share with Plum in the gallery. A parent section offers activities to do online and outside. The educator section provides curriculum for Afterschool programs, Clubs, or Camps. Lesson plans designed for after school enrichment, clubs, and camps give curriculum topics, standards, video links, conversation starters, and related activities.
tag(s): conservation (83), earth (185), earth day (60), environment (240), game based learning (171)
In the Classroom
Capture student interest in environmental science, zoology, conservation, and ecology with Plum and her human friends! Use this site in science as a way to introduce the study of the Earth, biomes, or food chains. Share the videos on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Add to computers for center time. Use Plum's adventures to inspire further adventures involving the students. Use videos as a multimedia resource to supplement the science textbook. Use the adventures to inspire either narrative or expository writing. During Earth Day, students can explore your school community. Explore other science topics and modify student learning by challenging them to create comics using a tool such as Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here, or a digital storytelling project with their own images, observations, and stories using Presentious, reviewed here. Presentious allows narrating and adding text to a picture. ENL/ESL and learning support students will find this site useful with reading support, video, and demonstrations. Have students research topics mentioned in the videos for deeper understanding. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, replace pen and paper by having students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Seesaw, reviewed here. Share research and stories with other classes in your school, students' families, and on your class website or wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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StackExchange - English Language & Usage - StackExchange
Grades
8 to 12
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StackExchange is a question and answer community. StackExchange English & Usage will have an expert answer any question you might have about the English language. Ask anything - the...more
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StackExchange is a question and answer community. StackExchange English & Usage will have an expert answer any question you might have about the English language. Ask anything - the difference between "then" and "than", anything about idioms, a euphemism for poor performance, or when trying to remember a word you heard by describing what it means and the context in which it was used. View questions from the categories of newest, frequent, featured, and more. Look at tags and view questions from there. You don't need to be a member to read questions and their answers, but you do need to sign up to ask or answer a question.
tag(s): idioms (32), multilingual (66), vocabulary (237)
In the Classroom
Explore this site with students using an interactive whiteboard or projector. Sometimes students ask a question that stumps you. Use StackExchange English & Usage to get the answer. There are times when we know the approximate meaning of a word we want to use but not the word. That is when this tool will come in handy. ESL/ELL students will find this site helpful when it comes to understanding the idiosyncrasies of the English language. Put a link to this site on your class website for students and parents to use. Share with other staff members and teachers on your campus.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Instructables - Project Based Engineering for Kids - Autodesk, Inc.
Grades
K to 8
5 Favorites
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Discover a collection of problem-based learning engineering lessons for building models in the areas of physics and structural and mechanical engineering. For each topic, a video with...more
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Discover a collection of problem-based learning engineering lessons for building models in the areas of physics and structural and mechanical engineering. For each topic, a video with step by step construction directions accompanies a necessary list of materials. Create your project, and let the explorations begin. Explore ideas given for basic explanations or ideas to test for some of the buildable models. Create a collection, share, or add some ideas for activities. Topic ideas include slingshot rockets, rubber band helicopters, extending grabber, simple pneumatic machine, cork shooter, catapults, slingshot cars, truss bridges, simple sail car, marble roller coaster, gliding car, tower tornado, and crash test cars, among others. Share this awesome find on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, or email. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
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tag(s): engineering (119), makerspace (41), Problem Based Learning (13)
In the Classroom
Bring out the "inner engineer" in each of your students! During physical science units, visit this collection to get directions for students to build simple models to supplement content. You might want to visit the accompanying site How to Teach Project Based Engineering to Kids before getting started. Students can work in small groups to create a project. Different groups can demonstrate different laws of physics. Add this to your class website as a do-at-home project to encourage exploration at home. During language arts when focusing on using concise, clear, language, listen to the directions and use as a model. Enhance learning by having students write the scripts for creating other models using Google Docs or Microsoft Word. Using these online documents affords many benefits, including the ability to add comments, highlight information, and add links to online information. Extend learning by having students create a multimedia presentation featuring the directions and construction of the student model using Google Drawings, reviewed here. With Google Drawings, students can annotate, narrate, and add related links to an image. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here. In gifted and talented classes or pull out programs, consider for a beginning of a deeper understanding of the concepts. Move forward with virtual field trips to see the "real" machines at work. Find ideas for after school clubs, camps, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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