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Find the Data - FindTheBest.com
Grades
4 to 12
5 Favorites
0 Comments
Find interesting facts and comparisons to almost anything with this site, perfect for trivia fans everywhere! Using data from public records, manufacturer websites, and public records,...more
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Find interesting facts and comparisons to almost anything with this site, perfect for trivia fans everywhere! Using data from public records, manufacturer websites, and public records, you can view and sort information to meet your needs. Choose from main topics including economics, education, government, and more. Choose a subcategory. Refine and sort searches using filters included with each category. Change results to sort by desired results. For example, choose job salaries then sort by job title, total employment, average annual salary, or mean hourly pay. Site registration is available but not necessary.
tag(s): countries (77), data (148), ecology (135), politics (100), sports (97), transportation (41), trivia (18)
In the Classroom
Find and compare data for almost anything your class needs! Compare salaries or life spans between countries. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here). Find and compare economic data for your state, look for the biggest meteor to hit the earth, or find the earliest recorded sighting of a meteor. Share with students to use when completing research projects. Have students share the information by creating a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Bookmark this site to use to find data or interesting facts at anytime.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Center for Civic Education - Center for Civic Education
Grades
5 to 12
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The Center for Civic Education offers this site loaded with information and resources that support the democratic process. Choose the resources tab to take advantage of many lesson...more
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The Center for Civic Education offers this site loaded with information and resources that support the democratic process. Choose the resources tab to take advantage of many lesson plans for all grade levels on topics such as President's Day, voting, Women's History Month, and many more. Choose the More Lesson Plans link to see a list of all lessons sorted by grade levels from K-12. Another interesting portion of the site is found at the media tab. Choose from video or photo galleries or the 60 Second Civics option. 60 Second Civics is a daily podcast accompanied with a short question. Previous podcasts are archived for access at your convenience. Subscribe with iTunes or Podcast Alley or visit the page to listen.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): branches of government (48), civil rights (120), constitution (82), democracy (12), elections (76), electoral college (16), lincoln (86), martin luther king (38), presidents (130), sept11 (21), washington (36)
In the Classroom
Share a link to the podcasts via your web page or blog. Have students answer the daily question then respond with a short journal entry or with comments on your webpage. Use lesson resources to supplement your current curriculum or commemorate events such as 9/11, MLK Day, Presidents Day, or Constitution Day. View videos on your interactive whiteboard (or projector). Assign videos to groups of students to view then report to the class. Rather than a traditional report, challenge cooperative learning groups to collaborate on a topic found on the site using Titanpad reviewed here to share ideas and information.
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YouTube Time Machine - Justin Johnson and Delbert Shoopman III
Grades
3 to 12
6 Favorites
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Travel back in time via this video site. Slide the bar to any year from 1860 to the present. Choose a year and view a random video from that time. ...more
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Travel back in time via this video site. Slide the bar to any year from 1860 to the present. Choose a year and view a random video from that time. (Yes, we know there isn't video from 1860, but this features a YouTube video of the first sound ever recorded in 1860.) The information bar to the right of the video screen tells how many videos are available for that year and includes filters to include or exclude topics such as commercials, sports, movies, and music. Click the icon to move to a different video from the same year. Use the search bar at the top of each page to search for any topic to find videos available on the site. The one down side to the site is that videos are displayed randomly when choosing a year. It would be nice to have a complete list of all video titles available. Although the site uses Flash, there is a downloadable app available for viewing on mobile devices. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your school blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable. You could always view the videos at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid reviewed here to download the videos from YouTube.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 1800s (47), 1900s (36), 20th century (53), decades (14), timelines (64), video (273)
In the Classroom
History teachers will love using this site to give a perspective of time periods taught in class. Apply filters to limit the videos included. For example, turn off everything except current events if you are looking for news from a specific year. Share this site with students and have them explore videos available for a given time period. Use media to build a broader sense of what the time period was like. Ask student groups to watch enough that they can hypothesize a general description of what was important to people at the time, based on advertisements, news, and more. Have them keep a list of the things they observe and questions they would like to ask if they could talk to someone from that time period. Challenge students to create a newspaper article from their "era" using the Newspaper Clipping Generator. Share this site with students and challenge them to use a site such as TimeRime reviewed here to create an interactive timeline of historic events or people.
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Cuban Missile Crisis Interactive - Teaching America History
Grades
8 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
How would you handle the Cuban Missile Crisis? This site puts you in the role of President Kennedy deciding among several options for responding to the presence of Soviet missiles ...more
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How would you handle the Cuban Missile Crisis? This site puts you in the role of President Kennedy deciding among several options for responding to the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Click on the names of individual advisers and read the opinions of Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and Kennedy's brother Bobby. Study the strengths and weaknesses of five different options. Now choose the "best" option.
In the Classroom
This site is so perfect for the interactive whiteboard (or projector) you will feel you must take time to use it. Use this presentation as a "stop and check for understanding" lesson within the larger discussion of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the 1960s, or the Cold War. On an interactive whiteboard or projector, the whole class can participate. Additionally, the site might be available on a classroom computer for those who need further reinforcement or for students who are ready to challenge themselves to move to the next lesson.
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Climate Changing - London Science Museum
Grades
6 to 12
10 Favorites
0 Comments
Find a great set of resources including videos about climate change, potential problems, and mitigation. The site is organized like a concept map into three distinct areas: Exploring...more
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Find a great set of resources including videos about climate change, potential problems, and mitigation. The site is organized like a concept map into three distinct areas: Exploring Earth's Climate, Exploring What Might Happen, and Exploring Our Future Choices. Click on a subtopic to view the video. Videos include subtitles and have related questions and answers along the side of the page.
tag(s): climate (93), climate change (66), fossil fuels (18)
In the Classroom
Use as a great introduction into Climate Change and its effects. Use as a resource for students to obtain information as well as other sources to find bias, peer reviewed material, and general consensus. Be sure to place this link on your list of resources or on your site, wiki, or blog for ease of use. Create a debate about the science and differing viewpoints to identify facts from opinion. Create a public service announcement to address climate change and simple steps everyone can take to make a difference locally.
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High School Journalism Initiative - Reynolds Journalism Institute
Grades
8 to 12
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The High School Journalism Initiative is a large site dedicated to high school journalists, teachers, and mentors. Choose from several different options such as news literacy, games,...more
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The High School Journalism Initiative is a large site dedicated to high school journalists, teachers, and mentors. Choose from several different options such as news literacy, games, students, teachers, and more. You can view stories by teens, read school papers, find local journalism organizations, research colleges with journalism majors, and more. You can also find a large bank of lesson plans along with teaching tips, information on starting school newspapers, and links to featured school papers. Search the lesson archive to find lessons sorted by topic such as bias, ethics, or interviewing.
tag(s): editing (66), journalism (52), media literacy (58), news (262), newspapers (95)
In the Classroom
This is a must-bookmark site for any high school journalism or English teacher and even as teacher background for Newspaper units at any level. Share resources with students. Download and use lesson plans. Assign groups of students different articles to read and present to the class. The News Literacy resources and feeds are also useful for social studies classes looking at the media and bias as they stay up to date with current events. Challenge your students to go past PowerPoint and make an online presentation using Animoto (reviewed here) or another reviewed presentation tool from the TeachersFirst Edge to share their findings.
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Elementary Test Prep Center - Social Studies - Studyzone.org
Grades
3 to 5
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This Elementary Test Prep Center for Social Studies website gives information to help students, teachers, and parents gain more information and preparation for specifically the New...more
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This Elementary Test Prep Center for Social Studies website gives information to help students, teachers, and parents gain more information and preparation for specifically the New York Standardized tests. The information given is applicable to any standardized test. Find grade level resources for 3, 4, and 5 in the areas of lessons, practice, interactive games, teacher resources, and literature for every standard given. Tips for parents include ideas to help families better prepare their children for standardized testing.
tag(s): test prep (96)
In the Classroom
Help your students gain confidence in standardized test taking. Many resources by grade level offer activities in lessons, practice, interactive games, literature, and teacher resource. Your students will feel better prepared with practice tests. Use lessons on your interactive whiteboard to share with the whole group. Use practice activities and interactive games for center time. Post this site on your class website and use for remediation, extra practice, or enrichment. Set goals for your students to finish certain activities. The lessons and practice allow students to progress at their own speed, offering many opportunities for differentiation. You may want to have students record in a daily task journal, reflecting upon the activities they accomplished and the reasons for the activities. Explore literature and resources to widen your teaching repertoire.
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KidzVuz - Rebecca Levey and Nancy Freidman
Grades
K to 7
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Finally, safe video sharing of "reviews" by kids age 7-12! Kids review items from books to Halloween costumes, movies, or restaurants. See all the categories across the menu bar. to...more
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Finally, safe video sharing of "reviews" by kids age 7-12! Kids review items from books to Halloween costumes, movies, or restaurants. See all the categories across the menu bar. to Upload your own videos then share on this site or view and comment on videos already posted. The videos themselves are "hosted" at YouTube, but they show here so you do not ever need to open YouTube! Search the site by using any keyword or by categories including: tech, food, toys and games, and more. Videos are all under 3 minutes in length. Upload using one of several methods: use the record button on the site and your webcam for the easiest method. Or record a video, save to your computer, then upload following the directions on the site. Every single video, comment and written review receives approval by a member of the KidzVuz team before being posted to the site. Sign up isn't required to view videos; however, it is necessary to post or comment. Parents must approve sign-up information. (If your school blocks YouTube, you may not be able to open this site at school. Test first.)
tag(s): social networking (115), video (273)
In the Classroom
Choose reviews from the site to watch together as a class before beginning a persuasive writing project or before students write about things that interest them. Share the video(s) on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Discuss effective and less effective word choices. Allow students to upload a video instead of completing a written assignment after pre-determining rubrics for assessment. (Be sure to get parental permission first, of course). Have students view videos and choose one that is opposite to their opinion. Write or upload their own thoughts on the same subject. This would be a fun way for students to complete and share short book reports, or have students view videos already on the site to help choose new books for personal reading. This site is also an effective way to teach netiquette and internet safety: how to comment politely, how to maintain a profile and activity as you want others to know you, etc.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Products can be shared by URL
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Windfall - Persuasive Games, LLC
Grades
5 to 12
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Try this strategy activity for building wind farms and creating profitable, clean energy. Learn about clean energy while having fun. Research locations for great wind conditions and...more
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Try this strategy activity for building wind farms and creating profitable, clean energy. Learn about clean energy while having fun. Research locations for great wind conditions and find suitable places near residential areas by looking at land values and political consequences. As turbines are built, they are connected to the energy grid where energy can be sold for renewable energy credits. There are three levels to the game. (Each level uses a different region.) See the tutorial for extra help.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): electricity (90), energy (203), natural resources (60)
In the Classroom
Try this challenge through the link on the site or embed the game in a class wiki. As part of a unit on the environment or energy, use this activity to discuss what needs to be considered for any energy creation and specifically for wind energy. Discuss what was learned by the game and whether these facts are also true for other energy sources. Then, compare and contrast the costs and issues with each of these different energy sources. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here) to visualize the comparisons.
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Inhabitat - Inhabitat, LLC
Grades
7 to 12
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Find technological improvements and enhancements that make a difference in today's rapidly changing world. This site's mission statement is "Good design is green design." Search articles...more
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Find technological improvements and enhancements that make a difference in today's rapidly changing world. This site's mission statement is "Good design is green design." Search articles about improvements in architecture, interiors, energy, technology, transportation, fashion, art, and kids. Read blog posts about advancements in each of the categories. Below the posts are related topics of additional interest. This site appears to be updated often, so be sure to check back.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): ecology (135), environment (319), inventors and inventions (95), persuasive writing (56), resources (112)
In the Classroom
When discussing environmental topics, be sure to share this link on your class website or on a class computer for students to access information about great technological breakthroughs. Use when students are researching technological advancements of their choice. Challenge individual students or cooperative learning groups to read one of the articles and report their findings to the class, making connections to some of the topics you study. Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Easel.ly, reviewed here or Venngage reviewed here. If you teach about advertising techniques inventions, challenge your students to select a "product" from this site to create a new advertisement using a specific technique. The innovative ideas will spark their interest! Use articles from this site for reading comprehension selections that will interest even the most reluctant readers. The articles are also useful prompts for persuasive writing or debates.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Carbon Footprint Calculator - Carbon Footprint Ltd.
Grades
5 to 12
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Answer the questions on each of the tabs to determine the amount of carbon dioxide you are responsible for emitting by the products you choose and your lifestyle. You are ...more
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Answer the questions on each of the tabs to determine the amount of carbon dioxide you are responsible for emitting by the products you choose and your lifestyle. You are given the options to measure/calculate using money spent or gallons (or other form of measurement). This calculators is quite detailed.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): carbon dioxide (16), carbon footprint (11), climate change (66)
In the Classroom
Have each student use the calculator to determine their total. Compare students in the class and the types of activities that cause a greater amount. Ask questions as to why some activities raise the carbon footprint more than others. Research the reasons for a better understanding of what causes a carbon footprint. Discuss ways that families could take action to reduce their carbon footprint. Most students are unfamiliar with carbon offsets. Discuss what these are and whether they are important or needed. Create a campaign or contest to reduce the carbon footprint of your community and make a change for the future. Have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site (or things that will increase your footprint) using a tool such as Wordle (reviewed here), Tagxedo (reviewed here), or WordItOut (reviewed here). Create infographics using the class footprint stats and a simple infographic tool such as Easel.ly (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Electing the President - How Do You Make Up Your Mind? - History News Network
Grades
5 to 8
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History News Network offers this lesson plan challenging students to analyze election issues, compare and contrast opinions, and think about the process of choosing a president. Download...more
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History News Network offers this lesson plan challenging students to analyze election issues, compare and contrast opinions, and think about the process of choosing a president. Download the lesson in PowerPoint format using the link provided, as well as the accompanying worksheet for student use. The worksheet is in Word format. Modify it as necessary to meet your own needs. If you are unable to download the PowerPoint, find procedures and information for teaching on the lesson's main page. That should provide enough information for planning and presenting the lesson. Common Core standards are included.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): elections (76), electoral college (16), presidents (130)
In the Classroom
Select components of the lesson as a supplement to your current election unit. Print the worksheet for students to use to identify topics that are important to them. Use information from this lesson to study and consider the influence of Social Media on elections, Have students use Screenr (reviewed here) to make narrated recordings about the use of social media, political advertisements, or any other election topic after completing the lesson on this site.
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Koshland Science Museum Challenges - Koshland Museum of Science
Grades
4 to 12
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Empower your students to get involved and solve some of the world's pressing problems. Join Koshland's Museum of Science Challenges. Join in by learning new skills, thinking critically,...more
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Empower your students to get involved and solve some of the world's pressing problems. Join Koshland's Museum of Science Challenges. Join in by learning new skills, thinking critically, and solving a problem. Challenges include background information. Look at the past challenges and discover the critical thinking and unique problem solving that won. Peek into future challenges to lead your students in new directions. Find resources, lesson plans, activities, virtual field trips, and web quests. Share your challenges and solutions on Facebook.
tag(s): brain (71), climate change (66), critical thinking (110), diseases (68), dna (68), energy (203), light (49), pollution (67), problem solving (272), space (215), water (130)
In the Classroom
In your classroom, offer challenges first as a problem based learning situation. Have students discover the background information and thought processes involved. Using these skills, apply to your own community. Start challenges at your school, community, state, or country level. Create a challenges competition at your school. Explore the teacher resources that apply to your classes.
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25 Trends - 25Trends
Grades
4 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This site provides "Twitter analytics for the masses." Enter a hashtag to find the conversations. This site finds the conversations, analyzes them, then provides the data with related...more
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This site provides "Twitter analytics for the masses." Enter a hashtag to find the conversations. This site finds the conversations, analyzes them, then provides the data with related buzzwords and information in a visually appealing way. This site updates information every 10 minutes. Please preview/pretest a few minutes before you share with students or children. Our editors noticed that some keywords pull up vulgar language. (We searched "school.")
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): twitter (51)
In the Classroom
Use current trending topics (such as elections or other current events from around the world). Revisit the hashtag or trending topic periodically to see the changes in the topic, including the buzzwords that change over time. Look at news reports or causes for the change in the trend. Twitter trends could be useful in any subject area but especially useful for current events, civics, health, and economics. New to Twitter and hashtags? Find information to help you here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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3D Photo Cube - Hame
Grades
K to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Create a digital photo cube with MySpace 3D photoCube. Upload your favorite photos or images and add special digital effects. Make your photo cube glow, disappear, or control how ...more
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Create a digital photo cube with MySpace 3D photoCube. Upload your favorite photos or images and add special digital effects. Make your photo cube glow, disappear, or control how it spins. Copy the html code into your MySpace, blog, or website.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creativity (119), images (277), photography (162)
In the Classroom
This tool is obviously too complicated for your elementary students to use independently. However, it could be used as a whole group/teacher led activity with any grade level. Visualize photo cubes with pictures of special class events, field trips, or just the usual day! Change the cube daily, to feature different activities, subjects, or kids. Bring into subject area content and add public domain images to add visual information for the content you are studying. For vocabulary words, add images to explain. Use photo cubes to show the main idea of historical events, literature, or even math concepts. Make a photo cube with related or unrelated images and use as a writing prompt. Use photo cubes for sequencing practice. Have fun with extra curricular clubs and highlighting events. Begin your school news show featuring the cube from different places in your school during the day. Have older students create their own photo cubes to accompany poetry in an online literary magazine (using Creative Commons or their own images). Art students can create a cube with images of their own work as an opener to a portfolio web site. Share this tool as an option for a "visual aid" during speech units pr to present images as art of a research report. Embed cubes on your class wiki to support conepts such as environmental concerns or local history. Challenge gifted students to create visual "puzzles" where viewers must guess the word or concept that the images have in common. Teach creative flexibility!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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AllSides - John Gable
Grades
4 to 12
10 Favorites
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Look at political, national and international issues from all sides: left, right, and center. Colored banners identify the perspective. Current content focuses on political discussions,...more
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Look at political, national and international issues from all sides: left, right, and center. Colored banners identify the perspective. Current content focuses on political discussions, but as the site evolves the plan is to include other topics such as health care, finances, and parenting. Find other specific topics by choosing the issues tab, then choosing from keywords such as energy, taxes, or violence in America. Choose from different tabs to view issues, bias, and the site's blog. Especially interesting is the bias section. Users rate their own bias on several issues to determine their bias toward left, center, or right. Email signup is available to become involved with the site but isn't necessary to access all of the articles and content.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): elections (76), media literacy (58), politics (100)
In the Classroom
This is an excellent site to easily find topics presented from various points of view. Use articles with students to demonstrate point of view in writing, bias in media, or for students to use as points for debates. Use an online tool such as Interactive Three Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to create a visual comparison of different points of view.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Promethean Planet - Promethean, Inc
Grades
K to 12
4 Favorites
1 Comments
Looking for resources to use on your interactive whiteboard? If so, this site is a tremendous resource for all whiteboard users, not just those with a Promethean Board. View, search,...more
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Looking for resources to use on your interactive whiteboard? If so, this site is a tremendous resource for all whiteboard users, not just those with a Promethean Board. View, search, and download from over 60,000 resources in all subject areas and grade levels. Use the Resources tab to search by state standard, content, grade level, or resource type. Register on the site to enable download ability as well as many other features such as saving favorites, reviewing resources, asking questions on the technical forum, following specific users, and uploading your own resources. Each resource includes a short description, grade level recommendation, file format, and size. Another great feature is the slide show included with each download for previewing different pages used on each chart.
tag(s): iwb (31), numbers (199), preK (290), resources (112)
In the Classroom
Before you try any of these activities, think about how you can make the lesson more student-centered. Find ideas in TeachersFirst's Hands off, Vanna! Giving Students Control of Interactive Whiteboard Learning . Browse the site for interactive whiteboard resources to download for classroom use. Bookmark and save favorites for later use. Download any resource, then tweak it to your individual needs. Have questions about creating Promethean Flipcharts? Post your question on the technical board to receive helpful replies. If you have a SmartBoard, be sure to check out the SmartBoard lessons and resources page located here. You will need to download the ActivInspire software (free).Comments
This is the go-to site for Promethean flipchart downloads. Most files were created by teachers. The only downside is that the files are hit-or-miss. There are many gems, but you might have to browse some not-so-great files to find them.Tim, , Grades: 0 - 6
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National Mock Election - National Student/Parent Mock Election
Grades
3 to 12
4 Favorites
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The My Voice National Student Mock Election is facilitating comprehensive online voting through a registration process. They are also providing curriculum resources for elementary through...more
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The My Voice National Student Mock Election is facilitating comprehensive online voting through a registration process. They are also providing curriculum resources for elementary through high school grade levels. Registration is optional. It provides access to online voting beginning in October (exact date will change yearly). Choose the curriculum link to find lesson plans with assessments, collaborative learning options, and handouts. Also click the Curriculum Resources link and then Educational Resources to find interactives, links to teacher resources, and current campaign advertisements.
tag(s): civil rights (120), constitution (82), elections (76)
In the Classroom
Use this website to enlighten your students about the election process. The website can be used anytime (not just during the election season). Use the open-ended questions provided as writing prompts for students to write in their journals or class blog. Have students create online posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) to display responses to prompts. Generate ideas for a related research project--or simply have students create a quick "concept collection" of what they learn about elections by making word clouds using Word It Out reviewed here.
This resource requires Adobe Flash and PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Do Lectures - Talks That Inspire Action - The Chicken Shed
Grades
6 to 12
4 Favorites
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Do Lectures are like TED Talk videos, inspiring talks from people who are changing the world. Choose to view talks about Big Ideas, Challenging Talks, Funny Talks, Informative Talks,...more
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Do Lectures are like TED Talk videos, inspiring talks from people who are changing the world. Choose to view talks about Big Ideas, Challenging Talks, Funny Talks, Informative Talks, Inspiring Talks, and Soulful Talks. Some examples of titles are Why Going Down Mountains is Harder than Going Up and Why is Beauty Such an Important Word? Search by topic (business, creativity, environment, food, sport, technology, or well-being) or by speaker. Learn more about lecturers by clicking the link to their bio, or find similar videos with the links included with each talk. Share videos easily on social networking sites with buttons included with each talk, or use the embed code to embed talks into your blog or website. Even more simply, copy/paste the url for the video to share it.
tag(s): business (58), careers (134), creativity (119), debate (44), environment (319), nutrition (155), psychology (64), sociology (22), video (273)
In the Classroom
Do Lectures are a great place to find inspiration and new ideas for your classroom. Many of the videos connect today's real world with curriculum topics, even in entrepreneurship, health, or family and consumer science classes. Use Do Lecture videos as the perfect supplement or launching point for units of study in your classroom. Find a video that supports the topics happening in your classroom. Share on your website for student viewing. Use on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) for a whole class discussion. Stop the video at various points to discuss or debate ideas included. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create videos in response to videos viewed on Do Lectures or their own topic. Share the videos on a site such as TeacherTube reviewed here. Teachers of gifted could plan an entire unit of study around one video or have students select one to use as the launch point for an independent project.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Optimist World - Optimistworld.com
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
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This site offers many news articles, all positive and upbeat. In addition to current news stories, you will also find articles about charities, organizations that demonstrate social...more
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This site offers many news articles, all positive and upbeat. In addition to current news stories, you will also find articles about charities, organizations that demonstrate social responsibility, sustainable travel, and inspirational events. The reading level is reasonable for high school students. You can comment on any articles you read and read the comments of others. Articles are available in printable form as well as online. The site requires a free and easy registration; why not do a registration for your entire class instead of individual students. A link to "Optimist TV" adds a video component to the news.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): environment (319), media literacy (58), news (262), sustainability (19)
In the Classroom
Use this tool for you and your students to find articles related to science, social studies, and cultural topics you are studying. Share the TV clips on your interactive whiteboard or projector, for some "happy news" to share with your students. To teach about the subtleties of "spin," have students select, read, and compare two articles on the same subject (possibly one with a more neutral or negative spin?). What makes the article positive? Have small groups of students take turns presenting weekly news. Use articles as practice for finding main idea and other comprehension skills. Create a selection of stories as writing prompts for persuasive writing pieces. Collect news sources related to an upcoming election to follow in a civics/government class. Have students create an online presentation on their selected news topics from categories you've assigned for your classroom news. Use one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.
This resource requires Adobe Flash.
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