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Tagboard - Tagboard.com
Grades
7 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Use this free tool to search a specific hashtag on all Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram posts using that hashtag. (A hashtag is simply a way of marking the general topic ...more
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Use this free tool to search a specific hashtag on all Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram posts using that hashtag. (A hashtag is simply a way of marking the general topic or audience for a tweet or Facebook update.) See all information in one place and then create a tagboard with that hashtag name. Send the link to the tagboard to others for them to follow. Refresh your tagboard to see all new Tweets and Posts. New to Twitter? Read more about Twitter at TeachersFirst's Twitter for Teachers page.
tag(s): microblogging (41)
In the Classroom
Use this tool to follow any political event such as The State of the Union address, elections, and other major events. Get a perspective of people in the country or the World by identifying the different responses and viewpoints from those in other locations. Compare viewpoints with those of the formal media. Follow any major news event or items related to the event (reactions to the Super Bowl commercials?) Follow major achievements, world events, and more. Use on an Interactive whiteboard or projector to introduce a class topic or follow current events. Have students submit a record of tweets that show their learning over time. Students can create an Infographic or other multimedia presentation about reflections and information learned from the Tagboard. Have students make a mash-up using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge Tools reviewed here. For your own professional learning, create a Tagboard to follow one of the many educational Twitter chat hashtags listed here.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
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be shared by URL
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Global Closet Calculator - National Geographic Education
Grades
2 to 10
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Take a tour of your closet to find out where your clothes come from. Discover the concept of interdependence and the extent of our global footprints. Research where raw materials ...more
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Take a tour of your closet to find out where your clothes come from. Discover the concept of interdependence and the extent of our global footprints. Research where raw materials come from and how clothes are made. Consider the implications of manufacturing and transportation to get them to your closet. This interactive includes informative videos complete with transcript. You can save your place within the interactive by "getting a code" that you re-enter on return.
tag(s): natural resources (60), resources (112)
In the Classroom
When discussing the Food and Fiber system (materials used to produce food and the many products we use daily), use this site to gather initial information of where their items come from. As products are no longer made closer to our actual lives, many students are disconnected from the materials and processes used to create everyday products and are unaware of their global footprint. Students can continue research by investigating other items used daily to determine what they are made from, where they are manufactured, etc. Continue this process with the foods that they eat to show how many popular foods are very removed from the whole foods that we should be eating. In geography classes, have students use a reviewed geo/mapping tool from the TeachersFirst Edge to map the path across the globe from raw materials to finished products, just to make one pair of jeans. Discuss the role of natural resources and economics in determining this path.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Patchwork Nation - Jefferson Institute
Grades
9 to 12
1 Favorites
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Is the US a melting pot? A tossed salad? The Jefferson Institute suggests it is a "Patchwork Nation." This site was originally developed to chronicle the 2008 US Presidential election,...more
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Is the US a melting pot? A tossed salad? The Jefferson Institute suggests it is a "Patchwork Nation." This site was originally developed to chronicle the 2008 US Presidential election, but has been maintained and updated since that time. It presents the vast diversity of the United States using demographic data and categorizing communities into one of a dozen community types. With names like "Campus and Careers," "Military Bastions," and "Evangelical Epicenters" each community type represents an important subset of what makes up the American Experience. This site drills down much deeper than the typical red state/blue state dichotomy and challenges us to think about what characteristics work to define US citizens.
tag(s): branches of government (50), census (19), communities (36), democracy (13), demographics (19), politics (100)
In the Classroom
This site could be useful in a variety of classroom settings. A sociology class might grapple with the generalizations inherent in each of the 12 community types. What does it mean to be a "Tractor Country" community? The associated charts and demographics can help prove or disprove those theories. A government class might consider the impact of these different community types all existing within one Congressional district. How might that legislator best represent those communities at the State level or the Federal level? An economics class might speculate on the distribution of wealth in the US. What factors influence that distribution? A US History class could speculate about how these different communities have come to be. What impact has immigration had? Industrialization? Geography? Are there regional differences that could stem from the Civil War? And a statistics class would find plenty of raw data to play around with. In a "Patchwork Nation," what does it mean to be "average"?
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Digital Docs in a Box - William & Mary, University of Kentucky, Library of Congress
Grades
5 to 12
1 Favorites
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Digital Docs in a Box presents packages of digital images and documents in "boxes" by category for use by students and teachers in creating their own historical documentary projects....more
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Digital Docs in a Box presents packages of digital images and documents in "boxes" by category for use by students and teachers in creating their own historical documentary projects. This still-growing archive includes kits related to Westward Expansion, Women's Suffrage, Immigration, Transportation, and Presidential Inaugurations, for example. Each kit contains sets of primary source documents, digital images, and (where possible) audio and visual clips, along with brief introductory information to help set the context for the archive. Also included is a very comprehensive introduction to creating documentaries in the classroom, with hints, templates, assessments, and timelines. This truly is a one-stop shop for beginning an educational documentary project.
tag(s): chinese (51), civil rights (123), great depression (25), immigration (58), industrial revolution (25), native americans (78), presidents (132), transportation (41), westward expansion (29), womens suffrage (26)
In the Classroom
You may have thought about a unit in which students create their own documentaries, but then felt overwhelmed by all the logistical considerations. Digital Docs in a Box is the answer. While there is not an enormous archive, it is still growing, and there is plenty here to get started. Students don't have to track down their own images, worry about their formatting or copyright, or be distracted with those pursuits. Instead, they can focus on the real point of the project: to take historical information and images and use it to tell a story they themselves devise. The TeachersFirst Edge has dozens of reviewed digital storytelling tools for your students to create projects from these "raw materials." As a teacher, you can also focus on the same issues and not spend hours setting up the project, deciding how to assess students' success in executing it, or keeping students focused on the project goal. Once you've used the site a few times, you might be able to create your own Docs in a Box kits and expand the topics covered.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Zeeik - Compeprice LLC
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This tool creates collection boards for video resources and is a tool for knowledge seeking. Review and choose good videos to collect and curate on various boards. Share video resources...more
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This tool creates collection boards for video resources and is a tool for knowledge seeking. Review and choose good videos to collect and curate on various boards. Share video resources or whole boards with others. Click on a video to watch or hover over it and click on "Collect." You can also search Zeeik for specific items by using the search bar. Many of the videos are hosted on YouTube. View the videos within Zeeik to bypass the YouTube comments -- which may or may not be appropriate. This tool is still in Beta, and more features are planned. If your district blocks YouTube, some of the videos 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.
tag(s): search engines (65), video (275)
In the Classroom
Find how-to videos or videos on a curriculum topic in this tool. Create a Zeeik for your class to use to view videos selected by you for any topic and in any subject. In primary grades, create a Zeeik for students to access as a center and answer questions or complete a drawing about the topic. Create a class account for students to curate videos for the rest of the class to comment and rate them. Share your Zeeik with students and parents by placing the link on your web page. ESL/ELL teachers will like the ease of collecting videos to reinforce language skills.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Geokov - Geokov.com
Grades
5 to 12
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Use this free interactive mapping site to make additions to Google Maps, incorporating other data and maps with them. Add topographic maps and spatial or environmental data. This is...more
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Use this free interactive mapping site to make additions to Google Maps, incorporating other data and maps with them. Add topographic maps and spatial or environmental data. This is an easy tool for adding symbols and icons or for adding a drawing on a Google map. Find many of the simple tools along the top of the map. You can do something as simple as adding text labels or shading a region. Add data to the map using the tools below the map. Create a mashup of KML, GPX (easily imported from Garmin), WMS and GEORSS data sources. This video explains many of the features of Geokov. Please note this video is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then it may not be viewable. You could always view the video at home and bring it to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid reviewed here to download the video from YouTube.
tag(s): environment (321), landforms (46), landmarks (27), maps (293)
In the Classroom
Take a virtual field trip through the map maker. Explore landforms and other terrain features from Google Earth and topographic maps. Easily create maps for field trips, presentations, classroom activities and more. Create a shade relief topographic map of any region. Doing an environmental study of an area or region? Find the region in this tool first and add the necessary information for classroom discussion or presentation. Use one of the many TeachersFirst Presentation Tools to present information learned. Tie information from literature, stories, history, and other sources to add value and interest to the maps.
This resource requires Adobe Flash.
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Vision of Humanity - Institute for Economics and Peace
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
View interactive peace maps, reports, and news pertaining to peace around the world. A variety of qualitative and quantitative indicators are used to create a Global Peace Index. View...more
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View interactive peace maps, reports, and news pertaining to peace around the world. A variety of qualitative and quantitative indicators are used to create a Global Peace Index. View changes from 2008 to present. Choose various indicators to portray on the map and compare different countries. Click in the middle of the map on "About the GPI" (or other index you have opened) to read how it is calculated. Be sure to check out the Terrorism Index as well as a US Peace Index that compares each of the States in the United States. Hover over that States to view the actual rank. When the site introduces a new topic, that topic appears on the main page of this site. To get to the other topics, use the top tool bar.
In the Classroom
Use this tool to brainstorm questions about the various indicators shown on this site. What cultural, religious, and political forces affect each of the countries and their resultant scores? What factors can be changed in each of the countries to improve their scores? Debate various policy changes in your own or other countries. Explore possible changes the world can take in order to provide a better life for all citizens of the world. What are many of the differences that exist among the states in the United States? Consider adding this resource when students complete a study of an individual state or country.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Spigot - spigot.org
Grades
9 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This free tool is an aggregation site for news, research, information, and opinion about learning and technology. Hover over the titles to read an abstract or click to be taken ...more
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This free tool is an aggregation site for news, research, information, and opinion about learning and technology. Hover over the titles to read an abstract or click to be taken to the site. There are video clips, slideshows, articles, and more. Share easily with others through email, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media. Interested in a specific topic? Use the tags on the left to view an entire category of related information. The site operates "automatically" by following certain feeds and web news searches, so new items appear very often. Although the title is Spigot, it could seem like "Firehose"! The content seems appropriate for secondary classrooms, but you might want to preview just before you turn students loose to be sure.
tag(s): media literacy (60), news (265)
In the Classroom
Use these articles to discuss the future of education and the use of technology both in high school and higher education. As students are the most important stakeholders in education, many of these articles are relevant to them and their future. Students will especially be interested in the Practice and Alt. Culture sections of this site. Discuss current events in your classroom and ask students to investigate an angle on technology and/or education for a persuasive writing piece or debate. Students have incredible insight into their own learning and technology use. Keep this link bookmarked on your classroom computer or linked to your blog, wiki, or class page. Use examples from this site to look for bias or editorial slant as part of an information literacy unit. Select articles for experience with informational texts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Sheppard Software: Free Online Learning Games - Sheppard Software
Grades
K to 12
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Sheppard Software offers hundreds of online learning games for learners in a large variety of subjects. Topics include brain games, seasons, nutrition, and world geography. Search for...more
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Sheppard Software offers hundreds of online learning games for learners in a large variety of subjects. Topics include brain games, seasons, nutrition, and world geography. Search for specific topics or browse categories. Looking for a specific grade level range? Scroll down below the main icons to view recommended sections for different age ranges from preschool to adult. In addition to games, some categories include videos, timelines, and coloring activities.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): addition (239), alphabet (90), alphabetical order (19), animal homes (44), animals (290), capitalization (18), capitals (24), cells (104), colors (80), continents (49), counting (120), countries (78), decimals (132), dinosaurs (57), division (169), elements (37), endangered species (39), equations (153), estimation (46), fractions (236), geometric shapes (166), grammar (215), integers (41), landforms (46), life cycles (24), measurement (160), money (191), multiplication (222), number lines (23), number sense (94), numbers (201), oceans (154), order of operations (36), parts of speech (67), patterns (85), periodic table (52), place value (56), puzzles (208), states (163), subtraction (199), time (141), vocabulary (325), vocabulary development (125)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site to use as a resource for computer center games and activities throughout the year. Share curriculum-related resources on your interactive whiteboard or projector. This site could work well in a BYOD or 1:1 classroom. Share with parents as a resource to use at home or as a summer skills review and refresher.
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Google Hangout - Google
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Create a group video chat with anyone, anywhere! (A Google membership is required.) Choose Google members from your own contact list or invite others. See who is currently talking in...more
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Create a group video chat with anyone, anywhere! (A Google membership is required.) Choose Google members from your own contact list or invite others. See who is currently talking in the Hangout via a display of the name and the video of the person. Thumbnail videos of the others also in the Hangout appear along the bottom of the screen. Easily toggle between rear and front facing cameras, turning off video or microphone, or ending the Hangout. Broadcast a Hangout through your Circles in Google Plus. Use Hangouts for more than video calls. Hangouts are also a great way to hold a chat, embedding images and documents to share with others participating in the Hangout. Be sure to try the Hangouts mobile app, available for Android and iOS. Unlike the web version, the app currently does not show which of your contacts are online. The introduction video requires YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then it may not be viewable. You could always view the video at home and bring it to school "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid reviewed here to download the video from YouTube.
tag(s): chat (53), DAT device agnostic tool (170), video (275)
In the Classroom
Start a Hangout and invite others from your Circles or Google contacts. Connect whole classrooms across the country for book clubs. Connect experts such as authors and scientists to classrooms of children. Create connected learning experiences with other students, especially those in older grades. Connect world language classes to classes in other countries. Students interested in graphic design can connect with an expert or artist far away and share current work in a virtual critique. Connect students with mentors or older students for help with homework. Teachers can hold "office hours" for homework help and asking questions. Whole buildings can collaborate and share professional development with others in their own district and beyond! Be sure to connect with other educators on your own and enjoy the professional development that also exists within the Hangouts! Be sure to create Circles within Google Plus to meet any concerns with your administration regarding privacy.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
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
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Otter - Scurry Labs
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Otter is a website maker specifically designed for educators to make simple sites. Features allow for easy homework uploads. There is a class-specific classroom calendar creator, a...more
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Otter is a website maker specifically designed for educators to make simple sites. Features allow for easy homework uploads. There is a class-specific classroom calendar creator, a class announcement sender to email or text, and document storage. Register (with email) to begin creating your site. Add school information and upload a profile picture if desired. Use links to add classes to your site, homework, announcements, and more. Students may submit assignments via Twitter, Facebook, or email accounts.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): calendars (46), classroom management (148), homework (45)
In the Classroom
If your school does not provide such a space, Otter is perfect for teachers to create a simple class page for interaction with parents and accessibility by students. Manage your classroom with this tool. Use as a class hub to manage documents, photos, and files. Be sure to share your link so students and parents can access both in and out of the classroom. Use Otter in teacher ed programs to show future teachers how a website can enhance instruction.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
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 shared by URL
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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Talky - talky.io
Grades
7 to 12
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Talky is a chat and video sharing application that is easy to set up and use. Features include screen sharing, group video chat with up to six participants, and privacy ...more
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Talky is a chat and video sharing application that is easy to set up and use. Features include screen sharing, group video chat with up to six participants, and privacy setting options. Begin by naming your conversation. Be sure to allow access to your computer's camera and microphone when prompted. Share the link with participants to allow access to the meeting. Use links to lock the room to anyone without a password and to share your screen. Current settings only allow use of Talky with Chrome and Firefox. Screen sharing is available with Chrome only. Be sure to read the helpful information found at the bottom of the site for Chrome screen sharing settings. Best part of all... no membership or sign-up is necessary to use this tool.
tag(s): chat (53), microblogging (41)
In the Classroom
Use Talky to host tutoring for small groups of students from any computer! Share with students as a resource for collaborating on group projects from home. Use Talky to set up an online interview with authors located across the country, veterans who can discuss their personal experiences with war, or experts to discuss careers in their field. Also use this site to meet up with absent students as needed. If a parent can't make a conference, meet online using Talky to share student work, progress, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NicerTube - NicerTube.com
Grades
6 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Share YouTube videos in a nicer, "uncluttered" way with NicerTube. Convert the usual YouTube share page into an attractive, easy to view page. Choose your design option. Enter the url...more
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Share YouTube videos in a nicer, "uncluttered" way with NicerTube. Convert the usual YouTube share page into an attractive, easy to view page. Choose your design option. Enter the url for any video. Choose your background from available options such as a web page, solid color, or other design. Complete your design, copy the url, and share the link as you desire. For an example, see one we created here. If your district blocks YouTube, this tool may or may not work with your school filters. Test it with our sample before going to the work to make your own.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): video (275)
In the Classroom
Use NicerTube anytime you wish to share YouTube without all of the "clutter" or just spice up a presentation! This is great to use for your more easily distracted students! Share the link with your students for sharing their videos in presentations. Use your NicerTube created links within your classroom presentations to spice up video presentation at any time!Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Products can be shared by URL
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Tour Builder (Beta) - Google
Grades
5 to 12
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Put any story on the map using Tour Builder (by Google). A Gallery shares examples. You would be wise to preview the Gallery before sharing since these are created by ...more
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Put any story on the map using Tour Builder (by Google). A Gallery shares examples. You would be wise to preview the Gallery before sharing since these are created by the general public. To create a tour, choose locations, add text, images, and videos to create a story to share with the world. Add up to 25 items to each pinned location. Options include three different types of storylines. You can decide how others view your story/tour and how your story will progress. Linear tales move the story along a line. The hub option tells the story from a central location. You can disable lines completely so stories are not tied to a specific sequence or timeline. Finished stories default to private view. You may share privately with friends and family or make public for anyone to view. The Google Earth plugin and a Google account are required to use Tour Builder. Some of the introduction/explanation videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then 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.
tag(s): digital storytelling (154), maps (293), timelines (64)
In the Classroom
Create a simple tour to share (or find one in the gallery). Share the tour on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Create tours of events from history, famous battles, scientific discoveries, biographies, and much more. The possibilities are endless. Create a timeline of famous people or a hub of locations related to a topic such as toxic waste sites or habitats for a certain animal. Tour settings for Shakespeare plays or an author's life. Tour Van Gogh's painting sites or map landforms such as glaciers. Have students who have Google accounts build a Tour of important events in their lives (or use a teacher-controlled account). In world language classes, create cultural tours in your new language. Scroll through the gallery for ideas on how others have used Tour Builder. You may just find some neat tours to share in the gallery.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Requires download/installation of software
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Twitter Magnets - twittermagnets.com
Grades
3 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Have fun creating sentences or short messages (like tweets) using drag and drop words at Twitter Magnets! Twitter Magnets calls them poems, though the length limit is a real challenge...more
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Have fun creating sentences or short messages (like tweets) using drag and drop words at Twitter Magnets! Twitter Magnets calls them poems, though the length limit is a real challenge for poets! Choose from the words offered. Drag and drop the magnets into the message area at the bottom -- up to 120 characters. The tool keeps a character count for you. Need different words? Click the swap words link for new choices. Click submit to view your message/poem and decide whether to submit to Twitter Magnet's Twitter feed or not. You can also link to send from your own Twitter account. Note that clicking to see the Twitter Magnets feed will show you "messages" and poems created by the general public. Steer clear or preview to be sure these are appropriate in your setting.
tag(s): creative fluency (8), microblogging (41), poetry (224), twitter (43), writing prompts (94)
In the Classroom
Create a message or "poem" of the day as a class to send from your class Twitter account. Use as a center activity or have student groups create their own messages about what you have learned today in any subject area class. Have ELL students create simple messages to reinforce language skills. If you don't have a Twitter account, just have students create offline messages. Take a quick screen shot, then write, illustrate, and share on your classroom bulletin board! Generate creative messages as a class to use as writing prompts. Have students tell the story (or nonfiction news account) about what caused the message. Looking for more ways to use Twitter in the classroom? Read more about Twitter at TeachersFirst's Twitter for Teachers page. You can also use this site as a tool to teach about digital citizenship and the etiquette of tweets.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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RADCAB - Steps for Online Information Evaluation - Karen M. Christensson
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
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RADCAB is a way to evaluate information and resources. RADCAB is a mnemonic acronym: Relevancy, Appropriateness, Detail, Currency, Authority, and Bias. Click on each word for details...more
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RADCAB is a way to evaluate information and resources. RADCAB is a mnemonic acronym: Relevancy, Appropriateness, Detail, Currency, Authority, and Bias. Click on each word for details on that topic. An excellent rubric is available for download in PDF format. This simple site is a great resource for discussing and teaching information literacy lessons about evaluating information and sources.
tag(s): evaluating sources (14), internet safety (108), rubrics (32)
In the Classroom
Share this site and content on your interactive whiteboard or projector as you begin a project involving research. Demonstrate how to use this site before allowing students to explore on their own. Print and use the rubric available on the site. Require that students (or groups) complete the rubric on their chosen sources for research. Share a link to the site on your class website and classroom computer for easy student (and parent) reference at any time. Another idea: assign cooperative learning groups one part of the acronym. Each group could create a presentation to share with the class about what they learned about their part of the evaluation process. Have students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here. Students will LOVE finding and sharing examples of "bad" sources!
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Time Shutter - Dinah Darvas
Grades
6 to 12
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Time Shutter allows you to look at cities a hundred years ago and now. At the time of this review, you can click to choose San Fransisco or New York. ...more
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Time Shutter allows you to look at cities a hundred years ago and now. At the time of this review, you can click to choose San Fransisco or New York. View it on an iOs app for specific functionalities or use any Internet browser to interact with a Google map with placemarkers of older photos. After choosing a city, click on any of the map pins. View information and images representing both then and now with a short text history and information up to current times. View as a list to find all available landmarks. Optional registration allows you to upload your own photos of landmarks. Check back for more cities to be available in the future.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 20th century (53), california (27), landmarks (27), new york (26)
In the Classroom
Time Shutter provides an interesting look and comparison of landmarks across two time periods. Share Time Shutter on your interactive whiteboard when discussing events of the previous century or to explore landmarks from San Francisco or New York. Have students compare images and descriptions then use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here). Challenge students to create their own then and now maps using Animaps (reviewed here). Students can add text, images, and location stops!
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GlacierWorks - Glacier Works and David Breashears
Grades
6 to 12
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Learn about glaciers, the Himalayas, the people, and more as you take a virtual hike to a Mount Everest. The site includes two sections: Rivers of Ice and Explore Everest. ...more
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Learn about glaciers, the Himalayas, the people, and more as you take a virtual hike to a Mount Everest. The site includes two sections: Rivers of Ice and Explore Everest. View the beautiful video and scenery as you explore panoramic images of valleys and glacier at each of the eight stops along the way through Rivers of Ice. When finished, compare the size of Himalayan Glaciers today to their size in the 1920's. The team creating the site is still collecting more to add to the images and stories.
tag(s): asia (72), explorers (65), glaciers (15), mountains (15)
In the Classroom
Everest: Rivers of Ice is an excellent resource for use with any unit studying glaciers and river formation. Discuss the role of climate change in the lives of the people. That section of th site includes little more than images, but these could spark observations and discussions about how climate change might affect the people of the Himalayas. View different parts of the site on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) throughout your unit. Have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as Wordle (reviewed here), Tagxedo (reviewed here), or WordItOut (reviewed here). Have students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Queen's Diamond Jubilee - The Royal Household at Buckingham Palace
Grades
6 to 12
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This is the official site of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee (2012), but it goes far beyond that single event. Find information about the history of The Queen's reign. Choose The...more
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This is the official site of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee (2012), but it goes far beyond that single event. Find information about the history of The Queen's reign. Choose The Queen's Life link to view images, information by decade, and little-known facts about Queen Elizabeth. Find interesting facts and information about coronations and regalia for the last 900 years in the Coronation section. Explore the past 60 years of the monarchy with the interactive timeline beginning with the accession through current times. Choose the Games and Learning section to take quizzes and see history "pinned" in an online gallery.
tag(s): 20th century (53), britain (35), england (58), great britain (18)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site as an excellent resource for information about Queen Elizabeth, the British Monarchy, and Britain. Use it as an overlay to any study of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. If you study any British monarch or compare different systems of government, use these resources about ceremony and more to develop a sense of what the monarchy is all about, especially for American students less familiar with it. Have students use Fakebook (reviewed here) to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about Queen Elizabeth.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Strategies for the Social Studies Classroom - Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Grades
5 to 12
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This is an excellent resource of materials and strategies for comprehension of Social Studies reading materials. Each strategy provides one activity targeted at U.S. History and one...more
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This is an excellent resource of materials and strategies for comprehension of Social Studies reading materials. Each strategy provides one activity targeted at U.S. History and one targeted at World Studies. Strategies include ideas such as previewing text and visualizing information. It also provides an overview and teaching materials. Choose any resource to view in PDF format for easy printing.
tag(s): concept mapping (24), graphic organizers (43), reading comprehension (118), reading strategies (47), visual thinking (9), visualizations (13), vocabulary (325)
In the Classroom
Although geared toward struggling readers and Social Studies, this site is excellent for use with any content area reading lessons. Choose an activity for each month as a focus lesson. Incorporate the strategy throughout all lessons by modifying questions and included activities. Share with ESL/ELL and special education teachers as a resource for improving reading comprehension. This site works well with Common Core strategies for informational text throughout the curriculum.
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