TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Feb 25, 2018
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
Cabinet of Curiosities - Philippe Cousteau Jr.
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): anthropology (12), careers (139), communication (10), ecology (138), engineering (129), marine biology (35), oceans (165), STEM (174)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save to use when exploring career options with students. Ask students to use information found on this site and others to create an infographic sharing information about a chosen career. Canva, reviewed here, offers many templates for creating infographics. To increase student knowledge of options within STEM careers, have groups of students create a weekly podcast sharing different career fields. Buzzsprout, reviewed here, is an online tool to use when creating and hosting podcasts.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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MatchCollege - MatchCollege.com
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Share this site with students and parents to use as a resource for making college decisions. Help students organize their findings by using an online diagramming tool like Lucidchart, reviewed here, to create diagrams, mindmaps, and other visual graphic organizers. Save information gathered into PDF documents, then use Flipsnack, reviewed here, to turn their PDFs into an online flippable book. If you only have a word doc use PDFaid, reviewed here, to convert them to PDF format. As students near a final decision, use Google My Maps, reviewed here, to create a virtual visit to their college of choice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Typely - typely.com
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): editing (72), grammar (212), proofreading (25), spelling (168), writing (365)
In the Classroom
Bookmark Typely for use with any writing projects to allow students to concentrate on content instead of grammar. Be sure to share a link on your class webpage and classroom computers for students to use with written work. Ask students to analyze their writing by sharing a before and after analysis as a one-time blog post using Telegra.ph, reviewed here, or as part of their digital portfolio using bulb, reviewed here as a digital portfolio tool.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Understood - Understood.org USA LLC
Grades
K to 12tag(s): emotions (36), learning disability (19), learning styles (22), preK (288), professional development (164), Special Needs (33)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site as an excellent tool for finding learning resources for classroom students and sharing with parents. Be sure to share a link to the site with parents on your class website or newsletter. Use items found on this site as part of your professional development activities. Organize participant's thoughts and ideas using a mind mapping tool like MindMup, reviewed here. Share websites, articles, and resources related to your topic using a bookmarking tool such as SearchTeam, reviewed here. SearchTeam allows you to share resources and add comments making collaboration easy for participants. Expand your learning and collaboration efforts using a tool like FlipGrid, reviewed here. FlipGrid is a video response tool that allows you to record a question and gather video responses. As a final product and follow-up to send to your participants, share information learned from this site and others through a multimedia presentation with Sway, reviewed here. Sway is an easy to use tool for creating professional-looking online presentations including video, images, text, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Above the Noise - KQED
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): drugs and alcohol (25), social media (24), social networking (112), social skills (21), sociology (22), video (278)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the classroom guide to explore big questions found within each episode. Subscribe to this channel to receive notifications of new video additions. Use a tool such as Vizia, reviewed here, to add questions directly into the YouTube videos for students to complete as a flipped lesson before classroom instruction. Use a tool such as Voxer, reviewed here, for students to discuss their thoughts on the topic of each video.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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kudoswall - Nikhil Vootkur and Jag Vootkur
Grades
K to 12tag(s): assessment (114), classroom management (159), portfolios (32)
In the Classroom
Record classroom activities and student learning with photos or written anecdotes. Show students how to create a portfolio, then document their learning and make comments in their portfolio. Share portfolios with parents, not just at conference time, but anytime the student portfolio is updated to keep parents in the loop.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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e-Books from Bill Zimmerman - Bill Zimmerman
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): comics and cartoons (65), ebooks (43), journals (20), writing (365), writing prompts (93)
In the Classroom
Share the e-Books from this site as an alternative to traditional writing prompts. Share with your school's guidance counselors as a resource for allowing students to express their feelings on a variety of topics. Have students create blogs to reflect on their learning using Telegra.ph, here. Telegra.ph will create a "quick and easy" blog to be used one time only. A unique URL is provided, and with Telegra.ph you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or Twitter links. It's as easy as using a basic Word program! Challenge students to create an online comic sharing their perspective on one of the books. It's a good idea to require students to create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. You might want to have students in grades 1-3 use Comic Creator, reviewed here, while older students can just use Zimmerman's favorite Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here, to create their final copy.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Raise.me - Raise Labs, Inc.
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): college (49), financial aid (16)
In the Classroom
Share Raise.me with high school students as an opportunity for earning scholarship money. Feature this site in lessons with middle and high school students as an example of activities that earn scholarship money and increase the likelihood of acceptance to chosen colleges and universities. For students who haven't chosen a preferred school, Raise.me provides an opportunity to learn more about different colleges through those that offer the most scholarship money based on students' activities and interests.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Manufacture Your Future - Discovery Education & Alcoa Foundation
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): careers (139), design (88), engineering (129), STEM (174)
In the Classroom
Discover the many free resources on this site as part of career exploration lessons. View videos together, or have students view on their own. Take a virtual field trip to a manufacturing plant to learn more about design and the manufacturing process. Challenge students to create a simple infographic sharing information about manufacturing careers using Easel.ly, reviewed here, or have them create an interactive poster using Lucidpress, reviewed here. Ask students to use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a week in the life of an engineer or designer.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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How to Become a Teacher - tobecomeateacher.org
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
This site is perfect for student use to research careers in education. Have interested students research schools and information in obtaining a teaching degree in their field of interest, then create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Venngage, reviewed here. Ask students to create a career information board by collecting ideas and findings using Padlet, reviewed here. The Padlet application creates free online bulletin boards.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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GoodCall Scholarship Search - GoodCall, LLC
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): college (49), financial aid (16)
In the Classroom
This is a useful site to include with information on college search strategies; consider bookmarking it for college bound students. This tool is helpful for high school guidance counselors or teachers who work with juniors and seniors. Provide the link on your class website for families to access and explore at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ready. Set. Grad. - Washington Student Achievement Council
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): careers (139), college (49), financial aid (16)
In the Classroom
Middle school and high school teachers will want to create a link to this site on your class websites. Share with parents as an excellent resource for how students should prepare for college as early as 6th grade. Share this site with your school's guidance counselors for use when career planning with students. Ask students to explore this site then prepare a plan that guides them toward their selected career goal. Use a tool like Scrumy, reviewed here, to create their plan. Next have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Easel.ly, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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FreeCodeCamp - Quincy Larson
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): careers (139), coding (68), Computational Thinking (18), computers (102), critical thinking (120), problem solving (294)
In the Classroom
Browse through the menu of activities in each of the certifications to find lessons for stand-alone topics such as adding images to websites or working with different HTML features. Sign up isn't necessary to view lessons, only to save progress when working through certifications. Share FreeCodeCamp with students who have an interest in coding and computers. Encourage students to complete certifications to include with college applications. Share with students who may not have an interest in college, but have an interest in computers, coding, and gaming.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ASVAB Practice Test Online - ASVAB Practice Test Online
Grades
10 to 12In the Classroom
Share with students to take as practice for upcoming ASVAB testing at your school. ASVAB testing isn't just for students interested in a military career. Any student who is questioning what career path to take may want to take a practice test to find areas of interest to pursue.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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