TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Nov 11, 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
For the Teachers - For the Teachers
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): characterization (16), charts and graphs (169), constitution (87), differentiation (84), graphic organizers (49), inferencing (7), mean (19), measurement (126), median (16), mode (13), multiplication (122), patterns (64), place value (34), plot (7), reading comprehension (141), rubrics (33), sequencing (17)
In the Classroom
Be sure to bookmark this site to save as a favorite to find lesson ideas and activities throughout the school year. When planning for a substitute, look through the site to find useful ideas for lessons and planning organizers. There is so much material here to use, consider exploring the site with peers using techniques similar to a book study. Divide the site into sections to discuss at different times of your study. Organize your favorite materials from this site and your other resources using Padlet, reviewed here. Share your Padlet with peers to collaborate and create a useful time for organizing and sharing your favorite teaching materials. Supplement information included on report cards by using a site like Seesaw, reviewed here, to create portfolios for your students to demonstrate progress in reading, math, and other content areas. Include student-created projects based on activities found on For the Teachers.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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ytCropper - 10 Best Design
Grades
K to 12tag(s): conversions (36), movies (51), video (257)
In the Classroom
Use ytCropper to highlight specific information from YouTube videos for student use. After creating a shortened clip, encourage students to predict what comes next or use the segment before showing the entire video. Flip your classroom and ask students to use ytCropper to share important information from videos or highlight portions that need further clarification. Using shorter video segments offers many opportunities to use video clips within other online tools. For example, have students enhance their learning by uploading an image related to their science research and add annotations. Use Google Drawings, reviewed here, to include shortened video clips, images, and text to describe the stages of plant growth, introduce a political figure, or provide background for a novel. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here. Google Drawings presents a variety of levels for technology use depending on teacher requirements for the project, or even student ability; it allows for adding narration, videos, text and links to help explain what certain parts of the topic are about. Ask students to include shorter clips within multimedia projects created using a tool like Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here, to redefine classroom technology use and their learning and understanding.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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STEAM Art Lessons - Tricia Fuglestad
Grades
K to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): black history (123), coding (88), creativity (92), digital storytelling (141), dr seuss (6), drawing (59), environment (240), graphic design (50), great depression (28), literacy (107), nutrition (134), photography (131), poetry (189), problem solving (226), qr codes (17), read across america (3), STEM (262), stories and storytelling (40), symmetry (27)
In the Classroom
If you feel that you are strong in the arts but not technology (or the other way around), find a teaching partner that complements your strength and work together to teach lessons from this site. Use ideas from here in your classroom makerspace. Use Wakelet, reviewed here, to add notes and questions as you prepare to teach lessons from this blog. Wakelet offers the ability to collaborate and share with others through the addition of written and audio notes to any web page. Use lesson activities found on this site as a replacement for traditional research projects, book reports, or written reports. Have students use a blogging tool like edublog, reviewed here, to share images and videos of their work from start to finish and to reflect upon learning. Have older students extend learning through the use of Symbaloo Learning Paths, reviewed here. Ask them to research and find additional information on the topic of your lesson and create a learning path for other students to complete. For younger students, create a Symbaloo Learning Path for students to complete as a center activity to complement your STEAM learning activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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POV For Educators - American Documentary, Inc. PBS (KQED)
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): black history (123), cultures (132), disabilities (29), elections (80), politics (112), veterans (20), video (257), women (137)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and look at POV first for any of the listed themes that come up throughout the school year. The lesson plans also have extension activities, many for inquiry or research. Show these to students and have them choose one to extend their learning. If your students need an introduction or review of research skills you may want to parallel the POV lesson with R4S: Research for Success, reviewed here. As you work through the lesson, ask students to keep a journal about what they are learning and questions they still have. Subtitute paper and pen journals for a digital journal using a tool like Penzu, reviewed here; with Penzu you can add images or your own artwork as illustrations. As a culmination activity enhance student's understanding by having them put together an interactive infographic about their learning for you and their peers using Infogram, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Graphic Organizer Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): graphic organizers (49), mind map (26), venn diagrams (15)
In the Classroom
Whether you call them concept maps, mind maps, KWLs, or graphic organizers, these visual diagrams show relationships between concepts and provide a powerful tool for learning and connecting new ideas. Use graphic organizers to help your visual learners build reading comprehension. Find something for all grade levels in this collection.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Substitutes - Ideas and Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): substitutes (27)
In the Classroom
Whether you are a substitute looking for some "filler" ideas or a classroom teacher looking for new sites, check out this list of resources. Share this list on your class website for families to use at home. This list includes resources for young readers and secondary students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mentoring Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): bullying (49), mentoring (6), social and emotional learning (81)
In the Classroom
Share sites with the entire class or find specific tools that are useful for individual students in your class. This is a great list to share with parents at the beginning of the year, and list on your class website!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Twitter Chat Archives - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): PLN (6), professional development (393)
In the Classroom
Explore the Twitter chat archives for ideas to add to your professional learning. Learn about new tools for your classroom and new educational trends.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Digital Citizenship Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): digital citizenship (89), internet safety (113)
In the Classroom
Use this entire collection or simply select the best ones for YOUR students to continually model good digital citizenship. Share the links with parents and among your colleagues so you can promote positive action instead of fear about the Internet.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Class Responder - Teacher Created Resources
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): classroom management (128), DAT device agnostic tool (143), polls and surveys (46), substitutes (27), Teacher Utilities (146)
In the Classroom
Be sure to click the "Help" link at the bottom of a page or the upper right corner of any page for information about using and setting up Class Responder. Use Class Responder in a 1:1 classroom, then have students provide feedback in real-time to demonstrate understanding. Use as an exit slip, to identify material that needs to be retaught, or to locate specific students that need remediation. Class Responder is perfect for use in flipped or blended learning classrooms to share videos and ask questions before students come to class. Create several activities to save just in case you need an extra lesson on short notice, need to have a substitute, or to use as an at-home lesson for snow days.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Online Tools and Timesavers Editor's Choice Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (128)
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your favorites as a sanity saver. You may not remember the name of each handy timesaver, but having the collection close "at hand" will help you find them easily. Use your free TeachersFirst membership to rate them or mark individual favorite tools and share them with your students on your public page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NameCoach - Praveen Shanbhag
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (128), pronunciation (33), substitutes (27)
In the Classroom
Create a master list of student names in your school or class using NameCoach. Provide a subset for different activities such as award ceremonies, after-school programs, or for student tutors. Share with your school's ENL/ELL teacher as an authentic way to learn and practice unfamiliar names. Provide this list (and URL) to any substitute coming to your classroom. Use it in world language classes to help students learn pronunciation of new names.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Help! I lost my library/media specialist - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 5tag(s): book lists (161), independent reading (85), literacy (107), reading lists (80)
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your favorites as you plan for classroom or library read-along and information literacy lessons. Share the ideas with parent volunteers and other teachers within your school as you struggle to "do more with less." Use the "share" widget to send great ideas to fellow teachers or afterschool program coordinators, as well. Share the URL for the current read-along list on your class web page so parents can do read-alongs at home, too. Need help finding the books you want from this list in your school library? Use the ISBNs to search for them on interlibrary loan from a local public library.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bulletin Board Hang Ups - TeachersFirst
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): bulletin boards (14), quotations (20)
In the Classroom
They look great printed on brightly colored paper! As an opening day activity, challenge small groups of students to interpret the quote hanging closest to them and predict how it may be important in your course this year. For younger students, ask them to write a paraphrase or to illustrate the quote. Be sure to change the quotes periodically and give a prize to the first student who notices. Or give a pop-quiz during the last week of school, asking students to recall as many of the year's quotes as they can (working in small groups will probably help). If you have classroom blogs, ask students to choose and reflect on a specific quote and its relevance to your class throughout the past year.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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