TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Oct 18, 2020
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
Teaching with Testimony - Discovery Education and USC Shoah Foundation
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): character education (75), civil rights (195), emotions (47), empathy (27), holocaust (41), immigration (63), social and emotional learning (86)
In the Classroom
Be sure to view these free materials to use as a supplement to your current social studies lessons and character education activities, including empathy. These materials also are an excellent way to demonstrate the use of primary sources as a learning tool. As you build supplemental materials to include with these activities, use Padlet, reviewed here, for you and your students to curate online information instead of sharing a list of links. Use Padlet's shelf option to organize your resources by topic. For example, divide your Padlet into sections for biographies, videos, newspapers, and books related to the resource studied. Enhance learning when sharing online articles for students to view together by using Fiskkit, reviewed here, as a collaborative study tool. Fiskkit offers the ability to collaborate by adding highlights, tags and comments on information, and to label information as true or false. As a final project and to extend learning, ask students to use Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here, to share their projects demonstrating their inspiration for the future. Adobe Express offers a variety of creation tools, making it easy to provide options for students to choose how to share their learning. Provide students the option to create a video, build a webpage, or create a series of custom graphics as part of a multimedia presentation.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Reading Treks: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 5tag(s): 1930s (20), character education (75), emotions (47), virtual field trips (80)
In the Classroom
Discover the many suggested classroom uses for this resource found on the Instructional Guide (PDF). Consider using the historical information and primary sources from the book to have students create timelines of the important events during a period of Edward's journey. Find a variety of free online timeline creation tools located here. Using the map and locales, trace and then calculate distances for some of Edward's adventures. Use Google My Maps, reviewed here, to create and share custom maps.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Treks: Whirligig - TeachersFirst
Grades
7 to 10tag(s): character education (75), drugs and alcohol (27), virtual field trips (80)
In the Classroom
You and your students will enjoy and learn from the many suggested classroom uses for this resource found on the Instructional Guide (PDF). Consider using the historical information and primary sources from the book to have students create timelines of the important events during Brent Bishop's journey. Find a variety of free online timeline creation tools located here. Using the map and locales, trace and then calculate distances for some of the stops made as Brent Bishop travels the country building whirligigs. Use Google My Maps, reviewed here, to create and share custom maps.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Treks: Every Single Second - TeachersFirst
Grades
4 to 8tag(s): character education (75), empathy (27), family (52), racism (76), virtual field trips (80)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the many suggested classroom uses for this resource found on the Instructional Guide (PDF). Include this Reading Trek as part of lessons in empathy, racism, and character traits. Consider using content from the book as an inspiration to have students create a timeline of their friends. Find a variety of free online timeline creation tools located here. Using the map and locales, trace and then calculate distances for some Little Italy locations. Use Google My Maps, reviewed here to create and share custom maps.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Social Media Test Drive - Cornell University and the Cornell Research Foundation, Inc
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): character education (75), cyberbullying (41), digital citizenship (92), social media (54)
In the Classroom
Share these modules for students to complete during any lessons on Internet safety. Ask students to contribute to a collaborative document sharing examples they have seen of cyberbullying or deceptive news practice. Replace pencil and paper notetaking by sharing an online tool such as Webnote, reviewed here, for students to use to take notes on any website. When finished, have them share their notes using the URL created for use in classroom discussions. Reinforce online safety concepts through gameplay using Baamboozle, reviewed here. Enhance student learning by asking students to create a game in Baamboozle for their peers to play to identify best practices in creating a safe online presence. After completing your digital safety unit, modify classroom technology use and extend learning by asking students to create explainer videos using FlexClip, reviewed here, with suggestions on how to identify fake news, how to create a positive digital footprint or ways to support peers when faced with cyberbullying. Share student videos on your class website and with younger students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Adventures of Kara, Winston and the SMART Crew - Childnet International
Grades
2 to 6tag(s): character education (75), digital citizenship (92), internet safety (114)
In the Classroom
Any teacher will benefit from the free materials and activities on this site to teach online safety to students either directly through these materials, or as additional resources to your current online safety materials. As a substitute for links on paper or in a word processing tool, use a bookmarking tool like Symbaloo, reviewed here, to share online resources with students on classroom computers and your class website. Enhance student understanding by challenging students to create digital books teaching online safety using Book Creator, reviewed here. Book Creator includes tools for adding videos, images, and more into books.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Circle Round - WBUR
Grades
K to 6tag(s): character education (75), diversity (38), folktales (34), podcasts (91), stories and storytelling (44)
In the Classroom
Place the link To Circle Round on your teacher web page for students to share stories at home, too. The stories would make an excellent classroom listening center with headphones. Let younger students listen over and over. Use these delightful stories as opportunities to develop listening skills by playing the story, then asking questions. Ask listening comprehension questions, or talk about story structure with older children (rising action, climax, and falling action, for example). Consider having your younger students share their own favorite stories with a tool like Flip, reviewed here, and then encourage students to respond to each others favorites. Inspire your older students to build fluency and expression by creating their own podcasts after listening to these. For this have students plan their story with digital "post its" that can be moved around using a tool like Pinup, reviewed here. Once students are ready, have them record their podcast using a tool like Podcast Generator, reviewed here. Be sure to post student podcasts on your website or wiki to share with parents.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Eleanor Amplified - WHYY Philadelphia
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): behavior (43), character education (75), creative writing (121), journalism (72), listening (82), podcasts (91)
In the Classroom
Listen to podcasts together as a class. Ask students to share key information from each episode and share using an online bulletin board like Pinside, reviewed here. After each episode, have students use the Breaking News Generator, reviewed here, to entice others to listen to the podcast or as a short summary of the episode. Challenge students to create their own podcast adventure and share using Buzzsprout, reviewed here. Buzzsprout offers up to 2 hours per month of free podcast hosting.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Above the Noise - KQED
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): character education (75), drugs and alcohol (27), social media (54), social networking (65), social skills (22), sociology (22), video (257)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the educator guide by clicking the link to the PBS Learning section for your selection and explore big questions found within each episode. Subscribe to this channel to receive notifications of new video additions. Use a tool such as MoocNote, reviewed here, to add questions directly into the YouTube videos for students to complete as a blended, flipped, or remote learning lesson and 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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Coaching Boys Into Men - Futures Without Violence
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): bullying (49), character education (75), difficult conversations (58), mental health (34), mentoring (6), school violence (10), social and emotional learning (86), social skills (22), sports (81)
In the Classroom
Share this program with your school's athletic coaches, physical education teachers, school counselors, and parents who coach athletic teams. Use the program locator to find nearby communities involved with the program. Invite a local coach to speak to young men in your school regarding healthy relationship skills. Extend technology use and student learning by having them create a newspaper featuring sports role models using a site such as Printing Press, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Who, Me? Biased? - New York Times
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): bias (22), black history (125), bullying (49), character education (75), civil rights (195), difficult conversations (58), diversity (38), racism (76), tolerance (8)
In the Classroom
Share videos with students either with a projector, an interactive whiteboard, or use the link or embed codes on your class website to view at home. Have students view from home and enhance learning using Acclaim, reviewed here where you can stop the video and ask questions about the parts where students may need clarification right on the video! Have cooperative learning groups extend their learning by creating podcasts sharing their insight into biases and racism along with suggestions on ways to address each problem. Use a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here. Share this site with your school's counselor for use with ongoing lessons in tolerance and diversity.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Choose 2 Matter - Choose2Matter Inc.
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): back to school (63), character education (75), differentiation (86), mentoring (6), professional development (392), social and emotional learning (86)
In the Classroom
Even if you don't plan on teaching any of the modules, use the included activities and videos to support SEL learning in your classroom. Extend student learning by having students upload a photo they have taken and add their voice with their manifesto using a tool such as Blabberize, reviewed here. Include an area on your LMS or class website for you and your students to share actions that contribute to helping themselves and others.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Random Acts of Kindness - Random Acts of Kindness Foundation
Grades
K to 12tag(s): character education (75), classroom management (126), emotions (47), empathy (27), service projects (17)
In the Classroom
Become a "RAKTIVIST" and start a kindness raid on unsuspecting communities, classes, or schools! Give children power and voice through their actions. Partner this with character education programs to make a difference in all the lives you touch. For example, you may want to use the Ripples of Kindness activity included in the Empathy videos at the Big Ideas Video Series, reviewed here. During social studies, find ways kindness has changed the world. Look for times in which kindness was thwarted, such as during civil wars, dictatorships, or wars. Start a research project on world leaders who have changed the world through nonviolence, education, or generosity. Explain the power of nonprofit organizations and all the lives affected. Look into your own community and school to find needs that are waiting for active, caring participants. Create school or classroom rules to promote the power of kindness. Show your students how to embed media transforming their work and enhance their learning by challenging students to create "kindness" commercials and share their knowledge with their peers in a multimedia presentation using Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here. Alternatively, students could create a video using Typito, reviewed here. Share them using a tool such as SchoolTube, reviewed here. Emotional Support or Autistic Support teachers may find some of the ideas here helpful for talking about how others feel and ways to show kindness in a very deliberate way.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Do Something.org - Do Something.org Team
Grades
7 to 12There are suggestions, resources, and support to empower young people and give them the energy to take action and make a difference. Whether their passion is to feed the homeless, end bullying, help even the playing field of educational inequalities, or many more needy causes, this website is chock full of easy to access information and strategies that encourage teenagers to decide for themselves how they can contribute their time and desire to make a difference.
tag(s): character education (75), Project Based Learning (25), service projects (17)
In the Classroom
Do you believe that kids can change the world? What are you doing about that? If you have been thinking about involving your class in some type of community service and project based learning, but need some direction, DoSomething.org is a phenomenal place to "shop" around for ideas. Perhaps you may want to start by showing the film, Pay It Forward, or with a writing prompt, "If you were given time in school to come up with one idea that could be put into action right now by people your age that would make this school or this community a better place, what would it be and how would you put your plan into action?" Have students share ideas in small groups, then introduce them to DoSomething.org by projecting it on your classroom whiteboard or projector, viewing some of the short videos, and using the power of the internet to empower them to act now. Challenge students to collect Internet resources for their cause using Wakelet, reviewed here, where they can add a cover image, background, collaborate with others, and chose the layout they prefer. Next, enhance learning by asking your students to create an interactive infographic using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, to explain their ideas about their cause and how they would put their plan into action. Club advisers, school counselors, and teachers of gifted can use the empowering resources of this site to inspire students to ACT.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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