TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Jul 9, 2023
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Josh Funk Books - Stuff for Kids - Josh Funk
Grades
K to 3
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Author Josh Funk's Page for Kids offers several activities and resources for his young readers to accompany his entertaining books. Discover new books by viewing book trailers, learn...more
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Author Josh Funk's Page for Kids offers several activities and resources for his young readers to accompany his entertaining books. Discover new books by viewing book trailers, learn about characters with the character cards, or play songs from books such as Mission Defrostable and Pirasaurs!. In addition, this site includes downloadable coloring pages and activity kits for many of his books.
tag(s): authors (103), preK (257), printables (37), songs (44)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the many resources shared on Josh Funk's site to introduce young readers to his books using these engaging activities. Consider sharing this site on your interactive whiteboard with students before sharing the link, as navigation might be difficult for some students. Make it easy for students to find the different activities using Symbaloo, reviewed here, to add links to the different features. Take your Symbaloo a step further, using color backgrounds to help students easily find items by the type of activity. For example, use a yellow background for all video links and a blue background for songs. Extend student learning after reading Josh Funk's books by asking them to write book reviews. Search Read Write Think, reviewed here, to find age-appropriate templates and printables for student use. Extend learning further by asking students to create digital books using WriteReader, reviewed here. WriteReader is ideal for use with young students due to the many supportive features built-in, including audio recording, safe image search, and areas for student writing with an area for adding conventional spelling below.
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Dr. Maya Angelou's Official Website - Official Website of Dr.Maya Angelou
Grades
8 to 12
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Dr. Maya Angelou's Official Website is dedicated to the remarkable accomplishments, news, biography, and photo and video galleries (find under Celebrate 95 Years), music, as...more
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Dr. Maya Angelou's Official Website is dedicated to the remarkable accomplishments, news, biography, and photo and video galleries (find under Celebrate 95 Years), music, as well as descriptions of books and films, of this remarkable best-selling author, playwright, and civil-rights activist. Dr. Maya Angelou, one of the great voices of contemporary literature continues to spread her legendary wisdom and captivate audiences, through the unique power with the beauty of words to help readers cross the lines of race, religion, and culture.
tag(s): authors (103)
In the Classroom
Explore the Biography and Celebrate 95 Years section to project photos that span Maya Angelou's lifetime of 86 years, and feature short videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard to inspire students with interviews about her work and vision, and moments that have punctuated and reveal the grace, dignity, and eloquence that are the hallmarks of her incredible work and life journey.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The World of Beverly Cleary - Beverly Cleary
Grades
1 to 7
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Ramona fans will celebrate when they visit this site. Watch the Today video On Beverly Cleary Turning 100. Look for oodles of background information for the Beverly Cleary's books on...more
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Ramona fans will celebrate when they visit this site. Watch the Today video On Beverly Cleary Turning 100. Look for oodles of background information for the Beverly Cleary's books on your shelf.Take quizzes for how well you know the characters. Access author info and character studies with a click. There is even a link for Fun and Games. Bring your Cleary unit to life with this site. There area printable "Reading Guides" and"Teachering Guides" that require Adobe Acrobat.
tag(s): authors (103)
In the Classroom
Your class may want to send Ms. Cleary an old-fashioned snail mail letter, using her address at the bottom of her biography page. Instructions on how to have a successful Ramona party is at the bottom of the Fun and Games page. Have your students choose famous Cleary characters and compete answering the Trivia questions also found at Fun and Games. Include this page as a link from your teacher web page for students to access outside of class or when writing book reports.
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Jack London Online Collection - Roy Tennant and Dr. Clarice Stasz
Grades
8 to 12
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This is an official website about Jack London and his works, maintained by Sonoma State University. It is really an exhaustive site including a biography of Jack London, Frequently...more
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This is an official website about Jack London and his works, maintained by Sonoma State University. It is really an exhaustive site including a biography of Jack London, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ and their answers, of course!), douments including
letters, postcards, telegrams, etc. relating to his life and work, a list of his novels biographies, bibliographies about key people in his life, photographs, a of his works including , etc., all kinds of research aids, lesson plans. and MORE, plus links to other information (although why you would need more boggles the mind!).
tag(s): authors (103)
In the Classroom
If you teach Jack London or any of the related literature (Service poetry, etc), this is a GREAT source to take students. Again, it is a safe and reliable source with a variety of areas to expand upon. I do like the fact that it reminds students to cite their information and tells them how to do it!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Judy Blume's Home Base - Judy Blume
Grades
5 to 9
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This website is Judy Blume's own site to discuss her writing, censorship, her books (with notes about the book from the author), and her life. It includes links to her ...more
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This website is Judy Blume's own site to discuss her writing, censorship, her books (with notes about the book from the author), and her life. It includes links to her blog, a For Kids section, and other websites about her biography and her books. If you teach any Judy Blume books or just know of their high interest for some of your students, this is a safe site to share about a sometimes controversial author. Ms. Blume talks about her writing and directs students (and adults) to other reputable sites about writing tips, etc. It is also a safe place for kids to express their own views about her writing to her either through email or through her blogs.
tag(s): authors (103), book lists (161), reading lists (80)
In the Classroom
Share the link on your teacher web page as a resource to promote independent reading or author study. Enhance learning by asking students to share what they read - the tirle, a summary, and a rating of the book using Flip, reviewed here. Have students watch their classmates' Flips to find a new book to read and leave a comment about the book or the presentation.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Madeleine L'Engle - Crossroads, Ltd.
Grades
4 to 9
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This is the Official Madeleine L'Engle website. Explore the categories on the top menu that include links to a movie trailer made from her book A Wrinkle in Time, short ...more
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This is the Official Madeleine L'Engle website. Explore the categories on the top menu that include links to a movie trailer made from her book A Wrinkle in Time, short summaries of all her books, and teacher's reading and activity guides for working with students. The site includes lots of links that will satisfy even the most curious L'Engle fan. Its only drawback is that some of the information takes you out to other sites, but there is a considerable amount of information on this site itself.
tag(s): authors (103), literature (217)
In the Classroom
You can use this site with students for different group projects since it takes off in many different directions that would allow groups to come back and share what they find, perhaps as a presentation using Flip, reviewed here on a projector or perhaps in a non-electronic author exhibit.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Interviews With Children's Book Authors and Illustrators - Reading Rockets/ WETA
Grades
2 to 8
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Get to know favorite children's and young adults' authors and illustrators by seeing and hearing from them directly. The videos/audios can be accessed directly on the site or downloaded...more
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Get to know favorite children's and young adults' authors and illustrators by seeing and hearing from them directly. The videos/audios can be accessed directly on the site or downloaded to your device for listening on the go. You can also listen to the interview as a podcast. Bring your classroom of readers to life as writers or just fill in some background knowledge as you approach a new book or selection in your reading series. You are certain to have students lining up for works by these folks at the library. The videos reside on YouTube. If your district or school blooks YouTube, they may not be viewable.
tag(s): authors (103), interviews (14), rockets (11)
In the Classroom
Grab a projector and bring the author right into your classroom, or turn down the lights and listen to what she has to say before you start reading. You can also create a shortcut to this page right on the computer desktop and allow students to "visit with" them as a center in your classroom. One great student writing prompt: Which author is most like you? Maybe even ask students to write about their own writing process on your class blog after sharing some of the interviews. A good resource for a class blog is edublogs, reviewed here. Libarians may want to set up a kiosk with this web site opened for children when they come in. They will LOVE this site!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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African American Women Writers of the 19th Century - NY Public Library
Grades
6 to 12
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The New York Public Library developed this collection of works by nineteenth century female African American writers. The resources include fiction, poetry, essays, and more; all are...more
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The New York Public Library developed this collection of works by nineteenth century female African American writers. The resources include fiction, poetry, essays, and more; all are formatted in an easy-to-use on-screen display. Those who teach American literature will find this an interesting supplemental resource.
tag(s): africa (138), african american (111), authors (103), poetry (190), women (137)
In the Classroom
Use the poems by Phyllis Wheatley to complement a lesson on supporters of the American Revolution. Wheatley is often a studied character in American History, and her poems often confront American Independence and slavery. Share the poems with students at the end of a lesson, and have them analyze as a class what she is trying to say about either subject. Enhance student learning with a digital classroom discussion (where everyone gets a chance to contribute) using YoTeach, reviewed here, or by digital journal writing using Penzu, reviewed here, or edublog, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Jane Austen
Grades
9 to 12
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This site ontains much helpful information on Jane Austen and her times. There are links to e-texts of various novels, including juvenilia, and links to discussions of novels, letters,...more
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This site ontains much helpful information on Jane Austen and her times. There are links to e-texts of various novels, including juvenilia, and links to discussions of novels, letters, quotes, biographies, on-line academic articles and info on the Jane Austen Centre and Museum, and a section for Author's Like Jane. You'll even find a Regency Period Fashion section.
tag(s): authors (103), literature (217)
In the Classroom
Though Jane Austen wrote only six novels, there are enough to give your students a choice. Allow students to read the book of their choice individually, in pairs, or small groups. Have them choose the book they want to read by going through the book titles and reading the first couple of pages for the books; there are actually two pages for each chapter in the books, but reading the first pages for two or three chapters should be enough to pique their interest in one of the books. After the students have read their books have them put together a presentation using Sway, reviewed here. Allow them to choose the format with which they wish to present the book to their classmates, they can choose an interactive poster, brochure, newsletter, and others.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Isabel Allende
Grades
9 to 12
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Information, criticism and links on the works of Chilean writer Isabel Allende. The site contains pictures and biography of the author of such works as "The House of Spirits" and ...more
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Information, criticism and links on the works of Chilean writer Isabel Allende. The site contains pictures and biography of the author of such works as "The House of Spirits" and "Fortune's Daughter."
tag(s): authors (103), literature (217)
In the Classroom
This site is perfect for literature circles! There are many books from which to choose and each one has a summary and excerpt. After reading some of the summaries, have student literature groups choose the book they want to read and present to the class. For the presentations, give the students a choice of multimedia tools using a resource such as Genially, reviewed here. Students can choose to present their book using interactive images, infographics, charts, and more; they can insert maps, surveys, video, and audio.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Langston Hughes: Artist and Historian - Yale University
Grades
6 to 8
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Students will learn a little about Langston Hughes and the events of his time in the introductory Narrative of this lesson. The lesson explores Langston Hughes' poetry, setting it as...more
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Students will learn a little about Langston Hughes and the events of his time in the introductory Narrative of this lesson. The lesson explores Langston Hughes' poetry, setting it as a "vehicle by which students are exposed to the African-American experience in the United States of the 1920s through the 1960s."
tag(s): poetry (190)
In the Classroom
Using the Narrative and create a guided reading activity using vocabulary, keywords, and phrases with Read Ahead, reviewed here. In pairs or small groups, have students read the short biography about Langston Huges and Jim Crow laws. Read Ahead is perfect for introducing any reading passages to struggling readers, special education students, and ENL/ELL learners. After using this lesson, extend student learning by having them further reseach and present to their classmates some of the events mentioned in the narrative. Ask them to choose a product for their presentation from Genially, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Roald Dahl Web Site
Grades
2 to 6
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1 Comments
There's far more than the usual author-site goodies at this British site devoted to author Roald Dahl. There are lesson plans to download based on several of Dahl's books and ...more
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There's far more than the usual author-site goodies at this British site devoted to author Roald Dahl. There are lesson plans to download based on several of Dahl's books and a special set of six lesson plans for Pre School. There is lots of interesting activities for students, and the material is well-written.
tag(s): authors (103), book lists (161), reading lists (80)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of Roald Dahls lesson plans to delight your primary and Pre-K students while they are learning! There are so many entertaining learning activities that you may want to review the story later in the year and use the literacy activities as review and reinforcement, tool.Comments
This is a great resource for teachers using Roald Dahl's books in the classroom or for librarians leading a book club! There are lesson plans you can download for his books. I expected to see interactive ways for kids to explore the plots of the books as well. However, this website doesn't offer those. Still, this is a nice website for teachers!Laurie, , Grades: 0 - 12
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Eric Carle - Official web site
Grades
1 to 2
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This site provides a listing of Eric Carle's books and more. Click the Resources tab a the top to see some sugguested activities, downloads and activity sheets, with coloring pages,...more
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This site provides a listing of Eric Carle's books and more. Click the Resources tab a the top to see some sugguested activities, downloads and activity sheets, with coloring pages, and the newsletter archive. The site includes an author biography and selection of frequently asked questions. Under the Media Gallery find photos and audio for The Very Hungery Caterpillar in 65 languages!
tag(s): authors (103), book lists (161), reading lists (80)
In the Classroom
Everyone loves Eric Carle books, so take a look at this site to see what other books of his should be the next read for your classroom! This is a great site for those learners who are new to English in your classroom or for the World Languages teachers. You could set up centers to listen to The Very Hungery Caterpillar in various languages and in English.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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