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Vodcast Book Trailers - Brian Dawson/Palm Beach Schools
Grades
K to 5tag(s): book lists (162), book reports (28), guided reading (33), independent reading (86)
In the Classroom
Use this site to show a book trailer on your interactive whiteboard or projector before heading to the library for students to choose books. Create a link on classroom computers for students to view book trailers on their own. Use this site as a model and challenge students to create their own book trailers and share them using a tool such as SchoolTube reviewed here. Share this site on your classroom website or blog using the embed code given.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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WishyBox - WishyBox.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): service projects (17)
In the Classroom
Parents often want to donate items to classrooms or schools but may not know what is needed. Create a WishyBox list for your classroom so others can share the joyful gift of learning! This is a great tool to share at Back to School Night! Make a list of books needed for your classroom library, items needed for classroom centers, extra supplies, etc. Share with your Parent Teacher Organization as a resource for creating a wish list for items for the school library, playground, or any other school items. Use this site for a community service project for your classroom. Create a WishyBox list for a family in need in your community and have students bring in items to donate. Use WishyBox as a real world way to extend the gift of giving!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Best Word Book Ever - kokogiak on Flickr
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Do you still have a favorite picture book from your childhood? Consider going to the library to find a more current version and compare the differences. Have your students ask their parents if they still have a copy of their favorite picture book, and they can pick up a copy of the current edition to compare. With older students, you can use the Best Word Book Ever comparison to see the changes in what is politically incorrect now that was in the earlier version. Students then discuss what society valued at the time of the older edition compared to what our current society values. There are not just the gender role differences (policeman vs the woman police officer). Look at the wording in the older version for behavioral expectations, too. Literature teachers could carry this one step further and make a comparison of the expectations of society at the time of a classic (Tom Sawyer, Pride and Prejudice ) and what society valued during that time. Students could make one of these comparisons using a program like Bookemon reviewed here, which creates interactive online books. Make sure your students adhere to Copyright laws if creating online. You may want to work offline using PowerPoint so student products can include copyrighted images under "Fair Use."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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SpeakPipe - Speakpipe.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): blogs (65), communication (133), Teacher Utilities (150)
In the Classroom
When installed on a school website, SpeakPipe provides a good way for parents to leave voicemail messages. Unless one of you shares the URL, the communication remains confidential. Download messages to your computer as a simple way for students to record their voice responses for use in a multimedia project on your classroom blog. After posting student work on your classroom website or blog, allow students to record information responding or explaining each project. Encourage emerging readers to record their own voices reading a blog post they write. Auditory learners will truly benefit from this tool. Install this on your class blog or wiki so parents who visit can leave audio comments for the class. World language teachers could post an image on a class web site and ask students to record a response in their new language. School library/media centers can invite students so comment about new books listed on the web page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Common Core: The Fuss Over Non-Fiction - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 6tag(s): commoncore (75)
In the Classroom
Read the questions/answers and explore the suggested resources as background during this new challenge. Mark this article in your Favorites as you begin to implement Common Core. Many of the suggested resources may be helpful during curriculum planning sessions with other teachers. Click the "share" widget to send them to others!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CurriConnects Book List: The Way Things Work - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): book lists (162), engineering (120), scientists (63), STEM (265)
In the Classroom
Have students choose a book they can connect to concepts you are studying in science class or have them choose a book of interest and generate a list of the questions they would like to learn about after reading the book. The non-fiction selections offer possible informational texts to practice Common Core science literacy skills. For more on text complexity and Lexiles''''®, see this information from the Lexile Framework.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teaching Channel - Videos, Lesson Plans, and Other Resources for Teachers - Teaching Channel
Grades
K to 12tag(s): assessment (146), behavior (43), classroom management (126), commoncore (75), differentiation (83), firstday (22), inquiry (24), newbies (14), professional development (394), rhythm (20), substitutes (27), video (260)
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your favorites for those times when you need inspiration. View videos as a way of finding fresh lesson ideas with practical suggestions for implementation. Share this site with other teachers, viewing videos together during professional development sessions. This site is a great site for mentoring new teachers to develop professional skills. There are even videos to share with your class on your interactive whiteboard or projector.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Scoop on Current Events - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 6tag(s): news (229), newspapers (91)
In the Classroom
Use these ideas during major news years, such as election season, or as a general introduction to current events. During Newspapers in Education month, extend your discussions to include both print and online news media using the lesson discussion questions included here. Incorporate current events stories as one of many types of informational texts you use to teach comprehension and other reading skills.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Around the World with 80 Schools - Silvia Tolisano
Grades
K to 12tag(s): professional development (394), tutorials (54), virtual field trips (80), webcams (10)
In the Classroom
Check out the TeachersFirst review of Skype here as an introduction and for more classroom ideas. Participate in a Mystery Skype call with another classroom to compare and contrast local geography, collaborate on book projects, or as an introduction to a careers unit. Locate authors, scientists, or directors of museums interested in Skyping with classrooms, and take your students on a virtual field trip. Skype with other classrooms in your district without having to leave the building! For specific ideas for Skype author visits, be sure to see Meet the Author from TeachersFirst's Help I Lost My Library/Media Specialist series.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Back to School Read-alouds - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 6tag(s): firstday (22), reading lists (79)
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your favorites as you plan for the first week of school.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Rockets - WETA Washington D.C.
Grades
1 to 6This site includes advertising.
tag(s): authors (105), book lists (162), dyslexia (11), literacy (110), literature (218), parents (58), phonics (50), reading comprehension (142), reading lists (79), reading strategies (98), speech (66), spelling (95)
In the Classroom
Reading Rockets is a fantastic resource for teachers, librarians, parents, and principals. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter for the latest information, blogs, thoughts, and ideas for teaching reading. Use this website as a resource for your classroom, library, or even with you school action committees. Provide a link to this site on your class webpage. Install widgets for reading, and find the latest apps to support literacy. Join reading blogs, and add widgets to make your reading strategies complete. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Discover Design: A Student Design Experience - Chicago Architecture Foundation
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): architecture (62), engineering (120), makerspace (41), measurement (125), modeling (8)
In the Classroom
Teach students about applied science and math through the use of design. Students will see real life applications, get energized about a possible career, and go beyond repetitious facts or abstract theories. Use this site to spark ideas for your students. Use one of the smaller past challenges for your class. Have students compete to create a new student locker or lunch tray. Have them do research and design prototypes. Have students display their work locally for the school and community. Judge work by the public or by classmates on a rubric. Even if you are not part of the larger Maker's Faire movement, your students can be involved in hands-on design and innovation.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
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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Stencyl - Stencyl, LLC
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): game based learning (173), gamification (73), quizzes (89)
In the Classroom
Create games for student review and/or practice, or use to assess knowledge before and after a unit. View example games for an idea of what you can create using this tool. One of the best learning tools for kids is to have them create their OWN games. Use your own teacher account so you do not need student emails at school. Ideally, students can create games for either learning or review for their fellow classmates. Assign a small group of students to create a game and then act as "host" to present their research information on a topic and keep the "audience" engaged. Learning support teachers might want to work together with a small group of students to create review games on a projector or interactive whiteboard. The process of creating the game provides another layer of review/practice before students play the game for more repetition.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)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Requires download/installation of software
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I Want to Know! Helping students explore a wonder-filled summer - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 6tag(s): search strategies (23), summer (30)
In the Classroom
Make "I Want to Know" the theme for your final month of the school year as you reinforce lifelong learning. The tools in this article are must-shares for parents to know about. Include them in your final newsletter or web page update for the year as students venture off for the summer.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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YouTube Teachers - Learn. Teach. Share - YouTube EDU
Grades
K to 12YouTube is very valuable to educators looking for great educational content. There are videos for early elementary concepts like safety up through college-level courses. YouTube has the ability to stream content into channels based upon your viewing preferences, and videos are easily marked as "favorites" to find in your history. It offers suggested channels based on your watching history including trending and popular videos. Parents can filter out objectionable content and comments using Safety Mode -- which is often disabled.
Create a YouTube channel to collect videos for easy access by students. Upload teacher-created videos for your class to your channel. Do you know a great video not featured on YouTube EDU? Suggest it for the EDU collection.
tag(s): video (260)
In the Classroom
Use YouTube Teachers/EDU to create a channel of appropriate videos for your class. Consider creating your own videos of content that can be uploaded to your YouTube channel. Use videos to introduce topics, dig deeper into the content, and review for exams. You may even want to try "flipping" you class so students view the video information as homework and practice with concepts in class the next day. Students can be given the task of finding suitable videos that take the content deeper for better understanding. Create video guides that go with the videos or quizzes that can be given at the end. Assign videos for students to view and give them time to use the information to create a presentation for the rest of the class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CurriConnects Book List: Books for Tough Situations - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): difficult conversations (58), disabilities (29), divorce (6), eating disorders (7), emotions (47), social and emotional learning (84), social skills (22)
In the Classroom
Build student literacy skills and help students facing personal challenges. Reading about personally meaningful topics will help students work through them. It will also build the important reading strategy of connecting what they read to what they already know. Keep this list handy in your Favorites to suggest options when a student seems to need them. Since the list includes topics for all levels of maturity, you might want to share portions of it rather than the entire list. You may also want to tell parents about it during parent conferences or when situations arise. As always, allow students to self- select independent reading books from a list of options. Don't forget to share the list with the school and local libraries so they can bring in some of the books on interlibrary loan, if needed. Your school counselor will also appreciate this list. CurriConnects are a great help for teachers and parents who have lost school library/media specialists due to budget cuts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CurriConnects Book List: Money, Money, Money - TeachersFirst
Grades
2 to 10tag(s): business (47), financial literacy (92), money (119)
In the Classroom
Build student literacy skills, reinforce what students are learning about money and economics, and help students build the important reading strategy of connecting what they read to prior (classroom!) knowledge. Share this link on your class web page or wiki so students can select independent reading books to accompany your unit on economics or financial literacy. Don't forget to share the list with the school and local libraries so they can bring in some of the books on interlibrary loan. CurriConnects are a great help for teachers who have lost school library/media specialists due to budget cuts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Embracing Research - Identifying Reference Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
1 to 8tag(s): Research (83)
In the Classroom
Mark this Help! guide in your Favorites for use and review when planning your next research project or whenever students need to "lookup" something. The resources and ideas will help every student be successful. Adapt for weaker readers by using resources or ideas from lower grades. Don't forget to look at other resources "tagged" research here on TeachersFirst.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Free Kids Books - Red Sky Ventures
Grades
K to 6This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
If you are not a primary level teacher, be assured all the ESL/ELL, world language, theme related alphabet books are completely customizable. A great way to use the resources with older, struggling readers is to tap into their interests and have them customize the resources.Create a class book with favorite activities, rhymes, names of books, or any way you choose to create classroom community. Make a special book for your school to welcome visitors or new students. Read the PDFs on the interactive whiteboard, projector, or at a center. Post as a link on your website for students to read at home.
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QR Treasure Hunt Generator - Classtools.net
Grades
4 to 12Note: QR code readers exist for every type of phone and are easily found on the Internet. For computers, add-ons exist for Firefox and Chrome as well as a desktop application from Adobe.
tag(s): game based learning (173), gamification (73), qr codes (17)
In the Classroom
Use to make any class content into a treasure hunt for knowledge. Keep students engaged by creating learning centers that have a question requiring an answer and perhaps another activity at the center before going on to the next. Have students learn and answer questions about mystery objects, art prints, or books/authors with accompanying QR codes. Identify trees by creating a QR code with a question about the tree and perhaps another link taking them to specific information. Create a scavenger hunt around the school asking questions about activities in the school or certain student projects found in showcases. (The first QR code could be printed in the school newsletter.) Create a treasure hunt with books in the library to test library search skills or to find a specific book and answer questions from the index, table of contents, etc. Use QR codes on objects in Geometry to ask questions about the shapes or solve a problem based on a physical object. Any subject area and content could find a use for this Treasure Hunt Generator. Challenge students to create their own QR treasure hunts as a way to "present" research projects. Use in social studies for the entire class to create a QR code hunt around your community to bring local history to life for all residents.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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