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ScribbleMaps - Scribble Maps
Grades
2 to 12
10 Favorites
0 Comments
Use this tool to "draw" on and label any map available through Google Maps, including maps of the night sky! No registration or email required! Create a colorful, personalized map ...more
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Use this tool to "draw" on and label any map available through Google Maps, including maps of the night sky! No registration or email required! Create a colorful, personalized map with added scribbles and labels. Add your choice of placemarker labels for geology locations, people, etc. There are even little icons available to use. Your drawing or "Scribble Map" is then available to share by URL, email, or print. Slightly more savvy users can download, save as a KML file (readable in Google Maps or Google Earth), or embed the map in another site. The tools include sharing the map on Facebook and Twitter, as well. Add images by pasting in their URLs. Drawing tools include lines, circles, place pointers, text labels, and color/size/transparency controls for all tools. Place pointers can be edited by selecting them (arrow tool), then clicking the small pencil. This site does include Ads and all the normal controls of Google maps, including satellite, map, terrain, hybrid views and Night Sky. See a sample Scribble Map created by the TeachersFirst editors (drag the map with your mouse!). Explore the tools and MENU options at the top left when you start out. Try the different Maps views (lower right) and zoom controls. Search for a starter location using the search at the top left, just below the tools. There is no help available, but it is easy to do basic maps. Share, save, etc. by clicking Menu (top left). When you first save a map, it will ask you to create a password for that map to use to edit it later. Note that if you SAVE a map and share it by URL, those accessing it will be able to use the tools and change the map. If you want them to see it without changing it, you will need to embed it in a blog, wiki, or other web site. The map ID can be changed and customized by simply typing in your own choice of ID when you are saving the map.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): directions (12), geology (64), landforms (37), landmarks (18), map skills (56), maps (207), space (214)
In the Classroom
Students and teachers will want to keep a written record or map URLS and passwords for future reference. Model this for students so they do not lose hours of work! Teachers can prepare partially-made maps or maps for students to make corrections and changes by giving the students the URL, then having them SAVE the map with a NEW ID. To SAVE the map with a new name and URL, click "Save map" in the menu, then enter your OWN map ID. Students could use a code including their initials, such as SJ12-3-09 for a map made by Sally Jones on Dec 3, 2009. Teachers should PASSWORD protect their originals so changes can only be saved under a new name. Similarly, if a student saves the map with a map password, they don't have to worry about other students vandalizing their work. But they DO need to remember the password! Wise teachers will keep a class list of maps and passwords for forgetful students! In primary grades, make maps of your local community together on your interactive whiteboard as you teach basic map skills. Create your own "key" with symbols you choose for playgrounds, etc. Have students help map locations of favorite playgrounds, grandparents' houses, stores, etc. as they gain basic understanding of map skills. Make sure you allow students to operate the tools! Save the map and share it as a link from your class web site (or embed it there). Keep names generic so it is "safe." Other ideas to challenge gifted student beyond the curriculum or elevate challenge for small groups include: natural resource maps, immigration maps, maps of civil war battles day by day, maps of key sites in the life of a famous person, artist, or author, maps of the settings in a novel, landform maps of a continent or state, "My life" maps of places important to an elementary student's family, annotated watershed maps of pollution sources, maps of the water cycle, maps of constellations in the night sky created by students to demonstrate understanding, maps of a dream community to be built in a vacant area (desert), including the water sources, etc. that will be needed, maps of a redesigned city/town on top of its current map. Teachers can provide map challenges or templates to be completed or corrected, including maps where students must label distances and cardinal directions between points (using map scale and skills). Or provide a teacher-created map with labels in the wrong places for students to correct the landforms, resources, etc. What will YOU do with Scribble Maps?You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Dan's Math - Dan Bach
Grades
5 to 12
1 Favorites
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This math website is a resource for basic information on math concepts. Although it is rather "plain vanilla" in design, it provides some valuable information. Concepts include: Basic...more
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This math website is a resource for basic information on math concepts. Although it is rather "plain vanilla" in design, it provides some valuable information. Concepts include: Basic Math Skills, Pre-calculus, Calculus, Beyond Calculus, and Other Stuff. Dan also provides links to neat math extras like paradoxes and riddles.
tag(s): decimals (84), exponents (35), fractions (159), numbers (119), operations (71), order of operations (28), percent (58), prime numbers (26), square roots (15)
In the Classroom
The basic information on the concepts of math could easily be used in online teaching as an option to a formal textbook. The reading is easy to understand, and to-the-point. The problem of the week section of the site could be used as a challenge activity for students once a week in different math classes. Provide this link on your class website for help to struggling students or for your math lovers to explore on their own.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bad Science - Alistair B. Fraser
Grades
8 to 12
1 Favorites
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"Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out" warns the quote at the start of this page. Bad Science is ...more
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"Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out" warns the quote at the start of this page. Bad Science is the site that debunks the "myths and legends" that are sadly distributed by the misinformed. It is a great site for checking understanding and pinpointing student misconceptions. Many popular ones are addressed in the links offered on this site. Learn about Bad Astronomy, Bad Chemistry, Mad Meteorology (including clouds, rain, greenhouses, and others), and the Pathetic Fallacy. The drawback to the site is that it can seem a little condescending but it may be a byproduct of the author's disgust with bad science.
tag(s): weather (164)
In the Classroom
Students could be assigned different false science statements to research and design their own science news articles comparing fact and fiction. Why not make this a multimedia project and have students complete a podcast, online poster, or narrated photo! For podcasts, try podOmatic, reviewed here. To create an online poster use a site such as Padlet, reviewed here. Challenge cooperative learning groups to find a photo related to their topic (legally permitted to be reproduced), and then label the photo by adding voice bubbles to explain what they learned using a tool such as Phrase.it, reviewed here. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Vesteezy, reviewed here. A class could also be assigned a specific false science fact to research and participate in a class blog or message board discussion via the class web page or wiki site. Students could also use the fiction as the basis for their own "Myth busters" episodes. Reading teachers looking for passages to use in reading comprehension practice, such as finding main idea and supporting details will find these non-fiction passages informative and interesting for their students. Make a temporary copy of one of the explanations to display in your interactive whiteboard software as students highlight key ideas and separate out supporting details using the whiteboard tools. Your science teachers will LOVE you for it!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Color Scheme Designer - Petr Stanicek
Grades
2 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Need help determining colors for a project, website, blog, bulletin board, or (if fashion challenged like me) today's outfit? Use this great site to determine colors that look great...more
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Need help determining colors for a project, website, blog, bulletin board, or (if fashion challenged like me) today's outfit? Use this great site to determine colors that look great together for your next project. Point and click on the portion of the color wheel to pick a central hue of your choosing. Decide among the following choices: monochromatic, complementary, triad, tetrad, among others to choose a selection of colors. View examples of your choice as it would appear on a web page. Use the RGB values for entering into the color number for your web page. RGB values are six characters (numbers and letters) following a # sign. Save your scheme ID number for future reference.
tag(s): colors (64)
In the Classroom
Art teachers can teach basic design and color wheel principles using this tool on an interactive whiteboard or have students experiment with different color schemes to demonstrate their understanding of color concepts. Be aware that some monitors and projectors may not have the color responsiveness that other hardware has, making it more difficult to "see" the subtleties on this site. Use this tool for creation of coordinated website, wiki, or blog pages. Students will find an unlimited number of color schemes to choose from in the creation of their projects. Not sure what a "wiki" is? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Design*Sponge - Grace Bonney, Ed.
Grades
9 to 12
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This design blog from a team of contributing designers and New York-based editor Grace Bonney features multiple daily posts of design ideas from homes, thrift stores, and occasional...more
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This design blog from a team of contributing designers and New York-based editor Grace Bonney features multiple daily posts of design ideas from homes, thrift stores, and occasional traditional artwork. There is also information about student design competitions and shows worldwide. Be sure to explore the various categories, from DIY projects to city design "guides." The visual inspirations and discussion starters will elicit reactions from, "What's such great design about that piece of junk?" to "Wow, what a creative idea!" The rapidly-growing collection can inspire ideas for invention, writing, artwork, and formal design projects. There are also video clips that require Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom
Share images and posts from this blog on your interactive whiteboard or projector to illustrate basic principles of color, line, and other art elements (use those whiteboard drawing tools for students to highlight and label!). After sharing a trend from this blog, ask your art or design students to take digital pictures illustrating that trend in their own home or local mall. Create a class wiki connecting what YOUR students see with what professional designers see. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.As an environmental awareness project, focus on recycled goods and their use as "design elements" in chic homes. Challenge visual/spatial intelligence and engage your visual learners by using this blog as a writing prompt option for student blogs, descriptive writing, or persuasive essays on America materialism or the environment. In science class where you may be studying the laws of motion or the nature of light, allow your "artsy" students to use objects from this blog as illustrative examples of curriculum concepts, connecting something they care about with the science curriculum. Ex. Why is this kind of metal better suited for a lamp? Offer this site as one of many optional links from which they may choose examples, along with more traditional "scientific" sources.
World language students will find the city design guides a wonderful way to study culture in other lands -- and practice describing it in the language of study!
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Padlet - Padlet
Grades
2 to 12
13 Favorites
0 Comments
Padlet offers many tools and resources for creating online bulletin boards to display and organize information on any topic. Create a new board from scratch or choose from many templates,...more
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Padlet offers many tools and resources for creating online bulletin boards to display and organize information on any topic. Create a new board from scratch or choose from many templates, including timelines, maps, storyboards, KWL boards, and many more options. Padlet also offers AI features to use as a tool to automatically create interactive activities and custom boards based on topic, grade level, and additional details such as standards or teaching objectives. Customize the appearance and format of your Padlets using options such as allowing comments on posts, moderating posts and comments before they are publicly posted, and sorting options for easier viewing. When adding posts, users can add links, images, documents, polls, and more to their responses. Free accounts allow you to make 3 Padlets that include search, themes, stats, premium wallpapers, and cross-device support for uploaded videos. You can always delete an old Padlet to create a new one. Find video tutorials and examples by scrolling to the bottom menu and clicking "Support" on the left side of the page. Padlet is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly.
tag(s): artificial intelligence (111), biographies (95), blogs (65), book reports (28), brainstorming (17), bulletin boards (14), DAT device agnostic tool (144), images (256), journals (16), rubrics (34), timelines (51)
In the Classroom
Use a Padlet to collaborate in collecting ideas, brainstorming, and more. Use this tool easily in your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom since all students can access it for free, no matter what device they have. Padlet does not show which work is attributable to which student, so you may want to require that students initial their contributions in order to get credit. If allowing all students to post to the wall or make comments, you may want to discuss internet safety and etiquette and establish specific class rules and consequences. Making the setting private again will prohibit content from later being replaced by classmate "vandalism."Use a Padlet to collect Webquest links and information to share with students. Leave the wall open to comments, and solicit input, discussions, or viewpoints from students. They can even contribute other sources they find. Color code resources to indicate different reading levels or "high challenge" sources for your more able students. Assign a student project where students choose their theme and design a wall around it. For example, have students create a wall about an environmental issue. They can include pictures, audio or video, links, and other information to display. Use as a new format for book reports. Do your students have favorites such as music or sports? Create a wall around these favorites or hobbies. Use a wall for grammar or vocabulary words. Create walls for debates or viewpoints. Post assignments, reminders, or study skills on a wall. Do you use student scribes or reporters? Use the Padlet site to create a wall with the goings-on in class. Embed your walls in a blog, wiki or website. See a similar tool (and more ideas to use either tool) in the TeachersFirst review of Lino here. Decide which one you prefer! Unfortunately, the Padlet embedded viewer is very small but can be scrolled in both directions.
Use Padlet as a class space during snow days and school breaks. Share the link to a teacher-created, public wall where students can share notes about what they did during the snow day or respond to a thought-provoking question.
Encourage creativity and organization by having your gifted students (or anyone doing independent projects) create Padlets to collect ideas, images, quotes, and more in an "idea bin." Require them to share a brainstorming Padlet to show you the ideas they considered before they launch into a project. Have them brainstorm (and later sort/color code) the possibilities for a creative problem solving or "Maker Faire" project. In writing or art classes, use Padlet as a virtual writer's journal or design notebook to collect ideas, images, and even video clips.
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)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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Search - Children's Book Council - Children's Book Council
Grades
1 to 12
1 Favorites
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This great site offers a helpful set of resources for parents, teachers, and librarians. There are lists of newly published books, links to ordering and other book-related resources,...more
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This great site offers a helpful set of resources for parents, teachers, and librarians. There are lists of newly published books, links to ordering and other book-related resources, and a list of "not to be missed" titles and authors for various grade levels. The resources are updated regularly, so there's always something fresh to offer to students or other teachers.
In the Classroom
Be sure to include this site on your teacher web page for students and parents to access to learn more about recommended reading lists. Use the site as a starting point for crafting summer reading lists or to design a reading challenge for your class. *Link*Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Physics Facts - Introduction to Physics - Space, Light, Motion - Kidipede
Grades
5 to 10
5 Favorites
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This site, designed especially for middle school students, highlights the basic foundations of physics. Although this site is recommended for middle school students, it is also appropriate...more
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This site, designed especially for middle school students, highlights the basic foundations of physics. Although this site is recommended for middle school students, it is also appropriate for high school students studying the subject areas. It is mainly a "text" site, without interactives. However, this is a great resource for explaining complex topics, researching specific topics in science, and much more. Each general area (i.e. Laws of Motion, Electricity, and more), includes several sub-topics. There are also links to for students for project and activities. There are two caveats: there are some advertisements -- nothing too distracting -- AND some of the suggested activities include "buying" a book from Amazon. You do NOT need to purchase anything to take advantage of this free resource!
tag(s): earth (184), electricity (59), light (51), mass (19), motion (49), newton (21), simple machines (17), sound (73), space (214), time (92), weather (164)
In the Classroom
Use portions of this site as an anticipatory set in your science class. The information is simple to understand and would be useful for students struggling with a topic. Use the site for research about specific topics. Have teams of students explore each of the "sub-topics" within the main topic. Ask them to record their findings in a digital portfolio of resources using bulb, reviewed here. bulb includes free resources for creating and sharing online portfolios that include images, written work, and video making it perfect to use for sharing student work during parent conferences and when submitting college applications. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create informational videos sharing their research using a tool like Adobe Creative Cloud Express Video Maker, reviewed here. Then share them on a site such as TeacherTube, reviewed here. Why not list this link on your class website, so students can access the page both in and out of the classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Design Squad Global - PBS Kids GO!
Grades
4 to 9
5 Favorites
0 Comments
Are you looking for a new way to get your students excited about science? This neat site is based on the PBS show, Design Squad, but you can easily incorporate ...more
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Are you looking for a new way to get your students excited about science? This neat site is based on the PBS show, Design Squad, but you can easily incorporate the activities and clips from the site without watching the show. There is a full educators guide available (see the Parents and Educator link) with ten engineering and inventive activities. The site also includes video clips, building activities, and interactive (educational) "games." Some of the building activities include "Watercraft," "Hidden Alarm," "Dance Pad Mania," and others. This resource also features "real life" challenges that students (or classes) are able to get involved with.
tag(s): engineering (120), inventors and inventions (71), sound (73)
In the Classroom
The possibilities at this site are "inventive." Visit the games site to learn about sound and play an interactive "string thing." Have students work in cooperative learning groups to recreate the building activities. Share the video clips (or interactives) on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have your class complete one of the "real life" challenges together. If you can't do it during the competition months, go back and try one of the past competitions. Document it on a class wiki, then invite next year's class to do it even better by learning from "experience." Before you know it, kids will walk in the first day of school and ask when they get to try the challenge.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Animals - National Geographic
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Pandas and dolphins and deer - oh my! This website, created by National Geographic, offers an eclectic mix of reference information about numerous animals: fish, invertebrates, bugs,...more
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Pandas and dolphins and deer - oh my! This website, created by National Geographic, offers an eclectic mix of reference information about numerous animals: fish, invertebrates, bugs, birds, reptiles, and others. The site truly has something for everyone. There are video clips, interactive challenges, research information, music clips, photos, and current event news stories. There is a link for kids (designed for the elementary grades) with some age-appropriate interactives, news stories, and videos.
tag(s): amphibians (17), animals (284), birds (45), fish (18), mammals (23), reptiles (12)
In the Classroom
Use this site for research projects or in science class while learning about various animals. Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to share some of the videos and "kids" interactives with your elementary students. Then provide individual computers (or set up a learning station) for students to explore the site on their own. Be sure to list this site on your class website or wiki for students to explore at home and use for homework and research projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Biology Project - The University of Arizona
Grades
K to 12
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This site has something for every grade level - all about biology. It is a bit overwhelming at first, but easy to navigate. If you are a teacher (or parent) ...more
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This site has something for every grade level - all about biology. It is a bit overwhelming at first, but easy to navigate. If you are a teacher (or parent) of a K-8 student, go right to the "Young Explorers" link to find lesson plans, activities, puzzles, and more. If you are a high school biology teacher, you have just found a multitude of ready to go activities to share with your students (effects of tobacco, HIV virus, DNA, cell biology, and much more). There are lesson plans available for all grade levels. Most of the interactive challenges and presentations are designed for middle and high school students. Parts of this site require Flash and Adobe Acrobat. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): cells (81), dna (44), marine biology (25)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans available at this site. High school teachers (and middle school), share the tutorials and interactives on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Share this link on your class website, so students can access the information outside of your classroom.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Gateway to the Summer Games - EdGate
Grades
2 to 8
1 Favorites
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Bring the spirit of the games into your classroom! These nicely designed lesson plans, organized by grade level, address topics including characteristics of the ancient games, national...more
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Bring the spirit of the games into your classroom! These nicely designed lesson plans, organized by grade level, address topics including characteristics of the ancient games, national anthems and customs, and women in the Olympic arena. Fun Olympic facts, information on health and exercise, and creative activities for learning about life in ancient Greece are also provided. Although these activities were originally created for the 2004 Olympics, nearly all of the information is applicable to any year of Olympic events (specifically, the summer Olympics). Some of the lesson plans and other activities require Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom
Use this information to enhance your Olympic unit. The lesson plans and activities require very little preparation. Challenge your students to research the various countries that have hosted the Olympics in the past and create multimedia presentations to share on your interactive whiteboard or projector.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Telephoning English - English Portal.com
Grades
2 to 8
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Students learn appropriate language to use when telephoning and also begin to understand voice mail messages at this site designed for ESL and ELL students. Since using the telephone...more
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Students learn appropriate language to use when telephoning and also begin to understand voice mail messages at this site designed for ESL and ELL students. Since using the telephone is a big challenge when learning a new language, this site will be extremely helpful for newcomers. There are three levels of difficulty available.
tag(s): listening (73)
In the Classroom
Have your students practice the language on this site in a simulated telephone conversation. Have them record the voice mail messages and then play them for other students to respond to. Share this site on your class website or in your class newsletter so ESL parents can benefit from understanding telephone conversation better, too. Teachers of world languages may wish to use this site as a model to create similar information for their students of French, German, Spanish, and other world languages. Special ed teachers working on life skills will find these phone skills helpful, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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60 second Shakespeare - BBC
Grades
9 to 12
2 Favorites
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Although this page has been archived and is no longer updated, most links are functional. This is a fabulous site for the Shakespeare teacher or simply the Shakespeare fan. It...more
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Although this page has been archived and is no longer updated, most links are functional. This is a fabulous site for the Shakespeare teacher or simply the Shakespeare fan. It includes all of Willie's most famous plays done up in student-friendly and attractive, attention-getting form. The challenge is for students to develop their own '60-second' bit of Shakespeare. The site includes examples of different formats and offers everything from teacher lesson plans to "master classes" in teaching students how to do things such as audios, films, and photo slideshows as well as the more common newspaper articles and acting classes. The site also allows viewers to "vote" on their favorite renditions. This website requires Windows Media Player or Real Player. You can get either from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
tag(s): acting (18), shakespeare (93), writing (317)
In the Classroom
Since you can even submit your 60-second Shakespeare piece to the site for posting, this can be a real challenge to classes in competition. Have each class design its own 60-second program. They can use the ones already posted for inspiration. If you choose, you can use plans already posted by Paul Sibson, an IT teaching instructor, or you can pick and choose which ones you want students to attempt (or make better!). Make sure you have written parent permission before submitting student work and are within school policies. If policies prohibit posting on the BBC site, create a private wiki of your own within your school.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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"Science Myths" in K-6 Textbooks and Popular culture - WILLIAM J. BEATY
Grades
K to 6
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If you are a fan of "Mythbusters," you will love this one. This visually-drab site is a treasury of trickery included in K-6 science textbooks and popular culture. The text-only ...more
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If you are a fan of "Mythbusters," you will love this one. This visually-drab site is a treasury of trickery included in K-6 science textbooks and popular culture. The text-only site is created and maintained by a self-described research engineer, "HV/Electrostatics specialist, Lecturer, Sci. Exhibit Designer, Textbook Consultant, Amateur Physicist" on the staff of the University of Washington Dept of Chemistry. There are some ads on the site, but they are not distracting. The various links tell of misconceptions by science category (electricity, physics, etc)and are not searchable. Start with BAD PHYSICS AND BAD ELECTRICITY. There are also links to others' articles on misconceptions in science.
tag(s): electricity (59)
In the Classroom
If you teach science (and even if you only TOOK science), you owe it to yourself to read through this site, at least long enough to find the topics that YOU teach and be sure that your materials are accurate. The best way to find information is probably to browse for the topics you teach and use Ctrl-F on your keyboard to FIND key terms in the text. Of course, if you believe the same misconceptions that our texts have told us for years, you won't know what terms to FIND...You might want to make this a professional learning "game" at an inservice day: find a misconception and debunk it for the rest of the elementary science team. You might want to gently point out the problems to your principal or curriculum director.Share this site with very bright students to explore and report back to you. Need a challenge for the gifted? Have the students select a misconception and create a CORRECT illustration of the concept in multimedia form. If you give them a wiki space to use for their presentation, you can even submit the link to Mr. Beaty. Now that's authentic assessment!
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Gapminder - Gapminder
Grades
7 to 12
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Gapminder is an interactive site designed to present world demographic information in a highly visual way. Using either a world map, or a chart with "bubbles" sized according to each...more
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Gapminder is an interactive site designed to present world demographic information in a highly visual way. Using either a world map, or a chart with "bubbles" sized according to each country's population, users can track 30 years of change in a wide variety of economic and social indicators (for example, population size, percentage of GNP dedicated to military spending, proportion of girls in school, infant mortality). Math teachers can use the site to demonstrate data analysis skills with meaningful data. Slides will save to your Google drive. Be sure to check out the Resources from the top menu
tag(s): data (147), demographics (13)
In the Classroom
The site would be best used on an interactive whiteboard, although computer-savvy students could access it individually. The world data presented might supplement lessons in economics, civics, world cultures, current events or modern history. Teachers should plan to spend a chunk of time previewing the site before using, however, as the interface is not entirely intuitive. There is a tutorial, but it will take some experimentation to discover the various ways to manipulate the data and present it graphically. There is also this page of ideas specifically for teachers. You can compare individual countries, or zoom into geographic regions. "Mature" teachers who learned bar graphs and pie charts may find the choices a little overwhelming, but with a little noodling around, will be able to graphically illustrate concepts in ways never before possible. Challenge your students to retrieve and use some of the data in support of an essay thesis, oral presentation, or debate.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Centuries - Memorial Hall Museum Online
Grades
4 to 12
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There is so much to explore on this site, you will need to place limitations on it! Digital Collections of everything from clothing to chronology, turns of the century exhibits, ...more
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There is so much to explore on this site, you will need to place limitations on it! Digital Collections of everything from clothing to chronology, turns of the century exhibits, in the classroom activities, curricula, New England architecture and tools, manuscripts from people who lived in the time-- this site is truly a museum on the web made student-friendly. The activities section is full of ways to involve students with real objects from history. Students can actually hear some of the artists and writers reading their own words -- which is remarkable. If you teach American literature or history or are interested in artifacts from the past, this is a great site. If you choose, you or your students can create a login and save to "my collection."
tag(s): colonial america (95), england (50), slavery (76)
In the Classroom
Browse the collection for images and descriptions of specific artifacts. Explore themes like Shay's Rebellion, the lives of African-Americans in early rural New England, or the Civil War era in New England. Interactive activities allow you to look at Early American tools, examine artifacts using a 360 degree view or see what clothing was worn (down to the underwear!) by people of the time. If you plan to share objects as part of a lesson "collect" them in a personal collection so you can pull them up easily. Challenge secondary students to use the activity labeled "Create a chronology" to group artifacts from the collections to illustrate a concept, such as slavery, clothing, or background of an author, artist, or historical event. With younger students, use one or more of the activities on an interactive whiteboard or projector or design a simple scavenger hunt within YOUR collection of objects for students to find out about colonial life and times. If you turn them loose on the entire site, you will never get them back.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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S-Cool - Biology A Level & GCSE - S-Cool!
Grades
7 to 12
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This website provides excellent descriptions for numerous biology concepts. Utilize the resource to simplify the complexities of biology. The site is designed for high school students...more
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This website provides excellent descriptions for numerous biology concepts. Utilize the resource to simplify the complexities of biology. The site is designed for high school students and advanced biology classes, but some of the activities would be useful with the middle grades, also. The website features animation, interactive challenges, lessons, explicit details about the biology concepts, and other educational activities. Some of the topics include cells, respiration, nutrition, digestion, reproduction, genetics, DNA and many other science/biology topics. Some standards can be found at the "Teachers Lounge" link.
tag(s): cells (81), dna (44), evolution (85), genetics (76), molecules (42), nutrition (135)
In the Classroom
The interactives would help many students visualize concepts. Use the site as an introduction to or organizer for basic concepts in class, then include the link on your web page for students to review before a test. Some of the activities are also suited for an interactive whiteboard. This site follows a British AS and A2 level and may not exactly follow your curriculum sequence. Some portions require high school level reading, so learning support students would need assistance in select portions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bridge Designer - Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Grades
6 to 12
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This simple website provides a wealth of information about trusses - what they are, how they are used, and the science and math behind trusses. Students are then challenged ...more
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This simple website provides a wealth of information about trusses - what they are, how they are used, and the science and math behind trusses. Students are then challenged to create their own trusses using nodes, members, and loads. Students can calculate their progress and/or clear their structure and start over. The Java plug-in must be installed on your computer. See the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom
The Bridge Designer would work well as a cooperative learning project for the entire class (via an interactive whiteboard) or a small group project for students to work on in pairs.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Guess Who's Coming To Our Classroom - Cara Bafile
Grades
3 to 8
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This website provides a lesson plan, standards, reproducible worksheets and more. The lesson was designed to use around Halloween. The students are challenged to help Miss Terie (get...more
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This website provides a lesson plan, standards, reproducible worksheets and more. The lesson was designed to use around Halloween. The students are challenged to help Miss Terie (get it - mystery) research a new Halloween activity for her class. Everything is provided and excitement is guaranteed - kids love a mystery! This lesson integrates famous people from history, using technology, and solving a mystery.
tag(s): halloween (30)
In the Classroom
Use this as an alternative to the candy-filled holiday party. Ask parent volunteers to help out.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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