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Big Huge Labs: Map Maker - John Watson: Big Huge Labs
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): maps (215)
In the Classroom
Create a map to track where your students went on summer vacation (or have ever traveled). Create a map of places you have visited in a work of literature, or where students have written about going on fantasy vacations. Share the maps on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups work together to create maps related to lessons in your social studies, history, or literature classes. Embed multiple student project maps in your class wiki along with student writings that accompany the maps. Check out the Big Huge Labs educator account. Easily pre-register students to avoid creating logins, view and download their creations, and view the site advertisement free. You will find information about the Educator Account here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Origins of Halloween and the Day of the Dead - EDSITEment
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
If you are looking for a new twist to Halloween? Use this site for research and more. Divide the students into cooperative learning groups and have each group research Halloween in various countries (maybe even some countries not included at this site). Have the groups create multi-media presentations to share with the class on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students write a blog entry about Halloween in the country they researched, or create a video (with costumes, even better). Share the videos using a resource such as TeacherTube (explained here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Poll Junkie (beta) - eppyjerk.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): data (151), polls and surveys (49)
In the Classroom
Use this site to collect data for math activities and graphing. Use it for people to rate student-created projects or for social studies projects about elections, or other social issues. Have students make wiki pages on an issue and include a poll and then graph the poll results in math class. Poll parents and grandparents on your class web page to involve them in decisions or use their experiences to help students understand times "long ago."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Blues Journey - Kennedy Center
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): blues (22), chicago (4), jazz (16), louisiana (6), mississippi (5)
In the Classroom
Include this site in music or U.S. history classes as you learn about the history of the 20th century. Have students write a fictitious blog from the viewpoint of one of the music composers: what were they thinking? What was their life like? In music class, have students compose their own "Blues." Video and share the songs using TeacherTube (explained here). Gifted students, especially those interested in music, could use this site as a springboard for their compositions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pete's Powerpoint Station - mrdonn and phillip martin
Grades
K to 12tag(s): 20th century (62), adhd (28), back to school (55), electricity (62), flight (34), inventors and inventions (80), literature (220), parts of speech (38), polar (11), politics (117), speech (68), states (124), war of 1812 (15), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (160)
In the Classroom
Use these PowerPoints to provide background information for projects or further inquiry in class. For example, use a PowerPoint on cells to give background information. Create questions for students to answer while viewing the PowerPoint or add your own "lecture" notes while showing to a class. Remember that PowerPoint does not HAVE to be shown on a screen. Students can watch them as tutorials at a center or computer cluster. Learning support teachers will appreciate having an alternate way to present basic concepts to visual learners. Assign students a particular cell part to research more information about the part. Explore professional topics on your own or together with colleagues during inservice time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Visions of Christmas - American Antiquarian Society
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
Art teachers, enlarge the antique photos and engravings by double clicking on the small picture. The enlarged image can be printed to be included in a vast choice of art projects. Around the holidays, project one of the pictures on your interactive whiteboard or projector for students to use as a writing prompt, as they write a story about what they feel the picture portrays.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mr. President - Smithsonian Institution
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): biographies (93), politics (117), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a starting point for research projects. If you are teaching about the presidents, this site would be great on your projector or interactive whiteboard.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Biographies of the Presidents - The White House
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): presidents (135), white house (16)
In the Classroom
This is a good site for a first exploration of American government. Share the short biographies using eMargin, eMargin, reviewed here on your interactive whiteboard or projector to highlight important facts. Use this site for research projects on the U.S. Presidents. This site is a perfect addition to your Presidents' Day celebration!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales - Scholastic
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
The possibilities at this site are endless! Take advantage of the grade-appropriate activities, interactives, lesson plans, and printables. Have students work with a partner to try out the Brainstorm Machine. Use this site to create a writing station. After studying the genre, why not have students create illustrated virtual books of their own using a free tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Unfortunately, the included activity requires flash, which is not supported on all browsers; however, the lesson plans and activities provide a starting point for many lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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From Prejudice to Pride: An African American Journey - Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum
Grades
5 to 10tag(s): africa (144), black history (130)
In the Classroom
Use this site for research projects about amazing African-Americans. Most of the activity suggestions are more traditional projects and writing assignments. If you want to add some technology touches, why not enhance student learning by replacing pen and paper and have students create a fictitious blog from one of the heroes highlighted at this site, or a cross-time dialog via email or text message between a slave from the 1800s and Barack Obama, or enhance learning by creating an interactive, multimedia infographic resume about the man (or woman) they researched. Use Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index - MSNBC
Grades
6 to 12Teachers should be aware of several cautions however: Preview the cartoons collections for age-appropriateness; understand that the site does contain advertisements; and recognize that the images are copyright protected. Teachers are advised to post links to specific cartoons rather than trying to "cut and paste" the cartoons into websites or other documents.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), politics (117)
In the Classroom
Use the political cartoons on this site to introduce a class discussion on current events, civics, or government. Try using a cartoon as a writing prompt either for individual students or for collaborative work. Post a link to a particular cartoon or cartoon series on your classroom blog for discussion. Have students try to create a cartoon (either drawing or using computer generated images) depicting current events in the news.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Veterans History Project - Library of Congress
Grades
9 to 12At the time of this review the "listening" feature was not available on the Chrome browser, however it does work if you use the Edge browser.
tag(s): afghanistan (7), iraq (26), korea (21), resources (83), veterans (27), vietnam (38), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (160)
In the Classroom
Primary documents are a vital link between the students of today and the experiences of real people from the past. Students can access these interviews and accounts through searching by time period (WWI through the present), branch of service, gender, or POW status. As your class studies a particular conflict, assign students different accounts to research and then have them "portray" that person in a panel discussion about the war. Compare the experiences of persons filling similar roles across conflicts. Examine gender differences or the differences between those serving in the Navy and the Army. For a powerful long-term project, download the site's "field kit" and consider gathering new accounts for the project in your community. Use the search bar to find "field kit."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): civil war (138), lincoln (66), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a starting point for projects about our 16th president. Although most relate to exhibits found at the museum, similar research can be found online. Have students choose one of the several topics to research further.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Civil War@Smithsonian - Smithsonian
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): abolition (7), civil war (138), lincoln (66), slavery (78)
In the Classroom
This site is an excellent addition to a unit on slavery and the Civil War OR an art class! Have students write captions for the pictures. Challenge students to create a blog entry from Lincoln, a slave, Mathew Brady, or someone else shown in pictures. What were they thinking? Why did they do what they did? How would life have been different if the Internet was around during the Civil War?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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One Life: The Mask of Lincoln - Smithsonian
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): civil war (138), lincoln (66), oil (22), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to take your students on the audio tour of the exhibit which features several podcasts. Art teachers, share the pictures with your students (especially the podcast about the cracked portrait). This site also provides some excellent research information. Have students work in cooperative learning groups to explore this site and then create a project: blog entry, wiki, video, PowerPoint, or something more "traditional."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Shmoop Literature - Ellen Siminoff, et. al.
Grades
9 to 12While actually signing up (which is free) gives you the ability to "clip" files and keep them in a folder, you can access the majority of the information without signing up. Registration does require an email address. Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships.If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
tag(s): literature (220), poetry (192)
In the Classroom
Because the style of writing is informal, this is a great site to use for those difficult to explain qualities such as tone and writing style with students. Visit the site together and discuss some of the "brain snacks," experience some of the short video clips on your interactive whiteboard or projector, or talk about the constructive use of a site like this without plagiarizing.Share one of the slide shows on a projector or interactive whiteboard as you introduce a unit or allow students to use portions of the slide shows as part of their own presentations on a specific author or literature topic.
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TeachersFirst: Lesson Ideas for Lincoln - TeachersFirst
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): civil war (138), debate (42), lincoln (66), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
No matter what subject you teach, you can find something to fit in your plans for Presidents Day or the Lincoln Bicentennial. Use these ideas and adapt at will. You can even email an idea to your teacher colleague to save a friend time!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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I Do Solemnly Swear...Presidential Inaugurations - The Library of Congress
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): inauguration (10), presidents (135), washington (28)
In the Classroom
Why not feature an "inauguration a day" during the week prior to the current inauguration? Use the many images to create a Lino, reviewed here of inauguration information for students to dig though. With older students, have cooperative learning groups create their own Lino. All of the Library of Congress resources are in the public domain, so students can USE these images to create new products, such as a photomontage of an inauguration topic: bands, dress, buzzwords, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Online NewsHour: Inaugural Fashion - PBS
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): fashion (11), inauguration (10)
In the Classroom
Share the pictures of the gowns on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then, enhance student learning by having them research an inaugural ceremony, and using Blogger, reviewed here, either write a blog entry (from the first lady of their choice) discussing the inaugural ceremony (and what they wore) or have your budding journalists write a mock commentary on the political "message" sent by a chosen first lady via her fashion choices.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Inauguration Day Events - Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
Grades
3 to 10tag(s): inauguration (10)
In the Classroom
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector on Inauguration Day. Divide your class into nine groups and have each group learn about one of the "events" of the day. Have the groups share their "event" with the class on a PowerPoint.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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