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Old Man and the Sea - Alexander Petrov
Grades
6 to 12
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The Old Man and the Sea, written by Ernest Hemingway, is one of the cornerstones of the literary canon. This beautifully illustrated animated film version enhances students'...more
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The Old Man and the Sea, written by Ernest Hemingway, is one of the cornerstones of the literary canon. This beautifully illustrated animated film version enhances students' comprehension at all skill levels and helps teachers introduce students to the rich and varied elements of this classic story. The aesthetically pleasing presentation of Hemingway's vivid imagery serves to present the story in an enjoyable and memorable fashion. Additionally, Turkish subtitles are included in a closed captioning option, which can easily be turned on and off by clicking on the CC button located directly below the video.
tag(s): literature (219)
In the Classroom
This resource may be used in several different ways, depending upon the teacher's needs and goals. Although no curriculum packet or guide is provided, this site is a good resource to enhance the study of The Old Man in the Sea, as well as to meet the needs of the Turkish speaking population. This animated film adapted version can serve as a starting point to acquaint students with Hemingway's well-known literary work and introduce imagery and other significant literary elements. It can also be used as an extension activity that lends itself to oral and written expression, or as a supplementary aid to understanding the text. The subtitles are valuable for bilingual-Turkish speaking, ELL, and ESL students. Use your imagination to spark interesting discussions about the passages that might be difficult to understand in the text, develop a compare-contrast learning activity by using an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here), study the literary elements of the story, or interpret the artistic value.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Lexipedia - Vantage Linguistics
Grades
2 to 12
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Lexipedia is "Where Words Have Meaning." Type in a word and see what happens! This site creates a web of related words. Each color represents a different part of speech ...more
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Lexipedia is "Where Words Have Meaning." Type in a word and see what happens! This site creates a web of related words. Each color represents a different part of speech or relationship to the original word - nouns, verbs, synonyms, antonyms and even fuzzynyms! Words become more than isolated strings of letters and part of a greater web of language.
tag(s): antonyms (13), dictionaries (48), mean (20), synonyms (16), vocabulary (241), vocabulary development (96), word clouds (12)
In the Classroom
Explore this site on interactive whiteboard or projector to show students how to improve writing with descriptive words. Consider allowing students to share a favorite word of the day for 30 seconds on your interactive whiteboard at the start of class. Use this in a word study unit by covering up the original word.Students will then try to discover the word based on the word relationships found around the word. Build understanding of parts of speech through this tool every time you look up a word. Reinforce these concepts for visual learners continuously by using the same colors every time you highlight on your interactive whiteboard. World language teachers can also type in words to demonstrate and expand vocabulary in Spanish, French, German, Dutch, and Italian. Special ed teachers, especially those in speech/language will love this tool to help students SEE relationships between words. Encourage your language-delayed students to look up words and build "word sense" even when they are familiar with the word's meaning. Make this site available as a reference on classroom computers and on your class web page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Year by Year - Infoplease
Grades
3 to 12
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Build students' sense of historical context year by year. Help them to realize that Gershwin did not write during the Vietnam War and that World War II preceded the Beatles. ...more
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Build students' sense of historical context year by year. Help them to realize that Gershwin did not write during the Vietnam War and that World War II preceded the Beatles. This site gives an overview of any year students click on from 1900 to the present, including cultural events, national and world news, politics, sports, prize winners, movie releases, deaths, and --for more recent years -- links to news focusing on other topics such as science and people. It provides an interesting summary of any particular year; most students find it interesting to check the year of their birth and those of their family members. Many highlighted keywords link to the Infoplease encyclopedia and other reference sources.
tag(s): 20th century (130), news (225), politics (119), sports (84)
In the Classroom
Ask your students to visit the site and create a multimedia presentation from the information about any specific year they see there. Or have them compare life in two different decades. Have students create online books using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Or challenge students to create an online poster using Padlet (reviewed here).When studying literature, point out this site as a source authors might use for cultural background information in their writing. Pick out the details while reading a novel, for example, that might be found at this site. Or before studying a historical period, use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students collect information tidbits and predict what might be put into the site for the current year.
Ask your ENL/ELL students to share similar information about the years they were born and the events that occurred in their home cultures. Use the site when preparing a unit on summarizing or informational paragraphs, showing the students how to select and condense relevant information from the site into a few sentences.
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Bestsellers - Shmoop Editors
Grades
4 to 12
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Bestsellers is a credible, academic resource that utilizes innovative internet based features that appeal to today's youth culture, discussing best selling literature. Do you...more
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Bestsellers is a credible, academic resource that utilizes innovative internet based features that appeal to today's youth culture, discussing best selling literature. Do you want to assign a book whose title will grab your students' attention just by the mere mention of it, like the books found on Oprah's Picks and other most read lists? Have you steered away from those books because of the lack of teaching resources, such as study guides and questions? Bestsellers, part of the larger Shmoop site written by Ph.D. and Masters students at Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley (and other top universities), does all of that and more. Students and teachers can access lively learning guides organized by summaries, themes, quotes, study questions, character analysis, and links to best of the web options. The pages are written in a clever, witty voice designed to appeal to students and teachers, not at all like the familiar style found in most book synopsis and reviews, and all the information is properly cited. The only complaint you might have is the limited number of books to choose from, but don't worry; books are continually being added, so check back often. Since books for both younger and older audiences share this site, you may want to preview what your students can find for other age groups.
"Bestsellers" is free to use. Additionally, there is an option to create a free account which allows the advantage of using the tools like the online dictionary, "Stickies," and sharing on social networks. Creating an account requires an email address. 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. 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.
"Bestsellers" is free to use. Additionally, there is an option to create a free account which allows the advantage of using the tools like the online dictionary, "Stickies," and sharing on social networks. Creating an account requires an email address. 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. 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): book reports (27), literature (219), novels (33)
In the Classroom
Are you looking for a way to motivate your reluctant readers to pick up a book, or do you have some book hungry students who sneak to read their own book while you are teaching a lesson? The "Bestsellers" site provides a wealth of internet-based material for navigating the twists and turns of the plots and characters in books like Harry Potter and the Twilight series. The online learning guides have a table of contents that gives a quick view of what is included in each tab, which enables you to quickly find what you want without opening each section. This site provides more information than the standard textbook teacher's edition, and provides brilliant connections between some of the literary classics. There are photos, videos, and links galore. You might want to include a link to this site on your class web page, or if you prefer to control the amount of information that you want students to have before actually reading the book, then bookmark it in your favorites and dole out the information at your discretion.If looking for a different instructional method, 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 book on the bestsellers list.
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Literature-Map - Marek Gibney
Grades
5 to 12
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Finished reading the most recent book by your favorite author and looking for a new author to explore? You and your students will find authors you are likely to enjoy ...more
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Finished reading the most recent book by your favorite author and looking for a new author to explore? You and your students will find authors you are likely to enjoy based on similar authors you (and others) identify as favorites. The choices display visually in a moving, web-style "map." The author's' names are dynamic, moving around the page as other authors are identified. Content changes as more people participate in the site.
tag(s): authors (108), literature (219), movies (55)
In the Classroom
While this is a free site, in order to participate in all its functions, each student will need to sign up for a "flork" account which is open to worldwide use and discussion forums. Teachers may want to limit student use to the content that does not require membership or use a whole-class account created by the teacher. This site could be used with an interactive whiteboard or projector to illustrate how author selection works and show relationships between similar authors. Students may search individually for new authors. In higher level literature classes, ask students to explain why certain authors are shown as similar. What similarities do they see? Have students use this question as a prompt for a blog post or full expository writing piece.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Literature Project - Literature Project
Grades
5 to 12
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Literature Project is a compilation of books, speeches, plays, poems and more, including links to chapter by chapter text. The site also provides research links and information as well...more
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Literature Project is a compilation of books, speeches, plays, poems and more, including links to chapter by chapter text. The site also provides research links and information as well as links to eBooks to purchase. There are many classic books available to read as well as information and links, called "topic sites," with more coming soon. One example of a useful topic site on Literature Project is African American Authors in History. Note that though study guides are listed, they are not accessible and the reader may be taken to a link where she can make a purchase! The site lacks images and animation, but it is useful for access to electronic texts of many classic works frequently studied in schools.
The project states that they are currently working on literature forums, which may be useful for students in discussing literature once it becomes available.
The project states that they are currently working on literature forums, which may be useful for students in discussing literature once it becomes available.
tag(s): literature (219), speech (66)
In the Classroom
Use this site to assign reading of classic texts and stories. Students will benefit since they do not have to access actual books. As the site boasts, it is more "environmentally friendly"! Students may want to use the topic sites to research for class reports, glogs or other projects. Use classic texts from this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Either copy/paste for some quick electronic text or simply open the actual web page. Use the passages to annotate and explore literary devices, examine sentence/paragraph structure, or analyze writing style or context clues for vocabulary, having students use whiteboard tools to explain their analysis or present their own thoughts about the literature. This site is also a great place to "grab" passages of text and paste them into a graphic word cloud-maker such as WordClouds, reviewed here. With electronic text, you can easily compare the writing style of two or more authors or poets in a snap. Invite students to create visual interpretations of text passages, illustrating themes or motifs using a tool such as Canva, reviewed here.Electronic text can also be "read aloud" by text-to-speech software on your computer, assisting those who may have weaker reading skills.
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WordItOut - Worditout.com
Grades
2 to 12
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Create impressive word clouds from any text! What is a word cloud? Word clouds show not only the words in the text sample, but also display the frequency of the ...more
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Create impressive word clouds from any text! What is a word cloud? Word clouds show not only the words in the text sample, but also display the frequency of the words by showing often used words in a larger font. No login or registration required. Click "Create a word cloud," enter or paste your text and then click "word it out." View your word cloud, drag the arrows on the sides of the screen to make larger or smaller, and change the colors and specifics of the word cloud in the space below. Click "Save" to save as either public or private (an email address is required to save.)
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): visualizations (10), vocabulary (241), word choice (13), word clouds (12), word study (57)
In the Classroom
You need to know how to copy/paste text passages (ctrl or command + C, then ctrl or command + V to paste. Think Velcro to stick it there!). If you wish to Save, you must join the site (email required). Alternately, capture the image using screen capture (apple/shift/4 on a Mac or Print Screen on a PC.)Use a word cloud in virtually any class. With emergent readers, enter multiple words with the same consonant cluster or vowel sound, so they can SEE a visual grouping of that sound on your interactive whiteboard and guess the sound. Project a teacher-created word cloud at the start of a new lesson or unit and have students determine what the lesson will be about. Have students use word clouds to proof their own essays or stories. Use word clouds for students to identify the subject and frequently used words to check if they are on target with their intended message. Have students find overused words in their own writing as part of lessons on word choice. Teachers could create and save a word cloud then share it as a visual prompt for students to work individually or in groups to identify words they know (and the definitions) as well as the words they are unfamiliar with. Create word clouds of passages or stories and allow students to guess the author, title, subject, or meaning of the story. Underscore motifs in literature by creating clouds of passages, especially poetry. Have students work together to make clouds of alternative ways to say "said" or "went" in story-writing to post in your classroom as a reference. Create word clouds of opinion passages to determine the bias of the author and possible reasons for that specific opinion. Make word cloud posters on health topics such as the potential health risks of smoking. Make word clouds of different food groups. Create higher order thinking activities by approaching text in a unique way.
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A Family Farm Album: The Photographs of Frank Sadorus - Illinois State Museum
Grades
3 to 12
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Take a journey through the life of Frank Sadoras. This site has a wonderful collection of photographs and biographical documents that chronicles Frank's life growing up on a farm in...more
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Take a journey through the life of Frank Sadoras. This site has a wonderful collection of photographs and biographical documents that chronicles Frank's life growing up on a farm in Illinois from 1898-1912. By using this site, you and your students will get a view of what life was like growing up on a farm as well as the photographic techniques Frank used to take his photos.
tag(s): agriculture (53), genealogy (8), photography (130), primary sources (121)
In the Classroom
This site is a good site to use if you want to introduce more primary sources into your teaching. There is an extensive activities and resource section that covers the topics of photography, history, farming and genealogy. In addition, the PDF entitled the Turning Point would be a good resource to use in a lesson on narrative writing. Share the photos in art (or photography) class on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students create blog entries from the perspective of Frank Sadorus. Use the pictures for creative writing exercises. Why not have a photo of the week and have students write a short piece on the class wiki about what they feel the picture represents, what is happening in the photo, what the animal or person was doing/thinking in the photo, or whatever else is applicable in your class. Do you want to learn more about wikis? Check out the /content/wiki/">TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.
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LearnEnglish Kids - British Council
Grades
3 to 12
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Here you will find a plethora of ESL, ELL and English language activities, each of which in turn has a plethora of its own activities! For example, the short story ...more
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Here you will find a plethora of ESL, ELL and English language activities, each of which in turn has a plethora of its own activities! For example, the short story about the magic carpet ride is like a picture book with animated characters, is interactive, and the story is read out loud. There are activities to print to go with the story, there are online interactive activities, and, even before the story begins, there is an interactive picture/word matching activity. Last, at the end of the story, is a short writing prompt. Wow! That was just one short story!
The categories on the site include "Play a game," "Print some activities to do," "Listen to a song," "Read a story," "Practice your writing," and "Find lots more activities." AND each one of these categories is multi-leveled.
In the Classroom
This extensive site will make the life of the ESL, ELL, or remedial reading teacher so much easier! Though intended for ESL/ELL teachers, this site can be used by any teacher who is teaching elementary reading and writing. It would also be good for remedial readers. In some parts, i.e. the interactives, you may want to pair up a proficient reader with the ESL/ELL student or remedial reader. The reading of the stories could be done with a projector or interactive whiteboard for a small group or the whole class, and then small groups of students could brainstorm the writing prompts at the end on an interactive white board. Share some of the activities with parents, as well, for at home practice with ESL/ELL students and their family members. Be sure to include this link on your class website.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Visual Thesaurus Vocab Grabber - Thinkmap,Inc.
Grades
3 to 12
2 Favorites
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The Visual Thesaurus VocabGrabber is a captivating interactive resource which can be used from elementary school to the college level for improving vocabulary in the context of your...more
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The Visual Thesaurus VocabGrabber is a captivating interactive resource which can be used from elementary school to the college level for improving vocabulary in the context of your selected content. The online VocabGrabber tool quickly extracts vocabulary from a text within seconds to help teachers and students generate a list of the key vocabulary and see how those words are used in context. Additionally, by clicking on a word, the part of speech is revealed, and students can listen to the correct pronunciation. The format is easy to use simply copy text from any document or online source, (such as passages of literature found on the Gutenberg Project free website), paste the copied text into the box, and click the Grab Vocabulary button! In just seconds, an interactive concept map of vocabulary words and phrases appears. Can't find an online version of the text? No worries...type the text directly into the text box and voila! The words are "grabbed" or organized in comparison to the frequency of these words in standard written English. VocabGrabber can be used with any type of text: a newspaper article, a book chapter, a speech, or a historical document.
There are additional features if you choose to subscribe, particularly the Visual Thesaurus interactive word maps, which can be saved and printed, and an online edition in multiple languages for English-speaking students learning other languages and ESL/ELL students.
tag(s): maps (220), reading comprehension (143), synonyms (16), vocabulary (241), writing (311)
In the Classroom
Teachers and students can use the VocabGrabber on an interactive whiteboard, projector, or individual computers to highlight vocabulary specific to a literary work or curricular subject area, to improve reading comprehension by choosing key concepts and literary terms, and to build background knowledge for a given text. As an added benefit, have students click on the VocabGrabber when typing their own assignments such as a poem or an essay, to avoid repeating the same word. They simply type in a word and generate a list of synonyms and more descriptive words. VocabGrabber enables students to see how words are used in context, instead of memorizing word lists. Additionally, VocabGrabber is extremely helpful for students preparing for standardized tests. Be sure to include this site on your class web page for students to access both in and outside of class for further practice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mailinator - ManyBrain, Inc.
Grades
6 to 12
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Frustrated at creating sub accounts with your gmail account for more than 100 students? Try Mailinator as a possible solution to the problem. Make student accounts for the web 2.0 ...more
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Frustrated at creating sub accounts with your gmail account for more than 100 students? Try Mailinator as a possible solution to the problem. Make student accounts for the web 2.0 tools you would like your individual students to use. Create a "spoof" email account from one email account (preferably the teachers gmail.) Use this "spoof" account to enter when creating web 2.0 accounts. Mail can be viewed online for any verification if necessary. The bonus? Less spam when signing up for other sites!
In the Classroom
Use your teacher gmail account to create different Mailinator accounts for each student by sending an email to the "spoof" account. For example, a student sends an email to gottalovebio@mailinator.com. Magically, your "spoof" email address has been created. Use this "spoof" email all year long for any web 2.0 tool you wish to sign up for. Find emails sent to the "spoof" account by viewing on the mailinator site (type in your "spoof" email address) or following an RSS feed (use a feed reader to view them all.) Important Note: emails must be read within a few hours as they are then permanently deleted. Caution students not to use these email addresses for anything important as it is not a regular email address. Use only for creating logins and registrations for other web 2.0 tools. Stumped with coming up with a unique name. Possible name choices are given on the site (refresh to see more options.) Be sure to read the FAQ's to familiarize yourself with the service and answer any questions you may have. Check to be sure this is not blocked by your school. If available on a teacher computer, consider cycling each student through your computer to get them signed up while being monitored. Record their "spoof" emails in case these are needed later and students forget. Be advised that these email accounts are public. If the same email address is entered on the site by someone else, those emails will be viewed. Despite this, use the service to quickly enter students to use the variety of cool online tools found on the Internet today.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Free Magazines Online - James Hubbs
Grades
7 to 12
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This site has a number of current magazines available online including Forbes, Scientific American, Men's Health, and countless others, organized by category. Many could be used for...more
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This site has a number of current magazines available online including Forbes, Scientific American, Men's Health, and countless others, organized by category. Many could be used for educational purposes (see the Science & Learning section, for example). Other general topics include Arts, Business, Computers, News, Sports, and more. Besides regular magazines, there are a number of columns and blogs by famous people. A few magazines, such as Forbes and Scientific American, display feature article titles when you click on their names, but most open to the magazine home page in a new window.
tag(s): blogs (71), news (225), newspapers (91)
In the Classroom
For ESL/ELL students, use magazines at this site to teach vocabulary and American culture. For current events classes, display the latest news online on your projector or interactive whiteboard, finding it quickly with just a few clicks. Have groups explore current news headlines and compare coverage or create their own videos (news or infomercials) using a site such as Teachers.TV reviewed here. This may also be a link that you would want to list on your class website for both students and parents to use at home. If you require current events article summaries each week, your students can use this site to find the latest at no cost. Reading teachers can easily find passages to use for comprehension skills such as main idea, summarizing, inferencing and more, all from current articles and ready to project on your interactive whiteboard for underlining, highlighting and discussion.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Memorize Now - Brad Haugaard
Grades
2 to 12
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This site allows students to enter texts of varying lengths which they would like to memorize, but it can also be much more. Working like a sort of reverse cloze ...more
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This site allows students to enter texts of varying lengths which they would like to memorize, but it can also be much more. Working like a sort of reverse cloze test, the site erases more and more of the text as the student works through it. A blank remains, marking the spot for each word that has been removed. Alternatively, students can also select "letters" to see the first word of every sentence in the item. Two ways of entering the text passage allow students to copy items from a spread sheet (like vocabulary words) instead of retyping or entering each word. This site also allows you to create flashcards to use for practice. This is a great tool to help students study and understand how they learn best!
tag(s): vocabulary (241)
In the Classroom
This site does far more than aid memorization. Reading teachers can also use it to teach comprehension skills, such as using context clues to determine meaning in a paragraph. Paste in the paragraph (perhaps a passage from a non-fiction science or social studies article) and use this tool on your interactive whiteboard for students to "figure out" the missing words. Do the same with world language texts to reverse match using subject verb agreement and to analyze missing content using inflected endings. In science class, use this site to remove clues from a paragraph explaining a concepts or terms, subtracting information and having students fill it back in as they review for test and quizzes. Learning support teachers will love this option! Enter passage students write that include new vocabulary words, letting students challenge each other by subtracting portions. Speech and language teachers can use this tool to provide practice with expressive language.For work with memorization, use this site with popular song lyrics in class. Listen to the song first and give the students the lyrics to be memorized. Or, go to YouLyrics (if district policy allows) to get the song and see a video of it and then have the students use this site to help them memorize the lyrics. ESL, ELL, and students of other languages will enjoy memorizing songs which helps them improve their vocabulary and accent. Use this site in a group by projecting the screen on a whiteboard or projector and systematically show fewer and fewer words on the screen. Have teams of students compete against each other by writing the text as quickly as possible on two boards in the classroom. Share this link on your class website for students to use both in and out of the class to memorize new information. Share it as a personal study skills tool, as well.
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Google for Education - Google
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
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Google for Education's Learning Center Course Catalog is a comprehensive professional development platform offering free training for educators at all skill levels. The catalog includes...more
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Google for Education's Learning Center Course Catalog is a comprehensive professional development platform offering free training for educators at all skill levels. The catalog includes a variety of learning resources ranging from quick, focused Google lessons that take under 10 minutes to complete, to in-depth courses organized into units that require 30 minutes to a few hours of study time. Sample topics include "Manage Your Files in Google Drive," "Organize and Search Your Gmail," "Create Surveys and Quizzes in Google Forms," and many others. Teachers can filter courses by their expertise level (such as beginner) and build a customized learning curriculum to master Google education tools for classroom use and beyond. The platform also features community-created resources--guides and video tutorials submitted by fellow educators--allowing teachers to learn practical tips and strategies from peers who are implementing these tools in real classrooms. This structured approach helps educators become more effective by progressively developing their technology integration skills.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): Google (21), organizational skills (83), professional development (271)
In the Classroom
Even those familiar with the Google tools will find information and uses they did not know about. Consider posting a link to your class web page for parents and students to access. Also, share this resource with your colleagues.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Moviesheets - Christopher Sheehan
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
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Use this database to find teacher created sheets that follow movies shown in the classroom. Provide a change of pace for your students by using different questioning to challenge them....more
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Use this database to find teacher created sheets that follow movies shown in the classroom. Provide a change of pace for your students by using different questioning to challenge them. Be sure to preview, as this collection is only as good as the materials submitted. Check with your administration on rules for using "home videos" as they can be a violation of licensing or deemed inappropriate. Even though videos appear here, they may not be educationally appropriate. Be sure to check out the notices at the start of any "entertainment" video to be sure of legality. Keep in mind that these worksheets should not replace good interactive and thought provoking activities. Be sure to use other means to involve students in thought and action beyond the worksheets themselves. Find worksheets in either PDF or Word formats.
tag(s): business (54), climate (89), geology (61), movies (55)
In the Classroom
Use the worksheets to get students thinking about the science (or math, or other subjects) beyond these videos. Encourage students to create their own questions from the movie (reminding them of the relevance to your subject area) and choose the best worksheets to use and submit. Require students to add additional questions that are thought provoking and tied to the content for additional consideration. Use questions that go beyond factual recall to tie concepts together, explain phenomena, or uncover misconceptions. Continue discussion of concepts further than the paper through open discussion or blog posting. Rather than creating a worksheet, have your students create an interactive online poster using Genial.ly, reviewed here.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Teacher Training Videos - Russell Stannard
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Become a technology expert by learning from the best. View screencasts of great training videos for teachers. Find content to support in a variety of subject areas with tutorials and...more
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Become a technology expert by learning from the best. View screencasts of great training videos for teachers. Find content to support in a variety of subject areas with tutorials and "how to" for a variety of sites. Subscribe to newsletters to receive updates of newly produced videos. Find "how to" videos of web 2.0 tools such as wikis, blogs, and other more complicated tools by clicking on "Web 2.0/ICT Videos."
tag(s): professional development (271), spelling (96), tutorials (49), vocabulary (241)
In the Classroom
Use the links on the left hand side to find videos on how to use some of the most popular and useful classroom sites around. Find something of use in the vast array available for viewing. The screencasts of the web 2.0 sites offer step by step instructions to help novice and intermediate users in their use in the classroom. Videos are organized into topics with multiple tools showcased in the segment. Find quick videos at the bottom of the page which highlight just one tool. Even teachers of very young students will find many of the tools explained helpful for their own use in creating learning materials, centers, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wonder of Words - wordinfo.info
Grades
8 to 12
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This word quiz is a great way to help students prepare for SAT's or other tests that require high level vocabulary. Students are given a definition and five possible "answers." ...more
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This word quiz is a great way to help students prepare for SAT's or other tests that require high level vocabulary. Students are given a definition and five possible "answers." Simply click on the word that is being defined and you get instant feedback if your answer was correct or you're your percentage correct, and the correct answer - if yours was incorrect. One recommendation is to click on Image Quizzes for quiz words with entertaining pictures that actually do help the student find the correct word. This site also features "category/subcategory" quizzes that concentrate on related word families. The site does include some unobtrusive advertisements.
tag(s): test prep (68), vocabulary (241)
In the Classroom
If individual computers aren't available, this site would work on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Make it a class challenge. Put this site in a PSAT, SAT, or ACT preparation pamphlet/web page to help students maximize their vocabulary knowledge. It is fast and easy to use. For the most advanced second language learners, this quiz would also be helpful for preparing for the TOEFL test. This is a site you want to list on your class website. As part of your regular vocabulary study, consider having student create their own "Image Quizzes" using their personal vocabulary words, then challenge their classmates! Use a simple tool such as Powerpoint to make the quiz slides (uploadable to Thinglink, reviewed here, or other slide sharing tools) or create them online on a class wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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FluxNow - fluxnow.com
Grades
8 to 12
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This blog style book review source, aimed at teen readers, offers annotated listings of the newest "literature" on the teen scene. Many are done by teen writers, with cover illustrations,...more
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This blog style book review source, aimed at teen readers, offers annotated listings of the newest "literature" on the teen scene. Many are done by teen writers, with cover illustrations, summaries, author info, and selected chapters available. Although it is a sales site, the information about the literature is free. The store is accessible only by clicking on "Trade." Archives of other blog entries about older books offer more breadth in book descriptions. Be sure to advise students to avoid clicking "Trade." Since the content of teen literature is gritty and can include many controversial topics (sex, drugs, alienation, family problems, etc.), you may want to use this site as a library/media specialist without recommending it directly to students. Teachers should make that decision based on their local school community.
tag(s): literature (219)
In the Classroom
Offer this site only to your most discriminating readers. Look at this site frequently since its offerings change weekly. Offer this site only to your most discriminating readers. Look at this site frequently since its offerings change weekly. Share selections on a projector or interactive whiteboard for "quicky" book talks or take a screen shot (with credit, of course) to display a selected review on a digital picture frame in your library/media center. Set the frame to cycle through a slide show of new book selections! Other options for cycling book reviews would be to paste them into PowerPoint slides to run in a looped show on selected media center computers or to run the screenshots as screensaver images.Now sure how to take a screen shot? Press the PrtScrn button on a Windows computer (sometimes combined with SHIFT or Ctrl key, depending on the computer), then CONTROL+V to PASTE the screen image into an image program such as Paint so you can save it. Screenshots are even easier in Vista using the Snip tool. On a Mac, the screen shot function is Command+Shift+4 (the number 4), and the "picture" (a png image file) gets saved to your chosen location, usually your desktop. Be sure to copy the URL of the page you are "shooting" to give proper credit and place a label with your frame providing this information.
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Common Craft - Lee Lefeever
Grades
K to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
No special skills needed. Just watch and learn. Embarrassed to say you don't know what all the "new web 2.0" terms are all about? This is for you (and probably ...more
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No special skills needed. Just watch and learn. Embarrassed to say you don't know what all the "new web 2.0" terms are all about? This is for you (and probably for your students' parents, as well). Common Craft uses a very simple, visual method of explaining all the latest technologies so that everyone can understand, using short video clips narrated by a positive and respectful voice. The next time you hear someone talking about RSS feeds or some other new doo-dad, stop here first so you will know what they are talking about. Did you think you were the only one who did not know? Don't be overwhelmed. This site has incredible popularity because there are LOADS of people quietly questioning -- just like you. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
tag(s): blogs (71), media literacy (106), movies (55), tutorials (49), wikis (14)
In the Classroom
Start by looking at any video that catches your eye, but don't be afraid to search for other topics that have you wondering. You will definitely want to make this channel a Favorite to find information to keep you informed. Share it on your teacher web page to help out your parents, too! Create an account to add as favorites and subscribe to the channel to inform you when new videos are added.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Caldecott Winners - American Library Association
Grades
K to 10
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This site is the definitive list for yearly Caldecott Medal winners in the field of art and illustration in children's literature. Besides the list of the new winners and the ...more
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This site is the definitive list for yearly Caldecott Medal winners in the field of art and illustration in children's literature. Besides the list of the new winners and the accompanying honor books, the site provides access to previous winners from 1938 onward. Information about the Caldecott award appears in a side panel with links to other important medals in this field, including the Newbery (for excellence in children's literature).
tag(s): book lists (170)
In the Classroom
Save this site on your classroom favorite's on your computer to assist students in finding books to read and sample illustrations for art class and students' own stories. This is a great link to provide on your class website for students to access at home. Within the classroom, have students choose a former Caldecott winner to read and create a multimedia presentation. Use a tool such as bubbl.us (reviewed here) to create and share concept maps about the books.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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