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Digital Books - librophile.com
Grades
2 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Digital Books (was Librophile) offers free audio books and free e-books. You have several options; you can play the audio book, you can also download chosen chapters for later use,...more
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Digital Books (was Librophile) offers free audio books and free e-books. You have several options; you can play the audio book, you can also download chosen chapters for later use, open as an e-book, or open as a free audio book in ITunes. Most of the free books are in the public domain. There are some books on the site that are available only for a charge. Simply click on "free" to see the ones available at no cost. Separate links offer popular, audio, and ebooks as well as genres. There are many genres available, even children's books.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): audio books (26)
In the Classroom
Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers as a reference. Suggest it to students as something they can use on their digital notebooks and lap tops. Share a story on your projector or interactive whiteboard (with speakers for audio). Provide this site on your class blog, wiki, or website for students to access both in and out of the classroom. Learning support and ESL/ELL teachers can suggest this as an alternative source of books for book reports. Students can listen and read instead of feeling saddled by tough text.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Making Books with Children - S. K. Gaylord
Grades
K to 10
4 Favorites
0 Comments
This site offers free book making activities -- the old fashioned way with paper and art supplies. Of particular interest is the project titled Making Books around the World...more
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This site offers free book making activities -- the old fashioned way with paper and art supplies. Of particular interest is the project titled Making Books around the World in which students can make slat books, palm leaf books, accordion books, "papyrus" scrolls, and cloth books of many types. Tips for teachers make the book making projects accessible. Book plans are also available in Spanish.
tag(s): artists (83), book reports (28), creative writing (124)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plan to do final projects on research of a variety of topics. This is a great find for gifted students or ESL/ELL students since it is so varied and flexible. Challenge students to make books as an end of unit project in science, social studies, and math. Have a bookmaking contest in your classroom. Have students make creative books rather than a traditional book report. Share this site together with art teachers. Share this site with parents to use to create books at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CurriConnects Book List - Frontiers and Settlers - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 9
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Use this CurriConnects list to find books related to Frontiers & Settlers. CurriConnects thematic book lists include ISBN numbers for ordering or searching, interest grade levels, ESL...more
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Use this CurriConnects list to find books related to Frontiers & Settlers. CurriConnects thematic book lists include ISBN numbers for ordering or searching, interest grade levels, ESL levels and Lexiles'® to match with student independent reading levels to challenge, not frustrate. Don't miss other CurriConnects themes being added regularly.
tag(s): 1800s (75), book lists (166), reading lists (77), westward expansion (39)
In the Classroom
Build student literacy skills, reinforce what students are learning about Frontiers and Settlers, and help students build the important reading strategy of connecting what they read to prior (classroom!) knowledge. Share this link on your class web page or wiki so students can select independent reading books to accompany your unit on Westward Expansion. Don't forget to share the list with the school and local libraries so they can bring in some of the books on interlibrary loan. CurriConnects are a great help for teachers who have lost school library/media specialists due to budget cuts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Writing Prompts Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
1 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
This collection of reviewed resources includes many types of writing prompts, both visual and verbal, to inspire writing. Whether you want students to try their hand at poetry or informational...more
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This collection of reviewed resources includes many types of writing prompts, both visual and verbal, to inspire writing. Whether you want students to try their hand at poetry or informational writing, there are ideas here to help. Make this collection available for students to find their own inspiration for open-ended, creative writing assignments. Teachers can also use this list to find 2-3 possible choices for a targeted writing assignment. Student choice is key in helping student voice come through in their writing.
tag(s): creative writing (124), writing prompts (61)
In the Classroom
Make this collection available for students to find their own inspiration for open-ended, creative writing assignments. Teachers can also use this list to find 2-3 possible choices for a targeted writing assignment.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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EasyDefine - Prabbav Jain
Grades
4 to 12
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Create definition lists easily and completely. Simply enter the terms, and click "generate" to create a list of words with definitions. View synonyms, download as a document, or email...more
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Create definition lists easily and completely. Simply enter the terms, and click "generate" to create a list of words with definitions. View synonyms, download as a document, or email your list to others. Be aware: there are no filters on this definition site, so ANY word (appropriate or not) can easily be searched by students. Use under teacher supervision with students likely to enter inappropriate terms for immature reactions.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): dictionaries (48), synonyms (15), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94), word study (60)
In the Classroom
You must know where you are saving downloads on your computer to save the list as a document. Pay attention and name files with meaningful file names, such as "chapter17vocab." Enter your list with one term per line or separated by commas, etc. Click on advanced options to add other options to the search: number or alphabetize the definition results, maximum definitions, and hiding parts of speech.Create definitions easily for word lists in any subject area. Have students enter a series of similar words to see variations in connotations. For example, enter various words that mean "fat" and discover the variability in positive and negative connotations. Follow up with a ranking or sorting activity with the same words on interactive whiteboard to build word choice options. Have students generate individualized reading vocabulary lists for content are reading chapters or literature. Click on the synonyms tab to find related words. Save as a document for easy sharing in groups. Advise students to collect definitions and compare to those they write in their own words. As with any other reference, students should be cautioned to be sure these are accurate definitions needed for the context in which they are studying the words.
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ABCya - ABCYA.com, l.l.c,
Grades
K to 6
13 Favorites
0 Comments
ABCya.com, created by a web developer turned computer teacher, provides educational games, videos, and activities for elementary students. Nearly every subject is included. Simply click...more
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ABCya.com, created by a web developer turned computer teacher, provides educational games, videos, and activities for elementary students. Nearly every subject is included. Simply click on your grade level (K-5) and find what is available under language arts, math, and other subjects. Specific topics range from basic typing activities to creating word clouds to grammar games (at all levels) and so much more. The interactives are teacher approved and offer colorful and attention grabbing ways for learning. Opportunities for sharing on Facebook, tweeting, and sharing on social bookmarking sites are incorporated. This is a MUST SEE site for elementary teachers looking for some great practice sites for basic skills!
tag(s): alphabet (53), decimals (85), drawing (61), fractions (159), game based learning (187), geometric shapes (135), keyboarding (28), latitude (10), literacy (121), longitude (9), number sense (70), numbers (119), operations (72), preK (269)
In the Classroom
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector, demonstrate how to use the specific tool/activity. Create a learning center on your whiteboard or on individual laptops and allow students to try it out on their own. List this as a student and parent resource on your classroom website. Use this site to informally assess skills to tell you which students to allow to do alternative work or go ahead. Allow your gifted students to explore new concepts while providing necessary reinforcement for those learners that need a technology-inspired method to help master learning goals. This is an excellent tool for differentiating. Provide as an anticipatory guide for new units.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Free English Lessons Online - esolcourses.com
Grades
2 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
At this site you will find free interactive listening activities, reading exercises, quizzes, and more. Though developed with the ESL/ELL teacher and student in mind, any language arts...more
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At this site you will find free interactive listening activities, reading exercises, quizzes, and more. Though developed with the ESL/ELL teacher and student in mind, any language arts teacher will find activities here to help differentiate language skills in your classroom. This is an extensive site with several levels in each language arts strand. Every strand and level also has numerous activities to choose from.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): grammar (137), listening (93), reading comprehension (149), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
You may want to complete some of the selections with a projector and your interactive whiteboard for the whole class as there are listening activities, reading activities and quizzes about holidays, etc. You could differentiate by having small groups of students or individuals listening and reading at their different levels while you work with another group, or small groups of students can listen at a station that is one of several literacy stations in your classroom. Since each of the selections has activities in several language arts strands, one selection could make up your student's instruction for the day, or week. Students could rotate through a station for listening, one for vocabulary development, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Phrasemix - Aaron Knight
Grades
3 to 12
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This blog teaches English to international students by offering a "phrase a day." Common words and phrases are explained in context; several examples of each usage make the meaning...more
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This blog teaches English to international students by offering a "phrase a day." Common words and phrases are explained in context; several examples of each usage make the meaning clear. Many of the situations described are those experienced by adults or older teens, not children, such as giving a speech or shopping alone. Of course, this site could also be used in a regular classroom to teach speech/language or grammar. Students can look at the site or have a phrase emailed to them every day. Phrases include commonly used groups of words, idioms, and other typical language of both casual and formal English. To find a list of all phrases in the system, students can click on "Learning Tools." In addition to an index, this section offers explanations of basic grammar terms like parts of speech, stress, and other conversation techniques. Students can also make comments and read the comments of others. No email address is required to comment on the blog posts. (Our reviewers found no objectionable comments from the public, but teachers should always preview.)
In the Classroom
Put this link on your classroom blog or newsletter for English learners. Have students try out this site on individual computers, or as a learning center. Have students prepare online projects about phrases they learn, using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard reviewed here or PicLits (reviewed here). Check with your school policies before having students comment on other blog posts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ESL Holidays Lessons - Sean Banville
Grades
1 to 8
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Look no further for holiday activities for your ESL and ELL students (or for reading/listening comprehension activities you can use with all learners! This site lists conventional and...more
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Look no further for holiday activities for your ESL and ELL students (or for reading/listening comprehension activities you can use with all learners! This site lists conventional and unusual holidays by month. Click the holiday you would like to feature to find a complete lesson including a tape script, an oral recording of the script, and a variety of review exercises. The printable activities include matching, several varieties of fill-in-the-blank, word choices, spelling, reordering events and sentences from the holiday information, and writing activities. An online clickable reading activity presents parts of sentences, so students must select which sentence part comes first. The screen changes when the correct part comes up, and students select the next part.
tag(s): holidays (185)
In the Classroom
Use this site to help ESL/ELL students improve listening, reading, writing, and cultural knowledge. Invite an ESL/ELL student to present a holiday from their home country to the class using an interactive whiteboard or projector. Many of the review activities would also work well as reading comprehension practice on interactive whiteboard, especially if students use highlighters and pens to mark up the text passage to locate key terms, etc.Have students create online holiday posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here or PicLits, reviewed here. Share this site with families of your ESL/ELL students to learn more about American holidays.
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National TESOL Standards: Online Edition - TESOL
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Read the national TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of other languages) standards for ESL. Of particular interest are the Sample Progress Indicators and scenarios that decribe...more
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Read the national TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of other languages) standards for ESL. Of particular interest are the Sample Progress Indicators and scenarios that decribe differeing levels of proficiency for ESL/ELL students you may find in your classroom. THIS SITE OPENS SLOWLY Please be patient.
TeachersFirst has more information on how you may want to use ESL/ELL levels
and tips for working with these students.
tag(s): differentiation (82)
In the Classroom
Save this site as a favorite on your classroom desktop to allow for easy reference later on!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Stories for Kids - Pitara Kids Network
Grades
4 to 7
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This is a great source for simple, short, and interesting children's stories. The international focus draws the attention of a variety of readers. The display opening page has ten stories...more
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This is a great source for simple, short, and interesting children's stories. The international focus draws the attention of a variety of readers. The display opening page has ten stories of about two pages each, but there are over 10 other pages all containing an equal number of stories. These are "text only" reading stories and some are rather difficult to follow, as there are advertisements throughout the page.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): short stories (18)
In the Classroom
Keep this site in mind when you have a few minutes at the end of the day. Read one together and then set your students at computers in pairs to take turns reading aloud to each other.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Aesop's Fables - Adapted by U Mass students/Aesop
Grades
K to 8
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This charming site (created as a project by University of Massachusetts students) offers Aesop Fables online! The students have reformatted and illustrated the traditional Aesop Fables;...more
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This charming site (created as a project by University of Massachusetts students) offers Aesop Fables online! The students have reformatted and illustrated the traditional Aesop Fables; the project is ongoing, having started in 1994. Today, some of the stories are simply text, while others use Flash which isn't currently supported in all browsers.
In the Classroom
Share these stories on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Set up a learning station using these fables (and headsets, if necessary.) Use these illustrated stories as models for your computer students to illustrate their choice of children's stories and collect a class anthology on the web. Challenge your students to narrate a photo and read the story/fable using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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News English Lessons - Sean Banville
Grades
4 to 12
7 Favorites
0 Comments
This site, created by Australian Sean Banville, has high interest, "easier" news for students to read and many teaching materials to go with them. Though the look of the site ...more
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This site, created by Australian Sean Banville, has high interest, "easier" news for students to read and many teaching materials to go with them. Though the look of the site is cluttered with advertising and plain text, the content is worthwhile. Developed for ESL/ELL students and teachers, the site would also work well in a subject area, learning support, or reading classroom. There are MANY articles "ready to go," including mp3 audio files to listen to the articles. At the time of this review there were 200+ new additions! Each article includes several types of activities such as "online gap fill" (a Cloze reading activity), vocabulary flashcards, and hangman, and matching. A full script is available in PDF form. There is also an online, interactive quiz for students. The articles, and a lot more activities, can be downloaded and printed, too.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
The articles are short and interesting, a perfect match for non-fiction reading comprehension. With so many different activities to choose from, it will be easy for the classroom teacher to differentiate. There is an mp3 audio version of each article so students can listen as they read. Assign small groups of students to present the news each week, using the interactive whiteboard to show others the country and city from which the article originated. Make the newscasting experience even more real by having students read scripts of these news stories or their own original stories using a EasyPrompter, reviewed here. Students can then go to another news source such as News for Kids, reviewed here, to see what else is happening in the news. For a project and to enhance student learning, have the small groups create a "talking map" using a site such as Zeemaps, reviewed here. This site allows students to create audio recordings AND choose a location (where their article/story took place). What a fabulous way to share the article with the rest of the class!
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Roy Tale of a Singing Zebra - Tim Bowerbank
Grades
K to 4
3 Favorites
0 Comments
This site offers interactive stories and reading activities for free. Colorful graphics interest "emerging readers." The songs and reading support materials provide reinforcement of...more
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This site offers interactive stories and reading activities for free. Colorful graphics interest "emerging readers." The songs and reading support materials provide reinforcement of the reading skills being learned. Each story comes with pre-reading and post-reading questions and other word attack and grammar activities. Word games are fun and introduce early reading techniques such as alphabetization and phonetics. Since the site is Australian made, some of the worksheets use British names for grammar components, such as full stop for period. Since the text of the stories appears before the stories, this site would work well with ESL students too.
tag(s): guided reading (33), literacy (121), sight words (23), spelling (98)
In the Classroom
This site is ideal for an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have the students open the site and use the whiteboard tools to enjoy the story and its follow up activities. Share this link on your class website for students to access both in and out of the classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Kids Should See This - Rion Nakaya
Grades
K to 8
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This site offers media (found on YouTube, Vimeo, and Flickr) on a broad spectrum of topics, not created for kids but appropriate and interesting for children 3 years old and ...more
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This site offers media (found on YouTube, Vimeo, and Flickr) on a broad spectrum of topics, not created for kids but appropriate and interesting for children 3 years old and up. Media isn't divided into categories. The newest items appear first. However, you can search the site by keyword. Information ranges from animal stories of a dog without legs to video of Ella Fitzgerald scatting. Obviously, this site is updated frequently, so contents will change. Students and adults alike will love browsing for interesting stories and information.
tag(s): news (228), speaking (26), video (264), writing prompts (61)
In the Classroom
Check first to be sure the media are not blocked by school web filtering. Choose one item from the site to share on your interactive whiteboard or projector as a class discussion starter on current topics or as a lead-in to a lesson. (Example: show the YouTube video about order of the planets when beginning an astronomy unit). Share the site with students and let them explore to find interesting topics for research reports. Ask students to choose one item from the site to share with other students as a way to practice oral presentation skills. Use videos or images as writing prompts or blog prompts. ESL/ELL students can practice their language skills by retelling a favorite video. Challenge your students to create their own informative videos on a topic that your class is exploring. Share the videos using a site such as TeacherTube reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WordTwist - PuzzleBaron
Grades
3 to 12
3 Favorites
1 Comments
WordTwist is an online version of the word game, Boggle. The idea is to create as many words as possible in the 4X4 or 5X5 grids. Play can be done ...more
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WordTwist is an online version of the word game, Boggle. The idea is to create as many words as possible in the 4X4 or 5X5 grids. Play can be done without registration; however, registration allows you to keep track of your scores and compare yourself to other players. Scores are based on the number and difficulty of words found on the game board. There are two versions of the game, a Flash version and one that doesn't require Flash.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): game based learning (187), spelling (98), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Create accounts for your students and let them compete against each other for points. Read tips for safely managing email registrations here. Display this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector to create words as a class. Challenge students to create lists of new words they learn from WordTwist.Comments
Melanie , KS, Grades: 0 - 12
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Doctor Doctor Lesson - Genki English
Grades
K to 4
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0 Comments
These multi-media lessons provide an alternative approach for young elementary students or ESL/ELL students trying to learn body parts. With song files and a video, this site makes...more
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These multi-media lessons provide an alternative approach for young elementary students or ESL/ELL students trying to learn body parts. With song files and a video, this site makes it easy for language learners to acquire body part name knowledge easily. The video and song lyrics make the "Body Part" lesson entertaining and memorable. There is also a "Make a Face" interactive. To use the video part, download the "Realvideo" player. This is about the only items that are FREE at this site, but they are still worth a look if teaching body parts or expressions of the face.
In order to get the "free" printable cards, worksheets, and acompanying language games you must buy the Teacher's Set, Superpack, or Download Pack. However, the video and songs ARE free and fun!
This site includes advertising.
In order to get the "free" printable cards, worksheets, and acompanying language games you must buy the Teacher's Set, Superpack, or Download Pack. However, the video and songs ARE free and fun!
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): faces (5), human body (93), preK (269), video (264)
In the Classroom
Use the videos on this site to introduce basic English to ESL/ELL students in a fun and energetic way. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Activity of the Month - Dr. Jean
Grades
K to 1
0 Favorites
0 Comments
This site offers a list of monthly "newsletters" full of teaching ideas and parenting tips/suggestions. Each months activities reflect the seasons and their special holidays. Many...more
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This site offers a list of monthly "newsletters" full of teaching ideas and parenting tips/suggestions. Each months activities reflect the seasons and their special holidays. Many activities include letters, words, and book activities. Besides the basic activity, quite a few of the monthly offerings include downloadable books to print and use, original song lyrics, and links to other related websites. This site is great to use with young ESL/ELL students too who need lots of fun reinforcement with learning the alphabet and pre-reading skills. This site includes many math activities as well.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): crafts (62), literacy (121), poetry (192), preK (269), seasons (37), songs (44)
In the Classroom
This site is excellent for enrichment. Share this link on your teacher web page and/or in a parent newsletter for those who trying to encourage the habit of reading and handling books.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WordSift - Stanford University
Grades
4 to 12
10 Favorites
0 Comments
WordSift helps anyone easily sift through texts -- just copy and paste any text into WordSift and you can engage in a verbal quick-capture! The program helps to quickly identify ...more
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WordSift helps anyone easily sift through texts -- just copy and paste any text into WordSift and you can engage in a verbal quick-capture! The program helps to quickly identify important words that appear in the text. After entering text several items will appear, first a word cloud will display the 50 most frequently used words in the text. The most frequently used word will display as a word web in a visual thesaurus. Google image and video search results are also shown. One interesting feature is the ability to click on any of the words in the word cloud to display it in the thesaurus and Google image and video searches. A great way to understand the WordSift tool is to try one of the sample texts offered, such as Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Be sure to check out the "About" link to discover many ideas for use in the classroom. Tips and videos are also available as guides. If you type in a shorter sentence, the site still creates a word cloud using their own related words (not in your original text). Be aware of the advertisements that appear with the word clouds. Advise students not to click on the ads.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): dictionaries (48), reading comprehension (149), reading strategies (96), thesaurus (22), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94), word clouds (13), word study (60)
In the Classroom
This is a classic tool to promote "before reading" strategies and vocabulary development. Use WordSift to preview text to be used in class and define vocabulary before reading to increase reading comprehension. Have students use WordSift with different portions of text to identify key words and vocabulary for class presentations. Use WordSift to discuss different meanings of words using images presented through the site. This site isn't only for English teachers, share with Science and Social Studies teachers to use in their classrooms with reading texts in their content areas. ENL/ELL and learning support teachers will want to share this as a support for any reading assigned in regular classes. Be sure to show students how to copy/paste to WordSift texts from informational web pages and news stories on the web, as well. Share this link as a Favorite on your public page so students can use it anytime.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Old Radio World - OldRadioWorld.com
Grades
4 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Find a treasury of old radio shows from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. There are seven genres from which to choose (comedy, mystery, western, drama, etc.), and each genre has ...more
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Find a treasury of old radio shows from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. There are seven genres from which to choose (comedy, mystery, western, drama, etc.), and each genre has at least ten different old radio shows for your selection. There is a miscellaneous section that has such treasures as "Voices From History," "World War II News Broadcasts," and "Fireside Chat with Franklin D. Roosevelt." Downloading of the Mp3 files takes a while, so be patient.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 1930s (20), 1940s (14), 1950s (8), listening (93), oral history (13), radio (20), world war 2 (160)
In the Classroom
As a class, listen to a couple of radio shows, taking note of the sound effects heard. Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to list the sounds. Have the class speculate about what objects could have created each sound. Post the radio site on your web page and assign the students to determine what household objects are responsible for the sounds for homework. Back in class the next day, use your interactive white board to share the student discoveries. From here it would be natural to have your students create a two- or three-minute radio show for a topic being studied in history or science. Students could also turn part of a short story into reader's theater (including sound effects) and record it as a radio broadcast. Use a site such as PodOmatic. Another idea would be to introduce a unit on the 20th century, the Great Depression, or WWII or by having the class listen to a broadcast from that time period. Have them experience radio as it was, with everyone huddled around to listen (and no multitasking!). Talk about how the changes in entertainment formats have changed the way we interact in our homes. To hone in listening skills, you could create a worksheet with questions to answer, or have students take two column notes, asking questions about what they are hearing in the left column.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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