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The Global Read Aloud - Pernille Ripp
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
The Global Read Aloud offers you a chance to share a book with other students from around the world. This program is in its fifth year and has had over ...more
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The Global Read Aloud offers you a chance to share a book with other students from around the world. This program is in its fifth year and has had over 200,000 participants. The Global Read Aloud is a six-week event that ends in November. Announcement of the book list and the author study selections occur each spring. Student involvement starts in the fall each year. Teachers, parents, and individual students are invited to join. Choose a book to read and sign up at the very beginning of each October. There is a Google form on the main page for registration. On this main page, you will find several suggested ways to participate: The Global Read Aloud wiki here, Padlet, reviewed here, and others.
tag(s): authors (105), collaboration (96), cross cultural understanding (168), guided reading (33), reading comprehension (150), reading lists (77)
In the Classroom
Start looking at The Global Read Aloud program before the school year starts. The author study can be useful for students who have difficulty reading chapter books. There are also picture books available for younger students. Choose the book early, or get your students involved once school starts. Have students vote for the book they want to read by using a program like Wheel Decide, reviewed here, or use Dotstorming, reviewed here, which allows students to write why they want to read that book. As you are reading the book, you may want to have small groups research and investigate the setting, author, inferences, references, and allusions to other books, history, and places. Researching and presenting their findings will help students with deep reading experience required by the Common Core Standards. Have students create a class wiki modeled after Book Drum, archived here, to highlight the features of the book they choose to read. The Book Drum archive takes a while to open. To learn more about using wikis in your classroom, check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Doing What Works - US Department of Education
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Looking for best practices and ways to provide evidence for current practices? Discover Doing What Works! Find research and resources in the subject areas of reading, math, science,...more
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Looking for best practices and ways to provide evidence for current practices? Discover Doing What Works! Find research and resources in the subject areas of reading, math, science, English fluency, and how to teach effectively for teachers and administrators. Current national reports reflect recent trends in education. Information is also geared to educating parents.
tag(s): grants (15), parents (59), professional development (404)
In the Classroom
Use Doing What Works to increase your knowledge of best practices and have research backing up your educational decisions. Need information and evidence for grants? Doing What Works is the go-to site! This site is a great site to recommend to eager parents to help them understand current educational practices, and also parent resources.
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A List of X (formerly Twitter) Educators by Subject Area - Alice Keeler
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
1 Comments
Are you looking for other educators to follow on X (formerly Twitter)? Check out this lengthy list of educator X (formerly Twitter) handles arranged by subject. The easiest way to ...more
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Are you looking for other educators to follow on X (formerly Twitter)? Check out this lengthy list of educator X (formerly Twitter) handles arranged by subject. The easiest way to view the full document is to click the link located under the heading "A Twitter Win." This link leads to a Google document with headings for all content areas as well as Ed Tech, Counselors, Administrators, and more. Use the scroll bar at the bottom of the document to view all categories. Add your own Twitter handle in the appropriate category for inclusion on this document.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): social networking (64), twitter (18)
In the Classroom
Explore the site to discover and follow educators who match your interests and needs. Read the Xs X (formerly Xs X (formerly Tweets) about what is happening in other classrooms to gain some fresh, new ideas. Looking for more ways to use X (formerly Twitter) in the classroom? If you are the only person in your building who teaches a particular subject, such as gifted or learning support, this list can help you find like minds to share ideas or to set up collaborations between your students. Read more about X (formerly Twitter) at TeachersFirst's X (formerly Twitter) for Teachers page.Comments
what a great resourceSusan, NY, Grades: 6 - 12
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Online Math Learning - OnlineMathLearning.com
Grades
1 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Supplement math instruction in the classroom using OnLineMathLearning. Find videos explaining concepts, worksheets for practice, games, and activities. The site material correlates...more
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Supplement math instruction in the classroom using OnLineMathLearning. Find videos explaining concepts, worksheets for practice, games, and activities. The site material correlates to Singapore Math but is assessable to all learners. Explore math by grade level, or by topic. Find math worksheets by grade level or even by topic. There is also Test Prep for SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, ESL, IELTS, or TOEFL. Furthermore, this site has instruction on Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Animal facts, Programming, or English help. Find many science project ideas, listed by subject area.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): parents (59), video (263), worksheets (69)
In the Classroom
OnLineMathLearning is a nice supplement to your classroom. Use the videos on your interactive whiteboard to begin instruction. Differentiate your math instruction by student need and assign individually. Use the worksheets, games, and activities for extra practice and reinforcement. Allow students to see the ideas listed before they start their science fair projects. Recommend this website to parents so they can understand the "new way" of doing math. Be sure to list as a resource for extra practice on your class website. Keep the videos on this site in mind for using as models when assigning students to make their own videos. Be sure to include in your math parent night. Use as enrichment for your advanced students.
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Remind - Remind 101
Grades
K to 12
12 Favorites
1 Comments
Remind is a safe and easy way to send reminders to students and parents via text message. When sending a text, the site is set up so that students & ...more
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Remind is a safe and easy way to send reminders to students and parents via text message. When sending a text, the site is set up so that students & parents do not see the teachers' phone numbers nor do the teachers see the students' phone numbers. Create an account. Any phone that can receive text messages will receive these. Communication through this site is safe and secure. You only see the names of your students, not their phone number, and they only see your name -- not your cell phone number. With Remind you can schedule reminders for the future, translate your message into 70 languages, send photos, PDFs, voice clips, and see who has read your messages.
Be sure to obtain parental permission FIRST, as standard messaging rates apply. Be sure to click the Security Overview to read about Remind's FERPA and COPPA compliance.
tag(s): chat (41), communication (139), DAT device agnostic tool (146), microblogging (15), Teacher Utilities (178)
In the Classroom
Set up accounts for all your classes, and even your extracurricular activities, to send homework, project, and supply reminders. Remind students of upcoming events, practices, or things they need to bring to class or practice. You could also use this to communicate with parents (allow them to sign up for text message updates at back to school night). Share this site the first week of school to save time throughout the entire year. Remind parents of big tests, report cards, field trips, deadlines, back to school night, sneaker days, conferences, and more. Set up a faculty reminder group within your school for emergency closures and more.Comments
Love this site! I'm using it to send reminders to students about overdue library books and/or fines!Terri, VA, Grades: 9 - 12
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Online Dictation - Amit Agarwal
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
1 Comments
Use the magic of speech recognition to create emails, dictate notes, or write an essay in many languages without ever touching your keyboard. Online Dictation only works in the Chrome...more
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Use the magic of speech recognition to create emails, dictate notes, or write an essay in many languages without ever touching your keyboard. Online Dictation only works in the Chrome browser. Click "Start Dictation," and grant the site permission to connect to your computer's microphone. Begin talking, and watch your words appear on the screen. Dictation detects many different languages so is useful for many non-English speakers. When you finish speaking, export your text using links to Dropbox, Google Drive, your computer, or send as an email. This is a speech to text tool.
Since this tool has to connect back to its own servers to "translate" your spoken words to text, it may not have the sensitivity you expect. It is a good idea to test it first yourself before assigning students to use it. You might want to demonstrate how clearly you must speak to make it work.
Since this tool has to connect back to its own servers to "translate" your spoken words to text, it may not have the sensitivity you expect. It is a good idea to test it first yourself before assigning students to use it. You might want to demonstrate how clearly you must speak to make it work.
tag(s): communication (139), differentiation (91), note taking (36), speech (68), writing (324)
In the Classroom
Use Online Dictation to dictate homework assignments to post on your class webpage. Demonstrate proper note taking using Online Dictation. Leave this site up in your browser, and add notes throughout your lesson. Save notes to your computer to print and use for future reference. Share this site with students who have difficulty putting thoughts onto paper or students with delayed handwriting skills or processing delays. Let students dictate stories, poems, questions, etc. to print and use. Share Online Dictation with your school's ESL/ELL teacher as a resource for use with their students. Speech and language teachers can try this tool to encourage students to improve articulation. If they speak clearly, their words will "magically" appear in writing!Comments
The concept is great but the execution is disappointing. The text response is slow and often captured only an occasional word or phrase. Most of what was returned in text was gibberish. This program is not suitable for student use.Dwight, , Grades: 3 - 7
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Webnode - Webnode AG
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Webnode is a free and easy website or blog builder. Create an account. Choose from hundreds of template design options, including personal blogs (scroll to the bottom menu and select...more
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Webnode is a free and easy website or blog builder. Create an account. Choose from hundreds of template design options, including personal blogs (scroll to the bottom menu and select "Make your own website or blog." Add many site features: photo galleries, polls, forums, social features, and much more. Webnode saves changes as you make them, so information is stored in real time. Possible uses are only limited by your imagination!
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): blogs (65), communication (139), social networking (64)
In the Classroom
Create a Webnode class website at any grade level for parents and students to stay updated about what is happening in the classroom if your school does not offer a class web site tool. With teens (and in accordance with school policy), try using Webnode for: "visual essays;" digital biodiversity logs (with digital photos students take), online literary magazines, and personal reflections in images and text. Consider using Webnodes for research project presentations, comparisons of online content, such as political candidates' sites or content sites used in research (compared for bias). The tool requires that a member be 13+, so you will want to create an account for your younger students to use. Using a whole-class account under your supervision, students can create pages documenting experiments or illustrating concepts, such as the water cycle, and "Visual" lab reports. Create digital scrapbooks on a class or individual page using images from the public domain and video and audio clips from a time in history -- such as the Roaring Twenties, Local history interactive stories, and Visual interpretations of major concepts, such as a "visual" U.S. Constitution. Imagine building your own online library of raw materials for your students to create their own "web pages" as a new way of assessing understanding. For younger students, provide the digital images, and they sequence, caption, and write about them on the class site under your supervision. For older students, provide the steps in the design as a template, and they insert the actual content of their own. After the first project where you provide "building blocks," the sky is the limit on what students can do. Even the very young can make suggestions as you "create" a whole-class product together using an interactive whiteboard or projector. You might consider making a new project for each unit you teach so students can "recap" long after the unit ends.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Cumberland Trace Gifted - DAP Tool - Julia Roberts and Tracy Inman
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
The DAP (Developing and Assessing Products) Tool is a set of rubrics developed to assess student products at varying levels of expertise. The intent of the DAP Tool is to ...more
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The DAP (Developing and Assessing Products) Tool is a set of rubrics developed to assess student products at varying levels of expertise. The intent of the DAP Tool is to differentiate while taking the ceiling off higher level and creative thinking skills (perfect for gifted learners). There are four components for all products: content, presentation, creativity, and reflection. The tool offers rubrics at three performance levels. Especially appropriate for removing a "ceiling" for gifted students is the inclusion of an expert or "professional" performance level rating. This rating acknowledges work that one would expect from a professional in the content area. The criteria for each level increase in sophisticated. Level 1 would be for younger students or those with less expertise. Level 3 might be for high school and/or your most gifted students-- at any grade level. There are fourteen different product rubrics and a blank rubric at each level. The blank rubric suggests descriptions for all but the presentation component. Some of the products are PowerPoint, poster, pamphlet, diorama, service learning, monologue, model, and more. Download the rubrics in PDF format.
tag(s): critical thinking (121), differentiation (91), essays (21), interviews (16), posters (43), rubrics (36), service projects (17), speech (68), writing (324)
In the Classroom
Offer individualized rubrics for every project so each student can demonstrate appropriate expertise. These rubrics are perfect to use in the heterogeneous classroom where you might have a mix of ESL/ELL, gifted, and learning support students. Many of these activities are ideal for differentiating for your gifted students and providing challenges more suited to their ability, creativity, and thought process.
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Free Online PDF Calendars - Kevin MacLeod
Grades
1 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Create a custom, yearly calendar quickly with the PDF Calendar creator. Choose from several sizes or insert your own size in inches. Choose from many different languages. Create your...more
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Create a custom, yearly calendar quickly with the PDF Calendar creator. Choose from several sizes or insert your own size in inches. Choose from many different languages. Create your calendar for any year from 1901 - 2038 and select Sunday or Monday as the starting day each week. Click "GET PDF" to instantly view your calendar ready to print or download.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use this calendar maker to create calendars throughout the year. Create a calendar from a year in history to discover days of the week that historic events took place. Include a calendar with multimedia projects for a written perspective of time and events. Create a calendar for the future to explore events such as days of the week birthdays will occur, day of the week for future holidays, or for the upcoming school year. Create calendars for upcoming years to view days of the week for annual events. Give your students calendars to highlight in different colors showing vacations, major projects, field trips, and other events. Help your "organizationally challenged" students by printing calendars they can annotate and keep inside the clear cover of their binders or in a plastic sleeve page. Have young students (or ELL students) decorate a yearly calendar as they learn the months of the year.
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Timeline - ReadWriteThink
Grades
2 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Create a printed or PDF timeline using this handy tool. There is no registration required. This tool allows you to easily add, drag, and rearrange items as work progresses. Timelines...more
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Create a printed or PDF timeline using this handy tool. There is no registration required. This tool allows you to easily add, drag, and rearrange items as work progresses. Timelines can be organized by day, date, or event. Add an image for each event to make a timeline visually appealing. The event label can include an annotation for the image with short or long descriptive text. Save as a draft to make revisions later or finalize and share the timeline via email (as a pdf). You can also download and save the file. Click Get Started and begin your timeline by simply entering your name and the name of the project. Teachers will want to explore lessons that use this timeline tool. Lessons are divided up by grade level. For more explanation about saving work in progress, go to the Videos menu and click "Using RWT" to find a video about Saving Work With the Student Interactives.
tag(s): timelines (55)
In the Classroom
Demonstrate how to use this tool with your projector or interactive whiteboard. In lower grades, you could make a timeline of the months and add images of all who have birthdays each month. This tool is so versatile it can be used for a variety of topics and subjects, including autobiographical incidents, plots of a story or book, the cell cycle, stages in volcanic eruptions, any history topic, steps in a math problem, or steps in a plan to create a project. As students learn about informational texts in CCSS, they can also learn about adding (and interpreting) graphical information to accompany their words. Students who cannot complete their work during the class time can save their work in a local computer (in its own rwt file format) to finish later. Just make sure the student names it logically and knows WHERE the file is saved!!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hemingway - Ben and Adam Long
Grades
5 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Make revising your writing easy and enjoyable using Hemingway. Simply copy/paste your text into this website, and receive instant feedback. The visual aspect of this program helps one...more
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Make revising your writing easy and enjoyable using Hemingway. Simply copy/paste your text into this website, and receive instant feedback. The visual aspect of this program helps one to see exactly where the errors are and where to make improvements. There are color coded suggestions for wordiness, weak adverb use, passive voice, and complicated words and phrases. Did you know that the most effective writing is at or under grade level ten? The goal of the program is to help writers make their missives concise and clear.
tag(s): editing (92), proofreading (21), writing (324)
In the Classroom
Use this highly visual revision program with your students who are ready to refine and improve their writing. This is a wonderful program to use for revision after editing of grammar and mechanics is complete. Discover what is making your writing too wordy (excessive prepositional phrases or adverbs?) Partner an advanced writer with one not so advanced and have them use Hemingway to improve their styles. Put the URL on your website for students and parents to use from home. Remind seniors to use it for their college essays. Use this tool to polish your own professional writing, parent newsletters, blog posts, and papers for grad classes!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NowComment - Fairness.com
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Turn any document, image, or video into an online conversation with the NowComment collaborative tool. Choose any of the public documents available on the site or upload your own (using...more
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Turn any document, image, or video into an online conversation with the NowComment collaborative tool. Choose any of the public documents available on the site or upload your own (using the free membership). NowDocument works best with Microsoft Word and HTML web documents. They offer PDF conversions. but say they are not as reliable. Invite members to join private conversations or choose to make conversations public (use caution with students!). Link comments to specific portions of any document such as a sentence, image, or even video. Sort documents in several ways to view by commenter's name, date of the comment, or included tags. Be sure to check out NowComment's FAQ and Features Gallery for in-depth presentation of features. The introduction video is hosted on YouTube. If YouTube is blocked at your school, be sure to view this video at home.
tag(s): communication (139), media literacy (109), questioning (35), reading comprehension (150)
In the Classroom
Consider using NowComment as a resource in your classroom to increase student interaction with materials and each other. Use a class account for students using this tool for group projects. Library/media specialists could use this tool for online book clubs. Teach on a team? Collaborate with other teachers for assignments and more using this site. Create quick questions or even a short quiz using NowComment. Use this with ENL/ESL students, encouraging them to add questions about passages of text they do not understand. Make NowComment an integral part of your flipped classroom by assigning readings and student comments as part of at-home learning. Use NowComment for peer reviews, collaborative authoring, and online assignments. Share web pages and have students comment on media bias in online articles or practice CCSS close reading skills to comment to show where the writer includes supporting evidence in opinion pieces. Since commenting requires an account, you will either have to set up class accounts or use this with students who have email to set up their own accounts.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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Pumarosa - Paul Rogers
Grades
2 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Pumarosa is a totally bilingual Spanish-English site. The three levels orally teach helpful English words in translation from survival skills at the beginning level to citizenship topics...more
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Pumarosa is a totally bilingual Spanish-English site. The three levels orally teach helpful English words in translation from survival skills at the beginning level to citizenship topics at the highest level. (The Civics section is actually bilingual, basic U.S. social studies!) All words, phrases, and dialogues are available so you can hear (by clicking the little ear icon) and repeat the item as often as desired. Most lessons are based on learning vocabulary and dialogue, and everything is available in both languages simultaneously. After you do the initial lesson, a wide variety of exercises help you practice what you are learning. You can select as few or as many as you feel you need. The spoken Spanish is at a more natural rate than the English, which is a bit slower than normal speech. An additional phonics section explains and pronounces basic sounds in English. The language of instruction is Spanish and the target language to be learned is English. Accompanying workbooks and printed materials are available for a cost but are not necessary for you to learn.
tag(s): american flag (7), branches of government (64), declaration of independence (15), listening (92), spanish (108), vocabulary development (93)
In the Classroom
Set this site on your computers for beginning level Spanish speakers to add to their English vocabulary quickly and with the correct pronunciation. If you teach basic lessons about U.S. citizenship in elementary or middle grades, the activities available in both English and Spanish will help your ELL students master social studies concepts bilingually.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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QwikSlides - Russel Tarr
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Create quick and easy slides and presentations that are viewable on any device. The best part is that no email or registration (or special software) is required! Click the edit ...more
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Create quick and easy slides and presentations that are viewable on any device. The best part is that no email or registration (or special software) is required! Click the edit icon (pencil) to begin adding text. Each line of text will create a new slide. The more you add to a line, the smaller your text will be. Edit font and background options as desired. Add the URL of any image or video to embed directly into your slide presentation. When finished, click on the gear icon for the URL, embed code, or even a QR Code image!
tag(s): images (261), qr codes (18), slides (42), video (263)
In the Classroom
Use Qwikslides to create quick slideshows for any classroom use. Easily share slides with information or (online) images on your website or blog to remind students about a project or assignment. Have students create presentations to "introduce" themselves to the class during the first week of school. Create a slide show to introduce any unit and have students guess what they will be learning. Create a Qwikslides easily "on the fly" as a review resource to embed on your class website or blog. Use the QR Code feature to add information to textbooks, on student of the week displays, or to Science fair projects! Students can easily create mini-advertisements for books by entering their text here and sharing via a QR code pasted on the book jacket. This site is perfect for your BYOD (bring your own device) classroom, since it is viewable on any device. Make quick "cue cards" for students to read their lines off a projector or interactive whiteboard for a video or school news broadcast! Paste your school or class announcements into slides and embed them on the class or school website. Have your world language or ENL students write messages in their new language for a classroom "activity tour" and convert them into QR codes to post around the room. Their classmates can "tour" the room and follow the directions for each activity using their smartphones to read the codes. Activities could include speaking, following directions such as "touch your nose" or question/answer about an image.Even the youngest gifted students can create simple presentations to go beyond regular curriculum in your class. Be sure to show young ones how to copy/paste the url for their finished work to send it to you or mark it in Favorites on the classroom computer or iPad. Have them make slide shows telling a story, explaining about a famous person, and more. During a unit on plants, have them create a guide to plant care or a show about the world's strangest plants. Have them write and illustrate slides as book reviews for independent reading they have done. This tool is simple enough for any student who can read.
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Wordsmyth - Wordsmyth
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Keep the dictionary on the shelf and tap into the power of words with Wordsmyth, an online dictionary, thesaurus, and word reference tool. There are three "levels" of readers...more
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Keep the dictionary on the shelf and tap into the power of words with Wordsmyth, an online dictionary, thesaurus, and word reference tool. There are three "levels" of readers included at this site. WILD (Wordsmyth Illustrated Learner's Dictionary) is an online dictionary designed for K-3 early readers (or ESL/ELL students). Each entry includes a written definition with audio available. For older elementary students, try Word Explorer, containing words, synonyms, word mapping ideas, and more. You will also find images and animations for many topics including; the human body, the human mind, everyday life, history and culture, communication, living world, physical world, natural environment, economy, and government and law. The highest level (Comprehensive Dictionary-Thesaurus Suite) includes three reading levels and thousands of images to explore. It also offers definitions at three reading levels (great for differentiating). Outside of the three main references, there is much to explore. The search feature finds words with similar spelling. Use the anagram feature to help to form words with given letters in your Scrabble game. The Crossword Puzzle finds words using key words and the number of letters in a word. If you register (free version, but requires email) you can create and save up to 10 word activities with up to 12 words per activity. Quizmaker makes fill in the blank, matching, and multiple choice quizzes. Design customized glossary pages with the words you choose with your applicable definition. Add the widget to your toolbar, a floating widget, or embed on your school web page. Check the blog for the word of the day, new entries, games, and upcoming teachers' tools, and roots and affixes.
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tag(s): crosswords (19), dictionaries (48), preK (267), quizzes (89), spelling (98), thesaurus (22), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93), word study (60)
In the Classroom
Capture your students with the power of words at all levels. Keep this link on your toolbar as a quick reference for easy access to improve reading comprehension and writing word variety. When starting a new content area unit, challenge your gifted students with advanced vocabulary words. In your school library, make this handy reference available for everyone as a bookmark and on your online reference page. In primary grades or with ELL students, bookmark the WILD section for easy access. Share vocabulary words with young students on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Share the word of the day with your students at all levels and explore together. Create your own glossary page for up to 10 teaching units. Provide support for struggling readers or ESL/ELL students by showing them how to access and use this site. Encourage word games such as Scrabble, Upwords, or crossword puzzles, with Wordsmyth as a partner! Share this site on your class website for gifted students to explore at home (or in class) and find new challenging vocabulary to stretch their minds!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Sketch Toy - Hakim El Hattab
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Sketch Toy is an intriguing, online drawing tool. No membership is required. Click in the blank graph paper to begin drawing. Click buttons/menus to adjust the line size and color,...more
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Sketch Toy is an intriguing, online drawing tool. No membership is required. Click in the blank graph paper to begin drawing. Click buttons/menus to adjust the line size and color, undo, or erase. Note that you must click Erase a second time to turn it off! Set your line to vibrate using different options. One of the best features of this site is the ability to take an image from your desktop and drag it onto the drawing screen. Once your image is on screen, use the image to trace and create a stencil. Then choose "SAVE" to view your artwork in a step-by-step replay. Copy the image URL and/or share using social networks. Going to the URL will "play back" the drawing process. Click Refresh to watch it over again. You can also download your image. This tool works nicely on tablet browsers. Important: Be SURE to save your image URLs in Favorites or paste them somewhere so you can find them again later. With no registration, you have no way of "saving" your works of art within the tool!
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tag(s): creative writing (125), creativity (92), drawing (61), geometric shapes (135), images (261), perspective (13), writing prompts (60)
In the Classroom
Use Sketch Toy to demonstrate symmetrical drawings. This tool is great for enhancing, creating and visualizing math concepts from basic geometric shapes and area to complex constructions and trig. Use on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Use for hands-on work with any geometry or trigonometry functions. Since this tool works on such a variety of devices, it would be ideal to use in a BYOD (or 1:1) geometry class. Art teachers who want to "draw in" their more mathematical students can offer this as a design option, especially when teaching about perspective. Drag in images of alphabet letters for younger students to practice tracing. In art class, pull in images of artworks (even students' own work) and have them highlight design principles such as the path of your eye in viewing this image. Annotate any image using freehand drawing and writing. Use this tool as a visual writing prompt. Transform learning by creating drawing stories where a small group adds to the drawing as they pass it around on a tablet, narrating the story among themselves. Save it and play it back for them to write down their own versions of the story. Drawing stories would be a great way to practice world language skills or for ENL students to master vocabulary!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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English ReversoDictionary - Reverso
Grades
5 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This special dictionary for language learners has several unique features: definitions, examples, and explanations for natural language words and phrases. It also has constant updates...more
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This special dictionary for language learners has several unique features: definitions, examples, and explanations for natural language words and phrases. It also has constant updates as the "cobuilders" (other contributors) add to it. Read the explanation of the site BEFORE you start to search a word. The larger part of this site also includes tools for Translation, Conjugation, Grammar, and Spell Check (install the Reverso toolbar on your computer). In addition to defining the word or phrase, the dictionary also allows you to click on any blue word or phrase in the definition for more definitions, audio, and sometimes video explanations. There is an option to search for the word in video/text news stories. It pulls up short little blurbs of authentic news stories, some accompanied by video (with the blurb being read) or a picture. Pronunciation is available for all words (click the word, then "speak"). The company that created the site is British, but its dictionary entries include comments on both American and British usage. The site is a collaborative site, so anyone can add new entries. In addition to being useful for any English language learner, there are features available in French, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Portuguese. You can even set up your own vocabulary lists if you want to use this site as a personalized learning tool. Although we didn't find anything inappropriate at this site, you will want to preview this site before sharing with students.
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tag(s): arabic (13), chinese (44), dictionaries (48), french (75), german (47), italian (29), russian (25), spanish (108), spelling (98)
In the Classroom
Before turning students loose on this site, especially if their English is weak, show them how to navigate it on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Make it available for all ELL students. Install the Reverso toolbar on your computer to access the dictionary, translator, conjugator, grammar, and spell-checker. If your school computers are "locked down," ask the techies about installing it on at least one class computer to use for reference. Bookmark the site on classroom computers where any World Language instruction takes place. Use this site in World Language classes to enrich your lessons in French, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Portuguese. Share this site with families on for use at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CPALMS - 2013 CPalms
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
CPALMS is an online source of information, resources, interactive tools, and lesson plans to help educators K-12. Although created for use in Florida, you can find resources for Common...more
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CPALMS is an online source of information, resources, interactive tools, and lesson plans to help educators K-12. Although created for use in Florida, you can find resources for Common Core by subject, grade, or area. With free membership you can save favorites. Find free online courses by grade level or general education. Find exceptional professional development for instructors of elementary, middle, high, or adult ed. Explore Model Eliciting Activities or problem based learning lessons enriched with engineering based concepts by grade level and subject. Lesson Study Resource Kits cover grades K-12 in math, science, and English Language Arts. Discover information for unpacking and understanding Common Core Standards and information about how to use complexity ratings in Common Core.
tag(s): commoncore (74), professional development (404)
In the Classroom
Use CPALMS as a way to continue your implementation of Common Core standards. Use resources from lesson plans for problem based learning to enrich your curriculum. Try an online professional development course to be sure you are up to date on the latest.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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News for Kids - News for Kids.net
Grades
4 to 10
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Find news features on current events, politics, space, weather, sports, and more. This would be useful in any classroom where a "knowledge of the now" is a focus. At the ...more
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Find news features on current events, politics, space, weather, sports, and more. This would be useful in any classroom where a "knowledge of the now" is a focus. At the time of this review some of the specific topics included What's New on the Climate Crisis, remembering Children's Author Beverly Clearly, Huge Container Ship Blocks Suez Canal, the discovery of new planets, and much more. Of course, as the news changes so will the features on this front page. Subscribe to their newsletter to receive updates on new articles.
tag(s): news (228)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for current events. The reading level of the stories is generally upper elementary, but the topics are of interest through high school. These short articles would be great for practice with informational texts. Keep this site as part of a list for students to access, including weaker readers and ENL/ESL students. Have students research whats going on via this news site, and present a small presentation at the beginning of class. Students can either present orally or, for the technologically inclined, create a short video summarizing the same information. Consider using a bookmark site such as Diigo, reviewed here, to share newsworthy items that correlate with your class curriculum.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Flippity - Flippity.net
Grades
2 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Flippity is a versatile and useful tool for creating many types of educational activities, games, and assessments. Easily modify the included templates to suit any subject or content...more
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Flippity is a versatile and useful tool for creating many types of educational activities, games, and assessments. Easily modify the included templates to suit any subject or content area.
Flippity integrates with Google Sheets, allowing users to input and organize data to use in their activities easily; updates to Google Sheets are automatically reflected in the Flippity activity.
Templates include flashcards,10-sided multimedia flex cards, quizzes, crossword puzzles, and more. Customization options include adding images and text, choice of fonts and colors, and the ability to embed videos or other multimedia elements into activities. Flippity offers helpful tutorials to guide users through the process of creating and customizing content.
tag(s): flash cards (42), game based learning (186), quiz (65), quizzes (89), test prep (69), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93)
In the Classroom
This is a fantastic tool for vocabulary development in any subject area! Create flashcards for your classes or have them make their own using individual or a whole class Google account. Use them as an introduction to a concept, then again in the practice of the concept, and again as a final review. It is a nice three-for-one deal! Use with science terms or for standardized test preparation. Have students create flashcards and share with each other to quiz themselves within their own groups. Encourage students in upper grades to create their own spreadsheet and flash card sets. Show them how to carefully read through their classroom notes and underline the most important word or words in a sentence. Then have them leave out the most important words for their flashcards. Learning support teachers might want to have small groups create cards together to review before tests. Have students create flash card sets to "test" classmates on what they "teach" in oral reports. Create and collect sets of vocabulary cards for your world language or ESL/ELL classes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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