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Kids' Vid - Mike Keating
Grades
3 to 8
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Leap into video production with help from the Kids' Vid site! Kids' Vid steps you and your students through the process with tips on scripting, storyboarding, shooting video, and editing...more
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Leap into video production with help from the Kids' Vid site! Kids' Vid steps you and your students through the process with tips on scripting, storyboarding, shooting video, and editing it into a visual masterpiece. The site has classroom ideas, short exercises for story writing and learning video shots, an online storyboard creator, and lots of useful help from experts and kids on how to make the whole process an exciting educational experience.
In the Classroom
Start the activity by showing the student-produced videos on the web site. Use the resources on the site for a whole class jig-saw exercise. Assign small groups the task of learning one aspect of the process and then reporting and showing it to the rest of the class. Share the knowledge by creating working groups, which contain an expert from each aspect of the process. Use one of the many class ideas as practice activities for students to learn the finer points of video production before they start their masterpieces.Video is a great tool for authentic assessment - especially for ESL, ELL, and Special Education students. Think about letting each of your students create a short video about what they know for their parent conference meeting or Open House. Explore the realm of possibilities by having students develop and ask peers a "Question of the Week" and document the responses on video. Let students produce a walking tour of the school and key personnel as an introduction for new students. Post this video on the school website, but check the district and students' Acceptable Use Policies before videoing any student faces. You may want to ask your school's funding sources to consider purchasing a few USB plug-in "flip" video cameras that cost about $100 each so students can do these projects with an "indestructible" tool.
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Power Point Games - Jefferson County Schools
Grades
2 to 12
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This site contains several templates for familiar TV games useful for teacher (or student) created review. The activities include Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to be a Millionaire,...more
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This site contains several templates for familiar TV games useful for teacher (or student) created review. The activities include Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and others. Most of the games are done in PowerPoint. Depending on the version of PowerPoint you have, the formatting may be slightly off once you input your words, questions, or answers. Original games created by a teacher complete the offerings. Our editors note that the sound files included with some templates may be copyrighted material, and TeachersFirst does not condone the use of this content without the permission of the copyright holder(s). Most templates are "clean" of such potential problems. This website requires PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat. Download both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
tag(s): air (102)
In the Classroom
Use these templates with any subject you wish to review: foreign language word lists, social studies terms and concepts, science, language arts, art, music, sped, etc. These activities offer an excellent method to review information through a fun and different approach. Teachers can also have students create their own versions of review games.
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Comic Creator - ReadWriteThink.org
Grades
2 to 12
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Your students will create comics in minutes using this Comic Creator site. No log-in is required. Just type in the prompted information, such as the name of comic character, author,...more
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Your students will create comics in minutes using this Comic Creator site. No log-in is required. Just type in the prompted information, such as the name of comic character, author, caption, and of course, the dialog that goes into the speech bubble. The 'creator' chooses the number of panels, type of characters, style of speech bubble, and various props. Two actions are needed: clicking and dragging the items to go into the comic strip, and typing dialog into the bubbles. Then, presto....a genuine comic appears, ready for printing. The tool DOES support accent marks pasted from Word.
(Unfortunately, there is no way to save your comic masterpieces.)
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), sequencing (17), summarizing (23)
In the Classroom
Instead of writing boring summaries, why not summarize through a comic strip. It's much like storyboarding, but the drawing has been left to the Comic Creator pros. Make a class book of the comics created throughout the year. That book will become the most read classroom book of all in an elementary classroom. Use comics to show sequencing of events. When studying about characterization, create dialog to show (not tell) about a character. Another idea - why not use the comic strips for conflict resolution or other guidance issues (such as bullying). Sometimes it is easier for students to write it down (or draw the pictures) than use the actual words. World language and ESL/ELL teachers can assign students to create dialog strips as an alternate to traditional written assessments.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Telephoning English - English Portal.com
Grades
2 to 8
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Students learn appropriate language to use when telephoning and also begin to understand voice mail messages at this site designed for ESL and ELL students. Since using the telephone...more
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Students learn appropriate language to use when telephoning and also begin to understand voice mail messages at this site designed for ESL and ELL students. Since using the telephone is a big challenge when learning a new language, this site will be extremely helpful for newcomers. There are three levels of difficulty available.
tag(s): listening (93)
In the Classroom
Have your students practice the language on this site in a simulated telephone conversation. Have them record the voice mail messages and then play them for other students to respond to. Share this site on your class website or in your class newsletter so ESL parents can benefit from understanding telephone conversation better, too. Teachers of world languages may wish to use this site as a model to create similar information for their students of French, German, Spanish, and other world languages. Special ed teachers working on life skills will find these phone skills helpful, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Slang Idioms and More - 5-Minute English
Grades
2 to 12
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This site provides extra practice with phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang for ESL and ELL students and any students learning about idioms. The thematically organized idioms and slang...more
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This site provides extra practice with phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang for ESL and ELL students and any students learning about idioms. The thematically organized idioms and slang choices provide definitions, sentences, and comprehension exercises, all attractively packaged. The phrasal verb sections with "do," "come," and "go" provide practice and explanations of some of the most confusing verbs in English.
tag(s): idioms (30), slang (15), verbs (26), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Use this site on a projector or whiteboard when you have 5 minutes left or you want your students to do additional vocabulary work. Or provide it as a resource during your idiom lessons. ESL students have a very difficult time understanding idiomatic language and will benefit from the definitions and examples here. Ask them to share an example with your class of a similar idiom from their language. Often the translation of their idiom is funny enough to provoke classroom laughter but also explains why someone might say, "it is raining sheep and cows" instead of "cats and dogs."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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UsingEnglish.com - UsingEnglish.com
Grades
5 to 12
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Check this site for things you need to help for ESL/ELL students. You will find lesson plans, reference links, grammar practice, reading comprehension work, tests, word lists for specific...more
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Check this site for things you need to help for ESL/ELL students. You will find lesson plans, reference links, grammar practice, reading comprehension work, tests, word lists for specific tests, vocabulary offerings, professional articles, and more. The site is easy to searchand well organized, present exercises and tests in a consistent and easy to read format. The "question bank" offers difficult grammar points in a poll format, with results constantly renewed; some answers are obviously wrong, but grammar, too, has its debatable points! With free membership registration, teachers get access to even more activities, exercises, quizzes, games, a newsletter, and more. NOTE: There is a Forum (bulletin board) feature on this site. If your school does not permit students to use such tools, be sure to spell out the consequences as you tell students to avoid that area.
In the Classroom
Regular classroom teachers will want to use this site with ESL and ELL students fwhen they need a quick review on a specific grammar point. Use the professional articles for your own edification as well as links to other topics of interest.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Meg Cabot - Meggin Cabot
Grades
6 to 12
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This official website for author Meg Cabot is a tool to encourage journal writing. It has journal writing tips, downloadable journal pages, a bibliography of other journal selections,...more
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This official website for author Meg Cabot is a tool to encourage journal writing. It has journal writing tips, downloadable journal pages, a bibliography of other journal selections, an opportunity to journal with the author, and more. This website requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
tag(s): writing (324)
In the Classroom
Use this site to encourage daily writing. Help students improve their sentence structure and use grammar painlessly through frequent personal writing. ESL and ELL students will enjoy journal-writing as a safe place to practice without corrections. Some journal-writing can also take place on classroom blogs, though you may want to keep uncorrected student blogs behind passwords until students are comfortable with the more public setting.
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Self-study Grammar Quizzes - Internet TESL Journal/ teacher contrbutors
Grades
6 to 9
1 Favorites
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This website offers various interactive quizzes all related to grammar. Although written for ESL/ELL students, this is a good practice site for middle school students who have trouble...more
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This website offers various interactive quizzes all related to grammar. Although written for ESL/ELL students, this is a good practice site for middle school students who have trouble remembering grammar basics. All of the quizzes are interactive, with the answers underneath each question for immediate feedback. It encompasses a wide range of grammar-related rules, everything from "a or an" to "active-passive voice." This would make a good review or independent study site.
tag(s): grammar (137), punctuation (24)
In the Classroom
Choose which of these quizzes would most benefit your students and make the links available from your teacher web page for them to access the quizzes quickly. As students work independently on them, you can do individual support and final testing with them as they finish each section. The "Other Quizzes" section offers some challenging quizzes that ask students to identify sentence problems and various other questions.Why not use an interactive whiteboard or projector to share the more challenging quizzes with your class. Divide the class into teams, project the questions on the screen, and see which team can answer the most questions correctly. This is great review before standardized testing.
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Word Reference - wordreference.com
Grades
2 to 12
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This series of free translating dictionaries allows students to search to/from English in these languages: French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and German. Once a definition comes up...more
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This series of free translating dictionaries allows students to search to/from English in these languages: French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and German. Once a definition comes up in English, there are links to other dictionary pages where the word appears in a sentence. You can click on the audio button to hear the word spoken in both languages. This feature is only available in more commonly used words
There are also immediate clicks to other languages, so a student could check the same word in Spanish and French very easily. In addition to the translation dictionaries, there are also "English Dictionaries" (non-interactive) available in Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Czech, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic (coming soon). Many of the foreign language dictionaries will increase in volume as the site developers add more vocabulary.
Be aware: this site does include minor advertisements. There is a link to Language Forums. It is probably best to advise students to stay away from the forums.
tag(s): chinese (45), dictionaries (47), italian (30), japan (57), japanese (47), korea (21), portuguese (22), russia (35), russian (25)
In the Classroom
Save this site in your favorites on your classroom computers for use by ESL/ELL and foreign language students or for use when studying derivations and word families in English (compare the same word across several languages to see how close they can be!). Students can take an active role in vocabulary preview work by using this site in prior to reading. Be sure to list this site on your class webpage so students can access this information both in and out of the classroom. If you are introducing new vocabulary words to your foreign language class. Have them use this site to find the appropriate translations. Then have the students work in cooperative learning groups to create online vocabulary guidebooks using a tool such at Bookemon. Have the groups share the online books on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Be sure to keep the links for future students to use the guides, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Grammarman - grammarman.com
Grades
5 to 12
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This online version of Asian-created Grammarman regularly appears in foreign newspapers. The people of "Verbo City" need help with grammar problems when Grammarman comes to their rescue....more
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This online version of Asian-created Grammarman regularly appears in foreign newspapers. The people of "Verbo City" need help with grammar problems when Grammarman comes to their rescue. Both still and movie versions (search YouTube for your episode) of the various episodes feature his triumphs over bad grammar. This site is a refreshing break from grammar exercises and quizzes for all students (ENL, ELL, special education, and in the regular classroom).You may notice some slight spelling or vocabulary differences, because this website was created using British English.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), grammar (137)
In the Classroom
What an engaging, fabulous grammar website to use with all students. Use your interactive whiteboard to share the "grammar story of the week." Challenge your students to find the grammar errors and help Grammarman "save the day." Have students create their own Grammarman comics featuring their personal grammar "demons." First enhance student learning by having students create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. For beginning language students have them use ReadWrite Think: Comic Creator, reviewed here. For more advanced language students have them use Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here. Have another teacher judge the entries and allow the "winner" to wear a Grammarman "cape" for the week (if you have one) or earn a homework pass.
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English Current - Minimal Pairs - Chuala
Grades
4 to 12
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Here you will find advice, lists, and links for helping students to practice pronunciation in English through minimal pairs. An example of a minimal pair is "alive and arrive," You'll...more
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Here you will find advice, lists, and links for helping students to practice pronunciation in English through minimal pairs. An example of a minimal pair is "alive and arrive," You'll also find ideas for teaching mouth positioning.
tag(s): pronunciation (34)
In the Classroom
Pair an ENL/ESL student with a native Enlish speaker (or you can do this as the leader in a small group). Either you or the students can use the word pairs on this site to create flashcards for practice. Use a tool like Flashcard Stash, reviewed here. Share with the partners the ideas for mouth positioning.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab - Randall Davis
Grades
3 to 12
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This site offers audible everyday conversations with adult and children's voices for ESL/ELL students. There are three levels of difficulty. Each story (conversation) includes before,...more
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This site offers audible everyday conversations with adult and children's voices for ESL/ELL students. There are three levels of difficulty. Each story (conversation) includes before, during, and after listening information. Note: some content, such as "Dating Woes," "The Ideal Woman," and "Personal Problems" may not be appropriate for younger students. Preview! There are some small Google ads, but they are not objectionable. This site requires Windows Media Player or Real Media and Acrobat Reader. Get them from the "TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): listening (93)
In the Classroom
Consider using some of the listening exercises to help all students learn to become better listeners or to discuss the concept of "main idea." Turn up your speakers (and use a projector to display the "quiz script," if you wish) to share the stories and questions or assign stories for student listening in a center. Use the follow-up questions to assess listening skills. Be sure to follow your school district's guidelines for students posting information online if they will be responding to the blog feature on this site.
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Language Menu Activities - Learnwell Oy
Grades
6 to 12
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Choose from Vocabulary or Picture Vocabulary for many topics. There are currently 36 languages to choose from. (From matching games to picture recognition to translation practice,...more
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Choose from Vocabulary or Picture Vocabulary for many topics. There are currently 36 languages to choose from. (From matching games to picture recognition to translation practice, the site offers fairly sophisticated word practice. A flag-country matching game is of general interest to all students, not just language learners. There are many advantages in using this site for ESL or ELL students. The main advantage is the capability to choose a different language for questions and answers, thus assuring specific understanding of specific words with the definitions in their first language.
tag(s): capitals (16), flags (18), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)
In the Classroom
Mark this site in Favorites on your classroom computers for ESL and ELL students.. Provide information about this site to foreign language teachers in your school. This is a wonderful site to list in your class newsletter (if applicable) or on your class website.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CuePrompter.com: The Online Teleprompter - Hannu Multanen
Grades
2 to 12
0 Favorites
1 Comments
This handy online tool (Windows only--sorry) makes any computer screen into a "teleprompter" (scrolling screen with the text YOU paste in). No membership or log in is required. Just...more
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This handy online tool (Windows only--sorry) makes any computer screen into a "teleprompter" (scrolling screen with the text YOU paste in). No membership or log in is required. Just open the site and copy/paste in the text from a word doc (or type it in, but there is no way to SAVE it on the site). We recommend keeping your text ready-to-copy/paste and saved in another program. Set the font size and screen size to large or small. When you are ready to "speak," click the "start prompter" button. The speed controls are at the top of the screen. Remember that F11 will make any web page full screen without menus and toolbars. If you are fortunate enough to have a rear projection screen, the text can even be reversed. Anyone who wants scrolling text can just paste and go. The maximum text length is 2000 characters, but you could always have a second window ready and switch mid-speech. See System Requirements if you cannot get it to work.
In the Classroom
Why bother with this one? Lots of reasons! Once they see it, your students are sure to come up with more, but here is a start: Try making a sample dialog for students to follow out loud as your project it in a foreign language or ESL/ELL class. Be sure to write in script format so they know who is speaking! Or share this tool with students who need help getting their nose out of their notes in presenting speeches. They can run it on a laptop only they can see and look out at the audience past the prompter. The comfort of having their text right there will ease many butterflies.An alternate use: build reading fluency by having students read aloud from this tech-tool. They will be FAR more motivated to read up to speed! Speech clinicians may want to try it for articulation practice, as well.
Comments
While this is a great tool. I found http://www.freeteleprompter.org/ much easier to use. Cueprompter looks rather cluttered and dated. Just my 2 cents as you guys would say.Dave, , Grades: 6 - 12
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Learn English Vocabulary - LEO
Grades
3 to 8
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This site, originally developed for German students learning English, offers an impressive number of vocabulary lists, grouped by subject category. When students see the lists, they...more
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This site, originally developed for German students learning English, offers an impressive number of vocabulary lists, grouped by subject category. When students see the lists, they can click on the sound icon to hear the word pronounced. The site also offers phrasal verbs, idioms, grammar, and song lists. Some of the comments and spellings are British, so may be confusing to U.S. students. However, the pronunciation of individual words and phrases is clear and helpful, even to those learning American English. This website requires Real Player. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): pronunciation (34), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)
In the Classroom
Be sure to include this link on your teacher web page and newsletter - so the students can easily access this site as an online dictionary and pronunciation reference.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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100 Free Short Stories for ESL - Rong-Chang Li & Bill Bailey
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This website provides a large collection of short stories selected for beginning and advanced beginning ESL students. The subject matter of many stories is not appropriate for younger...more
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This website provides a large collection of short stories selected for beginning and advanced beginning ESL students. The subject matter of many stories is not appropriate for younger students. Some include topics you would find in newspaper articles, and some deal with dating. Preview! Some stories on the website allow you to read the story yourself or click on the speaker icon to hear the story read aloud. The site could also be used to provide extra reading and reading/listening for struggling readers. There are also an online dictionary, great follow-up activities to check comprehension, and crossword puzzles. The questions and other review activities provide immediate feedback. There are numerous advertisements. Be sure to show your student how to use the site and not click the ads.
tag(s): puzzles (149), reading comprehension (148), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)
In the Classroom
Share these activities with individual students as an assignment or independent practice on your classroom computer and as a link from your web site. The reading and activities are easy to work on independently because of the listening feature and the available dictionary. Don't forget to provide headphones. Provide this link for the families of ESL/ELL students to read (or listen) to the stories together.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Eclectic English - eclecticenglish.com
Grades
2 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This site offers grammar practice, exams and quizzes, worksheets, and more for learning ESL. Spellings and vocabulary are British. Drag the words to match a picture in the vocabulary...more
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This site offers grammar practice, exams and quizzes, worksheets, and more for learning ESL. Spellings and vocabulary are British. Drag the words to match a picture in the vocabulary exercises. Submit a request for new ESL exercises on the Wish List. NOTE: the ESL forums provide an opportunity for students to use new English knowledge, but they may not include topics you wish to make available in the classroom. PREVIEW first. Requires JAVA: Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
tag(s): grammar (137), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Use the listings on this site to find review and extra practice for your ESL students. Make the specific activities available on your classroom computer.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Thoughtful Learning - Write Source: Writing Topics - Houghton Mifflin Co.
Grades
K to 12
7 Favorites
0 Comments
The authors of Write Source have moved their materials to Thoughtful Learning. Explore this great site to find free minilessons, student writing topics, and models of good writing....more
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The authors of Write Source have moved their materials to Thoughtful Learning. Explore this great site to find free minilessons, student writing topics, and models of good writing. The writing topics are divided by grade level in elementary and intermediate, then grouped as 9-12 for high school. Each section includes many writing prompts --enough to whet the appetite of almost any student. The minilessons are a treasure! Many have a short video explanation and some have templates to print! The student models are shown by type (creative writing, persuasive, research, response to literature, business, etc.) and level. As for writing assessments see the elementary and middle school models in all of the major modes of writing, and rubrics that assess each example as "Strong," "Good," "Okay," or "Poor." Download blank rubrics to use with your students. The upper levels of this site, such as persuasive writing or literary analysis, open the door to higher level thinking. There are free curricula Teaching Guides for K-3, however, the other levels of curricula books have a cost. Though the videos display on this site, they reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): blogs (65), essays (21), writing (324), writing prompts (61)
In the Classroom
Have the students choose their own prompt from the list and then share their writing within a small group, with the class, or on their own blogs. Replace paper and pencil and have your younger students create a blog using Seesaw, reviewed here., while older students can use Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or X (formerly Twitter) links. This blog creator requires no registration. Use the models and anonymous sharing on an interactive whiteboard to create a "safe" way for students to share writing as process and hear how others do it. Take this a step further and enhance student learning by having them use a collaborative writing tool like Penflip, reviewed here, or Google Docs. There is also the option of altering student learning and PUBLISHING student models with Book Creator, reviewed here, or Ourboox, reviewed here, as a motivator. Be sure to get parent permission!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ninjawords - Phil Crosby
Grades
3 to 12
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A rapid-fire dictionary, this site gives you the definition of any word you type into the box. It also keeps a history of the words in a list on the ...more
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A rapid-fire dictionary, this site gives you the definition of any word you type into the box. It also keeps a history of the words in a list on the right as you look them up, a very useful tool. While the definitions are quite complete, including parts of speech and synonyms for most words, they are not comprehensive. A word such as "look" produces only 2 of the many definitions that could be applied to that word. However, entering in such words as "mercenary" or "ambiance" yields a great short, straightforward definition great for a quick check while reading. The site also provides the ability to enter a single listing of terms, separated by commas, and create a link to EXACTLY that list of definitions (as a glossary for a specific lesson, for example). See a sample created by the TeachersFirst editors here.
Be careful, since the site is nondiscriminatory and will give a response to any word you enter, regardless of the propriety of the word!
Be careful, since the site is nondiscriminatory and will give a response to any word you enter, regardless of the propriety of the word!
tag(s): vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Use the "random" button to generate a word of the day in an instant! Create pre-made word lists for students to access online from your teacher web page by entering them all , separated by commas, and clicking "Link to this page" at the end of the page. The URL that then shows in the address bar IS the URL to access that word list any time from any computer. Have students make personal lists of their own for individualized vocab study. Open Ninjawords as students read a selection in class--even in science or social studies texts, and allow students to take turns entering new words they encounter. If you have a projector or interactive whiteboard, the entire class can "see" the current "word wall" created by the history function. Or you can simply keep it on a classroom desktop to help those who need it. If you mark each "glossary" page as a Favorite on your computer, you can NAME IT "Chapter 3 Glossary" or "Amphibian Unit Glossary" etc and make it available for students to use any time. The history feature allows you to "track" whether students have entered inappropriate words. The history list seems to remain on your computer for a period of time, probably by leaving "cookies" on your computer -- in this case a useful thing! Use it on your machine to recall vocab from day to day for continuing lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Word Champ - GlobaLinguist
Grades
3 to 12
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This free website allows users to choose a target language (out of a list of 100!) or English to learn new language through vocabulary drills, flashcards, flashcards with pictures,...more
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This free website allows users to choose a target language (out of a list of 100!) or English to learn new language through vocabulary drills, flashcards, flashcards with pictures, translation, listening comprehension, dictation, vocabulary, grammar, and word form practice. Management tools allow teachers to set up classes and monitor their students' progress, a feature often unavailable on free sites. Teachers can choose to either use the vocabulary list already in the program or set up their own. The site claims to have helped many people increase language ability to the point of being able to read web pages in other languages. Full interactivity engages the student in the process of language study and acquisition. A "web reader" takes authentic texts from native language newspapers and provides translation of any words when the reader passes the mouse over the unknown word. Pronunciation of those words is another option available. Users have the option of downloading vocabulary lists as MP3 files.
tag(s): grammar (137), news (229), newspapers (92), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Use this site to set up extra vocabulary practice and reading for your language students. Have students create their own practice exercises for each other! Add your own vocabulary and homework assignments to materials available already within the program. Make sure to include the link on your teacher web page for outside practice and quick access.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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