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Wonkblog: Kurt Vonnegut graphed the world's most popular stories (blog post) - Ana Swanson/Washington Post
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): authors (106), creative writing (124), infographics (56), narrative (15), stories and storytelling (58)
In the Classroom
Explore the patterns of story and narratives in our culture and beyond using this visual approach to story mapping. In a high school language arts class, watch the video of Vonnegut explaining story shapes (about 4 minutes) and challenge student partners or groups to think of other examples of that story map, even from movies or television shows. Then turn the class loose to make their own graphic representation of a literary piece you have read recently - or of a movie that is popular right now. If you have an interactive whiteboard, have students direct a student "emcee" to do the drawing as the class gives instructions. With younger students, you may need to talk as a class to be sure students are able to grasp the abstract patterns shown in the graphs, and the video may be too adult level for them to understand without a slower discussion. Once your class (of any level) seems to grasp the idea, post story shapes on your class wiki or web page (with proper credit) so students can add their own examples of tales they have read or watched that fit the pattern. If you give them extra credit for noticing such stories in their own lives, they will internalize the idea of narrative patterns. You could also make a story shape bulletin board where students can add index cards with names of books/tales they read under each pattern. If you are promoting narrative writing, use these story patterns as a way to help students get ideas for where a storyline can go so it has a beginning, middle, and end.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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American Bald Eagle Foundation - Bald Eagle Foundation
Grades
1 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): endangered species (27), extinction (3)
In the Classroom
Study the bald eagle and its current status as no longer endangered. Use as a research site for bald eagle information. Consider showing one of the videos from the YouTube channel for the American Eagle Foundation. If you do not wish to show all scenes in the video use a program like Clipchamp, reviewed here to show only the portions of the video you want your students to see. Look for an animal in your area, and research it. Do a Problem Based Learning Project on creating dioramas and information for creating public awareness. Create a festival to promote the preservation of the species. Have students create commercials and posters to meet speaking and listening standards. For online posters use a program like Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here. Create a public blog for an ongoing research watch using Webnode, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Breaking News - NBC News Digital Network
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (146), globe (12), maps (215), news (228), newspapers (92), primary sources (116)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for current events projects. Assign students various weeks through out the semester in which they are to be the class news reporter. The reports should keep their peers up to date and informed. Have students research what is going on via this news site, and give a small presentation at the beginning of class every day during their week. Students can do an oral presentation or create a short video summarizing the same information. View several news articles from different areas and discuss bias and point of view from other cities and countries. Choose dots on the map randomly from the various sections to see what is trending in different regions. Have students create news briefs and share them using a tool such as SchoolTube reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Corpus of American English - Brigham Young University
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): vocabulary development (94), word study (60)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an addition to reading skill work and vocabulary enhancement studies. Students may find this beneficial when preparing for the ACT, PSAT, and SAT exams. Students can keep their own word lists of target and related words directly on the site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CurriConnects Book List - 20th Century America, Part 2 (1945-2000) - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): 20th century (62), book lists (166), independent reading (83), kennedy (20), vietnam (38)
In the Classroom
Make the 1950s and beyond come alive during your unit on American History. Have students choose a book from this list and present their impressions from it in the form of a blog post from the times. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Webnode, reviewed here. Have students interview parents about different times that they learn about. Have students include the interview in the blogs. Collect the links to all the student posts on your class web page for students to browse and gather a "human" experience of history.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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MediaFire - MediaFire
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (146)
In the Classroom
Use MediaFire to transfer files and images between devices quickly in your BYOD or 1:1 classroom. Student groups working on projects in class can gather and share data easily from anywhere. Use for any work students may wish to collaborate on. They can easily make documents public or private and share with others. What a great way for students to turn their work into you when completed on their devices! During curriculum development and other professional development activities, members of a department (or even school-wide) can share resources and documents easily with each other.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Random Name Generator Tool - Instant Classroom
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (118), probability (98)
In the Classroom
Use the Random Name Generator to select a student to do an activity or to answer a question. Allow students to use the name generator to choose the classmate who comes next. Create your list at the beginning of the year and SAVE it to use throughout the year. Use the Random Name Generator as part of your probability unit to chart how often names appear with random spins.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Travel By Drone - Jan Hiersemenzel
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): cities (17), countries (72), landforms (37), landmarks (22), news (228), setting (5), video (264)
In the Classroom
This site is continually adding new places to see. If you don't find what you want, check back frequently. Make geography come to life by showing students WHERE a story or news event takes place. Share the videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Use this tool to explore how it looks in the country or city studied in world cultures (or languages). Explore geography concepts, historical locations, famous battle locations, and more. Students creating a multimedia presentation with a setting can look at Travel By Drone to see if there is footage they can use.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Roman Gods - Jo Edkins
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): myths and legends (31), romans (40)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a reference for students studying world history and ancient religions. It is also an excellent introduction to a unit on the Romans for young learners. Put a link to this site on a classroom computer as an activity center for the Roman unit of study. Assign student pairs, or small groups, a topic (god or myths about that god). Have students create a multimedia presentation using Presentious, reviewed here. This tool allows narrating and adding text to a picture. Challenge students to find a Creative Commons photo or image, and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report about the god's life. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Stockio, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Springboard - Parul Gupta and Gautam Tambay
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): professional development (373), search engines (48)
In the Classroom
Share Springboard with your gifted students as a resource for finding enrichment resources or content not taught by your school. Search for and share free courses for all students to use for review of any topic. Use the Springboard search engine to find professional development courses for your own personal use.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Give Me Sport - givemesport.com
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): independent reading (83), journalism (73), sports (81)
In the Classroom
Offer Give Me Sport as an alternative to reluctant readers for independent reading. Challenge students to find articles and then research additional information for writing projects or biography reports. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Image Annotator, reviewed here. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook featuring a sports personality.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Scrim - Basem
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): internet safety (113)
In the Classroom
Use Scrim whenever sharing your email address on social networking sites to avoid receiving spam. Share with older students as part of your cyber safety lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Soft Murmur - Gabriel Martin
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): creative writing (124), learning styles (18)
In the Classroom
Be sure to share this link with students (and their parents) looking for less distracting sounds while brainstorming or working. Does your class have silent reading time, or are you reading a book to the class or conducting a science lab? Turn up your speakers and use a background sound as mood music to set the stage for your story. Use the sounds during creative writing exercises. Why not listen to waves or water while studying them?! Play a few minutes of relaxing sounds before a major test. Consider using as background sounds for student presentations. If you talk with students about discovering their own learning styles, offer this site as a suggestion for them to try while prewriting or studying for tests. Emotional support (and autistic support) teachers may want to experiment to see if these sounds can help their students. Some students may find them over stimulating while others may find the sounds very helpful.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Mighty - Mike Porath
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): disabilities (31), diseases (67)
In the Classroom
Share The Mighty with parents and even older students as a resource for finding positive news about those with disabilities. Read these stories together on your projector or interactive whiteboard to teach about tolerance and acceptance of differences. Encourage parents and students to submit their own story of inspiration to the site. Search for articles dealing with challenges your students face to read and discuss together.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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After the Deadline - polishmywriting.com
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): editing (93), proofreading (21), writing (323)
In the Classroom
Use this visual revision program with your students who are ready to refine and improve their writing. After the Deadline is a wonderful program to use for revision after self-editing of grammar and mechanics is complete. 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 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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Group Maker Tool - Instant Classroom
Grades
K to 12tag(s): Teacher Utilities (183)
In the Classroom
Although a bit awkward and slow to get started, this tool is helpful for creating random groups for many purposes. It is best to create your class list ahead of time then you can easily create groups anytime on the fly! Use this tool to create groups for cooperative learning, class plays, presentations, computer centers, field trips, and much more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Typing Lessons That Work - keybr.com
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): computers (109), keyboarding (28)
In the Classroom
Everyone will benefit by learning to type faster. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students practice their touch typing independently. No need to have them sign up. They will see their speed and errors at the end of each list given to them. That information will accumulate for as long as they continue the practice. They could keep their results in a word document or a Google Doc. For more about Google Docs and Templates see the review here. Be sure to watch and see that students are using the proper touch typing position (no two finger typing!). Share this site with your students who are struggling with writing. Offer students the opportunity to learn to type in addition to write!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Snow Days - Always Snowing LLC
Grades
K to 4This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Let it snow all day with these virtual snowflakes. Challenge students to write poetry to include when students send their snowflakes to parents or grandparents. Research winter animals, places, or birds and put information and write facts on snowflakes. Create and make a multimedia presentation with your different snowflakes. Make a blizzard of all of your snowflake messages! Virtually cutting and creating snowflakes may become addicting!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Recycling 101 - Three Basic Rules - Recycling Facts Guide
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): conservation (97), consumers (14), recycling (45), resources (83)
In the Classroom
Use the information on this site to inform students about the various items that can be recycled. Consider using the site as background information for student created surveys for students and their families to complete. Use the information from the surveys to develop a campaign to bring awareness to consumption and use patterns that can save money for families as well as landfill space. Create a survey or a poll using Class Question, reviewed here. Use this site for meeting the Common Core Standards for nonfiction reading. Provide a link to the Recycling Facts Guide on your class website. Create a student project where students use information on this site to create a campaign to promote awareness about recycling. Debate recycling and recycling programs by comparing information from this site and others as well as misconceptions many may have. Use the information here to establish a recycling campaign in your school or community. Use this site as inspiration to write a story or cartoon based on the life of a particular resource.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Getty Collection Images - Getty Images
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): images (260), photography (121)
In the Classroom
Use this site in every subject area where images can convey concepts or students make projects. Share an intriguing photo on your interactive whiteboard or projector as a writing prompt for a short story (or poem). Use images for extra practice when writing in world languages, by having students describe the scene or tell a story about it. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Google Drawings, reviewed here. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here. When looking for free materials for use in projects or to place on websites, begin the search here. Be sure to keep a link to this site on your wiki, blog, or web page for students to use whenever they are working on a project. Not comfortable with wikis or blogs? Check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through and Blog Basics.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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