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Rooh it: Instant Web Highlighter - RoohIt, Inc
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): browser (8), note taking (36)
In the Classroom
Consider using this tool as a way to direct students to specific points of web pages. Include directions in your notes. Assign specific tasks, such as pre-reading questions using the notes feature. Even without "sharing" a URL, use this resource to keep track of specific points for discussion later. Have students use this tool for research papers and other projects. Share current events with others, highlighting specific points. Simply paste the highlighted URLs into a word doc to save and reopen later. Use this resource as an organizational tool for content found on the web. Have students annotate their own pages including their own pre-reading questions, main idea sentences, or summaries using highlighting and notes on a text-based page. Have them explicate poetry, annotate motifs in online literary works, point out fallacies in arguments used in blog posts, or highlight evidence of bias in web page content. They can "turn in" their assignments to you or share them with classmates by URL.Keep a word document with the URLs to your annotated pages and notes about what they are if you plan to assign them to students. If you plan to use this as a TEACHER only, there are no safety/security concerns at all. Be sure to check with your IT department about installing bookmarklets and using this site on district computers. No registration is required. Encourage students to use this responsibly and not highlight information considered inappropriate for school.
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TagCrowd: Make Your Own Tag Cloud From Any Text - Daniel Steinbock
Grades
K to 12tag(s): speech (68), vocabulary (238), word clouds (13)
In the Classroom
This is a great visual tool to use. Take a poll and have your students type their answers into the word cloud builder. Then display on an interactive whiteboard or projector and see which answer was the most popular. Use this site as a way to help students see and memorize text, especially visual learners. Use it also when writing poetry or to "see" themes of repeated words and images. Have students paste in their own writing to spot repeated (and monotonous) language when teaching lessons on word choice. Use this site to surprise students with words that appear often in their writing. Have students work in groups to create word posters of vocabulary words with related meanings, such as different ways to say "walk" or "said" and decorate your classroom with these visual reminders of the richness of language. More ideas for primary grades: Dolch words, class names, numbers to 20, words with the same beginning letters, collection of ALL the words that hang in the classroom (so students can walk around and find/touch them on a laminated Word cloud card in their hands), or any collection of similar words.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Famous Scientists - famousscientists.org
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): inventors and inventions (80), scientists (63)
In the Classroom
The reading level of this site is rather challenging. Have weaker readers work together with stronger ones. While discussing scientists and inventors, use this site as a resource for gathering information. Have small groups of students research scientists from the same time period. Have them research their contributions including reactions of others to their discovery or invention. Research why these inventions were particularly important and the scientific knowledge that changed as a result. Have them present their findings to the class by creating a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, Vevox, Animatron, Renderforest, and Microsoft PowerPoint Online. Then, if you would like to take your students critical thinking up a notch and extend their learning, you could have the small groups compare the different inventions and decide how and why the earlier inventions had to come before a later invention could be developed. For this you might want to have students use a collaborative graphic organizer like Canva Edu, reviewed here, and have them report out their thoughts and discoveries to the class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Easy Bib - Imagine easy Solutions, LLC
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): citations (32)
In the Classroom
Use your interactive whiteboard and projector to show students how to use this tool for citing their sources. Share this web site for all of your projects using research so students know the correct procedure for citations. Be sure to add it on your class web site as a useful reference.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Useful charts - UsefulCharts Publishing
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): art history (99), charts and graphs (171), grammar (137), multiple intelligences (7), myths and legends (37), poetry (192), politics (117), psychology (65), religions (94), solar system (108), space (217), timelines (55)
In the Classroom
Share a visual overview of a topic on projector or IWB before teaching or as a reference before lessons that zero in on subtopics. Use this site to teach data and the graphic display of data. Allow groups of students to choose a graphic and report to the class on how the data was made more meaningful using the graphics that were chosen. You may also want to share this link as a research tool for debates or presentations on science or social studies topics. Share the timeline or graphic on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Discuss the science, history, or math behind the data collected. Discuss other information and ways of presenting the information in order to create a more interesting graphic. Have students try their hand at creating an infographic using a tool such as Snappa.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Twelve Ideas for Teaching with QR Codes - Andrew Miller
Grades
K to 12tag(s): qr codes (18)
In the Classroom
Choose one of the ideas suggested in the article as a starting point for using QR codes in your classroom; then try additional ideas a little at a time. Share the article with other teachers and split up the ideas for each to become an "expert" in one of the strategies. Share your experiences as you learn together, perhaps in a staff meeting.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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PBS Video Online - PBS
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): video (264)
In the Classroom
Teachers you can now access videos from PBS without having to record them. Use the subject search to find videos relevant to a unit of study. Display videos with your projector or add a link to your class website so students can watch at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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QR Code Classroom Implementation Guide - Vicki Davis
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): qr codes (18)
In the Classroom
QR codes are a sure-fire motivator for any class equipped with their own smart phones or school iTouches/iPads. Choose one of the ideas suggested in the article as a starting point for using QR codes in your classroom; then try additional ideas a little at a time. Share the article with other teachers and split up the ideas for each to become an "expert" in one of the strategies, share your experiences as you learn together.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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iPiccy - iPiccy.com
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): images (260), photography (121)
In the Classroom
Use this tool anytime that photos need to be edited for use on class blogs, wikis, or sites. Encourage students to use on images for projects or presentations. Use the editor to edit pictures to fit styles of pictures when doing historical reports or to set a mood. Use caption bubbles for the photos themselves to tell the stories. Have students annotate or label Creative Commons online images of cells, structures of an animal, and much more, sharing the results (with an image credit) on your class wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Edsitement - EdSitement
Grades
K to 12tag(s): art history (99), cultures (177), Juneteenth (22), literacy (121)
In the Classroom
Use Edsitement for lesson ideas in language, history, literature, and cultures. Find multiple sources to give a deeper comprehension on the subject matter. In history classes, keep the ongoing calendar in your favorites to celebrate an important historical day every day. Lesson plans cover multiple grade levels in many different subject areas. Resources can enrich, or even to give further explanation to current topics of study.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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What Speed Do you Read? - Staples.com
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): independent reading (83), reading comprehension (149)
In the Classroom
Race to read, with Staples simple Speed reading test. Offer your students and parents an easy way to track reading fluency. Use this tool to open discussion about the reasons why we sometimes need to slow down and how practice can build fluency. Offer contests, use in portfolios, or just plain have fun reading! Begin by using on the interactive whiteboard and reading aloud and modeling good reading behaviors. Help students discover the skills of great comprehension. Have students graph the family results. Test your principal and other teachers. Use this website to prove reading takes practice. For another reading speed builder, try Easy Prompter, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WhatWasThere - Enlighten Ventures, LLC
Grades
K to 12tag(s): communities (33), images (260), local history (14), maps (218), photography (121)
In the Classroom
Use this tool to explore the changes in your local area or elsewhere. Compare medicine, education, nutrition, and more from each of the time periods. Create a campaign to showcase your local area today by cataloguing various neighborhoods with your classes. Write stories about life in each of the historical periods. Research headline news of those days, political figures, and major achievements. In elementary grades, show how towns and cities change over time by projecting the photos and maps as part of your Communities unit. In very early grades, introduce the very idea of history by showing "what was there" at familiar local sites. Have students write stories about what happened there "once upon a time."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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pageOrama - pageOrama.com
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): multimedia (51)
In the Classroom
Use this site for students to post simple projects such as stories, poems, and art projects. Collect a master list of links to student pages on your classroom website, wiki, or blog for easy access. If students are creating pages, be sure to check with your district's policy on student use of email as well as publishing of student work.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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World of Reading - Ann Arbor District Library
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): independent reading (83), literature (221), reading lists (77)
In the Classroom
After checking with your administration about submission policies, have your class submit group or individual reviews of books they are reading. Also, students can check to see if books they've read have a review. If not, have them write one. Bookmark the site on a classroom computer so students who finish work early can look for a new book to read. Put a link to this site on your teacher page for parents and students for access at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tesla - Master of Lightning - PBS
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): electricity (62), energy (130), industrial revolution (22), inventors and inventions (80), motion (49), radio (20)
In the Classroom
Add intrigue and mystery, to your science unit on electricity, motion, or inventors as you study the life and accomplishments of Nikola Tesla. Excellent lesson plans include a concrete understanding of potential energy, mechanical energy to electrical energy. Use on an interactive white board to begin your unit or create a "Who Dunnit" with electricity or radio. Follow the structure of ideas presented to create an online "famous scientist" wiki, blog or PowerPoint to add to your class website. Use a Socratic seminar to debate which scientist should get credit for the induction motor, radio, and even the Industrial Revolution. Use the readings for older students, advanced readers, or gifted students, as they are far above the reading level of elementary and early middle school students. In language arts, writing topics could include "What a shock electricity is in my life" and "Will the true inventor of electricity please stand up?" The ideas and resources are electrifying!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lalo.li - Franz Enzenhofer
Grades
K to 12tag(s): communication (129), text to speech (20)
In the Classroom
This would be great for ESL/ELL learners; have them type a short sentence and listen to the playback to verify that the sentence is correct. It would also be a great practice for beginning readers. Use your interactive whiteboard and have the class tell a very brief story or say a sentence. After typing the sentence into the program, user a pointer for each word as the synthesizer reads it, or have students take turns pointing out the words. Share tonight's homework on your class web page as a link to an audio reminder simply by typing or pasting in the assignment and copying the link to place it on your web page.Comments
When I tried to use it with Safari on a new Mac in 10.7, it said I needed to use only Firefox or Chrome Too bad.Constance, RI, Grades: 0 - 12
Note from the editorial staff: thank you for your comment. We have added this information to the review.
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Interactive.I - interactive.illimitably.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): drawing (61)
In the Classroom
You can avoid the public galleries entirely by creating the space for your students to use. It takes only seconds, and they can join directly by url. Have students collaborate on the creation of story webs or classroom presentations. Encourage visual prewriting for the students who "think in pictures." Allow students to use this site as their visual during speeches. Have young students use a whiteboard to draw out ideas before they can even write entire sentences. If you know an artist, cartoonist or illustrator, invite him/her to visit your classroom virtually to share his/her drawing process while you class uses the chat to ask questions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Instant Classroom Seating Chart - Instant Classroom
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (120), Teacher Utilities (189)
In the Classroom
Use this site at the beginning of the year to create a seating chart for your classroom. Use the drag and drop technology to configure the desks the way you want them. Use the Random Name Generator to choose a student for an activity or to answer a question. If you need to create groups of 2, 3 or more, use the Classroom Group Maker to automatically split your class into even groups.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ProCon - Procon.org
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): climate change (94), critical thinking (123), debate (42), difficult conversations (57), persuasive writing (58), politics (117)
In the Classroom
Using controversial topics that have more than one side is a great way to develop critical thinking and problem solving. Find issues on this site that relate to your curriculum and use them as an entry point for a new unit. Use the teaching resources found on the top menu under the Teacher's Corner. Use this site to teach how to distinguish facts from opinions, using information to write essays or create speeches, or hold a class debate. You may want to facilitate student persuasive writing by using an outline such as Persuasion Map, reviewed here, to help them organize their thinking. Help students develop flexibility in their thinking by having them take part in a difficult conversation and argue a side they do NOT agree with. This will also help students think about how to refute a point the opposition will make. Focus on critical thinking with your students to develop skills needed for life. Use as a whole class activity or for individual students to find an issue of interest to them. Gifted students often think deeply on such issues at an early age and will find these topics of great interest. Use this site to guide a deliberate discussion or debate.Comments
I also love this site, but I don't see any advertising on there at all. The site is free. Not sure how they stay afloat but I'm glad they do. For me, it is better than Opposing Viewpoints database for its depth, ease of use, and lack of registration/passwords. I use it for student debates on current events, and my wife (an English teacher) uses it for persuasive essays and role play debates.ProCon, , Grades: 0 - 12
I've used this and it's great! Balanced, has good resources. Helps students see both sides of an issue.Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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iSL Collective - Adam and Peter Laszlo
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): alphabet (53), grammar (137), paragraph writing (15), pronunciation (34), vocabulary development (94), worksheets (69)
In the Classroom
Check back often to see new materials available here, listed under "Newest" or "ESL Worksheets of the Day."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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