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Lexipedia - Vantage Linguistics
Grades
2 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Lexipedia is "Where Words Have Meaning." Type in a word and see what happens! This site creates a web of related words. Each color represents a different part of speech ...more
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Lexipedia is "Where Words Have Meaning." Type in a word and see what happens! This site creates a web of related words. Each color represents a different part of speech or relationship to the original word - nouns, verbs, synonyms, antonyms and even fuzzynyms! Words become more than isolated strings of letters and part of a greater web of language.
tag(s): antonyms (12), dictionaries (47), mean (19), synonyms (15), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94), word clouds (13)
In the Classroom
Explore this site on interactive whiteboard or projector to show students how to improve writing with descriptive words. Consider allowing students to share a favorite word of the day for 30 seconds on your interactive whiteboard at the start of class. Use this in a word study unit by covering up the original word.Students will then try to discover the word based on the word relationships found around the word. Build understanding of parts of speech through this tool every time you look up a word. Reinforce these concepts for visual learners continuously by using the same colors every time you highlight on your interactive whiteboard. World language teachers can also type in words to demonstrate and expand vocabulary in Spanish, French, German, Dutch, and Italian. Special ed teachers, especially those in speech/language will love this tool to help students SEE relationships between words. Encourage your language-delayed students to look up words and build "word sense" even when they are familiar with the word's meaning. Make this site available as a reference on classroom computers and on your class web page.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Making Stopmotion Movies - Kevin Hodgson
Grades
2 to 8
5 Favorites
0 Comments
Energize your Writers Workshop by creating stopmotion movies. This is a highly engaging way to teach your students about story elements, dialogue, character development, and storyboarding....more
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Energize your Writers Workshop by creating stopmotion movies. This is a highly engaging way to teach your students about story elements, dialogue, character development, and storyboarding. Filmmakers can first organize their ideas on downloadable planning sheets. Make the characters for the movie out of clay, wiki stix, paper, or even found objects. Some free animation and movie software links are available. Step by step directions on how to create a stopmotion movie, and Windows Moviemaker, and iMovie tutorials are available.
tag(s): acting (19), creativity (86), movies (54)
In the Classroom
Encourage your students to revise and edit their writing by turning their stories into stopmotion movies. Have students work in small groups to visually re-create events from their own writing. This will help develop stronger characters, dialogue, and draw attention to the elements of time and place. The planning sheets are a helpful tool to help students examine story structure and sequence. Alternatively, develop reading comprehension and fluency by asking students to re-create a fable or folktale. The new term for this is "Readers stopmotion." Teachers may want to be comfortable using a digital camera and movie making programs before embarking on this project."Challenge students to share their videos on a site such as TeacherTube reviewed here or post them on your class website. Get parent permission before posting any student work on this sharing site and check with your school administrator to be sure that your school allows students to post videos on-line. Teachers may want to be comfortable using a digital camera/webcam and movie making programs before embarking on this project.
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Bestsellers - Shmoop Editors
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Bestsellers is a credible, academic resource that utilizes innovative internet based features that appeal to today's youth culture, discussing best selling literature. Do you...more
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Bestsellers is a credible, academic resource that utilizes innovative internet based features that appeal to today's youth culture, discussing best selling literature. Do you want to assign a book whose title will grab your students' attention just by the mere mention of it, like the books found on Oprah's Picks and other most read lists? Have you steered away from those books because of the lack of teaching resources, such as study guides and questions? Bestsellers, part of the larger Shmoop site written by Ph.D. and Masters students at Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley (and other top universities), does all of that and more. Students and teachers can access lively learning guides organized by summaries, themes, quotes, study questions, character analysis, and links to best of the web options. The pages are written in a clever, witty voice designed to appeal to students and teachers, not at all like the familiar style found in most book synopsis and reviews, and all the information is properly cited. The only complaint you might have is the limited number of books to choose from, but don't worry; books are continually being added, so check back often. Since books for both younger and older audiences share this site, you may want to preview what your students can find for other age groups.
"Bestsellers" is free to use. Additionally, there is an option to create a free account which allows the advantage of using the tools like the online dictionary, "Stickies," and sharing on social networks. Creating an account requires an email address. You may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
"Bestsellers" is free to use. Additionally, there is an option to create a free account which allows the advantage of using the tools like the online dictionary, "Stickies," and sharing on social networks. Creating an account requires an email address. You may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
tag(s): book reports (28), literature (222), novels (34)
In the Classroom
Are you looking for a way to motivate your reluctant readers to pick up a book, or do you have some book hungry students who sneak to read their own book while you are teaching a lesson? The "Bestsellers" site provides a wealth of internet-based material for navigating the twists and turns of the plots and characters in books like Harry Potter and the Twilight series. The online learning guides have a table of contents that gives a quick view of what is included in each tab, which enables you to quickly find what you want without opening each section. This site provides more information than the standard textbook teacher's edition, and provides brilliant connections between some of the literary classics. There are photos, videos, and links galore. You might want to include a link to this site on your class web page, or if you prefer to control the amount of information that you want students to have before actually reading the book, then bookmark it in your favorites and dole out the information at your discretion.If looking for a different instructional method, share one of the slide shows on a projector or interactive whiteboard as you introduce a unit or allow students to use portions of the slide shows as part of their own presentations on a specific author or book on the bestsellers list.
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Literature Project - Literature Project
Grades
5 to 12
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Literature Project is a compilation of books, speeches, plays, poems and more, including links to chapter by chapter text. The site also provides research links and information as well...more
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Literature Project is a compilation of books, speeches, plays, poems and more, including links to chapter by chapter text. The site also provides research links and information as well as links to eBooks to purchase. There are many classic books available to read as well as information and links, called "topic sites," with more coming soon. One example of a useful topic site on Literature Project is African American Authors in History. Note that though study guides are listed, they are not accessible and the reader may be taken to a link where she can make a purchase! The site lacks images and animation, but it is useful for access to electronic texts of many classic works frequently studied in schools.
The project states that they are currently working on literature forums, which may be useful for students in discussing literature once it becomes available.
The project states that they are currently working on literature forums, which may be useful for students in discussing literature once it becomes available.
tag(s): literature (222), speech (68)
In the Classroom
Use this site to assign reading of classic texts and stories. Students will benefit since they do not have to access actual books. As the site boasts, it is more "environmentally friendly"! Students may want to use the topic sites to research for class reports, glogs or other projects. Use classic texts from this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Either copy/paste for some quick electronic text or simply open the actual web page. Use the passages to annotate and explore literary devices, examine sentence/paragraph structure, or analyze writing style or context clues for vocabulary, having students use whiteboard tools to explain their analysis or present their own thoughts about the literature. This site is also a great place to "grab" passages of text and paste them into a graphic word cloud-maker such as WordClouds, reviewed here. With electronic text, you can easily compare the writing style of two or more authors or poets in a snap. Invite students to create visual interpretations of text passages, illustrating themes or motifs using a tool such as Canva, reviewed here.Electronic text can also be "read aloud" by text-to-speech software on your computer, assisting those who may have weaker reading skills.
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WordItOut - Worditout.com
Grades
2 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Create impressive word clouds from any text! What is a word cloud? Word clouds show not only the words in the text sample, but also display the frequency of the ...more
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Create impressive word clouds from any text! What is a word cloud? Word clouds show not only the words in the text sample, but also display the frequency of the words by showing often used words in a larger font. No login or registration required. Click "Create a word cloud," enter or paste your text and then click "word it out." View your word cloud, drag the arrows on the sides of the screen to make larger or smaller, and change the colors and specifics of the word cloud in the space below. Click "Save" to save as either public or private (an email address is required to save.)
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tag(s): visualizations (11), vocabulary (238), word choice (14), word clouds (13), word study (60)
In the Classroom
You need to know how to copy/paste text passages (ctrl or command + C, then ctrl or command + V to paste. Think Velcro to stick it there!). If you wish to Save, you must join the site (email required). Alternately, capture the image using screen capture (apple/shift/4 on a Mac or Print Screen on a PC.)Use a word cloud in virtually any class. With emergent readers, enter multiple words with the same consonant cluster or vowel sound, so they can SEE a visual grouping of that sound on your interactive whiteboard and guess the sound. Project a teacher-created word cloud at the start of a new lesson or unit and have students determine what the lesson will be about. Have students use word clouds to proof their own essays or stories. Use word clouds for students to identify the subject and frequently used words to check if they are on target with their intended message. Have students find overused words in their own writing as part of lessons on word choice. Teachers could create and save a word cloud then share it as a visual prompt for students to work individually or in groups to identify words they know (and the definitions) as well as the words they are unfamiliar with. Create word clouds of passages or stories and allow students to guess the author, title, subject, or meaning of the story. Underscore motifs in literature by creating clouds of passages, especially poetry. Have students work together to make clouds of alternative ways to say "said" or "went" in story-writing to post in your classroom as a reference. Create word clouds of opinion passages to determine the bias of the author and possible reasons for that specific opinion. Make word cloud posters on health topics such as the potential health risks of smoking. Make word clouds of different food groups. Create higher order thinking activities by approaching text in a unique way.
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Module Maker - Jamie McKenzie
Grades
5 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Jamie McKenzie has done it again!The online Module Maker will make research assignments much easier for you and your students. This resource allows you to create a way to step ...more
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Jamie McKenzie has done it again!The online Module Maker will make research assignments much easier for you and your students. This resource allows you to create a way to step each student through the research process, focusing on higher level thinking. You will not have to answer the same questions repeatedly! The beginning of the site recaps "great questions" and then steps you through each module of the research process.You can choose to have your modules posted online or download each module as a WORD document. The directions for what the teacher must do for each module are clear and precise.Your students will be able to refer back to these modules again and again to obtain the information they need for what they should do next.
tag(s): Online Learning (36), questioning (36), Research (86)
In the Classroom
If you choose to download the WORD documents, you can post them on your class web page or wiki for the students to download to their computers in the classroom or at home. You can start with a whole class, scaffolded research topic, using a projector to walk the class through each module. Then create modules for small group research. The directions in the modules intentionally scaffold the research project for the students. The site's emphasis on "online learning" is misleading. These modules can also cite electronic AND print reference materials for students to use. Real books? Imagine that!For a real challenge when students have become adept at research, have them create modules of their own for other students to use. As each group becomes experts on one specific aspect of a unit such as the Constitution, have them create a module for others, then cycle them through completing the modules from other groups. You might even be able to "trade" modules with other classes in and outside of your school.
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Creativity Resource - Denver Art Museum
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This site from the Denver Art Museum is just the ticket for arts-related lesson plans and ideas for your language arts, social studies, or visual art classes. Search lesson plans ...more
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This site from the Denver Art Museum is just the ticket for arts-related lesson plans and ideas for your language arts, social studies, or visual art classes. Search lesson plans by age level, resource type, and more. Colorado standards are included. Or browse by image to find related lesson plans. Search artworks by country/culture, medium, period and region. Each of these categories has a drop down list with multiple items. There are highly motivating lesson plans to go with each piece of art. For example, "A Face to Remember - Mummy Case" looks at Ancient Egypt for grades 6 -12. "(Students) will research information about the ancient Egyptians and explore how their findings are visually represented on the DAM's mummy case. Students ...design a mummy case that reflects their personal values and beliefs." During this lesson students are introduced to two column notes for recording their research. The Early Childhood lesson entitled "Bubbles" has students look closely at a work of art using bubbles!
tag(s): art history (100), artists (83), images (260)
In the Classroom
Use a projector or interactive whiteboard so everyone can view the art work at once. Small groups can write down their observations about the art and then share with the whole class. From there the lesson plans can take over with loads of ideas for how to proceed. Don't forget to have students navigate and annotate artworks on interactive whiteboards. It is the ideal tool for annotating images. Older students can also annotate them using an online tool such as Annotely, reviewed here, to annotate images.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Essay Map - Read, Write, Think
Grades
3 to 8
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Essay Map provides young writers with a tool to make informational writing simple and organized. Each component of a properly written informational piece is provided separately so students...more
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Essay Map provides young writers with a tool to make informational writing simple and organized. Each component of a properly written informational piece is provided separately so students can write in an organized and logical manner. Students complete an introduction, three main ideas, supporting details for each idea and a conclusion. The end result is a neatly typed and organized graphic organizer. Students can download their graphic organizers to their computer and print them. Then, they can use them as a guide for their formal informational piece of writing. This is a nice change from the typical graphic organizer.
tag(s): writing (324)
In the Classroom
Teachers should model the use of this tool on an interactive whiteboard or projector prior to student use. Essay Map can be placed on the desktop of a classroom computer for students to access during Writer's Workshop or throughout the school day.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mailinator - ManyBrain, Inc.
Grades
6 to 12
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Frustrated at creating sub accounts with your gmail account for more than 100 students? Try Mailinator as a possible solution to the problem. Make student accounts for the web 2.0 ...more
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Frustrated at creating sub accounts with your gmail account for more than 100 students? Try Mailinator as a possible solution to the problem. Make student accounts for the web 2.0 tools you would like your individual students to use. Create a "spoof" email account from one email account (preferably the teachers gmail.) Use this "spoof" account to enter when creating web 2.0 accounts. Mail can be viewed online for any verification if necessary. The bonus? Less spam when signing up for other sites!
In the Classroom
Use your teacher gmail account to create different Mailinator accounts for each student by sending an email to the "spoof" account. For example, a student sends an email to gottalovebio@mailinator.com. Magically, your "spoof" email address has been created. Use this "spoof" email all year long for any web 2.0 tool you wish to sign up for. Find emails sent to the "spoof" account by viewing on the mailinator site (type in your "spoof" email address) or following an RSS feed (use a feed reader to view them all.) Important Note: emails must be read within a few hours as they are then permanently deleted. Caution students not to use these email addresses for anything important as it is not a regular email address. Use only for creating logins and registrations for other web 2.0 tools. Stumped with coming up with a unique name. Possible name choices are given on the site (refresh to see more options.) Be sure to read the FAQ's to familiarize yourself with the service and answer any questions you may have. Check to be sure this is not blocked by your school. If available on a teacher computer, consider cycling each student through your computer to get them signed up while being monitored. Record their "spoof" emails in case these are needed later and students forget. Be advised that these email accounts are public. If the same email address is entered on the site by someone else, those emails will be viewed. Despite this, use the service to quickly enter students to use the variety of cool online tools found on the Internet today.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teacher Training Videos - Russell Stannard
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Become a technology expert by learning from the best. View screencasts of great training videos for teachers. Find content to support in a variety of subject areas with tutorials and...more
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Become a technology expert by learning from the best. View screencasts of great training videos for teachers. Find content to support in a variety of subject areas with tutorials and "how to" for a variety of sites. Subscribe to newsletters to receive updates of newly produced videos. Find "how to" videos of web 2.0 tools such as wikis, blogs, and other more complicated tools by clicking on "Web 2.0/ICT Videos."
tag(s): professional development (386), spelling (98), tutorials (52), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Use the links on the left hand side to find videos on how to use some of the most popular and useful classroom sites around. Find something of use in the vast array available for viewing. The screencasts of the web 2.0 sites offer step by step instructions to help novice and intermediate users in their use in the classroom. Videos are organized into topics with multiple tools showcased in the segment. Find quick videos at the bottom of the page which highlight just one tool. Even teachers of very young students will find many of the tools explained helpful for their own use in creating learning materials, centers, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Common Craft - Lee Lefeever
Grades
K to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
No special skills needed. Just watch and learn. Embarrassed to say you don't know what all the "new web 2.0" terms are all about? This is for you (and probably ...more
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No special skills needed. Just watch and learn. Embarrassed to say you don't know what all the "new web 2.0" terms are all about? This is for you (and probably for your students' parents, as well). Common Craft uses a very simple, visual method of explaining all the latest technologies so that everyone can understand, using short video clips narrated by a positive and respectful voice. The next time you hear someone talking about RSS feeds or some other new doo-dad, stop here first so you will know what they are talking about. Did you think you were the only one who did not know? Don't be overwhelmed. This site has incredible popularity because there are LOADS of people quietly questioning -- just like you. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
tag(s): blogs (65), media literacy (108), movies (54), tutorials (52), video (264), wikis (14)
In the Classroom
Start by looking at any video that catches your eye, but don't be afraid to search for other topics that have you wondering. You will definitely want to make this channel a Favorite to find information to keep you informed. Share it on your teacher web page to help out your parents, too! Create an account to add as favorites and subscribe to the channel to inform you when new videos are added.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Explore - Annenberg
Grades
3 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
"Never stop learning" with this wonderful, high quality, and easy to use site. View videos and live cams, documents, and photos about people around the world who have devoted their...more
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"Never stop learning" with this wonderful, high quality, and easy to use site. View videos and live cams, documents, and photos about people around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Search through a wide range of places or causes. View a range of topics from health, animal rights, spiritualism, and education. Explore a variety of global issues to bring cultures and issues into perspective. View videos in HD. Download and embed videos for reuse. Remixing videos is against the acceptable use policy of the site. Read descriptions which provide the necessary background information and view links of related content and materials. This site is a must see! Selected videos can be used with younger elementary classes, depending on the curriculum connections.
tag(s): heroes (24)
In the Classroom
Find photos that speak to students and use them as an activator at the start of class. After viewing the picture, provide time for writing questions about the picture These questions will lead to search terms to find more information about culture, pollution, and socioeconomic problems. Encourage students to create poster or blog campaigns outlining problems and possible solutions. Why not create multimedia posters using a site such as Padlet, reviewed here. Find other areas in the world where similar or related problems are occurring. Identify the historical, economic, or geographical reasons for the problems. Challenge students to create a thematic Zeemaps, reviewed here. Zeemaps allows you to create a map with audio! Students can use this site as inspiration for "I believe..." style essays, photos, or videos. Looking for a FREE video sharing tool? Check out TeacherTube, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Movieclips - movieclips.com
Grades
2 to 12
5 Favorites
0 Comments
Looking for short movie clips that you can view at school and use to teach something? Check out Movieclips. Thousands of short clips are available free and without registration at ...more
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Looking for short movie clips that you can view at school and use to teach something? Check out Movieclips. Thousands of short clips are available free and without registration at this site (not Disney!). Get a quick idea of the content by clicking on the Movies menu. You can make any clip display full screen using the small icon in the lower right. Note: Mature movie clips are available, but registration is required to see them. Sort through movie clips by subject, theme, genre, character, etc. Registered members can add questions to accompany clips.
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In the Classroom
Use the clips for vocabulary with ESL or ELL students. Introduce other curriculum topics or lessons using the clips on this site. For example, use video clips to get students thinking about concepts such as tornadoes, animals, feelings, or decision-making. As you teach about characterization in literature or creative writing, use movie clips to illustrate how a writer can "show not tell" about a characters personality or motivations. Have students observe the outward signs the actor uses to SHOW what he/she is feeling, then use these signs in writing their own stories: the way the eyebrows move, the body language, etc. Emotional support and autistic support teachers can use the clips to help students learn to "read" human feelings.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Blabberize - Mobouy Inc.
Grades
1 to 12
19 Favorites
0 Comments
Blabberize is a photo editing tool that creates talking animations or a video clip from a photo or other image. Browse the ready-made blabbers or create new ones. Upload an ...more
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Blabberize is a photo editing tool that creates talking animations or a video clip from a photo or other image. Browse the ready-made blabbers or create new ones. Upload an image from your computer, select an area to become the talking "mouth," and record sound using your microphone or upload a short .mp4 file from your computer. Make sure to "allow" access to your computer's microphone. Narrate your photo within the allotted 30 seconds, then save when complete. Options include marking your blab "mature" or "private" (not shown on the "latest" pages and other public areas). Share completed blabs via email or embedd in another web page, blog, or wiki. Users unfamiliar with copy/pasting embed code can simple share by the URL of the blab's page.
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tag(s): animation (65), back to school (55), communication (129), firstday (22), images (260), photography (123)
In the Classroom
If your students have never tried to make a Blabber, select Browse to share the an introduction blab on the home page on a projector or interactive whiteboard. You may want to create one of your own to share, and then have the class create one, all projected on your whiteboard. Browse a few examples first to get ideas on how to make a mouth on your photo to move and "talk." Be sure to turn up your sound! Have a student demonstrate uploading an image from a safe and legal source. You may want to use a single, whole-class account you create with your "extra" email account. Be sure to spell out consequences of inappropriate use/content of blabs. Have students enter the site through the "Make" page link provided in this review to steer clear of the "latest" blabs. You may want your students to make their blabs "private" so they do not show on the public areas, depending on school policies. If you are implementing technology in your classroom, this is an augmentation tool.Blab the homework directions on your teacher web page. Have your students use photos or digital drawings to "blab"! Have students draw in a paint program, save the file, and then make it "speak." Spice up research projects about historic figures or important scientists. Have literary characters tell about themselves. This tool is great for gifted students to go above and beyond the basics with an independent project. Create entire conversation sequences of blabs between people in world language or ENL/ESL classes (with students speaking in the language, of course), then embed them in a wiki. Have speech/language students make blabs to practice articulation and document progress over time. Promote oral reading fluency with student-read blabs. Create book "commercials." Have students blab what the author may have been thinking as he/she wrote a poem or literary selection or as an artist painted. Blab politicians' major platform planks during campaigns for current events. Blab the steps to math problem solving. Even primary students can make an animal blab about his habitat if you set up the blab as a center. Make visual vocabulary/terminology sentences with an appropriate character using the term in context (a beaker explaining how it is different from a flask?) Students could also take pictures of themselves doing a lab and then blab the pictures to explain the concepts. This would be a great first day project (introducing yourself and breaking the ice). Share the class blabs on your class web page or wiki! Give directions to your class (for when a substitute is there). Use at back to school night to grab parents' attention for important information.
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Big Huge Thesaurus - Big Huge Labs
Grades
1 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
This simple-looking online thesaurus is actually MUCH more than a quick-look-up. You can find synonyms, antonyms, similar words, and rhymes for any word you enter. A click on any of...more
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This simple-looking online thesaurus is actually MUCH more than a quick-look-up. You can find synonyms, antonyms, similar words, and rhymes for any word you enter. A click on any of the words offered provides the same information for THAT word, sending you on word-paths through the English language. Innocent-looking links at the top of the page also provide hundreds of prompts for blog posts and stories, with enough choices to inspire any writer. Don't let the boring white background and plain-text presentation fool you. This tool has magic powers to make words interesting to almost anyone. The database of words used to generate this thesaurus comes from "the Princeton University WordNet database, the Carnegie Mellon Pronouncing Dictionary, and suggestions from thousands of people on the internet just like you." See a special note to teachers below regarding student behavior!
tag(s): rhymes (21), thesaurus (22), vocabulary (238), word study (60), writing (324), writing prompts (61)
In the Classroom
Keep this link handy among the resources on your class web page or wiki, and be sure to bring it up on your screen or interactive whiteboard to remind students of the rich tools it offers as you teach grammar, revision, poetry, essay-writing, or even letter and resume writing. With primary grades, share the rhyming words to help teach spelling and phonics! As students share in revising a passage or writing a poem on the interactive whiteboard, have this thesaurus available on another window to model their search for just the right word. Encourage students to look up any new vocabulary or terminology at the start of new science or social studies units so they can gain a broader "sense" of the words themselves through a constellation of synonyms and related words. Help students refine vocabulary by having them rank the various synonyms offered for a certain word, deciding which has the most positive or negative connotations. Offer the writing prompts for student journal or blog posts or creative stories. ESL/ELL students can explore new words with this tool, even practicing the rhyming sounds and noticing their varied spellings. Check out the Big Huge Labs educator account. Easily pre-register students to avoid creating logins, view and download their creations, and view the site advertisement free. You will find information about the Educator Account here.NOTE: If students enter an inappropriate word, they WILL find classroom-inappropriate terms. As with use of any reference, your students need to know your classroom's consequences of such activity. The options are no different from students looking up body parts or pornographic terms in a print dictionary or on Google.
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Magazine Cover Maker - Big Huge Labs
Grades
3 to 12
21 Favorites
0 Comments
Create authentic-looking magazine covers sure to attract double-takes. Simply upload a photo to create your cover. If you do not need to SAVE the photo for online access later, you...more
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Create authentic-looking magazine covers sure to attract double-takes. Simply upload a photo to create your cover. If you do not need to SAVE the photo for online access later, you do not even need to join the site. Covers you create can be downloaded as completed images or sent via email and other sharing tools (Facebook, etc). Photos can be uploaded from your files, Flickr, your website, or other photosharing sites. Fill in your desired text for the titles and sub-titles and choose colors for them. It's that simple. Click 'Create' at the bottom and you have a magazine cover that will leave others in awe. For more creative ideas using Big Huge Labs, go to the top of the page and click on Big Huge Labs Blog or Forum. Big Huge Labs offers MANY similar tools, such as Mapmaker, reviewed here. Of course, this site offers advanced options for a fee or with free registration, but neither is necessary.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): bulletin boards (15), collages (17), firstday (22), flickr (2), images (260), posters (43)
In the Classroom
Enhance classroom technology use by using this tool with your students. They will need to know how to locate your photos on your computer or photo sharing site. Click the little white boxes to change text colors, etc. as you enter desired text. SAVE your completed cover when done. Be sure to give it a meaningful name if you are creating several covers on the same computer!Check out the Big Huge Labs educator account. Easily pre-register students to avoid creating logins, view and download their creations, and view the site advertisement free. You will find information about the Educator Account here. If you and your students simply use the tool without joining the site, there are no problems with email, profiles, etc. You do need to demonstrate the tool and specifically explain which links students should NOT use, including ads and links to social networking sites that are prohibited in your school. These may be blocked, anyway. Make sure you watch and teach copyright issues in snatching photos from the web.
Have students create magazine covers of themselves as a getting to know you activity and classroom bulletin board. Print and laminate magazine covers to make them appear even more authentic. Or share the images (WITHOUT student names) on your class wiki or web page. When doing reports for any subject, have students create magazine covers that mimic the real thing instead of boring plain covers. Make covers about famous Americans, scientists, or historic figures. Make covers about objects, as well. Assign students to research a vegetable and create a cover about its nutrients, recipes, and more as part of your nutrition unit! Guidance teachers or principals can feature exemplary students using this tool. Bulletin board creativity will skyrocket using Big Huge Labs Magazine Cover. Why not offer a rotating PowerPoint slide show of student-made magazine covers for parents to view as they wait in the hallway for conferences?
Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Requires registration/log in (NO email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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Watch Know Learn - Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi
Grades
K to 12
12 Favorites
0 Comments
What is Watch Know Learn? Short for "You Watch, You Know, You Learn" it provides explanations for students. Finding bits of information to help students can be frustrating as resources...more
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What is Watch Know Learn? Short for "You Watch, You Know, You Learn" it provides explanations for students. Finding bits of information to help students can be frustrating as resources are disorganized on the web and may be hard to find." Watch Know Learn" is a free site that organizes small video clips to help with the understanding of a variety of topics in subject areas. Search by age (3-18+). You can click and drag the age filter to the youngest and oldest ages to include. Videos are also organized by sequence of topics taught. The site is an ongoing project with input from educators and organizations interested in education of children. Registration is not required to view the videos. Creating and saving videos to the site, as well as commenting, require registration. You can monitor site recent changes and additions using the "Change Log."
tag(s): computers (108), crafts (63), decimals (85), environment (248), ethics (21), fractions (161), holidays (187), Juneteenth (22), scientific method (48), video (264), vocabulary development (94), writing (324)
In the Classroom
Search for videos relevant to your upcoming units or share the link with older students to search on their own. Use clips as engaging openings to units or as a review at the end. Have students identify the main points in the video and relate it back to class information. Students can use the examples on the site to create their own videos about a topic they have studied that could be beneficial to others.If you do join the site to submit videos (for more adventurous technology users), we recommend uploading, commenting, and participating in the project (the creation and growth of WatchKnow) as a whole-class collaborative activity. If your students create videos, critique them locally before submitting them to the site as the "bests" from your class.
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ScribbleMaps - Scribble Maps
Grades
2 to 12
10 Favorites
0 Comments
Use this tool to "draw" on and label any map available through Google Maps, including maps of the night sky! No registration or email required! Create a colorful, personalized map ...more
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Use this tool to "draw" on and label any map available through Google Maps, including maps of the night sky! No registration or email required! Create a colorful, personalized map with added scribbles and labels. Add your choice of place marker labels for geology locations, people, etc. There are even little icons available to use. Your drawing, or "Scribble Map" is then available to share by URL, email, or print. Slightly more savvy users can download, save as a KML file (readable in Google Maps or Google Earth), or embed the map in another site. The tools include sharing the map on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), as well. Add images by pasting in their URLs. Drawing tools include lines, circles, place pointers, text labels, and color/size/transparency controls for all tools. Place pointers can be edited by selecting them (arrow tool), then clicking the small pencil. This site does include Ads and all the normal controls of Google maps, including satellite, map, terrain, hybrid views and Night Sky. See a sample Scribble Map created by the TeachersFirst editors (drag the map with your mouse!). Explore the tools and MENU options at the top left when you start out. Try the different Maps views (lower right) and zoom controls. Search for a starter location using the search at the top left, just below the tools. There is no help available, but it is easy to do basic maps. Share, save, etc. by clicking Menu (top left). When you first save a map, it will ask you to create a password for that map to use to edit it later. Note that if you SAVE a map and share it by URL, those accessing it will be able to use the tools and change the map. If you want them to see it without changing it, you will need to embed it in a blog, wiki, or other web site. The map ID can be changed and customized by simply typing in your own choice of ID when you are saving the map.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): directions (11), geology (61), landforms (38), landmarks (22), map skills (63), maps (219), space (218)
In the Classroom
Students and teachers will want to keep a written record or map URLS and passwords for future reference. Model this for students so they do not lose hours of work! Teachers can prepare partially-made maps or maps for students to make corrections and changes by giving the students the URL, then having them SAVE the map with a NEW ID. To SAVE the map with a new name and URL, click "Save map" in the menu, then enter your OWN map ID. Students could use a code including their initials, such as SJ12-3-09 for a map made by Sally Jones on Dec 3, 2009. Teachers should PASSWORD protect their originals so changes can only be saved under a new name. Similarly, if a student saves the map with a map password, they don't have to worry about other students vandalizing their work. But they DO need to remember the password! Wise teachers will keep a class list of maps and passwords for forgetful students! In primary grades, make maps of your local community together on your interactive whiteboard as you teach basic map skills. Create your own "key" with symbols you choose for playgrounds, etc. Have students help map locations of favorite playgrounds, grandparents' houses, stores, etc. as they gain basic understanding of map skills. Make sure you allow students to operate the tools! Save the map and share it as a link from your class web site (or embed it there). Keep names generic so it is "safe." Other ideas to challenge gifted student beyond the curriculum or elevate challenge for small groups include: natural resource maps, immigration maps, maps of civil war battles day by day, maps of key sites in the life of a famous person, artist, or author, maps of the settings in a novel, landform maps of a continent or state, "My life" maps of places important to an elementary student's family, annotated watershed maps of pollution sources, maps of the water cycle, maps of constellations in the night sky created by students to demonstrate understanding, maps of a dream community to be built in a vacant area (desert), including the water sources, etc. that will be needed, maps of a redesigned city/town on top of its current map. Teachers can provide map challenges or templates to be completed or corrected, including maps where students must label distances and cardinal directions between points (using map scale and skills). Or provide a teacher-created map with labels in the wrong places for students to correct the landforms, resources, etc. What will YOU do with Scribble Maps?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Equal Exchange's Fair Trade Curriculum & Educational Resources - Equal Exchange
Grades
4 to 10
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This collection of PDF lesson plans centers around 3 main topics: how we get our food, what the Fair Trade movement is doing for farmers and eaters, and what co-ops ...more
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This collection of PDF lesson plans centers around 3 main topics: how we get our food, what the Fair Trade movement is doing for farmers and eaters, and what co-ops are. The complete curriculum is downloadable and printable, and the daily lessons at this site offer support and extra activities. One lesson, translated for Spanish teachers, offers students an activity so they can understand "What's Fair?" One of the most exciting parts of the website is a collection of videos of Dominican children talking in Spanish about cocoa production! The lesson plans include a variety of activities for students and include projects in math, writing, civics, research, geography, art, music, and international culture.
tag(s): air (102)
In the Classroom
Use these lessons as part of a unit in social studies, Family and Consumer Science, or several other subjects. Take your students on a visit to a local food coop or invite one of their members to speak to your class live or via Skype (explained here.). Have students do a project comparing coop grocery sales with the more commercial establishments. Maybe even have student groups create an online Venn Diagram comparing the two using a site such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here). If you have international students from the Dominican Republic or other cocoa producing countries, share this site with them and allow them to compare what the students say on the video to their own experiences. Create your own videotaped interviews with food growers or their families. Share the videos using a tool such as Teachers.TV reviewed here.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Vecteezy - Eezy Inc
Grades
K to 12
5 Favorites
0 Comments
Discover a slick way to find Creative Commons pictures (pictures you are ALLOWED to use without copyright problems, simply by giving credit). Vecteezy searches for creative commons...more
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Discover a slick way to find Creative Commons pictures (pictures you are ALLOWED to use without copyright problems, simply by giving credit). Vecteezy searches for creative commons images and locates those with licenses that permit use in other activities and projects. Enter text or tags, and Vecteezy does the rest, providing thumbnail images for you to choose from. After you search, be sure you have checked the box in the LEFT sidebar of the search results, specifying that you want Creative Commons images, NOT commercial ones. Click to search again, if necessary. Choose from the results that appear below the dotted line. (Those above the line are images you must pay for!) Click on the image you like and double-check the license information under item 1 to be sure it is available for non-commercial use with attribution and can be used for "derivative works." Click the image itself to copy and paste its URL to use in image credits. Remember that Creative Commons DOES require that you give proper credit!
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creative commons (28), images (260), search engines (48)
In the Classroom
Users need to be able to use good search terms to find the best pictures possible as well as knowing how to save images on their computer. Use in the classroom any time that an image is needed for projects, even if it is not going to be put on a website for others to see. Be sure students are aware that any time another person's image is used, they must give full credit for it, even if that owner cannot see it. Demonstrate Vecteezy on a projector or interactive whiteboard so students know how to use it. Student groups can use Vecteezy to collectively find the best image to use for a project. Have students create a multimedia presentation using Image Annotator, reviewed here. For example, students studying renewable energy can use Vecteezy to find images of various renewable energy sources, then explain them using Image Annotator. Teachers can collect Creative Commons images for use on their interactive whiteboard for sorting activities (monocots and dicots, producers and consumers, etc). Never assume that your students, even the gifted ones, understand about giving proper credit and only using copyright-safe images (CC or public domain). Vecteezy makes it easier. Be sure to hold students accountable by including a "digital citizenship" category in your project rubric, requiring proper credit for all images. You will want to spot-check a few of the URLs to be sure they are actually correct credits. Share Vecteezy as an important tool on your class web page, wiki, or blog so students can access it anywhere, anytime.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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