Ideas and Resources for Substitutes from TeachersFirst
This collection of ideas and reviewed resources is selected to help both substitute teachers and regular teachers leaving instructions for a substitute. The list includes useful time-fillers for when plans are not a perfect fit as well as teacher-friendly suggestions to make subbing a positive learning experience for all. Be sure to check "In the classroom" suggestions for practical tips and ways to use these offerings.
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Kwanzaa - Sandbox and Co.
Grades
K to 1
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Enjoy the many ideas and activities for learning about and celebrating Kwanzaa at this site. Learn the terms used about this holiday through an interactive quiz, make a pasta necklace...more
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Enjoy the many ideas and activities for learning about and celebrating Kwanzaa at this site. Learn the terms used about this holiday through an interactive quiz, make a pasta necklace or chain, and see 10 decorations to put you in the mood for Kwanzaa.
tag(s): cross cultural understanding (149), holidays (145), kwanzaa (14)
In the Classroom
Introduce your students to Kwanzaa by taking the quiz to see how much they know about Kwanzaa. Then in pairs or small groups, have students research the terms. As students research, substitute paper and pen journals by asking younger students to create a blog using a tool like Loose Leaves, reviewed here, to share what they are learning with fellow students. A great blogging tool for older students is Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph have students click on an icon to upload related images, add YouTube or Vimeo, or Twitter links. Engage older students, by having them create a poster about Kwanzaa using a tool like DesignCap, reviewed here, and then upload the poster to their blog about the terms and what they've learned about this December holiday.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Thematic - Thematic, Inc.
Grades
K to 12
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Find free music for YouTube video backgrounds with Thematic. Thematic offers a large variety of content shared by original artists for free use on YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms....more
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Find free music for YouTube video backgrounds with Thematic. Thematic offers a large variety of content shared by original artists for free use on YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms. Browse the site to find or filter by genre, mood, tempo, and more. Save and organize selected music for your projects or download to your computer as an mp3 file. Copy the included information to credit the file's author within your presentation. Use your Google account to register as a content creator and connect your YouTube and other social media accounts.
tag(s): copyright (49), multimedia (53), sounds (67)
In the Classroom
As you introduce this site to students, it is the perfect opportunity to remind students of the importance of providing proper credit when sharing media online. Share a link to Thematic on your class website for students to use when creating video presentations (with proper credit, of course). Ask students to create a slideshow using Renderforest, reviewed here, or other presentation software as a substitute for a written book report or research paper. For example, as students learn about states of matter ask them to find images on a sharing site like UnSplash, reviewed here, demonstrating the different properties and transformation of matter. Have students add text information to their slides and upload their slide presentation to YouTube as a video including background music found on Thematic. Be sure to have students include a slide with credits for all images and music included in their video. On a professional level, use this site to find background music when sharing images from your classroom with parents.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Safety Land - AT&T
Grades
K to 7
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Meet Captain Broadband and help him capture the villains of Safety Land! This approximately 15-minute interactive is an excellent introduction to online safety for kids ages 6-11. Answer...more
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Meet Captain Broadband and help him capture the villains of Safety Land! This approximately 15-minute interactive is an excellent introduction to online safety for kids ages 6-11. Answer questions correctly about cyberbullying, hacking, privacy, inappropriate images, and meet up requests and capture the cybercriminal and send him to Safety Land jail. Upon successful completion, certificates are available.
tag(s): cyberbullying (48), digital citizenship (76), internet safety (121)
In the Classroom
Introduce Safety Land to students on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector. Bookmark this site on classroom computers for use at any time. Be sure to include a link on your class web page for students and parents to access from home. Use Safety Land as an introduction for any lessons or units for on online safety. As a substitute for paper and pencil have younger students use a video response tool like FlipGrid, reviewed here, to reflect on their learning and share tips for their peers. Older students could use Flipgrid, too, or to extend technology use, at the end of your unit, have students organize what they've learned into a storyboard with SuperNotecard, reviewed here. Students can then use their storyboard to organize a presentation for their peers sharing safety tips. With their storyboards students or student groups can create online books sharing cybersafety tips using Book Creator, reviewed here. BookCreator presents a variety of levels for technology use depending on teacher requirements for the book or even student ability; it allows for adding narration, videos, text, and links to help explain what different cybersafety tips. As a modification to the above, instead of using Book Creator, challenge students to create a multimedia presentation with a tool like Adobe Spark for Education, reviewed here, or Powtoon, reviewed here.
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The Adventures of Kara, Winston and the SMART Crew - Childnet International
Grades
2 to 6
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This interactive is all about being SMART online. Guide animated characters through a difficult online situation through games, quizzes, and teaching activities provided on this site....more
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This interactive is all about being SMART online. Guide animated characters through a difficult online situation through games, quizzes, and teaching activities provided on this site. Download the Educator's Guide for suggestions on using the program in your classroom to teach the five SMART rules. See the five rules of online safety written out here: SMART Rules. The suggested recommendation from the creators is to implement activities throughout several weeks; however, it is possible to complete as a one-time activity.
tag(s): digital citizenship (76), internet safety (121)
In the Classroom
Any teacher will benefit from the free materials and activities on this site to teach online safety to students either directly through these materials, or as additional resources to your current online safety materials. As a substitute for links on paper or in a word processing tool, use a bookmarking tool like Symbaloo, reviewed here, to share online resources with students on classroom computers and your class website. Enhance student understanding by challenging students to create digital books teaching online safety using Book Creator, reviewed here. Book Creator includes tools for adding videos, images, and more into books.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Expii Solve - Expii, Inc.
Grades
8 to 12
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Solve interactive math and science puzzles based on current events with Expii Solve. Choose from over 70 sets of questions with topics including the Super Bowl, Star Wars, holidays,...more
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Solve interactive math and science puzzles based on current events with Expii Solve. Choose from over 70 sets of questions with topics including the Super Bowl, Star Wars, holidays, and more. Each topic includes a set of five problems with each question increasing in difficulty. If you need help, use links to tutorials at the bottom of each question. Registration isn't required; however, registering allows you to track progress in completing puzzles.
tag(s): cultures (116), holidays (145), logic (240), problem solving (291)
In the Classroom
Be sure to save these puzzles for use throughout the school year. Use these problems as a substitute for your typical homework assignments. Include questions as part of math or science centers. Replace pencil and paper journals or notebooks by having students blog about their learning and understanding using Pen.io, reviewed here, Ask groups of students to work on topics together then share their results with the class. To enhance student learning and understanding, consider instituting a recurring podcast for students to share problems and discuss problem-solving strategies. Use a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Is That a Big Number? - Andrew Elliott
Grades
6 to 12
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As you might guess from the title, this site is all about numbers. Their goals are to promote numeracy, develop number sense, and have fun along the way. Use the ...more
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As you might guess from the title, this site is all about numbers. Their goals are to promote numeracy, develop number sense, and have fun along the way. Use the search bar to ask about any number; the results provide context and relationships to your query. Results might include comparisons to items that are bigger or smaller and equivalent items. Choose other links to learn number facts about countries, ratios, or take a number quiz.
tag(s): measurement (174), number sense (98), numbers (190), ratios (67)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site to use for reference throughout the year. Use it as a 5-10 minute fill-in when you have a little bit of extra time. Get your interactive whiteboard or projector ready and challenge students to provide numbers to use as a comparison or take the numbers quiz together to learn more about numbers. As a substitute to paper and pencil, have students create explainer videos using Biteable, reviewed here, to demonstrate the power and size of large numbers. To extend student learning and understanding, challenge students to create a web page using Carrd, reviewed here, to share information learned after researching numbers and statistics found on this site and others.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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eStory - A Timeline Creator - Jean-Benoit Malzac
Grades
6 to 12
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eStory is a timeline creation tool offering features for including images and links to media. Register for an account using email, Facebook, or Google account. Follow the prompts to...more
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eStory is a timeline creation tool offering features for including images and links to media. Register for an account using email, Facebook, or Google account. Follow the prompts to add each event including dates, descriptions, and images. After adding your desired information, save and submit to create your timeline. Once submitted, wait for your timeline to be approved for publication. Share your timeline with the URL provided or use the embed code to embed into your class website or blog.
tag(s): timelines (59)
In the Classroom
Before using eStory browse through the site to find examples to share with students. Use eStory to create timelines to order events in stories, visualize and compare historic events or outline steps in a science experiment. Ask students to create a timeline as a substitute for a handwritten research paper. Include student timelines in multimedia projects that include video, images, and maps. Find ideas for multimedia presentation tools and redefining student learning at TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Visme, Adobe Spark for K-12, Kizoa, and My Simpleshow.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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For the Teachers - For the Teachers
Grades
K to 12
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For the Teachers contains an incredible number of lesson ideas, differentiation tips, instructional strategies, and much more for all teachers. Search for specific content using the...more
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For the Teachers contains an incredible number of lesson ideas, differentiation tips, instructional strategies, and much more for all teachers. Search for specific content using the keyword search or scroll down the home page to find some of the site's most popular content. There is a great deal of useful content on the site to explore, of note is the Reading Skills for Big Kids and Differentiation links. The Reading Skills for Big Kids includes skill-based lesson plans for use with the many included leveled articles. The Differentiation portion of the site provides specific ideas and tools to differentiate content, assessment, and lesson activities and materials.
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tag(s): characterization (18), charts and graphs (195), constitution (93), differentiation (56), graphic organizers (42), inferencing (6), mean (27), measurement (174), median (23), mode (17), multiplication (212), patterns (86), place value (56), plot (11), reading comprehension (135), rubrics (32), sequencing (30)
In the Classroom
Be sure to bookmark this site to save as a favorite to find lesson ideas and activities throughout the school year. When planning for a substitute, look through the site to find useful ideas for lessons and planning organizers. There is so much material here to use, consider exploring the site with peers using techniques similar to a book study. Divide the site into sections to discuss at different times of your study. Organize your favorite materials from this site and your other resources using Padlet, reviewed here. Share your Padlet with peers to collaborate and create a useful time for organizing and sharing your favorite teaching materials. Supplement information included on report cards by using a site like Seesaw, reviewed here, to create portfolios for your students to demonstrate progress in reading, math, and other content areas. Include student-created projects based on activities found on For the Teachers.
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Semantris - Google
Grades
4 to 12
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Semantris is an engaging pair of word association games offered as a Google experiment in predicting the use of words by players. Arcade is a quick-thinking game; write a word ...more
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Semantris is an engaging pair of word association games offered as a Google experiment in predicting the use of words by players. Arcade is a quick-thinking game; write a word associated with the shared selection to drop words to the bottom of a list as quickly as possible. Block is a slower paced game; try to provide a short phrase to describe one of the words in the blocks to drop the blocks and prevent them from reaching the top of the page.
tag(s): game based learning (158), logic (240), puzzles (201), vocabulary (292), vocabulary development (110), word study (71)
In the Classroom
Share Semantris with students on classroom computers or devices for use as a quick word association and vocabulary building activity. Challenge students to become more proficient in "beating" Google by earning as many points as possible. For younger students, this site is an excellent way to build vocabulary skills. Have older students take this site a step further and research how machine learning works through this Google activity. Enhance learning by asking them to substitute a traditional report or presentation by making a video explanation tool like Biteable, reviewed here, to describe the concept of machine learning. After spending some time practicing this game, take it a step further and extend student learning by having students create their own vocabulary learning game using a tool such as Scratch, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ruff Ruffman - Humble Media Genius - PBS Kids
Grades
1 to 6
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Ruff Ruffman is a comical canine who sets out to teach kids (ages 6-11) about being a responsible digital citizen. Short animated video clips answer questions about posting photos,...more
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Ruff Ruffman is a comical canine who sets out to teach kids (ages 6-11) about being a responsible digital citizen. Short animated video clips answer questions about posting photos, texting, and searching, reminding kids to ask an adult for help with the more difficult undertakings like finding a kid-friendly search engine. This program also has discussion questions for parents and teachers and interactive quizzes. Creating an account isn't required to use any material on the site. To create an account, you will need a username and a random password will be assigned, which can you can change later.
tag(s): digital citizenship (76), internet safety (121)
In the Classroom
Introduce Ruff Ruffman with a projector or interactive whiteboard, showing students all of the different questions Ruff will answer. Then either view the video shorts and quizzes as a class, or allow students to view the video shorts and take the interactive quizzes at a computer center. As a substitute for paper and pencil, have students use a video response tool like FlipGrid, reviewed here, to reflect on their learning and share tips for their peers. To extend student learning, require students to view their peer's reflections and make thoughtful comments.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Stay Safe Online - Stay Safe Online - NCSA
Grades
6 to 12
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Stay Safe Online offers resources to help keep yourself, others, and your computer safe online. Visit the Resources page to find infographics, videos, logos and graphics and more. Click...more
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Stay Safe Online offers resources to help keep yourself, others, and your computer safe online. Visit the Resources page to find infographics, videos, logos and graphics and more. Click Stop.Think.Connect in the upper left corner of the menu to take you to page with tips and advice and even more resources. The tips and advice include Safety Tips for Mobile Devices (in many languages), doing a Digitial Spring Cleaning (with a checklist), What LGBTQ Communities Should Know About Online Safety, and many other practical tips about taxes, shopping online, Cyber Trip Adviser, etc. Before doing a task online, double check with Stay Safe Online and fight off the dark side of the web by using good cyber habits!
tag(s): digital citizenship (76), internet safety (121)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site or the accompanying pages of Stop.Think.Connect to show students how to navigate the resources. Then, allow pairs or small groups to choose from the tips and advice for further study and exploration. As a substitute for handwritten notes, have students document their learning and understanding by taking notes online with SuperNotecard, reviewed here. SuperNotecard can then be turned into a storyboard and used to create a multimedia digital story for students' siblings, parents, and peers. Show your students how to embed media modifying their work into a true digital story with one of these tools (click on the tool name to access the review): PicLits, Adobe Spark For Education, Kizoa, and My Simpleshow.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Nimbus Screenshot Capture - Nimbus Web Inc
Grades
K to 12
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Nimbus Screenshot Capture is a download for most major browsers for PCs and Macs. Download the add-on to your browser then use to quickly capture screenshots of your entire workspace...more
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Nimbus Screenshot Capture is a download for most major browsers for PCs and Macs. Download the add-on to your browser then use to quickly capture screenshots of your entire workspace or a portion you choose. Also, use the additional tools to edit your screenshot by adding text, arrows, blur portions of your screen, and more. Nimbus Screenshot Capture also includes the options for video recording your screen share. When finished, save work to your computer or send directly to Google Drive.
tag(s): drawing (75), editing (80), images (274), tutorials (48), video (275)
In the Classroom
Check with your school's tech department for the appropriate procedure for adding this tool to classroom computers. This very handy tool serves many purposes. As a substitute for handwritten notes, have students take a screenshot and add information to document research findings. If students are stuck at a specific point on a web page or when working with a web tool, ask them to take a screenshot and add their question then share it with you. Augment learning by having students take screen shots to upload into a video presentation. Use a tool similar to Rawshorts, reviewed here, that can be used to create short, animated video explanations. Take screenshots of new websites you share with students and add notes on how to use the tool or create a video recording by screen sharing how to use any site. Share your images on your class website for students to access at any time or use your images to create a simple explainer video using Biteable, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ryeboard - Ryestory
Grades
K to 12
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Ryeboard is a virtual whiteboard for desktop computers. This tool currently includes options for adding images, text, and drawings using the widgets on the menu. Choose any option and...more
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Ryeboard is a virtual whiteboard for desktop computers. This tool currently includes options for adding images, text, and drawings using the widgets on the menu. Choose any option and drag it onto the whiteboard surface. Follow the prompts to add information. Grab the corner on your entries to resize or move around to a different spot on the whiteboard space. Ryeboard also includes a basic photo editor to rotate and crop images. Whiteboards automatically save to your account, turn on the sharing option to copy the URL and share with others.
tag(s): iwb (31), organizational skills (105)
In the Classroom
Ryeboard is perfect for those times that you need to organize information and ideas in one place, but you don't need a lot of fancy options. Use this tool to save and organize images for use with class digital projects. Create a whiteboard with an image of each student in your class, add a text box with notes then share with a substitute to have a quick overview of the class. Ryboard is easy enough to use with younger students and ESL/ELL students. For technology integration at the substitution level, create a board with images and have students use the text box to label the images and add additional information. For example, when studying animals upload several images of animals and have students add a text box naming the animal and sharing information about their habitat or adding a label to classify as birds, mammals, reptiles, etc. Augment the this by having older students create a whiteboard for a group project, and share the URL with their partner or group members. Those students can then take a screenshot of the whiteboard using Screencast-o-matic, to insert their comments and ideas, and post the screenshot on their own Ryeboard.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Substitutes - Ideas and Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
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Peruse this collection of ideas and reviewed resources selected to help both substitute teachers and regular teachers leaving instructions for a substitute. The list includes useful...more
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Peruse this collection of ideas and reviewed resources selected to help both substitute teachers and regular teachers leaving instructions for a substitute. The list includes useful time-fillers for when plans are not a perfect fit as well as teacher-friendly suggestions to make subbing a positive learning experience for all.
tag(s): substitutes (19)
In the Classroom
Whether you are a substitute looking for some "filler" ideas or a classroom teacher looking for new sites, check out this list of resources. Share this list on your class website for families to use at home. This list includes resources for young readers and secondary students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Whooo's Reading - Whooo's Reading
Grades
K to 8
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Whooo's Reading is an alternative to traditional reading programs by offering short response options to book quizzes instead of multiple choice answers. After reading, students answer...more
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Whooo's Reading is an alternative to traditional reading programs by offering short response options to book quizzes instead of multiple choice answers. After reading, students answer three quick higher-level questions and earn coins for correct responses to spend on personalized "owlvatars." Teachers receive scores in real-time and have the option to provide feedback through conversations with students within the program. In addition to quizzes, Whooo's Reading also offers standards aligned journal activities for use in between quizzes and book recommendations upon completing quizzes.
tag(s): classroom management (145), independent reading (117), reading comprehension (135)
In the Classroom
Although recommended for students in grades K-8, teachers of younger students should review questions and consider writing ability levels before including them in the program due to the written responses required. Consider using Whooo's Reading as an alternative to Accelerated Reader due to the use of short response answers instead of multiple choice questions. After reading books, substitute paper and pen journals by asking younger students to create a blog using a tool like Loose Leaves, reviewed here, to share a book review with fellow students. Engage older students, or literature circle groups, by having them create a poster for the book using a tool like DesignCap, reviewed here, and then upload the poster to their blog about the book. A great blogging tool for older students is Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph have students click on an icon to upload related images, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or Twitter links. This blog creator requires no registration. For all age students, enhance learning by creating a class book review site using FlipGrid, reviewed here, where students create short video book reviews and can comment on each others reviews.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Blended Play - BlendedPlay
Grades
3 to 12
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Create games for groups or multiple players personalized with your content using Blended Play. Choose from five game options with titles like Mountain Climber and Sushi Take Over. Add...more
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Create games for groups or multiple players personalized with your content using Blended Play. Choose from five game options with titles like Mountain Climber and Sushi Take Over. Add questions to your game selection and save. Choose options within games to select the number of players, length of the game, and more. Visit the Game Library to view and download question files shared by fellow members of Blended Play. Watch the tutorial video shared on Blended Play for complete instructions on creating and using games from the site. The tutorial also comes in PDF format. The video is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable.
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tag(s): computational thinking (35), critical thinking (124), design (89), game based learning (158), gamification (81), problem solving (291)
In the Classroom
Before creating games, take advantage of shared files in the Game Library to quickly make games accessible for students. Once you are familiar with the site, create games for any topic to use for review or as a schema activator. Encourage students to use this tool as a substitute for paper and pen. Have groups of students create their own review games for personal use and to share with fellow students. As students gain confidence in creating their own games, share other game-creation sites like Scratch, reviewed here, as an excellent way to promote creativity and personalize any learning experience.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WriteWell - WriteWell
Grades
5 to 12
1 Favorites
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WriteWell is a set of clear and easy to use writing tools designed to help with the writing process while making the process fun and engaging for you and students. ...more
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WriteWell is a set of clear and easy to use writing tools designed to help with the writing process while making the process fun and engaging for you and students. Start by searching for templates for any particular type of writing or select from content links on the home page. Each writing template includes a complete example, description of how to write in this format, the option to download the template, and a link to begin work in the online app. Creating an account isn't required to use the tools in WriteWell; however, it does offer many options for saving and sharing your work.
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tag(s): creative writing (155), descriptive writing (43), expository writing (38), letter writing (18), paragraph writing (14), persuasive writing (56), process writing (42), writers workshop (34), writing (358)
In the Classroom
WriteWell is a must-have for all teachers. Use this site for your own professional use in graduate work. Share a link on your class website for student use at home. Share the steps and information within any template as a guide for teaching different writing styles. Have students enhance a previous project by using tools within WriteWell, then have them compare and discuss the differences. Substitute paper and pen self edits and peer edits by having students write their documtents in Google or Word, then have students highlight and add comments sharing changes to their text. Include before and after documents in an online student portfolio like PortfolioVillage, reviewed here. PortfolioVillage allows you to embed videos and enhance student learning by asking students to upload a short video discussion of their revisions to any document. Enhance student learning with a culminating activity: have students create a video tutorial of different styles of writing using a video creation tool like FlexClip, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Free Screen Recorder Online - AceThinker
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
1 Comments
Capture your entire screen, or just a part of it with this easy to use screen recorder that includes audio. Download and install the launcher required for your operating system ...more
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Capture your entire screen, or just a part of it with this easy to use screen recorder that includes audio. Download and install the launcher required for your operating system then follow prompts to set up your recording. Save in several popular video formats or directly upload your recording to YouTube, Dropbox, or Google Drive.
In the Classroom
Any subject area teacher can use this tool to record instructions for using websites. Share how to solve problems, step by step directions for any project, and much more. Leave a video message for a substitute teacher or even your class! Create a video message for parents about current projects, clips from field trips, and more. Put a link to your recording on your class website for students to view at home. Demonstrate how to use this tool for students with a projector or interactive whiteboard, then have them record questions they have when using websites or online programs.Comments
waoh. I love this.Babalola, , Grades: 7 - 12
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A Year of Picture Prompts - New York Times
Grades
5 to 12
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0 Comments
Do you need some ideas for writing projects? The New York Times offers an archive of 160 images published during the 2016-2017 school year as inspiration for writing across many ...more
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Do you need some ideas for writing projects? The New York Times offers an archive of 160 images published during the 2016-2017 school year as inspiration for writing across many genres. Scroll through the site to find categories for images based on the form of writing encouraged for students. Also, a lesson idea bank inspires using pictures and writing in the classroom.
tag(s): creative writing (155), descriptive writing (43), journals (19), writing prompts (77)
In the Classroom
Save this website to your favorites or link from your class web page. These inspirational ideas are perfect for journals, quick writes, or to develop into a full story or essay. There are plenty of unusual ideas to give even your most reluctant writer or artist an inspirational nudge. ESL/ELL students can be motivated easily with picture prompts. Share these prompts with your gifted students for some "out of the box" writing ideas. Keep these creative ideas in your "emergency" lesson plan folder for substitutes, or for your own spontaneous writing needs. Extend student learning and challenge them to share writing aloud in a podcast format using a site such as Buzzsprout, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pobble365 - Johnny Davies
Grades
4 to 12
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0 Comments
Scroll through these extraordinary, sometimes surrealistic images and find story starters, philosophical questions, sentences challenges, and more to create an interesting lesson. Be...more
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Scroll through these extraordinary, sometimes surrealistic images and find story starters, philosophical questions, sentences challenges, and more to create an interesting lesson. Be sure to click How to use... in the upper right corner and check out the 9 different ways to use Pobble365. Scroll to the bottom to install the free plug in for the Chrome browser to get a new wallpaper for your browser daily. Registering is not necessary to enjoy these images and the activities that go with them. Joining requires email or use your Google, Facebook, or Twitter account; it also allows you to view and comment on written work. Click the calendar symbol at the top to see all past images. You can download images as a PDF and view full screen.
tag(s): creative writing (155), digital storytelling (146), writing (358), writing prompts (77)
In the Classroom
Bookmark Pobble365 on your display computer to be able to show an image quickly and easily at any time of the day. These unique images are perfect for quick writes, creative writing assignments, journaling, or blogging. There are plenty of unusual ideas to give even your most reluctant writer an inspirational nudge. Share these prompts with your gifted students for some "out of the box" writing ideas. Keep these creative ideas in your "emergency" lesson plan folder for substitutes or your own spontaneous writing needs. Share Pobble365 as a link on your class web page to inspire students in search of a topic they can "relate to." Have students choose their favorite response and find more pictures to turn it into a digital story. Try using Picsearch, reviewed here, or Compfight, reviewed here, to find free images. Students can "collect" their ideas and extend their learning by using presentation tool like Utellstory, reviewed here, that allows narrating and adding text to a picture.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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