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The Imagination Factory - Marilyn Brackney
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
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The Imagination Factory is a tool that can help teachers, students, and community members use creative ways to recycle by making art. The site offers a large compilation of activities...more
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The Imagination Factory is a tool that can help teachers, students, and community members use creative ways to recycle by making art. The site offers a large compilation of activities and crafts made from what most people consider to be everyday trash. The site is easily searchable based on two search methods: by Category and by the Trash Matcher. Need a project for the beginning of the year? Look it up through the Category listing. Have old dryer sheets, dried markers, junk mail, and roll-on deodorant bottles you just don't know what to do with? Look them up by matching your trash to a project in the Trash Matcher!
In the Classroom
This is a great way to utilize classroom trash while teaching students to go green! Once they get started, the students will probably supply their own enormous list of ideas for recycling trash and the ideas may be infectious...watch it snowball into other classrooms and into their homes! Teachers will be receiving unique recycled projects every day in those primary grades! List this project in your class newsletter or on your class website. Suggest parents donate items listed on the Trash Matcher such as socks, sheets, dryer sheets and much more. Make sure to note that everything donated should be cleaned thoroughly prior to sending it to the classroom! Document your new green classroom/school with digital pictures and student writings on a class wiki and share the link with local newspapers! Secondary teachers can use this site for service project ideas for Key Club. student council, and more.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Spore Creature Creator - Electronic Arts, Inc.
Grades
2 to 12
7 Favorites
0 Comments
Use Creature Creator to make interesting and imaginative animals. Your students may recognize it as a tool for making characters for the Spore video game, but it is actually a ...more
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Use Creature Creator to make interesting and imaginative animals. Your students may recognize it as a tool for making characters for the Spore video game, but it is actually a useful tool for learning, as well. Use a pre-made creature or create your own custom creature. Add carnivore features to your creation that include mouths, ears, eyes, arms, hands, feet, and legs. Weapons such as horns, spikes, and clubs can also be added to the creature as well as wings. Change the position of the features and alter them through unbelievable joint changes which then alter how your creature walks and moves. Paint your creation when done and place it in its woodland environment. The creature can walk, show emotion, have offspring, and make sounds. Use the software to take a picture, record a movie, and make an avatar. By adding a description and tags, your creation can be uploaded to the spore website or to a You Tube account. Here is the first Spore tutorial , which is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, it may not be viewable.
Creature Creator is a free download but is a limited version of the original purchased program. The purchased program provides many more choices for the features and environments used to make the creatures. The download is available for both PC and Mac.
Creature Creator is a free download but is a limited version of the original purchased program. The purchased program provides many more choices for the features and environments used to make the creatures. The download is available for both PC and Mac.
In the Classroom
User needs to be able to download and install the free program. Easy to use interface. Start with a blob, which you manipulate into a shape, pulling its spinal cord in any direction with the mouse, before adding a head, limbs and various optional extra body parts. Choose your part by using the onscreen catalog. Manipulate it further by changing the position of joints or through adding or deleting segments. Add a background and move your creature by dragging your mouse for it to follow. Continue to alter your creature to get the movement or features needed.Pressing "H" brings up the spore guide which includes topic categories such as "Welcome to Spore," "Getting Started," "Build Mode," "Test Drive," and "Paint Mode."
Check your district policy on downloading and installing of programs. Check with your IT department. Teachers who must request software installation by tech staff may want to try this tool at home and create some sample projects to convince administration of its educational value.
Uploading pictures and videos of creations to You Tube or the spore site may expose students to advertising as well as inappropriately created creatures. You may want to send students directly to URLs for their own projects, maintain the creatures on the classroom computer itself, or use Teacher Tube to upload the creations. Uploading creatures enables outsider comments without teacher control. Outsiders can interact or mark the creations as favorites. Many school policies prohibit such interaction, so be sure to check your school policy. You will want to discuss these features in the context of Internet Safety or establish specific written class rules and consequences for interacting with outsiders. Student work can be saved as a picture and printed, as well, for sharing and showing. Check your school policies on whether student work may be displayed online and what information is permitted, then enforce that policy with your students.
The tool does not show which work is attributable to each student. You may want to require student initials on projects in order to get credit.
Use Creature creator to create an unusual creature as a class project. Create a classification system of all the class creatures to demonstrate biology classification skills. When discussing the groupings in the Animal Kingdom, use Creature Creator to create a new organism for that group. Use the tool to create a class creature with adaptations to a specific environment. Have students create a creature and then write a story or poem about it and how it lives. Have students create a creature as a self-portrait of personality or other traits the students possess. Students can design and draw habitats that would house their creation including the calculation of the volume and area the housing would require. Use a classroom projector or white board to share/create creatures in class and discuss specific features of the creatures.
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bubbl.us - Kirill Edelman and Levon Amelyan
Grades
K to 12
14 Favorites
1 Comments
This simple and free online tool allows you to brainstorm ideas and create concept maps with no special software! Bubble.us features some highly interactive abilities: saving your mind...more
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This simple and free online tool allows you to brainstorm ideas and create concept maps with no special software! Bubble.us features some highly interactive abilities: saving your mind map as an image, sharing (emailing) your work with a friend, printing your organizer, creating colorful mind map organizers, embedding your work into a website or blog, and working with friends. You are able to "play" at this site without registering; however registration is necessary for saving, embedding, emailing, and other features. NOTE: the free version only allows you to SAVE three maps, so you will want to save your completed maps as images, then deleted them from your membership to make room for more freebies.
In the Classroom
Click "Start Here" to type the subject of your concept map. Hitting your Enter key creates a new level (branch) within the map. Tab creates an additional branch on the same level as the current topic. Experiment with the small icons on each "element" to change colors, drag, make new connections, etc. Save and set sharing (read-only or open access) in the area at the right. You can "send" a read-only link via email or copy the embed code from the Menu at lower right), but you cannot find the URL directly from your map. "Send" it to yourself via email to copy the actual URL.There are countless possibilities at this mental mapping site. Demonstrate the tool on an interactive whiteboard or projector, and then allow students to try to create their own graphic organizers. Use this site for literature activities, research projects, social studies, or science topics of study. Use this site to create family trees. Have students collaborate together (online) to create group mind maps or review charts before tests on a given subject. Have students organize color-code concepts to show what they understand, wonder, question; map out a story, plotline, or LIFETIME; map out a step-by-step process (life cycle); map a real historical event as a choose-your-own-adventure with alternate endings(?) based on pivotal points; plan a "tour" for a "thought museum." Use this mapping website as an alternative to a traditional test, quiz, or homework assignment in literature or social studies: have students demonstrate their understanding by completing a graphic organizer about the main points. To minimize the number of maps on a free account, have students screenshot or print their results to turn them in. See more ideas in the linked example above!
Comments
david, TX, Grades: 9 - 12
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Zunal WebQuest Maker - FREE - Zafer Unal, PhD
Grades
2 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Have you been pining to include pertinent webquests in your curriculum? This site allows you to view already created webquests and/or use their online tool to create your own webquest...more
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Have you been pining to include pertinent webquests in your curriculum? This site allows you to view already created webquests and/or use their online tool to create your own webquest without HTML code or web editor software. This site walks you through a tutorial on creating your own webquest for the parameters YOU want. The tutorial includes planning, building, and getting your webquest published. Best of all-- it is free. This site also includes ready-made webquests in nearly every subject area (math, art, music, social studies, science, etc.) submitted by others like you. There are webquests for all grade level. The webquests are free to use and many include reviews by other educators. An easy to follow webquest matrix is available, with all of the subjects and grade levels. You are also able to do a webquest search for a specific topic. Nearly all of the webquests are in English, but a few are in other languages. Note: the quality of webquests is completely determined by others using the site to create webquests, so PREVIEW before using any webquest in class.
In the Classroom
Search the multitude of webquests that are "ready to go" at this site. If you are looking for a more personal touch, you can create your own webquest for each class, tailored to what you want to cover or want students to research. This site also provides a place to post a personal portfolio of your work (if you choose to include any student work, you must have written permission to do so from the student and his or her parent). You might also want students to create webquests as final products of group research projects. Be sure to provide a meaningful rubric for the essential features.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Power Point Games - Jefferson County Schools
Grades
2 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
This site contains several templates for familiar TV games useful for teacher (or student) created review. The activities include Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to be a Millionaire,...more
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This site contains several templates for familiar TV games useful for teacher (or student) created review. The activities include Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and others. Most of the games are done in PowerPoint. Depending on the version of PowerPoint you have, the formatting may be slightly off once you input your words, questions, or answers. Original games created by a teacher complete the offerings. Our editors note that the sound files included with some templates may be copyrighted material, and TeachersFirst does not condone the use of this content without the permission of the copyright holder(s). Most templates are "clean" of such potential problems. This website requires PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat. Download both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom
Use these templates with any subject you wish to review: foreign language word lists, social studies terms and concepts, science, language arts, art, music, sped, etc. These activities offer an excellent method to review information through a fun and different approach. Teachers can also have students create their own versions of review games.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Scratch - Lifelong Kindergarten Group, MIT Media Lab
Grades
1 to 12
12 Favorites
0 Comments
Want to get in touch with your inner child? Get Scratch! Warning: The use of this application is quite fun and engaging! Scratch is a downloadable program that creates interactive ...more
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Want to get in touch with your inner child? Get Scratch! Warning: The use of this application is quite fun and engaging! Scratch is a downloadable program that creates interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art. This application can be used for bringing simple ideas and projects to life. It has great use as a paint program without using the animations. Download/install files are available for Mac or PC. Menu tabs include an Idea tab where you will find a Getting Started Tutorial, Activity Guides, Coding Cards, and Starter Projects. FAQs and support pages are also available for help in using the application.
Material created can only be viewed within the program. Drawings are not saved as a JPG or pic file. However, a "snapshot" of the screen can be created by using these keys in Mac: apple, shift, and 4 and click/drag to surround the portion to save. In PC use: control/print screen. These snapshots can be uploaded or used as a picture in other applications.
Material created can only be viewed within the program. Drawings are not saved as a JPG or pic file. However, a "snapshot" of the screen can be created by using these keys in Mac: apple, shift, and 4 and click/drag to surround the portion to save. In PC use: control/print screen. These snapshots can be uploaded or used as a picture in other applications.
In the Classroom
Be sure to "play" with this program before you present it to students; or, you could have computer savy students in your class pair up with not so savy students to investigate together. There are many tabs, folders; and icons to investigate. You (or students) could click Create and in the center pane, click on the tutorial. To begin your creation follow the steps in the tutorial. Once you have the idea, choose your own features from the menu on the left, and on the bottom right are two more menus; Look for the cat icon and the backdrops. Different colors, pens, and materials can be used to create the background or an image can be brought in from your computer. Objects in Scratch are called a Sprite and can be added in by choosing the folders below the screen. By clicking the script tab, blocks can be moved in to create motion, add sounds (even record your own message), and change the look of the Sprite. Blocks are linked on to each other to create a series of events. A control block dragged to the top of the blocks control which key starts the event. Advanced options include adding variables and other controls.Be sure to check with your Technology Department, as many districts require authorization to download or install new applications. Projects can be shared online; however an account is required.
Work is saved to the computer itself and only shared online via an account. To avoid problems concerning content made by outsiders or issues with sharing, save the work locally and either create your own gallery on a supervised class website/wiki or set up a single account where you share the "best" projects online via your own log-in. Remind students of the school's Acceptable Use Policy and consequences of violations, if you do allow them to join/share. Images used should adhere to all copyright rules. Use pictures taken in class or those with Creative Commons licensing (and provide attribution!).
Practical tips: Students quickly catch on to this program when allowed to play and easily see what they can make from it. Provide a simple assignment with defined rules/tasks to learn the tools. Younger students may familiarize themselves more easily working with a partner. Have students use a storyboard to write down what they will do/draw/say in their creation in order to keep tabs on what students and their creations.
Possible uses: For the lower grades, Scratch provides unlimited possibilities. Use as a new way to show vocabulary usage. Use the paint program to add information to a picture from your class field trip or science experiment. Use Scratch to help in storytelling a concept in a new and unique way, such as how rocks are formed. In the upper grades, use Scratch to show complex material in a new way. For example, students can draw DNA and show replication, etc. through their drawings and storytelling. Draw the different movements of landforms in plate tectonics. Draw or illustrate solutions to Math problems.
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The Art of Ancient Egypt - Metropolitan Museum of Art
Grades
4 to 7
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Lead your students on an exploration of the art of Ancient Egypt! The Metropolitan Museum of Art has created a treasure trove of lesson plans and activities built around their ...more
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Lead your students on an exploration of the art of Ancient Egypt! The Metropolitan Museum of Art has created a treasure trove of lesson plans and activities built around their stellar Egyptian collection. The educational resources integrate Egyptian art into language arts, social studies, math, science, and visual and performing arts. This would be a terrific launch point for a gifted enrichment unit. Dig into the Resources area to get an overview of the printable worksheets, bibliographies, maps, and online features. Be sure to click on the Curriculum Connection area for specific lesson plans and activities for your students.
In the Classroom
After exploring the various activities, students can create their own Egyptian-inspired artifacts for a classroom museum. Invite other classes for a student-docent tour of the museum. Discuss the stylized Egyptian figures that communicate ideas and stories and ask students to strike poses which others try to decipher. Students can add contemporary items to a time capsule and bury it somewhere on the school grounds to be discovered by future archeologists. Discuss why items in the time capsule might mystify people in the future.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Block Posters - blockposters.com
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Make a poster in a snap using this easy tool. Just upload your photo, slice it, and your poster size images will be downloaded to your computer--ready for printing. View ...more
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Make a poster in a snap using this easy tool. Just upload your photo, slice it, and your poster size images will be downloaded to your computer--ready for printing. View the site's gallery for poster ideas. The pictures are downloaded into a PDF file. Adobe Acrobat is required. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom
You could actually use this tool in any subject or grade level to create visual displays for your classroom or have students make their own (upper elementary and older). If you allow students to use this site, beware that the images in the Gallery may change frequently. What may be 'art' to some may be questionable to others. For art teachers, the use of this tool offers endless possibilities. Student artwork will take on a different air when blown up to gallery-sized prints. Teachers, think E-A-S-Y bulletin boards!
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Paper Models of Polyhedra - Gijs Korthals Altes
Grades
6 to 10
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This simple, "hands-on" website offers PDF files of numerous paper models of Polyhedra. The files are ready to print and share with your students. The various geometric solids include...more
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This simple, "hands-on" website offers PDF files of numerous paper models of Polyhedra. The files are ready to print and share with your students. The various geometric solids include platonic solids, Archimedean solids, Kepler-Poinsot Polyhedra, and numerous others. The files are available in PDF format and require Adobe. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox.
In the Classroom
Why not print a pattern onto cardstock or other thick paper. Then project the image (that you printed for your students) onto a projection screen or interactive whiteboard, while students work independently at their seats. Before you pass out the paper copies, have them view the projected image and predict what it will be. These shapes can also serve as creative study aids for all subject areas, especially for students who need engaging ways to review. Have students write key terms and questions on the "faces" before assembling the figures, then "roll" them as a study game, testing each other to define or explain terms.
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Yale University Art Gallery - Yale University
Grades
5 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Art and world history come alive through this dazzling collection of the Yale University Art Gallery. The collections span time and continents: African art, American painting, sculpture...more
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Art and world history come alive through this dazzling collection of the Yale University Art Gallery. The collections span time and continents: African art, American painting, sculpture and decorative arts, ancient art, art of the ancient Americans, Asian art, coins and medals, and early European, modern, and contemporary art. Each collection is easily viewed in a via individual picture format with detailed descriptions, which combine art and history. Scroll to the bottom of each collection to find a video about the collection. The video times vary from three minutes to over an hour. The "Kids and Families" section of the website has stories, activities, coloring books, and online jigsaw puzzles that could also be used in the classroom. The website includes resources for K12 educators has information for professional development and after-school programs and classes.
In the Classroom
Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to take your students on a virtual field trip using the videos. Be sure to turn up the volume! For the longer videos consider watching portions in class using ytCropper, reviewed here, to show just the clips you want. If you use the Chrome browser you could use ReClipped, reviewed here, to clip the sections you want and annotate them.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Africa Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent - University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
Grades
3 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Africa Focus offers a wealth of digital images and sound recordings from contemporary Africa. This collection from the University of Wisconsin contains more than 3000 slides, 500 photographs,...more
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Africa Focus offers a wealth of digital images and sound recordings from contemporary Africa. This collection from the University of Wisconsin contains more than 3000 slides, 500 photographs, and 50 hours of sounds from 45 different countries. Click Search the Collection to see image categories which include artisans, buildings and structures, cities and towns, education, landscape, religion, and women. Sound recordings include drums, greetings, rites and ceremonies, songs, and signing. The site is easily searched by keyword or by subject heading.
In the Classroom
Teachers will find this site rich in resources for units on science, social studies, geography, architecture, music, art, and culture. Make Africa a "real" place by sharing on a projector as you share stories or learn about homes ("Structures") and habitats or landforms ("Landscape") with younger students. Use the sound recordings for lessons on oral history, myths, languages, and music. Assign student groups a topic area, which they can research and present to the class as a PowerPoint or another multi-media format using an interactive whiteboard or projector.Images, text, or other content downloaded from the collection may be freely used for non-profit educational and research purposes under Fair Use. That means that you may NOT put them on the web in a public site, blog, or wiki, since you would not be limiting access to class members. If you want students to create blog or wiki pages, create passworded access for class members only to areas displaying these images and resources. Check the website for instructions on how students can cite this source in their bibliographies.
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Kidlink - Kidlink
Grades
3 to 12
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To investigate Kidlink, click Teachers Room, and follow the directions on that page to register for free and see what the site has to offer. This website provides an online ...more
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To investigate Kidlink, click Teachers Room, and follow the directions on that page to register for free and see what the site has to offer. This website provides an online connection to students from various areas of the world. There are links provided for students, families, and teachers. The website is available in various languages - English, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese. Students can share stories, artwork, and more. The educational content includes life planning skills (careers), social studies (geography, government, history, etc.), writing, and many other academic areas. Free registration is required for each student and teacher. All content is monitored by volunteer moderators. What a fabulous resource to use in geography or language arts class. This website doesn't just teach students about countries throughout the world, but also allows students to interact with students of various cultures as they write and respond to each other in this safe environment.
In the Classroom
Students need not have their own email to use this site. Kidlink explains that they are permitted to use the teacher's email address (which allows you to monitor their activities, as well). You might want to use your "extra" email account. Set up accounts for your students to communicate in your world language class or as part of your study of other continents. With younger students, you may want to communicate as a whole-class activity, composing on a projector or interactive whiteboard.If your school policies limit your ability to use such a site, see the FAQ information and ready-to-go presentation explaining Kidlink. Share it with your principal and parents. ALWAYS get written parent permission when sharing student work/ideas online.
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Timeline of Art History - Metropolitan Museum of Art
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City offers this site. View World Maps, Timelines, Thematic Essays, and more. Click on the "Works of Art" link to search by ...more
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City offers this site. View World Maps, Timelines, Thematic Essays, and more. Click on the "Works of Art" link to search by time period, geographical region, or thematic category. Time periods include 8000 BC to the present. Thematic categories include African, Renaissance, Colonial, Medieval, Modern, and more. The timeline features nearly every continent and many categories of art.
In the Classroom
Art teachers will find it easy to search for themes. History teachers can access items by date. Any of the "thematic essays" could be projected on an interactive whiteboard (or projection screen) to accompany a lecture in class. Or have students use this excellent resource for independent research or to illustrate their own presentations. Challenge groups to choose a time period and create blogs about the "mood" of the art. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration! Or have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Biographical Dictionary - s9.com
Grades
3 to 12
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0 Comments
This Wikipedia-type dictionary includes more than 33,000 biographies on men and women from ancient times to today. Search by birth or death dates, professions, achievements, name or...more
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This Wikipedia-type dictionary includes more than 33,000 biographies on men and women from ancient times to today. Search by birth or death dates, professions, achievements, name or other keywords. Anyone can register to edit or add to a biography. If you do recommend this site as a source for research, be sure to have the discussion about its unknown authorship and usefulness as a general information tool but not as a "scholarly" resource.
In the Classroom
This site could be a terrific way to publish student research projects to the real world. When you assign research projects on a famous scientist, author, famous American, musician, etc., have students create their written projects in a format that will fit into this online dictionary, including providing links and references for their information. Younger students could write an entry together as a class (perhaps on an author whose book you have just read). Challenge middle and high school students to find articles in your research area that contain possible inaccuracies or bias (and the research to prove it) and present both the original and their proposed changes to the class before putting them online. What a critical thinking challenge!Be sure to follow your district's acceptable use policy if you are allowing students to contribute to this site. Make sure you have written parent permission to post student work online.
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Wolf Quest - Minnesota Zoo
Grades
4 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This fabulous website about wolves and habitats in Yellowstone allows participants to "live" as a wolf, raise their young, explore the wilderness, go hunting, and survive. Students...more
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This fabulous website about wolves and habitats in Yellowstone allows participants to "live" as a wolf, raise their young, explore the wilderness, go hunting, and survive. Students can work alone or with partners, as they learn about wolves in the wild. Students can consult biologists, write original stories, create drawings, and more. This is the first episode; future installments are expected in late 2008. Students and/or teachers must register (free)to use the program. We recommend using a single class/teacher registration or parent/student written agreements for student registrations in order to prevent inappropriate postings "clever" students might make on the community discussion boards. There are also detailed lesson plans (click on Wolf Info > classroom activities). The lesson plans include national science standards.
In the Classroom
Introduce this free resource on interactive whiteboard or projector. The lesson plans and interactive activity are both perfect tools to drum up enthusiasm in biology class. The Game Info provides excellent descriptors and instructions for using this program. Be sure to check back for updated episodes. Include this website on your teacher web site (and the activities) as one of a set of activities on animals and their habitats to be done in class or outside. Then challenge your students to work together in documenting local animals and habitats in a class wiki or group science fair project.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Universal Leonardo - University of the Arts, London
Grades
6 to 12
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Leonardo da Vinci is one of history's greatest geniuses. This site looks at Leonardo's work in ways that highlight how comprehensive and interdisciplinary his impact has been. Of...more
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Leonardo da Vinci is one of history's greatest geniuses. This site looks at Leonardo's work in ways that highlight how comprehensive and interdisciplinary his impact has been. Of course, you can examine his individual works of art, but this site is organized along threads, which you can access through a traditional menu or through an interactive web. Follow Leonardo's influence in math, through his inventions, in his understanding of the human body or his examination of the natural world. There is an abundance of information to learn on this site, however, there are also some just-plain-fun flash-enabled games to play like making the Mona Lisa smile broadly by correctly answering questions about her, practice mirror writing, or see if you can power his glider across a ravine.
In the Classroom
Because Leonardo's work crosses so many curricular boundaries, teachers from many different disciplines might find this site useful as part of a lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard, particularly when painting "the big picture" for students (no pun intended!). Art teachers, of course, can access Leonardo's work, but science teachers can use the interactive games to illustrate principles of physics or early understanding of the human body. History or literature teachers might use the site to personify the term "Renaissance Man" for students studying the time period. Whatever your discipline, be sure to make the link available from your teacher web page for curious students to explore outside of class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Free Rice - freerice.com
Grades
6 to 12
6 Favorites
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This fascinating site allows you to build your vocabulary and other knowledge while providing free grains of rice to the hungry throughout the world. This is a nice interactive way...more
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This fascinating site allows you to build your vocabulary and other knowledge while providing free grains of rice to the hungry throughout the world. This is a nice interactive way for kids to practice vocabulary and basics in chemistry, math, art history, geography, and world languages. Subjects available (via the link in the page footer)include checmical symbols, world language and English vocabulary, multiplication, world countries on a map, capitals, and famous paintings. Read the FAQ to find out where the money comes from and more.
In the Classroom
Reminiscent of The Reader's Digest "Enrich Your Word Power" feature, this is a great little time filler, especially for those students who always seem to be ahead of the rest of the class. They can challenge themselves to better their "level" as gauged by the site. They can challenge each other to see who will give the most grains of rice in any given session. If your class has a vocabulary glossary wiki, this site will provide many new entry ideas! You might even get into a conversation about how much 20 grains of rice really is and where around the world it might do the most good.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Online Picasso Project - Prof. Dr. Enrique Mallen
Grades
2 to 12
2 Favorites
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Explore everything you ever wanted to see and read about Picasso using this fabulous online collection. See a biographical timeline with images of the artworks intermingled, explore...more
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Explore everything you ever wanted to see and read about Picasso using this fabulous online collection. See a biographical timeline with images of the artworks intermingled, explore the works up close using an "explore" tool, and compare works side by side by using the checkboxes and "compare" button. Whether you are trying to inspire an art project with some visuals before turning students loose with their own materials or are teaching a lesson in art criticism, this site is a treasury. A few of the resources open a little slowly simply because of the large volume of information that is loading. The tool seems to work best when you go in through "biography."
In the Classroom
Share this site on an interactive whiteboard or large screen in your art class. Use the whiteboard tools to draw and highlight aspects of the works. If you assign students to do research on featured artists, this site is a MUST. Literature teachers approaching works of the early 20th century may also want to compare Picasso's revolutionary approaches to some of the changes in poetry at the same time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Exploring Africa - Michigan State University
Grades
6 to 12
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Wow, this website is amazing! Exploring Africa brings Africa into your classroom through numerous interdisciplinary lessons. There are 20 modules (within 4 general units of study)....more
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Wow, this website is amazing! Exploring Africa brings Africa into your classroom through numerous interdisciplinary lessons. There are 20 modules (within 4 general units of study). The general units include "Why Study Africa," "Studying Africa Through the Social Studies," "Studying Africa Through the Humanities," "Regional Perspectives," and "Country Case Studies." Each module contains a teacher version that includes objectives, focus questions, activities, background information, and more. These teaching and learning activities all follow the "5 E's" format: Engage, Explore, Explain, Expand, and Evaluate. The website also provides links for specific country information and current events.
In the Classroom
This website is literally a textbook online. Consider using a reading guide tool such as Read Ahead, reviewed here for younger readers. Read Ahead is perfect for introducing any reading passage to struggling readers, special education students, and ENL/ESL learners. The information is ready to go and easy to use. It may not be possible to cover all of the information included in this extensive website. Pick and choose the modules that will be useful in your own classroom. Modules can easily be used independently and include detailed teacher notes, evaluations, printable pages, and more. Many of the a ctivities will work well using technology, though the plans do not specify this. For example: Share some of the maps on your interactive whiteboard or have students draw some of their "preconceived notions" about Africa on the whiteboard as part of the introductory image activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Colour Lovers - Color Lovers
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Art teachers and graphic design instructors trying to provide many examples of analogous and complementary color schemes will love this site. Your young artists will be fascinated that...more
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Art teachers and graphic design instructors trying to provide many examples of analogous and complementary color schemes will love this site. Your young artists will be fascinated that people are actually PAID to create and forecast new color palettes for all kinds of design and other applications. This site is a sharing space for professional color designers to post new color schemes they have created for architecture, web design, print, advertising, and any other use. It is the real world equivalent of a on line color "jam session." The home page often features a color scheme on a current topic, such as color inspirations from a seasonal picture.
In the Classroom
Assign your secondary art or fibers students to select a color scheme from this site and describe it both technically (the hues, tones, etc.) and emotionally (what feelings do these colors evoke?). Color schemes can be copied and pasted from the site (under Fair Use) for students to place on PowerPoint slides with commentary, then project as part of a class critique. If you teach digital imaging, have students create their own digital color palettes and share them on a wiki with their descriptions and descriptions from classmates. Younger students can respond to palettes you bring up on a projector of interactive whiteboard before a painting or color mixing lesson.Be aware that this site has comments and favorites, so you will want to preview for comments not appropriate in a classroom. There is also a discussion board area you may want to avoid. Spell out the limitations before you put students on to navigate the site in your secondary classroom. If you are too concerned, do it as a whole-class activity on an interactive whiteboard.
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