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The Online NewsHour Extra: Video Clipboard - Archives - PBS
Grades
6 to 12Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. 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.
In the Classroom
Share these video blogs with your students on an interactive whiteboard or projector as you discuss current events and related issues. Share this link on your class web page as an option for weekly current events articles you require from students. Take advantage of the free resources (quotes, warm up questions, discussion questions, printables, and other resources). If you teach reading or are working to help learning support students build comprehension, you will find terrific passages for teaching comprehension, inferencing, summarizing, and more, all with meaningful news stories as the focus. If your school's Acceptable Use Policy allows, have students post their own comments to the video blogs. Another idea: have your students create their own wiki about current events in local and/or national news. Invite students to create their own multimedia packages using video clips and their own text to explain an issue and its history.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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DocsTeach - Digital Vaults - National Archives
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set for a unit in history or on inventions. Share a collection of images or invention drawings on a projector or whiteboard and ask what the invention will do. Or use the site as the starting point for individual or group projects. After demonstrating on an interactive whiteboard or projector, have students use laptops or lab computers to "collect" resources related to their assigned inventor, decade, or era in American history. Check your school policy regarding accessing student email. If students cannot have their own email accounts, consider using a "class set" of GMail subaccounts (managed by you), explained here. This tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. This would provide anonymous interaction within your class. Students can use their log-ins to collect resources.Since the documents are in the public domain (are not copyrighted), students may also download and use the files as part of other projects, such as video compilations, Powerpoint presentations, or multimedia of any sort. To access the resources in non-Flash format, click the small link to "research this record in ARC" in the detailed view of the item. You can then view and Save As for use elsewhere. Be sure you teach students about copying the URL and relevant information from this ARC page to cite the source and give credit in any presentation they make. This site is excellent for enrichment or projects for the gifted, as well. Include it on your teacher web page for students to access both in and out of class for students who are working in History Day projects or other assignments for your class.
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Online NewsHour: Inaugural Fashion - PBS
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Share the pictures of the gowns on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then, enhance student learning by having them research an inaugural ceremony, and using Telescope, reviewed here, either write a blog entry (from the first lady of their choice) discussing the inaugural ceremony (and what they wore) or have your budding journalists write a mock commentary on the political "message" sent by a chosen first lady via her fashion choices.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Constitutionfacts.com - Oak Hill Publishing
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
This is a great site for both introducing and reinforcing topics about the Constitution. Teachers can print out crosswords puzzles for a "What Do I Know" activity. Students could find out which founding father they are in the interactive portion (under IQ Challenges) and create a multimedia project on the result. Challenge students to use Image Annotator, reviewed here. Image Annotator site allows you to add text and links to a picture. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted to be reproduced), and then narrate the photo. What a new twist to an oral report! Students could create a Photostory on their own version of the Story of Fourth of July. The possibilities are endless. For fun, teachers can present the Real or Fake Quiz on the projector or interactive whiteboard as whole class instruction or have discussions after each answer.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mr. President - Smithsonian Institution
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as a starting point for research projects. If you are teaching about the presidents, this site would be great on your projector or interactive whiteboard.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Presidency of the United States of America - Encyclopedia Britannica
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site to research candidates in the upcoming elections, and presidents of the past. Have students create a wiki to discuss the candidates viewpoints and if the students agree or disagree. Challenge students to create a political "blog" as a mock candidate. Have a "mock" presidential race in your class (using the mock candidates created by your students). Have the "candidates" go on the campaign trail, research the issues, and provide their solutions to America's problems.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Alaska - Alaska.gov
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Share this site with students researching information for state reports. Rather than having students create traditional reports, replace these by making them online! Use PicLits, reviewed here. Take student learning a step further by modifing their learning and having students use a tool such as Zeemaps, reviewed here. This tool allows students to create audio recordings AND choose a location on a map (Alaska) where the report takes place. Explore the site with students when learning about different states, ask students to tell what they know then compare to information provided on the site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teaching with Historic Places - National Park Service
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Search for your state and see what this site has to offer. Looking for a specific topic (i.e. Civil War or Pearl Harbor), search using topics. Take advantage of these ready to go lesson plans. Infuse your lessons with technology by creating a class wiki about the lesson/topic being discussed. Maybe make a wiki guidebook to your state. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through. Save this site in your favorites, and check back as you plan throughout the year.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Oil Spill Lesson Plans and Resources - NOAA
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and classroom activities on this site! Be sure to save this site as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval later on. Students can select different aspects of oil spill cleanup and mitigation and play the role of experts in a mock blog post playing their role. Use Blogger, reviewed here or Straw.Page, reviewed here for your students blogging tool. Have students continue their role play by commenting on each other's posts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Nevada
Grades
4 to 12Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fourth of July - Teacher Resources - TeacherVision
Grades
2 to 8In the Classroom
Get an interactive whiteboard and test your students' knowledge of Independence Day with the online quizzes. There are so many choices for observing July 4th, with any grade level, that you can't go wrong! It's a bonus that some activities will lend themselves to small group work.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NewsHour Extra Lesson Plan: Immigration Reform - PBS
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
The essential questions (labeled "My Point of View, parts 2-3") are a nice guide for helping students see this issue from multiple backgrounds.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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When the Personal Becomes Presidential - New York Times Learning Network
Grades
6 to 12The lesson plan starts with the familiar "read the story and discuss" format, but there are a number of good essential questions and extension activities provided that could be tailored into a strong classroom plan. The lesson plans have cross-curricular suggestions, and are tied to standards.
In the Classroom
Be sure help your weaker readers and ELL students by sharing the listed vocabulary words prior to reading, either on a handout or by projecting on an interactive whiteboard and highlighting them in the text as you come to them.Use this lesson to discuss current events in politics (which changes daily). Have students discuss and debate the current issues. Have the students write a wiki about a current event in politics (for example, Governor Palin being the first woman VP on the GOP ticket).
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NPR: Election 2008 - National Public Radio
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Of course, civics and government teachers focus on Presidential elections past and present and will find this site quite useful. Other teachers who regularly do "current events" discussions can also find simple, direct, and up-to-date information that can be used to inform, debate, or share on an interactive whiteboard. Make this site a Favorite and share it on your teacher web page for students to use for research on individual candidate platforms. Encourage students to check the site regularly for updates. Use it to help students stage a mock debate or mock election.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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State of Alabama - Alabama.gov
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Share this site with students researching information for state reports. Rather than having students create traditional reports, replace these by making them online! Use PicLits, reviewed here. Take student learning a step further by modifing and having students use a tool such as Zeemaps, reviewed here. This site allows students to create audio recordings AND choose a location on a map (Alabama) where the report takes place. Explore the site with students when learning about different states, ask students to tell what they know then compare to information provided on the site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Newsy - newsy.com
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
This site is ideal for your interactive whiteboard or projector, learning station, or on individual computers (with headsets). Use this site to keep your students up to date on current events. Have students compare the different versions of the same news stories to try and ferret out the facts and the way points of view affect reporting. Project the scripts on an interactive whiteboard to have students highlight language choices that provide a certain slant. ESL/ELL students will benefit from listening to the short news clips and being able to see the transcript of the report. Have your ESL/ELL students write their own comprehension questions and answers based on the podcast to check their own comprehension and to exchange with classmates. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here) to compare the differences in two newspapers' versions of the same news. Have ESL/ELL students present the news from a newspaper familiar to them if possible by having them prepare an introduction and questions. Learning support students can use the transcripts and videos in combination to understand and report weekly current events assignments for social studies class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Prezi - Prezi
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
You could map your entire lesson, chapter or unit in one Prezi. Once you introduce the concept with this tool, you can go back to it often with your students as you move to different parts of the unit. It would provide a great way to connect prior knowledge with the next step if you share this on your interactive whiteboard or projector throughout the unit. Or you could post it to your web page or give kids the URL so they can review as often as they need it. Try having the students map a concept or chapter with this tool. In history class, create timelines of relevant events, or in science or math class have them map steps in a process. Have students create Prezis for different events, and then have them post the link to their product on a class blog or wiki. Add a peer review component and require students to comment on at least two other Prezis. The possibilities are endless!If you have gifted students n your class, offer Prezi as one alternative for sharing extensions to the regular curriculum. If they already know the material, have them investigate a related process or example and share it in the form of a Prezi.
Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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Civil War Time-Line - A Nation Divided - The History Place
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site for research about the Civil War. Have cooperative learning groups research various battles of the Civil War. Or have students create their own interactive timelines using a tool such as Preceden, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Grading on a Curve - New York Times
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Though a bit outdated for a current events class, this would be a great lesson in a US government class looking at the Presidency of George H.W. Bush. Save this lesson as a favorite on your desktop to allow for easy retrieval later on - though be sure to look closely at the lesson and make sure that students have learned enough of the contextual information to be able to make sense of the article. For differentiation, peruse the article before-hand, creating a list of words that students may have trouble with or may not be familiar with. Create a follow-along for the article, defining those words selected to help students as they read. This will allow lower achieving readers to be able to process the information more efficiently and with more comprehension.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The life of Abraham Lincoln - History Place
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Have students recreate their own "Lincoln timeline" highlighting one are of Lincoln's life and legacy. Have students work in cooperative learning groups to create interactive timelines using a tool such as Preceden, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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