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Teaching Copyright - Electronic Frontier Foundation
Grades
6 to 12
3 Favorites
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Scroll to find the menu on the left side of this page, and find five lessons for students to review what they know about plagiarism and copyright and update it ...more
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Scroll to find the menu on the left side of this page, and find five lessons for students to review what they know about plagiarism and copyright and update it to include aspects of copying in the digital age. In addition to the history of copyright (with application to proper documentation and annotation), students learn about concepts such as fair use, free speech, peer-to-peer file sharing, and the public domain. The most in-depth portions are definitions and history of copyright, the concepts of fair use and stakeholders, and finally, contemporary explanations of the interpretation of copyright today including material on the internet. The lessons include Notes for the Educator, Assessment, Extension Ideas, Objectives, and many other possible resources. Each lesson varies slightly in the additions.
In the Classroom
Use when teaching essay writing and how to cite sources. Plan a unit on plagiarism using the resources on this site or incorporate them into your existing research units. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students do the activities on this site independently or in small groups. The culminating activity here is a trial; plan to use this with the entire class with each member having a distinct role.
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NetSmartz Workshop - National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
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Use this website to help students of all ages learn to be safe online and in the real world. Included are short video clips that are sure to catch ...more
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Use this website to help students of all ages learn to be safe online and in the real world. Included are short video clips that are sure to catch the student's interest along with plans for class discussions and activities. See the various topics under "choose an Issue" lower on the page. Activity cards and safety pledges are available in Spanish. There is a very rich collection of information here.
In the Classroom
If you know you will be using the Internet during class or assigning it for outside work, consider sharing some of the safety lessons ahead of time using a projector, especially with elementary and middle school students. Secondary English, information literacy, or computer teachers should consider requiring teens to report on an Internet safety topic as a research project as you are trying to both teach and USE research skills. This site could be a good topic-finder and starting point.Provide a link on your teacher web page to give parents a resource for talking about Internet safety with their children at home. Bookmark this site on a classroom computer for students to visit when they have free time.
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Guide to British Life, Culture and Customs - Mandy Barrow
Grades
3 to 8
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This website provides a one-stop adventure for anyone wishing to learn more about Great Britain. There are over 1500 pages of information and activities - all "kid-friendly", entertaining...more
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This website provides a one-stop adventure for anyone wishing to learn more about Great Britain. There are over 1500 pages of information and activities - all "kid-friendly", entertaining and educational. You will find information about British culture, history, flags, education, daily life, climate and weather, government, the royal family and more. There are also links available to classroom activities to use while teaching students about Great Britain. These activities include WebQuests, "Winnie the Pooh" adventures, comparisons of Great Britain to various states in the USA and other countries throughout the world, worksheets, interactive activities and other learning adventures. A true inspiration for your students is the fact that much of the content was created by students aged 7-11. Some of the activities require FLASH, get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom
So many famous people and inventions are from Great Britain - J.K. Rowling, Shakespeare, the hovercraft vehicle, Darwin, Newton and countless others. If your class is learning about these famous people or inventions, use this website to further enhance their understanding of the people, inventions and culture of Great Britain.As you study about what unites cultures into communities and countries, ask your class what they would include if they made a similar site about the city, state, or country where you teach. Use a wiki to start just such a site, including digital pictures. You can always start out simple and make a guide to your school itself -- including playground etiquette and favorite foods.
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Center for Character & Social Responsibility - Boston University
Grades
1 to 12
5 Favorites
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The Center for Character & Social Responsibility at Boston University has created a character education site that is both successful and apolitical. This page offers an introduction...more
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The Center for Character & Social Responsibility at Boston University has created a character education site that is both successful and apolitical. This page offers an introduction to what character education is and is not, along with resources for further exploration. Parents and teacher alike will find the information useful as a guideline for integrating character education into other curricula and activities.
Be sure to click Resources on the right menu to find lesson plans
In the Classroom
Find several lesson plans for stories such as Charlotte's Web, The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe, among others in PDF format.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Starfall - Starfall Education
Grades
K to 3
4 Favorites
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Find interactive reading activities for emergent/beginning readers at Starfall. It combines instruction in letter-sound relationships, word recognition skills, and reading comprehension...more
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Find interactive reading activities for emergent/beginning readers at Starfall. It combines instruction in letter-sound relationships, word recognition skills, and reading comprehension strategies. Seasonal activities can also be found on the main page. The four "levels" of reading at Starfall include "ABCs," "Learn to Read," "It's Fun to Read," and "I'm Reading." There is also a premium option, this review is only for the free interactives. The app (available on iOs, Google Play and Kindle Fire) offers more free intereactives than the web version.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
This website could be used for an entire class using your interactive whiteboard or projector. You could also set up a learning center for use during your L.A. block. Use this site to differentiate reading levels for your students. Be certain to save this site in your class favorites and list this site on your class website for students to access both in and out of the classroom.
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A Victorian Christmas - Malcolm Warrington
Grades
4 to 8
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Give students a taste of the Victorian celebration with this site showing greeting cards from the Victorian era, and explaining the Victorian origins of many of today's Christmas traditions....more
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Give students a taste of the Victorian celebration with this site showing greeting cards from the Victorian era, and explaining the Victorian origins of many of today's Christmas traditions. We wish the images were bigger, but this is a nicely designed introduction to Victorian celebrations.
In the Classroom
Use this website during a unit on Christmas or Victorian history. Enhance learning and allow ESL/ELL students to try using Text to Speech Reader, reviewed here, which will allow these students to follow the highlighted text as the article or passage is read to them. Consider extending learning by having students create their own online Victorian "albums" using a tool such as MyScrapNook, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Letter Writing Generator - Read Write Think (Iron Monkey Interactive)
Grades
3 to 8
2 Favorites
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Despite text messaging, the formal letter still has its place in our world. Students write either a business or friendly letter through the prompts of this interactive tool. ...more
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Despite text messaging, the formal letter still has its place in our world. Students write either a business or friendly letter through the prompts of this interactive tool. While generating their letter, they also learn the five parts of the letter and punctuation clues. Along the process, prompts ask for the needed information. When finished, print a well-formed letter. The online tool supplies the format; the student still must supply the words.
In the Classroom
Note: the tool does NOT save letters, so allow enough time to complete the activity and print before closing the site. Teachers, you may want to print out the 'addressing an envelope' tip sheet. This activity would work well in a letter writing computer center on a single classroom computer or cluster, or as a whole class activity in the computer lab. High school teachers, don't be shy to use this online tool for a refresher course on the rudiments of letter writing, perhaps to thank teachers for recommendation letters! Even though it may be geared for upper elementary use, your students will benefit from generating letters through prompts.
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Proverbia.net - Vicent Jorda
Grades
3 to 12
6 Favorites
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Finally, a rich resource of proverbs to use for classroom bulletin boards, quotes of the day, and, most importantly: teaching figurative language and idioms. Find proverbs alphabetically,...more
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Finally, a rich resource of proverbs to use for classroom bulletin boards, quotes of the day, and, most importantly: teaching figurative language and idioms. Find proverbs alphabetically, by topic, or by author. Click for the Spanish version of the site, as well. Spanish teachers will love this way of teaching the nuances of the language. If you teach about Ben Franklin, you could spend a full class on his proverbial sayings found here. ESL/ELL students will benefit from exposure to the idioms included in the proverbs, as well.
In the Classroom
Ask students to find three proverbs unknown to them and explain them visually on a PowerPoint slide (can easily be printed into a big book or poster). Feature a proverb a week in your classroom or on a bulletin board to build analogous thinking, cultural literacy, and inferencing skills as you ask students to explain what it means. This will gently ease your concrete thinkers into broader understanding.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Story of Epic Proportions - National Endowment for the Humanities
Grades
6 to 8
1 Favorites
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Find out about the history, heroes, and patterns behind the epic poem, with this middle-school level lesson. Students can learn to recognize the epic hero cycle, and the patterns and...more
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Find out about the history, heroes, and patterns behind the epic poem, with this middle-school level lesson. Students can learn to recognize the epic hero cycle, and the patterns and events characteristic of this genre. The lesson also introduces students to the mnemonic devices used by generations of storytellers to help with recall of long and often complicated tales. Includes downloadable worksheets, a glossary of literary terms, and ideas for lesson extensions. Aligned to Standards.
In the Classroom
What would an epic poem of the 21st century look like? Challenge students to write and 'perform" their own epic work based on the characteristics and patterns uncovered in the lesson.
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New Year's Resolutions - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
4 to 12
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As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for New Years. Find interactive vocabulary activities using the New Year's...more
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As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for New Years. Find interactive vocabulary activities using the New Year's Resolutions vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.
In the Classroom
Share the puzzles on your interactive whiteboard or projector or make them available as links on your teacher public page. Replace pen and paper and have students write a blog entry about their New Year's Resolution using 6-10 of the words from this theme. Use Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph a unique URL is provided, and you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or X (formerlyTwitter) links. If you'd like to make this a bit more challenging, modify learning by encouraging students (or groups) to create their own illustrated dictionaries of terms using a tool such as Book Creator, reviewed here, or Bookemon, reviewed here. As you add more vocabulary lists during the year, have them select their favorite 6-10 terms from each list to add to their "book."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Robert Munsch Poems & Stories - Robert Munsch
Grades
K to 5
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Beloved children's author Robert Munsch offers many of his stories/books here in audio. Just click on the cover of the book you want to hear. You can then either listen ...more
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Beloved children's author Robert Munsch offers many of his stories/books here in audio. Just click on the cover of the book you want to hear. You can then either listen or download it to listen to later. You will also find an explanation from the author about how the book came to be. All students, including ESL students, will enjoy hearing these stories.
In the Classroom
Set up these recordings as a center with the book at hand and headphones for your students. Or play them for the whpoole class with your speakers turned up after lunch or at the end of the day. Include the link on your teacher web page and newsletter for parents, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mother's Day Crafts and Children's Activities - DLTK
Grades
K to 3
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DLTK has created this website that features crafts, songs, cards, poems, puzzles, interactive games, recipes, language arts activities, themed writing paper, and more. Some of the activities...more
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DLTK has created this website that features crafts, songs, cards, poems, puzzles, interactive games, recipes, language arts activities, themed writing paper, and more. Some of the activities require Flash which is not supported in all browsers.
In the Classroom
Take advantage of these ready to go resources. Share the puzzles and educational activities on an interactive whiteboard or projector. In art class, try some of the crafts. Challenge students to write their own poems to their mothers. Modify classroom technology use by having students narrate a photo of their mother (or another influential female in their lives) using PowerPoint Online, reviewed here.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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Mix - StumbleUpon
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Are you looking for some of the best content on the web? Use Mix to browse and search for information based on your interests and those of like-minded people. ...more
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Are you looking for some of the best content on the web? Use Mix to browse and search for information based on your interests and those of like-minded people. Mix imports content from news sources, popular blogs, and additional world-wide resources. The more you browse and save material, the more Mix will refine its understanding of what you like. Create collections by adding information found on the site or by keeping links to web content found as you browse the Internet. Use Mix's web browser extension to save URL's to collections with just one click. When ready to share your collection, use the share icon to copy the link, send via email, or share on social media.
In the Classroom
Use Mix for your personal research and professional development. Visit Mix occasionally to find new ideas and new sites for teaching. Create and share collections of websites to share with students for use with research projects. For example, as you prepare to teach a science unit on plants, create a collection containing news articles, explainer sites, and online games for students to use as a virtual resource for supplementing classroom lessons. Include documents, slide presentations, and more from your Google Drive for student access from any device. Another use of Mix is to create collections when teaching students how to evaluate online resources. Create a collection from a variety of different resources based on the same topic and ask students to reflect upon the validity of the information and the source. Ask them to use a presentation tool like Sway, reviewed here, to share their findings by including links to the information along with supporting evidence. Another idea for using Mix is for students to create collections to share as part of multimedia projects as a virtual bibliography. In addition to websites shared, ask them to add their written work, images, or other creations. Mix is an excellent tool for creating an online portfolio for students to use when applying to college. Show students how to easily create new collections using their work, but personalized to individual college applications.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Dickens and Christmas - David Perdue
Grades
7 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Charles Dickens had a profound influence on the way we celebrate Christmas today. This informative site details the revival of Christmas during Victorian times, draws connection to...more
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Charles Dickens had a profound influence on the way we celebrate Christmas today. This informative site details the revival of Christmas during Victorian times, draws connection to many Dickens' novels, and explains several significant themes evident in A Christmas Carol.
In the Classroom
Use this website as a tool during a unit on Christmas or Charles Dickens. Divide students into small groups or pairs to read the information on this page. The text might be challenging for some students. Pair weak readers with a strong reader. Exchange paper and pencil and instruct students to use Webnote, reviewed here, to take online "sticky notes" for the important information they learn. If some of the passages are difficult, even for the strong reader, have them use Rewordify, reviewed here, to replace the difficult text shown with easier to understand words. Be sure to tell students to use Webnote (mentioned above) to make a sticky for the difficult word or phrase and it's definition, or easier wording. Allow ESL/ELL students to try using Text to Speech Reader, reviewed here, which will allow these students to follow the highlighted text as the article or passage is read to them.Redefine learning and challenge students to create a multimedia presentation around a theme from Dickens using one of the TeachersFirst Edge reviewed multimedia tools. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Canva Infographic, Lucidpress, Powtoon, and MoocNote.
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Handwriting Worksheet Maker - Tampareads.com
Grades
K to 4
3 Favorites
0 Comments
This incredible tool makes handwriting worksheets. Users have the choice of creating basic print, D'Nealian style or cursive. The user writes in the words for the worksheet and ...more
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This incredible tool makes handwriting worksheets. Users have the choice of creating basic print, D'Nealian style or cursive. The user writes in the words for the worksheet and then they can print the document.
In the Classroom
Utilize this creative tool to make customized handwriting papers for your class! Use passages from stories you have just read, sentences your class composes on science or social studies topics (maybe on your whiteboard?), or trade off poems that your own students write to make handwriting practice more meaningful in context.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Word Clouds for Kids - ABCya.com
Grades
K to 7
10 Favorites
0 Comments
This word cloud generator is made specifically for children. This site takes any text and creates a "word cloud" (graphical display) of the words in a passage of text. The ...more
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This word cloud generator is made specifically for children. This site takes any text and creates a "word cloud" (graphical display) of the words in a passage of text. The most frequent words appear larger. Paste in any passage or grouping of text to create a word cloud of the text. Students can choose their own colors, type of display, font, and the final cloud can be printed or saved.
In the Classroom
This is a great visual tool to use. Take a poll and have your students type their answers into the word cloud builder. Then display on an interactive whiteboard or projector and see which answer was the most popular. Use this site as a way to help students see and memorize text, especially visual learners. Use it also when writing poetry or to "see" themes of repeated words and images. Have students paste in their own writing to spot repeated (and monotonous) language when teaching lessons on word choice. Students will be surprised to see what words appear to be dominant. Have students work in groups to create word posters of vocabulary words with related meanings, such as different ways to say "walk" or "said" and decorate your classroom with these visual reminders of the richness of language.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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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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Popcorn! - The Popcorn Board
Grades
1 to 6
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Popcorn! offers a bowlful of information on that universally-loved food. Not only does it list the history behind the food, but it provides games, trivia, arts and crafts, printables,...more
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Popcorn! offers a bowlful of information on that universally-loved food. Not only does it list the history behind the food, but it provides games, trivia, arts and crafts, printables, reading and math lessons, science and health lessons and a booklist dedicated to the topic of...POPCORN! Who knew there were so many children's books based on this simple treat?
In the Classroom
The site can also be incorporated into social studies and history for the many uses of popcorn by various cultures. For example, include the site in a Thanksgiving unit. Follow the seed to plant information for a life cycle unit in science. Add it to a health curriculum under healthy eating habits and food groups. Do not forget to check out the worksheets and lessons for math and reading.
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Help Teens Be Savvy Surfers - American Library Association
Grades
6 to 12
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This pdf file, organized by the American Library Association, lists sites to help teens evaluate websites, stay safe while using the internet,keep up with new offerings and technology...more
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This pdf file, organized by the American Library Association, lists sites to help teens evaluate websites, stay safe while using the internet,keep up with new offerings and technology (like blogs), and do research and citations correctly. This is an excellent overall compilation done by professionals in the library field and is a good source for instructors as well as students. You MUST have Acrobat Reader to open this site. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom
A great resource for teachers to use with technology-wild students who need to use solid evaluation criteria to ground their internet usage decisions. You can print out the file as a handout or use the links as part of an activity prior to starting a research project.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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