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ALA Editors' Choice - Amer. Library Assoc.
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
Share this site with students who are looking for their next book to read. ALA Booklist is always up to date with the most recently published books!You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Instant Classroom Seating Chart - Instant Classroom
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Use this site at the beginning of the year to create a seating chart for your classroom. Use the drag and drop technology to configure the desks the way you want them. Use the Random Name Generator to choose a student for an activity or to answer a question. If you need to create groups of 2, 3 or more, use the Classroom Group Maker to automatically split your class into even groups.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
4 to 10In the Classroom
Use this site to reinforce and support vocabulary as you study MLK Jr. Share the word puzzles on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students create their own word activities from the same vocabulary list, such as matching or ranking challenges for their peers to try on the interactive whiteboard.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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allwritewithme - Diane Owens
Grades
3 to 7In the Classroom
Emphasize what you have presented or want to review in writing concept mini lessons. Reluctant writers as well as enthusiastic writers can gleam ideas to start writing, as well as several ideas for writing prompts. Share this site on your class website for students who need extra reinforcement with writing concepts at home or students who love to go beyond and dig deeper into writing. Part of the site includes an area to continue the started story. Be sure to monitor closely since not all posts appear to be part of the topic. Use this site as an example of ways to continue writing workshop ideas onto your own classroom blog. Share your class stories using a site such as Bookemon, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Do Try This at Home: Invention at Play - Smithsonian Museum of National History
Grades
K to 6In the Classroom
Create a link to the site on classroom computers for students to explore the games. Share the site with parents on your classroom website or blog as a resource for using play as a learning tool. Share the site at conferences or parent meetings as a resource for developing learning skills through play. Include the inventor biographies as a resource for students when researching inventors.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Book Wizard - Scholastic
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Teachers, make sure your librarian and even parents know about this wonderful web tool. This could be set up as the homepage for several computers in the library, so students can plug in their levels, their interests, and then enjoy the book recommendations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ScribbleMaps - Scribble Maps
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Students and teachers will want to keep a written record or map URLS and passwords for future reference. Model this for students so they do not lose hours of work! Teachers can prepare partially-made maps or maps for students to make corrections and changes by giving the students the URL, then having them SAVE the map with a NEW ID. To SAVE the map with a new name and URL, click "Save map" in the menu, then enter your OWN map ID. Students could use a code including their initials, such as SJ12-3-09 for a map made by Sally Jones on Dec 3, 2009. Teachers should PASSWORD protect their originals so changes can only be saved under a new name. Similarly, if a student saves the map with a map password, they don't have to worry about other students vandalizing their work. But they DO need to remember the password! Wise teachers will keep a class list of maps and passwords for forgetful students! In primary grades, make maps of your local community together on your interactive whiteboard as you teach basic map skills. Create your own "key" with symbols you choose for playgrounds, etc. Have students help map locations of favorite playgrounds, grandparents' houses, stores, etc. as they gain basic understanding of map skills. Make sure you allow students to operate the tools! Save the map and share it as a link from your class web site (or embed it there). Keep names generic so it is "safe." Other ideas to challenge gifted student beyond the curriculum or elevate challenge for small groups include: natural resource maps, immigration maps, maps of civil war battles day by day, maps of key sites in the life of a famous person, artist, or author, maps of the settings in a novel, landform maps of a continent or state, "My life" maps of places important to an elementary student's family, annotated watershed maps of pollution sources, maps of the water cycle, maps of constellations in the night sky created by students to demonstrate understanding, maps of a dream community to be built in a vacant area (desert), including the water sources, etc. that will be needed, maps of a redesigned city/town on top of its current map. Teachers can provide map challenges or templates to be completed or corrected, including maps where students must label distances and cardinal directions between points (using map scale and skills). Or provide a teacher-created map with labels in the wrong places for students to correct the landforms, resources, etc. What will YOU do with Scribble Maps?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lazy Readers' Book Club - Dr. Danny Brassell
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site to encourage reluctant readers to choose their own short books with subjects that interest them! For children who can't choose, encourage them to use the "Random Shuffle" feature. Share the link on your teacher web page for students and parents ot access from home. Start a "Lazy Readers" club in your own classroom, with students writing reviews you can post on a bulletin board or a reading wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lexile - MetaMetrics, Inc.
Grades
K to 12Registration is free. An email address is required, as is some other information. Some materials on this site require Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
Another helpful resource in understanding Lexile levels is this pdf comparison chart from Harcourt (opens in Acrobat Reader).
In the Classroom
Make Lexiles one of the tools you use to make reading a positive experience for your students. The more you know about the student and the actual content of the books, the more helpful the Lexiles can be in assisting a match. If your school reports data to parents using Lexile scoring, download the white papers to give to them at conferences to explain Lexile scores in 'parent friendly' language. Include this link on your classroom web page. If your students know their Lexile level, you will want Lexile levels on your classroom library materials so students can match a book to both their reading level and their interests. As an FYI, SOME books listed on Barnes and Noble's online site include Lexile levels in the descriptions (just after age level). Lexile connects to Barnes and Noble directly from this site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Headliners - Headliners/formerly Children's Express
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Use the stories to teach reading comprehension skills, especially inferencing, since American students will need to use context to figure out some of the terminology and background written by British students. Try projecting a story and asking student how to find context clues to explain what the story is about. If you have an interactive whiteboard or projector use the tools to mark clues. Then use these stories as models for writing activities on topics that matter to your students. You may want to create a guided reading activity using Read Ahead, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Visual Thesaurus Vocab Grabber - Thinkmap,Inc.
Grades
3 to 12There are additional features if you choose to subscribe, particularly the Visual Thesaurus interactive word maps, which can be saved and printed, and an online edition in multiple languages for English-speaking students learning other languages and ESL/ELL students.
In the Classroom
Teachers and students can use the VocabGrabber on an interactive whiteboard, projector, or individual computers to highlight vocabulary specific to a literary work or curricular subject area, to improve reading comprehension by choosing key concepts and literary terms, and to build background knowledge for a given text. As an added benefit, have students click on the VocabGrabber when typing their own assignments such as a poem or an essay, to avoid repeating the same word. They simply type in a word and generate a list of synonyms and more descriptive words. VocabGrabber enables students to see how words are used in context, instead of memorizing word lists. Additionally, VocabGrabber is extremely helpful for students preparing for standardized tests. Be sure to include this site on your class web page for students to access both in and outside of class for further practice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Baseball Season - MyVocabulary.com
Grades
4 to 10In the Classroom
Share the puzzles on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students work with a partner to try out the puzzles on their own. Have students (or groups) create their own word puzzles to share as a class challenge as a student-run interactive whiteboard activity or share them on a class wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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PBS Arthur - PBS
Grades
K to 3In the Classroom
Make sure you click the 'Parents and Teachers' link at the bottom left column of the homepage to find lesson plans, activities, book lists, and more. Nearly all of these activities are ideal for an interactive whiteboard or projector. When reading Arthur books in your classroom, extend the learning through these activities. From healthy eating tips to Arthur Trivia, the possibilities at this website are endless.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Symbaloo EDU - Symbaloo BV
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Be sure to know the URL's of the resources you are planning to share or have them open in other tabs to copy/paste. To share you must be able to copy/paste URLs (web addresses). Have older students create their own webmixes, but this resource is best used as a teacher sharing tool for sharing links, RSS feeds, and other resources for students to use in specific projects or as general course links. If shared with the world, the webmix can be viewed by others and is public.Create a webmix of the most used sites for your class and first demonstrate how the webmix works on a projector or interactive whiteboard if you have special instructions or color coding for its use. Some examples include links to copyright free images, online textbooks, or online tools such as Google Drive/Docs, Google Drawings, Prezi, and more. Link to teacher web pages, webquests, resource sites for your subject, and any other resource that is helpful for students. Consider creating a login for the whole class to update with suggestions from class members. Use this AS your class website. Color code the tiles on a webmix for younger, non-reader, or ESL/ELL students. For example, color each subject differently from the others. Differentiate by color coding varying levels of skills practice at a classroom computer center or to distinguish homework practice sites from in-class sites. Differentiate difficulty levels using the various colors enabling you to list resources for both your learning support students and gifted students and all in between. Use color to organize tools for different projects or individual students. You may want to share Symbaloo EDU with parents at Back to School Night and the color-coding system for differentiation. This will help parents (and students) find what sites are ideal for their levels. Be sure to link or embed your webmix on a computer center in your room for easy access. Share a review site webmix for parents and students to access at home before tests, as well. Team up with other teachers in your subject/grade to create chapter by chapter webmixes for all your students. If you are just starting with Symbaloo, this is a simple way to differentiate, however, Symbaloo now has a Lesson Plans tool (also called Learning Paths), reviewed here, to help you differentiate for individual or groups of students.
Challenge your gifted students to curate and collaborate on their own webmixes as a curriculum extension activity on topics such as climate change or pros and cons of genetically engineered food. They can use color coding to sort sites by bias (or neutrality) as well as to group subtopics under the overall theme. Use the student-made webmixes with other students to raise the overall level of discussion in your class or as an extra credit challenge. If you embed the webmix in a class wiki, all students can respond with questions and comments for the gifted students to moderate and reply, creating a student-led community of learners.
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The Classroom Easter Egg Hunt - Education World
Grades
K to 5In the Classroom
This lesson is perfect for the ESL, ELL, or foreign language classes. Have students work with a partner and try this activity.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Everyday Mysteries - Library of Congress
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Use as a reference to answer questions that students have. Use this site to also apply information learned in the classroom. For example, when discussing light energy and wavelengths, use the explanation of why it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter to apply the information about energy and wavelength. Follow the use of this site with related labs and other activities. Follow up also with more research. For example, after learning about how an hour glass works, research, report, or create other timepieces used throughout history focusing on the advantages and disadvantages as well as the limitations and changes in technology over time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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St. Patrick's Day Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Use these resources to connect St. Patrick's Day to your curriculum in almost any subject or select one or two ideas to highlight along with your regular lessons. Give new meaning to "going green"!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Comics and Cartoons Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Choose a comic creator tool for students to use in your class to reinforce curriculum concepts. With younger students or those who need examples, create the first comic(s) together on interactive whiteboard or projector as a closure activity to reinforce concepts before a test. Gradually allow students to create their own comics (or collections of comics) to tell stories, review concepts, or make political comments. More techno-savvy students will appreciate the variety of tool options offered here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Vacations - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
3 to 9In the Classroom
Share the puzzles on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students work with a partner to try out the puzzles on their own. Have students (or groups) create their own word puzzles to share as a class challenge as a student-run interactive whiteboard activity or share them on a class wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Americas Award for Children and Young Adult Literature - CLASP
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free unit plans and classroom activities within the "resources" section of the page. Explore through these resources to find one to add a multicultural perspective to your history or language arts class. Be sure to save the site as a favorite to allow for easy reference later on. Try using Raindrop.io, reviewed here for this purpose.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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