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Monster Mash - Cara Bafile
Grades
3 to 12
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Students play inventor or entrepreneur and create a "monster mash" in this open-ended, creative activity. A detailed lesson plan, standards and an assessment are provided. ...more
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Students play inventor or entrepreneur and create a "monster mash" in this open-ended, creative activity. A detailed lesson plan, standards and an assessment are provided.
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Skype - Skype Technologies S.A.
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Every teen and college student knows Skype, the free tool for making calls from computer to computer anywhere in the world. By downloading and installing free software and setting up...more
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Every teen and college student knows Skype, the free tool for making calls from computer to computer anywhere in the world. By downloading and installing free software and setting up a free account, you can talk and/or make a video call to a similarly equipped computer elsewhere in the world for free. Skype uses a lot of "bandwidth" so is not suitable for very slow networks. It may also be slow at high-traffic times on a good network. Some patience and pretesting is required before you can be sure it will work for your needs. Connect to classrooms, experts, authors, virtual special speakers, or interview subjects using Skype.
In the Classroom
Download and install the Skype software. If you are not allowed to install software on school computers, ask to have a single laptop available that is Skype-capable so you can borrow it or else explain to your principal that you are planning a series of Skype visits in your classroom so your techies will install it in your classroom. You will need a computer with built-in or separate microphone and speakers and optional webcam. If you plan to use a webcam, you must know how to start it. A single teacher-controlled Skype account will work in most school settings.If you prefer written directions go to More >> Get Help, and then slide to Skype Support to get started. Or ask a student to show you (without seeing your password). You will need to explore the tools in Skype to locate where to enter the SKYPE name of the person you wish to call, start the call, and answer calls. Do NOT set your copy of Skype to "remember me" on a school computer! If students are to participate in the Skype call, you may want to have a "hot seat" at the Skyping computer so they can sit at a mike so their questions will pick up better for the person at the other end.
Be sure to set Skype so it does not open every time you start up the computer. Manually start the program when needed and do not leave an obvious Skype icon on the desktop for "clever" students to find. Protect your password -- do not post it on the computer. A teacher-controlled account is best for Skype classroom use to prevent unauthorized calls by students. Your user name will show on the screen for students to see, so be aware of that when you create your account.
Anything you can do by telephone or video call you can do on a projector with your entire class. Connect the Skyping computer to a projector or whiteboard for the entire class to see if you are using video. (The video may be fuzzy, but good enough to follow a person's face.) Use Skype to talk to authors (check out their web sites or this blog for contact information). Have students write questions in advance. Use your contacts, web page "contact us" emails, and parent contacts to find others willing to Skype into your classroom. Interview scientists or government officials, deployed military personnel, or classes far away in a different culture or language. Younger students can compare weather, family life, community events, and more.
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Flashcard Exchange - Tuolumne Technology Group,
Grades
1 to 12
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Creating one's own flashcard sets, saving them, and accessing sets already available are only a few of the many options of this comprehensive site. Although there is a fee for ...more
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Creating one's own flashcard sets, saving them, and accessing sets already available are only a few of the many options of this comprehensive site. Although there is a fee for full membership, many options are free on the site. To print out flash cards, participants must join, but studying online is a free option.
In the Classroom
Allow groups of students to create card sets for the class to study for tests (using your free account). With just one classroom computer, you can allow students to take turns practicing with the card set. Have a contest or rotate the chance to make the study cards for each quiz or test. This will build study skills for all. If you haev access to an interactive whiteboard, have students do a review session using your student-made or another premade card set on the board.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Classroom Jeopardy - superteachtools.com
Grades
K to 12
17 Favorites
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Looking for an easy to use free jeopardy game? Look no further than this site. Download the application for free or create the activity to be played online. View and ...more
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Looking for an easy to use free jeopardy game? Look no further than this site. Download the application for free or create the activity to be played online. View and try activities already created online. If you like your project you can save it to a folder on your computer. There is a short video in the "How To" section that will walk you through the process of making, saving, and playing a Flash Jeopardy game. Those of you who have used the PowerPoint Jeopardy will find this flash version much less time consuming to create and to recreate new Jeopardy games.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use this great resource to create Jeopardy games for any content area. This resource is perfect for use on an interactive whiteboard or projector with a student emcee. Use for vocabulary/terms, identifying parts of anything, and reviewing for any curriculum topic. Use as an opener to a unit to determine what students already know. Play as a review game to assist learning for all students. Encourage students to create the clues and answers to their own Jeopardy review games as a creative way to review and reinforce. Learning support teachers may want to have students create review games together.You or your students can copy and paste the HTML code for any game on your web page, wiki, or blog for easy access to any Flash Jeopardy Game.
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Search - Children's Book Council - Children's Book Council
Grades
1 to 12
1 Favorites
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This great site offers a helpful set of resources for parents, teachers, and librarians. There are lists of newly published books, links to ordering and other book-related resources,...more
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This great site offers a helpful set of resources for parents, teachers, and librarians. There are lists of newly published books, links to ordering and other book-related resources, and a list of "not to be missed" titles and authors for various grade levels. The resources are updated regularly, so there's always something fresh to offer to students or other teachers.
In the Classroom
Be sure to include this site on your teacher web page for students and parents to access to learn more about recommended reading lists. Use the site as a starting point for crafting summer reading lists or to design a reading challenge for your class. *Link*Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Livebinders - Livebinders, Inc.
Grades
2 to 12
5 Favorites
2 Comments
Compile and share information from all over the web -- and text and images you add -- with others by creating a Livebinder on a topic or theme. Add tabs ...more
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Compile and share information from all over the web -- and text and images you add -- with others by creating a Livebinder on a topic or theme. Add tabs with specific information, easily accessed across the top of the binder. Interested in sharing information in a new way? Check out this extremely easy and exceptional site that can easily manage digital clutter. Gather and organize links, videos, information, charts, news, etc. in one neat and organized binder. As you update your binder in the future, all your changes automatically show to everyone who accesses the binder by URL or embedded version. Binders can be public or password-protected ("private"), so use of copyrighted images is possible under Fair Use, as long as you limit access to your own students via password (they call it a "key").
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Once an account is created, add the bookmarklet to your browser bar for quick access. Check with your IT department to have the ability to download bookmarklets on your computer. Knowledge of embed codes are required to manage Livebinders in other sites. To get a better idea of Livebinder basics, watch the 90 second video tour before you "play."Click on "start a blank binder," enter a description, tags, category, and mark it private or public. Click yes to "use Google search to fill a binder" to find plenty of information fast. Your new binder will instantly be filled with a new tab for each site matching your search term. After entering "climate change," a new Livebinder was created with tabs that matched research I had previously spent a lot of time to find. Now it can be instantly shared. Click on "edit menu" in the upper right of your binder to change description, title, etc. as well as fonts, tabs, and other details. To share, click on share this binder along the bottom right to share by email, Facebook, Twitter, or embedding via link or embed code. Embed your Livebinder in a blog, wiki, or other site or provide the link for access by others.
Safety/Security: Users must be 13 years of age to create an account. Teachers can create an account and share Livebinders for student use at any age. Create a class account with a global login and password. Students use the same login to access the Livebinder and create tabs on various topics. As each collaborator would not be known, ask students to add initials to tabs they create so you know the source. Check your school policies on whether student work may be displayed online and what information is permitted, then enforce that policy with your students.
Create a Livebinder to assemble information and requirements for a student project. Make the Livebinder the actual ASSIGNMENT sheet. Use a new tab in the binder for each type of resource or topic of information. In English classes, use to offer spelling, writing, or grammar hints for students. Create a binder for specific sports teams that showcase team accolades, resources for increasing skills, or to create snack lists and travel information. Create a Livebinder for groups of students to plan or report on vacation plans, learn about cultures or countries, or maintain information for student projects. Students can use Livebinders to assemble information for group projects that can be discussed with the teacher to track progress. Consider creating a binder for assignments for students that focus on the use of information versus just the searching for the information. Any content or subject area can be easily managed by creating a Livebinder for student learning. Create an art or music gallery easily with a Livebinder. Use each tab of a Livebinder for each cell part necessary for the functioning of a cell. Create tabs in a binder for each battle or campaign in a specific war. Create a tab for each candidate in a specific election. Have students or student groups (13 and over) create Livebinder "tours" or annotated collections on a topic such as the pros and cons of organic foods, a cultural tour of a country, or applications of geometry in architecture. Of course their student-written annotations and commentary will be key to make these collections into meaningful products. They might even create tasks and questions for other students to try to learn about the topic.
If you are simply looking for a way to share technology-infused project assignments with students from grade 2 and up, a teacher-made Livebinder is an easy way to do it, and you can share the assignment with parents and learning support teachers by simply providing the URL.
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
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
Comments
I've used LIveBinder successfully at the 3rd/4th grade level to share web pages with students on specific subjects and topics. My students went back to the binders to read more, even when that unit was finished. I also create and fill binders as I am planning and gathering webpages as I plan my units.Linda, IL, Grades: 3 - 4
Takes some getting used to, instructions not as clear as they could be, but very helpful for sharing lots of resources that share a common theme.Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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ESL Reading Lessons - 5 Minute English
Grades
4 to 10
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This teaching site has a variety of short readings at various levels that could be useful in an ESL, ELL, special education, or regular ed classroom. Some of the topics ...more
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This teaching site has a variety of short readings at various levels that could be useful in an ESL, ELL, special education, or regular ed classroom. Some of the topics include sentences with grammar errors, students must figure out what is wrong with each sentence. This is excellent practice for any student learning proper grammar. True/ false comprehension questions follow the reading in most cases. Most of the answers are provided at the bottom of the website - so don't scroll too quickly. Before the reading begins, students can study difficult vocabulary words presented in an attractive format. There are full units (with many mini-lessons): grammar, reading, vocabulary, listening, pronunciation, and writing. Some of the listening activities require Flash; however the rest of the site does not, making this site worth your visit.
In the Classroom
Use this site if you want your students to do additional reading. Project the topic, story, and questions on an interactive whiteboard or projector for group discussion. Have your students make up their own questions to go with the site. Have your students write up a similar subject relevant to their own culture and present it, along with questions to check for comprehension. This is a fabulous site to list on your class website for students to use for at-home practice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Daily Lit - Daily Lit. LLC
Grades
8 to 12
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Daily Lit offers short clips of literature sent to you daily by email or by RSS feed. You can receive the episodes on a Blackberry, RSS reader, email, web-enabled cell ...more
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Daily Lit offers short clips of literature sent to you daily by email or by RSS feed. You can receive the episodes on a Blackberry, RSS reader, email, web-enabled cell phone, or any "connected" device. You students would find it "cool" to read their daily lit excerpt on the cell phones! Most offerings are classics and in the public domain, but some recent selections are available for free due to Creative Commons licenses. Most books are free but some have a charge. Since only a few pages arrive in your email at intervals you select, it takes quite a while to read a complete book. You do have the option of receiving another section when you finish your daily reading. Students can browse for books by category or search by title, author, etc. Currently hot titles are displayed on the home page. There is a Children's book category, as well, so you can have a daily reading "arrive" on your desktop RSS reader without using email, thrilling your young readers! There are also books written in various world languages.
Because this is a site for the general public, there may be some books with content not desirable for your classroom. Avoid sending students directly to the home page to see "Featured" books without previewing the page that day and/or announcing a policy about which books they are allowed to investigate.
RSS feed to a classroom RSS reader account such as Google Reader might be the safest way to control the content that "arrives" without safety/policy concerns. If you want students to receive emails from this site, check with your school's Acceptable Use Policy AND be sure to check with the parents! You may want to consider creating a Gmail account (rather than your personal or work email). 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.
Because this is a site for the general public, there may be some books with content not desirable for your classroom. Avoid sending students directly to the home page to see "Featured" books without previewing the page that day and/or announcing a policy about which books they are allowed to investigate.
RSS feed to a classroom RSS reader account such as Google Reader might be the safest way to control the content that "arrives" without safety/policy concerns. If you want students to receive emails from this site, check with your school's Acceptable Use Policy AND be sure to check with the parents! You may want to consider creating a Gmail account (rather than your personal or work email). 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
Suggest this site to advanced high school students who want to increase their knowledge of classical literature. Set up an RSS feed of a foreign language book to appear on your class web page or blog or even go to student cell phones: a new episode each day without ANY work by you! Use this also when teaching classic children's titles. Be sure to check with your principal and parents first to be sure receiving this type of email is OK with everyone. Have the pages sent to your RSS reader, personal or professional email address and share the pages with your students on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students create a class wiki to discuss the current class book being read or make comments on the class blog about the episode that day. In world language classes, this is an easy way to "prompt" a writing lesson IN the language for grammar and writing practice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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LearnEnglish Kids - British Council
Grades
3 to 12
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Here you will find a plethora of ESL, ELL and English language activities, each of which in turn has a plethora of its own activities! For example, the short story ...more
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Here you will find a plethora of ESL, ELL and English language activities, each of which in turn has a plethora of its own activities! For example, the short story about the magic carpet ride is like a picture book with animated characters, is interactive, and the story is read out loud. There are activities to print to go with the story, there are online interactive activities, and, even before the story begins, there is an interactive picture/word matching activity. Last, at the end of the story, is a short writing prompt. Wow! That was just one short story!
The categories on the site include "Play a game," "Print some activities to do," "Listen to a song," "Read a story," "Practice your writing," and "Find lots more activities." AND, each one of these categories is multi-leveled.
The categories on the site include "Play a game," "Print some activities to do," "Listen to a song," "Read a story," "Practice your writing," and "Find lots more activities." AND, each one of these categories is multi-leveled.
In the Classroom
This extensive site will make the life of the ESL, ELL, or remedial reading teacher so much easier! Though intended for ESL/ELL teachers, this site can be used by any teacher who is teaching elementary reading and writing. It would also be good for remedial readers. In some parts, i.e. the interactives, you may want to pair up a proficient reader with the ESL/ELL student or remedial reader. The reading of the stories could be done with a projector or interactive whiteboard for a small group or the whole class, and then small groups of students could brainstorm the writing prompts at the end on an interactive white board. Share some of the activities with parents, as well, for at home practice with ESL/ELL students and their family members. Be sure to include this link on your class website.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Write Comics - Write Comics
Grades
K to 12
8 Favorites
0 Comments
You can make your very own comic right now! At Write Comics, you will be able to create your own comics using the figures, backgrounds, animals, aliens, and dialogue bubbles, ...more
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You can make your very own comic right now! At Write Comics, you will be able to create your own comics using the figures, backgrounds, animals, aliens, and dialogue bubbles, supplied by Write Comics. This site is extremely easy to use. There is no need to sign up or register. Once you click Finish, you will receive a link. Go to your link and print your comic or upload it to your webpage.
In the Classroom
Create a comic to put on your website. Share this tool and the 10 Tips for Writing Good Comics with your students. You might want to use Write Comics to display the vocabulary word of the day, the math puzzle of the week, a concept your students are learning in social studies or science as an example and to engage students. Have students create comic strips for dialog-writing lessons, summarizing, predicting and retelling stories. Use comic strips for literature responses. For pre-reading students, create a comic of pictures and have students tell the story based on the pictures/scenes. It's a good idea to require students to create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. Make a class book of the comics created throughout the year. That book will become the most read classroom book of all in an elementary classroom. Use comics to show sequencing of events. When studying about characterization, create dialog to show (not tell) about a character. World language and ENL/ESL teachers can assign students to create dialog strips as an alternate to traditional written assessments. Have students share all of their comics on your interactive whiteboard or projector.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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QuickRubric - Clever Prototypes, LLC
Grades
K to 12
5 Favorites
0 Comments
Develop rubrics to assess what you expect students to learn with Quick Rubric. Registration is free and allows for saving the rubric. Click Create a Rubric and add a title, ...more
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Develop rubrics to assess what you expect students to learn with Quick Rubric. Registration is free and allows for saving the rubric. Click Create a Rubric and add a title, brief description, and the maximum and minimum scores. Describe your indicators, add descriptors, and even include standards. At any time during the formation of the rubric add columns and rows. Save and share via URL or printing. The ability to copy and modify a rubric from your account is a great time-saver.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use this online tool to create original rubrics before introducing a new project. Be sure to review the rubric with your students on a projector or interactive whiteboard, to be certain that they understand your expectations. As you approach the project deadlines, consider reviewing the rubric again having students mark or highlight key terms in the rubric that will help them get a better evaluation. Have a question and answer period at this time. Rubrics can be created for any task or project. For example, prepare rubrics for silent reading time, science labs, skills tasks in physical education, and all presentations. Visit Rubrics to the Rescue to see examples of topics and wording.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Best of the Year for Young Adults - American Library Association
Grades
7 to 12
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The American Library Association's annual listings of the best young adult fiction and non-fiction. You'll find listings for 2002 as well as several years prior. Find the good works...more
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The American Library Association's annual listings of the best young adult fiction and non-fiction. You'll find listings for 2002 as well as several years prior. Find the good works here.
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Books in Spanish: Children & Adolescents - California State Univ.
Grades
2 to 12
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The Barahona Center as CSU - San Marcos has created this listing of Spanish language books suitable for children and young people. Available in either English or Spanish, the site ...more
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The Barahona Center as CSU - San Marcos has created this listing of Spanish language books suitable for children and young people. Available in either English or Spanish, the site provides a searchable databse of hundreds of titles. Though the search interface is more complicated than necessary, this could be a rich resource for teachers working with Spanish-speaking or bilingual students.
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource in searching for books that could benefit your ELL classroom. Books are recommended in various reading levels, making it easier to find things to fit specific students in your class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Word Morph - WordPlays.com
Grades
6 to 12
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This challenging, interactive word game is more than a "just-for-fun" activity. Students must use strategy and vocabulary skills to make changes to a starting word - one letter at a...more
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This challenging, interactive word game is more than a "just-for-fun" activity. Students must use strategy and vocabulary skills to make changes to a starting word - one letter at a time - and form a new word. Each word morph can be solved in 10 moves or less, but must be completed within 5 minutes. A purposeful and competitive "filler" to add to a language arts class.
In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning station for students who may finish work early, and need something productive to do to avoid bothering other students. To make it competitive, keep a record board near the computer where students can log their high scores. Competing against each other may make students more interested to play for a new minutes at a time, and less likely to disturb others in testing situations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Poems = Word Comics - Austin Kleon
Grades
6 to 12
5 Favorites
0 Comments
Poems = Word Comics is the perfect venue to view poetry in an entirely new way and hook your students into creating poems. You won't hear any more moans and ...more
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Poems = Word Comics is the perfect venue to view poetry in an entirely new way and hook your students into creating poems. You won't hear any more moans and groans when you mention poetry workshop time. Many poems are like word comics, in that they jump from one image to another in a short amount of lines. Transform your poets into cartoonists by creating a comic strip of images on a page and using the artwork to propel text to convey a message. After all, communication is an art. Be careful, it may become addicting!
In the Classroom
Visual thinkers sometimes experience difficulty expressing their thoughts in words and when asked to write a poem, they literally fall apart. Poetry has images inherent in its form; therefore, spark your students' creativity by enabling them to think of a line in a poem as a frame in a cartoon. By jumping from image to image, the poem takes on a comic-like element, where the words and images are dependent upon each other. Rather than getting jammed up on words that rhyme, this approach offers a clever and amazing way to "write a poem." This activity would work well for pairing visual learners or artistically inclined students with the stronger writers in the class, or by using individual computers and modifying technology use to combine the Poems = Word Comics concept with Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here, to create professional looking poetic comics.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Spezify (beta) - Spezify
Grades
K to 12
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Get an overview of any web search visually using Spezify. Spezify is a search engine that provides both visual and verbal results for the search terms you enter. It pulls ...more
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Get an overview of any web search visually using Spezify. Spezify is a search engine that provides both visual and verbal results for the search terms you enter. It pulls in images from Flickr and anywhere on the web as well as print excerpts, and (coming soon) video. Click on the image or text box you wish to read just as you click on text in search results lists. Visually display the "big picture" on any topic. Searching "edison inventions" brings up pictures and articles for visual learners, ELL/ESL students, or non-readers to get the gist of the topic at a quick glance. Spezify also suggests possible additional search terms and related topics across the top of the page as white text within the narrow black stripe. If you click the plus sign (+) next to one of these terms, it will add that term to your search, narrowing the results. If you click on the word itself, Spezify will search that term instead (not adding it to your previous search). There does not appear to be any specific ranking (as Google has) or sorting of the results by reputation, popularity, etc. No "about" information is provided to explain how Spezify determines which results show first. The tool is still in beta and provides a way for you to provide feedback, as well. NOTE: as with any online image search, you should be careful what you enter as search terms, since Spezify will pull up images without any "filter."
In the Classroom
Use Spezify on an interactive whiteboard or projector as you introduce a new topic in science or social studies or when the class asks "What is ____?" . With very young students or non-readers, use Spezify to help them find information they can understand and to inspire them to try to read some of the short text excerpts alongside the images. Activate students' prior knowledge as they recognize the images and remark, "I didn't know Edison was the one who invented that!" Visually show the "big picture" on any topic. As you teach research skills, try a comparison of Spezify results with Google results for both functionality of the search engine and reputability of the results. NOTE: Preview any search terms you plan to display in class if the terms could possibly bring up inappropriate images. You may need to adjust your terms. Of course your students know what they are supposed to do if something inappropriate comes up when using a search themselves, right? If you have not discussed this, now is the time!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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All About Treasure Island
Grades
6 to 12
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This British site offers character and plot summaries, a biography (and more) of Robert Louis Stevenson, and a quiz and links for more information about his most famous work of ...more
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This British site offers character and plot summaries, a biography (and more) of Robert Louis Stevenson, and a quiz and links for more information about his most famous work of literature. The online full-text version to which this site links only works if you RIGHT click the link and say "open in new window." You web browser must support frames (most do) to view this site.
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Father Figure - Lesson to Honor - Education World
Grades
K to 12
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This site offers five "ready to go" lesson plans for Father's Day. Lessons include art, history, writing, and more. Standards are provided. There is also some general history of Father's...more
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This site offers five "ready to go" lesson plans for Father's Day. Lessons include art, history, writing, and more. Standards are provided. There is also some general history of Father's Day provided.
In the Classroom
Take advantage of these FREE lesson plans to honor the dads in your students' life.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fall Celebrations and Halloween - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
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Find resources and activities appropriate for Halloween or Fall Festivals in this collection from TeachersFirst. Most are appropriate for younger grades with a few ideas for secondary....more
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Find resources and activities appropriate for Halloween or Fall Festivals in this collection from TeachersFirst. Most are appropriate for younger grades with a few ideas for secondary.
In the Classroom
Use these resources to connect Halloween or Fall Festival to your curriculum in almost any subject or select one or two ideas to highlight along with your regular lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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International Children's Digital Library - University of Maryland
Grades
1 to 12
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Encourage your students to read with this extensive digital library that includes hundreds of books from all over the world, in their original languages. Browse the site by category,...more
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Encourage your students to read with this extensive digital library that includes hundreds of books from all over the world, in their original languages. Browse the site by category, title, author or location and prepare reading lists of your students. Establish a high-tech reading center by making this site available on classroom computers. Texts can be accessed using a basic (56K connection) or enhanced (high-speed connection) mode. A project of the University of Maryland and the Internet Archive.
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