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Detective Fiction: Focus on Critical Thinking - Yale University
Grades
5 to 7In the Classroom
Lesson Plan Four has complete directions for writing a detective fiction. Have students create a storyboard to help make the story creation go smoothly. Replace paper and pencil using a digital storyboard like the Story Map, reviewed here, or SuperNotecard, reviewed here. Then have students use Book Creator, reviewed here, to share their stories with peers and family. Remember to put student stories on your wiki or teacher website!You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Livebinders - Livebinders, Inc.
Grades
2 to 12This 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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I Write Like - Coding Robots
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use this online tool in a variety of ways. Treat your students to a fun, thought-provoking way for discovering which well known author their writing most resembles. It works like a charm for motivating students to complete their writing assignment in a timely fashion. On the flip side, as an assignment after reading a literary work by Poe, Shakespeare, Dickens, or others, challenge your students to write a piece that resembles that author's style and word choice. Currently the data base has 50 famous authors. No list is available, to enhance the intrigue and keep the fun. If students come across an author they aren't familiar with, have students research the individual.Also, give your students a "heads up" to let them know that teachers and universities book mark this and similar sites to catch plagiarism.
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ESL Reading Lessons - 5 Minute English
Grades
4 to 10In 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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Paragraph a Week - One Stop Teacher Shop
Grades
4 to 7In the Classroom
Have students publish their completed writings on the computer. Select a few students each week to share their ideas and successes! The program includes parent participation. Include the Prompt-of-the-Week link on your class webpage and save some trees! Or use the prompts on a class blog, asking students to respond there. Students and parents will love looking back over their progress through the year in this paper-free "portfolio" of progress.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ePals - ePals, Inc.
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
Navigating this site is rather simple. Simply scroll through the slide show at the top to find your area of interest: Collaboration Projects, Spark!Lab Invent It Challenge, etc. Parts of this site require log-in. Registration does require an email address. A lot of safety features are already put into place at this site. To learn more about the safety features at this site, check out the ePals webinar on YouTube link on the FAQ page.This site offers an amazing assortment of class activities and possibilities. Collaborate with schools in Africa (or 200 other countries) for a geography project. Have your students find ePals to correspond with and practice writing skills in English or in a language you are studying. Get additional ideas for projects, by visiting the "Projects" link or propose one of your own based on ideas from TeachersFirst suggestions you read in other reviews, lesson plans, and articles. After viewing one of the informative videos, challenge your students to study one of the topics available at this site and extend their learning by creating their own videos using Typito, reviewed here. Use a tool such as TeachersTube, to share the video clips, reviewed here.
Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
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
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Three Little Pigs - - Eva Skrampalova
Grades
4 to 8In the Classroom
Be sure to visit the helpful teacher's page. The page includes step-by-step directions, standards, hints for teachers and additional links. A well-detailed rubric is also included. Use this webquest as part of your unit on farm animals or use selected activities if you do not have time for the full webquest.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Write Comics - Write Comics
Grades
K to 12In 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 12This 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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Making Stopmotion Movies - Kevin Hodgson
Grades
2 to 8In the Classroom
Encourage your students to revise and edit their writing by turning their stories into stopmotion movies. Have students work in small groups to visually re-create events from their own writing. This will help develop stronger characters, dialogue, and draw attention to the elements of time and place. The planning sheets are a helpful tool to help students examine story structure and sequence. Alternatively, develop reading comprehension and fluency by asking students to re-create a fable or folktale. The new term for this is "Readers stopmotion." Teachers may want to be comfortable using a digital camera and movie making programs before embarking on this project."Challenge students to share their videos on a site such as TeacherTube reviewed here or post them on your class website. Get parent permission before posting any student work on this sharing site and check with your school administrator to be sure that your school allows students to post videos on-line. Teachers may want to be comfortable using a digital camera/webcam and movie making programs before embarking on this project.
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Father Figure - Lesson to Honor - Education World
Grades
K to 12In 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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Snoopy - United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
Grades
3 to 8In the Classroom
Have students utilize and manipulate comic strips for dialog-writing lessons, summarizing, predicting and retelling stories. Use comic strips for literature responses. School counselors will also like the Peanuts strips as conversation starters about feelings. You could even use an online comic strip maker, such as Make Beliefs Comix to create your own class or student comic strips after looking at some examples from Peanuts. Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to share the Fun and Games . Then have students work on individual computers or with a partner to try some of the educational activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Learn 2 Type
Grades
5 to 12Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Parts of Speech - University of Ottawa
Grades
6 to 9Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kids' Vid - Mike Keating
Grades
3 to 8In the Classroom
Start the activity by showing the student-produced videos on the web site. Use the resources on the site for a whole class jig-saw exercise. Assign small groups the task of learning one aspect of the process and then reporting and showing it to the rest of the class. Share the knowledge by creating working groups, which contain an expert from each aspect of the process. Use one of the many class ideas as practice activities for students to learn the finer points of video production before they start their masterpieces.Video is a great tool for authentic assessment - especially for ESL, ELL, and Special Education students. Think about letting each of your students create a short video about what they know for their parent conference meeting or Open House. Explore the realm of possibilities by having students develop and ask peers a "Question of the Week" and document the responses on video. Let students produce a walking tour of the school and key personnel as an introduction for new students. Post this video on the school website, but check the district and students' Acceptable Use Policies before videoing any student faces. You may want to ask your school's funding sources to consider purchasing a few USB plug-in "flip" video cameras that cost about $100 each so students can do these projects with an "indestructible" tool.
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Eight Steps to Information Literacy
Grades
6 to 12Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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English Grammar - University of Victoria
Grades
6 to 8In the Classroom
Use this site as a review activity, helping students practice what they have just learned about parts of speech. Have students complete the activity on the site on the interactive whiteboard, competing in groups to see who can get the answers right the quickest. Don't be a Vanna White on the interactive whiteboard, let students control the board - getting to play with the interactive whiteboard gets students more involved and excited to participate.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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How to Slay a Cliche (and how to rewrite it) - Alan Eggleston
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Introduce the site to your students on a projector os interactive whiteboard. Then have them work individually or in groups to write some of their own alternatives. Use the whiteboard to write new ideas! You could even start your own class wiki to include cliches students encounter in everyday conversation and in readings along with their suggestions for alternatives. Give extra credit for new additions students make on their own! Keep the link to Cliche a Day on your teacher web page as a reference for student writing assignments throughout the year.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lexipedia - Vantage Linguistics
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
Explore this site on interactive whiteboard or projector to show students how to improve writing with descriptive words. Consider allowing students to share a favorite word of the day for 30 seconds on your interactive whiteboard at the start of class. Use this in a word study unit by covering up the original word.Students will then try to discover the word based on the word relationships found around the word. Build understanding of parts of speech through this tool every time you look up a word. Reinforce these concepts for visual learners continuously by using the same colors every time you highlight on your interactive whiteboard. World language teachers can also type in words to demonstrate and expand vocabulary in Spanish, French, German, Dutch, and Italian. Special ed teachers, especially those in speech/language will love this tool to help students SEE relationships between words. Encourage your language-delayed students to look up words and build "word sense" even when they are familiar with the word's meaning. Make this site available as a reference on classroom computers and on your class web page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Daily Writing Tips - Daniel Scocco, et. al.
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Focus on the topics that repeatedly occur in a student's writing by sharing a link to the topic they need most right now. The Misused Words and Expressions sections are especially helpful for explaining how to correct for cliches, etc. As always, the timing of seeing the tip matters most. Share it when you see the problem. Encourage students doing peer editing or collaborative revision to use this site and find the tip to help a classmate when something "sounds funny." That way every writer in your class can become an expert in supporting other writers, not just you, the writing guru/teacher! While learning centers are generally considered an elementary tool, they can be exciting and valuable for secondary students as well. Use sections of this site as the focus for different writing centers. The links from this site can help students move through areas where they are having difficulty and enjoy the process of interaction as well. Have them create a clever writing tip video or a quick podcast about the tip that resonated with them personally. Try Spreaker, reviewed here. Collect links to the tip videos or podcasts on a class writing wiki. Teachers will also find this reference useful as a writer of graduate papers or newsletters for parents.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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