Ideas and Resources for Substitutes from TeachersFirst
This collection of ideas and reviewed resources is selected to help both substitute teachers and regular teachers leaving instructions for a substitute. The list includes useful time-fillers for when plans are not a perfect fit as well as teacher-friendly suggestions to make subbing a positive learning experience for all. Be sure to check "In the classroom" suggestions for practical tips and ways to use these offerings.
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Math Centers and Games - Shari Sloane
Grades
K to 4
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Find directions and printables for elementary math games. Scroll down the page to view directions for games such as "Shake and Share" and "Make a Train Race." Most activities use ...more
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Find directions and printables for elementary math games. Scroll down the page to view directions for games such as "Shake and Share" and "Make a Train Race." Most activities use items already available in classrooms such as dice, cubes, or money. Print worksheets using the link to the PDF printable, if needed.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use ideas provided on the site for math centers in your classroom. Share this link (or specific activities) on your class website). Choose a game or two to included in your substitute folder for an easy math activity while you are gone.
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Art Lessons and Lesson Plans - Ken Rohrer
Grades
K to 12
10 Favorites
0 Comments
Find an extensive collection of art lesson plans for use in all grade levels by clicking Art Lessons on the left menu. Choose a grade level from categories on the ...more
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Find an extensive collection of art lesson plans for use in all grade levels by clicking Art Lessons on the left menu. Choose a grade level from categories on the left side of the page. Then pick from sub-categories such as type of medium, art period, or artist. One particularly useful category is by integration: ideas you can choose for lessons in subjects such as health, science, or language arts. Once you choose a lesson title, specific details include materials used, appropriate age levels, instructions, and images of projects. Many, but not all lessons also include correlation to national standards. Click on the printer friendly link to print lessons without all the clutter on the page.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site as a resource for art projects throughout the year, especially if budget cuts have taken away your art teacher! Be sure to check out the link to Sub Lessons. Print and save a couple of these to have in your substitute folder for use if necessary. Share with your art teacher (if you have one) as a resource.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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HHMI - BioInteractive - Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Grades
8 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
HHMI's BioInteractive five lab collection allows you to explore genetics, heart diseases, nerve cells, and the immune system without any mess to clean or supplies to buy! Learn about...more
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HHMI's BioInteractive five lab collection allows you to explore genetics, heart diseases, nerve cells, and the immune system without any mess to clean or supplies to buy! Learn about changing fly DNA or play the role of a doctor's intern to better understand how heart disease works. These activities have interactive lab areas with learning objectives, a notebooking area, quizzes, extra resources, and a help area. They are complete with teaching suggestions and learning objectives. The bacterial identification lab and immunology lab are even available as apps for your mobile devices. Some areas of this site require Shockwave.
In the Classroom
Spice up your life science or biology curriculum with these activities. Use them as dry labs prior to the hands-on or classroom "wet lab." Alternatively, they could be used as a substitute laboratory when supplies are low, if students are learning online or from a distance, or if students have ethical objections to using live specimens. Thinking about blended learning or flipping your classroom even just a little? These activities are great because they can take some of the practice typically done in class to the home setting, allowing you to further delve into student driven experiments and inquiry in the classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Portfoliogen - Create a Free Teacher Portfolio Webpage - CG Solutions LLC
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
PortfolioGen is a platform where teachers and pre-service teachers can build simple webpages to highlight their professional portfolios. Write "about me" pages, highlight certifications,...more
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PortfolioGen is a platform where teachers and pre-service teachers can build simple webpages to highlight their professional portfolios. Write "about me" pages, highlight certifications, upload documents, and provide links. Use the included forms for potential employers to contact you. Create an account by choosing a username and inputting basic email and contact information. Choose from available templates or create your own using your own background image and colors. Upload documents such as resumes, lesson plans, transcripts, and more. Use of the site is free; however, the free version does have limited document uploads and file sizes.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use this site to create an online portfolio even if you are not looking for a new job. Share it with your principal or administrator as part of your evaluation process. Share it with parents from a link on your class web page. Model a positive, professional online image so your students can see how important this is in the 21st century. Use this tool to create a URL for substitutes to use with pertinent information including: lesson plans, student background, websites to use for enrichment, recordings of songs sung daily, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Sub Hub - Rachel Friedrich
Grades
K to 12
9 Favorites
0 Comments
This blog offers ideas and resources to help substitute teachers make the most out of every day. It includes practical ideas such as what to bring to school as a ...more
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This blog offers ideas and resources to help substitute teachers make the most out of every day. It includes practical ideas such as what to bring to school as a substitute (who would have thought to bring your own "teacher-friendly" pencil sharpener?). There are also free k-5 lesson plans. The best part is all of the tips, support, and stories provided for substitute teachers "in the trenches." Although geared toward elementary teachers, ideas and suggestions are appropriate for any grade level.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Regular classroom teachers might want to share this in their emergency lesson plans for subs. Substitutes, don't go into the classroom empty handed. Bookmark this useful website (or make it a TeachersFirst Favorite so you can find it anytime) and be prepared for the unexpected! New teachers and student teachers can learn from the many tips. If you are mentoring or working with a student teacher, share some of these ideas. For even more, be sure to check out Teachers First's Ideas and Resources for Substitutes here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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iBioSeminars - iBioSeminars
Grades
10 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
iBioSeminars features lectures and videos about biology, ecology, health (and more) that begin with broad introductions and progress to specific research. Search by top picks or category....more
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iBioSeminars features lectures and videos about biology, ecology, health (and more) that begin with broad introductions and progress to specific research. Search by top picks or category. You can also try entering a biology term in the search box. Click on Teaching Tools to find related materials for use with the lectures. Many lectures are as long as an hour. Don't miss the "short clips" menu for videos more applicable in high school settings. Subtitles in English, Spanish, and French are also available. You can subscribe to the lectures using iTunesU. The videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
In the Classroom
Use iBioSeminars to bring the human side of biological research to the classroom. Use the lectures as an introduction to a biology concept or when connecting the topic to students' everyday lives. Share the video clips on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Save this in your favorites as a possible tool for substitutes to share with the class (if the topic is applicable). Use this site along with other related sites for students to pick from when assigning current events in your science class. Challenge students to familiarize themselves with a topic by watching a video and then have cooperative learning groups create a multimedia presentation to share with the class using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, Vevox, Animatron, Renderforest, and Canva Inforgraphic Maker.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Story Starter, Jr. - Joel Heffner
Grades
2 to 6
3 Favorites
0 Comments
If you are looking to satisfy your appetite for creative, meaningful writing prompts to suit any young writer, this is just the place to quickly find over 700 instantly generated ...more
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If you are looking to satisfy your appetite for creative, meaningful writing prompts to suit any young writer, this is just the place to quickly find over 700 instantly generated ideas. All that you have to do is click on the "click here for your story starter" button. If you don't like the one you see, keep clicking for different story starters until you find the one that suits your fancy. Then, start writing!
In the Classroom
Save this site in your favorites and link to it from your class webpage. For even quicker access, save this as a favorite on your Teachersfirst membership page to come back to whenever you are planning a pre or post reading/writing assignment. (If you are not already a member, join TeacherFirst for FREE.) These creative ideas are also great to file in your "emergency" lesson plan folder for a substitute teacher or when you are just looking for a spontaneous writing or journal assignment. Students may use it the traditional way by writing the story starter sentence on a piece of paper. With access to a class set of computers students could copy and paste into a word document or class wiki page and start writing their stories, poems, or journal entries. Enhance student learning by challenging them to share their writing aloud on a podcast using a site such as PodOmatic, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Learning Network - The New York Times Company
Grades
6 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
This New York Times site addresses many classroom needs. Scroll down the main section to find current event articles, photos, polls, and more. Find lesson plans by category, a student...more
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This New York Times site addresses many classroom needs. Scroll down the main section to find current event articles, photos, polls, and more. Find lesson plans by category, a student opinion section, contests, a daily news quiz, and timely articles connecting current events to thinking questions. Find many opportunities for a quick learning game or to express your opinion. There is even a student crossword. This site is frequently updated and includes a wide variety of subjects.
In the Classroom
Share this site on your class web page for students to find challenges or activities. Substitute teachers can always find an appropriate current events or vocabulary/writing activity if there are no lesson plans. English, social studies, and gifted teachers will want to explore the many lesson ideas that draw on current news stories. Find many prompts for student opinion blogs at this site. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, replace pen and paper and have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Weebly, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NobelPrize.org - Nobel Media AB 2011
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Nobelprize.org is the official website of the Nobel Prize. Here you find information about Alfred Nobel, the prizewinners, interviews, and photos. Videos of interviews of Nobel peace...more
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Nobelprize.org is the official website of the Nobel Prize. Here you find information about Alfred Nobel, the prizewinners, interviews, and photos. Videos of interviews of Nobel peace prizewinners, speeches, ceremonies, interviews, banquets, lectures, announcements, award ceremonies, and documentaries fill the gamut of all of the prizewinners. The Nobel prizes awards are in literature, chemistry, medicine, peace, economics, and physics. Under the Education tab at the top find arieties of educational games/activities and lesson plans help explain many of the Nobel Award winners' work. This site clearly explains and illustrates the purpose of the awards, the award winners, and their ideas. Videos give an insider look at each of the winners.
In the Classroom
Inspire your students to strive for excellence! Show students original, creative, thinking. Let students know they can understand the ideas awarded by trying the educational activities offered. Follow each year's announcements and award ceremonies. Use as an inspiration when beginning your own Nobel Prize winning awards competitions. Encourage students to use critical thinking skills to form opinions based on facts. Substitute pen and paper in your class by having students blog about what they are learning and understanding using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. Extend learning by inviting pairs or small groups to use a tool like NoteJoy, reviewed here, to take notes and share links, documents, and images to organize for an interactive poster. Use Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here, for the poster. Gifted programs can easily incorporate many of the ideas into the curriculum. Lead your students to Nobel Award winning thinking.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Amelia Earhart - The Official Website - Family of Amelia Earhart
Grades
6 to 12
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The Official website of Amelia Earhart is an informational website intended to honor the life, the legend, and the career of Amelia Earhart. The most extensive part of the site ...more
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The Official website of Amelia Earhart is an informational website intended to honor the life, the legend, and the career of Amelia Earhart. The most extensive part of the site is the "Biography." Other portions contain her achievements, quotes, and photos. An interesting portion of the site is the News section which has links to recent stories and news articles about Amelia Earhart. Scroll down the "Home" page to preview the movie Amelia, you may want to share this with your class - or not. Preview beforehand.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Share this site with students when researching famous Americans, women, flight, or careers. Enhance learning by having students use a mapping tool such as Google Earth, reviewed here, to create an audio (and visual) tour of Amelia Earhart's journeys. Her story could also offer a powerful writing prompt for an essay about people who take on formidable challenges/adventures. Substitute a blog tool such as edublog, reviewed here, for paper and pen.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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BizKids - American Public Television
Grades
5 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Explore the many facets of the business world on this approachable site. All information is tied in to the T.V. show entitled "BizKids" which was created to teach kids about ...more
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Explore the many facets of the business world on this approachable site. All information is tied in to the T.V. show entitled "BizKids" which was created to teach kids about money and business. The site is divided into several different sections - for teachers and for students. The teacher section includes lesson ideas that tie into videos available on the website. This can be found under the Teachers link along with lessons available in both English and Spanish. Visit Resources for a Sample Business Plan for Kids, Profiles of Young Entrepernuers, Get Money Smart, and Student Activities.
Students can sign up to receive a newsletter with money tips just for them. Also included is a blog with links to other financial sites for kids.
This site includes advertising.
Students can sign up to receive a newsletter with money tips just for them. Also included is a blog with links to other financial sites for kids.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use the search bar to find newsletter on "How to Hold a Fundraiser" when planning a class economics project or before a school fundraiser event to get ideas on how to boost fundraising income. Click the colorful links in the newsletters to watch a few of the short videos for creative ideas before creating classroom presentations of information studied in class. Divide up the online shows between students in your class and have students view and report back on the information presented in the videos. To show what they have learned from this site, engage and challenge students to substitute paper posters with an online graphic to share using Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here. Enhance learning by using a multimedia poster maker such as Genially, reviewed here, where students can choose the type of interactive presentation they would like to share. Ask students to complete the simulation "Living on the Edge" with an economic plan using a budget worksheet. Business teachers, family and consumer science classes, and young entrepreneurs will appreciate the many offerings on this site. College counselors will also want to share the college planning information.
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EZSchool - EZSchool
Grades
K to 12
7 Favorites
0 Comments
EZSchool is an educational portal that contains EZ worksheets, interactives, online study tools, and tutorials. Although this site is "busy" with clutter from some related advertisements,...more
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EZSchool is an educational portal that contains EZ worksheets, interactives, online study tools, and tutorials. Although this site is "busy" with clutter from some related advertisements, it is easy to navigate by grade level, subject, or more specific topics such as grammar, writing, and vocabulary for English, or word problems, geometry, and algebra for math, biology and chemistry for science, as well as Spanish, Japanese, and Hindi language activities. There are also SAT/PSAT practice questions with detailed answers. All materials are free to use, print, and distribute for use in the classroom or at home. The website is frequently updated with new activities. Weekly updates to the site are offered on the home page.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Reinforce learning with these supplemental materials. Your students may practice as much as they want - for free! Print worksheets to leave in a folder for emergency substitute lesson plans or for homework, provide the link on your classroom web page or wiki for students to easily access from any computer, and project the interactives and other learning activities on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Note that some websites may be blocked.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Daily Writing Prompts - The Teacher's Corner
Grades
2 to 8
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0 Comments
Are you looking for interesting and fun ways to provide practice and inspire students to improve their writing? The "Daily Writing Prompt" page of The Teacher's Corner will make...more
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Are you looking for interesting and fun ways to provide practice and inspire students to improve their writing? The "Daily Writing Prompt" page of The Teacher's Corner will make your life a little easier for as many days as possible, when you are searching for an event to initiate a journal entry or any writing prompt. The ideas are written for various grade levels to meet the needs of both primary and intermediate students. Some of the prompts may not explicitly state that day's event; however you can easily cross reference them with this site's monthly events calendar. Who knows that June 1 is "Donut Day?" Many students consider donuts to be a great breakfast food, which leads to the describe your "perfect breakfast" prompt. However you decide to use "Daily Writing Prompt," you will find them to be a helpful addition to your resources.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
One advantage to the "Daily Writing Prompt" is that they can easily be displayed on your interactive whiteboard or projector in your classroom. They can be used in a number of ways to improve your students' writing, including daily warm-up activities, practice in writing for state assessments, journal entries, free-writing, or as an "anytime" or "when you're done" activity. The writing prompts have creative ideas and options for how to implement them. They can be easily printed to use as practical "emergency" or substitute teachers' lesson plans.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Blabberize - Mobouy Inc.
Grades
1 to 12
18 Favorites
0 Comments
Blabberize is a photo editing tool that creates talking animations or a video clip from a photo or other image. Browse the ready-made blabbers or create new ones. Upload an ...more
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Blabberize is a photo editing tool that creates talking animations or a video clip from a photo or other image. Browse the ready-made blabbers or create new ones. Upload an image from your computer, select an area to become the talking "mouth," and record sound using your microphone or upload a short .mp4 file from your computer. Make sure to "allow" access to your computer's microphone. Narrate your photo within the allotted 30 seconds, then save when complete. Options include marking your blab "mature" or "private" (not shown on the "latest" pages and other public areas). Share completed blabs via email or embedd in another web page, blog, or wiki. Users unfamiliar with copy/pasting embed code can simple share by the URL of the blab's page.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
If your students have never tried to make a Blabber, select Browse to share the an introduction blab on the home page on a projector or interactive whiteboard. You may want to create one of your own to share, and then have the class create one, all projected on your whiteboard. Browse a few examples first to get ideas on how to make a mouth on your photo to move and "talk." Be sure to turn up your sound! Have a student demonstrate uploading an image from a safe and legal source. You may want to use a single, whole-class account you create with your "extra" email account. Be sure to spell out consequences of inappropriate use/content of blabs. Have students enter the site through the "Make" page link provided in this review to steer clear of the "latest" blabs. You may want your students to make their blabs "private" so they do not show on the public areas, depending on school policies. If you are implementing technology in your classroom, this is an augmentation tool.Blab the homework directions on your teacher web page. Have your students use photos or digital drawings to "blab"! Have students draw in a paint program, save the file, and then make it "speak." Spice up research projects about historic figures or important scientists. Have literary characters tell about themselves. This tool is great for gifted students to go above and beyond the basics with an independent project. Create entire conversation sequences of blabs between people in world language or ENL/ESL classes (with students speaking in the language, of course), then embed them in a wiki. Have speech/language students make blabs to practice articulation and document progress over time. Promote oral reading fluency with student-read blabs. Create book "commercials." Have students blab what the author may have been thinking as he/she wrote a poem or literary selection or as an artist painted. Blab politicians' major platform planks during campaigns for current events. Blab the steps to math problem solving. Even primary students can make an animal blab about his habitat if you set up the blab as a center. Make visual vocabulary/terminology sentences with an appropriate character using the term in context (a beaker explaining how it is different from a flask?) Students could also take pictures of themselves doing a lab and then blab the pictures to explain the concepts. This would be a great first day project (introducing yourself and breaking the ice). Share the class blabs on your class web page or wiki! Give directions to your class (for when a substitute is there). Use at back to school night to grab parents' attention for important information.
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The Science of Cooking - Edinformatics.com
Grades
7 to 12
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Interested in the chemical changes that occur during cooking? Have food related cooking questions? Find your answer here on this free site. Learn proper food cooking techniques and...more
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Interested in the chemical changes that occur during cooking? Have food related cooking questions? Find your answer here on this free site. Learn proper food cooking techniques and identify the science behind them. The menu at the top offers topic such as Recipes, Cooking Techniques, a Food Encyclopedia, and more.
In the Classroom
Identify the various techniques and science behind them. For example, browning meat is called the Malliard reaction. Understanding why this brings out the best flavor in the meat is interesting. Learn about sugar substitutes, its use in cooking, and relationship to flavor. Identify taste and how we are able to sense tastes at the molecular level. Follow discussion of techniques with actual use of the technique and resultant taste tests. During a cooking lesson, why not have cooperative learning groups try something they learned? Video their "experiment" and share with the class (and parents) using a tool such as TeacherTube, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Voki - Oddcast
Grades
K to 12
9 Favorites
0 Comments
Create a free, animated speaking character that represents yourself for a blog, wiki, or any website. Voki can also be emailed to others and downloaded to phones. Appropriate for student...more
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Create a free, animated speaking character that represents yourself for a blog, wiki, or any website. Voki can also be emailed to others and downloaded to phones. Appropriate for student use in grades 6-12 but for teachers at all levels.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Access to a microphone is required to record a voice. There is an option to use text to voice (however, it does not have great sound.) Import audio from a file or use a cell phone instead to capture audio. Only one minute of audio can be recorded so be brief. Students need to carefully think of their narrative before recording. Users must be able to copy and paste html code for use in an external site.Use the controls to create your character's style, click customization to further refine your character, change your background, and add your voice. Keep in mind that animated backgrounds may take longer to load on your site. When done, click publish to view and copy the embed code which can then be used on a blog, wiki, or web pages.
Monitor all aspects of student production and use for appropriateness and copyright. If concerned about using student email, consider creating a class account for students to use. Be sure that students understand not to change the Voki of other students if using a class account. Check your school district policy about using emails or identifying student information on the Internet.
Introduce and share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use this free site to record a greeting for students that can be seen on the start page of your blog, wiki, or website. Record online assignment information that is spoken by the Voki (always more pleasing to look at than the teacher!). Use this to share homework assignments, a message from you (via a substitute), and more. Use a character that is interesting or matches the assignment you may be leaving. Use Voki to record two different opinions or viewpoints and create a poll of students to view reactions. Use the Voki in Math by posing possible solutions to problems and create a class discussion or poll to determine which one is the actual answer. As students are working on projects, create a Voki that provides hints and tips for students. Allow students to use Voki to provide peer assessment to others. Consider using Voki in place of other assignments such as "What I did this summer vacation..." or "Here is information about me..." Use in any language class to record narratives or translations. Students can create a variety of Voki recordings over time which can show their learning of a language over time. Create classroom newscasts using student(s) on a rotating basis. Use Voki for vocabulary exercises which can be created by students or the teacher. The possibilities for this tool are endless. The quick and engaging nature of this tool offers unlimited uses.
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Frontline: Breaking the Bank - PBS
Grades
9 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
A website connected to an episode of Frontline, this site looks at the 2008-2009 collapse of several large "superbanks," and how the bank failures were connected to the general economic...more
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A website connected to an episode of Frontline, this site looks at the 2008-2009 collapse of several large "superbanks," and how the bank failures were connected to the general economic downturn. Many PBS shows' sites are built around the concept of having students "watch the show and discuss"; these require teachers to buy or find a copy of episode. However, this site includes access to the full episode (requires Flash), which can be viewed as a whole or in sections. The resource list is very comprehensive and would give students who are researching national or global economics many good sources. Finally, there is analysis, set up in Q&A format that stands alone, and could be used if you don't want to use class time to view the video episode.
In the Classroom
Although this site deals with the 2008-2009 banking crisis at a level that is probably more in-depth than most teachers have the opportunity to deal with, it would be useful for an economics class or a recent American history class. You might consider some portions of it during a discussion of the Great Depression in the 1930s, to help students connect that economic time with the present. Finally, this might be a good resource site for students who are interested or who are working on more comprehensive projects. Transform classroom technology use and have students create a multimedia presentation of demonstrating their understanding of the connection between the bank failures and the economic downturn. To show what they have learned from this site, enhance learning by challenging students to substitute paper posters with an online graphic to share using Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here. Enhance learning and transform technology use by using a multimedia poster maker such as Genially, reviewed here, where students can choose the type of interactive presentation they would like to share. Have students create (and respond) on class wikis. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Energizing Brain Breaks - Dave Sladkey
Grades
4 to 12
5 Favorites
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Here is a useful blog created by a high school teacher who saw the value of "Brain Breaks" in his own classroom. Many of the activities could be used with ...more
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Here is a useful blog created by a high school teacher who saw the value of "Brain Breaks" in his own classroom. Many of the activities could be used with older elementary and middle school students. The blog contains postings from several teachers. Each posting consists of a write-up of the activity as well as a video of the actual activity. The link provides practical uses and allows you to add your own as well. Breaks are archived so you can look at previous months. You can also download them. There are some great "breaks" at this site. Substitutes- take a look at a few of these brain breaks to use with students during your day. They're quick and you'll become the favorite sub to have!
In the Classroom
"Brain Breaks" is a Learning Focused Schools buzzword, but we all know students sometimes just need a 5-minute break with a built-in way to refocus at the end. Brain Breaks can be especially helpful when teaching on block schedule with longer classes. Here are some ideas to do that. Share one of the examples on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Take a 5-minute "brain break" and have cooperative learning groups brainstorm additional "brain break" ideas to use within your classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Vocaroo - Vocaroo
Grades
K to 12
12 Favorites
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Record a message and embed it into your favorite site or provide a link to share, for free. Send to a friend by entering your email and the email of ...more
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Record a message and embed it into your favorite site or provide a link to share, for free. Send to a friend by entering your email and the email of the recipient. Share on many social media sites witht he press of a button. Recording the message is easy and embedding into a site such as a wiki or blog has never been simpler! No login or registration is needed. Although, if you choose to send a message via email, you must choose a password to use at the site. Vocaroos are stored on their server. Created messages can also be downloaded to individual computers. Visit their FAQ's for frequent questions and responses.
In the Classroom
You need to be able to navigate controls on the website and sound levels on your computer. Copy/pasting embed codes is also a necessary skill for insertion in a website. Email the sound clip very easily.Future saving of Vocaroos is unsure depending upon server space. Before using with students, you may wish to obtain permission from administration and/or parents. Be sure to check your school's acceptable use policy. Students should be made aware of acceptable use and consequences of misuse of the service.
Vocaroo has a wide variety of applications in any type of classroom! For basic technology integration extend and enhance learning with this tool. Record snippets of information as reminders on your class website or instructions for students to follow. This is terrific for learning support students or non-readers! Have students describe aspects of classroom learning experiences to share with others, such as what they learned from a science experiment or found out about life in Colonial America. Record a quick message for an absentee and email the link to him/her explaining how to catch up on missing work. Create tutorial pieces that students can use as study aids (or have them create them for each other). Use this site in world language classes or for ELL students: have students record and listen to their own pronunciation or send short messages to each other to translate. Have students use this site to practice speeches before the presentation to hear their speed, tone, and words. Use this site for research presentations, instructions for a substitute, or many other possibilities. With younger students, read a short story on Vocaroo, and have student follow along using a picture book. Or have the students read their own stories into Vocaroo and email the readings to their parents! For Mothers Day, why not have students record messages for mom or grandma? Another idea: create a class wiki where parents can "find" the entire selection of Vocaroos for Mother's Day (or another holiday). Record Vocaroos of each student talking about the importance of Moms for Mother's Day or how grateful they are for certain things at Thanksgiving. Embed them all in a class wiki to share with parents. Just email the URL for the collection.
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Interactive Cartesian Coordinates - James Hollis
Grades
4 to 12
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Explore Cartesian coordinates by dragging points on this interactive graph. Begin with the default version that includes three points, then move points to change the triangular shape...more
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Explore Cartesian coordinates by dragging points on this interactive graph. Begin with the default version that includes three points, then move points to change the triangular shape on the chart and view labels with the coordinate points and measurements of each side. Use the up/down arrows on the left side of the graph to add points or take advantage of other options allowing users to add or remove a view of the sides and coordinates.
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In the Classroom
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or provide students time to explore on their own as they learn about Cartesian coordinates. Learn the basics of plotting points and identifying coordinates by exploring different options on this graphing site. Engage student interest in graphing coordinates by asking them to substitute paper graphs with this online graph. Then, have students take a screenshot to share the proper coordinates placement on the chart. As students learn more about coordinates and using equations to determine angles and length of sides, ask them to create explainer videos using Typito, reviewed here to describe the math concepts learned.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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