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| Tramline Virtual Field Trips - Tramline Grades 1
to 12
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|
This website is dedicated to delivering a variety of virtual field trips. The trips are listed by content. Each trip contains objectives, concepts, and terms to know. There are lesson plans linked in the Teacher Resource section of the page, and extra information on the topic. The trips themselves are a lot like guided web quests. The websites that are used in the field trips show good variety. And standards are even provided! The trips include grade levels. Examples of topics include hurricanes, dinosaurs, deserts, natural wonders, dark ages, and American Presidency.
10373
In the Classroom:
Virtual field trips from this website could be used on the interactive whiteboard or projector as a whole class activity. A better use could be to create a question sheet that mirrors the trip and have students work through the field trip at their own pace in lab, either with partners or individually. Follow up by challenging student groups to create an interactive guidebook to their topic using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. With younger students, make a class book together. |
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| Watch Know - Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi Grades 0
to 12
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What is Watch Know? Short for "You Watch, You Know," it provides explanations for students. Finding bits of information to help students can be frustrating as resources are disorganized on the web and may be hard to find.” Watch Know” is a free site that organizes small video clips to help with the understanding of a variety of topics in subject areas. Search by age (3-18+). You can click and drag the age filter to the youngest and oldest ages to include. Videos are also organized by sequence of topics taught. The site is an ongoing project with input from educators and organizations interested in education of children. Registration is not required to view the videos. Creating and saving videos to the site, as well as commenting, require registration. You can monitor site recent changes and additions using the “Change Log.”
10384
In the Classroom:
Search for videos relevant to your upcoming units or share the link with older students to search on their own. Use clips as engaging openings to units or as a review at the end. Have students identify the main points in the video and relate it back to class information. Students can use the examples on the site to create their own videos about a topic they have studied that could be beneficial to others.
If you do join the site to submit videos (for more adventurous technology users), we recommend uploading, commenting, and participating in the project (the creation and growth of WatchKnow) as a whole-class collaborative activity. If your students create videos, critique them locally before submitting them to the site as the “bests” from your class. |
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| Trulia Hindsight - Microsoft Grades 3
to 12
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Use this visualization tool to zoom into areas around the world and view the topography and other statistics. Use the zoom tool in the bottom left to zoom in on a specific area. Double click the map to bring up a historical player that shows population growth in that area over time (1800's to present depending upon your area.) If your area does not zoom in completely or have statistics, try areas such as Los Angeles or New York City to see amazing changes. Type a city and state into the search box in order to choose a specific area. Change the contrast with the slider in the lower right hand corner to adjust the amount of the background that you want to see. You can also use your arrows tools (or scroll) to view the lines (not labeled) for the equator, lines of latitude, and lines of longitude. Note: The data takes some time to load. Make sure you are zoomed in enough to get the “Please wait” message, then be patient. While you are waiting, form your own hypothesis of what you will see!
10354
In the Classroom:
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use this incredible tool to look at landforms such as forests and fields. Discuss suburban sprawl, use of resources, and other issues by looking at various areas. View urban areas and the placement of roads, etc. Watch your state and transportation network “grow” as part of your state history units. Bring math, drafting, and other topics to life with use of this incredible tool. View the growth in population of various areas. As the slider moves through the years, corresponding colored dots appear on the map. Pause the player at any point to really look at where population increases have occurred. Students can take a snapshot of the map (apple-shift-4 on Mac or Alt Print screen on PC) to record specific data. Theorize the scientific, historical, or geographic reasons for changes in locations of populations over time. Students can research and present development of various areas across the world. Compare societal values and changes between different countries. Have students compare data using Venn Diagrams. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here). |
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| Powering a Nation - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Grades 6
to 12
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|
Who is right when it comes to energy, its creation, and its use? Many of the issues are difficult to understand, and all sides are usually not heard. This site offers a great introductory animated presentation explaining many of the concepts and problems. Students hear the stories about industries, people affected, and the ways that our society contributes to energy problems. After sharing the initial presentation, scroll down the page to read and/or watch more about “Climate Refugees,” “Mining the Mountains,” “Debating Coal’s Future,” and several other topics. New topics are added frequently. And at the time of this review, this site was kept very up to date. Articles and resources offer different angles on energy issues. Look for articles that are all about the lives of all people, how energy works, energy issues of today, and the future of energy. The variety of topics at this site is great, as is the material. If you teach science, social studies, geography, or current events, don’t miss this site.
10334
In the Classroom:
Share the video clips on your interactive whiteboard or projector for some deep class discussion and debate. Use any of the articles as a starting point in class or simply to introduce an energy unit, then revisit new issues throughout the unit. For example, read "Power from Plants" to learn about biofuels, their use, and future for energy. Read about a few biofuels. Students can then find information on other biofuels, their use, and problems with the use. Students can find data on use of fuels, analyze and make recommendations, create literature such as brochures, wiki or blog pages, or other displays to show information for others to understand. Create a debate in your classroom using the opposing voices for and against use of certain fuels. Why not have cooperative learning groups create multimedia presentations to present their findings. Give the groups some options, such as creation online posters using a site such as Wallwisher, (reviewed here). Have students create informational commercials and share them using a tool such as SchoolTube reviewed here. Or create a class wiki on types of energy researches, the good, bad, and ugly! Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries – check out the Teacher’s First Wiki Walk-Through reviewed here. |
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| Forces of Nature - Grades 4
to 12
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Learn about tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, and earthquakes with this comprehensive site. View images, articles, and videos to learn more about how they form, the power they have, and the destruction they cause. View safety tips and helpful information. There are also links to interactive activities (such as “Spin Off your Own Hurricane”).
10295
In the Classroom:
Use this site for students to create awareness sheets that may help the public in the event of a natural disaster. Students can also create public service announcements to help the public. Evaluate the school and community emergency preparedness plan using the information about these forces of nature. Use the information to create a sample emergency kit that all households should have in case of emergency. Make it a multimedia project by having students create online books using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here, to create an informative book about the weather phenomenon that they studied. |
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| Volcano World - Oregon State Grades 2
to 12
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Use this incredible resource to learn about volcanoes, their formation, and related information. Search Volcano Topics, Facts, and Photos among other resource links. There are links for Kids, Educators, Current Activity, and more. Find volcanoes on a world map, as well.
10312
In the Classroom:
View resources on every topic. Read information, view pictures, and even take quizzes on the material. Compare the different types of disasters that can occur on Earth and use the information to create newsletters or other materials to share knowledge. Create a class wiki to compare students’ findings. To learn more about wikis, check out the Teacher’s First Wiki Walk-Through reviewed here. Use a map on a whiteboard to identify the volcanoes around the world to identify the geologic principles in their location. Compare this type of disaster to others to make connections about earth science. |
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| The Futures Channel: Real World Movies - The Futures Channel Grades 4
to 12
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Looking to show math, science, and STEM in real life? Look no further! This site has real world applications in video form. The clips tend to be five minutes or less. Videos are arranged into topic areas such as architecture, sports and many others. Learn about bicycle design, wind sails, recycling, creating an advertising team, and MUCH more. It is a good collection of video clips focused on the real math and science behind jobs that people do in real life.
10329
In the Classroom:
The clips are brief which makes them ideal for introductions to math lessons or science lessons utilizing the interactive whiteboard or projector. Also, a lesson could be developed in math showing students what a clip of math in a real world movie looks like, and then have students use research to create their own short video clips. Share the videos using a tool such as Teachers.TV reviewed here. |
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| Think Green - Waste Management Grades 0
to 12
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Looking for great information on living green and saving the environment? Find great resources here on "Transforming Waste" and "Case Studies." Read posts from professionals in "Points of View." View videos in the "Resources" section. Look under "Classroom Tools" to view student resources by grade and teacher resources by grade, topic, and resources. Caution: the beginning of the site sometimes asks you to participate in a survey. You can hit the “no thanks” button to pass this section.
10133
In the Classroom:
Use this site for lesson plans, videos, and other resources for teaching environmental issues to students of all ages. Share videos with younger students on a projector or as a center. Stay up to date with points of views from professionals. Have students review resources and determine points of views of other articles and resources on the web. Students can create individual, group, or class projects to increase awareness of environmental issues. Why not have students create age-appropriate multi-media presentations demonstrating what they learned? Have students create posters on paper or do it together as a class using an online tool such as Project Poster (reviewed here or PicLits (reviewed here. Have cooperative learning groups create online books using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Have students create commercials and share them using a tool such as SchoolTube |
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| Data.gov - USA.gov Grades 9
to 12
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View data sets to determine trends in data. Enhance critical thinking skills and analysis by choosing "Raw data." See the "Tool Catalog" for access to widgets and data mining tools, or "GeoData" to determine trends, ask questions about these trends, and search for answers. As you teach about data manipulation in math class, use "real world" examples that students will find interesting. A tutorial on using the data is provided. Search the database by search term, file type, or category as well as the state and local level. Either view data or download for later analysis. Be sure to check the Data Policy on the site for citing and using data set information and the other sections including an FAQ section that is very helpful. Looking for data sets that you can't find? Suggest them to Data.gov for consideration.
10177
In the Classroom:
Demonstrate this site (or the portions useful in your classroom) on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Use data related to population such as birth, death, marriage, etc. as well as other social data such as energy and utilities and education. As you teach about data manipulation in math class, use "real world" examples that students will find interesting. Geodata includes data sets such as Biology and Geology, political boundaries, and Atmosphere and climate. As a problem solving activity, allow students to access any data of interest, develop a useful graph, and create a statement or set of questions about the data. Looking for an online graphing tool? Check out Chartgo (reviewed here). Students should develop reasonable hypotheses about the data, find relevant information that leads to further understanding, and potential solutions for understanding the problem. Class discussions can lead to the complexity of most problems and associated issues. Students can create elevator pitches that propose solutions or reasons to be concerned about issues or related blog posts that follow the conversations about the data. Create a dialogue with scientists, government officials, or other experts in understanding data, issues, and solutions. Use data as evidence for debates. |
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| Bad Science - Alistair B. Fraser Grades 8
to 12
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“Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out” warns the quote at the start of this page. Bad Science is the site that debunks the "myths and legends" that are sadly distributed by the misinformed. It is a great site for checking understanding and pinpointing student misconceptions. Many popular ones are addressed in the links offered on this site. Learn about Bad Astronomy, Bad Chemistry, Mad Meteorology (including clouds, rain, greenhouses, and others), and the Pathetic Fallacy. The drawback to the site is that it can seem a little condescending but it may be a byproduct of the author's disgust with bad science.
10300
In the Classroom:
Students could be assigned different false science statements to research and design their own science news articles comparing fact and fiction. Why not make this a multimedia project and have students complete a podcast, online poster, or narrated photo! For podcasts, try PodOmatic (reviewed here). To create an online poster use a site such as Wallwisher, (reviewed here). Challenge cooperative learning groups to find a photo related to their topic (legally permitted to be reproduced), and then narrate the photo using Voicethread reviewed here.
A class could also be assigned a specific false science fact to research and participate in a class blog or message board discussion via the class web page or wiki site. Students could also use the fiction as the basis for their own "Myth busters" episodes.
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Reading teachers looking for passages to use in reading comprehension practice, such as finding main idea and supporting details will find these non-fiction passages informative and interesting for their students. Make a temporary copy of one of the explanations to display in your interactive whiteboard software as students highlight key ideas and separate out supporting details using the whiteboard tools. Your science teachers will LOVE you for it! |
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| When Weather Changed History - The Weather Channel Grades 4
to 12
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Weather's impact on the course of history sometimes goes unnoticed. A heat wave brings about public policy change; a hurricane alerts the public to the need for better planning and an improved safety net; a father of our country dies due to extreme weather. This collection of full episodes and shorter (2 minute) clips from the Weather Channel's regular series is ideal for use in the classroom to help students make connections between climate, geography, and history. The collection includes more obvious events such as Hurricane Katrina as well as numerous others: heat waves, George Washington, the Hindenburg, American colonial times, Nagasaki, D-Day, the Dust Bowl, smog, the Titanic, the Nome Serum Run and the green movement in the wake of tornado devastation. The video makes the events more real while the narration places then in context.
10236
In the Classroom:
Share one or more clips on a projector or interactive whiteboard as part of your study of a time period in history or assign students to research different events, asking them to answer big questions such as, "What role does climate play in a community's growth and government?" or "What might have happened if the weather had been different on this day?" Have students write a blog post as an eyewitness to the events or create a class wiki on the impact of geography, climate, and other "earthly" factors on the decisions that humans make. Create one wiki page per event and assign small groups to write the pages as newspaper articles at the time and another page using historical perspective. Don't forget to add mock news pages about what might have happened if the weather had been different! Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries – check out the Teacher’s First Wiki Walk-Through reviewed here. The same assignment could also be done on video as a series of podcast "news" stories. Use a site such as PodOmatic (reviewed here).
Use these videos as part of your science study of weather so students relate the hard data to human events. Have students use a multi-angle approach using both scientific data and human data about the event to create a weather wiki or multimedia project such as mock interviews at the time of the event and ten years later. |
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| Study Stack - John Weidner Grades 4
to 12
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This site is filled with study tools to help students learn information in a variety of subject areas. Stacks of topics related to geography, history, math, languages, medical, tests (SAT, ACT, etc.), science and more are linked with collections of learning tools that include virtual study cards, matching games, word search puzzles, and hangman games. There really is something here for nearly all subject areas and grade levels! Students can select the tool that works best for them and work at their own pace until they are satisfied with their progress. If you can’t find a stack to fit your needs, you can edit existing lists or create customized study stacks. The site also allows you to print out study cards, or export flash cards to study them via cell phones, PDA, or iPod. Email the stacks to peers or connect with Study Stack through Facebook. Some of the activities require Java. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
10129
In the Classroom:
Encourage parents to use this site as a study-at-home tool for their students. Link your blog or website to this site by entering your url at the bottom of the homepage. Make sure your guidance counselor at your school is aware of this site as a tool for studying those college entrance tests. Be sure to save this site in your favorites. |
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| All my faves - All my faves Grades 4
to 12
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Not sure what sites exist for your topic? Start here and find sites listed by icon for Art, Encyclopedia, History, Languages, Science, Writing skills, Music, and numerous other topics. Whether you are searching for research information, enrichment, or tutorials – check out this site. Notice that TeachersFirst is among the “faves” for teaching!
10106
In the Classroom:
Why search for these sites, when the links can all be found in one place? Use this site in combination with TeachersFirst’s rich reviews. Students can use these links as a springboard to research and projects. Be sure to save this site in your personal favorites! There is a lot to explore. List this site on your class website and/or wiki for students to access both in and out of the classroom. |
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| Teaching with Historic Places - National Park Service Grades 4
to 12
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Do you have trouble finding suitable sites to teach state history for YOUR state? This site includes more than 130 "ready to go" lesson plans organized by state. You can also view the collection by states, social studies standards, U.S. History standards, specific skills, time period, or topic. This resource was pulled together by the National Park service. The specific topics vary from America’s Space Program to Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike to Brown v. Board of Education to The Trail of Tears to Pearl Harbor to Lewis and Clark to the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and countless others. Check out what it highlights for your state.
10142
In the Classroom:
Search for your state and see what this site has to offer. Looking for a specific topic (i.e. Civil War or Pearl Harbor), search using topics. Take advantage of these ready to go lesson plans. Infuse your lessons with technology by creating a class wiki about the lesson/topic being discussed. Maybe make a wiki guidebook to your state. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries – check out the Teacher’s First Wiki Walk-Through reviewed here. Save this site in your favorites, and check back as you plan throughout the year. |
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| Solar Symphony Game: Sounds of the Solar System - Discovery Channel Grades 3
to 12
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This visually exciting site offers both background information on the planets and a unique way for students to remember the order of the planets. To play the game, students hit the letter key that corresponds to the beginning letter of the planet name whenever the planet, rotating around the sun, hits the "hot zone." The music, flashing lights, planetary movement, and other effects make this activity extremely engaging. Students will love the excitement of this game so much they will not even know they are learning something! This site is up to date (Pluto is not included). Gustav Holst’s famous composition, The Planets serves as the musical accompaniment! The site has some minor advertisements.
10144
In the Classroom:
Share HOW to use this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students try out the site on individual computers. Make sure you provide headsets! Be sure to list this site on your class website, blog, or wiki for students to use as a review for their study of planet names, solar system planet order, and speed of rotation. Music teachers can use this site as an example of musical description as students explore the planets. Be sure to turn up the speakers! |
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| Science News for Kids - Society for Science and the Public Grades 3
to 12
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Search news articles about various topics such as "Agriculture," "Animals," "Chemistry and Materials," "Finding the Past," and many other topics. Featured articles and pictures can be found on the front page in a section titled "The Weekly Scoop" and "Science Snapshots." View other pages in the site including "Puzzle Zone," "Game Zone," "SciFi Zone," SciFair Zone," and "Lab Zone." Click on the "Teacher Zone" to access question sheets, resources, and websites for classroom use. Some ads run along the sides of this site.
10157
In the Classroom:
Use Science News for Kids as a great reading and reporting assignment. Students can find an area and article of interest to read, summarize, and report to the class. Have students create commercials about their topics. Video and share using a site such as SchoolTube reviewed here. Students can use these news articles to find additional relevant information on the internet. Students may find these topics to be great self-study topics. Use the question sheets when assigning articles for class reading as a guided inquiry. Teach reading comprehension using these factual articles on your interactive whiteboard, asking students to highlight key words and generate a “main idea” sentence using them. |
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| The National Parks: America's Best Idea - PBS Grades 4
to 12
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Ken Burns has been busy again, this time creating a film about the US National Parks. The film debuts on Public Broadcasting in September 2009; the site carries a clip film. In conjunction with the film's release, PBS stations and national parks across the US have planned activities. The site carries a calendar of events that you can customize by state to see what might be near you. To make the site more collaborative, you can submit a story and pictures about a visit to a national park which will become part of the resources available to others. There is an extensive bank of other web resources as well. Coming soon will be lesson plan packets available to teachers.
10175
In the Classroom:
One section of the site enables you to design a national park postcard to email to a friend. Groups of students might research individual national parks (links to the NPS site appear on this site) and circulate their own postcards to other groups. Students can also "collect" national park badges that can be cut and pasted into personal or class websites. You could also have cooperative learning groups create multimedia projects about various National Parks. Have students create online posters or do it together as a class using a tool such as Project Poster (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here). If you are near a national park, be sure and check the calendar of events and consider a field trip. If you are near a park, your students could create an online park tour to share with others far away! Try a tool such as Tabblo (reviewed here)to create it! |
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| ePals - ePals, Inc. Grades 2
to 12
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TeachersFirst Edge Review: for slightly adventurous technology users. ePals, a global community, offers students the chance to connect with other students around the world (200+ countries). The free student email feature is one of the most useful features of ePals, since complete teacher moderation is available. You may be able to convince a more conservative school administration to permit student email using this tool. This site is the largest worldwide community for global collaboration. Don't worry about the language barrier, there is built-in language translation! This content-rich site also offers lessons, interactives, printables, and more. The "Focus Areas" include Biodiversity, Black History, Election/Inauguration, Geography Central, and Human Rights. In addition, you can click on the "Projects" link to find several ready to use projects (Habitats, Maps, Natural Disasters, Water, and others). Click on "ePals Tour" to view an informative video clip about the site, downloadable brochures, and more. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. Get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
10090
In the Classroom:
Skills Needed: Navigating this site is rather simple. Simply click on one of the tabs across the top of the website: Home, Focus Areas, Projects, Connect, Forums, How-To, and ePal Tours. Parts of this site require log-in. Registration does require an email address. The site does offer SchoolMail, the leader for FREE "kid-safe" email.
Safety/Security Concerns: A lot of safety features are already put into place at this site. The SchoolMail (email service offered at this site) offers monitored mail, instant translations, spell-check, anti-spam filters, and virus protection. To learn more about the safety features at this site, check out the ePals Tour link.
Possible Uses: 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. Use the ready to go lessons and interactives at the "Focus Areas" and "Projects" links. 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 create their own videos. Use a tool such as TeachersTv to share the video clips reviewed here.
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| Mission H2O - Savewater Grades 4
to 12
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Use this free game to identify how water is wasted and can be conserved in the home. Click Play Now to start the activity. This is part of a competition (that ends May 29, 2009). But the activities can be done without entering the contest. Choose from 8 rooms or places in the house that are identified by icons along the bottom and that portion pops-up. Click on the information areas designated with an "i" to view information about water use and conservation. Underneath each room, is an opportunity to play the game to save the family water. Many of the games are just for fun, but the whole experience is engaging. As this site originates in Australia, remember that many of the units of measure are different from ours. This site requires Flash. Get it here.
10027
In the Classroom:
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students move through the rooms and take notes on conservation ideas and statistics. Students can use these notes to create a pamphlet on water conservation or a project that can be posted on a wiki. Do you want to learn more about wikis? Check out the TeacherFirst Wiki Walk-Through (reviewed here).
Alternatively, post writing prompts that can be answered in a journal or a blog post about the thoughts, problems, and reasons for conserving. Students can analyze water usage in their homes or community and create suggestions or write a letter to the editor of the local paper or to local officials in favor of conservation.
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| Planet Forward - The George Washington University Grades 7
to 12
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Use Planet Forward for first rate and up-to-date news and information about the environment. View the vast amount of resources on this site including: "In the Spotlight," "Viewpoints," and "Blog articles" among others. Use quizzes about environmental issues, widgets to place in blogs or sites, and videos about issues. Use the "Classroom Resources" page for great ideas, discussions starters, and guides. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
10016
In the Classroom:
Where do you start? There is so much information on this site that is continually updated and interesting! Use the "Facts, Myths, and What most Americans know about energy" page to initiate discussions and identify misconceptions for study. Create student groups in major environmental categories such as Air Pollution, Energy Use, and Consumer Issues to mine the site for information. Create blog posts about issues, and create students’ own surveys to identify local misconceptions to compare to those discussed on the site. Encourage students to apply their findings and information locally by writing for a local or school newspaper or to be interviewed about student work. Students can create videos, wiki pages, or other multimedia products to produce content, dispel or challenge myths, and create understanding of issues. Conventional products such as display boards, posters, and other announcements can also be created. Have students create online posters using a tool such as Tabblo (reviewed here). Make every day Earth Day by tying class topics into ecology issues. Use the "Fast Facts about Energy" section to choose eye catching charts as a starter to engaging discussions in the classroom. Use the charts and ask students to brainstorm questions and make observations in groups prior to class discussions. Use the questions as a springboard for student research. |
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