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Look no further for holiday activities for your ESL and ELL students (or for reading/listening comprehension activities you can use with all learners! This site lists conventional and unusual holidays by month. Click the holiday you would like to feature to find a complete lesson including a tape script, an oral recording of the script, and a variety of review exercises. The printable activities include matching, several varieties of fill-in-the-blank, word choices, spelling, reordering events and sentences from the holiday information, and writing activities. An online clickable reading activity presents parts of sentences, so students must select which sentence part comes first. The screen changes when the correct part comes up, and students select the next part. 10409
In the Classroom: Use this site to help ESL/ELL students improve listening, reading, writing, and cultural knowledge. Invite an ESL/ELL student to present a holiday from their home country to the class using an interactive whiteboard or projector. Many of the review activities would also work well as reading comprehension practice on interactive whiteboard, especially if students use highlighters and pens to mark up the text passage to locate key terms, etc.
Have students create online holiday posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Project Poster (reviewed here or PicLits (reviewed here. Share this site with families of your ESL/ELL students to learn more about American holidays.
This site offers spelling practice through an engaging interactive! Choose a category (In and Around Home, What We Wear, What We Eat, How We Get There, or The Animal Kingdom) and then click on a picture. Choose the first letter of the word and watch the wheel spin. Click "submit" when done spelling for a spelling check. Choose "Pick a word for me" to receive random words to spell. 10403
In the Classroom: Use this activity with an interactive whiteboard or projector for class spelling. Students can work on spelling as individuals, groups, or whole class activities. Use specific pictures to practice spelling and learn spelling rules that can be applied to other words. Use this site as a language arts learning center to practice spelling. Speech and language teachers and ESL/ELL teachers can use the categories of common vocabulary to teach both words and spelling. Share this link on your class website for students to practice spelling at home.
Teacher's First Edge Review: for slightly adventurous technology users and their students. Students and teachers can write their own original books, add your own images and artwork as illustrations, and read your published books in interactive, online form. For a fee, you can also have printed copies made, but there is no fee for the online publication and sharing. This is the ultimate in "digital storytelling."
Here is an example of a book created by the TeachersFirst Edge editors. Once you set up free membership in this site, students (or teachers) can select to create from a blank start or using templates provided. You can also create a book starter of your own as an example so students can follow the prompts you have created. The book creator allows you to upload your own images and to create books from a Word document or PowerPoint file you have already made. There is no provision for multiple users to collaborate on the same book.
After you save and publish the work, share the URL so people can read the entire thing online, either among an audience of “just my friends” or publicly. They also offer the embed code to place your books in a class or school web page, wiki, or blog, but at the time of this review, this code was not working properly. The BEST option is to copy the address of the new window displaying the interactive book. There is an option to have the book printed for a fee, but this is not required. You can also read books created by others (if they make them public). Use the fully-public option to create learning materials for classes to access year to year for at-home review or reading practice.
This site requires a simple registration. Members must be at least 13 years old. Teachers using this tool with younger students should use a whole-class account WITH parent permission and in accordance with school policies. See more detailed suggestions “In the Classroom” below and in our sample book! 10404
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Join the site. No need for a confirmation email to get started. SKIP the profile and friends areas to get to the book creator. The site constantly offers ways to purchase printed versions of your books, but you can ignore them. On the Create Books page, choose from using a blank book, starting from a file, or using a template. Browse many “public” examples on the templates page of books created by others. Choose “school” to see projects from other classes or a sample created by you or a student team working in advance along with you. Explore ready-made themes (seasonal, topical, etc.) or use “open theme.” Choose book dimensions (match layout shape to any uploaded files, such as PowerPoint slides). Enter settings and description of your book (editable later), including who is allowed to “see” it: everyone, just friends, or private. Again choose a “theme” – more of a category where Bookemon will list your completed book. A logical option is “school.” Experiment with tools to upload files (within file limits), add images, add text, etc. Written help is offered as you go, but there is no video demo. SAVE often. Turn margins on to avoid chopping content. To share the book, you must “publish” it (i.e. finalize).
Once published, locate the book under "My Books" and use options to share (by email—and see the URL to copy from there), “Make a new edition” to create a new version—also useful for treating the original as a template for later books), Post to Other Sites offers embed codes not currently working properly. The BEST option is to click the book COVER which opens a new window without ads or “stuff,” and copy the ADDRESS of that window to paste into email, etc. You can also make that clean-window view a Favorite on a classroom computer!
Safety/security concerns: The home page of the site has “Featured books by our members” and the ability to browse all public books. You will want to preview for possibly inappropriate books created by others. As with any site where students can create content, you will want to obtain parent permission before posting student work online. The site does not allow users under age 13, so teachers with students below that age should obtain written parent permission for students to use generic student accounts you create and control through your teacher-extra Gmail address. Use up to 20 subaccounts of that Gmail account to create student accounts and passwords to be used by each student or group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
If you have older students use their own email accounts to join and navigate, you will want to first spell out rules about the “profile” tools, friends, and other social networking features. There are multiple opportunities to share address books, use social tools such as Facebook to share your books, etc., so teacher-controlled accounts may be the easiest option.
If students are to collaborate on the same book, they must either log in under the same user name or sit together to collaborate. This could provide opportunities for “vandalism,” so have class policies and consequences spelled out in advance.
Possible uses:
With younger students, have them create their work in PowerPoint then upload for whole-class books. See an example, created by the TeachersFirst Edge editors . The example is full of ideas for classroom use from Kindergarten to high school, including science concept tales, poetry books, general writing, math problem solve-its, and more. ANY grade can use this tool, depending on the amount of direction by the teacher. By the way, the correct answer to the problem in the sample book is c. 27. Another idea, have students create personalized books for their parents or grandparents for special occasions (Mother's Day, Father's Day, or Grandparent's Day).
Tip: Use this site for a guided introduction to social networking as a class, an excellent teaching opportunity for 21st century literacy skills and online safety discussion.
This site has archives of lists of books, organized by theme and displayed pictorially. Specific subjects feature books divided into two or three levels, including picture books, books for independent readers, and YA books. Featured books are not annotated, but bibliographic information is included. There are many widely varied themes, from the classical to the offbeat (Something from Nothing, and In Praise of Bad Books). The themes are too numerous to mention them all: Adventures on the High Seas Booklist, Africa Booklist, American Military Stories Booklist, Building Things Booklist, Children Putting on Plays Booklist, Exploration Booklist, First Day of School Booklist, Inventors and Inventions Booklist, Mother Goose Booklist, and countless others. A search feature allows teachers and students to search by many different criteria: Type of Child, Title, Author/Illustrator, ISBN, Genre, Subject, Series, Format, Fiction or Non-Fiction, Reading Level, Grade Level, Lexile, Setting, Author and Illustrator Demographics, Personal issues, and other categories. A free login allows users to submit reviews, tag books, or create wishlists (suggest other themes). Registration does require an email address, but it is free. You do not need to register to access the booklists. 10405
In the Classroom: Turn to this comprehensive list if you are searching for books on a certain theme. These books are a perfect addition to units on the various topics presented. Share the link with your students if they want other books about subjects that have interested them. Keep these booklists handy for students seeking independent reading. If you use a list in conjunction with a curriculum unit, be sure to invite students to "review" the books by putting the list on a class wiki or in a spreadsheet where they can enter comments and indicate that which books they have read. This will allow other students to choose books based on what a fellow student with similar taste recommends. Google Docs Spreadsheets reviewed hereare an easy online tool for students to collaborate and comment. The teacher can create one that is editable publicly and link to it from the class web page. You may want to provide this link on your class website for families to access at home.
This interactive and chatty site from RIF shares activities for the preschool and early childhood set, including interactive books read aloud (see Preschoolers and click on "read"), book and activity ideas (see "grownups"), audio songs and nursery rhymes with the words on screen, and much more. The entire site is available in Spanish by clicking Español at the top right. The interactive books then display with BOTH English and Spanish available! Many classic activities and nursery rhymes are included in the "Baby and Toddler" section but would work well in a kindergarten classroom, too. Monthly Activity calendars to promote literacy at home are available in both English and Spanish. 10385
In the Classroom: The many activities on this site are ideal for an interactive whiteboard or computer center in a pre-K through primary classroom. You will need to turn up your speakers or provide headphones. Even ESL/ELL teachers may find the ability to play the activities and books over and over very helpful for your young students. After sharing the interactive books in a center, why not write a book together as a class, creating the pages in PowerPoint, then uploading to record the audio in Voicethread, reviewed here. Teachers will also want to share the parent handouts at back to school night or conferences and to share this link on your class web page for your readers and their siblings and parents to use at home. Share a regular "reading tip" with your parents. There are loads on this site! You might even send home the monthly activity calendar printables.
RIF, the long-established organization for promoting reading, offers this site for school-aged readers and their parents. Young readers may join (or not) and access activities to do alone or with family (Activity Lab), book ideas (Book Zone), writing starters and contests (Express Yourself), and educational games (Game Station). Many of the activities are ready to go in a classroom or at home. Several of the activities are available in both English and Spanish. New writing activities appear monthly, including story starters for members to complete. Feature authors and new additions make this site worth a look every month. 10386
In the Classroom: Many of the games would be terrific as literacy centers or on an interactive whiteboard or projector to reinforce basics. Make this link available on your class web page for parents, students, and younger siblings to access from home. Parent notifications on games and contests with prizes and required parental consent for students to join make this a very safe site. Teachers may want to offer some of the writing contests as regular classroom activities or for enrichment or to adapt them for use with newer technologies. The visual poetry idea, for example, would work well as an interactive book created using Bookemon, reviewed here. Each student could make a visual poem and illustration in a whole-class book.
The celebrated RIF program offers this site for parents to support their children's literacy. You will find resources from infancy to the teenage years and some for the entire family. While there is more available for younger children (through elementary school), the Whole Family area and some of the activities are enjoyable for teens, as well. Click to find practical tips to support your growing readers, monthly features, interactive books, activities for family heritage, authors, polls, a personal bookshelf to collect book recommendations, and more. You can even search for activities by age and activity type. 10387
In the Classroom: Provide this link to parents in support of your in-school reading program. Struggling students can use RIF's Reading Planet (reviewed here) or Leading to Reading (reviewed here) activities both at home and at school to provide the repetition and review they need for skill mastery. Be sure to share this link before school breaks so parents can support literacy at home to prevent "summer slide."
There’s plenty to see in this educator’s page from the long-running RIF program. There are useful tips and resources for teachers and others interested in fostering reading, writing, and literacy skills in young children and elementary students. There are lesson plans in pdf format, links to activities on RIF's Reading Planet site, downloadable literacy activity calendars (English and Spanish), and much more. Especially useful is the Activity search for lessons and more for different curriculum strands and ages. Though many are geared for younger children (preschool and primary grades), there are some options for upper elementary, as well, including interdisciplinary lessons to include music, etc. 4654
In the Classroom: Explore this site in conjunction with the student options on RIF's Reading Planet (reviewed here) and Leading to Reading (reviewed here). As you plan new literacy centers, be sure to explore the options here. You may also want to share the link to the parent area of the RIF site on your class web page so parents can promote literacy at home. Not sure if the home has Internet access? Send the monthly literacy calendars home via backpack express and offer Reading Reward points for completed activities students bring in to share with the class. Reading Rewards points can be good for a free book or extra time on the classroom computer exploring (what else?) RIF activities! Reading specialists, principals, teachers, and literacy coaches will be interested in sharing some of the articles with other professionals and paraprofessionals.
TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for ANY technology user who can "draw" with computer drawing tools. With no registration or email required, you can use this site to "draw" on and label any map available through Google Maps, including maps of the night sky! Create a colorful and personalized map with added scribbles and labels. Your drawing or "Scribble Map" is then available for you to share by URL, email to a friend or teacher, or print (but think of the trees first). Slightly more savvy users can download, save as a kml file (readable in Google Maps or Google Earth), or even embed the map in another site. The tools include sharing the map on Facebook and Twitter, as well. Slightly more savvy users who know how to find the URL for an image on the web can add images to the maps, as well. Drawing tools include lines, circles, place pointers, text labels, and color/size/transparency controls for all tools. This site is not affiliated with Google Maps, but it does include Google Ads on the right side and all the normal controls of Google maps, including satellite, map, terrain, hybrid views and Night Sky. See a sample Scribble Map created by the TeachersFirst editors (drag the map with your mouse!):
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In the Classroom: Skills needed: Users need to have some basic familiarity with computer drawing tools and Google Maps. If you wish to include images in a map annotation, you need to know how to obtain the image URL from an image you wish to pull in from anywhere on the web. If you wish to embed the finished map in your web site, wiki, or blog, you must know how to copy/paste the embed code using that option from the Menu and paste it into your site.
Getting started: Explore the tools and MENU options at the top left when you start out. Try the different Maps views (lower right) and zoom controls. Search for a starter location using the search at the top left, just below the tools. There is no help available, but it is easy to do basic maps. Share, save, etc. by clicking Menu (top left). When you first save a map, it will ask you to create a password for that map to use to edit it later. Note that if you SAVE a map and share it by URL, those accessing it will be able to use the tools and change the map. If you want them to see it without changing it, you will need to embed it in a blog, wiki, or other web site. Students and teachers will want to keep a written record or map URLS and passwords for future reference. When you click to SAVE a map, the site gives you the direct URL for that map. Highlight it and control (on Mac: Command)+C to COPY it and then paste it into a document or electronic note so you do not "lose" it. Model this for students so they do not lose hours of work! Our editors discovered that the map ID can be changed and customized by simply typing in your own choice of ID when you are saving the map. You can also email the map URL to yourself and others. Students who create maps for an assignment can "turn them in" by emailing the URLs directly from this site to the teacher! All they need to do is type in a quick message identifying whose work it is. Teachers can prepare partially-made maps or maps for students to make corrections and changes by giving the students the URL, then having them SAVE the map with a NEW ID. To SAVE the map with a new name and URL, click "Save map" in the menu, then enter your OWN map ID. Students could use a code including their initials, such as SJ12-3-09 for a map made by Sally Jones on Dec 3, 2009. Teachers should PASSWORD their originals so changes can only be saved under a new name. Similarly, if a student saves the map with a map password, they don't have to worry about other students vandalizing their work. But they DO need to remember the password! Wise teachers will keep a class list of maps and passwords for forgetful students! A note from the TF editors; it took us a few moments to figure out that place pointers can be edited by selecting them (arrow tool), then clicking the small pencil!
Safety/Security Concerns: The site collects no information about users and no email address or membership. It does include advertising on the right side, but it you click the "delist" box when first saving a map, ads seems to disappear from that map except for an ad to use Google Adwords. All maps created are public BUT are only accessible if others KNOW the URL. Since this tool shares no "popular" or "latest" maps created by the general public, it is far safer than many user-tools on the web today. Before having students create their own maps on the web, check school policies and obtain written permission from parents. Be sure students do not include digital pictures or information that could identify them from their maps. Since images must come from other web pages, students will not be able to upload an image to include in their map. Using images by URL avoids the problems of copyright, however. Just be sure to teach your students the best practice of giving a credit to the image source in the text of their placemarker of other map annotation.
Possible Uses: in primary grades, make maps of your local community together on your interactive whiteboard as you teach basic map skills. Create your own "key" with symbols you choose for playgrounds, etc. Have students help map locations of favorite playgrounds, grandparents' houses, stores, etc. as they gain basic understanding of map skills. Make sure you allow students to operate the tools! Save the map and share it as a link from your class web site (or embed it there). Keep names generic so it is "safe." Other ideas: natural resource maps, immigration maps, maps of civil war battles day by day, maps of key sites in the life of a famous person, artist, or author. Maps of the settings in a novel, landform maps of a continent or state, "My life" maps of places important to an elementary student's family, annotated watershed maps of pollution sources, maps of the water cycle, maps of constellations in the night sky created by students to demonstrate understanding, maps of a dream community to be built in a vacant area (desert), including the water sources, etc. that will be needed, maps of a redesigned city/town on top of its current map. Teachers can provide map challenges or templates to be completed or corrected, including maps where students must label distances and cardinal directions between points (using map scale and skills). Or provide a teacher-created map with labels in the wrong places for students to correct the landforms, resources, etc. What will YOU do with Scribble Maps?
Use this chart to select appropriate reading materials for classes of all levels by synchronizing grade levels, Fountas & Pinnell levels, basal levels, DRP levels, Reading Recovery Levels, DRA levels, and lexile scores. Descriptors also elucidate general reading abilities and are also normed on the chart along with the other kinds of measurements. This is a PDF file and requires Adobe Acrobat. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page. 10349
In the Classroom: Print this out (or save it in your favorites) and keep it handy with your reading materials when you are trying to correlate reading level information of varying types.
This site offers "ready to read" fractured fairy tales and a tool to write your own fractured fairy tales. Students can write a fractured version of Jack in the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, or The Princess and the Pea. This site prompts students to choose names for characters, the setting of the story, point of view, the problem, and ending of the story. You type up your own story and you are able to print the finished story. 10352
In the Classroom: Share an example of the fractured fairy tales on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use this site to introduce the creativity of fractured fairy tales as you teach story mapping and narrative patterns. Have students work individually or with a partner to write their own fractured fairy tale. Set up this site as a learning center for students to use for creative writing during your folk tale or fairy tale unit.
Use this site to find some GREAT word searches that are ready to go! Whatever topic you are looking for, you just might find a word search here. If you can't find one, make your OWN ONLINE word search. What a fantastic tool to use and/or create in any subject! 10353
In the Classroom: Share the relevant word searches on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups practice spelling or vocabulary words by creating their own word search. List this site on your class website for students to use both in and out of the classroom. This is a great one for those word search lovers in your class. Why not have students use a whole-class account to make their own word searches to challenge each other with new vocabulary and terms?
HeartPower! Online is a curriculum-based program about heart health. The site provides educational information about nutrition, physical activity, living tobacco-free, and how the heart works. The curriculum guide is loaded with printables, lesson plans, stories, songs, games and other science-based resources organized according to grade level. There is no fee or registration for this site. Just click and go! 10266
In the Classroom: The site is so simple, you can utilize the entire pre-prepared curriculum and lesson plans or just add pieces of it to your current curriculum. Integrate the lessons into your language arts component as cross-curricular activities. The pre-K to 1st grade activities and curriculum are available in Spanish. Choose the Spanish version for ESL/ELL lessons or enrichment activities. The Spanish version would be a great supplement for secondary Spanish teachers. Have your science or health class create a Heart Health wiki or use Mapskip (reviewed here) to map out walking landmarks for your community.
TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for any technology user allowed to install software. Bring the world into your classroom with Google Earth. This interactive view of the Earth (and more) is free for download. Find landforms, geographic locations features, pictures, and more from around the world using this satellite-powered software. As you spin the globe, you can tilt to view locations at an angle to show elevation, click to play a "tour" or "fly" from one location to another, or simply open tours and placemarker files created by others. Once you are comfortable, try making tours and placemarkers of your own. Note: this software uses more than the usual "bandwidth" to stay connected to the Internet while you are using it, so dial-up and slow connections will not work. Some schools block this tool because of the bandwidth needed, but teachers should not let this stop you from requesting this software to use in whole-class or group settings.
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In the Classroom: Skills needed: Permission and ability to download and install the free version. Use tutorials from this site to learn more, or try some Google Earth files from TeachersFirst's Globetracker's Mission to get a taste of what the program can do. Get started by exploring the different LAYERS available in the left side and searching a location you know. Locate and try the tools to drag, tilt, zoom, and even measure distance. Extensive user forums are available through the help menus.
Safety/security concerns: None. This tool is listed as "Edge" simply because it requires software download and installation (and may be blocked by some schools due to bandwidth demands). No log-in or memberships are required. Placemarker files created by you "live" on the computer where you make or save them and are not shared on the web. Note that your computer will ask whether you wish to save your “temporary places” (any places you have marked during a session) each time you close Google Earth. If many students use that computer, you may find you have a disorganized mess of saved places. Be sure to direct students to either name their saved places logically and file them into folders or NOT to save them to My Places! Students and teachers can create placemarker (.kmz or .kml) files and share them as email attachments, files on a USB "stick," or any other means you would use to share a file, just like a Word document.
Another practical tip: if students are using Google Earth on several machines at the same time, you may put a heavy load on your school network. Plan accordingly, perhaps having groups alternate their Google Earth time if it becomes sluggish.
Possible Uses: Use Google Earth to teach geography or simply give location context to class readings or current events, especially on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Ex. you can tilt to show the peaks scaled by Lewis and Clark or volcanoes that rise in the Aleutians. Have students show the locations of historic events or literary settings and create placemarkers with links to learn more. Placemarker text is editable by going to the placemarker’s “properties” or “info,” so students can enter the text description, place title, and any inks they want to include, such as a link to a certain passage of text, an image of a character, or news image/article for a current events map. Students who know html code can get even more sophisticated in what they include in placemarkers. Have students/groups create and play a “tour” of critical locations for global warming, a comparison of volcanoes, or a family history of immigration. Navigate the important locations in a work of literature using Google Lit Trips or search the web for placemarker files connected to civil war battles, natural resources, and more. Turn layers on and off to look at population centers and transportation systems. Teach the concept of scale/proportion using a tactile experience on an interactive whiteboard and the scale and measurement tools. See more ideas at the teacher-created Google Earth 101 wiki reviewed here. Even if you do not venture into creating your own placemarker files, there are many already made and available for use by teachers and students. TeachersFirst’s Globetracker’s Mission includes a weekly file to follow the Mission.
Find free interactives in Math, Logic, and Language Arts using this colorful site. Choose your grade level (K-6) and then your specific topic. Some examples of topics include: Time and Money, Problem Solving, Reading and Comprehension, Range, Mean, Median, and Mode, Grammar, Literature, and countless others. Find help in the homework help section along the right side of the site. You may also do a more generalized search by using the links for “Popular,” “Math,” or “Language Arts.” Many of the activities have been created by other sites or educators (you may even notice some familiar characters, such as Big Bird). Some activities may have ads appearing beside them. Students should be advised to ignore these ads. 10284
In the Classroom: Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Make it a kinesthetic “center” for students to explore using your interactive whiteboard. Use these activities to strengthen skills, provide practice, and identify weaknesses. For example, use math games that teach graphing, analyzing, and counting. There is a wide variety of topics here, so be sure to peruse this site before your new unit or lesson! Using examples on this site, students can create their own homework help using a wiki, blog, or other site to help others. Allow students to “rate” the games using stars or smiley faces and comment on how the game helps them learn. Play a variety of word and other language arts games. Be sure to list this link on your class website or wiki for students to access both in and out of the classroom.
This well-designed website has books for 8 levels of readers from picture books to adult-level subjects in 17 general categories. Search using the advanced search function or browse through the favorites. Look for fiction or non-fiction, parts of series, and best of all books for reluctant readers. All books feature a summary and also an illustration taken from the book. The descriptions of the books are very enticing and often include quotes from the text. 10297
In the Classroom: This is a great source for finding and showing students how to find independent reading. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Since students often ask for books like Harry Potter, for example, put this link on your class web page. Show students how to click on the keywords once they find a category they like. When students ask for another book in the same series, this is a great place to start looking. Allowing reluctant readers to search and find their own book is a way to build investment in their reading future. Encourage students to write their own reviews of favorite books not found here. Use the site for a lesson in citing sources and punctuating quotations.
This site accepts students' letters to their favorite authors, describing why they liked their book(s). Each student may write only one letter. Students can write to any author, living or dead. Each year, judging of the letters takes place in December. So this is a great site during the fall months! On the site, there are links to a teacher's guide for helping the students write the letter and lesson plans about the letter writing. 10301
In the Classroom: Have your class read some of the award-winning letters from other years on the overhead projector, interactive whiteboard, or projector. Talk about what the winning characteristics are. Share the suggestions the site makes to encourage your writers to use clear and metaphorical language. Use this site to teach your students proper letter writing skills. Check out the Letter Generator for some ideas, reviewed here. Check with your administration to see what their guidelines are for submitting contest entries, particularly submitting names and addresses of students. The site is quite flexible about those types of requirements. Have the class share their letters and create a "referral" library for students looking for outside reading materials. Have your international students share letters about international writers to encourage broader reading interests. Why not use the letters to create a class online book of letters, using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here.
This site details the life and many attempted voyages of the English explorer Henry Hudson. Although the site is very “wordy,” it is very inclusive and excellent for research. It includes a lot of facts, maps, information about each voyage, information about nautical measurements, and details about his ships and crews. The information and maps available here are based on the author combing historical books and documents and information. An extensive bibliography and list of weblinks relating to Hudson adds interest to the maps and history on the site. 10324
In the Classroom: Have the students make a cumulative map of all Hudson’s voyages together in order for them to get a chance to become intimately familiar with the map making process. Try a site such as Woices (beta) (reviewed here). Woices allows students to create audio recordings AND choose a location on a map where each story takes place. Have each cooperative learning group focus on a different exploration. Compare their creations with the online map which has all four voyages combined. Assign students in a group each a few pages of an imagined journal Henry might have written on each voyage. The most interesting part will be to imagine what happened to him after people no longer heard from him! Use this site as the starting point for individual research papers. Encourage students to find other resources that contribute to their knowledge of Henry Hudson. Have students write a talk Hudson might give if he suddenly woke up today (like Rip Van Winkle). Or make it more Web 2.0 and have students write blog entries. The text passages on this site are also ideal for reading comprehension practice. Project them on an interactive whiteboard for practice in main idea, summarizing, and more.
Looking for a clever way to display a title? Enter your words, and this site will look through flickr pictures to create titles from individual pictures. Note that ads display throughout the site as well as while the images are loading. Simply take a snapshot of the words (use print screen for PC or command-shift-4 on a Mac) or drag each letter image to your desktop. Alternatively, use the embed code provided. Don't like one or more of the letters? Simply click each letter and a new one will be generated. See an example here.
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In the Classroom: Students can use this site to create interesting and unique titles for projects, presentations, or blog titles. Use this site to make your lessons grab your students’ attention (which isn’t always easy). Decorate your classroom with intriguing signs and reminders created using this tool. Have students use this site themselves for projects, intriguing spelling practice, or more. Kindergarten teachers might like to "show" students what their names look like in multiple type fonts and to make bus list bulletin boards using these creative lettering forms. Art teachers can use this tool to demonstrate different types of letter graphics and letter collages. This might be a good link to list on your class website so families can access the site at home.
Use this searchable blog to locate images within the public domain for you to use on web sites, in multimedia projects, and more. The site provides complete source information on each image, as well as its rationale for treating the image as "public domain." Public Domain images are not subject to copyright restrictions, so you may use them in places that do not qualify for "Fair Use," such as on open web sites, blogs, etc. Though we are not legal experts and this review should in no way be deemed to be legal advice, our editors found that the evidence of public domain seems credible on this site. The site does include extensive advertising and links to non-education topics and blogs, the collection is very useful for teachers of any level or subject. Note: Because of extensive advertising and links, teachers should spell out specific consequences for following these non-educational links and may want to limit use of this site by students to times when you can monitor directly. 10267
In the Classroom: Find images to illustrate curriculum topics, such as historical photos and cultural images. Include them in activities on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Art teachers can use images freely to illustrate design concepts. Create montages of images from eras in history, a culture, or scientific concepts to give visual learners a way to remember new content. "Harvest" images for students to use in their own projects, saving them on a local drive or computer (copying these images is OK!). Have students select an image as an inspiration for a writing assignment or blog post. Upload images to Voicethread reviewed here and have students critique or explain it orally in a world language, science, or social studies class. Have student groups use these copyright-safe images (with credit, of course) in their online Bookemon books reviewed here or Scrapblogs reviewed here about a curriculum concept.
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Look no further for holiday activities for your ESL and ELL students (or for reading/listening comprehension activities you can use with all learners! This site lists conventional and unusual holidays by month. Click the holiday you would like to feature to find a complete lesson including a tape script, an oral recording of the script, and a variety of review exercises. The printable activities include matching, several varieties of fill-in-the-blank, word choices, spelling, reordering events and sentences from the holiday information, and writing activities. An online clickable reading activity presents parts of sentences, so students must select which sentence part comes first. The screen changes when the correct part comes up, and students select the next part.
