TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Mar 3, 2013
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
Virtual Geoboard - Math Learning Center
Grades
K to 8
tag(s): angles (51), geometric shapes (136), manipulatives (8)
In the Classroom
Display the virtual geoboard on your interactive whiteboard or projector to demonstrate what students create on their individual whiteboard. Younger students can use the online geoboards to practice creating squares, triangles, and more. Older students can use the geoboard to explore various triangle formations and angles. Create a link to this site on classroom computers for students to explore as a center. Use the print option on your computer to print creations formed with virtual geoboard for students to label and identify. Be sure to provide this link on your class website for students to access at home.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Sound Around You - University of Salford
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): cross cultural understanding (157), listening (68), maps (209), senses (20), sound (74), sounds (43)
In the Classroom
Those who teach geography and world cultures will like this! Use this resource to get your students thinking about the sounds around them. Include it when studying sound or the human ear in science class. Connect with other subjects by envisioning smells that would be there or craft a story inspired by the sounds heard at a specific location. Play sounds for your younger students and ask what they hear. Create sound stories together -- or as a creative project --by playing a series of sounds to tell the tale! Use your imagination to add this resource to other location projects used throughout the year. World language teachers could assign students to create a sound and word story about a cultural location. Use these sounds as background and add the dialog!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Math Monday - National Museum of Mathematics
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): colors (65), fractions (159), geometric shapes (136), origami (15), pi (26), puzzles (143)
In the Classroom
Share articles with students and replicate activities included in the article. Share the video demonstrations on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Transform learning and challenge cooperative learning groups to create videos sharing problem solving techniques used during these lessons. Use a video creation tool such as MoocNote, reviewed here to create interactive lessons (can embed quizzes and documents), or Edpuzzle, reviewed here. Use activities in the article as inspiration for Math night activities or Math Fair projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Poem Hunter - PoemHunter.com
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): authors (103), biographies (93), literature (217), poetry (189), quotations (20)
In the Classroom
Bookmark PoemHunter to use as a resource for finding poetry or quotations for classroom use. Share with students to find poems based on personal interest or specific topics. Use as a model when students create their own poems. Challenge students to create their own poems to be shared on a class poetry wiki. Not comfortable with wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Victorians - Learn to Work Like a Historian - The National Archives - United Kingdom
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): britain (27), careers (139), england (50), great britain (16), victorian (16), women (137)
In the Classroom
View this site and the videos together as a class on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) as part of career days. Use this site as an introduction to history and how research is completed, or as part of your studies of England or the Victorian Era. Have students watch on their own and complete notes as they view the videos and information. Break the site up into portions and assign to different groups of students. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and more using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Peek: Create Your Perfect Day - Ruzwana Bashir and Oskar Gruening
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creative writing (122), local history (14), virtual field trips (80)
In the Classroom
Although this is not a typical "educational" site, the possibilities for classroom use are unlimited. Have students create their perfect day using the site as a story starter or creative writing prompt. Use the site to plan a virtual field trip anywhere. Have students create a day in the life of a story character, famous person from history, or in the career of their choosing. Retell any important date in history using Peek as a guideline. Teach budget planning by having students research and plan a perfect travel day. World language or world cultures classes can use this to create a day focused on the cultural riches of the country they are studying. Language students can write about it in their new language. After students create their perfect day, create an online folder or wiki page with links to all of the "perfect days" for other students to use as writing prompts (creative or informational). Share all students' perfect days on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use this site to create a perfect day for visitors to your school or community.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
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World History TimeMap - TimeMaps Ltd
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), 1800s (72), 1900s (73), 20th century (59), africa (137), asia (68), china (62), egypt (45), europe (75), greeks (31), india (25), israel (14), maps (209), mayans (10), north america (14), romans (33), timelines (49)
In the Classroom
Explore time periods together on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Find the time period you are teaching then explore pins to view more information about different civilizations during that time. Assign students different civilizations to research during a time period using TimeMaps as a starting point. Have students create their own comics to explain a civilization using comic-creation tools from this collection.Comments
Excellent interactive and visual timeline for students!! It's free!!Jackson, MD, Grades: 6 - 12
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Historical Thinking Interactive Poster (Secondary) - National History Education Clearinghouse
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): civil rights (194), evaluating sources (28), history day (40), infographics (55), primary sources (115)
In the Classroom
Use your projector or interactive whiteboard and teach your students how to think like a historian. There are some interesting links here for you and your students to investigate. For instance, there are links for exploring the modern civil rights movement, primary sources to look at diary entries from other time periods, examining lithographs, using and reading multiple perspectives, and several more. You may want to go through each quadrant with the entire class, or you might want to assign groups to become "specialists" in a quadrant and have them present it to your class. Challenge the groups to create presentations using Prezi, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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My Favourite Scientist - Brady Haran, Nottingham Trent University
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): biographies (93), darwin (13), scientists (62)
In the Classroom
Use as a resource for finding more information about a variety of different scientists told from a scientist's perspective. Share the videos on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Consider having students create their own report about the importance of research and not just the biographical information about a scientist. Encourage students to make their own videos (or other presentation tool) about scientists to place on a wiki, site, or blog. Have students use one of the many TeachersFirst Edge multimedia tools reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Take Me Fishing - Fishopedia - The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animals (280), conservation (83), environment (240), fish (18)
In the Classroom
Use this resource to help your students learn more about local fish and the effects of human behavior on aquatic life. Have students use a fish to tell its own story with the additional assistance of a tool like Blabberize, reviewed here, where you can make your fish "talk!" Use in environmental science courses to help students understand sustainability and conservation. Try using it as part of practice for Envirothon competitions. Perhaps even start a wildlife club and use this site to prepare for a field trip of fishing.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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