TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Sep 1, 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
Rewordify - Neil M. Goldman
Grades
4 to 12
9 Favorites
0 Comments
Rewordify helps you understand what you read. Paste any text or website into the box to rewordify the text into simpler language. Easier to understand words replace difficult text shown...more
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Rewordify helps you understand what you read. Paste any text or website into the box to rewordify the text into simpler language. Easier to understand words replace difficult text shown with highlighting. Click on the highlighting to view the original, more difficult word(s). View excellent student and teacher demonstrations showing how to use the website. You have the option to choose how Rewordify displays the results using the options in the settings. Several options allow for easy personalization of results.
tag(s): multilingual (66), reading comprehension (143), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (90)
In the Classroom
This site is a must for saving and bookmarking for classroom use! Start the school year out by posting the link to Rewordify on your class website and parent newsletter for student and parent access from home. Be sure to share with learning support and ENL/ELL teachers and students. Save a link to Rewordify on classroom computers for students to easily paste text from any website to read in a simpler format. Copy and paste any difficult text into Rewordify and display on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to enhance student understanding or show meaning in complex texts. Have students guess meanings from context clues in the more complex version, then share the "rewordified" view to test their guesses. Have students create a word cloud of difficult words identified using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. Have students take a screen shot of passages that have been "rewordified" to share and discuss.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Drama Resource - David Farmer
Grades
K to 6
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Find drama instruction including lessons, games, and strategies. Choose the Games link to find a game of the week as well as many other activities for icebreakers, improvisation,...more
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Find drama instruction including lessons, games, and strategies. Choose the Games link to find a game of the week as well as many other activities for icebreakers, improvisation, storytelling, and more. Explore many different dramatic strategies through brief descriptions, videos, and downloadable templates. Choose from several primary drama lessons including one on anti-bullying. There are also history-related "dramas" such as World War II Evacuees to bring historical events to life. A new addition to the site is Making Drama Out of a Crisis - teaching drama online or socially distanced. The site was created in the UK, so some of the pronunciations and spellings may differ from those in American English.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): acting (18), back to school (63), bullying (49), digital storytelling (141), stories and storytelling (40)
In the Classroom
Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects. If you are looking for ways to get students more involved with history lessons, drama may be just the thing. Take advantage of the free lesson plans included on the site. Use lessons and activities as part of your storytelling unit, for beginning of the year activities, or to promote higher level thinking skills. Have students create their own mini-drama moment: upload a photo they have taken and add voice bubbles for dialog using a tool such as Phrase.it, reviewed here. Have students create animated movies online demonstrating different drama techniques using Kizoa, reviewed here.
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Bomb Sight - Mapping the World War 2 London Blitz - The Bomb Sight Project
Grades
7 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Use web-mapping applications to display, explore, and search different bombing locations across London during the Blitz from July 10, 1940 through June 6, 1941. Click on any icon on...more
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Use web-mapping applications to display, explore, and search different bombing locations across London during the Blitz from July 10, 1940 through June 6, 1941. Click on any icon on the map to view the type of bomb, date recorded, and view images taken nearby during that time period. Zoom in and out. Many icons also include links to people's stories relating to the area during the time of the bombings. Choose the Explore London option to select particular areas of London with additional information about bombing activity in that area.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): churchill (7), england (50), hitler (6), maps (207), world war 2 (149)
In the Classroom
This site is perfect for use on an interactive whiteboard or projector during any World War 2 unit to visually display the impact of the Blitz on London. Make the Blitz more "real" to your students by sharing the stories and images as first person narratives (primary sources). Have students use Fakebook (reviewed here) to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a resident of London during the time period. This would be a great way to help students understand why Britain came together so strongly during WWII, an experience that most students today cannot relate to.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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GeoGuessr - Anton Wallen
Grades
9 to 12
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Use visual clues to guess where you are in the world. View images taken from Google Street View alongside a map of the world. Click on the map to indicate ...more
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Use visual clues to guess where you are in the world. View images taken from Google Street View alongside a map of the world. Click on the map to indicate where the photo may be located. GeoGuessr reveals the actual location. Points are based on how close your guesses are to the original location. Share the location by Facebook, Google plus, email, and more. GeoGuessr is a cool new tool similar to the
View From Your Window Game.
tag(s): countries (69), cross cultural understanding (157), cultures (132), maps (207)
In the Classroom
Use this tool on an Interactive Whiteboard (or projector) with an entire class. Students can work as a class, individually, or in groups to identify clues in the image. Use the clues to discuss information about social structure, livelihood, religion, landforms, and other cultural information. Use this information to uncover and correct misconceptions and discuss cultural differences in countries outside the US. When the answer is revealed, the names of many other countries are shown. Use this opportunity to reinforce past learning of geography and culture. Go beyond the culture to learn about the various foods, agriculture, and other aspects of their lives. Research the local ecosystem to determine native plants and animals found in the country. Create a poem or story set in that locale using information learned through research. Are you a connected educator? Find other educators around the World using Twitter to make connections between classrooms. Join the Across the World Once a Week project to share about the culture where you live.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Game Ideas for Kids - Joanne McNulty
Grades
K to 4
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Find many ideas for games from categories such as online games, printable games, or behavior charts. Other ideas offered are for outdoor games, classroom games, board games, card games,...more
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Find many ideas for games from categories such as online games, printable games, or behavior charts. Other ideas offered are for outdoor games, classroom games, board games, card games, and many more. Choose an item of interest; then read instructions and print activities if included.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): behavior (43), preK (255), printables (37), puzzles (143)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site to use throughout the year as a resource for finding game ideas and printables. Use these activities for holiday parties, everyday review games, and more. Share with parents as a resource and suggest ways to incorporate learning into game play. Invite your students (or groups) to invent their own games based on what they learn in research projects or in class. Create a classroom game shelf of student-made games based on various curriculum units.
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Quozio - Quozio.com
Grades
4 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Turn meaningful words into beautiful images in just seconds using Quozio. Paste or type your quote into the quote box or use the site's bookmarklet to highlight text from the ...more
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Turn meaningful words into beautiful images in just seconds using Quozio. Paste or type your quote into the quote box or use the site's bookmarklet to highlight text from the web to use as your quote. Enter who said it. Scroll through background images available to use with your quote. When finished, share via Pinterest, Facebook, or email. You can also RIGHT click the image to SAVE image as and download a copy to your computer for printing or use elsewhere. Register on Quozio using your email to save quotes directly on the Quozio site.
tag(s): bulletin boards (14), images (262), quotations (20), writing prompts (58)
In the Classroom
Use Quozio to create a beautiful image to begin a unit. Start with an interesting quote or comment. View the finished picture on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) as a starting point for the unit. Make a bulletin board of quote images as writing prompts or verbal snapshots of an era, an author, or a famous person. Have older students be responsible for creating a Quozio image each week with a quote of the week or interesting comment on events that occur in class. Have students choose one interesting quote or piece of information from any text to create a Quozio then have students explain their choice as part of a class presentation.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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