TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Mar 20, 2016

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

 

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It's Okay To Be Smart YouTube Channel - Joe Hanson

Grades
6 to 12
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This YouTube Channel contains videos based on the PBS Series of the same name. You can also view the It's Okay To Be Smart blog reviewed here. New...more
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This YouTube Channel contains videos based on the PBS Series of the same name. You can also view the It's Okay To Be Smart blog reviewed here. New videos are uploaded weekly with titles such as "Why Seasons Make No Sense" and "How Big is the Solar System?" Most videos are under 10 minutes in length making them perfect for quick but meaningful lessons. Be sure to check out playlists with videos sorted by topics including physics, earth, and more. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): animals (278), climate change (87), earth (185), endangered species (28), energy (131), evolution (85), food chains (17), human body (93), space (212), video (256)

In the Classroom

Flip your classroom and use a video as homework. Have students take notes on the material and write down questions they still have and topics that confuse them. They can do this with pen and paper or online. If you want the assignment online, explain to students they need to open a new tab in their browser window and take notes with a tool such as Webnote, reviewed here; tell students to be sure to save the URL to share their notes and questions with you and their peers. Or you could use a tool like EdPuzzle, reviewed here, for students to pause videos and ask or answer questions right on the video. These activities can uncover misconceptions. Show the video to the class, and then discuss the concept at length. To share a single video from this site without all the YouTube clutter, use a tool such as View Pure, reviewed here, and create a shortcut to the View Pure page directly on the desktop. For more advanced classes, provide time for students to choose a video to view and research the underlying concept.

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ThemeSpark - David Hunter

Grades
K to 12
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Create standards-based lessons and rubrics in minutes with ThemeSpark. Incorporate your ready-made materials or use global resources available on the site. The lesson builder includes...more
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Create standards-based lessons and rubrics in minutes with ThemeSpark. Incorporate your ready-made materials or use global resources available on the site. The lesson builder includes the ability to add a hook, information to learn, practice, and application activity. When finished, download the lesson in an easy to use format. Be sure to watch the QuickStart Lesson Builder video and read through the FAQ section on the site for full information about creating lessons and using ThemeSpark. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): assessment (147), professional development (388), rubrics (33), Teacher Utilities (146)

In the Classroom

Use ThemeSpark for all of your lesson planning. Copy and paste current lesson plans to Theme Spark to match to standards. Collaborate with peers to create and develop standards-based lessons for your entire curriculum. This is perfect for when you need to have a sub, and for those teachers who must have a week of lesson plans on their desk for an administrator.

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Blog About - Impact

Grades
5 to 12
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Blog About is a blog title generator and a nifty tool to generate writing ideas with specific content. Click the refresh button to view different writing topics or add your ...more
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Blog About is a blog title generator and a nifty tool to generate writing ideas with specific content. Click the refresh button to view different writing topics or add your own to the provided blank. Then choose the "Next" button to narrow your topic to specific points. Use the refresh button (heart) to view different ideas for focusing on the subject. Be sure to check out the "writer's block?" link on the right side of the page to access a page to doodle your thoughts and download when finished. Don't be thrown off by the "business" prompts; keep clicking and you'll get to prompts about challenges, opinions, improvement, and plenty more.

tag(s): blogs (66), creative writing (122), persuasive writing (55), writing (315), writing prompts (57)

In the Classroom

Use Blog About to come up with a list of topics for your class blog or student blogs. Try the generator to come up with ideas for creative writing assignments, student research projects, or student reading responses. This is an excellent tool for students who say they don't know what to write about. Math and science students can use Blog About to help them narrow their focus on curriculum concepts by doing some research for the prompts that come up. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration.

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PenPal Schools - Joe Troyen

Grades
4 to 12
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PenPal Schools connects learners from around the world with three to six-week courses in cross-cultural learning and understanding. After sign up, PenPal Schools matches classes based...more
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PenPal Schools connects learners from around the world with three to six-week courses in cross-cultural learning and understanding. After sign up, PenPal Schools matches classes based on class size and age range. Choose courses from four categories based on global issues or American issues. Each week, students log in to complete an assignment that typically involves viewing a video and reading a news article before answering a set of questions. Assignments are aligned with the Common Core Standards. PenPal Schools will work on any device with a modern web browser and an Internet connection.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (156)

In the Classroom

Create an account and participate in different courses as part of your studies of current events. Enrich course content by having students create an annotated image based on discussion questions including text boxes, related links, and even video. Use Thinglink, reviewed here, for this activity. Have cooperative learning groups create podcasts demonstrating their understanding of one of the concepts. Use a tool such as podOmatic, reviewed here.

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The Wright Brothers - Who Were Wilbur & Orville? - Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

Grades
K to 12
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Learn how two ordinary bicycle mechanics changed the world with this in-depth look at the life of Orville & Wilbur Wright. Follow the timeline beginning in 1630 to learn about ...more
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Learn how two ordinary bicycle mechanics changed the world with this in-depth look at the life of Orville & Wilbur Wright. Follow the timeline beginning in 1630 to learn about the first American Wright, Samuel, as he arrived in Massachusetts with the Puritans. Continue learning about the Wright family's settlement in Ohio and their work with bicycles leading on up to their famous flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Be sure to check out the interactive experiments, classroom activities, and lesson plans linked near the bottom of the page.

tag(s): aviation (38), flight (31), wright brothers (15)

In the Classroom

What a perfect addition to a lesson about the Wright brothers or a science unit about aviation (physics and more)! Have students work in cooperative learning groups and research a specific topic found at this site. Enhance learning by having students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about one of the Wright brothers or as a spectator viewing one of the first flying machines. Be sure to take advantage of the free experiments and activities available on the site.

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Sign Generator - Ryland Sanders

Grades
K to 12
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Create a personalized sign using the many templates offered on the Sign Generator. Options include personalized cakes, cartoon characters, movie marquees, and much more. Click the thumbnail...more
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Create a personalized sign using the many templates offered on the Sign Generator. Options include personalized cakes, cartoon characters, movie marquees, and much more. Click the thumbnail of the design you want, add your text into the provided lines, and click the link to finish. Your personalized sign appears on a popup image ready to save onto your computer.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): graphic design (50), images (270), photography (131), posters (47)

In the Classroom

Create signs to include with multimedia projects. Customize a sign for use on your interactive whiteboard with directions for seat work or to introduce students presenting projects to the class. Have students use the images to give short story summaries using only four to six words. Create a set of class rules using one of the templates, and then print and post them on a bulletin board.
 

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Big Ideas Video Series - Class Dojo

Grades
K to 8
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The Big Ideas Series, offered by ClassDojo, provides ten video topics encouraging students to explore different ways to healthy social emotional development. The videos discuss concepts...more
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The Big Ideas Series, offered by ClassDojo, provides ten video topics encouraging students to explore different ways to healthy social emotional development. The videos discuss concepts such as Empathy, Perseverance, Positive Thinking, Gratitude, Mindfulness, and more. Each topic has a series of short videos and includes a discussion guide to download for classroom use and a page with take-home questions for parent use.

tag(s): brain (54), emotions (46), empathy (26), learning styles (18), social and emotional learning (80), social skills (22)

In the Classroom

You may want to start your school year by sharing the three part video series on Empathy. Each video is five minutes and has a discussion guide. As a follow up use the Ripples of Kindness activity in small groups. Share younger students' observations on a whiteboard or poster. Older students can share their observations using a tool like Stickies, reviewed here. Dotstorming allows participants to add comments. Share other videos with a projector or on an interactive whiteboard to introduce a video each week and explore the discussion questions together. These videos could be very useful when preparing and motivating students for upcoming standardized testing or at the beginning of a school year to set a tone that everyone can learn. Include a link to videos on your class web page for parents to discuss at home with their student, and be sure to send home the take-home questions with topics to talk about.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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PBS World Explorers - PBS Learning Media

Grades
4 to 8
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Learn about the journeys of 16 explorers with this series of videos from PBS Learning. This series covers early explorers of the globe as well as modern explorers of space ...more
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Learn about the journeys of 16 explorers with this series of videos from PBS Learning. This series covers early explorers of the globe as well as modern explorers of space such as Alan Shepard and Neil Armstrong. Choose any video to watch, download, and view national educational standards covered.

tag(s): columbus day (6), explorers (64), marco polo (3), space (212), video (256)

In the Classroom

Videos are perfect for use on an interactive whiteboard, with a projector, or create a link on classroom computers for students to view on their own. Since the videos are only four to six minutes long, students could research the era of the explorer to see what else was happening in the world and create an infographic using Snappa, reviewed here to share their findings. Have students create online movie posters to advertise the video they watched (individually, as partners, in small groups, or together as a class) using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here. Have students create maps using Zeemaps, reviewed here, sharing each explorer's route. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose various locations on a map where the routes are.

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