TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Apr 3, 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
National Robotics Week - iRobot Corporation
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): engineering (117), robotics (22), STEM (259)
In the Classroom
Start a discussion about what students know about robots. Introduce them to the National Robotics Week celebration and get them involved in one of the events or the Instructables contest. Not sure where to start? Check out the resources on this page. Replace paper and pencil and ask small teams of students use Mindmeister, reviewed here, and create a mind map for the steps they have to take to build a robot. Modify technology use and challenge students create a comic strip about building a robot or something the robot will do using Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Classtools Countdown Timer - Classtools.net
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (128), counting (60), time (91)
In the Classroom
There are many uses for this practical online tool. Get out your interactive whiteboard or projection screen (or even the classroom desktop computer) and make sure the speakers are turned up. Use this tool for students to practice speeches, or to limit the time for a quiz or spelling test. Use the countdown feature for timing the rotations from center to center. You can even use the timer for reading fluency exercises or physical education warm-ups! A clever classroom management tool would be to start the visible count-down on your computer screen when you want the class to settle down for directions or to transition to the next subject. Select calming music for quiet times. Students may even want to use this tool for themselves. Kindergarten students can practice counting along with the watch!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover at Namib Dune (360 view) - NASA
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Share this video (or the images) with students using your projector or an interactive whiteboard as you explore the surface of Mars together. Have students use Twitter Fictional Account Template, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Twitter about an astronaut traveling to Mars. Challenge student to modify their learning and create a newspaper using a site such as Printing Press, reviewed here, with all the latest news on the exploration of Mars. Be sure to check out the NASA YouTube channel for additional videos from Mars and the Curiosity Rover.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Solvemall Crosswords Online - Solvemall.com
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): crosswords (19), problem solving (225), puzzles (143)
In the Classroom
Share the puzzles on your interactive whiteboard or projector to play as a class. Use as a learning center or for rainy day recess. Create a link to the puzzles on classroom computers or your class website. Crosswords are a great find for use with gifted students to practice logic and problem-solving skills. Challenge students to create their own crosswords using a tool like Eclipse Crossword Creator, reviewed here, or Just Crosswords, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Sketchfab - Alban Denoyel, Cedric Pinson, & Pierre Antoine Passet
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): animation (61), architecture (64), planets (111), plants (141)
In the Classroom
Share some of the many 3D models such as a human heart, the White House, or monarch butterflies. Display these on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector. Share with students with advanced knowledge of gaming and 3D as a resource for sharing their own 3D models and viewing materials made by others. If your school has a computer club, share this site with its sponsor for use with students. Do you or someone on your campus have a 3D printer? Explore and find printables to download and print. If you don't have access to a 3D printer you may want to write a grant for one. See GetEd Funding, reviewed here, for grant writing.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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MetPublications - Metropolitan Museum of Art
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): art history (85), artists (77)
In the Classroom
Share this site with your school's art teacher. Explore artwork from different time periods or places as part of social studies lessons. Encourage students to explore this site on their own to learn more about the various components of art. Have students create an annotated image of different pieces of art including text boxes, related links, and videos using a tool such as Google Drawings, reviewed here. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use it: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Literary Devices - literarydevices.net
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): dictionaries (48), literary devices (13)
In the Classroom
Writing and English teachers will want to bookmark this site for use throughout the school year! Share different devices with a projector or interactive whiteboard to help define and understand their use. Introduce a few terms each week for students to explore and find in their reading materials and to use in their writing. Have students create an online or printed comic using different literary devices. First, have students create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. Then, have students create a comic strip online using Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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