TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Apr 24, 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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Free Online Stopwatch - Ummay

Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites 0  Comments
 
Free Online Stopwatch offers an assortment of popular clock tools - all ad free, simple, and easy to share! Choose from the Stopwatch, Alarm Clock, Current Time, Timer, or Date ...more
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Free Online Stopwatch offers an assortment of popular clock tools - all ad free, simple, and easy to share! Choose from the Stopwatch, Alarm Clock, Current Time, Timer, or Date Countdown. Also, find emoticons for social media and email at the bottom of the page. Click on any of the social media links at the top to easily share your countdown. Download the program to begin.

tag(s): classroom management (128), organizational skills (90)

In the Classroom

There are many uses for this practical online tool. At the beginning of the school year, display on your interactive whiteboard or projector to time or count down any classroom activity. This will get the students in the habit of checking how much time they have left. Project the Stopwatch or Timer while students take a test, solve a drag and drop, practice speeches, rotate between learning centers, or join cooperative learning groups. When rotating between centers or taking turns in a cooperative learning group, schedule the time sequence to keep everyone on track. Use the Date Countdown to share days until any important event via social media. Share this tool on your class website for students to use at home (to practice taking timed math practice tests, practice for a speech, and more).

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Sutori - Thomas Ketchell, Jonathan Ketchell, Yoran Brondsema, Steven Chi

Grades
2 to 12
5 Favorites 0  Comments
 
Create an interactive timeline; scroll down the page to browse through the Gallery to find lesson plans, templates, and Sutori's library of ready-made timelines. The Sutori timelines...more
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Create an interactive timeline; scroll down the page to browse through the Gallery to find lesson plans, templates, and Sutori's library of ready-made timelines. The Sutori timelines in the library are the creation of Sutori's team of historians and teachers and are Common Core Standards aligned. When creating a free timeline, it can include images, text, and collaboration. Sign up with your email and get a link to start with a walk-through tutorial to help set up classes, students, and timelines. Students will need the class code. There is a part of the site that has timelines and lessons bundled for a fee. This review is for the free part of this tool. Sutori will work on any device with a modern web browser and an Internet connection.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): american revolution (81), civil war (134), immigration (64), photosynthesis (20), timelines (49), womens suffrage (44), world war 1 (72)

In the Classroom

Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to share timelines about historical events and more. Have students create timelines for research projects. Create author biographies, animal life cycles, or timelines of events and causes of wars. Challenge students to create a timeline of the plot of a novel. If you teach chemistry, have students create illustrated sequences explaining oxidation or reduction (or both). Have elementary students interview grandparents and create a class timeline about their grandparents for Grandparents' Day. In world language classes, have students create a timeline of their family in the language to master using vocabulary about relatives, jobs, and more (and verb tenses!). Students learn about photo selection, detail writing, chronological order, and more while creating the timelines of their choice. Making a timeline is also a good way to review the history of a current event or cultural developments.

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Just Flip A Coin - My Tech Tailor

Grades
K to 12
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Do you sometimes wish you had a coin in your pocket to make a quick decision? Just Flip A Coin does it for you! Open the site and watch the ...more
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Do you sometimes wish you had a coin in your pocket to make a quick decision? Just Flip A Coin does it for you! Open the site and watch the coin flip a few times before landing on heads or tails. Choose "Flip Again" for a do-over!

tag(s): classroom management (128), probability (96)

In the Classroom

Although this site is extremely simple, you will find many classroom uses. Be sure to bookmark it for later use. Use Just Flip A Coin on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to choose leaders of teams, decide between options for classroom games or activities, or decide between two book choices. Have students use an actual coin to flip and compare results with Just Flip A Coin for a math probability lesson.

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Virtual Number Rack - Math Learning Center

Grades
K to 4
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Practice number sense skills using beads on the virtual number rack (similar to an abacus). Movable beads encourage you to think in groups of fives and tens while practicing addition,...more
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Practice number sense skills using beads on the virtual number rack (similar to an abacus). Movable beads encourage you to think in groups of fives and tens while practicing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division strategies. Add or subtract rows of beads using links provided. Display up to 100 beads at one time. Use the shade key to hide beads or drag the corner of the bead to move or change its size. Use the start over button to clear the rack and start with a new set of beads. Be sure to visit the information portion of the site for free resources, including a 10 page activity book for use with the virtual number rack. Click on the lowercase "i" at the bottom right for complete directions.

tag(s): addition (128), counting (60), division (98), manipulatives (8), multiplication (122), number sense (70), numbers (119), operations (72), preK (254), subtraction (109)

In the Classroom

View the virtual number board together as a class (or a center) on your interactive whiteboard or projector to practice counting and basic operational skills. Use this with younger students learning to count to 10 or 100. Create a link on classroom computers for students to explore and practice on their own. Share a link to the site on your class website or blog for students to practice at home. When finished, have students draw the problems they created and include the appropriate number sentence for each drawing.

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SignUp - Volunteer Spot

Grades
K to 12
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With SignUp, formerly VolunteerSpot, manage classroom helpers, conference nights, and much more with this easy to use web service. This is a real time-saver since everyone schedules...more
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With SignUp, formerly VolunteerSpot, manage classroom helpers, conference nights, and much more with this easy to use web service. This is a real time-saver since everyone schedules their own time online - no more gathering and sorting papers, and preparing schedules! After signing up for free at the site, teachers can create items and add to a calendar along with different length time spots, as needed. Once the event has been set up, share the URL with parents and others via a web page link, email, or school newsletter. Once a participant has signed up for a time spot they receive email confirmation and an email reminder close before their assigned time. (WOW!) They can also go in and cancel their assigned time completely or choose another time. This feature can be locked if you don't want changes close to the event. Schedules are printable so that they can be posted and used during the event period. For a quick overview of how to use the site, be sure to watch the short video tour included on the home page. Video tutorials reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): calendars (40), parent conferences (24)

In the Classroom

Teachers can use this for conference night sign-ups; parents can see time slots available immediately and choose what is best for them. This is also great to use for classroom volunteer schedules, class snack sign-ups, and more. School organizations such as PTO's can use this to schedule volunteers for fundraisers, library helpers, and any other activities requiring a volunteer pool. After creating an event, be sure to post the link to the sign up on your class webpage, blog, and in class newsletters. Teachers will also love using this to organize faculty events and more.

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Sheppard Software Math - Sheppard Software

Grades
K to 12
14 Favorites 0  Comments
 
This math site is a MUST SEE for teachers of all grade levels. Much of this site is designed for K-8 teachers, but there are a few activities for the ...more
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This math site is a MUST SEE for teachers of all grade levels. Much of this site is designed for K-8 teachers, but there are a few activities for the high school grades. Although the site is mainly a drill and practice, it offers such an array of topics and levels that there is something for everyone here (and it is terrific for differentiating lessons in the classroom). Sample topics include roman numerals, Algebra II, pre-algebra, measurement, absolute value, early childhood math, telling time, money, place value, fractions, decimals, mixed operations, and more! And did we mention, each topic include rich, colorful interactives for students to practice skills! Most topics also include options to specify content (for example, choosing to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division).

tag(s): decimals (84), fractions (159), money (119), place value (34), preK (254), roman numerals (7), time (92)

In the Classroom

Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard, then allow students to explore on their own. This is a great site to use as a learning station or center. Be sure to list this link on your class website for extra practice or advanced materials for gifted students. Save this site in your favorites, since there are so many topics you are sure to find materials throughout the entire school year.

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Remember The Milk - Remember the Milk.com

Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites 0  Comments
 
Your busy life needs a manager. Now you have one: RememberTheMilk.com (also known as RTM). Don't worry about missing a date; any or all of these applications or programs will ...more
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Your busy life needs a manager. Now you have one: RememberTheMilk.com (also known as RTM). Don't worry about missing a date; any or all of these applications or programs will remind you: email, SMS, and instant messenger (AIM, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, Skype and Yahoo) are all supported. Set up a free account in minutes. Secondary students will embrace this tool to remind them of tests or assignments or sporting events. List making has made it to a whole new level.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (143), organizational skills (90), time (92)

In the Classroom

Read the Blog at this site to learn many cool ways to interact with your personal computer an devices using RTM. Learning support teachers and teachers of disorganized gifted students may want to "model" using such an online tool to help middle and high school students learn better personal organization. Make a demo account for a "mythical" student and organize him/her together so students can see how it works. You will have to check school policies and access to some of the messaging tools, however, since some may be prohibited in your school. Learning support and gifted teachers will welcome this online tool as an engaging way for students to become better-organized. Give students a tech tool, and they just might try it!

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