TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Jan 22, 2017
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
Skimcast - Bill Hollingsworth
Grades
5 to 8tag(s): multilingual (63), note taking (34), reading strategies (96), summarizing (21)
In the Classroom
Skimcast would be the perfect tool to show students how to take notes for a report or speech or create a study guide during, or at the end of a unit of study. Work together as a class and read the sentences that are just the relevant facts. Then show students how to pull out just the important words - deleting all prepositions, articles, and connector words. Resource teachers can use Skimcast to make reading from core classes shorter and easier for their students. ESL/ELL teachers can use this tool to make the text more understandable to limited English speakers.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Thought Plan - Max Schmitt
Grades
K to 12tag(s): gifted (63), organizational skills (90)
In the Classroom
Use Thought Plan to plan and organize your yearly schedule. All students will appreciate having an online time management account, but learning support students and disorganized gifted students need one. This is also a great tool for ESL/ELL students to help learn organization skills with very simple features. You may want to model using this online tool to help middle and high school students learn personal organization. Share this site the first week of school to get students started on the right foot! Make a demo account for a mythical student and organize his/her daily schedule together so students can see how it works. Share the steps on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Alternately, this idea will work with group projects where students need to learn to manage their project time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Add Text - FlamingText.com Pty Ltd.
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creativity (92), DAT device agnostic tool (142), digital storytelling (140), editing (91), images (268)
In the Classroom
Use Add Text to add captions to images to create memes or posters for your bulletin boards. Use this easy tool with students during back to school time as a way for them to get to know each other. Have students upload a picture of themselves doing their favorite activity and label it with amusing text or a favorite quote (or song lyrics?). Have them upload images that represent their interests and character traits. Print the images with text for a back to school bulletin board. Use after a field trip for students to write captions on the photos they took. Be sure to share the photos on your class webpage, blog, or wiki. Haven't started blogging yet? Check out TeachersFirst's Blog Basics. For other uses, have students practice new words in a world language class by labeling and identifying images in that language. Help ENL/ESL students learn English by labeling the images. Create writing prompts using several annotated images. Have students create annotated images to explain key terms in science class. In ELA class, make homophone or vocabulary images to show the correct word along with a picture that explains it.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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StackExchange - English Language & Usage - StackExchange
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): idioms (32), multilingual (63), vocabulary (234)
In the Classroom
Explore this site with students using an interactive whiteboard or projector. Sometimes students ask a question that stumps you. Use StackExchange English & Usage to get the answer. There are times when we know the approximate meaning of a word we want to use but not the word. That is when this tool will come in handy. ESL/ELL students will find this site helpful when it comes to understanding the idiosyncrasies of the English language. Put a link to this site on your class website for students and parents to use. Share with other staff members and teachers on your campus.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kitten Hop Dolch Word Practice - Arcademics
Grades
K to 2tag(s): preK (253), sight words (22)
In the Classroom
Even if your students have been reading basic sight words for a while, this site offers practice in speed and fluency. You could create a learning center out of this site and have four different students competing on laptops. If you only have one computer and an interactive whiteboard, set up a learning station! Students can work in groups of two or individually to see their speed. If you choose to have students work in partners, be sure to partner each child with a student of similar reading level, so one student isn't providing all of the answers. This is a great simple site to provide for summer practice of sight words.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Learn English Teens - British Council
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): creative writing (121), grammar (133), test prep (66), video (254), vocabulary development (89)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site to your class on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and have your ELL/ESL students use it as one of your learning stations. Short stories and other interactive features of the site would work well with weaker readers and learning support students, too. Encourage your ESL/ELL students to share their writings on Learn English Teens (if allowed by school policy).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Select and Speak - Google Chrome
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): listening (65), text to speech (17)
In the Classroom
Use Select and Speak as your teacher's helper. Be sure to test it out on classroom computers and devices before using it with students. During research or computer explorations, allow students to use this read aloud feature. Honor the students who heavily rely on hearing as their preferred form of comprehending material. In lower grades, research on computers now becomes an easier task. This extension is perfect for ENL/ELL or learning support students to help with vocabulary development, comprehension, fluency, and repetitions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Read the Words - Educational Utilities
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): listening (65), podcasts (71), text to speech (17)
In the Classroom
Primary or resource reading teachers may want to use this site for students to practice reading fluency "side by side" with the online avatar. World language teachers and teachers of limited English speakers will love this website as reinforcement for language learning. Students can listen as they read. They can also practice their pronunciation and compare it with any selected avatar. Use the oral readings on an interactive whiteboard or projector (with speakers turned up) for class dictations and discussion starters. Preview the vocabulary words in any file or website by selecting the read/edit option before students listen to it. Check school policies regarding individual student accounts on web sites. Here are some tips on managing student memberships that require email. Beware - if you are having students use this site, "inappropriate" words will not be filtered, and anything typed is pronounced. So be sure students are aware of guidelines and consequences.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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