TeachersFirst: Week of May 4, 2008

Featured Sites - Week of May 4, 2008

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Here are this week's features. Clicking the "more resources like this" link below each listing will present a list of our most recent additions for the same subject area and grade level .

Owly Comics - Grades 0 - 4 - permalink
This cartoon/graphic novel site offers free previews of many wordless comic books and short graphic novels. You can select the regular length or mini-books. Some examples of the stories include The Way Home, A Time to Be Brave, Bee Nice, and several others. There are twelve lesson plans available for free download at the Teaching link. Pre-readers, ESL and ELL students, and those learning foreign languages will delight in making up the words to go along with the very expressive pictures here. The lesson plans at this website require Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. 9071

In the Classroom:
Ask students to dictate captions for these stories, write the captions on strips, and put them with the printed pictures. For students able to write, have them write their own captions. Have a caption-writing contest among pairs of students in the classroom. Have ESL and ELL students write simple captions and learn the words for items in the pictures at the same time. Students in foreign language classes can generate desciptions or dialog to go with the stories. Special ed teachers will appreciate the opportunity for students to “narrate” the comics -- and possibly place pages in sequence -- to develop vocabulary. Use printable versions for take-home work with parents, as well. Challenge students to create their own wordless books. Don’t forget to check out the twelve lesson plans available at the link that complement this website.

For similar resources, click the appropriate keyword: comics | graphic novels | vocabulary | wordless stories |

Around The World in 80-Seconds - Grades 1 - 5 - permalink
This interdisciplinary math/ geography practice activity challenges students to answer several math questions in 80-seconds. Each correct answer flies Maggie and her helicopter to a new destination in the world. Students can choose a difficulty level of easy or hard. They can also choose to play the game using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, or a mix of all four. This activity is also available in Spanish. This math journey requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. 8948

In the Classroom:
Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to make this "flight" a class challenge. Assign a few students to be "recorders." Have them record the names of the cities, countries, and/or continents that you visit. Make this into a thorough geography lesson by having students complete research the locations that Maggie visits during her journey.

This website is also ideal for individual computers. This allows students to practice the particular math operation that they need most help with AND differentiates so that students can work at an easy or difficult math level. Provide a link to this site in your class newsletter or on your class web page, so students can practice their math and geography skills at home.

Teacher Book Wizard - Grades 0 - 12 - permalink
Wizards perform magical feats, and this book wizard proves to be equally supernatural. Claiming to be the first book search engine for teachers, it is built on a database of 50,000 books from all publishers. Snazzy tools allow you to choose your own leveling system, and then match the student to a whole list of books. You will find ready-made, themed lists as well. Teachers can create their own book lists to share with other teachers. Use the BookAlike tool to see what books are similar to a particular well-loved book. Matching the right book to each individual student has never been easier. The Book Wizard Tour requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. 9082

In the Classroom:
Teachers, make sure your librarian and even parents know about this wonderful web tool. This could be set up as the homepage for several computers in the library, so students can plug in their levels, their interests, and then enjoy the book recommendations. Librarians, use Scholastic's online library evaluator tool to evaluate your current collection. Teachers, take the Book Wizard Tour for an easy explanation of this helpful service.

For similar resources, click the appropriate keyword: library books | leveled books | recommended books |

Mysterious Places: Ancient Civilizations Modern Mysteries - Grades 4 - 12 - permalink
Students are always fascinated by the mysteries of the past, and wondering how those in ancient history managed feats of construction that would be difficult even today. Perhaps nothing sparks student interest more than the phrase, "no one knows". This site seeks to explore several "mysterious places" in the world--places whose origins or purposes are lost to antiquity. In addition, the sponsors of the site hope to raise money to ensure these monuments are not endangered in the future. Currently, the featured locations include Easter Island, Stonehenge, the dwellings of the Tellem people of Mali, West Africa, and the Mayan cities of Mexico (still under construction). Each section contains stunning photography, and a variety of resources on the history and mystery of the site. A section entitled "educator link" promises lesson plans and other teachers' resources, but is not finished. The site offers great potential, some of which has already been realized. It's worth checking out now, and perhaps in the future when more of its resources are up and running. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. 9234

In the Classroom:
This site might be offered to students doing independent research or included as "real" mysteries during a reading or literature unit on mysteries. The information could augment a lesson plan from a standard text with its lovely photos. It could be an option for exploration by accelerated students who have completed a unit on ancient history. Teachers should be aware that there is an on-line forum as a part of this site which requires registration. Its content is completely peripheral to the site, and students should simply be instructed to avoid it.

Nations Illustrated - Grades 0 - 12 - permalink
Are you looking for pictures of countries throughout the world? If so, this website is your one-stop destination. At this website you will find over 7,000 pictures (more are added everyday). The pictures are from countries in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. The countries are each broken down into sub-categories by city or even topic (such as "The Morocco Landscape"). In addition to the pictures, you can also break down many of the pictures into slide puzzles to recreate or even send them as an e-card to friends or family.

The Terms of use state that photos may be used for personal, non-commercial use and that you must abide by copyright restrictions with each photo. Any restrictions to use are listed in the information below each picture. Be sure to personally model ethical behavior and have your students learn to credit the photos, no matter how they are used. Use any photo information provided, including the title and URL where you can see the picture.

Caution - although this website is appropriate for all ages, since users can submit photographs, please view the photos before sharing them with your class. Some of the activities at this website require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

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In the Classroom:
There are countless ways to integrate this website into your lesson plans. Why not use your interactive whiteboard to visit a different location every week. Or simply share images of the “real world” setting of a story you are reading or current events article. This website also enables students to locate "real" pictures for research projects. Why not create a scavenger hunt (using PowerPoint or another program). Provide clues for the countries to "scavenge" and then have students research the information to figure out the correct country and use the Nations Illustrated website to copy/paste pictures from each of the locations. The students can create a picture scrapbook of their scavenger hunt.

Seeing Reason: Mindful Mapping of Cause and Effect - Grades 2 - 12 - permalink
Develop your students’ thinking skills with Intel’s free “Seeing Reason” tool to analyze cause-and-effect relationships in complex systems. Students can use the Seeing Reason Tool to develop visual maps of the factors and relationships in cause-and-effect investigations. Student-created causal maps make thinking visible and promote collaboration as they work together to refine their understanding. Teachers can use Seeing Reason as a monitoring and observation tool, since the maps are visual representations of student understanding.

This web-based tool is accompanied by detailed lesson plans for different grade levels and subject areas. It provides a complete project, ready to adapt for the classroom or implement as-is. Explore the project ideas, instructional strategies, assessment tips, and research to help you plan a project of your own. Registration is free and creates a teacher workspace in which to build the class project. The password-protected workspace is accessed through the internet where students log on with the teacher-created ID, team ID, and password.

Be sure to disable your popup blocker, as the site needs to show popup windows during the project. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat Reader. Get these tools from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. 9227

In the Classroom:
Help students analyze why a science experiment failed, why an animal became extinct, why a literary character acts as he does, or the factors leading to an economic or historical event. Teachers can use the comprehensive tutorial to learn the features of the tool and use the workspace to practice with the tool. Take advantage of the experiences of other teachers in eight detailed unit plans that provide usable handouts and student work samples. Or just browse through several shorter project descriptions for project ideas that suit your classroom.

Make a shortcut to this site on your desktop and student computer desktops for easy access or simply add it to the Favorites on your teacher web page for access from there.

Use the Seeing Reason tool to explore themes such as habitat conflict, neighborhood diversity, and decision-making with your students. Have student teams show and explain their maps to the whole class using an interactive whiteboard or projector. Students can access the project workspace from home or through other Internet access points such as the public library.

For similar resources, click the appropriate keyword: mapping | thinking skills | relationships | graphic organizer |

Math Maven's Mysteries - Grades 3 - 5 - permalink
Are you looking for a new twist in your math lessons? Why not use these ready to go math mysteries! Most of the mysteries present students with a short story to read and then a quick math problem to solve at the end. These mysteries are sure to engage your students and promote creative thinking. Although the website may appear as a simple list of activities, this website is a gem. The list of mysteries includes the title, difficulty level, and skill necessary. There are three difficulty levels and eight varieties of skills (including Geometry & Spatial Relations, Fractions & Ratios, Whole Number Operations, Logical Reasoning, and others). There is also a teacher's guide that includes objectives, standards, how to use the activities, extension activities, and assessment. 8888

In the Classroom:
These activities are ideal for a learning center, computer cluster, or individual computers. Why not make a list of all of the mysteries at this site. Have students record the correct answer to each of the mysteries as they complete them.

The mystery activities would also work on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Project the "Mystery of the Day" and have students keep a "Mystery Journal" with all of their answers. Review the answer (and process) together. Challenge students to write some mysteries of their own and share them on a class wiki or blog.

Academic Integrity - Grades 9 - 12 - permalink
This is an incredibly rich site for teaching and learning about resources, plagiarism, and writing a research paper. Although geared for Ryerson University students, all students can access the animated "story" told in episodes and many of the resources discussed in the story. Particularly helpful for students are such resources as the Assignment Calculator, which helps plan when to do what, and reference sources to access online. The key draw to this site, however, are the stories which cover unintentional plagiarism, buying or borrowing coursework, cheating on tests and exams, forging/misrepresentation & unauthorized group work, and group work. All of the episodes use the same characters and teachers can download the scripts to preview or use at their discretion as supplemental. Note: the interactive quizzes offered at the end of the series are not accessible to non-Ryerson students. This website requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. 9255

In the Classroom:
Downloading the scripts would offer an opportunity for groups of students to act out the episodes, always a popular idea. Having 5 groups of students watch different episodes and then report on them is another way to use the site. You can also have students watch certain episodes as assignments or enrichment. Be sure to check out the additional resources shown at the end of each episode. Social studies teachers assigning research projects may want to make these tutorials available for reference at research time.

For similar resources, click the appropriate keyword: plagiarism | cheating | research paper |

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