Share these web resources on your teacher web page or copy the printables to encourage parent involvement and help them know how best to support their students.
Read this web page or download a single sheet of suggestions to make reading together fun and funny for parents and kids together, while encouraging the skills to make a lifelong reader. Teachers can download the tips for th in NINE languages in addition to English to print out and send home with your ESL/ELL students. Their parents will appreciate the opportunity to participate in their learning, and everyone wins. Printables require Acrobat Reader.
In the Classroom: Bring in the parents to help prepare children for third grade reading testing by getting them involved. Send home the printable, give it out at conferences, and/or include the link on your teacher web page. Everyone will win!
The celebrated RIF program offers this site for parents to support their children's literacy. You will find resources from infancy to the teenage years and some for the entire family. While there is more available for younger children (through elementary school), the Whole Family area and some of the activities are enjoyable for teens, as well. Click to find practical tips to support your growing readers, monthly features, interactive books, activities for family heritage, authors, polls, a personal bookshelf to collect book recommendations, and more. You can even search for activities by age and activity type.
In the Classroom: Provide this link to parents in support of your in-school reading program. Struggling students can use RIF's Reading Planet (reviewed here) or Leading to Reading (reviewed here) activities both at home and at school to provide the repetition and review they need for skill mastery. Be sure to share this link before school breaks so parents can support literacy at home to prevent "summer slide."
RIF, the long-established organization for promoting reading, offers this site for school-aged readers and their parents. Young readers may join (or not) and access activities to do alone or with family (Activity Lab), book ideas (Book Zone), writing starters and contests (Express Yourself), and educational games (Game Station). Many of the activities are ready to go in a classroom or at home. Several of the activities are available in both English and Spanish. New writing activities appear monthly, including story starters for members to complete. Feature authors and new additions make this site worth a look every month.
In the Classroom: Many of the games would be terrific as literacy centers or on an interactive whiteboard or projector to reinforce basics. Make this link available on your class web page for parents, students, and younger siblings to access from home. Parent notifications on games and contests with prizes and required parental consent for students to join make this a very safe site. Teachers may want to offer some of the writing contests as regular classroom activities or for enrichment or to adapt them for use with newer technologies. The visual poetry idea, for example, would work well as an interactive book created using Bookemon, reviewed here. Each student could make a visual poem and illustration in a whole-class book.
TogetheReadGrade K to 12
- TeachersAndFamilies.com- 7198
Share family reading and activities around a monthly theme using this outstanding series by our partner site, TeachersAndFamilies. Interwoven into each TogetheRead theme are questions and activities based on reading strategies for effective readers. Parents and children of all ages can select books from the annotated lists, read together, and do related free or low-cost activities. Written in language understandable to parents and without education "jargon" so familiar to teachers, these themes will help any child become a a better reader and enjoy sharing family time. Books are grouped into "bands": preschool/picture books, early elementary, upper elementary to middle school, upper middle school to young adult, and mature teen to adult books. Activities accompany each age group, and participants can contribute their own activity suggestions, as well.
Libraries, schools, parent organizations, and teachers will find free, downloadable materials to promote good reading and family time. They can also sign up to receive advanced notice of upcoming themes to be able to locate the books for their families. There is even an FAQ-style page to help parents get started. Sound reading strategies help EVERY child!
In the Classroom: Share this link on your teacher web page or in a newsletter. You might even talk to your parent organization about promoting TogetheReads as a whole-school activity. Maybe even host a TogetheRead family evening in the gym or library.
Read the tips on this web page or download a single sheet of suggestions to make reading together fun and funny for parents and kids together, while encouraging the skills to make a lifelong reader. Teachers can download the tips for third grade in NINE languages in addition to English to print out and send home with your ESL/ELL students. Their parents will appreciate the opportunity to participate in their learning, and everyone wins. Printables require Acrobat Reader.
In the Classroom: As students approach their first high-stakes testing, every little bit helps. Give these tips out at conferences, in backpacks, or as a link on your teacher web page.
Read this web page or download a single sheet of suggestions to make reading together fun and funny for parents and kids together, while encouraging the skills to make a lifelong reader. Teachers can download the tips for first grade in NINE languages in addition to English to print out and send home with your ESL/ELL students. Their parents will appreciate the opportunity to participate in their learning, and everyone wins. Printables require Acrobat Reader.
In the Classroom: Send these home in the backpack parade or include the link from your teacher web page (or both).
This group of pdf printable brochures suggests behaviors and activities that can assist parents, preschool teachers, and early elementary teachers in getting children ready to read. Available in both color and black and white formats, the brochures are also downloadable in Spanish. The brochures encourage people to use books, songs, stories, and word games to reinforce the importance of reading in education. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Make these brochures available to parents of the very young. The added bonus of having some of the brochures available in Spanish makes the development of good readers a task shared by parents and educators alike. PLace some on the table in your conference waiting area or send them home in backpacks!
Wonder no more what parents can do each day during Reading Month (March). This online calendar gives parents 31 separate primary level reading activities to do during that month or any time. Each activity explains how it fits into literacy, whether it boosts comprehension, increases fluency, or enhances vocabulary. Scroll to the bottom of the page for a pdf version of the activities.
In the Classroom: If parent involvement with homework is weak, you may want to do the activities in your classroom instead, by showing the activities daily on your whiteboard. Make a list of students who accomplished the reading tasks. Be sure to list this link on your class webpage during your school’s designated Reading Month. In fact, make sure the link is on your school’s homepage as well. With older students, challenge cooperative learning groups to come up with 2-3 additional classroom or home activities to do during Reading Month, or any time of the year. List the activity suggestions on your class website, blog, or wiki.
Kids and ReadingGrade K to 8
- John Rowlinson, Kids and Reading, UK- 9457
Geared to teaching parents about reading, this site offers a great review of reading methods, classroom methods, special concerns (i.e. ADHD, autism), booklists, motivation, tool and techniques to use, etc. Even though it is a British site, it is totally applicable to the USA and other areas throughout the world. You will find a wealth of information to share with your students’ parents at Open House and throughout the year. There are some minor advertisements at this site (all related to the topic).
In the Classroom: Sign up for the newsletter to receive new information every month. Provide the link to this site in your class newsletter or on your class website, so parents can sign-up for the newsletter also (and use the free resources).
This is the family section for the Department of Education's Ready-Set-Read program, which is designed to foster reading readiness skills in preschool children. The site contains ideas and activities that parents can use with their children to help them practice the speaking and observation skills that will help them learn to read.
In the Classroom: This site offers tips for parents from the Department of Education. Teachers can also use the reading lists to help in book selection for reading centers. Make sure to refer the site to parents via teacher webpage if they ever ask for resources on reading.
This great site offers a helpful set of resources for parents, teachers, and librarians. There are lists of newly published books, links to ordering and other book-related resources, and a list of "not to be missed" titles and authors for various grade levels. The resources are updated regularly, so there's always something fresh to offer to students or other teachers.
In the Classroom: Be sure to include this site on your teacher web page for students and parents to access to learn more about recommended reading lists. Use the site as a starting point for crafting summer reading lists or to design a reading challenge for your class.
*Link*
This is the web incarnation of the American Library Association's periodical of the same name. The web version includes listings and reviews of popular books for children, young people, and adults, as well as articles of interest to librarians and those in the business of making reading and reference accessible to students and adults.
In the Classroom: Check this site for book lists to accompany upcoming units or to create independent reading challenges/contests for your class. Share the link with parents on your teacher web page so parents and students can use it when planning a trip to the library.
Teacher's First Edge Review: for slightly adventurous technology users and their students. Students and teachers can write their own original books, add your own images and artwork as illustrations, and read your published books in interactive, online form. For a fee, you can also have printed copies made, but there is no fee for the online publication and sharing. This is the ultimate in "digital storytelling."
Here is an example of a book created by the TeachersFirst Edge editors. Once you set up free membership in this site, students (or teachers) can select to create from a blank start or using templates provided. You can also create a book starter of your own as an example so students can follow the prompts you have created. The book creator allows you to upload your own images and to create books from a Word document or PowerPoint file you have already made. There is no provision for multiple users to collaborate on the same book.
After you save and publish the work, share the URL so people can read the entire thing online, either among an audience of “just my friends” or publicly. They also offer the embed code to place your books in a class or school web page, wiki, or blog, but at the time of this review, this code was not working properly. The BEST option is to copy the address of the new window displaying the interactive book. There is an option to have the book printed for a fee, but this is not required. You can also read books created by others (if they make them public). Use the fully-public option to create learning materials for classes to access year to year for at-home review or reading practice.
This site requires a simple registration. Members must be at least 13 years old. Teachers using this tool with younger students should use a whole-class account WITH parent permission and in accordance with school policies. See more detailed suggestions “In the Classroom” below and in our sample book!
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Join the site. No need for a confirmation email to get started. SKIP the profile and friends areas to get to the book creator. The site constantly offers ways to purchase printed versions of your books, but you can ignore them. On the Create Books page, choose from using a blank book, starting from a file, or using a template. Browse many “public” examples on the templates page of books created by others. Choose “school” to see projects from other classes or a sample created by you or a student team working in advance along with you. Explore ready-made themes (seasonal, topical, etc.) or use “open theme.” Choose book dimensions (match layout shape to any uploaded files, such as PowerPoint slides). Enter settings and description of your book (editable later), including who is allowed to “see” it: everyone, just friends, or private. Again choose a “theme” – more of a category where Bookemon will list your completed book. A logical option is “school.” Experiment with tools to upload files (within file limits), add images, add text, etc. Written help is offered as you go, but there is no video demo. SAVE often. Turn margins on to avoid chopping content. To share the book, you must “publish” it (i.e. finalize).
Once published, locate the book under "My Books" and use options to share (by email—and see the URL to copy from there), “Make a new edition” to create a new version—also useful for treating the original as a template for later books), Post to Other Sites offers embed codes not currently working properly. The BEST option is to click the book COVER which opens a new window without ads or “stuff,” and copy the ADDRESS of that window to paste into email, etc. You can also make that clean-window view a Favorite on a classroom computer!
Safety/security concerns: The home page of the site has “Featured books by our members” and the ability to browse all public books. You will want to preview for possibly inappropriate books created by others. As with any site where students can create content, you will want to obtain parent permission before posting student work online. The site does not allow users under age 13, so teachers with students below that age should obtain written parent permission for students to use generic student accounts you create and control through your teacher-extra Gmail address. Use up to 20 subaccounts of that Gmail account to create student accounts and passwords to be used by each student or group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
If you have older students use their own email accounts to join and navigate, you will want to first spell out rules about the “profile” tools, friends, and other social networking features. There are multiple opportunities to share address books, use social tools such as Facebook to share your books, etc., so teacher-controlled accounts may be the easiest option.
If students are to collaborate on the same book, they must either log in under the same user name or sit together to collaborate. This could provide opportunities for “vandalism,” so have class policies and consequences spelled out in advance.
Possible uses:
With younger students, have them create their work in PowerPoint then upload for whole-class books. See an example, created by the TeachersFirst Edge editors . The example is full of ideas for classroom use from Kindergarten to high school, including science concept tales, poetry books, general writing, math problem solve-its, and more. ANY grade can use this tool, depending on the amount of direction by the teacher. By the way, the correct answer to the problem in the sample book is c. 27. Another idea, have students create personalized books for their parents or grandparents for special occasions (Mother's Day, Father's Day, or Grandparent's Day).
Tip: Use this site for a guided introduction to social networking as a class, an excellent teaching opportunity for 21st century literacy skills and online safety discussion.
Play Grow ReadGrade K to 2
- Kent District Library- 8279
This library-prepared website is all about helping parents develop early literacy skills. Options include video demonstrations of how to read books to kids and many developmental activities including things to do around the house, pre-reading activities, early reading skills information available in TWENTY-SEVEN languages, and many printable reading activities. Check out the Make and Take section: hands-on activities that help children develop the habit of using books. Activities include Activities for Print Motivation, Print Awareness, Phonological Awareness, Vocabulary, Narrative Skills, Letter Knowledge etc. These well-explained activities are fun and original. Many parts of the site are available in Spanish as well as English. Videos on this site require RealPlayer and Windows Media Player. Get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Share the printables and information about the website with parents at open house or conferences and include the link on your teacher web page. Spanish-speaking families will enjoy hearing about this site as well.
This site has an (almost) endless supply of suggestions for what students, parents, and teachers can do to encourage more and more reading and literary involvement. Students participate in reading, dramatic, discussion, and artistic activities to reinforce their connection to the printed word and build comprehension in a very active way!
In the Classroom: Use this list as an idea generator for book report alternatives or even for lesson ideas. Share the link or some of the ideas on your tecaher web page for students to choose a book report product/project/performance. Print these suggestions out and share all or some of them with parents in a newsletter,at conference times, or before summer vacation. Give credit for your source, of course!
TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for moderately adventurous technology users. Create simple audio podcasts using this online tool and the free space they provide. Simply put, this tool lets you create and place sound recordings online for people to listen to and/or download from a web site. There are MANY free podcasts in a variety of subject areas (art, health, technology, music, business, and more). The site itself is a "web 2.0," social networking style site, so some schools may have it blocked. Ask about unblocking just YOUR teacher account so you can have students access it while at school and under your supervision.
What can it do? You can record sound directly with the microphone built or plugged into your computer and make it available for people to listen to online or download to their MP3 player. See and hear a sample we made for you.
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Join the site (free); Membership requires email. Then attach a mike or use your built-in computer mike; create the podcast by clicking a record button,(you may have to tell your computer to "allow" nonsecure items over and over). Choose a background for your podcast page. Share it with others using one of several sharing options on the "My Podcast" tab, including copying the link to paste in an email or newsletter or embedding the podcast in your class web page or wiki.
Safety/Security: Podomatic does not allow memberships for those under 13. Teachers using this tool with younger students should do so under supervision and with a teacher-controlled account. The site is a "general public" site, so the home page has links to recent podcasts that may not be appropriate for the classroom. Discuss this possibility and tell students NOT to click on other's work or simply avoid sending students into the site on their own. Be sure you have parent permission and check school policies before allowing students to post work online. Carefully select or SKIP many sharing mechanisms for safety's sake. Limit any identifiable information within the podcasts. You may want to share the links to class podcasts only with your students and parents. If you have students record podcasts as assignments, you may need multiple accounts because the free accounts have limited file space. An elementary teacher might have enough space for 25 students to keep a limited number of products on his/her own account, depending upon length. The site will tell you how much space each podcast takes and how much you have left. Check your school policies about accessing/sharing student email on school computers. You may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to create these subaccounts for use in joining any web-tool site.
Possible uses: You could record your homework assignments or directions; you can record story time or a reading excerpt for younger ones to listen to at a computer center AND from home! Have better readers record selected passages for your non-readers (perhaps older buddies). Launch a service project for your fifth or sixth graders to record stories for the kindergarten to use in their reading and listening center. Have students create "you are there" recordings as "eyewitnesses" to historical or current events; make a weekly class podcast, with students taking turns writing and sharing the "Class News;" have students create radio advertisements for concepts studied in class (Buy Dynamic DNA!); have students write and record their own stories or poetry in dramatic readings; language students or beginning readers could record their fluency by reading passages; allow parents to hear their child's progress reading aloud, etc. Compare world language, speech articulation, or reading fluency at two points during the year. Have your Shakespeare students record a soliloquy! Write and record a poem for Father's or Mother's Day (or other special events) and send the URL as a gift to that special person.
Read this web page or download a single sheet of suggestions to make reading together fun and funny, while encouraging the skills to make a lifelong reader. Teachers can download the tips in NINE languages in addition to English to print out and send home with your ESL/ELL students. Their parents will appreciate the opportunity to participate in their learning, and everyone wins. Printable require Acrobat Reader.
In the Classroom: Send these home in the backpack parade or include the link from your teacher web page (or both).
Ed PubsGrade K to 12
- US Department of Education- 9386
This site offers free publications about teaching, literacy, reading instruction, child development, math, and school safety. The offerings include materials for all levels (brochures, posters, videotapes, newsletters, and more). The intended audiences include students, teachers, parents, and administrators. Many publications and also site information come in Spanish and English.
In the Classroom: Share this site on your class website so parents can learn about this free resource. Include links to specific publications tha fit your class’ needs. Or choose helpful information with your particular parents/students and share the pdf files as print-outs at conferences or via email to help parents.
This site offers stories on line to listen to or read. Students can search for books by themes or alphabetically to read short reviews. Audio portions have a slight British accent. Pop up blockers may need to be turned off for some parts of the site. Flash is required. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. Companion sites for ages 7-11 and 11-14 provide age-appropriate reading activities for other groups.
In the Classroom: List the URL in your next class newsletter or on your teacher Web page for parents and students. Adult Info gives post-reading suggestions for discussions or activities that parents could use. Encourage individual students to write then submit stories to this site either at home or during free time on a classroom computer. (The site will not accept submissions from a whole class.) When they are posted, share the stories with the class using a projector. Don’t forget headphones for individual students or speakers if using with the whole class.
This site provides guidance for teachers and parents in selecting the perfect picture book for a child and offers suggestions for instilling a life-long love of reading in young students. Includes book reviews and links to author and illustrator Web sites. This is a wonderful resource to share with parents via your classroom, school, or library newsletter.
Before sending your students out of the classroom for summer vacation, give them some suggestions for filling those unstructured days. This list of suggested summer reading for elementary and middles school students, covers a range of topics and includes something for everyone. Brief annotations provide useful information for teachers, parents, and librarians. You might want to recommend this site to parents in your end-of-year newsletter.
This interactive and chatty site from RIF shares activities for the preschool and early childhood set, including interactive books read aloud (see Preschoolers and click on "read"), book and activity ideas (see "grownups"), audio songs and nursery rhymes with the words on screen, and much more. The entire site is available in Spanish by clicking Español at the top right. The interactive books then display with BOTH English and Spanish available! Many classic activities and nursery rhymes are included in the "Baby and Toddler" section but would work well in a kindergarten classroom, too. Monthly Activity calendars to promote literacy at home are available in both English and Spanish.
In the Classroom: The many activities on this site are ideal for an interactive whiteboard or computer center in a pre-K through primary classroom. You will need to turn up your speakers or provide headphones. Even ESL/ELL teachers may find the ability to play the activities and books over and over very helpful for your young students. After sharing the interactive books in a center, why not write a book together as a class, creating the pages in PowerPoint, then uploading to record the audio in Voicethread, reviewed here. Teachers will also want to share the parent handouts at back to school night or conferences and to share this link on your class web page for your readers and their siblings and parents to use at home. Share a regular "reading tip" with your parents. There are loads on this site! You might even send home the monthly activity calendar printables.
This website offers printable (retold) stories by Dianne de las Casas. She offers quite a collection, and adds new stories each month. The stories come from all around the world. Other offerings on the site include holiday stories, fingerplays, play scripts, activities to do with stories, and puzzles. Don't forget to check out the extensive suggestions under Resources such as Story telling games. These help teachers and parents know what to do after they've all read a story together. Teachers, school librarians, and even parents can sign up for a free monthly newsletter about using stories in education; The Story Connection Express. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Use the activities in class after reading one of her stories from a country you have represented among your ESL or ELL students. Have your students write their own story activity suggestions after you have used a few of Dianne's. Be sure to include this link on your class website and in your letter home to parents. Suggest that they read just one short story and find accompanying activities for the family to do.
This site, chock full of links to interactive sites, sends the student to activities according to the guided reading levels used in their primary classrooms. Mrs. Cassidy, web creator of Browser Books (accessed by clicking link on this homepage), encourages parents to promote literacy by allowing their child to try the activities at home. Skills learned at each level will be reinforced by playing the games linked through the color-coded tab.
In the Classroom: Teachers, click on the “Note to Parents and Teachers” link below the home page title. Mrs. Cassidy explains her log-in system for her classroom. This system rewards better reading and advanced games and activities by encouraging the student to advance through a color-coded system. You may want to duplicate this practical system. A word of warning: You may want to tell your primary child that “colour” isn’t misspelled, according to Canadians (British English).
Raise a ReaderGrade K to 4
- Illinois Reading Council- 7758
The Illinois Reading Council has selected 12 favorite children's books and created many activities to go with the books. Many of the books may be ones you include in your classroom or find in your literature series. These activities include books and newspapers as well as reading and writing. The activities are designed to be used within families but most would be appropriate for classroom use. Besides the twelve featured books, there are more extensive bibliographies divided by grade level.
In the Classroom: Suggest this site to parents to help their children with reading by including the link on your teacher web page or in a newsletter sent home. You might want to share the list with your school librarian in case children ask for the books.
Skype An AuthorGrade K to 12
- Mona Kerby and Sarah Chauncey- 10262
Don’t despair over lack of funding for an author’s visit! Through this Skype network of authors, you can bring an author into your classroom. Peruse the list of authors then click on their name. The site provides contact information, photos, book covers, and more pops up. Contact the author to negotiate a time to "meet." If it is more than a 10-15 minute visit, you will need to negotiate payment per hourly rate. It is best to familiarize your students with a particular author’s work before the virtual visit. Also, if you have an electronic white board, the author’s visit projects onto the big screen, which makes the visit more meaningful. Sorry, the visit can’t be recorded. You will need Skype set up on your computer and projection before the visit. Make sure you are familiar with Skype before contracting an author’s visit. You don’t want to waste their valuable time while you’re learning to use the technology. Need to learn more about Skype? Read TeachersFirst's review here.
In the Classroom: During your school’s Reading Month, broadcast an author into your classroom for a live reading of their book(s). Invite parents to the virtual visit and follow up by parents assisting in writing thank you letters to the author or crafts relating to the book. Or create a class book highlighting the authors visit. Make an online book using a site such as Bookemon, reviewed here and be sure to share the link with the author, too! Make sure you have your class’ questions ready before the author’s visit. Share the “visit” on your interactive whiteboard or projector, so everyone can see! While saving money by visiting authors by this method, turn this into an ecological/economy lesson: How much gas, resources, time, etc, did you and the author save by having the author visit your classroom virtually? Hype the Skype visit! Have a countdown taking place for days prior to the visit.
This website offers a cache of Learning Disability information for teachers and parents submitted by members of this “community.” Articles, discussion boards, courses, intelligence tests, and links offer a full array of resources for you, for parents, or for staff development. Because content is user-submitted, there is a wide variety of information, and a few self-serving posts to “plug” a certain product. Most content is useful, easy to understand, and “agenda”- free. There are sidebar ads. You must do a quick sign-in to access all this site offers, including customizing your own webpage within this site. Sign-in does require an email address.
In the Classroom: This site would be great for parents who need to understand the scope of a Learning Disability in their child. Be sure to post this site on your class website. Customize your own page within this website to share with colleagues and parents. Middle and high school students mature enough to read about their own learning disability might find this site helpful, as well.
The Multiple Intelligence Inventory would be a great “first week” activity for students to complete to learn more about their own learning styles and strengths.
Teachers First Edge Review: For slightly adventurous technology users. Record a message and embed it into your favorite site or provide a link to share for free. Send to a friend by entering your email and the email of the recipient. Here is an example of a Vocaroo created by the Teacher’s First Review Team, explaining a biology concept for high schoolers. Recording the message is easy and embedding into a site such as a wiki or blog has never been simpler! No login or registration is needed. Although, if you choose to send a message via email, you must choose a password to use at the site. Vocaroos are stored on their server. Created messages can also be downloaded to individual computers. Visit their FAQ's for frequent questions and responses. The Vocaroo recording service requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Users need to be able to navigate controls on the website and sound levels on their computer. Copy/pasting embed codes is also a necessary skill for insertion in a website. Email the sound clip very easily.
Safety/security concerns: Future saving of Vocarros is unsure depending upon server space. Before using with students, you may wish to obtain permission from administration and/or parents. Be sure to check your school’s acceptable use policy. Students should be made aware of acceptable use and consequences of misuse of the service.
Possible uses: Record snippets of information as reminders on your class web site or instructions for students to follow. This is terrific for learning support students or non-readers! Have students describe aspects of classroom learning experiences to share with others, such as what they learned from a science experiment or found out about life in colonial America. Record a quick message for an absentee and email the link to him/her explaining how to catch up on missing work. Create tutorial pieces that students can use as study aids (or have them create them for each other). Use this site in world language classes or for ELL students: have students record and listen to their own pronunciation or send short messages to each other to translate. Have students use this site to practice speeches before the presentation to hear their speed, tone, and words. Use this site for research presentations, instructions for a substitute, or many other possibilities. With younger students, read a short story on Vocaroo, and have student follow along using a picture book. Or have the students read their own stories into Vocaroo and email the readings to their parents! For Mothers Day, why not have students record messages for mom or grandma? Another idea: create a class wiki where parents can "find" the entire selection of Vocaroos for Mother's Day (or another holiday). Record Vocaroos of each student talking about the importance of Moms for Mother's Day or how grateful they are for certain things at Thanksgiving. Embed them all in a class wiki to share with parents. Just email the URL for the collection.
If you choose to have students email one another (or their families), rather than using personal email accounts consider creating a teacher Gmail account and set up subaccounts for up to 20 students to register (by code name or number). Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
“Dedicated to making your kids readers for life” is the sub-heading to James Patterson’s new site ReadKiddoRead. This well-known author has put together a loaded site full of inspiration, book suggestions, author interviews, and more to inspire educators and parents to promote reading. The titles are divided by age (0-8, 6 & Up, 8+ & Up, or 10 & Up). Search by category (within age levels) such as Fantasy & Other Worlds, Real World Fiction, Action/Adventure/Mystery, and others.
Teachers who have reluctant readers at all ages will discover ample ways to help them find exciting books. Make sure you click on the Books for Boys link at the top of the page to find targeted, page-turning books with boy protagonists. The books at this site also include brief descriptions.
In the Classroom: Sign up for Patterson’s newsletter (free) to keep updated on news from the youth literature world. This is definitely a site to save on your classroom favorites and also list on your class website. Provide this link for families to use to find summer reading resources.
Teachers First Edge Entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. This tool helps you create an interactive family tree. Once you are registered, the family tree is easy to create. You are able to include family members’ birth-dates, death-dates, email addresses, pictures, marital status, and more. The site also includes some really neat features: Celebrity Morph, look-a-like meter (for children and parents), "smart matches" for your family tree, the ability to print family trees, and other features. The family tree and some of the other activities require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Skills Needed: this site is fairly simple to use. Join the site (free) and log in. Registration requires an email address and some other personal information (name, hobbies, etc..). Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
Navigation of the site is rather simple. Once you put in your own name, there are buttons on the bottom right and left side of your "name box" to "add" an additional family member or "edit" the current name. Once you click to "add" a member, you are able to put in their name, birth date, death date, marital status, and email address (see safety concerns). One tip: to scroll UP use the DOWN arrow, to scroll DOWN use the UP arrow.
Safety/Security Concerns: This site allows users to set-up their family tree as PRIVATE. It allows you to control who can and can't view your profile, family tree, and other information. For more information about this feature, visit the Privacy link (on the bottom bar). Before you plan your family tree project, be sure to get parental permission. You may want to use this tool with first names and last initials and keep email addresses out of it for safety’s sake.
Possible Uses: Use this site to create family tree projects in elementary or middle school classes. Have high school students create family trees as part of a unit studying immigration patterns in social studies classes. In science class, have students create fictitious "people" as they study genetics. With younger students, create a class “family” sharing important dates for individuals (i.e. birthdays) or to teach vocabulary and spelling of family terms, such as “grandmother” and “uncle.” Have students share their family trees on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Be sure to "advertise" this project on your class website (and newsletter, if applicable) so students have time to gather names, birthdates, and other information about family members. In world language classes, have students create a family tree using the correct vocabulary for relatives and talk about it (in their new language!) as they share it on the interactive whiteboard. When researching famous people, reading biographies, or even reading literature, have students create a family tree illustrating their discoveries about their famous person, writer, artist, musician, explorer, literary character, etc.
Description Daily Lit offers short clips of literature sent to you daily by email or by RSS feed. You can receive the episodes on a Blackberry, RSS reader, email, web-enabled cell phone, or any “connected” device. You students would find it “cool” to read their daily lit excerpt on the cell phones! Most offerings are classics and in the public domain, but some recent selections are available for free due to Creative Commons licenses. Most books are free but some have a charge. Since only a few pages arrive in your email at intervals you select, it takes quite a while to read a complete book. You do have the option of receiving another section when you finish your daily reading. Students can browse for books by category or search by title, author, etc. Currently hot titles are displayed on the home page. There is a Children’s book category, as well, so you can have a daily reading “arrive” on your desktop RSS reader without using email, thrilling your young readers! There are also books written in various world languages.
Because this is a site for the general public, there may be some books with content not desirable for your classroom. Avoid sending students directly to the home page to see “Featured” books without previewing the page that day and/or announcing a policy about which books they are allowed to investigate.
RSS feed to a classroom RSS reader account such as Google Reader might be the safest way to control the content that “arrives” without safety/policy concerns. If you want students to receive emails from this site, check with your school’s Acceptable Use Policy AND be sure to check with the parents! You may want to consider creating a Gmail account (rather than your personal or work email). If you are having students create email accounts, consider Gmail which allows you to set-up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
In the Classroom: Suggest this site to advanced high school students who want to increase their knowledge of classical literature. Set up an RSS feed of a foreign language book to appear on your class web page or blog or even go to student cell phones: a new episode each day without ANY work by you! Use this also when teaching classic children's titles. Be sure to check with your principal and parents first to be sure receiving this type of email is OK with everyone. Have the pages sent to your RSS reader, personal or professional email address and share the pages with your students on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students create a class wiki to discuss the current class book being read or make comments on the class blog about the episode that day. In world language classes, this is an easy way to “prompt” a writing lesson IN the language for grammar and writing practice.
This set of "take home" fliers is designed to help parents help their students. You can personalize each of these fliers with your own name so they look like you created them especially for your class. (Well you did, didn't you?) These fliers will print directly from your browser; there are no special plug-ins required. You can also preview each flier in a new window before personalizing it. Topics include reading tips, homework tips (separate ones for elementary and middle school), and customizable SuperGram!! - Give a compliment to a student who has earned one!
In the Classroom: Use this handy link to make handouts for back to school night, end-of-summer letters to greet new students, or conference handouts. Of course you'll love the convenience of sending "Supergrams" in a flash to reinforce GOOD things in your classroom. Mark this one in your Favorites, for sure.
Start your own Kids Reading to Kids program. Focusing on underachievers, KRTK provides a free DVD, a sample book, and other resources to show how to boost the reading and develop character of elementary students. Some of the material does have a shipping and handling fee. Sign up for the Educator’s Guidelines to learn how you can begin. There are links for teachers, parents, and students.
In the Classroom: Take advantage of this free resource in your classroom. Share the link on your class website, so parents can use the information at home. Or set up a service project school-wide to help boost reading and more.
Teacher's First edge Review: For moderately adventurous technology users. Create your own TV channel using Boostcast! Boostcast is a user-owned and user-generated video “home” that you control. Create and manage your own video site with your own chosen name and customized access and features. Boostcast itself is a user-friendly, web-based application that takes very little programming to operate. The site is designed for people to create video collections, possibly for profit, but the potential for classroom use is terrific.
Note: Ads do run on the site, and some may not be school-approriate. Preview and decide if your students can ignore them. Some revenue made through those ads could go to you by attracting visitors. It is unlikely that your school will permit this, but you can always ask!
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Sign up is free and easy to complete. You must register and remember your login and password. Membership requires an email address. Users will need to be able to locate and upload a video from a computer and use links or embed codes to share. Managing of comments and emails to approve videos is also necessary.
Quick start: After making your site, view the "5 things to do when you start" which is on the front page of your boostcast site. Follow all directions.
How to use: Click on the "Start Your Video Community Now" button and fill out the form. Personalize Your video community by adding a logo or image, changing colors, as well as other options. Invite your friends (parents?) by sending emails from your address book. Friends can join your video community or create their own. Publish pictures, videos, audio tracks, and multiple blogs on your Boostcast site. By clicking the "Share" button, your community can be seen by the rest of the world. If you do not “share” it, the general public will not see it to comment, upload, etc. Share your uploaded videos by using an "Embed code" or a "Direct link code." Make comments on the videos, flag comments, and moderate them. There is messaging between site members. Other options include a search feature, site statistics, and email alerts. You can be alerted about video uploads and any flagged comments. Settings allow approval before videos can be seen on the site.
The controls for the site are on the tabs at the top : "Create my space," "Add video," "Add image," "Add audio," "View video," View image," and "Listen audio."
Safety/Security concerns: Users must register and create a login. If you allow students to self-register, be sure to keep a written record of their passwords for when they “forget.” It may be worth your time to do advanced registration for your younger students or simply use a single classroom account. Individual accounts require email. Check your school policies about accessing or sharing student email on school computers. You may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to establish Gmail accounts for user registration on any online service.
The red tabs along the top can take you to other Boostcast sites, so students should be advised not to click these. “Featured” content contributed by the general public and may not be suitable for the classroom. You may want to prohibit and/or have specific rules in place for students accessing ads on the page. Uploaded videos and comments from those outside the classroom can be denied. Additionally, by not sharing your Boostcast site, you can keep a classroom site from becoming public. Check your school policies on whether student work may be displayed online and what information is permitted, then enforce that policy with your students.
Possible uses: Boostcast is easy to use and provides an alternative for students needing to upload a video in order to embed code in a website. Create a classroom or school boostcast to house video and audio from projects that students create. Embed these videos anywhere you would want to share the projects. Use the comment feature as a microblogging exercise for students to obtain feedback from their peers. If you shoot videos of classroom events during the year, make parents members of your private Boostcast to see and comment on school-day events they have missed. As students complete their own mock newscasts of informational videos, share them and allow students to peer-evaluate using comments. Or a teacher can place a collection of videos for students to watch on a curriculum topic, such as student-produced examples from a previous year, how-to use lab equipment video made by teacher/students, student-made book review videos (to promote independent reading), student-made math videos such as the ones on Mathtrain reviewed here and more. If you plan to enter the StoryTube competition reviewed here, this is a terrific place for your school to “collect” possible entries in order to select your “best” one.
This website, created by the BBC, includes review information (referred to as "revise") and online tests created specifically for trigonometry students ages 16+. Some of the material would be useful in the lower secondary grades also. Although this website may appear "plain vanilla," there is a wealth of information and activities just waiting to be explored. There are three higher-level trigonometry topics: Radians and Equations, Compound and Multiple Angles, and The Auxiliary Angle. Once you click on the main topics, there is a list of countless subtopics.
The website includes a Site Guide (to assist teachers, parents, and students in navigating the site) and an "Ask a Teacher" link for students to read previous questions from students (and the answers) about specific difficult concepts. Since this site was created by the UK, you may notice some slight language differences. Much of the information is available in a printable format. A few of the activities require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Project the "Revise" information on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Use the information as an anticipatory set for a new lesson or as a review prior to a quiz or test. Project the quiz and have students work at their seats. (Students will need a piece of paper to complete the online quiz, it is not interactive.) Be sure to include this link on your class website, so students can access the site and practice at home.
Although this website doesn't appear especially engaging, there is a wealth of information and activities just waiting to be explored. The two main topics, Differentiation and Integration, both include numerous subtopics with a great deal of information. This website, created by the BBC, includes review information (referred to as "revise") and online tests created specifically for calculus students ages 16+. Some of the material would be useful in pre-calc.
The website includes a Site Guide (to assist teachers, parents, and students in navigating the site) and an "Ask a Teacher" link for students to read previous questions from students (and the answers) about specific difficult concepts. Since this site was created by the UK, you may notice some slight language differences. Much of the information is available in a printable format. A few of the activities require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Use this website in your Calculus class on an interactive whiteboard or projector. The "Revise" information would work as an anticipatory set for a new lesson or a review prior to the test. Have students work on individual computers to try the online quiz. Students will need a piece of paper to complete the online quiz, it is not interactive. Be sure to include this link on your class website, so students can access the site for practice at home.
This website, designed by the BBC for geometry students ages 16+, could be useful in lower levels of geometry instruction. The website features three main topics; The Straight Line, Vectors, and The Circle. Each of the topics includes buttons for "Revise" or "Test." The "revise" button offers a detailed review of the topic. (Revise is the word used by the British to convey the American word Review.) The website also includes a Site Guide (to assist teachers, parents, and students in navigating the site) and an "Ask a Teacher" link for students to read previous questions from students (and the answers) about specific difficult concepts. Since this site was created by the UK, Americans may notice some slight language differences. Much of the information is available in a printable format. A few of the activities require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Use this site in your geometry classes on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Share the "Revise" information to review for a test or quiz on the specific topic. Then have students work on computers in pairs or independently to take the online test. If computers aren't available, simply print out the online test and have students work together or independently.
Be sure to list this link on your class website, so students can use the information to review and practice at home.
Created by the BBC, this website offers higher-level algebra information and practice activities for algebra students ages 16+. Some of the information would be useful in pre-algebra classes also. Specific algebraic topics include Function, Polynomials, Recurrence Relations, Quadratic Theory, & Logarithms . Each topic includes a link to review activities (referred to as "Revise" on this British website) and online practice tests.
The website also includes a Site Guide (to assist teachers, parents, and students in navigating the site) and an "Ask a Teacher" link for students to read previous questions from students (and the answers) about specific difficult algebra concepts. Since this site was created by the UK, Americans may notice some slight language differences. Much of the information is available in a printable format. A few of the activities require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Be sure to list this link on your class website, so students can use the information to review and practice at home. In the classroom, use an interactive whiteboard or projector to share the information and take the online test together. The Revise activities could be used as an anticipatory set for a new lesson or a review prior to a test. Have students try their hands at the online test using individual computers. If individual computers aren't available, print out the tests and send them home for additional practice.
LiteractiveGrade K to 3
- Entertainment & Information Industries Ltd - 8891
This site assists beginning readers by providing screen sized, illustrated stories with limited rhyming vocabulary. You are required to go through a free registration. You can play rhyming games with the newly-learned words. The site also has a sections of stories for ESL and ELL students, guided reading for kindergarten students, downloadable traditional picture books, e-poetry, and many learning activities! Some of the topics of the learning activities include Match the Sounds, Sequence Game, and several others. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Provide this link in your class newsletter and on your class website, so parents can reinforce the reading skills you are teaching their children in school. Share the activities link with your students on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have your students explore the activities with a partner on your classroom computer center or cluster.
Computer gaming occupies much of your students' or child's time. This site equips you with the knowledge of what different games are about and what questions you -- as teacher or parent -- should ask of your child. Just click on the game's title and read the recommendations for parents and teachers. This site houses resources and recommended websites for understanding computer gaming and gamers as well. Note that the site is created with a positive bias about computer/video games. Some of the ideas for discussion are, however, good ones, especially if you know your students are playing the games anyway!
In the Classroom: There are options for teachers to share their ideas for using games as part of instruction, though few have conrtributed as of the time of this review.
Parents and educators can find valuable information on helping students handle traumatic situations, both close by and in the media, by reading this article offered by the National Association of School Psychologists. Requires Acrobat Reader. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Share this article with colleagues and parents at times of crisis.
Though titled for administrators, this article is a must-read for all education professionals interested in making their schools safe and secure. There are ideas for planning, communication, parent information, and general security that should be automatic in every school.
In the Classroom: Share this with your building faculty, perhaps at a meeting so you can all be on the "same page." There is a printable version available for download (Acrobat file)so you can include it with your agenda.
This site is very informative and appropriate for elementary students. There are numerous reproducible crafts, pages, writing and reading activities. There are also interactive Java games (coloring, tic-tac-toe and more). This site has 20+ ideas and activities that could easily be incorporated into an elementary classroom.
This introductory article explains basic characteristics of autism and Asperger's, major treatment considerations, and IEP suggestions. Tough ostensibly for parents, the language is mostly that of educators and psychologists, so some interpretation may be needed for many parents to fully understand. The article includes a few resource links at the end. Note that this article dates form 2004 and does not reflect the 2007 release of new statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on autism prevalence. The file requires Acrobat Reader. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: No classroom teacher can be expected to be an expert on autism, but this site may help you understand some of what you see and some of the more recent information about autism, especially since few teachers receive much training about this in their teacher-ed programs. If you have students in your classes with autism, ask your principal if you can spend part of an inservice day reading and exploring this and other TeachersFirst resources listings on autism. This independent study may save your sanity and benefit students who really need our understanding.
The online magazine article (updated 2006) is actually a compilation of several reviews of Internet filtering tools for parents to use on home computers. Read the full article or skip to the "Fast Answers."
This site provides helpful tips on bus safety. It is useful as parent information, but can also be part of your lessons on bus safety with younger elementary children. Since they are not able to read at this level, the site is best shared with parents at the same time as your classroom discussions on the same topic.
In the Classroom: This article may be a useful reference for some of your parents. Share the link on your teacher web page or in a newsletter or note sent home.
Reading lets students create their own adventures. Our teacher-editors have selected titles that have shown continuing appeal, whether for school or recreation. We add new titles all the time, so check back here frequently.
In the Classroom: Share this link on your teacher web page and in your newsletters to parents to promote reading.
Looking for an online project-based interactive website that encourages literacy and cross-cultural communication? Looking for an alternative culminating project or process writing project for your secondary classes? Trying to help your high school juniors and seniors create an interesting college "essay" or portfolio piece? Join other adults and children from around the world by adding your essay, artwork or video about a hero on this non-profit, ad-free web site. You and your students can use this site with basic word processing knowledge -- or take it further if you are more technically capable.Site registration is required. Site is available in Spanish. Flash, Acrobat Reader and Quicktime are required. Get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Be sure to visit the Teacher’s Resource section for helpful hints and links. Use any word processing program to type essays, then copy and paste into the My Hero class page. Provide a link to the class page on your teacher web page so students, parents, and relatives can read the essays. As always follow your district policies regarding posting student work on the Internet. It is HIGHLY advisable to get written parent permission for such a project!
Very young students could work together as a class to write their entry. Older students and those with more technology available will definitely want to try the videos! If you know iMovie or Windows Moviemaker, this is a terrific project. It is well-suited for gifted students, as well.
This site offers interactive stories about Clifford and his friends. Students can read along as they listen to the story or read on their own. Story builder allows students to customize the story by choosing the topic and who the story will be about. Flash is required. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Use this site as a center (if several computers or laptops are available) or as an activity that students can do when finished with other work. Don’t forget headphones to prevent distractions to other students. Provide a link on your teacher web page for parents to visit the parents and teachers section for activities they can do with their child at home after reading other Clifford books.
This is an exceptional site for elementary links of all sorts. It was last updated, with links checked on 9-9-06. Ordinarily I would not recommend a site full of links; however, this has so many good ones compacted in one place, it seems silly to turn it down. There are links for math, reading, seasonal and holiday activities, as well as links specifically for parents. The site contains a wealth of rubrics and organizers which are great for the elementary student. Some new activities can spice up your plans and add to what you already do. The variety of things offered really does add depth to your well of tricks. The Math Tubs activities are ready-to-go, original lesson ideas.
In the Classroom: Unlike TeachersFirst, this page does not offer the ability to search. The best way to check out these resources may be to click through on a day off or weekend to find the best selections for your classroom use and mark them in your Favorites. Be sure to give each Favorite a meaningful name and to file them in folders to find them easily. If you are an adventurous user, you might want to try using Del.icio.us, a "social bookmarking" tool you can click to add as you go through the sites. Learn more about Del.icio.us at the TeachersFirst Edge .
Parents concerned about Internet safety and their teen (or preteen)'s online information-sharing should read this article. It may sound devious to check up on your children, but the era of social networking makes it a must-talk topic. Your child or young adult may not realize the serious safety issues involved with having online space. Trying to "just say no" will not work on this issue. Have the conversation. Although this may not be a classroom issue, the negative sides of social networking tools are harming the positive tools for learning made available through the same technologies.
In the Classroom: Teachers may want to share this article with parents to help them get the dialog started.
Interactive online stories support and add to the PBS Between the Lions series for early readers. Additional activities, related books, songs, games, and further activities create a rich resource for both teachers and parents. All stories and materials are also available to print for classroom or home use. This excellent-quality site is constantly being updated with curriculum and tech support. There are suggestions for further reading following each story.
In the Classroom: Students will enjoy having this opportunity to have their "own" book! When they see what they've been reading in school is also on TV, they'll be delighted. Print out some take-home books or include the link on your teacher web site.
Encourage parents to become involved with their children's education using these helpful, downloadable booklets on helping your child with science, history, math, reading, homework, early adolescence, preschool, general success in school, and being a responsible citizen. Some are geared for elementary only and others extend through middle school. Most are also available in Spanish version. Download as a pdf (Acrobat file) or Word document. You can order copies, but it may be easier and faster to simply print your own. Remember that you need Acrobat Reader to open pdf files. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Hand these booklets out at back to school night, open house, or conferences. Encourage parents to become involved supportively.
MySpace, Xanga, FaceBook, Moodle, blogs, Flickr, wikis, podcasts, and more! Is geek-speak Greek to you? If you have not heard the term yet, you will soon: Web 2.0 is the term for the new generation of web-based collaborative tools and other uses of the web. Your students use them in MySpace and Xanga, but these are just two small pieces of a much larger picture. If you are technology-curious or want to know what your students are talking about, take the time to read this explanation by one of the movers and shakers of web 2.0. The discussion includes some tech jargon and some of tuhe underlying philosophy behind it--not a "light" read in some spots, but it makes sense. The page is actually created with one of web 2.0's tools: Squidoo.
In the Classroom: Read for your own professional knowledge to stay ahead of the tech game, or share this site with mystified-but-curious parents and administrators, as well.You could even assign your computer students, tech ed classes, or techie students to use this site as a reference for a research project on the future of the web. Gifted classes would find it particulaly useful. The reading and conceptual level is definitely hgh school to adult.
Grow Up ReadingGrade K to 3
- West Bloomfield Township Public Library- 6570
This Web site, developed by a public library, is filled with excellent information on instilling a joy of reading in young children. Includes helpful book suggestions, book selection tips, and a list of do's and don'ts when reading aloud.
In the Classroom: Keep your primary students interested in reading even during summer vacation by sharing this resource with parents before the end of the year.
Book HiveGrade 1 to 6
- Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County- 6473
Both students and parents can use this wonderful collection of reviews to help find books appropriate for specific reading levels and areas of interest. Search by author, title, level, topic, illustrator, and number of pages. (Click "advanced search" for more options.) The site also offers a "storytelling" feature (headphones needed) and a page filled with interactive and printable activities.
Aunty MathGrade 2 to 4
- Dupage Children's Museum- 5563
Twice each month, Aunty Math will post a math challenge in the form of a story taken from her life. Solve the problem, post the answer, and check back in a few days to read Aunty Math's personal reply. Click on the "Modify/extend this Challenge" link to find helpful parent and teacher tips for using the challenges with a variety of learners.
This helpful checklist of reading and writing skills outlines what parents should expect to see from their children at each grade level. The site provides reading lists and practical tips for helping students to hone their language arts skills.
The New York Public Library offers this just-for-kids portal featuring links to sites by subject (science and technology, arts, games, sports, people and places), reading and book lists, book reviews written by kids, and helpful resources for parents and teachers.
Even if it's not summertime, this reading list can provide librarians, teachers, and parents with great suggestions. "Best bets" in picture books, chapter books, and teen books are provided along with summaries and "alerts" regarding language or subject matter. A variety of reading level, subjects, and styles are included.
This site provides activities, projects, games, and reading lists that can enhance a life science lesson on creepy-crawlies by introducing the real thing! Browse through the "Teacher/Parent Resource Materials" and check out the collection of units and lesson plans that require students to observe, interact with, and record their experiences with a variety of insects. The "Teacher’s Guide to Six-Legged Science" provides invaluable background information and helpful tips, especially for teachers who are a bit tentative about welcoming bugs into their classrooms.
Introduce your students to the charming and gentle world of Beatrix Potter with this beautifully designed site. Students can visit the "Fun!" section and print out coloring book pages; meet her most beloved characters including Peter Rabbit, Tom Kitten, Jemima Puddle-Duck, and Squirrel Nutkin; and participate in "Storytime" with audio reading of her famous stories, complete with animated illustrations based on her original watercolors. Biographical information about the author and her life in the Lake District of England is also included along with some simple crafts that children can make with help from teachers or parents. Available in British, American, German, French, and Japanese versions.
This US Department of Agriculture site provides valuable information for parents interested in teaching their children healthy eating habits. The site has a seasonal guide for healthy eating, ten tips for planning healthy school lunches, activities that parents and children can do together, and a list of health conscious reading resources sorted by age-group.
While there’s a wealth of “common knowledge” about what it takes to succeed in higher education, specific discussions of the factors and preparation that let students succeed is harder to find. Developed by a consortium of leading universities, this online PDF reference is the sort of reading that counselors, parents, and students should have available when they begin to plan their high school careers.Remember that your computer will have to open Acrobat Reader to open the reference pages and booklet. Be patient if you are on a slower connection.
In the Classroom: Guidance counselors will find this one especially useful.
In the Classroom: High school history teachers, especially those teaching AP students, may find MIT’s online course materials useful. MIT has committed to putting its entire curriculum on the web, and these early offerings include syllabi, reading materials, and a variety of subject-specific class notes. Before using these pages, teachers, students, and parents should all be aware of what Open Courseware is and is not.
In the Classroom: High school government and history teachers, especially those teaching AP students, may find MIT’s online course materials useful. MIT has committed to putting its entire curriculum on the web, and these early offerings include syllabi, reading materials, and a variety of subject-specific class notes. Before using these pages, teachers, students, and parents should all be aware of what Open Courseware is and is not.
In the Classroom: High school chemistry teachers, especially those teaching AP students, may find MIT’s online course materials useful. MIT has committed to putting its entire curriculum on the web, and these early offerings include syllabi, reading materials, and a variety of subject-specific class notes. Before using these pages, teachers, students, and parents should all be aware of what Open Courseware is and is not.
In the Classroom: High school economics teachers, especially those teaching AP students, may find MIT’s online course materials useful. MIT has committed to putting its entire curriculum on the web, and these early offerings include syllabi, reading materials, and a variety of subject-specific class notes. Before using these pages, teachers, students, and parents should all be aware of what Open Courseware is and is not.
In the Classroom: High school math teachers, especially those teaching AP students, may find MIT’s online course materials useful. MIT has committed to putting its entire curriculum on the web, and these early offerings include syllabi, reading materials, and a variety of subject-specific class notes. Before using these pages, teachers, students, and parents should all be aware of what Open Courseware is and is not.
Teachers and parents alike will be interested in this parent’s saga of their son’s experience with an overwhelming advanced math class. Readers should be sure to read the editor’s response, which offers a helpful commentary on when “advanced” coursework becomes excessive. The editor, a faculty member at a California University, publishes commentary on educational issues from time to time.
This annual list of fiction and non-fiction complied by the Young Adult Library Services Association of the St. Charles Public Library provides annotated suggestions for young adults ages 12 to 18.
In the Classroom: Use these book lists as a way to interest hesitant readers in your classroom. The books recommended are all interesting enough to capture any young mind, regardless of their previous feelings towards reading. Avid readers will also love this site, so be sure to post it on your teacher web page to allow students to access it out of the classroom. Parents will also love access to the site, and can use it to generate a summer reading list for their kids.
Reading ListsGrade 1 to 12
- Council for Exceptional Children- 2016
The Council for Exceptional Children presents these pages, which offer teachers and parents lists of pointers on how they can encourage reading with children, especially those who have a learning disability. The site includes tips on strategies which can make reading easier and more rewarding for these students.
An information-loaded site for parents, teachers, and children dealing with learning disabilities. It has a special section just for teachers with constantly updated material, as well as an online ordering service where you can read about and order books and videos. The "LD in Depth" section is especially helpful: you can find the latest news and articles by the experts on an array of topics, including Early Identification, Reading, Social Skills, Transition, Gifted/LD, and more. Click on "for Teachers" in this section to find teaching strategies, or visit the bulletin boards to exchange ideas with other teachers. Kidzone affords children with Learning Disabilities a place to "publish" their work. This is a "must see" site!
Use this interactive (and entertaining) site to excite even the youngest students about science! There is so much to explore at this site. Sid, the Science Kid, mixes science with humor so be prepared for some giggles. The site features video clips, interactive educational games, a printable coloring book (which can also be read online), and lesson ideas (see the "Parents and Teachers" link). Examples of topics include the effects of heat, health, measurement, the five senses, and many others. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: The possibilities at this site are endless. Make your first stop at the Parents and Teachers link. You may find a lesson plan or even short video to share with your class. Be sure to save this site in your favorites. Explore this site with your students on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Set-up learning centers using this website. Students may want to explore this site during independent time when other work is complete. You may also want to list this site on your class website (or on your class newsletter, if applicable).
Use the computer to teach writing in new ways using the ideas in this article. Scholarly references and practical ideas are both included. This site give teachers or involved parents new ways to emphasize writing process and willing revision.
Here's a selection of book and author sites compiled expressly for primary students. They provide quick access to a group of reading resources for first or second grade. Some can be used by students directly; others may require some help from the teacher or parent. This site also contains arithmetic and geography sections.
A commercially sponsored contest site designed to encourage students to read. There are sections for teachers, students, and parents, as well as a list of sponsors. Could be useful for teachers seeking incentives for reading.
The EServer (originally founded as the English Server) is a cooperative which has been publishing humanities materials since 1990. It currently offers over thirty-five thousand works. A few of its many general topic categories include: 18th Century Studies, Cultural Theory, Recipes, Literacy and Education, Marx and Engels, and Rhetoric. This is a comprehensive and rich site well worth a look.
In the Classroom: Include this site on your teacher web page for students and parents to access as an extensive reading resource.
This site provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Education’s program America Reads Challenge, including explanations of Legislation, federal initiatives and Title I programs. Although the initiative is no longer ongoing, the site provides examples of successful after-school tutoring and in-home tutoring programs.
In the Classroom: Share this link on your teacher web page and/or in a parent newsletter for those who are dealing with these challenges.
Whether or not your school uses the Lexile system to measure reading levels, teachers should become familiar with it. Lexiles are coming your way soon. Already 950 companies use Lexile to measure the reading levels of their materials. Thousands of schools now use Lexile measuring to determine the precise reading level of their students. Explore this website for more information on ‘how’ the measuring is done. On the homepage, click on the Educators’ link. There, you will find a Lexile Analyzer that allows you to cut and paste text into an entry box to determine its Lexile readability level. (You will need to register for the free use of the Analyzer.) Click on the book database to find the Lexile level of your classroom books. The Lexile Calculator lets you figure out the rate of comprehension based upon Lexile scores. Lexile leveling is also available for Spanish text. See El Sistema Lexile link at the bottom for more information.
Registration is free. An email address is required, as is some other information. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
Another helpful resource in understanding Lexile levels is this pdf comparison chart from Harcourt (opens in Acrobat Reader).
In the Classroom: If your school reports data to parents using Lexile scoring, then download the white papers to give to them at conferences to explain Lexile scores in ‘parent friendly’ language. Include this link on your classroom web page. If your students know their Lexile level, you will want Lexile levels on your classroom library materials so students can match the right book to their reading level. As an FYI, SOME books listed on Barnes and Noble's online site include Lexile levels in the descriptions (just after age level).
Mrs. P.comGrade K to 9
- Mrs. P Enterprises, LLC- 9687
You almost want to toast marshmallows on the open fire as you cyber-curl under Mrs. P’s feet by the fireplace. No need to bring a book; she has quite a selection. This interactive site will thrill your eager readers for hours. Actress Kathy Kinney tells delightful intro stories and expertly reads the books. Best viewed on a high speed Internet connection, it’s a breeze to navigate. On the homepage, click on the various items around the warm room to find intriguing, sometimes outlandish, stories about Mrs. P. Extend the learning by clicking on the book on the stand to find a loaded dictionary. Play the Title game as an amusing way to listen to one-liners about the stories at this site. And… the reason we all want to stay in Mrs. P’s library is the book stacks themselves. Click on the stack to find a healthy assortment of stories to listen and view. When you choose a book, click on ‘options’ to turn on or off ‘show the words.’ Each book is rated for age-appropriateness. (The rating of A, B, C, and D is a bit confusing as they refer to age-level rather than a “grade” rating.) Keep an eye on this site for future improvements and enhancements. Not only will you be able to listen to the stories, but soon you will be able to purchase them via convenient download, as well. They will always be free to listen to online!
Warning: This is a beta product. Expect some glitches here and there, however, it appears to be nearly glitch-free as is. If you do find a problem, send a bug report as seen at the top of the screen. There are some hints available for turning on and off some features to make the site operate more smoothly if your connection speed is super-fast. Do NOT even try this one on a slow connection! This site requires Flash. Get it here TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Teachers, check out the first link at the bottom on the homepage. Submit student stories and Mrs. P. may choose to read them on this site. Be sure to get parental consent before submitting any stories.
What a valuable tool for ESL and ELL students and teachers of emergent readers as students follow the words on the screen as Mrs. P. reads a story. Create a corner in your room to read stories the way Mrs. P. does! Use your first initial, let your imagination run wild, change your accent of course, and you can become another Mrs. P.
Be sure to share this treasure on your teacher web page for students (and parents) to access outside of class. You may find students become interested in some of those "old books" in the library!
Teachers First Edge Entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. This tool allows you to create an interactive family tree. Once you are registered, you can easily create a family tree. You are able to include family member's birth-dates, death-dates, email addresses, pictures, video clips, and more. This site also has the capacity to create timelines for births, deaths, weddings, divorces, education, occupation, and other important events and information. The family tree and some of the other activities require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Skills Needed: this site is fairly simple to use. Join the site (free) and log in. Registration requires an email address. Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
Navigation of the site is simple. Click on Tree to start your family tree (or Timeline to use that free resource. For the family tree, arrows are provided to add family members. The arrows pointing up indicate a parent, arrows to the left or right are used to add a wife/husband or brother/sister, and arrows pointing down are used to add a son or daughter.
Safety/Security Concerns: This site allows users to set-up their family tree or timeline as PRIVATE. It allows you to control who can and can't view your profile, family tree, and other information. For more information about this feature, visit the Settings link (on the top right corner). Before you plan your family tree project, be sure to get parental permission.
Possible Uses: Use this site to create family tree projects in elementary or middle school classes. Have high school students create family trees as part of an immigration unit studying patterns in social studies classes. In science class, have students create fictitious "people" as they study genetics. With younger students, create a class timeline sharing important dates for individuals (i.e. birthdays) and class dates (field trips, tests, or other special events). Have students share their family trees on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Be sure to "advertise" this project on your class website (and newsletter, if applicable) so students have time to gather names, birthdates, and other information about family members. In world language classes, have student create a family tree using the correct vocabulary for relatives and talk about it as they share it on the interactive whiteboard. When researching famous people, reading biographies, or even reading literature have students create a family tree illustrating their discoveries about their famous person, writer, artist, musician, explorer, literary character, etc.
TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for moderately adventurous technology users. This online database-creation tool allows you (and your students) to create a database online, including images, links, and more. A "blist" is a "web list." Blists can be shared with others as totally public or by invitation only. They can also be entirely private (accessible only to the person who created them). The tool and was designed for general consumer use, not education, but it has many potential uses in the classroom, for teachers, and parents. As Blist explains it, "A blist can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be. Compared with a spreadsheet like Excel, blist is much more visual and intuitive - plus, blist is really social, it's easy to share with other people and groups. What's more, you can also find blists created by other users, so you don’t have to start from scratch." You can view the data through a "lens" or filter (show data that meets certain criteria, such as only the entries from a certain city in an address list, include photos, create groups for sharing the blist, allow others to input their information, import and export with Excel, and more. Here is a sample blist about ways to use blist in the classroom from the TeachersFirst Edge Team. Add your ratings to our ideas or add more ideas for how to use blist!
Be aware that this site is currently in transition. The original Blist is still available. However, they are upgrading and changing their site to Socrata. As this upgrade is completed, TeachersFirst will be reviewing the new site. For now, you can click on a link to take you to the original Blist.
In the Classroom: Skills Needed: If you like directions, explore the links form the home page about ways to use blist. To start right in, create the account (requires email) then start right in. No email verification needed. Explore options under the Dashboard (icon at top right. Explore some blists created by others to see examples (teachers should do this without students, since these are public blists that may not be classroom-appropriate). Create a blist from another model or from scratch using simple drag and drop arrangements. Set the privacy level of your blist to public, shared with specific users, or private. Our example is public, with specific permissions for what others may do. See recent changes to your blist made by others from your dashboard. Explore the options for creating contacts to "share" blists, including emailing a blist to someone (shows as an table in the email). Blist will even save contacts you enter.
Safety concerns: Registered users set their own screen display name or choose "undisclosed." We recommend using generic display names for students so only the teacher can identify them, since "undisclosed" will not tell a teacher which student did which work. Although single blists can be private or limited to groups you create, students can easily see other "popular" blists (possibly not classroom-appropriate), participate in public blists, follow the activity of others, and add others to their "contacts" (a more businesslike term for "friends"). You may want to use a teacher Gmail account and assigned subaccounts to be able to track the activity of students if you allow them to use the site on their own. Other options: a blist user agreement with specific permissions and consequences with parent permission> If you use web 2.0 tools in general in your classroom, you may want to create a single classroom policy in accordance with your school's AUP and simply list the tools your classes will use, having students and parents sign. This will allow you to spell out caveats about public interaction, profiles, posting student work, damaging the work of others, etc. If sharing a blist you created for students to add to (such as a classroom database of independent reading choices), use the URL for direct access to the blist to avoid some of the more "public" areas. These areas will still be easily accessible for curious clickers, however. Some messages during "loading" times encourage exploration. One unfortunate tip we noted unhappily: "Be a voyeur. Click Discover." Teachers with students not accustomed to self-controlled behavior on the web will want to limit use of this tool to teacher-centered or whole-class activities. The tool IS worth learning for just for these!
Possible uses: Teach about data collection and analysis using this tool on your interactive whiteboard or projector. The highly visual, drag and drop interface will make data manipulation work more intuitively for your students to understand. Let them click and drag to create a blist and resulting graphs from surveys the class conducts. If you are comfortable allowing students to use the tool, create an inventory of books read independently with reviews, ratings and more. Students can add to it from home and collect credit for outside readings or find books based on others' reviews. Collect lab data, have groups collect data on famous people, inventors, or historic events. Compare consumer goods. Share important dates and checklists for major projects by allowing student and parents to VIEW (not edit) a database you create. Assign students to evaluate and compare different web resources as part of a class research assignment. See more ideas in the sample blist about ways to use Blist in the classroom from the TeachersFirst Edge Team.
Teacher's First Edge Review: for slightly adventurous technology users. At this site, students can create, share, and "remix" comics. The "remix" link allows students to add their own twist to ready-made comics. Students can read comics created by others and also make comments on them. Other highlights of the site include a featured author and blog. This free version of Pixton will be followed with a fee-based version for schools (with teacher and student registration levels and safety tools) in 2009, but the free version will remain available. Eventually, the free version will only include a 30-day trial period. Be aware: the Pixton for Schools (if continued after 30-days) will cost $1 per student. See an example created by the TeachersFirst Edge team. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Skills Needed: Register and watch “trailers” or play with the simple tools to choose a situation (template), color, graphics and symbols. Then enter dialog. Make changes with simple tools alongside each block of your comic. Save your work to come back later or you may "publish" right away. You have a choice about whether others are allowed to “remix” your work. You also have the option to edit work or embed it in a website, blog or wiki. Comics can also be shared by URL (copy it from the address bar) or sent via email.
Safety/Security Concerns: Registration requires an email address.
You may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. There are some safeguards in place to be sure students use appropriate language and actions. It would be wise to preview whatever you wish to share with your students, however, since the general public can create comics with their own ideas. Students should submit their work without identifiable names and location, according to your school policy, perhaps using their newly-assigned Gmail address and account (monitored by you, since you own the master account). You will also want written parent permission before allowing students to create comics that can be seen online.
Possible Uses: Use comics to write summaries of current events, responses to reading assignments, expressions of teen problems, and creative works of humor. With younger students, use an interactive whiteboard or projector to create a class comic on a current topic of study, such as the life cycle of the frog or ways to conserve energy. Use this site to integrate an art and writing lesson. Why not have students create comics to demonstrate a concept in science or social studies, rather than a traditional paper/pencil quiz? World language teachers and ESL/ELL teachers will love the chance for students to demonstrate written language skills in the “context” of their comic situations.
ESL PodcastsGrade 5 to 12
- Internet TESL Journal- 9192
This site offers a continually updated variety of podcasts on news subjects at a level appropriate for ESL and ELL students. A short description tells the subject of the podcast as well as other extras like quizzes, speakers, and creators or originators. Students and teachers can listen from the Internet or download to an MP3 player or local computer. A "Read the Web Page" link takes viewers to the news article or other special feature mentioned in the broadcast. Be certain to preview the podcasts that you plan to use in your class. Some are not appropriate for elementary students and young adolescents. This website requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Use this page to listen to current events news in simple English. Play them on your speakers for an entire class or provide headphones for individual listening. Have the students try to write the main points of the podcast they listen to and then check their listening against the webpage with the original article. Special education teachers may want to use this resource as an adapted way for students to read and submit weekly current events articles. Mark this site as a favorite on your classroom computer so students can use it during their free time with headphones. Share the link on your teacher web pages for parents and students to access quickly from home, but be sure to suggest that parents of younger students monitor the topics for appropriateness.
ScribdGrade 9 to 12
- Trip Adler , Jared Friedman, Tikhon Bernstam - 8605
TeachersFirst Edge tool: for moderately adventurous technology users. This online file storage and sharing space allows you to upload Word documents, Excel files, pdfs, PowerPoint files, and other formats and keep them in a place where others (or just you) can access them. Scribed provides tools to convert between file types, for example to make a Word document into a pdf (readable in Acrobat Reader on most computers)or even to convert it into a SOUND file (MP3). The sound conversion apparently takes some time, as our editors found when uploading a sample. The default set-up makes files public when you upload, so you are , in effect, "publishing" them to the web, but you also have options to make them "private," i.e. limited access via a private URL for that document, or to make them only available to a certain "group." You can create or join groups, as well. Our editors made a sample that is "private," but available via this link. The site uses FLASH, so be sure you have the plug-in.
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Join (free). Email address is optional. Determine whether you have the copyright to the file(s) you wish to upload. You may ONLY upload files to which you hold the rights. Locate files on your computer and upload them. (Read FAQ for file types that are permissible). Choose options for that file: tags, private/public, etc. Create groups, such as for your class or group projects. Determine rights of the groups---who uploads? Who administers the group? You can also bulk upload. There is also a "collections" feature within your account, possible for different types of work, different student authors, etc. If you have a class log, click "more options" at the left of a document display to copy code and embed the actual Scribd file in your blog---a SAFE way to share it without sending students to Scribd.
How would you use this? As a productivity tool for yourself, you can make all your own files available from any computer, so you will never say, "I left it on my desktop at home." This is handy for itinerant teachers or forgetful students. Having pdf versions of handouts available with a few clicks makes it easy to share them with students via email or links on your teacher web page.
As an instructional tool, you will first need to manage some safety issues. Scribd is a site for the general public, a]so the texts available can have objectionable subject matter. "Browsing" Scribd is not an option for the classroom unless they launch a Squeaky-clean education version. If more mature students want to maintain (and even share) a writing portfolio to accompany college applications or simply document their growth as a writer over time, this tool is great, It will even save "versions" of documents to show writing process. There are some other ideas in our sample document. For safety reasons, we recommend a written Scibd policy for your classroom requiring parent permission for using the site, maintaining limited access for class members of selected "collaborators," such as a partner class from another school, and strict NO BROWSING, NO COMMENTING , NO JOINING GROUPS unless they are known to the teacher. The simplest way to control this is to have all students use ONE account (that you can monitor) and create individual collections or "tag" their work with their initials or some other unique identifier. This would allow everyone to "keep" work there, so you can open drafts on a whiteboard, access writings from a few months ago for comparison side-by-side, etc.
A "possible uses" list:
Share handouts or study guides (yours or student-made)
Share permission forms, lab report formats, assignments, calendars, project rubrics and details, science fair documents, collaborative writing or group projects. Create an online literary magazine "dropbox." Encourage student responsibility by suggesting they maintain their own file repository on Scribd so they ALWAYS have their homework. Help students "hear" their own drafts read aloud (if the audio conversion works quickly enough). Share all lab data from a science experiment so students have a large data set to analyze. Then share their lab reports. Have students "turn in" any assignment to your group (if you and their parents think they are trustworthy on the site alone). The list goes on and on...
This author page features plenty of ideas about how to help kids enjoy reading and includes many stories. Hear Mem Fox reading her own stories (click Hear Mem Read Aloud). She gives advice on how to read to children and gives great examples. This author page has many good suggestions for promoting literacy and love of reading. There is also a section of advice on writing your own picture book for children, an excellent writing activity for upper elementary and middle school students. Parts of this site require Quick Time. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Create shortcut to Mem reading aloud on your classroom computer for a center activity for primary grades, and place a copy of Mem's book there for students to follow along. Print out Mem's suggestions for reading aloud to give to parents at conferences or share this site on your teacher home page for parent and students to access from home. For older students, this site is an excellent resource for planning cross-grade reading activities for Read Across America or other special times, including having middle school students write picture books for young students, then share them at an in-person visit or on a podcast recording.PowerPoint slides are an easy way to "create" and share large format picture books electronically.
This site, a companion to a print book, focuses on ideas and activities for book clubs, including short summaries of books, recipes, and activities paired up with featured books. Books included are of many levels and genres, all of high interest for children. Children's authors write some of the book reviews; book club members are welcome to list their book club, book descriptions, and activities on the site as well. Links include an author section with a comprehensive list of authors who will speak to your book clubs by phone and authors and illustrators willing to visit your school.
In the Classroom: Find food ideas and activities to promote reading on this site! Mention this site to your school librarian for use with school book clubs. FCS teachers may want to coordinate some of the recipes with books featured in language arts class. Parents would appreciate the link on your teacher web page or newsletter so they can encourage reading at home. Your school parent organization can find great ideas, as well. Make this link part of your family literacy treasury.
This totally bilingual website (a collaboration between Reading Rockets and the American Federation of Teachers) is packed with information for both ELL and regular classroom instructors about how to encourage reading. Although the focus is on Spanish speaking students, the information is specific and easily adaptable for all reading learners. Lots of information is available on the site concerning not only reading instructional techniques, but how to deal with families of Hispanic students, placement and assessment, and important authors. Webcast information programs include accompanying reading and discussion questions. This site is a good resource to help meet the needs of increasing numbers of students born speaking other languages. This site requires Flash and Windows Media Player. Get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. You must use Internet Explorer to view the webcasts. You can download podcasts using Google Video, iTunes, OMN,etc. Podcasts and video selections add to the multimedia attractiveness of the site.
In the Classroom: All classroom teachers who have ELL students should consider this a primary source of information about how to teach and deal with second language learners. Share this link on your teacher web page and/or in a parent newsletter for those who are dealing with the challenges of the increasing number of ELL students.
This free site offers daily news on current events along with in-depth special reports, polls to participate in, games and quizzes on a variety of topics. Scholastic News Online can be used alone or as an extension of the Scholastic Classroom Magazines. Be sure to visit the Homework Hub for information students (and teachers) can use for getting organized, taking notes, writing and plagiarism, test taking tips, and research. Parent section offers tips for discussing current events with their child. Flash is needed for some games and videos. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Put a link on your teacher web page for parents and students to access it at home or in study times at school. Preview the site to determine which news stories best suit your curriculum and the age of your students. Younger classes may need help reading some of the articles: use a projector so the news story can be read aloud as students follow along. Take a class vote after viewing the Vote Now! Poll and graph the class results. After posting the class vote, compare the class results with the results of the poll on the site.
TeachersFirst Edge entry: for the more adventurous technology user. GuruLib is a great way to organize and annotate your classroom library. If you can find the ISBN number on your books or UPC codes on CDs/DVDs, you can enter the full information on these items into a library that students can use to find favorites to borrow (you can even sort them only shelves according to related units you teach). Another idea is to have students use this site (and your single log-in) to enter titles, authors, and reviews that classmates can read. Since "borrowing" an item requires having an account (not a safe idea with your students), why not allow all students to use your account and create a "shelf" for each student's initials?. Then students can drag books he/she has signed out from the classroom. Students can enter reviews (Sign with initials so others know who wrote it) and even comment on the reviews left by others. What a great way to promote reading in a motivational way! Parents and others see the site from the public side. If parents join GuruLib, they can even comment on the reviews their children wrote. Think of the excitement!
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Join the site (free). Read and play (limited help given)to Add items, edit them (including a review), add or edit shelves, drag items to shelves, etc.
Show students how to enter a book and review on a projector, then mark your class library in Favorites on the classroom computer for them to make entries as they read!
.See our editor's sample library from the "public" side.
Power users can even add "widgets" to the class blog from the GuruLib. There's a challenge!
This 3-in-one online magazine for elementary to middle school kids has attractive graphics, sound, games, news, e-cards, etc. and serves as a companion to paper magazines at three levels: Chirp, Chickadee and Owl. The Owl magazine for upper elementary to middle school is includes an online calendar with moveable stickers, word searches, jokes, a mystery in graphic novel style, and features including international, gender, and environmental awareness. All three magazines promote reading and get children into the habit of “looking” at a magazine for fun, news, and information.
In the Classroom: This site would be a good one for students to learn the literacy skills of surveying a site to see how it is organized (just as they should do with a textbook).Whether or not you have these magazines in "hard copy" in your classroom, you can generate excitement about reading by sharing the activities on these accompanying websites. Then include the link on your teacher web page for students to explore from home or during free time.
The Parents and Teachers Resources section is still under development. Children can submit their own artwork to be displayed at these sites! (Make sure you have parent permission).
If you are looking for information on autism or Asperger's Syndrome, this organization's resources and information will be very helpful. You can find general background information, downloadable "guides" and worksheets for parents and educators, and current research. The guides include advice on how to "be a savvy customer of autism sources of information," a wise idea when investigating a topic with such emotion and so much in the forefront at this time. Some of the printables require Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Look under "Resources" for Recommended Reading. The "Education and Service Providers" section offers a great starting point for teachers! These downloadable files can be read only or printed out to share with concerned parties. Share this link on your class website, for parents to easily find and investigate.
There’s plenty to see in this educator’s page from the long-running RIF program. There are useful tips and resources for teachers and others interested in fostering reading, writing, and literacy skills in young children and elementary students. There are lesson plans in pdf format, links to activities on RIF's Reading Planet site, downloadable literacy activity calendars (English and Spanish), and much more. Especially useful is the Activity search for lessons and more for different curriculum strands and ages. Though many are geared for younger children (preschool and primary grades), there are some options for upper elementary, as well, including interdisciplinary lessons to include music, etc.
In the Classroom: Explore this site in conjunction with the student options on RIF's Reading Planet (reviewed here) and Leading to Reading (reviewed here). As you plan new literacy centers, be sure to explore the options here. You may also want to share the link to the parent area of the RIF site on your class web page so parents can promote literacy at home. Not sure if the home has Internet access? Send the monthly literacy calendars home via backpack express and offer Reading Reward points for completed activities students bring in to share with the class. Reading Rewards points can be good for a free book or extra time on the classroom computer exploring (what else?) RIF activities! Reading specialists, principals, teachers, and literacy coaches will be interested in sharing some of the articles with other professionals and paraprofessionals.
TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for ANY technology user who can "draw" with computer drawing tools. With no registration or email required, you can use this site to "draw" on and label any map available through Google Maps, including maps of the night sky! Create a colorful and personalized map with added scribbles and labels. Your drawing or "Scribble Map" is then available for you to share by URL, email to a friend or teacher, or print (but think of the trees first). Slightly more savvy users can download, save as a kml file (readable in Google Maps or Google Earth), or even embed the map in another site. The tools include sharing the map on Facebook and Twitter, as well. Slightly more savvy users who know how to find the URL for an image on the web can add images to the maps, as well. Drawing tools include lines, circles, place pointers, text labels, and color/size/transparency controls for all tools. This site is not affiliated with Google Maps, but it does include Google Ads on the right side and all the normal controls of Google maps, including satellite, map, terrain, hybrid views and Night Sky. See a sample Scribble Map created by the TeachersFirst editors (drag the map with your mouse!):
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Users need to have some basic familiarity with computer drawing tools and Google Maps. If you wish to include images in a map annotation, you need to know how to obtain the image URL from an image you wish to pull in from anywhere on the web. If you wish to embed the finished map in your web site, wiki, or blog, you must know how to copy/paste the embed code using that option from the Menu and paste it into your site.
Getting started: Explore the tools and MENU options at the top left when you start out. Try the different Maps views (lower right) and zoom controls. Search for a starter location using the search at the top left, just below the tools. There is no help available, but it is easy to do basic maps. Share, save, etc. by clicking Menu (top left). When you first save a map, it will ask you to create a password for that map to use to edit it later. Note that if you SAVE a map and share it by URL, those accessing it will be able to use the tools and change the map. If you want them to see it without changing it, you will need to embed it in a blog, wiki, or other web site. Students and teachers will want to keep a written record or map URLS and passwords for future reference. When you click to SAVE a map, the site gives you the direct URL for that map. Highlight it and control (on Mac: Command)+C to COPY it and then paste it into a document or electronic note so you do not "lose" it. Model this for students so they do not lose hours of work! Our editors discovered that the map ID can be changed and customized by simply typing in your own choice of ID when you are saving the map. You can also email the map URL to yourself and others. Students who create maps for an assignment can "turn them in" by emailing the URLs directly from this site to the teacher! All they need to do is type in a quick message identifying whose work it is. Teachers can prepare partially-made maps or maps for students to make corrections and changes by giving the students the URL, then having them SAVE the map with a NEW ID. To SAVE the map with a new name and URL, click "Save map" in the menu, then enter your OWN map ID. Students could use a code including their initials, such as SJ12-3-09 for a map made by Sally Jones on Dec 3, 2009. Teachers should PASSWORD their originals so changes can only be saved under a new name. Similarly, if a student saves the map with a map password, they don't have to worry about other students vandalizing their work. But they DO need to remember the password! Wise teachers will keep a class list of maps and passwords for forgetful students! A note from the TF editors; it took us a few moments to figure out that place pointers can be edited by selecting them (arrow tool), then clicking the small pencil!
Safety/Security Concerns: The site collects no information about users and no email address or membership. It does include advertising on the right side, but it you click the "delist" box when first saving a map, ads seems to disappear from that map except for an ad to use Google Adwords. All maps created are public BUT are only accessible if others KNOW the URL. Since this tool shares no "popular" or "latest" maps created by the general public, it is far safer than many user-tools on the web today. Before having students create their own maps on the web, check school policies and obtain written permission from parents. Be sure students do not include digital pictures or information that could identify them from their maps. Since images must come from other web pages, students will not be able to upload an image to include in their map. Using images by URL avoids the problems of copyright, however. Just be sure to teach your students the best practice of giving a credit to the image source in the text of their placemarker of other map annotation.
Possible Uses: in primary grades, make maps of your local community together on your interactive whiteboard as you teach basic map skills. Create your own "key" with symbols you choose for playgrounds, etc. Have students help map locations of favorite playgrounds, grandparents' houses, stores, etc. as they gain basic understanding of map skills. Make sure you allow students to operate the tools! Save the map and share it as a link from your class web site (or embed it there). Keep names generic so it is "safe." Other ideas: natural resource maps, immigration maps, maps of civil war battles day by day, maps of key sites in the life of a famous person, artist, or author. Maps of the settings in a novel, landform maps of a continent or state, "My life" maps of places important to an elementary student's family, annotated watershed maps of pollution sources, maps of the water cycle, maps of constellations in the night sky created by students to demonstrate understanding, maps of a dream community to be built in a vacant area (desert), including the water sources, etc. that will be needed, maps of a redesigned city/town on top of its current map. Teachers can provide map challenges or templates to be completed or corrected, including maps where students must label distances and cardinal directions between points (using map scale and skills). Or provide a teacher-created map with labels in the wrong places for students to correct the landforms, resources, etc. What will YOU do with Scribble Maps?
Henry Hudson 400Grade 5 to 12
- Henry Hudson 400 Foundation- 10291
By viewing superimposed old maps from Henry Hudson's time on modern day Google, students and teachers have a unique opportunity to see the courses of his voyages while he was searching for a short route to Asia. Besides maps, you will find photos, models of Hudson's ship, and read about other relevant historical data. An additional feature, Water Challenges, allows students to click on one of several sites and read about past and current water concerns.
In the Classroom: Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use these maps to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage. Share this link on your class web page and/or in a parent newsletter for those who are interested in American history, sailing, boat making, and exploring. Have students hand draw their own maps to show what other explorers have done. Or use another online mapmaking tool such as Mapskip (reviewed here) to create a map (with audio stories and pictures included)!
This site allows FREE access to a number of books, newspapers, and magazines, all using adaptive technology. After a free registration (available to participants with documented limited vision), members can download books, textbooks, and newspapers in a compressed, encrypted file. They then read the material using adaptive technology, typically software that reads the book aloud (text-to-speech) and/or displays the text of the book on a computer screen, or Braille access devices, such as refreshable Braille displays. The advantage to this site is that it offers newer books and other written materials than many other online digital libraries. Besides written items, a number of videos are available which assist or focus on typical Bookshare users, many featuring them as success stories. A special page of information for teachers with limited vision students includes information such as other resources, reading lists, and handouts.
In the Classroom: If you have students with limited vision or certain specific qualifying learning disabilities in your class, be sure to save this useful resource in your favorites. List this link on your class website or wiki or email it to parents of these children. If possible, share this site with those teachers working with students with limited vision and qualifying disabilities.
Teaching Tolerance is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center and seeks to provide educators with tools to reduce prejudice of all kinds. You might already be familiar with this group's "Mix it Up" initiative which seeks to get middle school and high school students to sit with someone new for one day during lunch at the cafeteria. This site contains lesson plans, links for teachers, parents, teens, and kids, current topics related to prejudice, an on-line version of the Teaching Tolerance magazine, an order form for free curriculum materials, and links to other resources.
The teacher’s link offers classroom activities (many interactive) that tie in with the lesson plans. There is also a link to receive FREE kits and handbooks! The “Parents” link offers activities and ideas for ages 2-17! There are online activities, recommended books, “talking points” for parents, and more. The “For Teens” link includes a wealth of resources: video clips, lessons, 10 steps to take action, downloadable posters, essays, and true stories. The Kid’s link offers “read,” “Explore,” and “Play” options for elementary (and younger middle school) students. A “sign up” box appears when you first enter the site, click on the X to remove the box.
In the Classroom: Of course, the obvious uses for this site include preparing for Black History Month or Women's History Month, consult this site for more than that! Don’t just visit the Teacher’s link, but check out the kids and teens links for videos and interactive that you can share on your projector or interactive whiteboard. If you are unsure of how to approach a touchy subject with your students--either a subject from the news like the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rules, or something that is happening in your school or community, this site can provide resources for you and your students. Subscribe to Tolerance.org's emailed newsletter, or order one of the curriculum kits; the newest one is Viva la Causa about Cesar Chavez and the struggle for justice for farmworkers in the 1960s. This is a great addition to your school’s bully program! Take advantage of the free lesson plans, class activities, interactive, and book recommendations. This is definitely one to list on your class website!
TeachersFirst Edge review: for social networking technology users who love literature, reading, and writing. This online eBook and literary discussion tool allows you to read collaboratively with others using an online eBook reader that is built into the site. The site is open to the public, so teachers should preview with their students' maturity level in mind and guide them carefully into constructive and safe use of its tools. Our editors found no objectionable texts available at the time of review, but these change. Those interested primarily in reading and discussing selections offered by Bookglutton can read the books from any computer, but you will want to set up a membership to keep track of what you are reading at the very least. The books offered include free texts that are in the public domain (no longer under copyright), user-submitted books, and fee-based purchases offered by publishers who sell their books in online form. More savvy users can embed the book-reader tool in another web site or wiki, as well. Readers who are logged in can discuss a text live (chat style) with others they "meet" on Bookglutton or with a specific group. They can also leave comments on pages or passages so others can respond later. Your comments (annotations) can also be kept private for viewing just by you, just like marking up the margins in your paperbacks. Works available include those from Bronte, Dickens, and many traditional classics of the high school curriculum.
In the Classroom: Skills needed: You must join and manage various profile options, including email notifications for activity and various social features. Teachers will want to explore the options for Groups. If you wish to upload and discuss unpublished texts such as student drafts or a literary magazine proof, read detailed directions and formatting requirements for using their E-Pub Converter for uploads (more technically challenging than using books already on the site). If you wish to embed a book in a class wiki or web site, you need to know how to copy/paste the embed code and put it in your wiki. Many of the social options mirror those on Facebook (friends, wall, etc.)
Getting started: Start by browsing the catalog to see which of the books you already study are available here. Watch the "How it Works" video on BookGlutton's home page to see how both "Talk" (left side) and "Mark" (right side) annotation tools function. "Talk" is for real-time interaction, while "Mark" allows comments from others at a later time. Join the site (email required) and set up groups for your students to use: "A group can be a good way to share private book uploads with multiple people, or just to read a favorite [book] from the catalog together." Try opening a book from the catalog and making some notes, then retrieving those notes later. Create a group for your class discussion of the book and invite your students to join that group. If your school does not permit use of student email, consider setting up a Gmail account and subaccounts that you control so make a set of discussion memberships. Use up to 20 subaccounts of that Gmail account to create student accounts and passwords to be used by each student or group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. Start out by working with one of the many classics available because they are past copyright. Consider embedding the book in your wiki or web page so students are not distracted by all the other social options. If you do plan to have students use the site, plan a full tour and explanation of the tools (with caveats about the areas that are off limits). Your projector or interactive whiteboard will be ideal.
Safety/Security concerns: This site is completely public and includes the ability to make "friends" and chat with others outside your school. Many schools prohibit use of such “social networking” features. Check your school policies before allowing students to access the site on their own, then spell out specific permissions and consequences. You will want to obtain written agreements on class policies from both students and parents. Set your class discussion to "private" to avoid drop-ins by uninvited guests! If you or students submit your own texts (according to school policies, of course), take the time to teach safe ways to submit, voting/ranking etiquette, and the potential for cruelty or rude behavior by anonymous viewers. Bookglutton may be blocked by your filtering system because of the social networking options. Another, more teacher-controlled option would be to use a single whole-class account to interact with books and others who are reading the same text. While limited to class consensus on an interactive whiteboard or projector, this might be a way to get started with the tools and possibly find like-minded school groups to "discuss" literature with you.
Possible Uses: Make study of classic (or "old," to your students) literary works more engaging by having students annotate, respond, and share thoughts in a Group. Set the group as private and include just those from your class or use your network to find other high school classes interested in sharing the discussion. Embed the ongoing dialog in your class wiki, or make separate groups for 3-4 students and embed both their annotated editions in your wiki for comparison of their responses. Require student groups to explain new vocabulary encountered in works using the "mark" tools and challenge them to add personal responses to passages, literary devices, characterization, themes, etc. Teach any kind of literary analysis by involving students directly with the text and allowing them to interact with each other in the discussion. Take literary discussion from teacher-centered to reader-centered. Consider uploading your drafts of the school literary magazine or work from a creative writing group for others to read, react, and respond (after establishing guidelines about appropriateness and mutual support). Share selected, well-annotated editions as embeds on your class wiki for other students to use as windows on challenging texts. Learning support or ESL/ELL teachers might find the use of the "mark" tool helpful in creating student-friendly annotated editions of required texts. Why not work together with your students to create these and continuously add to them from year to year?
Meth ProjectGrade 6 to 12
- Meth Project Foundation- 10092
This website serves as a support element for the Meth Project, an organization determined to educate the public about the dangers of methamphetamine usage, to change current attitudes particularly among teens about meth use, and to have an influence on public policy concerning drug use prevention. Besides basic information (the facts are startling!), it collects news releases and offers things people can do to help in the fight. Since it started as a project in the State of Montana, it offers continual updates on which states are joining the project. It collects data on many aspects of meth use, and best of all, it offers the news of its positive results. One of the most interesting parts of the website is the ads section where viewers can see and hear television and radio ads portraying teens in the duplicitous behavior meth use often leads to. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Save this site in your favorites. This site could easily fit in health class, science, current events lessons, and more. Use the site in social studies classes to provide factual information about this very difficult problem. Use it as a jumping off point for students researching similar issues for other types of addictive behaviors. Have your students make their own ads based on the videos and radio transmissions they can view here. Share the videos using a tool such as Teachers.TV reviewed here. Keep the reference information from this site for students who want to do further reading, research, and self-education. List this site on your class website for students (and parents) to explore both in and out of the classroom.
This site provides countless books, films, plays, and television shows that all relate to specific math concepts. What a fabulous way to integrate math, language arts, history, and more! The site includes the title, year, and brief description. Teachers can browse by genre, medium, motif, and/or topic. Media include everything from comic books to plays to television series. Genres include historical fiction, children’s literature, adventure/espionage, fantasy, science fiction, and more. Sixty-three fiction offerings are even available FREE (in their entirety) online! The site is still developing and frequently adds additional fiction titles. Students who enjoy fantasy will also enjoy choosing books from this site, since the author admits that not all math mentioned in all the books is "real" math!! The site allows teachers to search by keyword and also to browse new offerings in the compilation of titles.
In the Classroom: Use this site to find extra reading choices for reluctant readers who are interested in technology and math. Use it also to show students that math processes are inherent in a lot of life's experiences. Search the site for your current math topics. Share this link on your class website for students (and parents) to use at home. Share it with your school librarian for a featured reading shelf. Challenge your more verbal/linguistic gifted students to write similar stories that feature a math concept and create an online book using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here.
Woices (beta)Grade 4 to 12
- Woices Enterprise, S.L.- 10000
TeachersFirst Edge Review: for moderately adventurous technology users. This site, still in beta, offers a FREE service that allows you to create and share "echoes." Echoes are words (audio recordings), left by anyone at any place, and can be played over and over by any visitors who find them. Listeners will feel as if they are really there! Echoes can be anything from personal memories, personal messages to a class, history or art related annotations of a place, music to accompany that place, or any kind of audio you can connect to a location. The audio recordings are linked to geographic locations or real-world objects (in the place where they are located). Echoes could also be fictitious accounts "placed" somewhere in the world to tell a story. Woices states that the goal of the site is to "extend reality by creating a new layer of audio information, what we call the echosphere, that will make the world a more interesting place."
You can create your own "echo" or listen to various "echoes" created by others from around the world. Click Explore to hear the echoes of the world (in every language imaginable). You do not need to join to explore and listen to others' echoes. The site uses Google Maps to share the world. Echoes are also labeled with an "e-code" for easy access by URL and listening via mobile phone. Completed echoes can be shared as an embedded device in a wiki or web page, via email, or by URL link (click Share). Here is a sample echo created by the TF Edge team. The site also includes tools for comments, blogs, forums, and other "social" aspects. This site does require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
Note: Future plans for Woices (remember, it is still in beta) include integrating it to work with GPS-enabled mobile phones, so you could "listen" to locations as you visit them without knowing or searching for the e-codes -- right on your mobile phone. Imagine touring the Gettysburg battlefields or a museum with an audio guide on your mobile phone, created by other Woices users.
In the Classroom: Skills needed: No special skills are needed to listen to echoes. Just click Explore. To create your own echoes, you must register. Registration does require an email address and activation via a link sent to your email. To create your own, visit the Create link and follow the detailed instructions. The instructions include three simple steps (Put it on the Map, Give it a Name, and Send It). Step one requires you to click your location on the map. Then click Proceed to go on to the next step. At Step Two you add the title, description, tags, your photo (optional), language, and then you RECORD. Simply use your computer's built-in microphone and the site's "record" button. You can record more elaborate mp3 files using other software for later upload as an echo. You have TEN minutes of FREE recording time. Finally, click to Send It, and your new echo is on the web. The link is visible in your computer's address bar or can be emailed by clicking Share. You can also combine echoes created by you or various members of a group to form a "walk" of related echoes. Completed echoes can also be shared as an embedded device in a wiki or web page.
Note that using music or sounds from other sources could be a copyright violation. TeachersFirst editors remind you to use copyright-free music or -- better yet -- record your own.
Safety/security concerns: This is a public site, so once an "echo" is created, any user can access the information. If you are considering having students create their own echoes, you will want to be certain to adhere to your school's Acceptable Use Policy and obtain parental permission. If you are having students register independently (which may not be the best option), why not consider creating a free Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. This will allow you to control the accounts. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
This site also includes various social features (Community section) and advertisements. This is a great opportunity to teach basic Internet Safety in the context of a productive lesson. If students are working independently, be sure to have clear expectations and consequences spelled out -- then monitor activities. And remember, anything that is posted on this site, is available to any visitor on the web. There is no way to make the "echo" private. Take advantage of the Comments feature for students to respond to each other's echoes or to invite parents and others to respond. For example, if students create a local history tour, share it with older adults in the community to comment with their memories about the sites.
Possible Uses: The possibilities at this website are endless! Even the youngest of students can use this site (with assistance). In world language classes, have students LOOK for echoes from other countries, and even make some to practice language as they narrate cultural highlights of countries where their language of study is spoken. Make echoes about places you study in geography or history class. Have students create an echo tour or your own hometown and the important local historical sites (be sure to protect the identify of yourself and your students). Make a fictional echo "story" in real settings, using a sequence of links to echoes for the events in the story. Create a teacher-made echo treasure hunt of important locations for cooperative learning groups to explore. Make echoes about environmental sites or issues. Make a literary "walk" of a poet's geographic area with readings of his/her poetry "placed" in the places they describe, such as Emerson's account of Lexington and Concord. Make a mapped, narrated "walk" of the botanical species or animal habitats in your area. Make echoes about landforms. Create whole-class "I wonder" echoes about places they begin to study, ex. narrating the pueblos and asking about the people who once dwelled there. Then add more echoes as you learn. Use this site to record directions, questions, or prompts about places they should research and links they should use; then have them access the echoes at learning stations or with a substitute. Create "Echo" audio newsletters to share on your class website, connecting to the various "places" your class has been studying. Teachers could also record echoes about locations on a map to teach about map reading skills or have ELL/ESL students record echoes about places where their primary language is spoken to share with classmates. Have the students make the echoes, of course. Have students create their own echoes as "electronic" gifts for family and close friends. Why not create one celebrating moms for Mother's Day? Use this site to celebrate dad, grandparents, and other care givers also! Be sure to list this link (and relevant safety concerns about the site) on your class website for students to use at home. Include it as long breaks approach so students can work with their families, creating echoes about places they visit during family vacations or reunions.
Pinky Dinky Doo is a vibrant cartoon character who teaches children the concepts of storytelling and problem solving while simultaneously introducing them to colorful vocabulary. Have students click on the Your Story Box option to create their own imaginative story with a beginning, middle and end. As the story is created, Pinky Dinky Doo reads the story aloud while students read along as the words are highlighted on the page. Additional audio snippets make the retelling fun and even more cartoon-like. Upon completion, students can submit their stories to the Pinky Dinky Doo pod cast so they can be read by others. There are also links to Printables that include coloring pages, crafts, and other activities. Visit the Videos link to view fifteen short video clips from the show. There are also links to podcasts, interactive “games,” and a Grown-Ups link. The Grown-Ups link has an “Educational Approach” section with several classroom ideas. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Note: If you have students create their own stories, be sure to reinforce basic Internet safety concepts about protecting their identity and to obtain parent permission to place their child’s work online. Share this colorful site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Download entertaining Pinky Dinky Doo podcasts to use in a listening center. Check out the Printables, perfect for reinforcing early literacy concepts such as retelling and sequencing. Speech/language or ESL/ELL teachers can use the retelling option for vocabulary development. Allow students to watch a storytelling episode on the classroom computer and retell it by creating a comic strip of the story. Be sure to list this link on your class website, so students can access both in and of the classroom.
Teacher's first Edge Review: For moderate technology users. Need a quick and easy site for creating and sharing a story? Use Storytop to instantly create stories that tell what students have learned. Storytop is a free and easy to use service that requires users to create an account in order to save any created stories. Login requires a username and password only (no email is required.) The clip art available is simple and not extensive, but this may be better than having students choose from an extensive collection. See a quick example of a StoryTop story here.
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Teachers need to be able to help students in a storytelling process from the initial idea to the storyboard of the scenes they plan to create. Other skills include being able to navigate through the controls of the site which are very easy to understand. Managing comments or creations of groups are easy, though students should be aware of their responsibilities and consequences. To share stories, click "share" and copy the link provided when you say you want to email your story to a friend. You can paste this link anywhere, including in your class wiki or simply in a teacher's list of completed stories and their links. To share online, you need to know how to add links to your class blog, wiki, or website.
Basic directions: On the screen on the left, choose items to edit such as backgrounds, objects, people/animals, weather, and text boxes. Create your scene, add your information, and make multiple pages by using the green arrows. Teachers can create a group so students can comment on the creations made by other students. Share creations through web links. You can also take snapshots of scenes by using print screen (PrtSc) function in PC or snapshot (apple/shift/4) in Mac. These images of your story can then be saved and uploaded to a blog, wiki, or website. Click the help button to read FAQ helpful in using this tool.
Currently embed codes are not given for saved stories.
Safety/security: Groups are not listed, so public and groups can only be joined when the actual group name is known. If you want students to comment on other stories, create a specific group (with a meaningful name for YOUR class) and have your students join that group. Caution students to not share the group name. Many school policies prohibit such interaction, so be sure to check your school’s Acceptable Use Policy. You will want to discuss these features in the context of Internet Safety. The only way students can see others’ projects is through joining a group or publishing the web link online. Students must have individual accounts, but an email address is not needed. You may want to create a word doc, Favorites folder, or other “collection” of the URLS to all your students’ projects in one place for easy work at grading time. Some teachers use a class wiki with links to all projects from there. You may allow students to self-register, but be sure to keep a written record of their passwords for when they “forget.” It may be worth your time to do advanced registration for your younger students.
Possible uses: Telling what you learned can be boring. Make it more like a story to identify what students have learned about the topic. For example, after studying air pollution, students can create a story about the source, problems caused, and solution that changed a specific pollutant from causing harm. In Biology, create a story about members of a food chain or biome. In Language Arts or world language class, create an alternate ending to a story or create your own short story. Tell the story of a famous figure in history or a day in the life of an animal. Have your students create stories for their “little buddies” in a lower grade. With younger students, create a curriculum-connected story as a whole-class activity, using you interactive whiteboard. Be sure to share the link with parents! Learning support or ESL teachers may want to create visual stories for students to narrate aloud to build vocabulary and expressive language. Create stories about any topic relevant in your subject area/class. Share the stories on your interactive whiteboard or projector.
Quest for the Golden Ticket is a web quest aimed at teaching citizenship and character traits. After a class read aloud of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, students will work in small groups to identify the characteristics of good citizenship as directed within the web quest. Each student is assigned a character from the story and must compare and contrast his/her strengths and weaknesses. As a small group, they will compile a list of positive characteristics and personality traits that will allow their characters to enter Charlie's new chocolate factory for a chance at the Golden Ticket. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. The link for the video clip requires QuickTime. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Extend this web quest beyond the classroom by having students create posters with good citizenship characteristics and post them throughout the school. Taking it one step further, have the class create a brief commercial about being a good citizen and post it to the class web page for parents, administration and other classes to watch. Have students share their commercials on a tool such as SchoolTube (reviewed here).
Study SkillsGrade K to 12
- Learning and Teaching Scotland- 9871
This Study Skills site is fabulous! The activities are all divided by ages (5-9, 10-14, and 15-18). Each age level includes teacher information, parent information, and Learners… the link to find the neat interactives! Each age level also highlights four key areas: Do, Get, Remember, and Understand. Each area includes some age-appropriate text and interactives.
Highlights from the youngest level (ages 5-9) include Reading for Information, Sorting Shapes, Sorting Information, Kim's Game, Writing About Different Things, and others. The middle level (ages 10-14) includes Time Management, Exam Preparation, Note Taking, Revision, Memory Tips, Mindmaps, Pictograms, and others. The older students (ages 15-18) delve into topics such as Summarizing, Essay Writing, Learning Styles, Referencing, Learning from Lectures, and several others.
For professional purposes, there are also links (some PDF files) to research about the importance of teaching study skills. This site makes it easy and fun to teach these life skills! This site was creating in the United Kingdom, so you may notice a few spelling and pronunciation differences from American English. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: This is one of those rare sites that should be saved in ALL teachers' favorites. Be sure to list this link on your class website.
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students work with a partner to navigate the age appropriate activities at the site. Why not highlight a different area each month or unit of study so you have material with which to apply it (Do, Get, Remember, or Understand). During month/unit one introduce study skills using the Do link and resources. Then further investigate subsequent study skills each month/unit using the other main topics : Get, Remember, and Understand. Have students try out some of their "new skills" before the unit test. Be sure to ask them afterwards why they were successful (or not) in applying the new study approach. Maybe even add a question about the latest study skill at the end of every test.
TeachersFirst Edge entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. Fancy photo editing for no cost—that’s what Picnik is all about. You can even do simple fixes, such as removing “red eye” or cropping the tree trunk off of your head! No downloading is required, and there are no tools to install. In fact, you don’t even need to register. However, if you want to manage your photos, you will need a quick registration. Also, for non-English speakers, choose from a list of language options in the drop-down menu at top right. It’s very user-friendly, so the techno-babies will feel right at home.
As with most high-tech sites, there is a premium level for a cost, but you don’t need to pay for some truly cool features. After you create your ‘new’ photo, you will be asked if you want to apply it to merchandise, such as mugs, key chains, magnets, etc. (This, of course, will go to an outside site which costs money.)
Picnik works on Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. This site allows you to access your Picnik photos from Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, Picasso, Webshots and Photobucket. If you really want to get intimately acquainted with Picnik, check out their blog and read about their featured photo makers (click on ‘blog’ at bottom of the page). This blog features photos and products designed by ordinary people like you, but the outcomes look like they were designed by highly-paid design artists! Also, if collages are what you need, click on the Collage button and go through similar easy-to-use options as the above.
In the Classroom: Skills needed: You need to know how to locate and upload photos from your computer. You can also get images from anywhere on your computer, the web, webcam, your Flickr, Facebook, or other photo storing account. Click on Get Started Now or click on the Start Picniking tab in the upper right corner.
Click on Upload or find your photo(s) that you would like to fix. Now the fun begins. Click on any of the tabs to change your photo. Click Edit to adjust the contrast, color, size, ratio, etc. of the photo. You are allowed to play around with the photo, and if you don’t like what you have done, simply click on ‘reset’ to bring it back to its original state. Once you click ‘apply’ you can not reset to its original. Click Create to apply artsy, fun or serious new effects to your photo. Click on Text, Shapes, or Frames add those features. It works just like a word processor. You can minimize the shapes or apply different fonts, colors and sizes to the photo. All of these fun effects won’t be saved until you hit Apply, so play around with the features all you want.
Once your photo is finished, click on Save and Share. Rename your photo and click on Save Photo. Once it is saved, you can manage your photo by clicking on Manage History. This feature allows Picnik to access this photo from your files whenever you desire it.
This tool would work well with a student “expert” in your class becoming the go-to helper, since most students (and the teacher) will not need all the features all the time. If one student becomes more experienced out of interest, let him/her help you—and others!
Safety/security concerns:
The only safety concern is if you are uploading photos of students to remain on the Picnik site or other photo sharing sites and this is not permitted under your school policies. If students are to use this tool, be sure you have parent permission for them to be using any photosharing sites, as well. You may want to simply work from your own local photos if sharing sites such as Flickr are not permitted. If you decide to have Picnik “keep a copy” of your picture, membership is required. Avoid this by saving your photo back to your computer, and no one has a copy but you!
Possible uses: Teachers, you can create professional posters for your classroom, gifts, scrapbooks for projects, bound books, and of course, advanced, professionally-doctored photos for any occasion by using this site. Your school (or your classroom) can raise field trip money by creating products with customized photos from this site. Middle school and high school art or computer teachers will enjoy a teaching unit on this no-cost site. It has similar functions of high-cost photo doctoring sites yet it is FREE. Have students/groups create a photo collection to illustrate a curriculum concept, such as “habitats” or “repetition in nature” by editing their own digital images to emphasize the concept. Share the finished work on your class wiki or student blogs so others can comment.
To promote Internet safety, consider Children's Way WoogiWorld free program. Schools sign up for a year-long commitment to learn Internet safety, character building, time management, and more through assemblies and computer training. Read the ‘What We Are About’ statement on the homepage to learn about their caring mission. Click on the video summary to learn from Woogi’s leader about this program. This site requires Adobe Acrobat and Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Look around this website for a wealth of information to use in your classroom. Consider including an Internet safety tip of the week in your newsletter or classroom blog. This program does not necessarily need to be done school-wide, but can be enjoyed individually. Parents will need to sign up their own children to participate. Put this link on your homepage, even if your school is not participating as a whole.
Need to keep up-to-date on hot teen websites, technology, and the safety concerns swirling around both? Designed for parents and teachers, this site will help you learn oodles, especially if you desire to communicate with your middle and high school students about web issues and the latest news. The blog-style format makes it easy to read and navigate. To receive its valuable information in email format, sign up for this free service. Many of the links require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Business and computer teachers, save this site in your favorites. Even librarians or those who teach research skills will want to stay abreast of the latest tech trends. Many of the daily entries offer fresh points of discussion with your students. You will want to share this link on your class website for the parents of your teen (and pre-teen) students. Check out the archives and categories links to glean even more. Why not assign your students a “technology issues” topic and have a class debate on possible ways students, schools and parents could manage these tricky issues.
This collection of online written and oral interactive stories features British pronunciation, but the story clips are short and easy to understand. Many of the characters are also on American television (64 Zoo Lane, Teletubbies, Jakers, and others). Students will enjoy learning clicking to the next page of the story as they view the animation and frequent rhyming sequences. Some of the stories also require readers to click on elements of the story in order for it to continue, or to hear special dialog. All the stories are also available in print format. The home part of the site keeps track of the places readers have looked at and offers games and links to other C Beebie features.
This site requires Flash and Windows Media or similar player. The printable pages require Adobe Acrobat. Get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Add this link to your classroom computer for students to use for extra reading practice. Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Set this site up as a learning center (or using individual computers, if available). Don’t forget the headsets! List this link on your class website. Use free printouts to reinforce what was learned in the stories and for students to take home or do as homework. The “Watch and Listen” link at the left will take parents to a page where they can download podcast versions of the stories to take in the car!
In spite of the annoying ads, the rich choices of writing ideas, prompts, exercises, and "widgets" on this site are well worth the time to digest and wade through. There's so much! There are 17 "widgets" for curing writer's block: Electronic Poetry, Haiku-a-Tron, Character Name, Text Collage, Creative Writing Prompts, Random Line Generator, and MANY others. There are also 7 links to Post your fiction and poetry, 2 sections on creative writing and prompts (including 60+ writing experiments by Charles Bernstein), poetry links, visual inspiration, and a long list of authors you can click on to read articles or see questions answered, plus ore articles and extras.
To post any stories or poems at Language is a Virus you must be registered. The log-in process does require an email address. Rather than using personal email accounts consider creating a teacher Gmail account and set up subaccounts for up to 20 students to register (by code name or number). Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
Before having students post anything on this site, check your school’s Acceptable Use Policy and BE CERTAIN to obtain parental permission. Be aware this site has several advertisements and includes Twitter Buttons, Badges, Backgrounds, and Images. Be sure to provide students with specific instructions of where they MAY and may NOT go. Or make this site a whole-class activity (too bad, though, since writing is so individual). Some of the activities require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Just using the "Widgets to Cure Writer's Block" section makes writing fun. From Mad-lib poems to a random line generator this offers lots of laughs as well as creativity nudging for students. The "66 Writing Experiments of Charles Bernstein" offer s a variety of activities for students from sentence combining to poetry to transcription to chronology.
Share the prompts and activities on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students work on individual computers to use these activities to cure their writer’s block. Just be sure to give instructions of where they can and can’t visit! Keep your pop-up blocker turned ON to avoid at least some of the annoying advertising.
BigDialog.orgGrade 9 to 12
- eCitizenship Foundation and MIT eCitizenship Program- 9801
BigDialog.org has become the premier site for Americans to voice their concerns to President Obama. Your government or civics students will enjoy listening to and reading statements from the citizens of the USA as they relate to current hot topics. Because President Obama’s savvy use of the internet during his campaign, this website promises that he will be checking here to take the pulse of America’s heart beat. The opinions expressed are genuine and may be inappropriate in the classroom, so preview. As with any site with a public forum, you will need to check your school's Acceptable Use Policy for security reasons. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Imagine this site as the neighbors next door, who are voicing their concern over civic matters. This site gives a substantial voice of concern and can give your students bountiful ideas for research topics. Share the videos (previewed, of course!) on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups create their own videos voicing their concerns. Send a few of the videos to BigDialog. (Be sure to obtain parental permission first)!
This site celebrates the major works by Native American authors. There are three booklist levels, grades K-4, grades 5-8, and grades 9-12 and above. As part of NEA's Read Across America program, links to tools to help parents and teachers encourage more reading among the young. Books include fiction, essays, poetry, and nonfiction articles.
In the Classroom: Use this site as a reference when picking extra reading materials during a Native American unit or as you approach November and Thanksgiving. Teach students how to find book reviews online after they've selected a book they would like to read. Have students create multi-media book “reports.” Give students choices like a wiki, blog, PowerPoint, or even an online book review using a tool such at Bookemon (reviewed here).
This informative and friendly article from the National Association of School Psychologists provides easy-to-implement suggestions for teacher and parents in helping children and teens cope tough economic times. Many of the tips are similar to what we may already know about helping students in times of stress, but this article refocuses adults to tune into the economic crisis from the point of view of the child/teen.
In the Classroom: Take the time to read and implement the classroom suggestions for all ages, including taking time to note any signs of students "at risk." Share this printable pdf with your colleagues and with parents via a link from your teacher web page or as an insert in a school or classroom newsletter. If you have an information table at PTO/PTA functions or in your conference waiting area, this is a good handout to include.
This site includes online stories, short downloadable books, a story for older children, and even a spot for young writers to create their own fables. One story, The Adventures of Sticky Burr, is a comic, with continually updated, new episodes. Readers can see fables that other children have contributed by clicking on "Create Your Own." ESL, ELL, and emergent readers may find reading the short illustrated segments offered at this site less of a challenge than reading a textbook or hard copy book. NOTE: the actual fonts used in some of the books may be difficult for some younger children to read. Preview with this thought in mind before assigning a fable to a student to read alone. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Offer young readers the option of doing "outside" reading online to encourage them to read in a variety of formats, including both the fables and downloadable books. Look at one of the fables with your class on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students take turns reading the story aloud to the class. Share models of the “student created” stories and then challenge your students to write their own fable (either to share with the class or submit to the site). Be sure to be aware of your school’s Acceptable Use Policy on sharing or submitting what the students have written to the website. Obtain parental permission before submitting any work.
This site offers free comprehensive, interactive language and literature courses developed by MIT staff as part of their open course ware program. All courses include a regular syllabus that features assignments, interactive activities, and other resources such as videos and slideshows. There is a wide range of language offerings; the cultural courses complement the language instruction and include topics such as popular culture, history, economics, media , and thinking skills. There are courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: AP history, language, and economics students may find MIT’s online course materials useful. MIT has committed to putting its entire curriculum on the web, and these early offerings include syllabi, reading materials, and a variety of subject-specific class notes. Before using these pages, students and parents should all be aware of what Open Courseware is and is not. Teachers at smaller schools may welcome the availability of language alternatives. Teachers of gifted who are looking for acceleration options will also find these courses valuable, though you will need to develop a means of doing assessment if your students are to earn credit for them.
This site offers short summaries of well-loved children's books. Students and teachers can search the site by title, author, or category. It also offers links to several articles about encouraging reading among children. More extensive summaries are linked to a commercial page because of the website's association with Amazon.com, although you can certainly read the tidbit about the book without buying the book. This site doesn't pretend to be a comprehensive site of books on any particular subject or inclusive of award winners; the author says she just chooses books she loves.
In the Classroom: Use this site to help students select independent reading similar to books they've enjoyed or in the same category. Students may want to try this model of a personal approach to book reviewing when they share books with their class. Suggest the site to ESL and ELL students or struggling readers who may be overwhelmed by looking for books on a larger site.
Stixy (beta)Grade K to 12
- Jonas Höglund and Anders Ottoson- 9631
TeachersFirst Edge entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. Create collaborative visual and verbal spaces where you can “post” and share ideas, images, snippits of text, sticky-notes, photos, documents, and more using Stixy. The product makes a bulletin board of items, reminders, comments—essentially everything you could throw onto the front of your refrigerator and more. You can share the stixyboard by URL. Here is an example of a Stixyboard created by the TeachersFirst Edge team. At the time of this review, Stixy was testing a calendar feature with a limited test group. Some features of Stixy appear a bit slow, but the tool still says it is in beta testing. Be patient as the pages load. (Watch the little status report in your lower left in Internet Explorer; it will tell you that things are loading.)
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Join (free) using an email address. Note that you do not need to access this email to be able to log in right away (handy when some email is blocked at school!). It will help if you forget a password, though. Use your extra, memberships email account (such as Gmail). If you plan to have students create individual accounts with their individual email accounts, check school policies. Another option is to use your teacher Gmail account and set up subaccounts for up to 20 students to register (by code name or number). Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. If you plan to have students collaborate using a Stixyboard, they will need to be able to log in individually, using either a Gmail subaccount or their own email accounts. To share a board, click Options. You can find the URL for the board there, as well.
Safety/security concerns: Sharing of Stixyboards is completely controlled by the users who create the boards. If students only “share” with those within their group, there is no “contact” with outsiders. Make sure they include you as a shared member on any collaborative project so you can monitor student work. Check school policies (and obtain parent permission, if necessary) before allowing students to post any work to the web. Stixy does not promote public sharing and commenting.
Possible uses: Teachers can use Stixyboards shared by URL to assign or create web-based tasks: directions and tasks to do on the web (with links), collections of writing prompts (images AND text), or calendars. Students –even young ones – will catch on to the tools of Stixy very quickly to create their own Stixyboards. Have students “collect” quotes and images to convey a message or profile a concept or time period: a Stixyboard about the 1960’s, a writer’s journal of ideas for future writings, a collection of images that use LINE as a major design element, a board full of questions on a new curriculum topic -— a visual KWL chart that can be added to, rearranged, and edited as the unit proceeds -- almost a cognitive “journal” as learning proceeds. For example: Thoughts about Macbeth or The Great Depression. As students read a piece of literature or a challenging speech such as the Gettysburg address, they can collect, question, and comment on snippets from the text, including their own “I wonder” or “what if” notes. Have students make a Stixyboard of the water cycle or other processes, including images and notes to explain each step, then “turn in” the URL for their work or share it with others for changes and additions. (Changes are logged as part of the “list” at the left of any board.) For art classes, assign students to collect and annotate images as they prepare to create artworks of their own, just as artists collect materials in design notebooks and sketchbooks.
Some thoughts on giving credit and copyright: Since it is simple to add notes, students can easily keep track of the SOURCES of anything they collect into a Stixyboard, such as images or quotes, simply by copy/pasting URLs into a "Credits" note. Make sure you require them to do this kind of citation, especially if they use any images. Note that a password-protected (see options) Stixyboard CAN use downloaded images from the web under Fair Use, provided you limit access to that board ONLY to members of that class.
When you arrive at the site, click Start to enter the world of Samson. There are four steps at this site: Learn Words, Build Words, Identify Words, and a Quiz. At the "Learn Words" step, the site includes 28 different lists of words for students to read at four levels. Mousing over the number of the list brings up the actual word list so it's easy to check if the student is working at the correct level. Students read, listen to the word, pronounce it, see the word spelled, and see the word used in a sentence. Step two has students spell the words themselves (after hearing them read audibly and being provided with several letters to choose among). Step three challenges students to click on the correct spelling of the word (several choices are presented). The final step is the quiz; students are presented with all letters and are asked to spell the word pronounced. The same list is used throughout all four steps of this activity. For example, if a student is working on list 1 of level 1, those same words will be repeated throughout all four “steps.” All steps provide immediate feedback on the students’ choices, and opportunities to try again. The Question/Answer steps have a Hear Again feature to repeat the word. The Resource center provides useful tools for teacher, including pdf files of the sight words used, lesson plans, and more. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Include this website on your class newsletter or on your class website so parents can encourage their students to enrich their spelling vocabulary and have fun at the same time. ESL and ELL students will benefit from having the opportunity to practice their listening and spelling skills simultaneously. This site is also useful in differentiating spelling lessons in a regular or special education classroom.
American stories, from celebrities or the neighbor next door, abound. Fox News Network collects ‘our’ stories at this website for all to hear and see. History teachers will appreciate the authentic video stories from WWII heroes or from those whose ancestors came to America through Ellis Island. Stories that encourage the human spirit, and stories that motivate us to become all we can be, will certainly be a bonus to your educational program. Click on the Inspiration link to read the statements, view videos, or hear authentic recordings from our founding fathers and other notable Americans (like Walt Whitman and Susan B. Anthony).
You are also able to input your own “American Story.” Directions are found under the Your Story link. Uploading your own story requires personal information to be included (i.e. name, state, email, phone, etc.). Be sure to check your school’s Acceptable Use Policy (and check with parents) BEFORE uploading ANY student information. Audio and video plug ins are necessary and can be obtained here: TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Through your TV circuit, your school could start each week with a Real American Story. Share the video clips on an interactive whiteboard or projector. History teachers will enjoy perusing the site to find stories that would aid content learning. As an English teacher, your students can write their own American story. Employ the photography teacher in a joint project to video the ‘best’ American story and submit it to the site. (Be sure to see warning: noted in the description). Classroom teachers, make a bulletin board of your students' "real American stories." Have students create a wiki about their own personal heroes (well-known or unknown). The stories on this site would also serve as primary sources to inspire History Day and other research projects. For a longer-range project, plan to document local history by interviewing local residents about major events that made your town what it is today. You might even get your local service clubs and organizations to help fund the project.
Are you looking for a new way to get your students excited about current events and the news? This site (a new feature of the PBS NewsHour) provides daily (Monday - Friday) video blogs. The blogs come complete with a video clip, summary, quotes, thinking questions, and more. (Don’t miss the link to “How to Use this” with tips for downloading veido in advance of your class and how to use it). Video topics relate to current events but extend back into background that lead up to today’s events. Some of the "extras" include transcripts, printables, and the ability to post comments. If you post a comment, you must provide your name, city, state, and email address. BE CERTAIN to check your school's Acceptable Use Policy and obtain parental permission before allowing students to comment on the video blogs.
Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. The videos require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Share these video blogs with your students on an interactive whiteboard or projector as you discuss current events and related issues. Share this link on your class web page as an option for weekly current events articles you require from students. Take advantage of the free resources (quotes, warm up questions, discussion questions, printables, and other resources). If you teach reading or are working to help learning support students build comprehension, you will find terrific passages for teaching comprehension, inferencing, summarizing, and more, all with meaningful news stories as the focus. If your school's Acceptable Use Policy allows, have students post their own comments to the video blogs. Another idea: have your students create their own wiki about current events in local and/or national news. Invite students to create their own multimedia packages using video clips and their own text to explain an issue and its history.
Water BustersGrade K to 4
- Saving Water Partnership- 9576
Teach basics of water conservation with this free online game. Use your keyboard arrows to move Phil Dumpster through his house and yard to find water wasters and waste water problems. Find tools for Phil's toolbox to fix the problems. Students will have to find the problems and fix them before the leaking water runs out. As the game plays, students can also find members of Phil's family wasting water. Learn tips for water conservation at the end of each of the four levels. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Have student identify ways that their family can conserve water and specific water wasters at home. Students can then play the game and add additional items to their list. Have groups of students create a poster, multimedia presentation, or wiki/blog entry about specific ways to conserve water. Have students create a plan for their families that encourages water conservation. Students can even read the water bill with their parents and compare water usage before and after making changes.
Click on the link for more information about teaching conservation and other resources.
Classroom Book Talks is a collaborative wiki -- open to classes all over the world -- where students can share their likes and dislikes on various genres of literature through interactive book talks. They can add their own interpretation of a book by presenting it in book talk format on this wiki. Students can also comment on other book talks presented by various students in remote locations. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Make sure to address the simple rules, located on the homepage, with students prior to assigning projects. Based on the fact that this is a collaborative project and other children from around the world contribute to it, students must be open to varying opinions and works of art. Have students complete book talks individually or in small groups and then submit presentations for assessment. Check out the classrooms that used this as a medium for a summer reading program! Students could conduct book talks over holiday breaks or while on educational trips, as well. Allow for students to discuss books among each other as homework assignments. Have parents read and view their child's work and comment on it. Do not forget to obtain permission prior to submitting student work on-line.
This site uses a wiki tool as its foundation. To learn more about wikis and find logistical tips, see the text to showTeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.
Denver Public Library's Podcasts for Kids is a constantly-growing story resource from a variety of authors including Beatrix Potter. There are also folktales, fairy tales, interviews, songs, news, nursery rhymes, and story time favorites. Students can listen to them online or download them directly to mp3 players or the computer for listening later. There are also links for podcasting help and a kids’ page with reference information, games, homework help, and more. This site requires Quicktime. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Encourage beginning readers, ESL, ELL, and special ed students to read along with texts in hand as they listen to the stories and the pronunciation of possible new words. Check back with this site frequently to see new stories that have been added. Include this site on your teacher web page for students and parents to access as encouragement for extra reading. Save this site in your favorites and use it as an L.A. learning center (don’t forget the headsets). Play an audio story with the speakers turned up and lights turned off for a quiet listening activity.
This free service from NBC News offers students 13 and over a chance to interact with clips and images from the NBC News media library as part of current events study, history, or elections coverage. Students must create an account to access the free materials (or a teacher may use a whole-class account). You can access clips and images ("cue cards") by keyword search, "flip" them over to read background information, such as broadcast date and author, read the full transcript, and "snag" the clips into a personal library of clips where you can add your own notes, tags, and more. The student section includes "games" (challenges) on the history of media coverage, the U.S. Election 2008, foreign affairs, and more. The site permits sharing and discussion with other students, so verify school policies and establish your own for permissible student use of the site in class. Students can start using one of two courses: Decision '08 or U.S. History. Courses include a complete course outline, writing and challenge activities, opportunities for discussion, and daily clips and questions. Essays come with tips and associated cue cards. Once submitted, "friends" can comment on them and rate them. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: If your school permits, have students (ages 13+) establish their own accounts (email required, but you may want to use your own Gmail account and subaccounts). It is wise to obtain written parent permission and to explain the site before they hear students talking about "friending" people in class! You can assign them to do research projects, track a candidate in the election, or even follow portions of an entire course. Allow fellow students to become "friends" and comment and rate each others' work. Just be sure that YOU are a "friend" for each student so you can see what is happening. If you are not permitted to use such tools, consider establishing a class account and doing some of the activities on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Make the link available from your teacher home page for students to access from home. At the very least, you can share and discuss current events using these clips.
MingovilleGrade 2 to 8
- Danish eLearning Center - 9464
Mingoville features a community of survival "Missions" designed to help English learners build vocabulary, practice, and share short stories. Topics include clothes, the body, food, sports, etc. Each topic has many layers of activities; listening and reading occur simultaneously. There are also extra activities, exercises, games, and songs. An online dictionary is also available.
Students may choose to use the site as a guest or register for free. There are several mentions of parents purchasing memberships, but the company has established free registration for U.S. students through a foundation grant. With registration, students are able to submit their own work in the "showroom" or "book" section. Registration requires an email address. Be sure to get parental permission before posting or submitting any student work. Note that you will also want to discuss safety issues, since the site provides a way for users to create a “profile.” Check school policies! This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Check with your administrator about allowing the students to register for this site using their own names. You may wish to set up a class registration instead of entering true data into the registration site. Another option is to create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. Be sure to save this site in your favorites for your ESL and ELL students to use after setting clear rules about what they are allowed to do.
Your one-stop place for bullying resources, whether it is cyberbullying or face to face, this site is loaded with twelve games, oodles of webisodes, online polls, interviews, and more. You can even download the "Stop Bullying Now" theme song as a ringtone. Click on the “What Adults Can Do” link on the left to access the “Materials for Educators” link. Download TFK Extra (Time for Kids) webisodes to print out for classroom reading. Teacher guides are also available. View the extensive Tip Sheets for adults.
A Spanish version of this entire site is available with a click from the Home page. Flash and Adobe Acrobat are required, get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Pass out appropriate Tip Sheets to parents in a newsletter, on your class website, teacher blog, or during Open House. Generate discussion on bullying by addressing it on your blog. This site has enough Tip Sheets and resources for an entire school year. For fun, divide your class into small groups to create their own webisodes against bullying.
Teacher's First Edge Review: for thoroughly adventurous or organized technology users. Ning is a tool for creating social networks. Though that may be a scary term to parents and a concept prohibited in your school, this education initiative from Ning provides advertising-free, private spaces for classroom use in K-12. Because of concerns over COPPA (federal legislation protecting children on the web), Ning specifies that the tool is for ages 13 and up. Users outside the U.S. do not need to worry about this law. There are related blog posts and debate about whether the law applies if you configure your Ning a certain way, but TeachersFirst cannot recommend circumventing the law. A Ning provides an online space for forums (threaded discussions), blogs, “friends,” groups, personal spaces for members, and more. As the administrator of your Ning, you can control the actual set-up. Assuming you can access the Ning URL at school, this tool can provide a PRIVATE online space for your classes or teaching team as an electronic home for use in and out of school.
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Before you start, make sure your specific Ning URL will not be blocked by filtering on the school network. See some of the tips from the Edge team . Join Ning and set up a network, including name, URL, and description. Be sure to choose Private to limit viewing of your network to those you INVITE to join. Drag your desired features to create your Ning layout. You can always change it later. Make appearance choices. Create a “master key” (and for heaven’s sake WRITE IT DOWN somewhere secure – not on a sticky note at your classroom computer). Customize at will, but right away you will want to follow Steve Hargadon’s blog entry with detailed directions to remove the ads from your Ning for education space. The ad-free offer began in November 2007 and may not continue forever, so do it now!
Safety/security concerns: Since the Ning tool establishes profiles for each member; you will want to customize the profile settings to stay in accordance with your school policies. You will probably not want students to be able to set up groups, since they might make them “private” and lock you out. You can also change the questions they are asked as part of their profiles. The simplest way to set up student accounts may be through a teacher Gmail account with subaccounts. You could then create the accounts and passwords on your own or have students enter the information. Even though your space is private, we recommend asking for parent permission mostly to be sure that they are aware of this positive use of social networking and all the lessons about Internet safety that can grow from its use in class. A modified version of the Blogging agreement offered by TeachersFirst would work (a word doc).
Possible uses: A class social network has limitless possibilities. Engage students in discussions on current events, independent reading, literature, and more. Create groups for students to work on projects and use the space as a forum to work out tasks, scheduling, and file sharing. Get creative and ask students to play the role of a historical figure on a social network across time: Ben Franklin networks with Harry Truman to argue about the atomic bomb. Use the Ning as a forum for any simulated or real task. Invite parents to join to give their points of view on upcoming elections. Include the principal or superintendent in your class discussions of students’ rights as you study the Constitution. Your students themselves will suggest ways to use this all-too-familiar tool from their world. Imagine the “profiles” they could create as characters from fiction or inventors from history! Steve Hargadon, creator of this Ning in Education initiative invites participants to join a Ning for teachers who are using this tool. We hope you will tell them where you heard about it and send them over to check out (and suggest) more tools at the TeachersFirst Edge.
The focus of this site is to encourage better literacy and reading enjoyment among pre-teens and adolescents. A sister site to Reading Rockets and Colorin'Colorado, Adlit offers summer reading strategies, book lists, book clubs, classroom technique hints which encourage development of reading attack skills, and a special section on authors and their best books. For a Spanish language version of the main topics available as an A to Z list, click on the left side of the screen ( En Espanol ). This site has everything you already know about teaching reading in easy-to-use formats. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. Get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: If you need ideas to get students reading for fun and to help develop their confidence, try this site. Highlight this on your class website so parents can try the activities with their older students. When doing author biographies, share this site with your class using an interactive whiteboard or projector. Be sure to check out the “Classroom Strategies” link for even more literacy ideas.
Teacher's First EDGE Review: for slightly adventurous technology users. This online tool allows you to see various cities and countries throughout the world. The site features placemarkers added by users to interactive Google Maps including stories, photos, videos, and comments and ratings from other users. Visit this "story" we made in Reston, Virginia (west of Washington, DC) for a sample placemarker full of teaching ideas left by our review team “captain.” Mapskip allows you to zoom in and out (using the arrows) and scroll across the map in any cardinal direction. You can view the entire world, or individual cities. Red hands are used to represent placemarkers created by users. There are special features available for teachers upon registration. See their blog entries for more details about these features and ways to see only content created by your students or classmates. The Mapskip blog is written by the MapSkip staff to explain new features and tools. Registered members are able to comment on any updates there, as well. The videos require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Skills Needed: Register (requires email and activation from confirmation email). Before you submit your registration, be sure to scroll down to request "additional features for teachers" with the checkbox near the bottom of the form. Manipulate the map as you would on Google Maps (zoom, drag, etc). Click to add a new placemarker, enter a "story," title it, and upload pictures or video. You need to know how to locate and upload files. You can also edit your profile, view places created by you or any author you choose to "follow" and more. You can "rate" placemarkers left by others, as well. Why not make our review a "Favorite"?
Safety/Security Concerns: Membership requires an email address and user name. Use your “memberships” (extra) email account for such memberships, so you don’t clutter your mailbox. Register for the "special teacher features" to enable you to establish student accounts linked to your email address. Since this site has photos, videos, and stories submitted by members, always be sure to preview what you wish to share in class. The site has a link to click if anything appears inappropriate. At the time of this review, this website and its contents appear very useful and appropriate for intermediate and secondary students. Be sure to check your district's acceptable use policy before you submit anything to a website. Use fictitious names or initials for your students (or use the teacher features!) and be sure to get parental permission if photos, videos, or any student work are included. Since others can read, comment, and "Favorite" any entry you or your students make, you may want to discuss ethical behavior and help students build a “thick skin” to outside criticism. This is a good place to learn positive interaction with the public.
Possible Uses: Even without joining, you can share PREVIEWED Mapskip entries created by others on an interactive whiteboard or projector as you study faraway places. Create Mapskip entries about historical sites in your local area, including images taken with digital cameras, artifacts from your local historical society, links to newspaper articles, or video/audio interviews of older residents telling about old times. As you study community or landforms in your elementary class, "mapskip” them with annotations of a local map, showing examples of landforms and local community landmarks with digital pictures. Allow older students to use the site independently or in small groups. Mapskips are ideal as a product for individual research projects. In world language classes, have students plot a trip or write an imaginary story of their dreamed trip to Spain or Mexico. Take your students on a whiteboard trip to the native countries where the language is spoken. Literature settings can take on new meaning when your students annotate them on a map. Have students "mapskip" the landmarks of an author's life and/or the locations in his/her novels. Trace the path of a famous person's biography or annotate a famous painter's works, using links to the images from the places shown in landscapes. The "story" of a work of art can include critical analysis, as well. Anything that has a "place" can be a mapskip. Have students map family trips or important places in family history and share the maps with parents!
More than stories, this free ezine makes finding appropriate online reading a breeze. Age-levels are listed beside each article or story title making it easy to select appropriate stories. Not only is this ezine full of stories, poetry, and crafts written by ‘real’ authors, it also contains literature written by children. Because Flash isn’t required, if you are still operating with slow technology, this site is a no-frills way to enjoy an engaging nonfictional or fictional read.
In the Classroom: Teachers, you may want to put the banner of this site on your class website. Find the link on the right side of the homepage. Coloring pages and puzzles, located at the bottom left side, can be downloaded as a Word document. Submit your best student authors’ work to this site for publication, with parent permission, of course.
Big UniverseGrade K to 5
- Big Universe, Inc.- 9336
Teachers First Edge Entry: for slightly adventurous technology users and their students. Now, your students can create their own picture books with just a few clicks. Or if you want, you can read countless other books written by students. The professional illustrations and layout options offer the ultimate in publishing of students' writing.
Watch the Tips and Tricks tutorial to see how the features work. Due to the minor advertising, blogs, and internet retailing, teachers should monitor students closely or use this website as a whole-class activity. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Skills Needed: Join the site (free) and log in. Registration requires an email address. Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. Once registered, view the tutorial presentation to learn more about the website.
Safety/Security Concerns: Check your school policies on student email subaccounts (Gmail). You may want to use a teacher account and allow students to use it under your supervision. Be sure to obtain written parent permission before posting ANY student work online. Be aware that their work will “show” in “Recently published books” for others to see.
The opening page for outsiders and members shares featured and popular books, so you will want to preview for possible inappropriate books created by others. As with any site where students can create content, you will want to obtain parent permission before posting student work online.
Possible Uses: Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to share the tutorial presentation and some samples of student-created books. Create a "class book" or have students create individual books. Also, sign up for the free newsletter to receive information on updates at this site.
Come along with Vera (your child guide), and learn about life during World War II in England. This historically rich website offers students a peek into various aspects of life from 1939-1945. Learn about wartime homes, rationing of food and other items, read letters from evacuated children, and much more. There are a few interactive activities (such as Rationing of Food). The Research Room includes photos, posters, letters, documents, radio clips, and sound . Don't miss the Teachers and Parents link complete with lesson plans, standards, printable pages, activity ideas, and more. What a fabulous way to introduce elementary and middle school students to this critical time in world history. Although the site focuses on life in England, all of the material is suitable for discussion on United States involvement in World War II and how things changed both at home and abroad. Some of the sound clips require RealPlayer or Flash. You can get both the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: If your class is learning about World War II, this site is a must-see! Share the website on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students try their hand at the rationing activity and see how much of their food could be purchased. Integrate language arts into the lesson by having students write letters to Vera asking her questions they might have about her life and times. Or have them write a “blog post” as Vera would have. If you study the Diary of Anne Frank, even with slightly older students, compare the experiences of Anne’s family and those of a British family during the “blitz.” Take the interactive tour of the wartime house and have students compare how their own homes are similar or different from Vera's wartime house.
Test Designer allows teachers to quickly and easily create multiple-choice, true or false, fill-in-the-blank, and open-ended questions for tests and worksheets. Browse through thousands of previously-created tests in subject areas such as Algebra, Earth Science, Geography, U.S. History, and Vocabulary. Test Designer also provides simple graphics that can easily be added. Teachers can e-mail tests and worksheets to students, teachers, and parents. Make sure to allow plenty of time to read directions and maneuver the site prior to creating tests. There are some minor unobtrusive advertisements at this site. The required membership is free!
In the Classroom: Use this website to create personalized quizzes and tests for your students. You could also ask students to design their own tests for each other to review using your teacher log-in or appoint a student “quizmaker” each week for the content your class has covered, making this an assignment that each student does once per semester.
In this current events activity, students (or all members of your class working together) choose current news events and assume character roles. After viewing the latest hot event in the particular news item and reading some background, students (or your class) assume one of the characters' roles. They must make decisions, consult advisers, hone predictions, and make choices to steer tomorrow's news today. They can come back later to compare their predictions to what happened with the situation in the real news. Thus current events are no longer isolated factoids but become dynamic processes. News topics vary greatly and can include violence and other ugliness happening in the world today. Preview carefully before recommending a game to students, depending on the standards of your school community. Some topics include actual violence occurring in the world. Topics cover world news, U.S. politics, technology, and even entertainment. At one time, there are up to 20 news "games" going on. Players can see what other players have decided. Some games are closed; that is, their decisions are final. Members (your class as a whole?) also gain rank and opinion rating depending on how active they are on the website and how their opinions compare to those of the mainstream. As of this review, this site is still in "beta." This site requires Flash 9 or newer. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
To use many features of the site, you must create a membership (requires email). There are many "social" features within the site that make it a potential safety issue if all students are allowed to use it on their own. See ideas for handling these concerns below.
In the Classroom: Try this site as a regular part of your secondary discussions on current events or choose selected "games" that connect with your current curriculum topic. For example, explore stories from African nations as you study world cultures in Africa.
Classroom teachers will want to start by conducting this activity using a whole-class account (use your "extra" email account to create a single account, monitored by you). Use the game to facilitate discussion and build students' global citizenship by allowing them to make choices and see the results. Be sure to talk about the line between fantasy and reality: which parts of these games have actually happened and which are part of the "game" hypotheses. Include the link on your teacher web page for students to access both in and out of class if you believe they are ready to handle it on their own. Check your school policies on allowing students to participate in online decision making and sharing, and obtain written parent permission before individual students are allowed to log on. As an alternative for students who may not have permission, you can pose some of the same questions and provide newspaper and news magazine articles for background. But you know which tool your students will prefer!
This on-line magazine accepts submissions from young authors and artists (ages six to twelve) who have pieces to fit upcoming themes of the magazine. Some examples of topics include The Ocean, Sports, and Mysteries. Two early issues feature authors from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. An interactive map of authors and illustrators shows the home bases of the young contributors. For hesitant writers, a section called "Writer's Block" gives suggestions intended to stimulate writing and thinking. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Share this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have your class read chosen selections from this e-zine at their personal computers and consider submitting writing or artwork. Of course you will want written parent permission before submitted student work to this online magazine, if your school policy allows such submissions. All potential works must be mailed to the magazine. Since the "About the Contributors" section gives the children's names and other information, check with the school and the parents to see about allowing this information to be published. Why not link this excellent opportunity on your class website or in your class newsletter, so parents can submit their student’s work on their own. or use it as a midsummer inspiration.
Want to add books to your classroom library without any cost? Now you can. This site (currently in beta--or field testing) allows you to set up a virtual bookshelf. Viewers (your students) can click on your bookshelf and literally read each of your books. A simple, free registration is required to create a bookshelf. With or without forming a bookshelf, books can be read in their entirety online. With a click on the book cover and then the right side page, magically pages turn and the viewer can read the book. This easy-to-use site allows you to choose from a growing list of Lookybook books to add to your bookshelf. You may add the books to your blog as well with a click on the ‘embed’ link. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Teachers, note that your students will not be able to register at this site, so they will not be able to rate the books or leave comments or reviews of the books. (Users must be age 13.) However, they can enjoy reading books from your “shelf” at individual computers, or they can read them on a whiteboard used as a digital big book. Be sure to share the link on your teacher web page for parents and students to enjoy together at home, too.
Invite your students to step into Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and experience colonial life. This educational website is beautifully designed for both students and teachers to use the extensive resources to learn about Jefferson, Monticello, and daily life. The Monticello Classroom provides a student portal with fact and resource sheets, an image gallery, online activities, and a saved favorites section. Web pages offer information by reading levels: elementary, middle, and high school. The image gallery contains a slide show builder for students to create a presentation using the images and copies of primary source documents. The presentations can be saved, printed, or emailed. Students can register for an account to save favorites and other resources. Registration requires a user name, password, first name and last name. Check your school’s policies before allowing student accounts, especially with full names! See more hints below. Teachers can register for a teacher area to create assignments for classes, review the available lesson plans, or build your own, and save your favorites on your personal Monticello Classroom web page. Each class has its own log-in and password and students are able to submit their completed activities to the teacher for review. Some of the interactive online activities require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: This site can serve a a hub for your unit on colonial life, Jefferson, or even inventors. If you wish your students to register for accounts, be sure to check the students’ acceptable use policies or get parent permission in writing. Instead of students using their real first and last names, have students create their own colonial names for registration. Be sure to keep a list of these names to be able to review and assess student work. Give a class introduction to the Monticello Classroom using an interactive whiteboard or projector. Be sure to help your weaker readers and ESL and ELL students by sharing the vocabulary words prior to reading, either on a handout or by projecting on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Highlight the vocabulary words in the text as you come to them.
Cool Junie B. Jones activities abound at this fun site. Just click on the activities link to access the official scrapbook, joke book, quizzes, diplomas, crafts, and much more. To learn more about Barbara Park, the creator/author of Junie B. Jones, click on her biography. Of course, you’ll want to begin your site tour by reading Junie’s letter on the first link. Download a free Junie B. Jones screensaver to show your support of this famous character. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. Get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Have a Junie B. Jones Day and enjoy doing the many activities suggested at the site. Recruit a parent to round up the craft materials.Along with book reports, have a Junie “Show and Tell” of creative items to celebrate this famous character. Send a Junie e-card to invite other classes, via the link on the Activities page. Share this link on your teacher web page to promote independent reading, as well.
While this site is geared towards writers, it also delivers powerful information to teachers and librarians. From the homepage, find the left-side links for Teachers and Librarians. These include essential information on planning a great school visit from an author, resources for teaching reading and writing, and Teacher’s Pets (tons of reviews of well-loved books). Also, at the SmartWriters homepage, click on the For Young Writers links to find how-to activities, contests, and publications for your students’ work.
In the Classroom: If you have budding writers in your class, make sure you check out the Young Writers link. Scores of websites open their doors to student publication. You must obtain parent permission before submitting any student work to such sites, however. Why not create a bulletin board, “Smart Writers,” to highlight your own smart writers?
Can’t afford classroom magazine subscriptions? Check into this original online magazine for children ages 7-12. As its name implies, the articles, games, tunes, recipes, career center, and much more-- feed the imagination of youth. The feel of the magazine is positive, such as the celebrity interviews, articles on careers, contests, and quirky quizzes. The magazine has lively colors and easy access the different sections. It’s all free. One note of caution: This magazine has a bulletin board for “dishing.” Sign-in, with password, is required for its use, and may need monitoring. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Include this site on your class web page or newsletter. Use selected articles in class to teach main idea or reading strategies on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Parents would appreciate knowing about this engaging place on the ‘net for their children. Students are invited to submit articles or comments in several places in the magazine. Encourage your students to participate in online publication possibilities at this site -- with written parent permission, of course!
Little fingers meet big fun at this free interactive website. Designed with toddlers and Kindergarten kiddies in mind, this site offers storybooks, interactive games, holiday activities, coloring sheets, and much more. There are even interactive games for ABCs and telling time. Bright colors, quick loading pages, short stories, and extra large buttons (arrows) are just some of the features that make this site easy to use. When viewing the storybooks, just make sure you are not too hasty to click. Clicking your mouse too early may mean missing out of some of the animation. Warning - at the end of each storybook, a recommended book is featured. If you click on that recommendation, you will be taken to a retail book site. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Primary teachers, make simple printed text from the storybooks to reinforce the reading skills. Use the holiday games to liven up your computer centers. During Kindergarten Open House, set up a computer center with the storybooks--ready for parent/child interaction. ESL and ELL teachers will appreciate the simplicity of the text for their beginning English-learner students.
Be sure to provide this link in your class newsletter or on your class website.
This site has downloadable, leveled reading books for sale, but there are plenty of free stories with illustrations. Along with the stories are worksheets to test reading comprehension, focus on grammar from the stories, and review what took place in the story. The stories are organized by reading level, from A to Z. New free offerings appear frequently. Schools can apply for a free trial to check out the full offerings. Some stories are available in Spanish. The site offers other genres for free download including poetry, comics, pocket books, alphabet books, and wordless books. Phonics books complete the offerings.
Caution: although you are able to use many of these items for free, most downloads ask that you input your email address. You can bypass this by clicking submit without inputting your email address. This website requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page. .
In the Classroom: The books can be projected on an interactive whiteboard for students to highlight new vocabulary, signal words, etc. with their fingers then read independently. Tell your students' parents about this site to encourage them to read or download and print more stories for their children. Include the link in your class newsletter or on your website. Beginning readers, ELL, and ESL students will enjoy the wordless books whose stories they can tell themselves or tell in their own languages. Students may want to make up their own wordless picture books after seeing some of these examples.
This site offers animated books with audio (some authored by children), jokes, cartoons, interactive games, and more. Some books are in Spanish, as well. Prepare to mark this site in your Favorites when you see the extensive content. Its name doesn’t reflect its depth. Many books have the text displayed, and as each word is spoken, it is highlighted. Students will learn new words used in context, since the stories feature rich vocabulary. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
NOTE: The link to “Stumble It” connects to a very intriguing but random way of finding similar web sites, but it has its safety concerns for younger students. Read more about it in our TeachersFirst Edge review of Stumble Upon before you permit your students to use it.
In the Classroom: Have your promising writers submit books for possible publication at this site (with parent permission, of course!). SillyBooks does the illustrating and audio. Make sure you click on the Catalog link to view the vast listing of books to which your class can listen. Use the expression-filled books on your projector or interactive whiteboard as choral reading readers (turn up the speakers!). Be sure to include this site on your teacher web page for students to access both in and outside of class for further reading practice. Spanish teachers, there are a few Spanish-language books available to read and hear. Learning Support and ESL/ELL teachers will love the chance to build student vocabulary as they read -- and perhaps even want to write a story of their own.
This site offers over 100 audio stories, downloadable to mp3 players or playable from your computer using Flash. It also has constant updates, news about new offerings, and several complete books available as well. The stories available include animal stories, poems, fables and legends, modern stories, and some holiday stories. A few stories include an animated video. The text of the story is included, so students can follow along during the audio reading The audio quality is high, so enthusiasm will be contagious! This site does have some small unobtrusive advertisements. Be aware - this website is a blog, so students can add comments about a story (using first names only), if this is within your school policies. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Beginning readers will enjoy this site as much as more capable readers, listening intently to the high quality presentation. Share this site with parents in your class newsletter or from your teacher web page. Use it also when you read Alice in Wonderland, and when you teach the concept of "series" stories (try the "Bertie" stories). ESL/ ELL and learning support students will benefit from reading and hearingstories at the same time. Project the story on an interactive whiteboard or projector with small groups of readers so students can follow along and even highlight words during the audio reading.
This Wikipedia-type dictionary includes more than 33,000 biographies on men and women from ancient times to today. Search by birth or death dates, professions, achievements, name or other keywords. Anyone can register to edit or add to a biography. If you do recommend this site as a source for research, be sure to have the discussion about its unknown authorship and usefulness as a general information tool but not as a "scholarly" resource.
In the Classroom: This site could be a terrific way to publish student research projects to the real world. When you assign research projects on a famous scientist, author, famous American, musician, etc., have students create their written projects in a format that will fit into this online dictionary, including providing links and references for their information. Younger students could write an entry together as a class (perhaps on an author whose book you have just read). Challenge middle and high school students to find articles in your research area that contain possible inaccuracies or bias (and the research to prove it) and present both the original and their proposed changes to the class before putting them online. What a critical thinking challenge!
Be sure to follow your district’s acceptable use policy if you are allowing students to contribute to this site. Make sure you have written parent permission to post student work online.
Storytelling comes alive at Zinger Tales. Listen to actual recordings of well-known tales by some of America's most famous storytellers. The rich language and expressions will captivate your students. Some examples of the stories include Why Dogs Chase Cats, The Three Bears and Goldilocks, The Cracked Pot , and numerous others. This website requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Find the text for the stories featured at this site (or find text for any tall tale or oral history). Have students read the text multiple times to become familiar with the story. Watch and listen to the stories as a class on an interactive whiteboard or projection screen. Or have students use individual computers and listen to the stories of their choice. Don’t forget the headphones! Learning support teachers will like this option to let folk tales spark the imagination of their weaker readers. Study storytelling techniques from this site. When students are comfortable with 'their' favorite story, record your own classroom storytelling podcast. Or burn a CD to as a gift to parents or fundraiser for a classroom project.
If Arthur and his friends sit on your bookshelf, then bookmark this interactive and safe PBS website. The site offers numerous activities, polls, information about your favorite Arthur characters, and many other educational activities. Some examples include, "Elmwood City Map," "Facts and Opinions," "Supermarket Adventure," and numerous others. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Make sure you click the 'Parents and Teachers' link at the bottom left column of the homepage. There, you will find lesson plans, activities, book lists, and more. Nearly all of these activities are ideal for an interactive whiteboard or projector. When reading Arthur books in your classroom, extend the learning through these activities. From healthy eating tips to Arthur Trivia, the possibilities at this website are endless. The games are conducive to individual or cooperative learning.
TeachersFirst Edge entry: For slightly adventurous technology users. This site is useful to create an interactive video (hypervideo) through the use of hyperlinking. Just like hyperlinks in a document, create hot links to notes, websites, and other material you link to from parts of the video. The links appear as little circles (hotspot markers) that are clicked to reveal the information you "attach." Add more information to your video for students to access during the playback. Easy-to-follow directions and quick tours to get you started. When the video is done, you can generate and embed a code in your blog or website. Video can also be emailed. Quicktime and FLASH are required. Get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Skills needed: Site is free, but you must join to create your own videos. Videos must originate from YouTube or TeacherTube (see editorial comment below). You can always upload your own originals to one of these sites, if you wish to annotate a video you shot for use in class, such as a science demo. Paste the YouTube url into the search function, click on a part of the video you want to label, and add notes to, or link to a website. No special skills needed. A teenager or techno-comfortable teacher will figure this one out in one minute. The only challenge is determining what notes and links to use. Keep a second window open to copy and paste website addresses quickly. Watch the demos for quick learning of how to use this application.
Safety concern: some featured videos available on the site's home page, especially those under "Entertainment," may not be appropriate for school viewing. If your school does not have an actively-enforced student acceptable use policy with specific consequences for accessing inappropriate content, you may want to avoid this page or generate such an agreement for student and parent signatures before allowing students open access to Asterpix. You can always create products of your own and share them directly by URL or by embedding them in your blog.
Does your school block YouTube? Try creating a video using an original from TeacherTube instead. Or follow your school's technology policy to request unblocking of specific YouTube video URLs that are directly related to curriculum.
Editorial comment: Be sure to SHARE the completed examples (and student-made products) with administrators and school decision-makers to demonstrate why school policies should permit such powerful opportunities for teaching and learning. Perhaps you can advocate, at the least, quicker unblocking of specific videos (24 hours or less?) for classroom use or permission for teachers to unblock on a per-computer basis. Your efforts to respect policies while pro-actively advocating for appropriate change will benefit all teachers and students.
Possible uses for annotated videos: Use a video and have students add information to check their understanding, such as to label the actions they observe during a chemistry demo and add links to web pages that explain the underlying concepts. Create teacher-made videos to share individually or on a projector with students of ALL ages to illustrate and annotate concepts that are especially challenging or simply to help students visualize the connections between the words they read or hear and the real world examples. Shoot on-site video at the zoo or at a pond study site, then add annotations later. Use videos already available, but add the explanations using the terminology from your curriculum and allow student so access then for review or extra help. Secondary students will love using Asterpix themselves and will give a new dimension to presentations they create. Teachers can use the interactive video for extra tutorial work, explanations of topics, etc. The possibilities are endless!
Weekly printable Hunt the Fact Monster activity sheets encourage students to build research skills and internet literacy as they use the Fact Monster search engine to find the answers to the questions in the activity. There are separate sections for grades 2-3 and grades 4-8. This site requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: This site can be used for individual students, in a technology class, or as a parent-and-student together assignment. Be sure to see the Ideas for Using Hunt the Fact Monster in Your Classroom page for tips on using the hunts in your classroom. Before you launch your research project with younger students, use this exercise to solidify research basics or as a pretest to be sure everyone is ready. Challenge your more able students to create their own Fact Monster hunts on individual research topics and share them with classmates. Reading teachers can also use these activities to help students practice skimming and scanning.
This page offers a series of illustrated, printable story prompts. Printing in portrait or landscape for larger spaces between the lines. Another option includes a black and white drawing that the children can color before or after writing the story. The pages also contain a box to write a word list for help spelling more difficult words. The story topics include many seasonal and holiday offerings, as well. Some of this site requires FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Use this site with beginning readers, beginning writers, and ESL students to reinforce the skill you are teaching and to show connections between reading and writing. Make it available for your active writers to choose their own prompts, too, or for parents to use at home during breaks. Special ed teachers will appreciate these prompts as a way to promote language development. Use the pictures to record students' vocabulary on the lines below as they "tell you about the picture."
This collection of Readers Theater resources has lots of hints and teaching tips on how to use this timely technique. ELL students and, indeed, any student will enjoy reading, hearing, and acting out the words as a way to increase and demonstrate their fluency. Links to both books and online sources for readers theater texts include plays and other writings at a variety of levels.
In the Classroom: Invite your students to perform in small groups or even to go further and actually present one of the mini-plays included here with costumes and more. Reasders Theater adapts perfectly to audio podcasting, as well. Why not rotate among your various groups as you record a weekly podcast for parents and other classes to hear? You can use simple tools, such as this one.
This article, available in both audio recording and print on the web page, shares a parent's experience discovering that her daughter has been the victim of cyberbullying. The article is written from an adult perspective, but the facts and feelings it reveals are very real to anyone. Parents with children as young as elementary grades should be aware of things they should watch for, say, and do to help their children. Teachers should read it to understand the nature of the problem, as well.
In the Classroom: Share this article with parents in a newsletter or school web page so they, too, can be involved in talking with their children about cyberbullying. Use it as a discussion starter for a parent organization meeting or possibly in a group of middle school students to open the conversation about their experiences and how different they are from what their parents were familiar with as children. Both parents and children would benefit from open dialog on the subject as part of a consistent effort for Internet safety in your school and homes.
Have you ever needed a second reading teacher in your primary classroom? You will come close when you visit this site. Browser Books’ name says it all. Your students will choose from a list of books to read. Click on the arrow at the bottom right on each page, and the page turns to the next. You won’t need to answer, “What’s this word?” when your students read these online books. Click on each word and hear it read aloud. Students will love the kid-friendly faces in each book. Books are leveled from pre-Kindergarten to first grade. The Moosejaw, Canada web creator of this site deserves the awards she has garnered.
In the Classroom: Your students will find the easy navigation at this site a bonus. Give them a laptop to read these books in their cozy reading spot (with headphones), or choral read with the entire classroom or group using an interactive whiteboard. Individualized reading opportunities abound using these books. For computer savvy parents, assign this as extra homework reading. They will not complain about this homework assignment.
ABC Toon CenterGrade K to 4
- Jack Armstrong: ABC Learning Time- 8805
This interactive site, hosted by Hoot and Kat, features 25 games and story links. Some games are more educational than others. Hoot's Story Time and Learn with Kat areas are a good place to start. Players may solve special challenges that allow them to become a Junior Ranger. Once a Junior Ranger, they will be invited into a secret clubhouse which contains more surprises and games. What a fun, literacy-based site to use when rewarding good learning! This site provides hours of safe fun for our primary and elementary learners. ESL teachers will be pleased to know that the homepage can be read in five different languages.
In the Classroom: Share this site with parents via a link from your teacher web page for safe learning fun at home or use specific literacy activities as a center in your primary classroom.
This site contains a nice collection of online picture books, some for very young children but also some for older children. Those with high-speed connections should click on the teapot to access the best view of the books. Ms. Palmer wrote and illustrated this variety of offerings. The gallery also shares illustrations from a variety of older texts. You can also view books in progress and enjoy coloring sheets. Share this site with your aspiring readers and artists to help them appreciate the role illustration has in creating attractive texts.
In the Classroom: Children will enjoy reading online as a class on a projector or interactive whiteboard or reading at a center on your classroom computer. Share the site with parents via your web page. Art teachers can feature these illustrations as an inspiration for a picture book project.
This wonderful site has an extensive list of free video clips of favorite children's books, author interviews, and author documentaries. Users can open them with Windows Media or Real Player (the listings tell which one is needed). Some clips offer both options. Get the plug ins from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..This site MUST have a high speed connection! It can be slow to load during "peak" times (11 a.m. to 2 pm Eastern time in the U.S.). Be patient while clips download, even on a peppy network. While the videos are downloading, you may not think anything is happening. TURN OFF your pop-up blocker (including the ones built into the Google and Yahoo toolbars) so you can see the video pop-up windows.
In the Classroom: Preview the video clips before recommending them to students or using in class, since the quality of video and audio varies significantly. None is designed for full screen projection, though some will project about half-screen. Share a partial video with the class or as a center to inspire children to read a book or allow them to watch videos after they have read books. (A Dark, Dark tale would be great for Halloween week). Remember to turn up speakers for group viewing or provide headphones at your center. If you are ready to try podcasting, use these dramatic readings as models for students to record some of their favorite selections as a podcast (and possibly illustrate with student artwork). Share this link with parents on your web page or in your newsletter to encourage reading at home. Most of the books will be in our school library, so students can follow along. School librarians should know about this site as well! ESL students and weaker readers always benefit from listening to different voices read the same story as they follow along.
Globetracker’s Mission is a projector- or whiteboard-ready episodic story in blog-style format, taking students in grades 2-6 on a world-wide journey as they learn standards-based world geography, landforms, and map skills in an engaging, interactive context. Each weekly “post” from Geo and Meri, fictitious brother and sister techno-savvy teens, traces steps on a secret mission to find Dewey, the truth-sniffing dog. Episodes include annotated vocabulary terms, interactive maps to practice map skills, and think-aloud questions the teens pose as they use today’s tools: text messaging, cell phones, and blog-posting. Readers vote at the conclusion of each post, telling Geo and Meri what to do next. TeachersFirst member teachers may have their classes post their own predictions of what the next episode will bring. All episodes have accompanying Google Earth™ placemarker files so your class can “tour” with Geo and Meri using Google Earth’s free, downloadable software. Complete tech tips, detailed lesson and management ideas, and teacher information are included.
This resource was featured in a recent New Teacher Hotline Podcast as one of the Tech Toolbox resources. Hear more about it on the podcast .
In the Classroom: See "Lesson Ideas" from the Teacher Edition page for a complete list of ways to use this creative unit with younger students, on laptops with student partners, or as semi-independent work. Be sure to share the link on your teacher web page for students to share at home (or check on the next episode, if they can't wait!).
Encourage parents to join the fun on the mission by "touring" the same continents in family literacy activities from our partner site, TeachersAndFamilies TogetheRead . The monthly themes from November 2007 through May 2008 will be in sync with Geo and Meri's travels. Perhaps you want to give extra credit for additional information about the continents gained from TogetheRead family reading and activities-- or use some of the books in your classroom.
Doing a unit on Family Ties or family history? Download the Family Tree Maker (or use the online vesion) so you can record your family’s roots. Or, read about the Still family who has one of the longest running family reunions in America. Take the interactive quiz about “Keeping in Touch,” communication avenues through our history.
In the Classroom: Make sure your students use the downloadable family tree maker, since the online version erases data when you click off the site. Check out the Teachers and Parents section for more family ties activities. This site could also be an effective adjunct to literature study of books about family. You might even want to create family trees of characters from books students are reading or famous families from history in a biography unit.
This site offers reviews of ten new books each month in three categories; Children, Young Adult, and Adult. Selected books are easy to read and short enough to be read without losing their appeal. Users can search for appropriate titles by author, title, number of pages, level, and rating. When searching the young adult section by pages, readers can find young adult books that range from 32 pages to full length. After searching, each display page contains 10 books with a short summary and a picture of its cover.
In the Classroom: Use this site to encourage reluctant readers to choose their own short books with subjects that interest them! For children who can't choose, encourage them to use the "Random Shuffle" feature. Share the link on your teacher web page for students and parents ot access from home. Start a "Lazy Readers" club in your own classroom, with students writing reviews you can post on a bulletin board or a reading wiki.
Popular children's author Jan Brett offers a page full of games, crafts, wonderful new how-to-draw videos, book previews, contests, and card-making options. For teachers there are plenty of reading and math support activities like flash cards, book jacket covers, and word lists. click Videos to see drawing videos that include clips of real animals at play and easy-to-follow steps in drawing simple versions of the creatures.
In the Classroom: After you read one of Brett's books, have the children draw their own animals and write sentences about them. If you use a drawing program on the computer, you can put the drawings on PowerPoint slides and have students write sentences about them. Then combine the slides into a whole-class slide show (also printable as a BOOK they can sign out and take home to share as a read-aloud). If you prefer to use pencil/paper for drawing, you can also scan them into PowerPoint so you can share and print the file as many times as you like. You can even email it to parents for them to share with other family members.
CountdownGrade K to 12
- Loyola University Chicago School of Education- 8609
This eclectic website provides video clips teaching a multitude of math topics. All video clips are abbreviated from a weekly hour-long show broadcast on an interactive cable television network in Chicago. Each clip is 4-7 minutes and designed to simplify math concepts for students of all ages. All of the lessons follow content standards established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The general topics include numbers & operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, data analysis & probability, and technology. This site requires Flash or Quicktime (read their notice regarding the sound files). Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: This website would be excellent to use to introduce a new math concept or to re-teach a difficult math topic. These kid-friendly videos offer teachers a new way to teach math. She the videos one at a time on classrooms computers or make this resources a link from your teacher web page for students and parents to get "extra help" at home.
This online tool creates checklists for your class projects. Oral presentations, writing, multimedia, or science projects will become a cinch to grade when you have exact guidelines generated by this site. Not only will it be easier for you to assess, but it gives students exact knowledge on what is needed. Just choose a grade level, then choose from a list of project guidelines (or add your own), and make a checklist with the touch of a button. You may even personalize your checklist to your own specific criteria.
In the Classroom: If you do not want to figure out the math and relative weights of a scored rubric, these checklists share project expectations in a simple list form. You must save the web page URL for your checklist in order to view it later. Include a completed project checklist link on your teacher web page for students and parents to refer to as they work on projects at home. Note: There is no database of other teacher-generated checklists. With very young students, you will want to use the "add your own" option to write very simple text for a checklist that they can read.
Beloved children's author Robert Munsch offers many of his stories/books here in audio format. All students, including ESL students, will enjoy hearing these stories as they read along. Users must have the capability of listening through an MP3 player.
In the Classroom: Set up these recordings as a center with the book at hand and headphones for the students (see download tips below). Or play them for the whole class with your speakers turned up after lunch or at the end of the day. Include the link on your teacher web page and newsletter for parents, as well.
You must first click that you agree to the terms of use, then DOWNLOAD the files (SAVE to your desktop for easy access and delete after use). The "Terms of Use" appear in a pop-up, so make sure your pop-up blockers is turned off. The files will play with Windows Media Player, iTunes, or Real Player, whichever you have.
The Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer have more to offer on this site. Listen to the author read stories, join in with sing-alongs (turn up your speakers!), watch interactive videos of the books, and find games, art, and other activities on this great website. The read and play activities highlight the text as it reads aloud to you, and even has music and giggle to go along with the story. Users can also read about the author and even write a letter to Little Critter. This is a great reading reinforcement site! Site requires Shockwave and Flash: get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Select items on this site to use as a center or whole-class activity after you read a Little Critter book to your class. Share this link on your teacher web page and/or in a parent newsletter for those who love these books. ESL students will enjoy listening to having the books read as they follow along on the pages of the book. You will want to be sure that students steer clear of the "store" section where Little Critter items are sold.
TeachersFirst offers a chapter-by-chapter set of activities for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Designed to be used after each chapter, the activities include science searches, writing, and art projects suitable for individual or group use. The ideas and activities ask students to respond, extend, discuss, create, and more. There is simply no better way for students to try new “After Reading" strategies. Don’t miss this great collection as a way to encourage your students to get the most from reading and re-reading a new favorite.
In the Classroom: Share the link on your teacher web page or in a parent newsletter, if you don't have time to do all the activities at school.
As a result of a teacher survey in 2007, NEA has compiled this list of 100 Best Books for Children from an online survey The list is unfortunately not labeled, as the 1999 listing from NEA was, with age/grade ranges. You will find many classics as well as some newer entries onto the shelves.
In the Classroom: Share this list with parents via handout or a link from your teacher web page or use it to help make selections for you classroom library. If you provide independent reading incentives, be sure to make this list available to your students as they make book choices. Perhaps you would like to let them "review" books from the list on a class reading wiki or include student mini-reviews on your teacher web page. Or print the list out in a large font and cut strips for books appropriate for your class in general. Allow any student who reads and reviews one of the books to sign the strip and hang it, along with a review, on an "Our Reading Accomplishments" bulletin board.
This simple web activity (no reading required, but turn up the sound)challenges students to determine the differences between two locations and the items found there. Students simply click and drag the items to the correct picture. The pictures are both related to travel and geography. The observing, thinking, and categorizing build higher order thinking skills. The entire activity requires Flash, get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. Be sure to visit the Teachers/Parents link to view general standards for this interactive game.
In the Classroom: Save this website to your favorites, and then use it as a learning center. Ask children to explain why things go where they have placed them. Speech and language teachers can use this activity as part of vocabulary development, as well.
Exercise your gray matter by solving one of the 12,000 'braingles' at this site. It purports to be the largest collection of puzzles, riddles, mind games, etc, on the Internet. Once you explore the site, you trust their word. The site is mobile phone and wii-friendly. Don't miss the section with SAT vocab (in Mentalrobics). There are articles on study skills and strategies such as clearing your mind before studying, "chunking" when reading, or various strategies to memorize material. Engage students into math and reading exercises through the endless riddles and puzzles at this site. They won't even be aware they are 'reading' or 'solving math.'
In the Classroom: Start class with a "warm-up" brain teaser. Or include this link on your teacher web page (with a caution about parental supervision for younger ones). Site creators claim the entire site is family-friendly, safe for classroom use. Portions of the site require membership, and the membership level that displays ads is free. You may want to set up a CLASS account and use it under controlled circumstances since there are forums and chat rooms, however. Or ask your tech folks to block the portion of the site that includes "community" in the URL (http://www.braingle.com/community/) to avoid having to deal with forums, chat rooms, etc.(If you are lucky enough to have such helpful tech support, make them cookies once in awhile!)
MoneyBEEGrade 2 to 6
- Brandeis Engaged Education- 8412
Finally, a way for student to practice with values of money and use mental math, all in en engaging, active practice environment! In this interactive game site, opponent players create money problems for each other. Games involve counting coins, adding up values, and figuring out different ways to achieve the same money total. The "opponent" is known only by a nickname and could be from around the globe! The game was designed by developers at Brandeis University to anonymously follow how students behave and learn as they challenge each other. For you and your students, it means a way for every student to be engaged and actively learning at a level appropriate for the individual. If there is no opponent available, the site tells them to try later or try a practice game. If you have several students online at a time, they can be opponents for each other. This site requires JAVA. See full technical information on the parent site, BeeWeb, FAQ page.
In the Classroom: This site works best under an established teacher account. Teachers will want to read the directions in the teacher info carefully so they can set up their classes within the tracking feature. (Click to register, and click "Teacher" to learn more). Teacher registration lets you follow your students' participation and achievement (tracked anonymously and SAFELY). This activity will work well for classrooms with a single computer (as a center) or a computer cluster, since students can play against others outside your class, and you can "see" their progress at any time. Demonstrate the site on a projector or whiteboard before turning your students loose.
Note: This site is part of a larger project, BEEWeb, and your teacher log-in and student log-ins will transfer among the various sites. See our reviews of SpellBEE (their first project), PatternBEE, and GeograBEE. Coming soon: CalcuBEE and MeloBEE(music).
GeograBEEGrade 3 to 8
- Brandeis Engaged Education- 8411
GeograBEE is an interactive game in which players select geography questions for their opponent. Questions include locations of a state, its capital, or its name. The game was designed by developers at Brandeis University to anonymously follow how students behave and learn as they challenge each other. For you and your students, it means a way for every student to be engaged and actively learning at a level appropriate for the individual. Warning: there must be someone else on line waiting to play (a practice game is always available). Try the site out during the school year or assure that you have opponents by having your students log in and play the games against each other. This site requires JAVA. See full technical information on the parent site (BEEWeb) FAQ page.
In the Classroom: Teacher registration lets you follow your students' participation and achievement (tracked anonymously and SAFELY). Teachers will want to read the directions in the teacher info carefully so they can set up their classes within the tracking feature. (Click to register, and click "Teacher" to learn more). This activity will work well for classrooms with a single computer (as a center) or a computer cluster, since students can play against students outside your class, and you can "see" their progress at any time. Demonstrate the site on a projector or whiteboard before turning your students loose.
Note: This site is part of a larger project, BeeWeb, and your teacher log-in and student log-ins will transfer among the various sites. See our reviews of SpellBEE (their first project), MoneyBEE, and PatternBEE. Coming soon: CalcuBEE and MeloBEE(music).
PatternBeeGrade 2 to 8
- Brandeis Engaged Education- 8410
Here is a great way to develop visual thinking, spatial skills, and skill with flips, turns, and slides! Pattern Bee is an interactive shape game very similar to tangrams, but with two opponent students creating the shape challenges for each other. The "opponent" is known only by a nickname and could be from around the globe! The game was designed by developers at Brandeis University to anonymously follow how students behave and learn as they challenge each other. For you and your students, it means a way for every student to be engaged and actively learning at a level appropriate for the individual. If there is no opponent available, the site tells them to try later or try a practice game. If you have several students online at a time, they can be opponents for each other. This site requires JAVA. See full technical information on the parent site, BEEWeb, FAQ page.
In the Classroom: This site works best under an established teacher account. Teachers will want to read the directions in the teacher info carefully so they can set up their classes within the tracking feature. (Click to register, and click "Teacher" to learn more). Teacher registration lets you follow your students' participation and achievement (tracked anonymously and SAFELY). This activity will work well for classrooms with a single computer (as a center) or a computer cluster, since students can play against others outside your class, and you can "see" their progress at any time. Demonstrate the site on a projector or whiteboard before turning your students loose.
Note: This site is part of a larger project, BEEWeb, and your teacher log-in and student log-ins will transfer among the various sites. See our reviews of SpellBEE (their first project), MoneyBEE, and GeograBEE. Coming soon: CalcuBEE and MeloBEE(music).
This website is ready for your aspiring artists. There are interactive games and art activities, chat areas to get art advice, unique project ideas, and even an area to submit your artwork to the gallery. If you want to spark some creativity, take your students on a visit to the Onion Street Art Room. Since this website was created by the BBC, you may notice some spelling differences. You will also read the term "GCSE," the British test that secondary students take to demonstrate general curriculum knowledge. The interactive activities require Flash, get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Use this site as a resource to plan art activities or share it with your students so they can find fresh art ideas. Encourage budding artists by posting their artwork, as well (with permission). Use the galleries to show your students how to give a positive critique -- even leave some comments for other artists. Because the site includes discussion boards and commenting, you will need to have rules about netiquette/safety and to obtain parent permission if students are using the site at school. If you simply share portions on a projector or interactive whiteboard, you will not need to worry about safety issues in class.
This multi-level lesson plan for ESL students offers opportunities for vocabulary development, reading, writing, and cultural sharing by responding to stories and books about kites. Primary grade tecahers could also use it in a unit on weather or as an interdisciplinary science/language arts activity. Because of its high interest level, it motivates students to participate in understanding new words and in expressing their ideas about the books they read and the techniques and history of kite flying in their countries. Students also read and talk about kite safety rules and examine websites about kites. Writing opportunities include writing rules,original stories, cultural histories haiku, and diamante poems. Students also get to design, make, decorate and fly their own kites.
In the Classroom: Plan a kite day in the fall or spring and use all or part of these plans to learn new words, build kites, and even fly them before you write about them. This would be a terrific activity to include parents at school year's end.
This site encourages children to read and write by sharing what other students have written and inviting them to submit writings of their own. They can write poetry, fiction, or non-fiction, including essays. The authors featured on the website are international, too. A carefully screened pen pal option allows children to sign up for pen pals from around the world. In the Global Village section, articles featuring countries around the globe change monthly.
In the Classroom: Use this site and its opportunities to submit work as an writing motivator to encourage development of more in-depth writing. Students will also enjoy "meeting" pen pals from around the world. Always get written parent permission before submitting student work.
BookwinkGrade 2 to 8
- Sonja Cole and Paul Kim- 8160
Bookwink is a reviewing service for books. The video reviews describe the monthly book selections on a particular topic. Users can access archives of other reviews for free. You can also subscribe to monthly podcasts to download to your computer or iPod (This feature requires you to install iTunes -- available by free download).
There is an index to book annotations organized by subject, grade level, author, title, and related subjects. This even includes read-alikes to find books similar to a recent favorite. There are no free audio books, however; clicking on the book title leads right to Amazon.com where users can choose to purchase the books. You should check interlibrary loan at your public or school library for promising choices, since both boks and audio books are available, with audio books often available especially for students who have special needs or learning disabilities.
NOTE: Not recommended for dial-up connections! Uses the Quicktime plug-in for the videos. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: Check the monthly offerings and use a projector to feature books on topics you are currently studying or simply to promote independent reading. Share the link on your teacher web page for them to access in the classroom or from home to help reluctant readers (and their parents) to seek out exciting books. Be sure to clue in your school librarian so he/she can feature current Bookwink offerings in the library or borrow them via interlibrary loan.
For those who just can't wait for the next Harry Potter book, this site offers plenty of Harry Potter news, discussions, galleries with possible title pages and other illustrations, a page of avatar graphics, links to Potter movie trailers, and anything imaginable to do with the books and/or the movies. This is a consumer site, so it is a bit more "Hollywood" than "education," but there are portions that promote discussion, character analysis, and pure love of reading.
In the Classroom: Channel your students' high levels of anticipation about the next HP book by encouraging them to participate in some of these online discussions, with parent permission, of course. Include the link on your teacher web page to accompany an independent reading or for author study.
Encourage your writers to create and publish web-based writing with the help of this site! The site offers opportunities for kids to do creative writing on their own, read what others have done internationally, find writing suggestions from experts, and create online writing projects. In one section, they can write original "spells" a la Harry Potter. All writing submitted is carefully screened for this safe site. Be sure to check out Adventure Island (click on Writing with a Difference), a place for your students to create their own online story where readers navigate, read descriptions, and make choices. Some pages require FLASH.
In the Classroom: Select a theme you are studying in science or social studies or a setting from a literature piece you have studied, and make an Adventure Island as a group project. You must register(free), but the process is simple. The teacher informaiton is thorough and helpful. Check out some of the examples first. Be sure to have written parent permission before sharing student work on the web, even anonymously.
Users of this very appealing site listen to and read a variety of stories, poems, while viewing accompanying drawings. Teachers will like the Read a Story options with simple Dolch words. Children can submit their own poems and may see themselves published online, but you will want to get parent permission first! Many writing prompts and easy writing tasks look like fun on this site; additional games on the site have an educational aspect. In addition to online activities, there are a few stories and games available to print out. Many activities require the Flash plug in. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom: The animated alphabet is certain to appeal to pre-K and kindergarten teachers and students. Make it a center that students can explore over and over!
TeachersFirst Edge entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. Imagine being able to give students (or parents)an exact link to a specific quote within a web page. This TeachersFirst Edge tool does exactly that. Why would you want to? Perhaps you want to send students to a certain paragraph for an activity: for reading comprehension, for reading a specific portion of text, or even for highlighting a literary device within a text or poem. Students will no longer waste time, announcing, "I can't find it!" or return to school saying they couldn't do the homework!
In the Classroom: No membership or cost required. Tool can be used in less than 30 seconds. Skills needed: Open TWO windows in Internet Explorer or any web browser. One should be open to citebite; the other to the web page you wish to reference. On that web page, locate and "highlight" the exact passage of text you want to "send" people to see. Copy/paste the passage into the quotation box at Citebite (copy, then change windows). Return to the target web page and copy/paste its actual URL into Citebite. Click "Make Citebite." Copy/paste the new url, indicated after "Your citebite link is:" Note: if the original quote is within a FLASH presentation, it will not copy/paste or generate a Citebite. See this example of a Citebite link to a tip about TeachersFirst Edge tools: http://pages.citebite.com/b1j4l1j7o0ndu
Have your middle and high school students do a web page "credibility critique" on their potential sources by using Citebite before they start a research project. They can highlight passages as proof of credibility -- or lack thereof -- and give you the Citebite links. They will love this easy way to reference a specific portion of a page. You will love the ease of finding it. If you give them a Word document table as a web site evaluation rubric, they can paste the Citebites there, with their comments in the neighboring cell!
This site addresses the important issue of bullying. It includes an interactive video, reports, information guides, quizzes, polls, and more. This site also talks about the less frequently discussed forms of bullying - such as cyber bullying, girls bullying girls, cellular phone bullying and other less "traditional" forms of bullying (which unfortunately are becoming more common). FLASH is required for some of the activities.
In the Classroom: Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to talk to your class about bullying. Perhaps you can even use this discussion to prompt a journal entry, skit, or other personal response on the topic of bullying and how to handle it. Provide this link for parents to read at home with their students. Parents need to know what could be going on in their students' lives and how to help.
Kerpoof is a site designed to inspire creativity among children as they interact with the pictures. They can select a scene and add items to the scene and/or adjust object sizes . The scenes are richly varied, containing fantasy as well as international items. The site promises to change often. You can also find coloring sheets to print and color. You and your students can customize your own scenes, if you join (see classroom use tips). Editor's notes: In spring, 2007, this site became rather sluggish in opening. We suspect it has gained popularity, and the multiple users are slowing it down. Be patient!
In the Classroom: Use these online "scenes" for students to create their own writing prompts. Let students choose (you might want to limited their options to save time)and work individually or create a scene for the whole class on an interactive whiteboard. Then print it out and ask students to tell the story or write the paragraph about the scene. Special ed teachers and speech/language clinicians can use Kerpoof to prompt vocabulary development. Incorporate social studies and science curriculum topics by describing scenes with community workers, careers, farm animals, and more. NO reading required except to select print, save, etc.
If you "join" as a teacher, you can save the scenes your class creates and revisit them at a later date. Do NOT allow students to join unless you have parent permission. The information requested is very safe, but it would be simpler to use a whole-class account.
This site, written by parents of an autistic child in the UK, presents a parent perspective on autism and the issues and questions that arise for parents. Although not "endorsed" by a professional organization, the site includes many coping strategies and techniques that have worked for this family and is frequently updated with new ideas. They include downloadable pdf files for schedules and other devices to help children with autism and an ongoing diary of the strategies they have tried. The "jargon explained" section is especially helpful for the lay person, including many teachers untrained about autism. The authors are emphatic that their site is not intended as professional or diagnostic advice. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: This site presents the human side of one case of autism. Teachers who have an autistic child in their class can learn from the anecdotal information about the child and also about parental reactions and stresses. Ask your principal to allow you to spend part of a professional day reading through this and other resources on autism listed on TeachersFirst. You and your student will benefit.
This information clearing house, the self-described "voice of the autism community" provides much-needed information on autism and related disorders. At this site you can explore About Autism, Life with Autism, Research & Programs, Autism Communities, and more! You can also sign up to receive e-newsletters, learn about fundraising opportunities, and find many tips for parents and teachers. This site is recommended in articles by the National Association of School Psychologists, a helpful endorsement in distinguishing among many web sites dealing with autism.
In the Classroom: Use this site to learn the basics about autism. No classroom teacher can be expected to be an expert on autism, but this site may help you understand some of what you see and some of the more recent information about autism, especially since few teachers receive much training about this in their teacher-ed programs. If you have students in your classes with autism, ask your principal if you can spend part of an inservice day reading and exploring this and other TeachersFirst resources listings on autism. This independent study may save your sanity and benefit students who really need our understanding. This is a great resource to provide to parents!
This site provides stories about "Rocky" by Jane Kurtz, folktales and poetry, information about volcanoes, as well as a photo gallery for student work. Also included in the site are activities such as word scrambles and crossword puzzles with volcano terminology. A simple and useful site for primary grades learning about volcanoes. This site requires Flash, get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: The Rocky stories provide a great opportunity to mix reading with visualization by creating corresponding artwork. They would go well as read-alongs during your unit on rocks and minerals. Students can submit their artwork to the Art Gallery for parents and family to view at home (get permission first!). An interactive whiteboard or projector would be a great way for their artwork to be "presented" to the class. You can also take virutal tours of major volcanoes on the whiteboard or a projector alone.
TeachersFirst Edge entry: For the most adventurous technology users. This new start-up web 2.0 tool (born Dec 2006) is "a place where curious people explore all kinds of data." Users register to join (free) to upload and/or manipulate data of all kinds: from comparisons of "What a Couple of Hundred Billion [dollars] can buy," to sports stats to election stats to less school-appropriate topics such as drinking. Why risk it? You will find terrific examples (and non examples) of how data can be shared visually, manipulated, and reported to help explain a concept. You can upload you own datasets, tag them, and see how others collaborate. Even simpler, you can browse graphs already made on the site, mark them as part of "your" stuff (Favorites) and visit them on a screen to discuss which graphs provide meaningful data and what they show, exactly.
In the Classroom: Any teacher using this site should register under the his/her own name and limit use to areas that have been previewed before class to avoid inappropriate content. The best use is by marking items as Favorites and beginning your class visit in your Favorites to avoid "popular" content that might be awkward for parents, students, and you to justify in a classroom. If your students have been collecting data (sightings of migratory birds, lab experiment data, daily temperatures, etc), you can upload them and manipulate them on this site, comparing to other data uploaded by others. Teachers of math, statistics, science, even reading can use and teach data analysis from graphs. Share this one with your "geeky" teacher friends and figure it out together!
Skills required: join the site (free), browse datasets or upload your own (several formats possible), mark Favorites, create tags, create graphs from one or more datasets, all by "playing with the tools. No clear "Help" is available. There is a tour to give you the big picture of how the site works. Finally, you may want to link to one of your graphs (such as from a PowerPoint show) or display one on a web page.
This ESL-focused site provides stories, activities, links, games, and plenty of opportunities for writing practice. Children can listen to the stories as they read them. Teachers can print flashcards for survival English vocabulary such as clothes, food, parts of the body, jobs etc.; accompanying activities provide reinforcement for vocabulary. Learn English Kids changes weekly, offering weekly activities, opinion polls, learning through songs, playground fun, and more. The read-aloud stories are a wonderful option for beginning readers and even non-readers. Both spelling and pronunciation are British.
Speech/language clinicians will join ESL and primary teachers in using the many activities on this site. It even has sorting activities such as fruits/vegetables (see "Food"). Although the interface is graphically appealing, by clicking on "Topics," users can find activities, songs, and games all organized by subject. There is also a large section for parents to help their child at home.
In the Classroom: Make a shortcut to an activity each day on your classroom computer (RIGHT-clicking in the middle of the page will give the option to Create shortcut). This will give students an easy way to open today's activity, especially if you RENAME it with the student's name or place it in a certain corner of the desktop.
Longer stories require the Real Player plug in. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page. In these stories, Students can double-click a word to find out its meaning!
This math website contains four interactive and individualized activities. At the "Flashcard" link, the teacher can create individualized flashcards using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division or a mix of operations. The "Early Math" link is created especially for students in Kindergarten and first grade. The concepts include more/less and biggest/smallest. The "Math Square" link is a logic puzzle that can be individualized to three difficulty levels. The "Math Tables" link creates an interactive table utilizing addition, subtraction or multiplication.
In the Classroom: Try an interactive whiteboard to introduce these drill and practice activities to challenge your class, then include the link on your teacher web page or as a shortcut on a classroom computer for students to access individually. Be sure to tell parents about it, too. Take the students to the computer lab or assign different tasks at a classroom center to differentiate the instruction and allow the students to work at their individual levels. Note: very Young students may need help reading the directions to access the correct game.
This multi-faceted site is simply designed but extremely useful to students and adults of all ages. It does assume that they can read. The purpose of the website is to help individuals solve math problems. The user actually chooses the math topic and enters the specific math problem. The answers provided include a detailed description. There are seven general areas (Math for Everyone, General Math, K-8 Math, Algebra, Plots & Geometry, Trig. & Calculus and Other Stuff). At the "Math for Everyone" page, the topics include calculating a tip, estimating retirement, loans and more! All pages and activities are interactive and individualized for the user.
In the Classroom: Teachers can use this tool to help students of all ages understand difficult mathematical concepts. High school teachers could help students understand "real world math," such as how much a car payment will cost. Teachers could also make these interactive activities a class challenge on an interactive whiteboard or projector.
Include the link on your tecaher web page for parents and support teachers to use together with struggling students who need more practice.
Editor's note: This site is free as of Mar, 2007. This may change in the future.
Number Logic offers a variety of ways to experience the game of logic: Sudoku. The game can be played on-line independently, cooperatively with a partner or competitively with a partner on levels ranging from easy to impossible. A simple registration and JAVA are the only requirements for this site. Instructions are provided. Keep an eye on the chat forum when students are playing with an on-line partner. You may not want to "permit" this feature.
In the Classroom: This is a great way to challenge your stronger students who complete work early or as an opportunity for success for students who may excel in logic but not at reading. It can be a nice enrichment or positive reinforcement opportunity at a classroom computer station. Decide on and post specific policies and consequences for inappropriate use of the chat feature, just as you would for any other online activity. Definitely include the link on your teacher web page for students and parents to access from home.
This site encourages students and parents to note how math is used in everyday living. You can download math-based, printable, hands-on activities that can be done almost anywhere or play online interactive games. Make sure you check out the resources link for a glossary, books, videos, and additional web sites. Flash and Acrobat Reader are required. Get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page
In the Classroom: Some of the online activities would make useful practice as a classroom center. Make sure students can READ the simple instructions or that you have shown them how the games work, since they do not "talk." Include a link on your teacher web page for students and parents to share this site at home. Recommend it for your students who are having trouble with math. They can practice and have fun at the same time.
Use this terrific online tool for your students to create posters or short reports in a poster format. Create lessons, worksheets, or class pages and instantly publish them online using this free Web Poster Wizard. The teacher sets up an account (for free), and follows simple directions so students can upload images and write about their project or pictures. The site even includes management tools so you can keep separate classes of students and see their work by class.
Plan to spend some time reading through the directions and trying out this tool before you assign it to students. Teachers and students must register and login each time they use this tool. Students can share the URL for their posters with grandparents or parents to show off their good work!
Students will need to know how to locate and upload a file for an image (such as a digital picture) to place it in their poster. If you allow them to use images from the web, the tool asks them to give information on their image source, as well (hooray for ethical use of the Internet!). If you use digital pictures of students, be SURE that you do NOT use full names on the site. You should get parent permission for uploading any student images, even if anonymous.
In the Classroom: Some uses for this simple tool: book reports (take a digital photo of the book cover), biographical posters of famous people (images from the web), "all about me" posters, posters about community members such as veterans of World War II whom students interview and photograph, author posters, fictitious character studies, science posters on processes or terms with accompanying digital pictures to illustrate, etc. The possibilities are endless. Once students know the tool, they can use it over and over.
Teachers, make sure you select the archive option to keep student projects live online for more than a month. Use the Teacher Feature option to create one web page of your class’ archived projects. You will want to put your created web page link prominently on your class homepage.
A series of pdf handouts and web information assist parents with helping children develop pre-literacy and other developmental skills. Click on Early Language & Literacy to find out how to use books and stories to help children prepare for school-age tasks and reading. Other topics include Brain Development, Health & Nutrition, Social & Emotional Development, and several others. Though the information and handouts seem to be for much younger children, they will also be helpful for parents new to English and the American school system. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Print out these handouts and copy when meeting pre-kindergarten parents for the first pre-registration meeting. List this site on your class website. Use with international parents whose cultures might not include using books and America's free public libraries. Encourage international parents to tell stories from their cultures and families to help children succeed in school.
On this site students write a story by choosing words to fill in the blanks from pictures below each blank. The created story is available to read and print. In the caregiver section of the site lesson plans are provided for several TV episodes that deal with family and community, choices and decision making and socio-emotional development. Flash, Real Player and Adobe Acrobat are required for parts of the site. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom: Bookmark this site on a classroom computer for centers or for students to use in free time. This is a great link to include on your teacher web page for parents and children to do together at home.
TeachersFirst Edge entry: for the more adventurous technology user. Tabblo allows you to make very professional-looking posters, brochures, photo layouts using an online tool. Join the site for free and use photos you "borrow" from Flickr, other Tabblo users, or uploaded from your own digital image collection. The hitch: you cannot PRINT OUT the finished Tabblo results from the web page. You CAN share it online (they'll give you the link) or pay to have it printed. Why bother? Primary teachers may want to use this site as a way to share images of a classroom special event with parents (by email invitation to view it online). Since you can designate your images and finished Tabblo as PRIVATE, there is no safety concern. Older students can actually make Tabblos of their own from images you provide or images they take with a digital camera. Our editors made a sample for you to view online. We used their sample images, so the content does not really "make sense." Be sure to read the TEXT of the sample Tabblo for more ideas on how to use the tool in the classroom.
In the Classroom: Use Tabblos for professional-looking, student-made projects (perhaps pay to print the BEST one?) to illustrate concepts, show steps in a process, document a lab experiment,
Tech skills needed: ability to upload pictures (for which you OWN the rights), Tagging photos and finished Tabblos, reading step-by-step directions and Help to master simple drag and drop, template selection, text editing, etc involved in making the Tabblo, copy/paste of URL to share a Tabblo, careful reading of sharing options.
Our advice: start small and think about management issues if you are allowing students to upload photos. It might be easiest to provide a set, tagged with your class name, for the first time you use this tool. The students are guaranteed to ask for another Tabblo activity!
Curious GeorgeGrade K to 2
- National Education Association- 7050
As part of the Read Across America initiative, this feature on Curious George offers printable posters and 8 lesson plans designed to help students read and count. Each lesson plan has many many ideas which tie the Curious George book with elementary level math and reading curricula. Designed to coincide with the release of the new Curious George movie in Feb. of 2006, the site also offers links to Houghton Mifflin’s Curious George activities and books.
In the Classroom: Print out some of the ideas for activities and send them home for parents to try with their children, too!
Dates That Matter provides a new perspective on history by placing each day-in-history event in broader context and explaining its long-term impact. History is a fabric woven of many events, and Dates That Matter helps students see the full tapestry.
The dates display on a projector-ready screen: A single sentence reveals something about the date. You then click to see a sequence of thought-provoking questions to guide students to a greater understanding of interrelationships as they try to guess the actual event. When the historical event finally shows on screen, a further explanation, Why does it matter?, fills in the remaining context and offers reviewed links to learn more.
Teachers who work with low readers might try using these daily clues to teach the reading strategy of connecting what you read with prior knowledge to place new learning in context.
A full, annotated version of each dte is availabel from the Teacher page at the end so you can plan for student responses and have hints for guiding the discussion. You can also preview upcoming dates to choose those you may want to put in your weekly plans.
In the Classroom: Begin your social studies class once or twice a week by sharing a Date That Matters on a projector or interactive whiteboard to foster broader understanding of the connections that form world history. Or use the links at the end as an extra credit or enrichment opportunity or for gifted students to investigate more. Focus class attention as everyone enters by projecting the date and starting sentence.
Make this one a link on your teacher web page for students (and parents)to access outside of school.
By registering with an email address, you and your students are able to create their own newspaper with a choice of three options, a simple page layout, one with frames, or one with two windows which requires Java Script. Creators can also add images and/or links to images and other info. After selecting either "standard" (displays newspaper sections one at a time) or "quick paper" (shows all sections and selects the most popular items for the final paper), students can click to read their personalized news. Options allow students to hear the news also, using RealAudio. They can select news from local, national, or international papers. Instructions on the site are excellent and preparing the personalized newspaper just takes a few moments. Participants receive a link to their newspapers in an email message sent only to them. remember that the audio requires Real Player. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
Read this web page or download a single sheet of suggestions to make reading together fun and funny for parents and kids together, while encouraging the skills to make a lifelong reader. Teachers can download the tips for th in NINE languages in addition to English to print out and send home with your ESL/ELL students. Their parents will appreciate the opportunity to participate in their learning, and everyone wins. Printables require Acrobat Reader. 
RIF, the long-established organization for promoting reading, offers this site for school-aged readers and their parents. Young readers may join (or not) and access activities to do alone or with family (Activity Lab), book ideas (Book Zone), writing starters and contests (Express Yourself), and educational games (Game Station). Many of the activities are ready to go in a classroom or at home. Several of the activities are available in both English and Spanish. New writing activities appear monthly, including story starters for members to complete. Feature authors and new additions make this site worth a look every month. 
This library-prepared website is all about helping parents develop early literacy skills. Options include video demonstrations of how to read books to kids and many developmental activities including things to do around the house, pre-reading activities, early reading skills information available in TWENTY-SEVEN languages, and many printable reading activities. Check out the Make and Take section: hands-on activities that help children develop the habit of using books. Activities include Activities for Print Motivation, Print Awareness, Phonological Awareness, Vocabulary, Narrative Skills, Letter Knowledge etc. These well-explained activities are fun and original. Many parts of the site are available in Spanish as well as English. Videos on this site require RealPlayer and Windows Media Player. Get them from the 
This site offers free publications about teaching, literacy, reading instruction, child development, math, and school safety. The offerings include materials for all levels (brochures, posters, videotapes, newsletters, and more). The intended audiences include students, teachers, parents, and administrators. Many publications and also site information come in Spanish and English.