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Teaching Interviewing Skills Through Story Games - Doug Lipman

Grades
4 to 12
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Encourage and motivate students to become better interviewers with these easy to use suggestions. This short article is divided into different sections including Why Games to Teach...more
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Encourage and motivate students to become better interviewers with these easy to use suggestions. This short article is divided into different sections including Why Games to Teach Interviewing?, Close-ended and Open-ended questions, games, and next steps. Several activities are included to demonstrate and practice proper questioning techniques. Although the author indicates he has used these techniques with grades 4-8, information on the site is appropriate for older students as well.

tag(s): interviews (14), journalism (72), questioning (32)

In the Classroom

Practice activities on the site with student journalists, before interviewing family members for genealogy research, or as general social skills practice. This is a must for any class planning an oral history project. Before presenting information on the site, record students interviewing other classmates. Then record after learning new questioning techniques as an assessment and demonstration of skills learned. Challenge students to create a talking avatar using a photo or other image (legally permitted to be reproduced). The avatars can be used to explain differences between open and closed questions or suggestions for interviews. Use a site such as Blabberize, reviewed here. ESL/ELL teachers may want to use techniques discussed in the article to help students become more comfortable in everyday conversations.

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Infographics Archive - Infographics Archive

Grades
7 to 12
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Find fascinating Infographics on a variety of topics: Technology, Environment, Business, Food Facts, Politics, Health Safety, and even Interesting Facts. What are Infographics? A graphic...more
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Find fascinating Infographics on a variety of topics: Technology, Environment, Business, Food Facts, Politics, Health Safety, and even Interesting Facts. What are Infographics? A graphic visual representation of information, data, or knowledge.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): charts and graphs (169), data (147), graphic design (50), infographics (56)

In the Classroom

Use as an introduction to a lesson or unit. Use Think-Pair-Share to list and share information provided by the graphic. Develop questions to be answered to understand the information or questions that they just wonder. Allow students or groups of students to choose an Infographic that interests them and report on the information given. Consider assigning the creation of an Infographic as an assignment to understand content and connect it with the real world, such as showing the many ways electricity is used in the world or the impact of slavery on an economy. Or have them explain an experiment and report the results with graphical information to provide meaning. Since infographics are often key to understanding an article, reading teachers will appreciate this large collection to use in teaching/practicing how to interpret informational graphics within a text. Share one each day for students to practice telling you the "main idea" of the graphic.

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Wridea - Octeth Ltd.

Grades
4 to 12
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Wridea is an idea management, brainstorming, and collaboration tool. It's a place to organize and categorize your ideas, share them with others for input, and store them. To collaborate...more
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Wridea is an idea management, brainstorming, and collaboration tool. It's a place to organize and categorize your ideas, share them with others for input, and store them. To collaborate using this tool, you must have individual memberships (email required). Note that maps that are shared can be seen by the public, but not altered. You specify the members who may collaborate and make alterations. At this time, this site does not work properly in Internet Explorer. However, it is a great tool to use in Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or other browsers.

tag(s): brainstorming (16), concept mapping (17), graphic organizers (49), mind map (26), organizational skills (90)

In the Classroom

Demonstrate the activity on an interactive whiteboard or projector, and then allow students to create their own Wridea tool. Use this site for literature activities, research projects, social studies, or science topics. Have students collaborate together (online) to create group study guides or review charts before a test. Have students use Wridea as a study guide by brainstorming all the important concepts they remember about the unit being studied in history or science, and then have them share their Wridea with another student who will add concepts that were left out. Build student creative fluency by having them use Wridea to create categories of wonder, question, and answers for research; map out a story or plot line, or map out a step-by-step process (life cycle); map a real historical event as a choose-your-own-adventure with alternate endings based on pivotal points.

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This resources looks like it has a wide variety of applications suitable to upper elementary and secondary classrooms. Sign up was quick and easy, but I received a message upon completing those steps that Wridea doesn't support Internet Explorer. It "suggested" using Mozilla Firefox instead. I'm a strong advocate for being comfortable with using several browsers, so, this doesn't throw up any huge roadblocks to me, but if you do not have or use Firefox, you will need to take that extra step as well before actually making use of this tool.

Editor's Note: the review has been updated to reflect this new information.
Rita, WA, Grades: 6 - 12

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Tricider - tricider.com

Grades
3 to 12
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Tricider is an exciting tool to help people brainstorm and make decisions. You put a question in the appropriate box and then select who is eligible to comment and vote. ...more
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Tricider is an exciting tool to help people brainstorm and make decisions. You put a question in the appropriate box and then select who is eligible to comment and vote. Invite people to join in making decisions via Facebook, Twitter, or email. Options include setting a time limit, or closing down the question or discussion. There is no registration required, and the site is completely free.

tag(s): brainstorming (16), conflict resolution (9), debate (37), persuasive writing (55), polls and surveys (46), questioning (32)

In the Classroom

Introduce Tricider on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use this site to develop arguments sides for an upcoming debate or persuasive writing assignment. Promote higher level thinking by asking students to brainstorm options and set criteria to choose. Build mental flexibility as they see alternate points of view on an issue. Encourage your students to use this tool for projects, decision making, and organization.

If you have students create book ads in your class, or projects, your students can vote on which book they want to read next or which project they would like to investigate further, etc. Teachers can also use Tricider to survey students about what resources on your website are the best, what further explanation they may need about a unit in math or science, which project students would like to do as a summative assessment, or ways to encourage "green" practices in your community. Be sure to have your students use a code or number instead of an actual name.

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FORA.tv - FORA.tv

Grades
9 to 12
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FORA.tv's claim to fame is as the Web's largest collection of conference and event videos. These videos come from sources such as universities, think tanks, and other intelligent discourses....more
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FORA.tv's claim to fame is as the Web's largest collection of conference and event videos. These videos come from sources such as universities, think tanks, and other intelligent discourses. Videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

Please preview anything before you share it with your students. At the time of this review there was a subcategory "Sex" which may not be appropriate for most classrooms. But always preview! Teachers may want to share ONLY specific video links.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): business (47), cultures (132), elections (80), energy (130), environment (240), evolution (85), genetics (76), investing (5), news (229), politics (112), psychology (67), religions (75), sexuality (15), stock market (9), sustainability (44), video (257)

In the Classroom

Search to find videos relevant to the subjects that you are teaching. Videos are thought provoking and suggest different viewpoints. Once you select a video, show it as an inepth look into a topic you are already studying. Share the video and start a class discussion about the viewpoints of the video and the students' own viewpoints. From here, students could write a position paper from their own side or do further research for a class debate. Challenge your students to create their own video about topics being discussed/learned in class. Share the videos using a tool such as SchoolTube reviewed here.

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Smarthistory Art History Conversation - Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker with Khan Academy

Grades
3 to 12
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Investigate the world of art history accompanied by two professors at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Smarthistory started as a a blog featuring...more
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Investigate the world of art history accompanied by two professors at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Smarthistory started as a a blog featuring free audio guides, podcasts, and videos. Later it became an interactive exploration of eras, styles, and artists. Smarthistory has recently merged with KahnAcademy utilizing the same concept: that high quality education should be free and available to all. You can watch Smarthistory videos on YouTube, here. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable in class.

tag(s): art history (86), medieval (31), renaissance (32)

In the Classroom

A must for any art classroom, Smarthistory adds an extra dimension and deeper understanding to any history, social studies, or cultural studies classroom. Use the Smarthistory videos on YouTube to engage and enhance student learning. If the videos aren't viewable in class assign students to watch them at home; that's perfect for the flipped or blended classroom. If you are going to require students to watch the videos from home, consider using edupuzzle, reviewed here, to add your own voice or add questions within the video. Use in writing workshops to provide insights to art and culture and to into thoughts and feelings. Study written works alongside the art of past time periods. Bring unlimited, world-class resources to each class. Gifted classes will devour this website. Provide this link on your class website to offer students extra challenge and exploration.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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ESL Base - ESL Base

Grades
3 to 12
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This is a marvelous collective resource for any teachers of ELL/ESL students and even for teachers of other languages. The range of offerings goes from lesson plans and activities to...more
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This is a marvelous collective resource for any teachers of ELL/ESL students and even for teachers of other languages. The range of offerings goes from lesson plans and activities to games to grammar explanations and more. There are also teaching tips and informative articles. The overall ESL Base website also has job-finding and other important information for ESL/ELL teachers worldwide. The GRAMMAR section of this site would be useful to any class learning proper grammar (articles, reflexive pronouns, passive voice, and more). (This website does not use American English, so you may notice some slightly different spellings if using this is American schools. For example, practice is practise.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): grammar (133), grammar review (31), professional development (394), resources (88), verbs (27)

In the Classroom

Check here if you need a new way to teach a specific grammar skill or if you want to find support from the TEFL community. This is a great professional resource, so don't miss out on the many helpful articles. Provide the direct link to interactives/practice games on your class website.

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Public Domain Pictures - Bobeck Ltd.

Grades
2 to 12
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Public Domain Pictures is a database of pictures allowed to be used in any way that you see fit. You can also upload pictures to share. The only time to ...more
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Public Domain Pictures is a database of pictures allowed to be used in any way that you see fit. You can also upload pictures to share. The only time to worry about a model or property release is if you choose to use an image for commercial use. Most images are free. Enjoy some time browsing pictures. Please note that a log-in (with an email address) is required to upload your own pictures. You do not need an account to download a picture for free. Be sure not to click on the "Premium Download" button, as this download is for a fee (even with the "free" photos). Scroll down a bit and click on "download picture" to download for free.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): graphic design (50), images (262), photography (126)

In the Classroom

Share this website on your class web page so that students have easy and legal access to pictures for their projects and presentations. Of course, you will still require proper image credits! Be sure to offer clear instructions about how to download FOR FREE. In an art or photography class, have students post their work to get exposure and recognition for their great images. Read tips for safely managing email registrations here.

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Festisite Text Layout - Festisite

Grades
1 to 12
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Make a PDF using the text you enter and a creative layout you choose. Simply type or paste in your text into the large box, choose from one of the ...more
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Make a PDF using the text you enter and a creative layout you choose. Simply type or paste in your text into the large box, choose from one of the three available fonts, font size, and paper size. Then choose a layout for the finished project. Text can be produced as a banner, maze, rebus, spiral, Valentine (heart), or waves. Students will love seeing their work reproduced in a new way! The finished product is generated as a PDF file to be saved and easily printed.
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tag(s): creative writing (121), poetry (189), posters (45), valentines day (12), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (90)

In the Classroom

Motivate reluctant writers. When they complete work, allow them to use the site to generate a copy in whatever way they choose. Share student work on your bulletin board using this site to create interesting layouts to use. This is a must-have at Valentine season. Have students write a series of words they use to describe their mom or dad, then paste them into the heart layout generator. Poof! Instant Valentines, ready to print on colorful paper and send home! Older students will appreciate making creative layouts of vocabulary words and more, including world language classes. Make spelling practice more fun by having students make their own layouts or personal spelling lists.
 
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Fiction Teachers - Meadowbrook Press

Grades
2 to 8
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Jump into fiction and poetry with fictionteachers.com. Find information about teaching reading, poetry, readers theater, and inviting such authors to visit your classroom. Write a Girls...more
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Jump into fiction and poetry with fictionteachers.com. Find information about teaching reading, poetry, readers theater, and inviting such authors to visit your classroom. Write a Girls to the Rescue, a mini mystery, or a new fangled fairy tale. Lesson plans have creative ideas to inspire students, teachers, and parents.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): poetry (189), readers theater (10)

In the Classroom

Jazz up your language arts class with fun, laughter and great readers theater scripts. Find links for other websites for more resources. Discover book resources to make your language arts workshop become the favorite part of your students' day. Use on an interactive whiteboard (or projector), at centers, for parent resource, or additional advice for tutors.

After students have experienced two or three of the reader's theater scripts from this site, have them create their own script for a favorite story. Use the script writing tips found on Aaron Shepard's Reader's Theater Page reviewed here.

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Lilian's Tool Box - Lilian Marchesoni

Grades
1 to 12
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This site is a wiki that allows ENL/ELL teachers to share helpful websites, games, presentations, and songs with other ENL/ELL instructors. There are PowerPoint presentations, games,...more
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This site is a wiki that allows ENL/ELL teachers to share helpful websites, games, presentations, and songs with other ENL/ELL instructors. There are PowerPoint presentations, games, templates, tutorials, songs, and more... all ready to go! You don't need to join the wiki to enjoy the games, PowerPoints, etc., but , by joining the workspace, you can comment on materials and methods, and add your own activities. Another benefit of joining is that all members receive notification of changes and new activities added to the wiki, in their email.

tag(s): directions (12), grammar (133), songs (44), vocabulary (237), writing (315)

In the Classroom

Scan this site for both activities and presentation methods for your target lesson. Take advantage of the ready to go ENL/ELL activities at this site.

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Word Talk - CALL Scotland

Grades
K to 12
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Enter the world of assisted learning with Word Talk, a free plugin for use with Microsoft Word. This software downloads onto unlimited computers for educational use. A talking dictionary...more
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Enter the world of assisted learning with Word Talk, a free plugin for use with Microsoft Word. This software downloads onto unlimited computers for educational use. A talking dictionary assists with definition and spelling. The ability to turn the words into MP3 format is available. This plugin has won the Microsoft Innovative Teacher Award.

tag(s): dictionaries (48), Microsoft (84), text to speech (19)

In the Classroom

Include Word Talk as your classroom helper for FREE! Offer assisted learning for struggling readers or writers to provide success. Provide study guides or notes in an MP3 file to include on your website. Offer as a way to encourage independence and confidence in all learners. Incorporate into writer's workshop to help with editing and proofreading. Help your ESL/ELL and special needs students find more success. This helps you achieve the technology goal of assisted learning in IEP students. Offer all directions with the text to speech option.

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Socrative - Socrative.com

Grades
4 to 12
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Socrative is a smart student response system -- the answer to not having expensive "educational clickers" in your classroom. Socrative works on tablets, smartphones, iPod Touch, laptops,...more
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Socrative is a smart student response system -- the answer to not having expensive "educational clickers" in your classroom. Socrative works on tablets, smartphones, iPod Touch, laptops, and others. There is an introductory video demonstrating teacher and student logins and how your class will interact in real-time. You can create your own multiple choice, true/false, and short answer questions. You may also choose to use one of their ready-made activities as exit tickets, thoughtful questions, or games. See your students' responses in an Excel file or view online as a Google spreadsheet. Multiple choice questions are automatically corrected.

tag(s): chat (42), DAT device agnostic tool (143), game based learning (171), gamification (74), polls and surveys (46), questioning (32), social networking (67)

In the Classroom

If you've ever wanted greater student engagement, increased student interest, and heightened discussion and interactivity in your classroom, Socrative is the answer. Students can give their input and express their views anonymously, if you wish.

In any curriculum area, ask open-ended questions and display student responses with your projector or interactive whiteboard. Alternatively, students could respond on a tool like Padlet, reviewed here, and also vote on the options.

Use this tool easily in your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom since all students will be able to access it for free, no matter what device they have.

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Big Think - Big Think

Grades
7 to 12
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News and information from top thinkers and doers around the world, screened so that it is condensed to that which is significant, relevant, and applicable, that is Big Think. This ...more
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News and information from top thinkers and doers around the world, screened so that it is condensed to that which is significant, relevant, and applicable, that is Big Think. This website is a phenomenal source for information and news. The philosophy of Big Think is that as we "move to the knowledge era" that you will be able to better function if you know more and understand what you know. This website was awarded one of TIME magazine's best websites of 2011 for news and information. Please screen any articles that you wish to share BEFORE sharing with your students. Some content is NOT appropriate for the classroom. This is not a site you want to send students off to explore on their own.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): brain (54), business (47), cross cultural understanding (157), environment (240), news (229), politics (112), psychology (67)

In the Classroom

Choose a story that relates to your topic that you are teaching such as science or even music with a story such as "How Music is Good for Your Brain." Share the story with your students. Discuss the writings, and then use it as a platform on how students should approach the things that they are learning in class. This way they develop critical thinking skills and extract the most important information and leave the accessory facts to the side. Assign specific articles to cooperative learning groups to read and explore together. Then have students create a multimedia project to share with the class using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, Vevox, Animatron, Renderforest, and Microsoft PowerPoint Online.

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Busy Teacher - busyteacher.org

Grades
2 to 12
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This site offers ESL/ELL worksheets for a wide range of subjects, including pronunciation, grammar, reading, listening, writing, and speaking. With a free registration, you can search...more
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This site offers ESL/ELL worksheets for a wide range of subjects, including pronunciation, grammar, reading, listening, writing, and speaking. With a free registration, you can search for the type of worksheet you desire, including review, crosswords, games, etc. You can also submit your own worksheets for inclusion on the site. In the creative writing section of the site, there are also "ready to go" writing prompts (in addition to worksheets).
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): creative writing (121), descriptive writing (39), grammar review (31), listening (68), pronunciation (33), reading comprehension (143), speaking (22)

In the Classroom

This site offers multiple levels and themes, so it is easy to differentiate for ability levels and interests within your class. Peruse the many printable pages available and determine which are useful for your students. Provide this URL on your class website for students to access (for practice) at home.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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English Language World - Janet Castrejon

Grades
2 to 12
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This site offers well-organized lessons of English to limited English speakers. There are three levels. After selecting a level, students can choose the theme of each lesson they wish...more
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This site offers well-organized lessons of English to limited English speakers. There are three levels. After selecting a level, students can choose the theme of each lesson they wish to study. Offerings include vocabulary, grammar, listening comprehension, pronunciation, reading, and other types of practice. Besides complete English lessons, the site offers a word of the day and also lesson plans for teachers that correspond to the lesson themes. At the time of this review, these were only available at the beginning level. The site promises that those at the intermediate and advanced levels will be coming soon.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): listening (68), reading comprehension (143), reading strategies (98), speaking (22)

In the Classroom

Mark this site on your classroom computer for ELL/ESL students who wish to work on their English during their free time. Share this link on your class website for students to access (and practice) at home.

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The Readability Test Tool - David Simpson

Grades
1 to 12
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Test any website's readability using The Readability Test Tool. Test readability by URL or direct text input from any source (such as copy/paste of student writing). Simply enter...more
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Test any website's readability using The Readability Test Tool. Test readability by URL or direct text input from any source (such as copy/paste of student writing). Simply enter the web address (URL) and get the readability of the site on several scales. You can also check your own webpages by using the "referer" section. You will get a score for the most used readability indicators: Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease and Grade Level, Gunning Fog Score, Coleman Liau Index, and Automated Readability Index (ARI). These tell much more than a simple "grade level." View sentence info such as total characters, number of words, average word length, percentage of short and long sentences, and more. View word usage of types of verbs, conjunctions, and other parts of speech as well as type of words used to begin sentences. Click the link provided to view an explanation of each type of score.
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tag(s): independent reading (85), readability (5), writing (315)

In the Classroom

Use this tool to offer differentiated resources for the different reading levels in your class. At the beginning of the year, as you learn your students' capabilities, use this tool to find reading at the appropriate level to eliminate frustration. This is perfect for finding the "just right" level for your highly advanced/gifted students and those needing extra remediation. If you do discover that a website you want to use is over your students' independent reading level, you can still use it, just use Read Ahead, reviewed here as a guided reading activity for younger students. Read Ahead is perfect for introducing any reading passage to struggling readers, special education students, and ENL/ESL learners. View readability levels of websites before sharing with students to find appropriate reading levels for differentiation. On an interactive whiteboard or with a projector, test passages of public domain texts from sites like Project Gutenberg, reviewed here, by famous authors to see how their writing ranks when discussing their writing style.

Why not have students put in the URL for their blog or wiki (or simply paste in a writing sample) to see the level at which they are writing? This is one way to encourage writing as a craft and challenge students to include more varied vocabulary and sentence structure in their writing.

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Small QR - smallqr.com

Grades
6 to 12
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Interested in making a QR code, but think it is too difficult? Use this site for a quick and easy way to make a QR code of web links. Simply ...more
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Interested in making a QR code, but think it is too difficult? Use this site for a quick and easy way to make a QR code of web links. Simply enter the url. (Be sure that SmallQR is selected under Advanced options.) Save your QR code as a png image file and be sure to read the tips: a.make sure that the image is not printed too small and b. test the QRcode out before using it elsewhere.

tag(s): bookmarks (47), qr codes (17)

In the Classroom

Create a QR code for your class site or blog and include it on handouts for Back to School night. Create a QR code scavenger hunt for students, making a webquest more engaging. Add QR codes to documents for students to check their answers to questions. Expand knowledge of a topic by adding a QR code to a site that expands upon what is in the textbook. Create a data chart accessible via a QR code. Students access the data and manipulate the information. Have students create a book trailer or review and affix a QR code to the outside of the book. Students may be more apt to read a book that has been reviewed by another student. Make a display completely interactive with a QR code that describes the assignment, the process, the research, student's reactions and more! Add extra help information to any assignment that asks students to solve problems. Create an online help tutorial accessible via a QR code, and place the code beside a similar problem. Link directly to a Google Map. Place QR code contact information for you and your school on contact cards to give to parents. Attach QR codes to physical objects around the room to provide information about the object. Place the links in a newsletter using QR codes instead of a series of words that need to be typed.
 

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obooko - Tony Stanton, Sarah Bainbridge, Tim Johnson

Grades
7 to 12
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Join the writers and readers of obooko, the free site to publish and read ebooks. Readers' Choice Awards of 2011 winner for free eBooks , obooko offers a platform to ...more
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Join the writers and readers of obooko, the free site to publish and read ebooks. Readers' Choice Awards of 2011 winner for free eBooks , obooko offers a platform to share your work and read the works of others. Become a reviewer and write comments on other ebooks. As authors, you retain all rights with no charges or contracts. This site is legal and does not infringe on copyright laws. There are numerous categories to choose from: Romance and Women, Crime, Religion, Thriller, Mystery, Teens, and much more! This site is not intended for children under 13. Some of the content may not be appropriate for the classroom. So be sure to preview.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): creative writing (121), ebooks (39), mysteries (19), novels (31), poetry (189), religions (75)

In the Classroom

For your language arts class, obooko contains many examples of contemporary writing. Selections for critiquing and editing are readily available without hurting any class member's feelings. Look at examples for current ideas and places to begin brainstorming. Included are free templates for different types of writing. Have each member of your class become a published author! Use the titles as writing prompts or read only half of the story and have students finish it in their own way. Bring each student's story into the lives of many. Assign critiques using obooko. You might even create a school or class obooko literary magazine during poetry month.

Library/media specialists may want to select certain ebooks to load on school iTouches for students to read and review. Start an obooko reading club with these free options.

If you are uncomfortable sharing here or school policy prohibits it, have your classes create a similar website (wiki) with published pieces from your school or class. Not familiar with wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Presidents' Day - Myvocabulary.com

Grades
4 to 12
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As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for President's Day. Find interactive vocabulary activities using President's...more
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As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for President's Day. Find interactive vocabulary activities using President's Day related vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

tag(s): vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (90)

In the Classroom

Have students work in cooperative learning groups, divide up the vocabulary words, and have each group find the definitions for their assigned vocabulary words. Have them create word games for interactive whiteboard, if you have one, such as matching or ranking activities that use these words. Have the groups share their words and definitions in an online book, using a tool such as Bookemon reviewed here. Have the groups share the online books on your interactive whiteboard or projector. If you don't have the time to complete online books, have students share the definitions using a class wiki. Be sure to also check out the interactive word puzzles!

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