TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of May 13, 2012
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
Oh Freedom! Teaching African American Civil Rights Through American Art at the Smithsonian - Smithsonian American Art Museum
Grades
5 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Oh Freedom! is an introduction to the Civil Rights movement through the art of the Smithsonian. The site provides educators with new ways to visually teach about the Civil Rights ...more
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Oh Freedom! is an introduction to the Civil Rights movement through the art of the Smithsonian. The site provides educators with new ways to visually teach about the Civil Rights movement. Students will learn in different ways through interactive timelines, artists, and lesson plans.
tag(s): african american (110), art history (91), artists (83), black history (130), civil rights (201)
In the Classroom
This site is a must for any Art, Art History, or Social Studies classroom. The program really lends itself to having a discussion. Visit the Artists area, choose an artist, and project the artwork on an interactive whiteboard. Using the "looking questions," have a class discussion. Assign groups and give each group a different picture. Let them discuss using the questions and then jigsaw them so they can share each other's answers.
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Zotero - Center for History and New Media at George Mason University
Grades
8 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Use this "easy-to-use" tool to help collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research sources. Under the Documentation tab, find many quicks start and other guides to help you understand...more
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Use this "easy-to-use" tool to help collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research sources. Under the Documentation tab, find many quicks start and other guides to help you understand all Zotero can do. Downloadable versions run as a stand-alone or as a Chrome Connector. Once installed, the tool saves information several ways: through a click at the bottom of the web browser, by a click on favorite/bookmark bar, or manually. Files already on computers can be included with files saved from the internet. Items can be grouped and sorted according to individual needs. Information saved through Zotero can be accessed on any computer that has the computer/browser extension downloaded. The site includes a helpful quick start video guide explaining features included with the program.
tag(s): citations (31), curation (35), evaluating sources (28), note taking (36), primary sources (119), Research (84)
In the Classroom
Depending on school computer settings, you may need to have tech support install the program for you. Use Zotero to collect and organize classroom resources. Share with older students as a resource for gathering and citing information. Demonstrate how to use the site on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector, including showing the quick-start video. One of the advanced features of the site is the creation of groups. Share this with students who may be capable of using the feature to collaborate with others.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Picturing US History - American Social History Project at CUNY
Grades
6 to 12
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This art based site uses "lessons in looking" as a way to view artwork to better understand U.S. History. Guided questions help walk students through the images. Topics include ...more
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This art based site uses "lessons in looking" as a way to view artwork to better understand U.S. History. Guided questions help walk students through the images. Topics include race, Colonial America, Civil War, and more.
tag(s): african american (110), civil war (137), colonial america (94), slavery (78)
In the Classroom
The site offers several "lessons in looking." Project the site on an interactive whiteboard and use the discussion questions to guide students through a look at history. The site provides a way for you to zoom into the artwork so students can get up and personal as if they were in a museum. Use the zoom tool to assist you with your classroom discussion.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NetSmartzKids - National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Grades
K to 8
1 Favorites
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NetSmartz'''® is an interactive, Internet safety resource that uses 3-D activities to teach how to stay safe. Games, videos, and activities provide information using three characters...more
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NetSmartz'''® is an interactive, Internet safety resource that uses 3-D activities to teach how to stay safe. Games, videos, and activities provide information using three characters - Clickie, Nettie, and Webster. This site has more than just your typical topics, such as: Inbox Defender Don't Open That File: A Computer Virus Game, The Password Rap, and much more. Router's Birthday Surprise includes a teacher's guide for classroom use along with an ongoing activity that can be saved and revisited at a later time. Be sure to check out Into the Cloud season 1 and 2. Although this site states that it is designed for ages 5-17, our editors found most of the activities were designed for elementary and middle school ages.
tag(s): computers (110), internet safety (112)
In the Classroom
Use this site to reinforce and teach Internet safety rules. Use Padlet, reviewed here, to engage students and brainstorm with the class what they know about Internet safety. Then start sharing the different videos and activities with the class or in stations. As students finish a video or activity, have them add what they learned in a different column on your class Padlet. NetSmartzKids is a great site to share on your class wiki, blog, or website for families to peruse together. At the end of your Internet safety unit, enhance student learning by creating a Gravity, reviewed here video asking studens what lessons they learned that they didn't know before or that surprized them. Gravity provides a tool for video responses to a question along with comments from peers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Credit Report 101 - YourWealthPuzzle.com
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
What is a credit score? Why is it important? How do you build a credit score? Find answers to these and more with this puzzle/infographic. Follow through the puzzle to ...more
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What is a credit score? Why is it important? How do you build a credit score? Find answers to these and more with this puzzle/infographic. Follow through the puzzle to find out what information is used in a credit score and the best way to build your credit.
tag(s): banks (8), financial literacy (90)
In the Classroom
Embed the puzzle/infographic in a wiki using the embed code found above the puzzle. Students can research the basic aspects of the credit score and add more information to help others. Create discussions about the aspects of credit building. Discuss the best ways to rebuild a credit score as well. Generate a list of personality traits or activities that a person would have or do if they were a person with a poor credit score or one with a better credit score. Have students create a public service announcement (video) or poster to help fellow teens get off on the right foor with their credit.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Metro: Tools for Living - Metro
Grades
6 to 12
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Make steps towards sustainable living. Find practical and inspiring tips to use at your job, at home, or when traveling. Find incredible resources, ideas, and tips for a better quality...more
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Make steps towards sustainable living. Find practical and inspiring tips to use at your job, at home, or when traveling. Find incredible resources, ideas, and tips for a better quality life for you, your family, and the planet.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): environment (245), natural resources (37), recycling (45), resources (87), sustainability (43)
In the Classroom
Though originally for residents of Portland, Oregon, anyone, anywhere can use this resource. Use as a start for good ideas and search for additional information for better understanding. Create blog posts, websites, posters, or other media to share ideas with others to create community involvement in sustainable living. Transform technology use in your classroom and have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Express for Education, Animatron, Sway, and Microsoft PowerPoint Online. When researching and discussing environmental issues, be sure to add practical ways for others to DO something. Challenge your students to create their own community of young people at your school to become involved in sustainable living. Use this site for ideas to launch Earth Day initiatives and public service announcements.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Book TV - National Cable Satellite Corporation & C-SPAN
Grades
6 to 12
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Watch and listen as popular authors talk about their nonfiction books on this C-SPAN companion website. Book TV features 48 continuous hours of nonfiction books every weekend. You can...more
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Watch and listen as popular authors talk about their nonfiction books on this C-SPAN companion website. Book TV features 48 continuous hours of nonfiction books every weekend. You can easily explore the archived programs, video library, or books and topics by searching the title, author, category, keyword, or browsing all of the listings. Watch the online videos or listen to podcasts of interviews with the authors from Book TV's After Words. There is a lot here to explore, and it appears to be ever-growing! You can find past telecast videos on YouTube, as well, in case you want to be able to download them to use offline. Click the YouTube menu. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): biographies (95), independent reading (86), interviews (16), politics (116)
In the Classroom
Use the online resources from this website to accompany your nonfiction literature. This collection is particularly useful when reading about historical figures. Make books and authors come alive for your students by accessing and projecting videos on your interactive whiteboard and sharing "Book Notes," biographies, and more. Lure students into independent reading by allowing them to explore the videos and find a book they might enjoy reading. After viewing a program or reading a book, have students share their opinions in a multimedia presentation 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 Canva Inforgraphic Maker.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Guess the Title - Big Huge Labs
Grades
7 to 12
2 Favorites
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This is a "Wheel of Fortune" style guess-the-title game. There are 60 seconds on a visible count-down clock. To start, you must type in a nickname. (You could simply ...more
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This is a "Wheel of Fortune" style guess-the-title game. There are 60 seconds on a visible count-down clock. To start, you must type in a nickname. (You could simply type in your initials.) The challenge is to quickly type in letters to guess the title of the displayed picture. Immediate feedback is provided and as the seconds tick away; clue letters appear to provide hints. The titles are not limited to books, stories, or movies. As a matter of fact, they could be just about anything that names the picture. When the 60 seconds are up, a new picture automatically reloads.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): main idea (8), puzzles (142), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Guess the Title is a quick and "addicting" way to teach, practice, and reinforce the skill of main idea -- done visually. It also teaches creative flexibility as brains cycle through possibilities to find the correct approach to the picture. Bookmark it in your favorites to provide easy access for projecting it on your interactive whiteboard. Use it whenever you have a few minutes before or after a lesson and need a motivational time filler. Include it in the "useful links" section of your class page for students to access in school or at home. Remember, it always helps to have easily accessible, "do now" activities in your "bag of tricks" to keep students engaged while using technology, when others may still be working on an assignment.Check out the Big Huge Labs educator account. Easily pre-register students to avoid creating logins, view and download their creations, and view the site advertisement free. You will find information about the Educator Account here.
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