TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Aug 19, 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
YPulse - Anastasia Goodstein
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
YPulse is the authority to consult when you want to know more about tweens, teens, and the young adults of today. This is where you can learn more about the ...more
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YPulse is the authority to consult when you want to know more about tweens, teens, and the young adults of today. This is where you can learn more about the tech savvy youth culture who will soon shape our world. There are several categories to choose from: age, education, style, culture and trends, movies, music, gaming, and media and entertainment. There are also main pages across the top. At the time of this review, the Point of View page was full of informative articles about what the millennial citizen does and does not consider risky behavior. The Millennial Voices page has the latest blog posts from some of their Youth Advisory Members. These members are from all around the world and their ages vary from 13 to 23. YPulse's primary audience is media and marketing professionals; however, there is much to glean for parents, teachers, and counselors. Stay informed by signing up for their daily insight newsletter on the Point of View Page.
tag(s): careers (141), media literacy (107)
In the Classroom
Teachers and counselors can stay up to date with student trends. Use specific articles as discussion starters that could lead into a survey, debate, or essay. Include some of the articles as you discuss consumerism and how ads target teens. Ask whether students of 13 have the same way of thinking as a college student. Ask what are the similarities and differences, and why. Use the book reviews for book talks in your classroom. For older students, you might also want to introduce them to this site and get their take on whether YPulse is correct about their opinions.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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The White House Tour - Google Maps
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This White House tour uses Google Maps street view tools to "tour" the inside of America's home. Use the circle tool in the lower left corner to rotate around the ...more
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This White House tour uses Google Maps street view tools to "tour" the inside of America's home. Use the circle tool in the lower left corner to rotate around the room, and click on objects to get a closer view.
tag(s): presidents (136), virtual field trips (112), white house (16)
In the Classroom
Take your students on a virtual field trip! This is a great way for kids to "visit" the White House. Include it during inauguration week or any time you are studying U.S. government. Show the website using a projector, and have students write a tour script or a tale of something that might happen in the White House. Younger students might want to write a story from the President's dog's (or other pet's) point of view! Before using the site, you should familiarize yourself with how to use the Google Maps street view tools to navigate through the house. Better yet, have a student operate the tour on the whiteboard or projector.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Polar Bear Cam - polarbearcam.com
Grades
K to 9
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Watch a live feed of Siku, the Danish polar bear at Scandinavian Wildlife Park, Denmark. Find other resources and videos by clicking on Take Action at the top and bottom ...more
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Watch a live feed of Siku, the Danish polar bear at Scandinavian Wildlife Park, Denmark. Find other resources and videos by clicking on Take Action at the top and bottom of the page. That link goes to Polar Bear International, and here you will find various lesson plans and a clip for the IMax movie To the Arctic.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): adaptations (16), animals (294), ecosystems (75), endangered species (27), habitats (88)
In the Classroom
Use this site when discussing climate change or habitat destruction. View the live feeds and note the characteristics that polar bears have and research the difference between them and every other type of bear. Discuss these similarities and differences when discussing animals structures, adaptations, classification or characteristics of living things. Write stories about a polar bear's life, create a campaign to save endangered species, and recognize other threatened species near where you live. Be sure to investigate the lesson plans by clicking on the Take Action buttons. Most of the lesson plans aim to inform and to prevent destruction of the polar bear's habitat in the Arctic. In primary grades, have the class keep a basic observation journal at a polar bear center where they can watch the webcam and record what they see. Consider sharing several different animal cams for students to gain practice at observation.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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iPiccy - iPiccy.com
Grades
4 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This tool is a terrific online photo editing and paint app. No account or registration is necessary. Upload a picture or find the URL of a photo from online or ...more
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This tool is a terrific online photo editing and paint app. No account or registration is necessary. Upload a picture or find the URL of a photo from online or Facebook. Re-size, flip, rotate, crop, or alter the exposure, saturation, and contrast. Use additional features such as fix image, smart blur, and reflections. Use even more effects such as a cartoonizer, artistic painting, or wanted photo. You will love the retouch section which features the standard red-eye and blemish fix, along with teeth whitening. Add captions or text to the pictures with a wide selection of fonts. You can also create collages, but you must enable local storage of images on your computer. The Painter section includes standard pen, brush, erase with a sponge, and burn effects to allow for drawings on the pictures. Once completed, download the finished picture to a computer, post on Facebook, share by URL, or upload to Flickr. Here is a sample of adding text to an online image without even creating an account.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): images (261), photography (119)
In the Classroom
Use this tool anytime that photos need to be edited for use on class blogs, wikis, or sites. Encourage students to use on images for projects or presentations. Use the editor to edit pictures to fit styles of pictures when doing historical reports or to set a mood. Use caption bubbles for the photos themselves to tell the stories. Have students annotate or label Creative Commons online images of cells, structures of an animal, and much more, sharing the results (with an image credit) on your class wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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GETeach - Josh Williams
Grades
2 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
This cool, teacher-made tool shows Google Earth in two side by side windows for easy comparison and contrast --without loading any software. Drop downs on each window turn layers ...more
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This cool, teacher-made tool shows Google Earth in two side by side windows for easy comparison and contrast --without loading any software. Drop downs on each window turn layers on and off. Click Choose an Earth to move between Physical Geography, Human Geography, Historical maps, and the CIA Factbook. Explore various kinds of geographic and demographic data within this menu. You can even find earth science topics such as plate tectonics. Use Fetch An Earth to enter a KML or URL to load other Google Earth files. Not familiar with Google Earth? Learn more in our review. This handy tool offers use of Google Earth's basic tools and layers without installing Google Earth, a very handy advantage if you are not able to load software on your computer.
tag(s): data (150), earth (185), latitude (10), longitude (9), map skills (57), maps (207), plate tectonics (22)
In the Classroom
Use side by side Google Earth to teach geography or simply give location context to class readings or current events, especially on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Keep the earth's "big picture" open on one side as you zoom in to investigate on the other. Or arrange side by side comparisons. Example: compare the peaks scaled by Lewis and Clark or volcanoes that rise in the Aleutians. Compare various locations for global warming, compare of volcano activity, or a history of immigration. Compare historic maps from different time periods to show how countries and boundaries change. Turn layers on and off from Choose an Earth or onscreen options to look at population centers and transportation systems. Teach the concept of scale/proportion using a visual experience on an interactive whiteboard with the scale and measurement tools. Use one window to show human geography and the other window to show items from the CIA Factbook for comparison. Have students hypothesize connections between geographic features and statistics about human development.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Recyclebank - Recyclebank, subsidiary of Recycle Rewards, Inc.
Grades
4 to 12
0 Favorites
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Recyclebank offers current information to help live "greener." Their goal is to realize a world without waste, one person or community at a time. Recycling information is easy to ...more
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Recyclebank offers current information to help live "greener." Their goal is to realize a world without waste, one person or community at a time. Recycling information is easy to understand and engaging. Register to become a member and earn points by taking quizzes on environmentally friendly topics, by reading articles and learning more about recycling, and by recycling (if your center or borough participates in the Recyclebank program). Earned points lead to rewards of grocery or entertainment coupons and some gift cards. No registration is required to read resources posted on the website.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): earth (185), earth day (60), environment (245), recycling (45), sustainability (43)
In the Classroom
With the Common Core State Standards push for nonfiction reading, this site is a natural for any time of the year. Recyclebank will appeal to students who are environmentally conscious, but its intrinsic value is in teaching all students to think about how they can recycle in their everyday life. The advertising comes along with the prizes, so be sure to discuss where to click (or not). If your students have access to email, have them register with the website and start a class competition to see how many points students can earn individually or as a class. Conclude the competition by having students discuss (no matter who won the competition) how acting in greener ways allows everyone to win. There will be future "Green Schools" program competitions. This is a yearly competition where school groups design a green plan for their school that wins up to $2500.00. Posted on the website are the accepted projects where members from all over the country can award points to your school. For every 250 points donated to your school initiative, you earn $1.00. Promote Recyclebank to get as many people involved as possible. Ask them to donate their points to your school. Use this as an opportunity to teach students about grassroots movements and the difference that one bright idea and a few motivated people can make in the world. Why not plan an Earth Day project using this site?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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