TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Oct 26, 2014
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
GoSoapBox - Go Education, LLC
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): chat (41), classroom management (118), communication (130), polls and surveys (49)
In the Classroom
GoSoapBox provides an opportunity for instructors to think outside the box for greater student engagement and participation. Is your classroom BYOD? Use GoSoapBox for free! Use the polling feature to access prior knowledge, or use it as an exit slip. Assign multiple choice quizzes as formative assessments throughout the class to differentiate instruction. Post questions and topics to foster higher-level thinking using the discussion tool. The Social Q&A tool allows students the opportunity to communicate and collaborate for understanding. Use the Social Q&A as a back channel during lectures or videos to make sure you address all student questions. Students can vote on the questions posted in the Social Q&A. Use this feature to address the most pressing needs of the class. GoSoapBox is a useful site to organize and collect meaningful data to make sure you are meeting all the needs of your learners. Try it during Back to School night as your school begins BYOD so parents can see the power of engaging EVERY learner.The British Library - The British Library Board
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): art history (108), britain (26), england (49), great britain (16), maps (224)
In the Classroom
Create a link to the British Library website on classroom computers for students to explore on their own or with a partner. Use as part of any lessons about British history. Have students find and explore old maps and compare with current maps. Compare the maps using an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here). View television and radio news archives together on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to learn about the world from a British perspective about any time period such as World War I or World War II. Explore British authors and poets and view their manuscripts online!Asian Art Museum Educator Resources - Asian Art Museum
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): art history (108), artists (87), asia (136), china (83), chinese new year (5), cross cultural understanding (178), japan (64), korea (22)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard (or projector). Allow students to explore on their own or in collaborative groups. Replace more traditional tools for brainstorming and have students or groups collect ideas and findings using Padlet, reviewed here. The Padlet application creates free online sticky note boards. Bookmark and use this site to find resources for Chinese New Year activities. Expand learning by having students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here.Quotery - Jason Bacchetta
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): bulletin boards (15), quotations (18)
In the Classroom
Make a shortcut to Quotery on classroom computers or include it on your class web page for students to use as a resource for projects. Encourage leadership, hope, and inspiration! Use quotes as a theme for writing prompts or even to relate to the theme of a story. Have students find quotes as examples of figurative language. Add quotes to end of year slide shows or videos. Use the quotes to inspire personal or classroom mission statements. Have students include a quote when turning in work, and explain how it inspired or helped them. Add music or art to explain a quote. During the first week of the school year, share this site with students. Challenge students to choose a personal "quote of the year" to set the tone for their goals. Have students put the quote in their notebook, folder, or device desktop. Choose a few quotes to hang around your classroom. Show students how to keep favorite quotes in an idea bin where they keep thoughts, thoughtful questions, and pieces of inspiration. Choose a sticky note tool from the Teachersfirst Edge as a collection space.Patatap - Jono Brandel and Lullatone
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Patatap is perfect for your interactive whiteboard or projector. Just bring up the on-screen keyboard and play away! Use sounds and animations to refocus student attention or as a short brain break. Allow students to explore and experiment with sounds and animations during indoor recess or free time. Challenge students to create their own short mix of sounds to accompany multimedia projects. Students who find themselves "musically challenged" will find success in creating short mixes using Patatap. This site is prefect to teach sound and rhythm in music class! Use Patatap as a memory game: create any sequence and challenge students to come recreate the same sequence on your interactive whiteboard. Discuss the various background colors and "themes." Do different colors elicit different forms of sound or emotion? Have students write a journal entry about their favorite color scheme and animations. Small groups of students on individual laptops with speakers could create an actual "band" together! Record the band's sounds using an iTouch or even a mobile phone. As a classroom management tool, create certain sound sequences as cues for activities or transitions. Challenge your gifted students to create a system of musical notation for Patatap that includes both the keyboard symbols/letters and a way to indicate the rhythm. Use Patatap during poetry units to help students hear poetic meter, such as iambic pentameter. Use Patatap as an accompaniment/study aid for auditory learners to memorize spelling, states and capitals, and more.World Science U - Science Festival Foundation
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): forces (37), gifted (66), light (56), mass (19), space (220), video (267)
In the Classroom
Use the Science Unplugged section to find and explore videos with your more advanced students. Display the videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Share the Short and University Courses with gifted students as advancement opportunities. Complete courses on your own for professional development and to gather ideas for classroom lessons.Red Ribbon Campaign - National Family Partnership
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): drugs and alcohol (28), red ribbon week (10)
In the Classroom
Be sure to take advantage of printables and information from this site. Have students sign Red Ribbon pledges and display them on a classroom bulletin board. Challenge students to participate in the Red Ribbon photo contest (if using this site during the yearly contest). Be sure to share a link to the adult pledge with parents through your class website to make them a part of Red Ribbon week too!Parent-Teacher Conference Tip Sheets - Harvard Family Research Project
Grades
K to 12tag(s): parent conferences (21)
In the Classroom
Use these tip sheets as suggested on the site. Prepare copies for parents, principals, and teachers well before conference meetings. Include a link to parent tip sheets on your class website or include with class newsletters. Be sure to include copies for other professionals such as counselors, and ESL/ELL, Learning Support, Speech/language clinician, or Gifted Education teachers.Somewhere - Benjamin Netter
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): images (263), photography (131)