TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Jun 7, 2015
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
Give the Dog a Bone - Oswego Schools
Grades
K to 3
4 Favorites
1 Comments
Help the dog find the hidden bones and develop number sense at the same time. This simple game provides excellent practice in using a 100's board to learn and practice ...more
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Help the dog find the hidden bones and develop number sense at the same time. This simple game provides excellent practice in using a 100's board to learn and practice number sense. Try to find the 10 hidden bones in one minute on the blank 100's board when given a number.
tag(s): number sense (96), numbers (196)
In the Classroom
Demonstrate this game on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Allow students to play on their own at your classroom computer center. Give the Dog a Bone is perfect for use during computer lab time. Be sure to share a link to this site on your class webpage for students to play at home. Challenge students to increase their speed when finding the 10 bones.
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Calm - Calm.com
Grades
K to 12
10 Favorites
0 Comments
Relax and enjoy calming images and sounds with Calm. Choose from soothing images such as gentle raindrops, beaches, or mountains with accompanying soft sounds. Mute sounds if desired...more
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Relax and enjoy calming images and sounds with Calm. Choose from soothing images such as gentle raindrops, beaches, or mountains with accompanying soft sounds. Mute sounds if desired to enjoy relaxing images on their own. Set a timer for 2 through 20 minutes to take it all in. Enjoy this fabulous tool for lowering your stress or refocusing anytime throughout the day!
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): stress (14)
In the Classroom
Use Calm to settle students down after activities or during transition times. Use it to relax them before "big tests." This site may be perfect for those students that need a little quiet time in their daily routine. Use this site with any student who may need some quiet time between transitions. Share this site to use with students while studying. They could study for 15 minutes (or longer, depending on the age) and "earn" relaxation time. If students feel stressed out about a project, try starting with some short relaxation time to calm the nerves. Use this site for yourself: relaxing, destressing, and enjoying life for a few minutes. Use this tool during a unit in study skills to talk about ways to refocus as you study. There is great value in incubation time before actually launching into a new project or creative challenge, and this tool can help!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Word Counter Tool - wordcountertool.com
Grades
5 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
The Word Counter Tool offers a word and character counter and a typing speed finder. Simply type or paste in your text to see your word and character count. To ...more
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The Word Counter Tool offers a word and character counter and a typing speed finder. Simply type or paste in your text to see your word and character count. To find your typing speed, press the start button and type for one minute.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): editing (74), process writing (48), word choice (28), writing (366)
In the Classroom
Post a link to the Word Counter Tool on your webpage for parents and students to use at home to check the length of written assignments. Use this tool when teaching summarizing. Provide students with a lengthy summary then challenge students to reduce the word count.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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OneGeology Kids - OneGeology
Grades
1 to 5
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Explore different parts of geology through OneGeology's cartoon-like characters. Each character provides information about topics such as rocks and minerals, energy, and earthquakes....more
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Explore different parts of geology through OneGeology's cartoon-like characters. Each character provides information about topics such as rocks and minerals, energy, and earthquakes. Click on the character and go to their page. Pages include a short overview of information, links to more information, photos, and maps with additional detail.
tag(s): dinosaurs (54), earthquakes (50), energy (209), fossils (46), geology (81), maps (294), rocks (52), volcanoes (68), water (134)
In the Classroom
Share OneGeology on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to introduce your geology unit to students. Have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as Wordle, reviewed here, or WordItOut, reviewed here. Create a link to the site on classroom computers for students to explore on their own. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here, to explain different geologic phenomenon.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Roosevelts - PBS
Grades
7 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
PBS offers this series of lessons aligned to their popular mini-series, The Roosevelts. All lessons include alignment to standards, background information, discussion questions, and...more
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PBS offers this series of lessons aligned to their popular mini-series, The Roosevelts. All lessons include alignment to standards, background information, discussion questions, and evaluation rubrics. Choose from full-length Lesson Plans or Snapshot Lessons containing quick, adaptable activities for classroom use.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 1900s (38), presidents (123), roosevelt (14)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans offered to supplement your current lessons based on the Roosevelt family. Have groups of students complete different Snapshot Lessons then share with the class. Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Multimedia Edge tools, reviewed here. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a member of the Roosevelt family.
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Edusight - Garros Li, Dev Chakraborty, Vikram Somasundaram, & Qiming Weng
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
1 Comments
Edusight is an online grade book for K-12 teachers with features for capturing grades and comments easily and powerful analytics for viewing and sharing data. Edusight features "buckets"...more
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Edusight is an online grade book for K-12 teachers with features for capturing grades and comments easily and powerful analytics for viewing and sharing data. Edusight features "buckets" for organizing information. Create buckets for tests, quizzes, group work, or any label you desire. Watch the site's Video Walkthrough for an overview of available features. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable. You could always view the video at home and bring it to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as ClipGrab, reviewed here, to download the video from YouTube.
tag(s): assessment (116), classroom management (155), data (162)
In the Classroom
Share Edusight information with parents as part of your ongoing communication process. Use Edusight to collect and gather information for IEP and other intervention and data collection meetings. Track student behavior for positive reinforcement or discipline purposes. This versatile tool has many possibilities.Comments
Edusight features "buckets" for organizing information. Create buckets for tests, quizzes, group work, or any label you desire.Raxi, , Grades: 0 - 12
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The Radix Endeavor - MIT's Education Arcade and Scheller Teacher Education Program
Grades
6 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
The Radix Endeavor is a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) for STEM learning in middle and high school. Players interact within the designed environment in which activities take...more
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The Radix Endeavor is a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) for STEM learning in middle and high school. Players interact within the designed environment in which activities take place correlated to biology and mathematics topics. There are options to create an account using email as a private participant or under a teacher account. There is a thorough FAQ section and video tutorials. The tutorials are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view the videos at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as ClipGrab, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.
tag(s): biomes (139), ecology (137), ecosystems (93), engineering (133), measurement (178), money (187), plants (175), STEM (187)
In the Classroom
Create a teacher account to find additional curriculum resources. Add your class and reserve class time. Share The Radix Endeavor with your students as part of STEM teaching lessons. Encourage interested students to become experts and share game-play information with other students. Use The Radix Endeavor as part of your after school math program or with gifted students to extend learning. Be sure to read through the Teachers portion of the site for additional ways to use The Radix Endeavor in the classroom.
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Socratic Smackdown - Institute of Play
Grades
7 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Use this activity to practice discussion and argument strategies. Socratic Smackdown has thorough instructions and handouts for a Socratic discussion. View the short video overview...more
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Use this activity to practice discussion and argument strategies. Socratic Smackdown has thorough instructions and handouts for a Socratic discussion. View the short video overview and download the PDF Print & Play Pack to begin. The Game Play Pack provides complete information on setting up the discussion, a checklist for when students are participating, scoresheets, a rubric, and other resources for students and teachers. It also includes a correlation to 8th Grade Common Core Speaking Standards. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable. You could always view the video at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as ClipGrab, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.
tag(s): debate (46)
In the Classroom
Use Socratic Smackdown for students to debate and discuss current events, themes in literature, or historic events. Use Socratic Smackdown with your school's debate team. After your "Smackdown," have cooperative learning groups create podcasts demonstrating their understanding of one of the concepts. Use a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here. Share Socratic Smackdown with teachers at your site.
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YouTube EDU - YouTube
Grades
K to 12
5 Favorites
0 Comments
YouTube EDU features some of the most popular educational videos across YouTube. Explore both elementary and secondary topics. This channel integrates content across 100 colleges and...more
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YouTube EDU features some of the most popular educational videos across YouTube. Explore both elementary and secondary topics. This channel integrates content across 100 colleges and universities and offers access to campus tours, research, and lectures. Scroll through to find videos sorted into many categories such as science, mathematics, arts, languages, and much more. Subscribe to receive updates about new videos added. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable. You could always view the videos at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as ClipGrab, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.
tag(s): video (279)
In the Classroom
Bookmark YouTube EDU as an excellent resource of videos for classroom use. Share videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Embed videos onto your class web page for student viewing at home. Challenge gifted students by sharing university level videos.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Color Schemer - colorschemer.com
Grades
K to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Choosing color schemes for web pages, projects, and displays becomes easier with Color Schemer! Click on any color in the color bar at the bottom of the page to view ...more
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Choosing color schemes for web pages, projects, and displays becomes easier with Color Schemer! Click on any color in the color bar at the bottom of the page to view a display of compatible colors along with hex and font color numbers for HTML use. Choose "lighten scheme" or "darken scheme" to adjust and personalize colors as desired.
tag(s): colors (79)
In the Classroom
After sharing and teaching students how to use this resource, create a link to the Color Schemer on your class web page for student use with projects, displays, and more. Share with your school's art teacher as an excellent resource for artwork.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mosa Mack Science Detective - Lissa Johnson
Grades
5 to 9
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Mosa Mack Science is a web-based library of animated science mysteries with hands-on activities. All are aligned to Science standards. Each unit contains a short animated film, discussion...more
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Mosa Mack Science is a web-based library of animated science mysteries with hands-on activities. All are aligned to Science standards. Each unit contains a short animated film, discussion guides, and engineering design challenges in addition to the hands-on activities. Create your free account using email and a password to access the four free units with topics of photosynthesis, climate change, food webs, and diabetes.
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tag(s): climate change (69), food chains (25), photosynthesis (33), STEM (187)
In the Classroom
Download materials from Mosa Mack lessons to supplement your current teaching materials. View videos on your interactive whiteboard and post a link on your class website for students to view at home. If you have a flipped classroom, have students view videos before coming to class and beginning lessons. Use ideas from this site for science fairs and projects.
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Soundtrap - Playwerk AB
Grades
1 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Create music using Soundtrap's virtual instruments or use your own. Collaborate to create music with others. Blend your tracks together using the Soundtrap editor. There are video tutorials...more
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Create music using Soundtrap's virtual instruments or use your own. Collaborate to create music with others. Blend your tracks together using the Soundtrap editor. There are video tutorials to help you develop your track. Download your music as MP3 files. You can save five projects at a time, will have 770 loops, 151 instruments and sounds, collaboration via video and chat, and more with the free account . This tool will work with the Chrome web browser, iOS, and Android devices. Though the videos open in this program, they are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view the videos at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creativity (117), DAT device agnostic tool (179), musical instruments (51), sounds (69)
In the Classroom
Demonstrate how to use Soundtrap with an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students use Soundtrap for multimedia and group projects using one of the many TeachersFirst multimedia Edge tools, reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Visme, Adobe Spark, and My Simpleshow. In a music class have students use this tool when they are practicing so they can hear how they sound. They could also use Soundtrap as a group to experiment and combine sounds and hear the results. Drama classes can create music for the background of their play. Share this link on your class website for families to explore at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Molecular Workbench - Dr. Charles Xie and The Concord Consortium
Grades
8 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
The Molecular Workbench is a free downloadable software resource for designing and conducting computational science experiments. Download the software and create your own activities...more
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The Molecular Workbench is a free downloadable software resource for designing and conducting computational science experiments. Download the software and create your own activities or explore and use the many existing materials. The software covers a range of topics from gas laws through quantum phenomena. Explore the Showcase to find already-created simulations including directions for use and exploration. Be sure to allow Java to run on your computer when prompted.
tag(s): atoms (55), chemicals (45), experiments (70), gravity (49), mass (23), matter (61), science fairs (25), scientific method (67)
In the Classroom
The Molecular Workbench is perfect for use on interactive whiteboards or projectors. Share simulations with students and explore options within each simulation to view changes. Create a link to simulations on your class website and allow students to explore at home. Ask students to write a blog post for each simulation completed at home. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Loose Leaves, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. Challenge students to download the software and create their own explorations. Have them use a screencast tool such as Awesome ScreenShot, reviewed here, to show evidence of their work and share with others. Use Molecular Workbench as an excellent option for challenging gifted students or for use when creating science fair experiments.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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