TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Oct 17, 2021
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
Social Media Test Drive - Cornell University and the Cornell Research Foundation, Inc
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): character education (77), cyberbullying (40), digital citizenship (79), social media (47)
In the Classroom
Share these modules for students to complete during any lessons on Internet safety. Ask students to contribute to a collaborative document sharing examples they have seen of cyberbullying or deceptive news practice. Replace pencil and paper notetaking by sharing an online tool such as Webnote, reviewed here, for students to use to take notes on any website. When finished, have them share their notes using the URL created for use in classroom discussions. Reinforce online safety concepts through gameplay using Baamboozle, reviewed here. Enhance student learning by asking students to create a game in Baamboozle for their peers to play to identify best practices in creating a safe online presence. After completing your digital safety unit, modify classroom technology use and extend learning by asking students to create explainer videos using FlexClip, reviewed here, with suggestions on how to identify fake news, how to create a positive digital footprint or ways to support peers when faced with cyberbullying. Share student videos on your class website and with younger students.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Be Internet Awesome - Google
Grades
2 to 6tag(s): cyberbullying (40), digital citizenship (79), internet safety (110), OER (43)
In the Classroom
Discover the many free resources for teaching digital safety offered on this site. Share a link on your class website for parents. Include the interactive game as part of a computer center during Internet safety lessons. Use the free lesson plan to teach digital safety either as a one-time unit or as mini-units throughout the school year. Enhance learning by having cooperative learning groups create podcasts discussing digital safety information. Use a site such as Buzzsprout, reviewed here, to create the podcasts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Digital Compass - Common Sense Media
Grades
5 to 9tag(s): digital citizenship (79), internet safety (110)
In the Classroom
This site is perfect to incorporate into any digital citizenship lessons. Complete activities together on your interactive whiteboard while making appropriate and inappropriate choices along the way. Create a link on your class website or blog for use at home. Be sure to share Digital Compass with parents to use as part of their online safety discussions at home. Enhance students' learning and create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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We Do Listen Foundation - We Do Listen Foundation
Grades
K to 3This site includes advertising.
tag(s): bullying (53), character education (77), preK (245), social skills (23)
In the Classroom
All primary classrooms should take advantage of this wonderful tool. Share the songs on your projector and interactive whiteboard. Use the songs, stories, and lesson plans to teach about various character traits: honesty, anti-bullying, good sportsmanship, courage, and more. Use these stories during class meetings to discuss issues happening in your own classroom. Share a link to the site with parents as a resource for use at home. Share the songs with your PE teacher to reinforce the concepts during movement activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CurriConnects Book List: Books for Tough Situations - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): difficult conversations (55), disabilities (27), divorce (6), eating disorders (7), emotions (45), social and emotional learning (73), social skills (23)
In the Classroom
Build student literacy skills and help students facing personal challenges. Reading about personally meaningful topics will help students work through them. It will also build the important reading strategy of connecting what they read to what they already know. Keep this list handy in your Favorites to suggest options when a student seems to need them. Since the list includes topics for all levels of maturity, you might want to share portions of it rather than the entire list. You may also want to tell parents about it during parent conferences or when situations arise. As always, allow students to self- select independent reading books from a list of options. Don't forget to share the list with the school and local libraries so they can bring in some of the books on interlibrary loan, if needed. Your school counselor will also appreciate this list. CurriConnects are a great help for teachers and parents who have lost school library/media specialists due to budget cuts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Inspire My Kids - Mike Stutman and Kevin Conklin
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): behavior (42), bullying (53), character education (77), disabilities (27), diversity (35), identity (27), school violence (10), service projects (17), tolerance (9)
In the Classroom
Share stories from the site on your interactive whiteboard or projector when learning about character traits such as sportsmanship, perseverance, and responsibility. Use the site as a resource when problems arise in the classroom such as bullying, intolerance, or special needs awareness. Have students use resources from the website as models for writing their own articles or enhance learning with the challenge to create a podcast. Use a site such as podomatic, reviewed here. Use the stories as models for writing activities and essays. Your students could also draw inspiration from this site to create values comics. Have students create printed comics (or rough drafts) using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here, or exchange paper for a digital online comic with one or two characters. Use ToonyTool, reviewed here. Students can create an online comic strip by using Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Thin Line - MTV
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): bullying (53), character education (77), cyberbullying (40), internet safety (110)
In the Classroom
This will be a great addition to your health, guidance, or Internet safety program. Before showing the site, have students take the quiz. The quiz can even be embedded on your website. Afterwards, using your interactive whiteboard (or projector), have students watch the different videos. Using the information found on the site, have students create skits to show proper or improper ways to behave online. You may even want to extend student learning by having students create a class podcast using Acast, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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No Name-Calling Week - GLSEN and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Grades
K to 12tag(s): bullying (53), character education (77), sports (76), tolerance (9)
In the Classroom
Use the resources from this web site to plan and implement lessons that students will relate to, and help to bring an end to harmful name-calling and "dissing." Select some of the many safe Web 2.0 tools reviewed by TeachersFirst Edge, such as DesignCap Poster Creator, reviewed here, for extending learning and designing digital posters that can be printed, or SlideShare, reviewed here, for creating a digital slideshow that includes music, captions, and more. Alternatively, create comic strips: First have students create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. then use the online comic creator Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here, to drive home the message that bullying is never a laughing matter.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Do Something.org - Do Something.org Team
Grades
7 to 12There are suggestions, resources, and support to empower young people and give them the energy to take action and make a difference. Whether their passion is to feed the homeless, end bullying, help even the playing field of educational inequalities, or many more needy causes, this website is chock full of easy to access information and strategies that encourage teenagers to decide for themselves how they can contribute their time and desire to make a difference.
tag(s): character education (77), Project Based Learning (14), service projects (17)
In the Classroom
Do you believe that kids can change the world? What are you doing about that? If you have been thinking about involving your class in some type of community service and project based learning, but need some direction, DoSomething.org is a phenomenal place to "shop" around for ideas. Perhaps you may want to start by showing the film, Pay It Forward, or with a writing prompt, "If you were given time in school to come up with one idea that could be put into action right now by people your age that would make this school or this community a better place, what would it be and how would you put your plan into action?" Have students share ideas in small groups, then introduce them to DoSomething.org by projecting it on your classroom whiteboard or projector, viewing some of the short videos, and using the power of the internet to empower them to act now. Challenge students to collect Internet resources for their cause using Wakelet, reviewed here, where they can add a cover image, background, collaborate with others, and chose the layout they prefer. Next, enhance learning by asking your students to create an interactive infographic using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, to explain their ideas about their cause and how they would put their plan into action. Club advisers, school counselors, and teachers of gifted can use the empowering resources of this site to inspire students to ACT.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bullying and Cyber-Bulling Prevention Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): bullying (53)
In the Classroom
Use the resources in this collection if ever in need of help concerning bullying online or in the classroom. Be sure to pass this one along to parents, counselors or peers if bullying is ever a concern or issue.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) - Southern Poverty Law Center
Grades
K to 12The Classroom Resources link offers Lessons, Learning Plans, Student Texts, Students Tasks, Film Kits, and other helpful pages. There is also a link to receive FREE kits and handbooks! The "Parents" link offers activities and ideas for ages 2-17! There are online activities, recommended books, "talking points" for parents, and more. The "For Teens" link includes a wealth of resources: video clips, lessons, 10 steps to take action, downloadable posters, essays, and true stories. The Kid's link offers "read," "Explore," and "Play" options for elementary (and younger middle school) students. A "sign up" box appears when you first enter the site, click on the X to remove the box.
In the Classroom
Of course, the obvious uses for this site include preparing for Black History Month or Women's History Month, consult this site for more than that! Don't just visit the Classroom Resources, but check out the Topics and Podcasts that you can share on your projector or interactive whiteboard. If you are unsure of how to approach a touchy subject with your students--either a subject from the news like the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rules, or something that is happening in your school or community, this site can provide resources for you and your students. Subscribe to Learning for Justice's emailed newsletter, or order one of the curriculum kits; the newest one is Viva la Causa about Cesar Chavez and the struggle for justice for farmworkers in the 1960s. This is a great addition to your school's anti-bully program! Take advantage of the free lesson plans, class activities, interactive, and book recommendations. This is definitely one to list on your class website!Comments
This houses a WEALTH of resources! Thank you, Teaching TOLERANCE.Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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Stop Bullying - US Department of Health
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): bullying (53), character education (77), cyberbullying (40)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site to your older students by choosing an appropriate video under Videos & Social Media. Enhance student learning after the video by asking them what was new to them about the topic. Have students use a class idea bin collaborative tool like lino, reviewed here, or Milanote, reviewed here, to create a list of "new to them" learning. You may want to do this 2 or 3 times, depending on how many videos seem appropriate. Once the "idea bin" is created, have students gather in "like minded" small groups to further research their "new to them" topic for more information on this site. Extend learning by asking student groupe to create a multimedia presentation using Genially,reviewed here, where they can choose the type of presentation AND insert maps, surveys, video, audio and more. For younger students choose a cartoon video to show the class to start a discussion about bullying. As a way to keep the discussion going choose a video weekly or monthly, to keep this topic foremost in students thoughts. To enhance learning, divide your class into small groups to create their own websites against bullying using a simple web page creation tool like Hashify, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pacer Kids Against Bullying - National Center for Bully Prevention
Grades
2 to 6tag(s): bullying (53), character education (77), cyberbullying (40), social skills (23)
In the Classroom
On your interactive whiteboard or projector, show the webisodes of bullying scenarios to spark conversations about this problem. After watching the webisodes, divide your class into small groups to create their own real-life anti-bullying 'webisode' to perform for the class. For Bully Prevention Awareness Week, create your own poster contest against bullying using Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Be Safe Sprigeo - looking out for you! - Sprigeo
Grades
K to 12tag(s): bullying (53), cyberbullying (40), DAT device agnostic tool (134)
In the Classroom
Teachers and principals will like the written record the system generates by emailing the report to the designated contact.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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