TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of May 8, 2022
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
Generation to Generation: Preserving Our Past with Oral History - TeachersFirst
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): digital storytelling (154), interviews (16), literature (219), oral history (14), stories and storytelling (52)
In the Classroom
Use the ideas found on this resource to include as part of an oral history or storytelling unit. Engage students in learning by using IdeaBoardz, reviewed here to gather students' ideas for questions to ask, notes with important facts and dates, or to brainstorm possible interview subjects. Use a digital storyboard creator such as Storyboard Generator, reviewed here, to help students plan their interview or to prepare a presentation to demonstrate learning. Enhance learning by having students share their completed interview in a digital book created with Book Creator, reviewed here, that includes text, audio, and video.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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PDF to Flipbook Converter - Heyzine
Grades
K to 12tag(s): conversions (37), digital storytelling (154)
In the Classroom
Make a flipbook of a presentation as an engaging alternative to a web page or PowerPoint. Share classroom information such as rules and expectations in an easy to read format. Use for a great way to bring digital storytelling upfront in your classroom. Make photosynthesis a story instead of bits of equations and information. Portray a period in time in history or create books of different political or societal opinions. Create a flipbook with the viewpoints and personalities of characters in a story. Practice a different language by creating a themed flipbook. Lower grades can combine writing into a class flipbook to be shared online or read aloud. Any written assignment can easily be re-visioned as a flipbook! Make your literary magazine a flipbook or build new poetry collections during poetry month. Share all your flipbooks on individual laptops, or the interactive whiteboard or projector. Create simple flipbooks of Dolch words for beginning readers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Adobe Express Video Maker - Adobe Spark
Grades
K to 12tag(s): blended learning (36), communication (139), digital storytelling (154), multimedia (48), video (263)
In the Classroom
Consider using videos in your classroom in a variety of ways. Upload your slide presentations and add audio to create flipped and blended learning experiences for your students. Engage students and enhance their learning by asking students to create videos as an alternative to book reports or written presentations. Share videos on your class website for students to access when away from the classroom. As your students create videos, use a bookmarking site such as Padlet, reviewed here, to share and organize information for students to use when researching. Include Adobe Express Videos as part of a larger presentation using Book Creator, reviewed here. Embed your video along with images, text, drawings, and other media into your digital book creation.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ABCYA Paint - ABCya!
Grades
K to 4tag(s): digital storytelling (154), drawing (61), painting (55), preK (265)
In the Classroom
Share how to use this site on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector then allow students to explore on their own. Have students create drawings to demonstrate math problems, share science experiments, or draw scenes from a story. Include students' drawings in a digital portfolio like Seesaw, reviewed here. Seesaw offers tools for uploading images and creating an audio recording to share their reflections on their work.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Imagine Forest - Imagine Forest
Grades
K to 6tag(s): creative writing (123), digital storytelling (154), writing (323), writing prompts (60)
In the Classroom
Imagine Forest is a must-have resource for elementary teachers of writing. Even your most reluctant writers will enjoy the ideas included on the site. Share how to use the site on your interactive whiteboard or with a projector then allow students to explore on their own. Challenge students to set daily goals using activities found in challenges. Publish and share student work to create your own classroom library of student-created books. Ask students to create books for any content area studied during class, be sure to upload and include images taken during activities for students to use in their books. Create a classroom chart for students to share accomplishments like badges and points earned while using the site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Timelinely - Daniel Levin
Grades
K to 12tag(s): communication (139), digital storytelling (154), video (263)
In the Classroom
Create flipped learning lessons for your blended learning classroom using Timelinely to provide questions, additional links, or notes to any video. Enhance student learning by asking students to use Timelinely to share information learned through videos. Include annotated videos with any multimedia presentation. Sway, reviewed here, offers many tools for including images, video, and more as part of online presentations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Digital Storytelling Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): digital storytelling (154), writing (323)
In the Classroom
Find an abundance of digital writing tools to use in your classroom. Share sites on your interactive whiteboard. Challenge students to create their own projects using tools on this list. Rather than a unit test, have students create a book demonstrating their understanding of concepts. Bring out creativity with these engaging tools!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Breaking News Generator - Russell Tarr
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): digital storytelling (154), images (261), newspapers (92)
In the Classroom
Assess students prior knowledge by creating a Breaking News piece to introduce a new unit. Replace paper and pencil and ask students to fill in an interactive KWL chart from Holt, reviewed here, or discuss in small groups what they know about the topic. Transform student learning by using their "Breaking News" in presentation slides by downloading the image from your computer. Then upload the image to a slide presentation creator such as Slides, reviewed here. Suggest to students that they do the same for their presentations. Use as a timeline of events for lab experiment, a novel study, historical event, and more. You might want to think about using this tool as a storyboard for digital storytelling as this tool could work well for storyboarding.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Story Map - Read Write Think
Grades
1 to 8tag(s): digital storytelling (154), graphic organizers (49), writing (323)
In the Classroom
Substitute paper and pencil story mapping by introducing your class to Story Map and writing a class story. Use an interactive whiteboard or projector and be sure to point out the prompts to answer with each organizer. Bookmark Story Map on class computers as part of stations when developing a writing project. Put a link to this tool on your website or blog for students to access at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Marq (formerly Lucidpress) - Lucid Software Inc
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): digital storytelling (154), posters (43), social media (53)
In the Classroom
Have students collaborate on any kind of document using Marq (formaerly Lucidpress). Collaborators can view, edit, and comment as they work together. The possible uses are only limited by your imagination! Create your own story page for parents and students where they can stay updated about what is happening in your classroom. Have students create a visual story to accompany books read in class, tell about social studies events, or display images for different science terms. Make flyers for upcoming events, to share book reviews, or as campaign posters for class elections.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
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StoryMap JS - Northwest University Knight Lab
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): maps (212), stories and storytelling (52), timelines (55)
In the Classroom
Be sure to stress Fair Use and Copyright with students when using online images and crediting sources. Find great resources and information on TeachersFirst. Of course, if possible use your own images. In Science, use this tool to upload a picture of a science experiment from class and retell the story of the "experiment" by connecting with each of the individual parts of the image. In a Technology class, use this tool to create a project of anything that could be considered "mappable." Some examples include a timeline tour of an event, tour routes of a favorite band, the movement of a character in a movie or novel, or various events in a War. Find various shapes in nature and buildings for a Geometry class, showing their locations in a map. This tool would be wonderful for gifted students to showcase an interest or extend learning from a concept learned in class. Use this tool to trace the history of various recipes or ingredients in a Family and Consumer Science class. Trace the history of people, religions, and events. In Science, create a tour of various animals found in specific areas of a given biome or locations of various types of rocks and their information around the world.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Draw A Stickman - drawastickman.com
Grades
1 to 10tag(s): creative writing (123), digital storytelling (154), directions (12), drawing (61), interactive stories (21)
In the Classroom
Aside from just fun practice at following instructions, Draw a Stickman would be a great fictional story prompt. Students have the bones of a story and can fill in details, vivid verbs, adjectives, etc. to tell the story. This would be a good practice activity with writing sequences of "first, then, and next." Students can elaborate on their hero, the plot of the story, the details, the setting, etc. Students can write a moral for a story to add in the customized ending. These stories would be fun to share as a class...how wide a variety can come from the same basics? Share finished stories with a talking avatar using a photo or other image (legally permitted to be reproduced). The avatars can "read" the story. Use a site such as Blabberize, reviewed here. Teach story mapping easily with this activity: On an interactive whiteboard (or projector), students can go through the stick figure story together, labeling the different parts of the story (beginning, problem, climax, resolution, ending). This interactive can help students identify story elements, including setting, characters and plot. This site would also be perfect for multilingual students for practice in reading and following directions or for speech/language students to practice retelling a story from the visual prompts. Another idea: use this activity for verb/vocabulary practice in a world language class.Comments
This will be a great fill-in activity when my students finish their assignments. I can't wait to use it!Beverly, TX, Grades: 6 - 12
Love this! So creative. I know the kids will love it too and I think the learning activities sound very promising too.Jeannie, MI, Grades: 0 - 5
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Newspaper Clipping Generator - fodey.com
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): back to school (62), digital storytelling (154), firstday (22), news (228), posters (43)
In the Classroom
You must have the basic ability to enter text into fields and download and find the finished file. For files to be shared, understanding how to upload the file onto another site or blog is required. The "clippings" you make do NOT remain on the site for access later by URL. As files are downloaded to the desktop, you may want to create a Favorites folder, or other "collection" of students projects in one place for easy work at grading time. Another idea: use a class wiki with all projects. Create a fictional account of a happening or description to identify the errors or determine the item being described. Create an account of a class celebration or a fantastic project that should be shared. Students can use this site to create a fantastic account of a vacation or experience. Have students develop a newsworthy article on an event from the novel they are reading. Use this site as a "first week" activity for students to write articles introducing themselves to the class. Have them use pseudonyms in their "articles" and share them on your class wiki or web page. A week later, have a matching contest where classmates must identify the mystery students! You could do a similar "famous Americans" or "important scientists" activity where students learn and share.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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