TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Jun 12, 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
School Garden Resources - Whole Kids Foundation
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Share information from this site with your school's parent/teacher organization to gain support and possible funding for a garden project. Extend classroom technology use and student learning by asking students to create video commercials to ask for funding, share their gardening success, or for their favorite gardening tool. Use a video creation tool like Flexclip, reviewed here. Gardening is a perfect topic for student blogs. Enhance student learning by replacing paper and pencil journals and use Edublog, reviewed here, to share the progress of their gardens including images and journal entries.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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SciJinks: Its All About Weather! - NOAA/NASA
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): atmosphere (22), careers (140), hurricanes (32), oceans (148), science fairs (20), scientific method (48), scientists (62), seasons (37), space (215), weather (161)
In the Classroom
Although geared toward middle school students and educators, anyone who teaches weather will want to take the time to explore this site for student and teacher resources. From the top right menu find the Educators section for activities, science fair ideas, and content aligned to standards. Share a link to games and activities on classroom computers and your class website. Upon completing activities, have students create an online or printed comic about an element of weather, climate, meteorology, or any aspect of Earth science. Use a tool such as Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here, for a nontech rough and final draft. If you're new to using technology with your students, or teach younger students enhance their learning and augment techology use with ToonyTool, reviewed here, for their final drafts. To to enhance learning and modify tech use in your class for more experienced, older students try Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Get Your Hands Dirty Guide - Federation of City Farms & Community Gardens
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Download this guide as a resource for starting "growing" opportunities at school, or for suggestions on keeping animals in the classroom. If your school has a gardening club, this guide is perfect as a resource for new ideas. If you don't have a gardening club, use the guide as a starting point. Perhaps find a parent volunteer to get your club going!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Project BudBurst - Chicago Botanic Garden
Grades
K to 12tag(s): citizen science (27), environment (246), plants (149), Project Based Learning (26), scientific method (48)
In the Classroom
Bring your science class to life and the "real world" for students using Project BudBurst's free resources. Captivate student interest by having them discover the importance of nature and our interactions with it. Participants must be 13 years of age to set up an account. Since participation requires registration with email, for young students consider using a "class set" of Gmail subaccounts, explained here; this tells how to configure Gmail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. Using Gmail subaccounts will provide anonymous interaction within your class. Add to the growing database and document plant phenology as seen in your area. As you discuss various types of plants, assign students to take pictures of the stages observed, make observations about the stages, and then modify classoom technology use by having students create an infographic sharing their findings using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here. This resource is perfect for use in a project based learning unit.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Educators Guides to Lyme Disease - Bay Area Lyme Foundation
Grades
3 to 8In the Classroom
Explore these free materials when teaching about insects or disease. Are you integrating technology in your class? Instead of the traditional brochure suggested, enhance classroom technology use by having students use Lucidpress, reviewed here. As a follow-up, you could assign students to investigate and create reports on other insect-born diseases, then use PDF to Flipbook Converter, reviewed here to turn their Word documents, PDFs, and images into an online book. Have students create an interactive image describing ticks and Lyme disease including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Genially, reviewed here. Genially can be used for a variety of assignments in any classroom that is integrating technology as an enhancement, modification, or transformation.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TL! Kids - Pledge and Activities - Tread Lightly! Inc
Grades
K to 8tag(s): conservation (95), environment (246), forests (28), game based learning (183), preK (265)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and coloring activities for use during Earth Day activities or with any unit on the environment. Enhance classroom technology use by having students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here, for older elementary students, or Word Clouds for Kids, reviewed here , for younger students. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Google Drawings, reviewed here of how to be environmentally responsible. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use it: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ultimate Camp Resource - Ultimate Camp Resources
Grades
K to 12tag(s): back to school (62), crafts (61), family (51), makerspace (43), seasonal (17), songs (44), sports (81), summer (29)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this tool for the first week of school or any time that you want to experience some "team-building" in your class. Use this site to find games and activities for classroom icebreakers. Find ideas on this site to build relationships among students. There is even an Art Project section (scroll to the bottom menu to find it) that has lots of crafts for your makerspace! Share this site with parent helpers to find ideas for classroom parties.Comments
This is a valuable resource, not just for summer!Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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Ranger Rick - National Wildlife Federation
Grades
K to 7This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animal homes (57), animals (295), game based learning (183), guided reading (33), independent reading (86), scientists (62)
In the Classroom
In the Animals sections, elementary students can conduct research on different kinds of animals including their place in the animal kingdom. At computer stations/centers have students look at the sets of animal pictures and identify common characteristics that are found for each set of animals to determine why they are categorized into each part of the animal kingdom. Use the interactive games as a center at an interactive whiteboard/projector. The games are fast and simple and can be used as a lesson opener to engage and capture the students attention.As a culminating activitiy, challenge students to write an adventure story where Ranger Rick and his animal friends have to get our of a sticky situation. Use a tool such as Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here, for a nontech rough and final draft. If you're new to using technology with your students, or teach younger students augment techology use with ToonyTool, reviewed here, for their final drafts. To modify tech use in your class and for more experienced, older students try Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here.
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Roadtrippers - Roadtrippers
Grades
1 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (146), field trips (8), virtual field trips (115)
In the Classroom
Bring the world of road tripping to your class! Plan journeys as math challenges to determine the amount of money required. Give students a budget and see what happens. Challenge students to create a dream trip and a budget trip. Find the difference between the two. You could use an online tool such as the Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to replace a paper and pencil Venn Diagram. Bring the settings of your favorite stories to life! Introduce a travel blog by pursuing the saved trip journals. Again, preview what you will show students as not all journals are kid friendly. Post the trips with pictures and a travel diary on your class blog or learning management system (LMS) class group.Comments
This is a great tool to explore the world.Melissa, , Grades: 0 - 5
Great resource!Lacey, , Grades: 0 - 5
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How Does Your Garden Grow? A Project-Based Approach to Learning - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 6tag(s): book lists (165), life cycles (21), plants (149), soil (16)
In the Classroom
After reading one or two of the suggested books as a class, brainstorm what students know about gardens using your interactive whiteboard or projector. Consider setting up stations around the room with the other recommended books and their activities; be sure to request some of the books on inter-library loan if you do not have them in your school. After completing the stations, return to the brainstorm and revise what students know about gardens and planting. Use some of the ideas from Gather Information to implement spring garden planting, literacy, and a growing understanding of science. Next step, planting! Use one or more of the ideas in this article for planting your garden. You might even consider working across grade levels and subjects and planning a school garden together. Your health/PE teacher will probably join in the effort! Follow through with one or more of the Show What You Know suggestions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Firefly Watch - Mass Audubon
Grades
K to 5In the Classroom
What a fantastic class project or summer challenge. Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups investigate various areas of this site and create multimedia presentations. How about an online book about Fireflies using a tool such as Bookemon. Or have students create online posters using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Activities and Crafts for July 4th - Enchanted Learning
Grades
K to 5In the Classroom
Share this one on your teacher web page just in time for summer so students have something to do when they are "bored" on rainy days!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Smokey Kids - USDA Forest Service
Grades
1 to 6tag(s): fire (22), fire prevention (16), fire safety (16), forests (28), safety (67)
In the Classroom
Use the PDF activities in a learning center as part of a unit or lesson on fire safety and prevention. Have students complete the activities in pairs, letting them pick which of the games they want to play in the given time. If you are looking for an easy way to integrate technology and check for understanding, challenge your students to extend their learning by creating a blog using Seesaw, reviewed here, to share their learning and understanding with peers and parents.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kids Gardening - National Gardening Association
Grades
3 to 8This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
If you aren't lucky enough to have outdoor gardening space, take advantage of ideas offered for indoor gardens, such as terrariums and container gardening. Check out the extensive lesson library to search by theme, standards, season, and more. You will also find lessons and activities appropriate for science and math. Use the Growing Poems, found here to enhance your classroom poetry unit. Whatever activities you choose, have students record the growth in their garden or container by taking photos. As a summation for your gardening project use Photo Joiner Collage Maker, reviewed here to create a collage of your garden photos with special effects, text, frames, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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