Expedition Insects is a high-interest, nonfiction free ebook (pdf) for an iPad or any device that can use an Internet browser. Travel the world to investigate six different insects in their natural habitats. Find beautiful illustrations depicting the insect and its habitat. Read about the Blue Morpho butterfly, Asian giant hornet, Malaysian walking leaf, African dung beetle, brown marmorated stink bugs, and fireflies. All have amazing abilities. Each insect has its special tricks for living and thriving in their habitats and an important role in the ecosystem. Also, learn a little about world geography by tracing the route from one continent to the next where they live. Click the Read Here button to get a PDF version of the book. This PDF is full of gorgeous illustrations to complement the information. The iPad version is available on iTunes and is free (not a PDF). It is interactive with clickable links and videos. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): biomes (113), ecosystems (74), guided reading (33), independent reading (86), insects (69)

Get an overview of World War I through maps, audio, historical film, and archived newspaper reports. Listen as ten historians from various countries give a brief history through eclectic lenses. View the video to see soldiers transported on camels and warfare in the Alps. Choose from language options of English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Arabic or Hindi. View interactives by clicking the pointing finger within the video. This site is a must-see for inclusion with any World War I lessons and units. Some may find some of the images disturbing. As always, it is best to preview!

tag(s): world war 1 (72)

Get your recycling facts from this source. Find a mountain of information about recycling mountains of stuff! View a variety of articles on this site. Click menu items at the top to find 3 simple rules for recycling, the recycling guide for what can and cannot be recycled, recycling myths, and more.
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tag(s): conservation (84), consumers (14), recycling (45), resources (88)

Here you will find everything you will ever need to know about plagiarism and citing sources. Start with the article on the right "What is Plagiarism." Be sure to check out all the categories from the left menu. There you will find lots of videos and articles regarding citing sources (explains what a citation is), why one should cite sources, how to paraphrase, how to quote material, what a footnote is, and when one should cite the source. There are several interesting videos with titles like "Everything is a Remix." This is a hot topic and definitely a site to save and share with students! Some of the videos reside on YouTube, if your school blocks YouTube they may not be viewable on classroom computers. You could flip your classroom and have the students watch those videos at home.

tag(s): citations (34), plagiarism (34), Research (83), summarizing (22)

Teaching Florida will bring Florida's history alive. Study Spanish Influence, Explorers, Native Americans, or Parts of Florida. Lesson plans, primary and secondary resources, maps, paintings, and references make the subject matter come alive. Extend your learning by finding resources for summer workshops, district programs, and resources for teachers.

tag(s): explorers (65), florida (10), maps (207), native americans (91)

Travel to Space Facts to see a growing collection of interesting facts about planets, the solar system, space explorations, and more. Information includes planet profiles, planet size compared to Earth, and basic facts about the planet. The blog area provides updates on current discoveries and space related features. The Gallery includes images available for use in other projects. Read the terms of use, but most are NASA images that are permissible for download and use in your own projects. Although this site is rather text heavy, it is full of great content! There are rather annoying advertisements, so readers who are easily distracted may find it disruptive.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): earth (185), mars (26), planets (113), solar system (109), space (215)

Have fun creating sentences or short messages (like tweets) using drag and drop words at X (formerly Twitter) Magnets! X (formerly Twitter) Magnets calls them poems, though the length limit is a real challenge for poets! Choose from the words offered. Drag and drop the magnets into the message area at the bottom -- up to 120 characters. The tool keeps a character count for you. Need different words? Click the swap words link for new choices. Click submit to view your message/poem and decide whether to submit to X (formerly Twitter) Magnet's feed or not. You can also link to send from your own X (formerly Twitter) account. Note that clicking to see the Twitter Magnets feed will show you "messages" and poems created by the general public. Steer clear or preview to be sure these are appropriate in your setting.

tag(s): creative fluency (5), microblogging (18), poetry (190), Teacher Utilities (146), twitter (19), writing prompts (58)

Discover book titles to use with elementary level Social Studies content. Choose from grade level bands and the topics of Civics, History, Geography, and Economics. Each link leads to a list of book titles including author, subject, and a brief description. Some titles also include a "more" link leading to a short article referring to use of the book. This site includes a great mix of genres. Don't miss the nonfiction/informative text, perfect for meeting your Common Core standards.

tag(s): book lists (161), branches of government (62), guided reading (33), independent reading (86), literature (217)

Deep Space Sparkle is an out of this world site that provides art lesson plans, student examples, tutorials, tips, and techniques. Are you looking to become art smart? Are your students craving creativity? These ideas are classroom tested and teacher approved. Perfect for art or classroom teachers in grades K-6, this site was developed by an elementary art teacher. Lesson plans are organized by subject, grade, and techniques. Use the search box to find specific lessons. Visit the "Art Basics" section to build your background or review art vocabulary found in the lessons. Go "Inside the Art Room" for information on classroom management, organization, supplies, and how-to videos. The posts are detailed and provide insight with authentic classroom experiences. Don't forget to dig through the "Scrap Box" section of the site for more great art information! Blog posts, book reviews, and art shows are just a few of the items located in the "Scrap Box" section. At the time of this review, there were also a few Common Core and the Arts blog posts. Deep Space Sparkle is free, but offers eBooks and eCourses for purchase. This review was for the FREE portion only. Don't forget to subscribe to the Deep Space Sparkle mailing list to receive updates.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): architecture (64), art history (86), artists (78), design (80)

At the start of the school year for 2023-2024, Newsela made some significant changes for their FREE or LITE version of the program! Now they offer four leveled news articles at five reading levels for teachers to choose from. The articles will be available for four weeks; Newsela Lite is free for any teacher to access four pre-selected news articles, select and lock reading levels for students, see alignment to state standards, schedule assignments and set due dates, access students' quiz scores, and respond to students' writing prompt submissions and annotations. Many of these features were on the "premium" account until the 2023-2024 school year.

Incase you're wondering - Newsela features current events stories tailor-made for classroom use. Click "Products" on the top menu and slide down to browse content in subject areas (social studies, science, etc.). Stories are student-friendly and can be accessed in different formats by reading level. Use Newsela to differentiate nonfiction reading. Newspaper writers rewrite a story four times for a total of five Lexile levels per story. All articles have embedded Common Core-aligned quizzes that conform to the reading levels for checking comprehension, customizable assignments, writing prompts, and annotations. An account is required to use Newsela, both for teachers and for students, but students sign up using a teacher or parent-provided code rather than an email address. Click the Resources tab at the top to find guides and short webinars. Teachers can create classes and assign reading-level specific articles to individual students or download printable PDF copies of the article in any of its reading-level versions. There is no outside advertising.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (143), differentiation (83), guided reading (33), independent reading (86), news (229), reading comprehension (143), remote learning (59)