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The Teacher Toolkit - The Region 13 Educator Certification Program (ECP)
Grades
K to 12tag(s): back to school (63), classroom management (128), reading strategies (98), Teacher Utilities (147)
In the Classroom
Keep lessons engaging and interactive with these Tools. For instance use the Quiz, Quiz, Trade activity to get students up and to interact with questions for review before a test. To structure a meaningful discussion try the 5-3-1 activity. Use the Gallery Walk to review and get students discussing the unit or topic just finished. With the Gallery Walk, student groups could create posters (maybe a picture summary of something just read in class) and walk around observing and taking notes from others' posters. Or, to enhance learning, have students use Genially, reviewed here, to create digital posters that can include maps, surveys, video, audio and more. Then, have students complete a digital Gallery Walk, reviewing posters on each others computers. There are dozens more strategies for you to try at The Teacher Toolkit.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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TeachThought - Teachthought
Grades
1 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): blooms taxonomy (7), classroom management (128), critical thinking (110), flipped learning (9), professional development (394), reading strategies (98)
In the Classroom
Think beyond your everyday lessons to something that makes you a teacher that kids always remember. Interesting ideas challenge you to do what you want the most in your teaching, inspire and motivate. Subscribe to the newsletter and follow the latest articles. Use the resources for enrichment or information. Share with colleagues and the collaboration begins. Share at a professional development meeting for many relevant ideas.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CurriConnects Booklist: Animals and Habitats - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 10tag(s): animal homes (56), animals (283), arctic (40), australia (27), book lists (161), deserts (16), habitats (86), independent reading (86), wetlands (6)
In the Classroom
This collection could accompany a unit about animals, weather, habitats, landforms, or other topics. Some of these books would also connect well when teaching units (or classes) on character, friendship, coping strategies, and more. These books provide experience with both fiction and nonfiction informational texts. They often require students to draw inferences about the "facts." Allow students (or partners) to choose their own book. Share this list with your school library/media specialist or public library, as well, for them to "pull" books in support of your science/social studies units. Extend the experience by having students create visual presentations of the concepts they learn. Share projects using one of these reviewed presentation tools from the TeachersFirst Edge.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Sight Words - Gajan Retnasaba
Grades
K to 3tag(s): flash cards (41), game based learning (173), gamification (72), preK (257), reading strategies (98), sight words (22)
In the Classroom
Sight Words is an excellent resource to share with parents. Include a link to this site on your class website and newsletters. Share this site with classroom tutors and helpers for use when working with students. Share this link with student teachers as an excellent resource for beginning reading instruction. Find ideas to implement in your classroom. Create flashcards for your students. Try the Sight Word Games in your own classroom as a learning center or even whole class games!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TeachersFirst's Implementing Common Core in Elementary Grades - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 6tag(s): commoncore (75), listening (69), literacy (109), speaking (22)
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your professional favorites and use them as discussion points for inservice sessions or grade level meetings as you move to Common Core.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Children's Books and Reading - Stephanie at Childrens-Books-and-Reading.com
Grades
K to 4This site includes advertising.
tag(s): literacy (109), preK (257), reading comprehension (143), reading lists (80), reading strategies (98), spelling (96)
In the Classroom
This site is a great site to share with parents on your class website. Start a PTO meeting featuring literacy using ideas from this site. At a literacy night, show this site on your projector (or interactive whiteboard) to feature the interactives. Add the games to your literacy stations. Share at conferences to answer the parent questions of, "How do I help at home?" Looking for more audio books? Find a huge collection of audio books resources here to try some of the strategies suggestion by this site. Don't forget your earbuds!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Read, Tell, and Sell: CCSS through student book promotions - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 6tag(s): book reports (28), commoncore (75), listening (69), process writing (38), speaking (22)
In the Classroom
Save this article in your Favorites to have it ready. Use the comprehensive tips and resources to have students create book promotions as your next (traditional or digital) writing activity as part of your usual reading activities. Let this reading and writing activity do double duty to meet speaking and listening standards, too!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Questions and Thinking in Common Core; Part 2: Students as Questioners - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 8tag(s): commoncore (75), questioning (32), thinking skills (14)
In the Classroom
Read lesson ideas and explore the questioning strategies suggested as you begin to implement Common Core. Mark this article in your Favorites. Many of the ideas will be helpful during curriculum planning sessions with other teachers. Click the "share" widget to send them to others!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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America in Class - The National Humanities Center
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): abolition (7), american revolution (82), civil war (134), colonial america (95), colonization (20), democracy (19), native americans (91), primary sources (117), religions (76), slavery (76), women (137)
In the Classroom
Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to help your class learn the background information and read the material through once. Work through the lesson together; then consider assigning groups of four students to go through the readings again, discovering the answers to the essential questions. Have students post the group's answers on a back channel chat program such as YoTeach!, reviewed here, so all groups can see all answers. Where answers differ, have students go back into the reading and cite evidence to support their answer on Today's Meet for all to see.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WyzAnt English Lessons & Help - WyzAnt Tutoring
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): citations (34), essays (21), grammar (133), grammar review (31), parts of speech (40), plagiarism (34), punctuation (25), vocabulary (236), vocabulary development (89)
In the Classroom
Share links to specific lessons on your class website or blog for students to use at home for review. Even the ESL Lessons could be used with all students. Use lessons as models; then have students write their own lessons on other English topics to share with the class. Have students create blogs throughout the year with Grammar tips. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Tumblr, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Like a Historian - Digital Inquiry Group
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): american revolution (82), civil rights (195), civil war (134), cold war (30), colonial america (95), colonization (20), emancipation proclamation (11), new deal (5), reading strategies (98), slavery (76), world war 1 (72), world war 2 (150)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site as a resource for American history lessons throughout the year. The final segment of each lesson, the "Central Historical Question," has been noted as the most important part. If you don't have time for the full lesson, incorporate the historical question into your lesson plans as part of your classroom discussion, or journal activities. Perhaps you can use it as an essential question for your unit. Challenge students to create a talking avatar using a photo or other image (legally permitted to be reproduced). The avatars can be used to explain the central historical question. Use a site such as Blabberize, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Forensics - Nancy Clark
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): forensics (13)
In the Classroom
Whether teaching a course that is purely forensic science or seeking a hook to capture student interest in science through the topic of forensics, this resource is extremely useful. Why do all that searching for yourself? Nancy Clark has taken the time and done all the work. Science and language arts teachers can team up together to use this site. Most students love a compelling mystery and the chance to solve it! There is nonfiction reading here that will fit both curricula. The science teacher can answer questions about DNA, fingerprinting, etc., and the language arts teacher can help students with strategies for reading nonfiction. First, try something short like a video clip, and if you like it, dig deeper and incorporate more into your lessons. The lessons here would integrate nicely into biology or chemistry. Looking for more? Try this TeachersFirst Exclusive unit for more science inquiry lessons using forensics.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Rockets - WETA Washington D.C.
Grades
1 to 6This site includes advertising.
tag(s): authors (103), book lists (161), dyslexia (11), literacy (109), literature (217), parents (60), phonics (50), reading comprehension (143), reading lists (80), reading strategies (98), speech (66), spelling (96)
In the Classroom
Reading Rockets is a fantastic resource for teachers, librarians, parents, and principals. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter for the latest information, blogs, thoughts, and ideas for teaching reading. Use this website as a resource for your classroom, library, or even with you school action committees. Provide a link to this site on your class webpage. Install widgets for reading, and find the latest apps to support literacy. Join reading blogs, and add widgets to make your reading strategies complete. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Successful Web Reader - Neal Bastek-Content Developer-Colorado State
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): reading comprehension (143), reading strategies (98)
In the Classroom
Reading is a cross curricular activity. Every teacher, not only English, language arts, and reading teachers, should teach or review these strategies with students before asking them to find information and read on the Web. The Successful Web Reader provides teacher and student-friendly, practical tips and information to aid "critical linking" and path following, effective scanning, avoiding distractions, and how to get the most out of a quick visit. Bookmark this website in your favorites. Choose from the many links of helpful information to project on your whiteboard at opportune times.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Infographic of Infographics - Ivan Cash
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): graphic design (50), infographics (57)
In the Classroom
If you are assigning students to create infographics, this is a must-share. Have students explore this in small groups then find examples of the trend they find most interesting. Share their finds on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Better yet, share them on your class wiki so students can refer back to these ideas when they are "stuck" working on their own visual products. Art teachers can use this as an entry point into a graphic design unit. Reading teachers can use this to help students interpret and analyze the graphics that often accompany informational texts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Technology and Reading Ebooks in Education - Drs.Cavanaugh
Grades
K to 12tag(s): ebooks (39), reading strategies (98)
In the Classroom
Capture your student's interest in technology and reading with eBooks. Join the latest craze to promote life long reading. Join blogs to see what other teachers are doing. Use as a parent resource to help promote interest. Use as background information while writing grants or proposals for technology grants. Be sure to investigate the variety of classroom ideas for using technology and eBooks.Consider incorporating technology into your literature circles. You might want to start with a whole class novel, having students listen to certain chapters using an eBook. Have the "discussion director" for the group post questions on Canvas Free LMS, reviewed here with the understanding that they may answer the questions on Canvas, but these are "discussion starters" for the circle meeting in class.
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Reel Life Wisdom - Doug Manning
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): back to school (63), firstday (22), movies (51), quotations (20)
In the Classroom
Reel Life Wisdom supports character education programs with a parent PDF offering useful tips. Use relevant quotes in discussions on theme, choice, and empowerment. Lead your students to understand they are in charge of their lives. Improve reading comprehension of any text, by making connections or comparisons to a movie. Strengthen writing skills by critiques, explanations, and point of view essays. Challenge students to reach a deeper understanding of theme by finding a quote to match the theme. Use movies as an example for positive, effective goal setting strategies. Develop written or oral language by using the quotes as writing/speaking prompts. Challenge students to discover the many choices available to every individual. Encourage a meaningful sense of story development while connecting to each student's interest. The movies also offer a personal story into the study of people, government, and values. Create a thematic bulletin board of quotes on a topic, or have students generate word clouds from several favorite quotes on the same theme. Use a tool such as WordClouds, reviewed here. Post the clouds for class inspiration. During the first week of school, share this site and ask each student to share a favorite quote on a class blog or wiki for students to get to know each other.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Award Winning Kids' Books - Reading Rockets
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): book lists (161), book reports (28), guided reading (33), independent reading (86), literacy (109), literature (217)
In the Classroom
Share this site with other teachers as a resource for locating recent literature and for book orders. Keep this site handy as a resource for ideas for student reading material, book clubs, summer reading lists, book circles, and classroom read-alouds. Be sure to list this site on your class website for students to access both in and out of school. After reading a new book, rather than having students complete a traditional book report, have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Be sure to share the link with parents, too!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Find It - Lyndsey McCollam
Grades
K to 4In the Classroom
Display on the interactive whiteboard or projector and allow students to explore on their own and improve visual discrimination that is useful for reading and more. Create a link on classroom or lab computers to use as a center. Discuss with students different strategies and clues provided within the game that helped them find the missing picture.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WordSift - Stanford University
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): dictionaries (48), reading comprehension (143), reading strategies (98), thesaurus (22), vocabulary (236), vocabulary development (89), word clouds (13), word study (58)
In the Classroom
This is a classic tool to promote "before reading" strategies and vocabulary development. Use WordSift to preview text to be used in class and define vocabulary before reading to increase reading comprehension. Have students use WordSift with different portions of text to identify key words and vocabulary for class presentations. Use WordSift to discuss different meanings of words using images presented through the site. This site isn't only for English teachers, share with Science and Social Studies teachers to use in their classrooms with reading texts in their content areas. ENL/ELL and learning support teachers will want to share this as a support for any reading assigned in regular classes. Be sure to show students how to copy/paste to WordSift texts from informational web pages and news stories on the web, as well. Share this link as a Favorite on your public page so students can use it anytime.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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