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return to subject listingHistory of the American Flag - FoundingFathers.info
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): american flag (7), american revolution (82), evolution (85), flag day (5)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource during Flag Day celebrations or a unit on national symbols. Use the site as an activity to help students better understand the significance of Flag Day, as well as the American Flag. Introduce the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector before allowing cooperative learning groups loose on the site. Have students investigate the "story" of the flag, presenting the information in a multimedia presentation. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, Acast, Animatron, Renderforest, and Microsoft PowerPoint Online. Have cooperative learning groups or the whole class (younger students) create online books using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Oil Spill Lesson Plans and Resources - NOAA
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and classroom activities on this site! Be sure to save this site as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval later on. Students can select different aspects of oil spill cleanup and mitigation and play the role of experts in a mock blog post playing their role. Have students continue their role play by commenting on each other's posts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Building Schoolwide Literacy With Free Web 2.0 Tools: A Grade by Grade Elementary Model - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 8In the Classroom
Explore the tools and project suggestions by grade for your individual use as a teacher or work together with others in your school to build literacy across all subjects and grades by systematically adopting and repeatedly using a fixed collection of tools so students master the tool skills as an aside to reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Try the practical suggestions for implementing this model in your school or grade level team.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Web Resizer - webresizer.com
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): images (264)
In the Classroom
Provide the link to this site for students to use in altering and resizing images for use in presentations and online applications. Be sure students understand the file size needed for the various sites that are used in class.Comments
Use this all the time. Easy to use and SO helpful. You can use online, don't have to download.Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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Safe Share TV - SafeShare.TV
Grades
K to 12tag(s): safety (71)
In the Classroom
Use this to put videos into your teaching presentations. Or, to help students create presentations without the typical YouTube distractions. Have students edit clips to include only the information that is relevant to their project. Or, add clips to your class webpage or wiki as part of homework assignments or discussions. You could even use a clip as a writing prompt.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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This Day in History - Timelines, Inc.
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): famous people (21), heroes (22), religions (76), timelines (50)
In the Classroom
To add events to the site, locate the "add event" found at the bottom of the Timelines.com homepage. Follow the very clear (with samples) directions to insert your own event. Viewing the timelines is simple. Click to watch videos, view the maps, click "Like" or "Dislike" or make comments by clicking on the words.Monitor what students are viewing in the premade timelines. Also, teach students appropriate events to include and check their work before having them submit work so that they are more accurate.
Use the timelines on the site in science class to help students understand the history behind discoveries that they take for granted, such as the the space race. Today's students have never lived in a world where traveling to the moon was not possible, and understanding the history of the event could be very helpful in understanding the magnitude of such an event. This site would also be useful in art or music class. Have students investigate the history of their favorite group or type of music and create a multimedia presentation to share with the class. How about a video (including music, of course). Use a tool such as Moovly, reviewed here, and then share the videos on a site such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.
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Jackson Pollack - Miltos Manetas
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): painting (55)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set on Jackson Pollack. Students can create a "painting" and share it with a partner or the class using a projector. Since the site paints via "mouse-overs," it can also work on interactive whiteboards that use a special "pen," but not on touch-sensitive ones, since these boards have no idea where your "mouse" is hovering. Research Jackson Pollack paintings and biographical information. Then go back to the site and have students again create a "painting" following Jackson Pollack's style. Have students explain why their painting follows Pollack's style. Create a class wiki to share paintings and explanations. Possibly compare these with images in other artist's styles. Want to learn more about wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Soft Schools - Soft Schools
Grades
K to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): calculators (37), grammar (133), quiz (65), quizzes (87)
In the Classroom
Save this site in your favorites on classroom computers and use it as a center. Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge prior to introducing a unit. Use it as a cumulative assessment by having students independently take a quiz and then print the results. Students can complete the quizzes and games independently or with a partner. After assessing students, create worksheets for students who may need more practice. Be sure to list this link on your class website for students to use both in and out of the classroom. Find a variety of calculators including windchill, cube root, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Goofram - goofram.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): resources (88), search engines (50)
In the Classroom
This site is very simple to use. Simply type in the term you are searching and click "search."This site is as safe as any other search engine. Just be sure students are aware of the consequences of misusing the search engine.
Use Goofram the next time that you use search in your classes. Discuss the difference between each side of the screen where both parts appear. What is the advantage of Wolfram Alpha vs. Google? Use this site as you discuss how to search and use materials on the web. Practice showing different searches and aspects of the searches that are useful. Challenge students to use these sites for individual research projects.
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WordArt - WordArt.com
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): images (264), vocabulary (236), word choice (14), word clouds (13)
In the Classroom
You must be able to copy and paste text or provide a url to a page of text as well as determine parameters of more advanced word clouds. Alternately, these word clouds can be kept very simple. After creating the word cloud, be sure to save the image (or use a screen capture) to share with others. Another idea, use the url of the cloud or embed into a place to share such as blog, wiki, or site.This is a terrific visual tool to share on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Help students develop creative fluency by creating their own WordArt and ideas from scratch. Paste in a passage or URL for a political speech to visualize the politician's "message." Analyze advertising propaganda by visualizing the language used in TV or print ads. Create WordArt of historical texts of inauguration speeches as time capsules of the issues of the day. Use this site as a way to help students see and memorize text, especially visual learners. Use it also when writing poetry or reading passages of great literature to "see" themes and motifs of repeated words and images. Have students paste in their own writing to spot repeated (and monotonous) language when teaching lessons on word choice. Students will be surprised to see what words appear to be dominant. ESL and ELL students will eagerly use this site since word order will no longer be a problem for them. Have students work in groups to create word posters of vocabulary words with related meanings, such as different ways to say "walk" or "said" and decorate your classroom with these visual reminders of the richness of language. Collect thoughts about the class subject at the beginning of the year and then again at the end of the year to determine changes in thoughts about the subject matter.
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Khan Academy - Sal Khan
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): atoms (42), cells (81), energy (130), functions (52), homework (33), matter (47), molecules (42), photosynthesis (20), respiration (10), structures (18)
In the Classroom
Share the site with your students in order to access at home for homework help. List this link on your class website. If you are unable to view this site on student computers but You Tube is unblocked for teachers, consider using a projector or interactive whiteboard to show to the whole class. Use your google account to log in once you click on the exercises link. From there, find access to exercises that students can complete that are related to each video. Encourage students to share links to specific videos they find helpful on a "Video Reviews" (yes, that is a pun) page of your class wiki. For a very real challenge, have students create their own simple review videos in the Khan Academy style using FlexClip, reviewed here. FlexClip is designed to allow you to create short animated or explainer videos to share on YouTube and other social media sites, then, upload to SchoolTube, TeacherTube, or YouTube, whichever works best in your school. Embed them on your class wiki for a year-to-year student-made study guide!Comments
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Study Skills Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Make learning how to learn part of your class routine at any grade level and in any subject. Feature one or more new study strategy each month and share this entire list as a link from your class web page for students and parents to access both in and out of school.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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StoryCorps - Dave Isay
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): questioning (32), writing (316)
In the Classroom
Grandparent's day is in September. What better gift to a grandparent than to be able to spend time with their grandchild and tell them a story about an important time in their lives? Of course, you'll want to prepare students with some interviewing skills and questions before they interview their grandparents, and show them how to record the interview with some type of recorder (tape recorder, cell phone, video camera, etc). This recording can then be submitted to StoryCorps and it will then reside at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Students can also interview parents about their first memories of school, and what they remember about the grade that the student is currently in. Share these interviews during the first week or month of the school year. Not only can these interviews be submitted to StoryCorp, but students could then do a write up of their interviews and publish them in a classroom book of memories. Have students create online books to share with the class about their interview. Use a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Or have students narrate a photo of the person they interviewed using a site such as ThingLink, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Voice of America - Broadcasting Board of Governors
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): news (229)
In the Classroom
View news stories and compare them to similar stories in different news media. Discuss the differences and similarities of these stories and use a Venn diagram to portray. Try using the tool "Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram" (reviewed here).Discuss the focus of each article and reasons for the focus. Answer what the reporter is trying to convince and possible bias in various stories. Create an essay, letter, or blog post outlining viewpoints and linking these various sources for greater understanding of issues and how they are represented in the media. Have students share their letters or essays on a podcast using a tool such as (reviewed here).
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US Geography Map Games - Shepard Software
Grades
2 to 8tag(s): capitals (15), landforms (37), map skills (56), maps (207), states (122)
In the Classroom
This site can be used in many ways. Use the tutorials on an interactive whiteboard or projector with the whole group to introduce the site. When using as a whole group, provide students with a map so everyone can participate in the activity. The site can then be used as a center, for individual work in a computer lab or can be assigned as a challenge activity for advanced learners. If your students are learning the regions of the United States, state capitals, state locations, or landforms, be sure to list this link on your class website for students to access both in and out of the classroom. There are some ads but they are not overwhelming.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pennies for Peace - Central Asia Institute
Grades
K to 12Register to receive a free, extensive toolkit that shows how to implement the campaign, provides background resources and curriculum materials. The toolkit is grouped by the grade levels, K-4, 4-8, and 9-12. The Pennies for Peace Curriculum directly links to grade level standards in social studies, math, and literacy. In order to participate schools need to register on-line. There is a page for "kids" that provides facts about a typical village and school and background information about Pakistan and Afghanistan. The tool kit contains videos and photographs as well as maps from National Geographic that are free for download. The videos will take participants through the steps of implementing the project to interviewing Greg Mortenson, possible classroom applications, and short clips to support sections of their curriculum. Address core subjects such as social studies, math, history, geography, science and language arts while enhancing cultural awareness in your students.
tag(s): critical thinking (110), cross cultural understanding (156), service projects (17)
In the Classroom
Launch this campaign together as a school-wide effort or keep it to your classroom. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. The toolkit gives very concrete lesson plans to follow fully or just in parts. One example is for younger students to examine a map of the area in which they live and then compare that to where children in Pakistan live. Essential questions such as "How does where we live effect how we live?" and "What are the similarities and differences between these places?" Ask students to visit the site and enhance their learning by creating an interactive book using a tool like Ourboox, reviewed here, about both geographic locations. Older students can extend their learning by creating an interactive map with a tool like Zeemaps, reviewed here. Use the printable images from this site for your bulletin boards. Older students can participate in book clubs that read either Greg Mortenson's original book Three Cups of Tea or his new book Stones to Schools There is a version of his book for Younger Readers, Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Journey to Change the World...One Child at a Time which includes photos and illustrations and a children's picture book Listen to the Wind that may be useful for introducing the project.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tux Paint - Bill Kendrick
Grades
K to 6tag(s): creativity (91), drawing (60), painting (55), preK (257)
In the Classroom
Introduce this fabulous site on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students take turns trying the program. Include a link to Tux Paint on your class website and encourage families to download Tux Paint onto their family computer. Elementary teachers will enjoy all the options Tux Paint provides for image making. Classroom teachers can have students draw a response to a class glyph, illustrate stories, label scientific images, write and illustrate word problems or create self-portraits. You will need headphones or speakers for the audio portions of this site. Dazzle parents at Open House or Back to School Night with a viewing of the slide show presentation or looping animation of student work. Save student work as a JPG and export images into a multimedia presentation with narration using My Storybook, reviewed here. Ask older students to design and submit new stamps to Tux Paint. Explain to them the premise behind Open Source software and how to participate in collaborative software development. Tux Paint is also a great way to teach young students how to control a mouse, type, drag, and cut or paste imagery. Stuck for lesson ideas on how to use Tux Paint, just ask the students!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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openverse - Word Press - Creative Commons
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): air (105), copyright (46), creative commons (29)
In the Classroom
Teaching students to understand and respect copyright of digital information can be difficult and overwhelming. The first step in helping students understand digital copyright is to get them to explore the terms of use and copyright of a variety of information. Create a scavenger hunt for students to find the terms of service and/or copyright for common websites. Once they realize that not all information is "free" for them to use, introduce the Creative Commons website and the symbols that are used to describe how the content is licensed by the owner. Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to demonstrate searching using the CC search site. Perform searches that yield results that show several different types of licenses. Discuss each type using scenarios of how the information can and cannot be used. As an extension activity for this site, students can create their own work and publish the work using a creative commons license. The work can be as simple as using a digital picture or as complex as creating their own derivative artwork, such as a collage or "photoshopped" image. It can be published on a commercial site such as flickr or on your school webpage. Make sure to follow any school guidelines before publishing student work. Perhaps you can create a class wiki of annotated creative images created by students with explanations of where they found the "parts" and how they created the original works from these parts. What a wonderful model to share with future students, as well. Teachers will also appreciate being able to find images you can freely use on class web pages and in online project samples, etc. (with attribution).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Head Magnet
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): flash cards (41)
In the Classroom
Create flashcards for any subject to review material being learned in class. Use this as a review for vocabulary before tests. As a pre-assessment, create a study list to use on the interactive whiteboard or projector to find out what students already know. Provide this link on your class website for students to use to create flashcards both in and out of your classroom. Learning support teachers may want to show students how to create their own cards. The process of creating the will actually reinforce skills, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Poetry Everywhere - WGBH and David Grubin Productions
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): poetry (190)
In the Classroom
Share several poems with students and then have them create similar poet and poem podcasts. Enhance student learning and augment classroom technology use by using a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here, to present to their classmates. Post the podcasts to a class wiki or website. Not familiar with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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