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Voya Unsung Heroes Awards Program - Scholarship America.

Grades
K to 12
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With over 5 million dollars granted, Voya Unsung Heroes has supported teachers through grants provided by its Unsung Heroes Program. Each year grants are provided to K-12 educators...more
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With over 5 million dollars granted, Voya Unsung Heroes has supported teachers through grants provided by its Unsung Heroes Program. Each year grants are provided to K-12 educators utilizing new teaching techniques and methods that improve learning. Applications are judged on three criteria: innovative method, creativity, and ability to positively influence students. 100 Finalists are chosen yearly to receive $2,000 grants with at least one award going to each of the 50 states. Three top awards of $25,000, $10,000 and $5,000 are given to the top three recipients. Follow links provided on the site to apply for the grant. The deadline is generally the end of April each year.

In the Classroom

Applications are accepted annually generally with a deadline of April each year. Nominate yourself or a colleague.

Comments

david, TX, Grades: 9 - 12

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The Writing Den

Grades
4 to 12
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Improve student writing with activities included in this commercial site. The Tips-o-matic teaches simple grammar concepts. Students could use this to brush up on parts of speech and...more
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Improve student writing with activities included in this commercial site. The Tips-o-matic teaches simple grammar concepts. Students could use this to brush up on parts of speech and other grammar online. Includes clarifications of frequently confused words/common mistakes. Sign up to receive a word of the day via E-mail.

In the Classroom

A teachers' guide provides ideas for ways to use the various activities.

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Homestyler - Autodesk

Grades
5 to 12
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Homestyler is a free online interior design planner. Members choose a layout plan, add details such as doors, windows, and furnishings, and then decide on color schemes for interior...more
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Homestyler is a free online interior design planner. Members choose a layout plan, add details such as doors, windows, and furnishings, and then decide on color schemes for interior decorating. Designs are viewable in both a 2D and 3D format. This is a free online program that requires no downloading. Registration does require an email address. This site may or may not be fully accessible inside your school filtering. Check to make sure all portions of this site are available when using your school's network. Homestyler does have a retail component that suggests certain name brands for appliances, and building supplies but the 3D designing capability outshines this form of advertising.

In the Classroom

Members click and drag design components onto the main layout page. The free draw tool is a bit trickier to control but is similar to drawing tools in other programs. The perimeter measurement scrolls alongside the line you are drawing. The interface for such a complicated concept is intuitive. Students will need explicit instructions on how to operate this program.

Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to share the tutorial presentation and demonstrate how to use the design tools. Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Consider this resource to help math students visualize how to compute the surface area of three-dimensional shapes and understand how area and volume change with scale. Social Studies and History teachers can ask students to re-create the interior of an early American home, Greek Temple or even their own classroom. With guidance, this could be a wonderful tool to help younger students understand interior mapping skills. Classrooms focusing on "real-world learning" may find this a valuable resource tool to help students create design plans for an alternative environment.

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Koji - Koji

Grades
K to 12
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Koji is an interactive content creator for all types of social media. Create games and quizzes by creating a template or remixing one of the thousands of available models on ...more
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Koji is an interactive content creator for all types of social media. Create games and quizzes by creating a template or remixing one of the thousands of available models on the website. Choose an existing game and click the remix button to begin. Customize the options, including text, sound, images, and game features. Publish and share using the game link or directly into social media using the provided links.

In the Classroom

Find templates by browsing the templates found on the home page, or choose the option to see what others are remixing to find examples to use in the classroom. Modify quizzes to include on your class website for quick review and practice on any device. Choose a "tap to reveal" feature to share before introducing a new unit. For example, before starting a unit on national landmarks, quickly create several "tap to reveal" games with United States landmarks and publish one a day on the week before the start of your unit. Have students create quizzes and games to review classroom material, then share the games with all students on your class websites. Share with students interested in software and coding applications, encourage them to create games that interact with current classroom materials. Koji includes options for viewing the source code for advanced coders to use in creating and modifying their interactives.

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Writer's Guide - University of Victoria

Grades
7 to 12
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This is an introductory college-level writing guide which provides information on essay forms, when to use which form, and other stylistic guidelines. ...more
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This is an introductory college-level writing guide which provides information on essay forms, when to use which form, and other stylistic guidelines.

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The Teacher Toolkit - The Region 13 Educator Certification Program (ECP)

Grades
K to 12
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Find many strategies and techniques to keep your class engaged and interested! Many of the strategies are also helpful in adult meetings. View the short video on the home page ...more
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Find many strategies and techniques to keep your class engaged and interested! Many of the strategies are also helpful in adult meetings. View the short video on the home page to get a good overview of what to find and how to navigate this site. Click the View Our Tools button next to the video to see all the tools offered. Not only will all the tools be displayed, but on the left, find a menu with categories to make it easier to find what you are looking for. Most tools now have a video to see the tool in action. There are Opening and Closing Activities, Checks for Understanding, Reading Strategies, and more. There is no sign in to see all the activities. However, by joining the site, you will be able to take and save notes for the different tools of interest. Each tool has an overview of how and when to use it, variations of the tool, and templates (downloaded in Word) for participants to use. Some tools have accompanying videos to show the tool in action. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable; be sure to look at alternatives for sharing the videos on classroom computers.

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.

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Jackie French Koller - Privately Published

Grades
1 to 8
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This is the homepage of Jackie French Koller, author of children and young adult books. Developed by Jackie French Koller as her homepage, there is a great deal of information ...more
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This is the homepage of Jackie French Koller, author of children and young adult books. Developed by Jackie French Koller as her homepage, there is a great deal of information about the author, her family, pets, hobbies as well as her books. This site includes a link to writing tips for would be authors. There are links to a few other authors as well.

In the Classroom

Use the menu bar on the left of the page and explore the Teachers Pages to find books with excerpts and activity pages. Also, look at the tab labeled Freebies and find free downloadable books!

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The Favorite Poem Project

Grades
6 to 12
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U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky has supervised development of this site which offers a collection of "Americans saying the poems they love." The site lets users listen to the recordings...more
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U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky has supervised development of this site which offers a collection of "Americans saying the poems they love." The site lets users listen to the recordings over the Internet, and serves as a barometer of the poetry that inspires us.

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TinyTap - Yogev Shelly

Grades
K to 12
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Create interactive games, books, and presentations with TinyTap. Choose the Activities link to access resources made by teachers. Sort by category, age, and language. TinyTap allows...more
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Create interactive games, books, and presentations with TinyTap. Choose the Activities link to access resources made by teachers. Sort by category, age, and language. TinyTap allows creators to include drag and drop activities, videos, quizzes, and more - all in one activity. Create groups to assign activities to different students. Most games are free; however, some games by professional authors are not free. Play games and activities on any device; however, creation of games requires you to download the free iPad app. At the time of this review, TinyTap worked well on most browsers (except Safari). The free version is public and comments are permitted. Be sure to preview anything before you share with students.

In the Classroom

Use the embed code provided with activities to embed activities on your class website for play at home. Create a link to activities on classroom computers. Create your own activities (or have older students create review materials) to include with lessons. Be sure to watch the demo video for information about creating your own games.

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Writing Exercises - JG Publishing

Grades
K to 12
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Find fresh ideas for writing prompts and exercises to explore and use. Use links to find story starters, characters, titles, and more. Use the random generators to create titles, dialogues,...more
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Find fresh ideas for writing prompts and exercises to explore and use. Use links to find story starters, characters, titles, and more. Use the random generators to create titles, dialogues, town names, and much more. These are a must see for those writing blogs, needing new ideas, or having writer's block. This site was created in the UK. American English speakers may notice some slight spelling differences.
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In the Classroom

This site is a "must see" for any writing instructor! Digital storytelling incorporates many Common Core Standards and is a possibility in any classroom. Enhance and modify student writing by having them use this tool. Think about using the random plot generator and put in the twist of an invasive cell to the human body for a science class. In math class, possibly a large whole number is building an army by splitting lesser whole numbers into fractional parts. Use the digital stories in place of a multiple choice test for final assessments. Enhance student learning by having students construct the digital story using Google Slides, reviewed here. Use tools from this site to create stories together as a class or in small groups. In addition to the random generators, there is a children's writing prompt section for younger students. Make a link to the site on classroom computers for student use when working on writing projects. Share a link to the site on your class website or blog for use at home. Share with parents who are looking for ideas to use at home. In addition to story ideas, use this site to create inspiration for poetry writing in the classroom.

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PBS Newshour Classroom - PBS NewsHour Productions LLC

Grades
7 to 12
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Find news and resources for grades 7-12 at PBS Newshour Classroom. Search the site by Subject Area, Videos, Arts and Media, Science, and more. Explore news articles written for students...more
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Find news and resources for grades 7-12 at PBS Newshour Classroom. Search the site by Subject Area, Videos, Arts and Media, Science, and more. Explore news articles written for students with the background and context needed to understand complex topics. The Daily Videos are ad-free and have related stories along the right side of the page. Read the current events news stories and follow the Extra Twitter feed. Don't miss the many free lesson plans including current events, American history, health, government, holidays, and more. Lesson plans are all aligned to the Common Core standards. Lesson plan topics vary from "Personal reflections on the poetry of Maya Angelou" to "Selma to Montgomery: An introduction to the 1965 marches" and countless others! Look for the Student Voices and Student Reporting Labs for those who would like to be published or to help a local PBS station produce the news.
This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Watch the news together on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Allow students to watch independently on laptops or at a learning station. Use any video or article as a current events writing prompt. Challenge students to create blog posts about them. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, replace pen and paper and have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Webnode, reviewed here. Don't forget the many free lesson plans (already aligned to Common Core standards). Click on the Lesson Plans link to explore the countless topics available (Poetry, Veterans, Elections, Ebola, Civil Rights, and more). For articles and videos about conflicts and tension, extend student learning by having your students engage in a debate using a tool such as Virtual Debate, reviewed here, which has online examples and resources for conducting virtual debates. Keep your class up-to-date on the news using this site. Provide this link on your class website for students (and families) to access both in and out of your classroom.

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Answer Garden - Creative Heroes

Grades
2 to 12
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Plant a question and watch it grow! This is a very easy to use poll creator that can be linked through class websites, blogs, wikis or any other online application. ...more
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Plant a question and watch it grow! This is a very easy to use poll creator that can be linked through class websites, blogs, wikis or any other online application. Simply type in a short question then copy the link to your site. All responses show up in the answer box below the question in a word cloud type of format. AnswerGardens can be customized to allow unlimited responses and a password. Although anyone with the link can answer a question, polls can be edited by the owner if any unwanted content is added. So watch carefully!
This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Create online polls of virtually anything! Build creative fluency. Ask students to type in an adjective, noun, or part of speech for language review. When learning about states, students can type in attributes associated with that particular state. Studying plants? Students can type in processes associated with plant growth. Studying fractions? On your interactive whiteboard add vocabulary terms associated with fractions to your AnswerGarden or assign students to add a term for homework. Embed your AnswerGarden question on your website or wiki, or share a direct link with the URL by email.

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Protagonize - Taunt Media

Grades
5 to 12
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As of June 2017 Protagonize is no longer updated, however there is a note that all contents remain for those who would like to explore. Protagonize was originally a ...more
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As of June 2017 Protagonize is no longer updated, however there is a note that all contents remain for those who would like to explore. Protagonize was originally a site for collaborative story creation. However, now you and your students can create your own "linear" or solo stories, poems, song lyrics, etc. Stories are available for others to comment on or add to. You can easily specify two endings like the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series or leave the story's ending unfinished. Alternatively, choose to create different "chapters" of a story. Before writing, choose from many different story genres. If you prefer not to have outside input on the story, you can select "solo" writing. It is easy to change solo to collaborative writing, however. There is also an option to digitally link the chapters. The site is very flexible, and you can write poetry, drama, song lyrics, and writing exercises including role plays. Before writing, students set up "story guidelines" so that future contributors can see the parameters of the piece. Students can also view the work of others. Mature content is marked with a "Mature" marker. Students and other writers have an obligation to report inappropriate content. PDF format or RSS feeds allow the created work to be saved to another format.
This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

You may wish to set up a group or class account, so that you can keep a careful eye on what outside additions are made (use an RSS feed!) . Students would then need to sign their writing or their comments on other class members writing, with a code known by you. Or you can invite students through email, and then create a group on the program that would include your students; however this group would also be open to the public.

Create groups of students who would like to work together on a "Choose Your Own Adventure" story connected to a science or social studies topic. Have the students create the story guidelines and parameters. Once the students have started the story, have them use your projector and interactive whiteboard and get feedback from class members about the different directions the story could take. Publish the final adventures by using the page flipping publishing program, Youblisher, reviewed here.

Have your students create "solo" stories, and then have them switch to "collaborative" to receive comments and input from other members in their writing group or class. Publish the final adventures by using the page flipping publishing program, Youblisher, reviewed here.

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Smore - Shlomi Atar and Gilad Avidan

Grades
2 to 12
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Make beautiful online "multimedia" newsletters (flyers) to display on your smartphone, tablet or computer using Smore. You can arrange your content easily with Smores' drag and drop...more
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Make beautiful online "multimedia" newsletters (flyers) to display on your smartphone, tablet or computer using Smore. You can arrange your content easily with Smores' drag and drop editing. Add ready-made graphics, images from files on your computer, or images from the web. Quickly embed text, videos, and tweets, too. Choose from several attractive themes. Share your creations via email, URL, Facebook, X (formerlyTwitter), or print it to hand out or hang on a bulletin board. Check to see who has read your newsletter and who hasn't. The free account plan offers three total newsletter credits, 500 contact credits, and 200 email credits.

In the Classroom

Show students how to embed media into a Smore newsletter to create their own "infographics" transforming and displaying what they have learned from a unit of study. Use your interactive whiteboard and projector to allow student groups to present a flyer about a book they've read, news article, etc. Have them create campaign posters for fictitious candidates as you study about the election process. Smore allows you to preview as you work or return later to complete and publish your flyers. Add ready-made graphics, images from files on your computer or on the web. Offer Smore as one of the project options for your gifted students doing projects beyond the regular curriculum, especially those who are visual/artistic. Since this tool requires membership, you may want to use a teacher account for younger gifted students and be sure to get written parent permission!

Allow students to create flyers for upcoming events such as Earth Day, Grandparents Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, birthdays and anniversaries. Make holiday greetings to share.

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Wheel Decide - wheeldecide.com

Grades
K to 12
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Wheel Decide helps make decisions interesting and fair. Choose from ready-made wheels with choices such as games or food. Create your own wheels. Scroll down below the wheel and choose...more
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Wheel Decide helps make decisions interesting and fair. Choose from ready-made wheels with choices such as games or food. Create your own wheels. Scroll down below the wheel and choose "Make/Modify Wheel" to customize your wheel for any purpose. Add up to 100 choices and a title. Advanced options allow you to remove a choice after landing on it, choose from color options, adjust the length of spin, and more. Cancel the "click" sound if it is distracting. At the time of this review saving a wheel required signing in with your Facebook account or bookmarking/copying the URL.

In the Classroom

Use Wheel Decide to select a student to do an activity or to answer a question. Allow students to use the name generator to choose which classmate comes next. Create your class name wheel and SAVE it to use throughout the year. Use Wheel Decide as part of a probability unit to chart how often names or items appear with random spins (be sure not to remove them from the list as they appear). Create custom wheels throughout the year to help with decisions such as students' choice activities, options for games at indoor recess, or subjects for reports.

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Storyboarder (was Storyboard Generator) - Australian Centre for the Moving Image

Grades
4 to 12
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Though this site is about storyboarding for videos, the storyboard template and concepts can be used for any storytelling (books, comics, short stories, etc.). Try out this tool demonstrating...more
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Though this site is about storyboarding for videos, the storyboard template and concepts can be used for any storytelling (books, comics, short stories, etc.). Try out this tool demonstrating storyboarding concepts. You can build your own storyboard using resources from the free media library. Be sure to watch the introductory video (2 minutes) to understand some of the terminology used on this site. Choose Storyboards by hand from the top menu bar. Follow the directions for reviewing "shot types." Next, scroll down the page to find a script "The Deal" and a "shot list" for beginners. Print the storyboard, and continue following directions. Then, watch the eight and one half minute on digital storyboarding. Your created script that can be embedded, linked, or shared. Be sure to check out the many instruction videos included on the site for tips on creating storyboards. Registration with email is required to share and save storyboards.

In the Classroom

Demonstrate how to create and use a storyboard using this tool on your interactive whiteboard (or projector). View stories from the gallery for inspiration before attempting to have students create their own. Create a storyboard and share when teaching creative writing techniques or story mapping. Have students tell the story they have viewed. Challenge students to create a storyboard of readings recently finished in class as a review of characters and story plot. Use storyboards as the first step in planning larger projects from plays to videos.

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CommonLit - CommonLit

Grades
4 to 12
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Access commonly taught themes for classic literature and discussion questions for that theme. Plus there are Text Sets perfect for social studies teachers! Choose a Lexile'''''®...more
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Access commonly taught themes for classic literature and discussion questions for that theme. Plus there are Text Sets perfect for social studies teachers! Choose a Lexile'''''® grade level for reading and download the text in PDF format or read online. Each text has a menu across the top offering Paired Texts, Related Media, a Teachers Guide, and a Parent Guide. Accompanying the text are critical thinking questions, an Assessment, and some have Guided Reading Mode. Choose the size of the font, listen to the Read Aloud (and pause it), translate to Spanish, and Highlight. Track student progress. You can search by Book, Genre, Grade Level, Literary Device, Text Set, Theme, and Spanish Texts. All of this for free! What else could one want? Well, you can also request a text, and they will negotiate with the copyright holders to have that text on their site. Take a look at their blog, too! You'll find lots of suggestions and thoughtful reflections for using nonfiction texts with your students.

In the Classroom

CommonLit is an excellent resource for literature teachers, speech and debate teachers, and history teachers. Share the site with students on an interactive whiteboard or projector, and ask the class what themes they would like to investigate. Under each theme are two questions. Divide the class into small groups with each group investigating one of the questions for one of the themes and reading the accompanying text. Differentiate for students by having students read on the same theme, but at their reading level. Challenge individuals, pairs, or small groups to create a graphic organizer for the story they read replacing paper and pencil and using a tool like Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers, reviewed here. You could take this to another level and have two groups read different selections on the same theme, use a graphic organizer to make comparisons for how the theme was presented, and then enhance learning by challenging the groups to present their findings to the class via video. Use a simple video creator like Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here. This site would also work when you have to make substitute plans unexpectedly. Just put the link in your plans and tell the sub what theme you want students to read about, or better yet, let the sub choose!
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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401 Prompts for Argumentative/Persuasive writing - New York Times

Grades
7 to 12
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Find the updated link "401 prompts from the New York Times" (NYT) Learning Network's Student Opinion feature. Discover a multitude of topics of interest to teens and students will have...more
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Find the updated link "401 prompts from the New York Times" (NYT) Learning Network's Student Opinion feature. Discover a multitude of topics of interest to teens and students will have an opinion about at least a few of them! However, their opinion is not all they are supposed to give. To submit, teens will need to have evidence-based, concise editorials much like the ones the NYT publishes daily. Once submitted the NYT and the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University will use a rubric to select winners, and then publish those on The Learning Network. We suggest obtaining parental permission before submitting anything. If interested, you can also find a link for 650 prompts for narative and personal writing.

In the Classroom

English/writing, social studies, and current events teachers are sure to find something here for their students to write about. Introduce a few of the prompts and the winning student editorials using an interactive whiteboard or projector to get students interested. Have students define what concise means and what it should mean in their writing. Point out the good writing habits of the student winners. Students should read the NYT's article(s) that give information about the topic of the prompt(s). At this time, you could have students choose a topic, or you could select several from which students could choose. You could also use one prompt a day as an opener or closer quick write. Another idea would be to have students respond on a class blog to the prompts and then make comments on each other's opinions. Haven't started blogging yet? Check out TeachersFirst's Blog Basics.

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Sketch Toy - Hakim El Hattab

Grades
K to 12
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Sketch Toy is an intriguing, online drawing tool. No membership is required. Click in the blank graph paper to begin drawing. Click buttons/menus to adjust the line size and color,...more
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Sketch Toy is an intriguing, online drawing tool. No membership is required. Click in the blank graph paper to begin drawing. Click buttons/menus to adjust the line size and color, undo, or erase. Note that you must click Erase a second time to turn it off! Set your line to vibrate using different options. One of the best features of this site is the ability to take an image from your desktop and drag it onto the drawing screen. Once your image is on screen, use the image to trace and create a stencil. Then choose "SAVE" to view your artwork in a step-by-step replay. Copy the image URL and/or share using social networks. Going to the URL will "play back" the drawing process. Click Refresh to watch it over again. You can also download your image. This tool works nicely on tablet browsers. Important: Be SURE to save your image URLs in Favorites or paste them somewhere so you can find them again later. With no registration, you have no way of "saving" your works of art within the tool!
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In the Classroom

Use Sketch Toy to demonstrate symmetrical drawings. This tool is great for enhancing, creating and visualizing math concepts from basic geometric shapes and area to complex constructions and trig. Use on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Use for hands-on work with any geometry or trigonometry functions. Since this tool works on such a variety of devices, it would be ideal to use in a BYOD (or 1:1) geometry class. Art teachers who want to "draw in" their more mathematical students can offer this as a design option, especially when teaching about perspective. Drag in images of alphabet letters for younger students to practice tracing. In art class, pull in images of artworks (even students' own work) and have them highlight design principles such as the path of your eye in viewing this image. Annotate any image using freehand drawing and writing. Use this tool as a visual writing prompt. Transform learning by creating drawing stories where a small group adds to the drawing as they pass it around on a tablet, narrating the story among themselves. Save it and play it back for them to write down their own versions of the story. Drawing stories would be a great way to practice world language skills or for ENL students to master vocabulary!

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Pearltrees - pearltrees

Grades
6 to 12
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Pearltrees.com is a great place to organize, share, and store websites for current, future, or collaborative use. More than a standard social bookmarking website, Pearltrees allows...more
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Pearltrees.com is a great place to organize, share, and store websites for current, future, or collaborative use. More than a standard social bookmarking website, Pearltrees allows you to create trees of sites to show relationships or even the order in which to browse websites. It is extremely simple to sign up, free, and easy to use once you have joined. To use it, you can download to your browser extension or bookmarklet, use a bookmarklet, or just use your home spot to paste in websites that you want to add to your own pearl tree. There are "big pearls" that function as folders for multiple strands of Internet pearls. This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly.
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In the Classroom

In the simplest form, Pearltrees could be used to store links for classes that you are teaching or taking. More creatively, however, you could use this site to create a guided online field trip from one site to another. Even try pairing Pearltrees with the use of a highlighting style website such as Twiddla reviewed here, to direct students to the information on the site that you, as their teacher, want them to see. Try turning the tables on your students, and have them create a Pearltree for short research projects or as a working bibliography for their research papers. Use this tool easily in your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom since all students will be able to access it for free, no matter what device they have.

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