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Poetry Everywhere Collection - WGBH Foundation
Grades
7 to 12
1 Favorites
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This is an amazing site with 12 notable poems that include a Quicktime video of the poem reading- either by the poet or an animated enactment (i.e. Emily Dickinson). Each ...more
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This is an amazing site with 12 notable poems that include a Quicktime video of the poem reading- either by the poet or an animated enactment (i.e. Emily Dickinson). Each of the lessons includes a broad spectrum of activities, lesson plans, and PDF worksheets. While you do have to register to fully access the material, it is free. Registration does require an email address (for teacher domains only: lesson plans, activities, etc..), so students do not need to register to view the videos.
In the Classroom
If you are looking for something worthwhile as a quarter ending or are deeply involved in poetry, this site is great. Billy Collins reading "The Lanyard" is tough not to love and you can choose any of the included features to use or not. Because the site uses Quicktime, you have the option of replaying the video or pausing for discussion where you choose. Share the video on your interactive whiteboard or projector. This is wonderful as a class discussion. Another use for this site is to assign different poems to small groups of students and have them explicate them and then present them to the class. You could even shock the world of traditional English class or school video news announcements with a video "poetry break" during Poetry Month (April). Why not video the presentations and share them using a site such as Teachers.TV reviewed here.
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An Academic Writing Module: Paragraphs - Alison Hoffmann, Barbara Griffiths and Irina Elgort
Grades
7 to 12
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This site offers writing exercises for students' self-directed study. The exercises cover topic sentences, building paragraphs, incorporating sources (always good for practice in writing...more
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This site offers writing exercises for students' self-directed study. The exercises cover topic sentences, building paragraphs, incorporating sources (always good for practice in writing research essays or papers), and types of paragraphs. There is a sample essay that students are encouraged to read after doing the exercises, but it offers both a sample essay and an analysis of the writing and content. This site requires that Javascript be enabled web browser. You can find directions at the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom
This site offers the option for students to work independently on their basic writing. These exercises are a little more advanced than some on the web; however, they are especially good for high school students. It would make an interesting exercise to work through some of the examples as a class on interactive whiteboard, and then offer students the sample essay to analyze themselves or on the whiteboard before showing the final analysis on the site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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YourDictionary - LoveToKnow Corporation
Grades
K to 12
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A definitive authority on words, this free site gives you definitions, thesaurus entries, spellings, pronunciations, and etymology results. Add to that list an audio pronunciation system...more
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A definitive authority on words, this free site gives you definitions, thesaurus entries, spellings, pronunciations, and etymology results. Add to that list an audio pronunciation system that allows you to hear the word as well. YourDictionary also provides resources to help you find foreign language translation sites. It even directs you to medical, computer, or electricians' dictionaries, and many more. Haven't you always wanted to say a tongue-twister in the Asante language? Words have never so much fun. This site does include some advertisements.
In the Classroom
Send students to this site to look up those difficult words. ESL and ELL students can use this site to practice the pronunciation of new words. Be sure to mark this site as a favorite or share on your teacher web page for easy access.
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Test Maker - Help Teaching
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
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Test Designer allows teachers to quickly and easily create multiple-choice, true or false, fill-in-the-blank, and open-ended questions for tests and worksheets. Browse through thousands...more
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Test Designer allows teachers to quickly and easily create multiple-choice, true or false, fill-in-the-blank, and open-ended questions for tests and worksheets. Browse through thousands of previously-created tests in subject areas such as Algebra, Earth Science, Geography, U.S. History, and Vocabulary. Test Designer also provides simple graphics that can easily be added. Teachers can e-mail tests and worksheets to students, teachers, and parents. Make sure to allow plenty of time to read directions and maneuver the site prior to creating tests. There are some minor unobtrusive advertisements at this site. The required membership is free!
In the Classroom
Use this website to create personalized quizzes and tests for your students. You could also ask students to design their own tests for each other to review using your teacher log-in or appoint a student "quizmaker" each week for the content your class has covered, making this an assignment that each student does once per semester.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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You Quote It, You Note It - Acadia University
Grades
6 to 12
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This interactive site is meant to help students understand what is and is not actually plagiarism. It allows students to "pick" a student to walk through the tutorial with and ...more
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This interactive site is meant to help students understand what is and is not actually plagiarism. It allows students to "pick" a student to walk through the tutorial with and does a good job of explaining why something is plagiarism and how to fix it. The actual tutorial takes about 10 minutes. Although this is geared to Acadia University students, it is very pertinent to middle and high school students, as well, and very easy to understand.
In the Classroom
This is a great follow-up site when discussing plagiarism with students. If you have access to a computer lab, students can work independently or in pairs through the tutorial and then check each other's work.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ESL Reading Lessons - 5 Minute English
Grades
4 to 10
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This teaching site has a variety of short readings at various levels that could be useful in an ESL, ELL, special education, or regular ed classroom. Some of the topics ...more
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This teaching site has a variety of short readings at various levels that could be useful in an ESL, ELL, special education, or regular ed classroom. Some of the topics include sentences with grammar errors, students must figure out what is wrong with each sentence. This is excellent practice for any student learning proper grammar. True/ false comprehension questions follow the reading in most cases. Most of the answers are provided at the bottom of the website - so don't scroll too quickly. Before the reading begins, students can study difficult vocabulary words presented in an attractive format. There are full units (with many mini-lessons): grammar, reading, vocabulary, listening, pronunciation, and writing. Some of the listening activities require Flash; however the rest of the site does not, making this site worth your visit.
In the Classroom
Use this site if you want your students to do additional reading. Project the topic, story, and questions on an interactive whiteboard or projector for group discussion. Have your students make up their own questions to go with the site. Have your students write up a similar subject relevant to their own culture and present it, along with questions to check for comprehension. This is a fabulous site to list on your class website for students to use for at-home practice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Profile Publisher - ReadWriteThink.org
Grades
3 to 12
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Reading literature with complex characters worthy of analysis and individual profiles? Do your students need practice creating their own polished "profiles"? This tool creates professional...more
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Reading literature with complex characters worthy of analysis and individual profiles? Do your students need practice creating their own polished "profiles"? This tool creates professional looking profiles of students or for a character in a book, historical figure, animal, or scientific object/concept. Amazingly, you may choose to set up a profile for nonliving creatures or even abstract concepts. You simply type in the requested information into the boxes, and immediately, you have a perfect profile layout, ready for photocopy publishing. (Saving your profiles is not an option, so all must be printed immediately.) This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom
Teach Internet safety by having students create a mock profile to use on social networking sites. Printing out those profiles makes editing in small groups a breeze. Yearbook or newspaper staff may want to use this Profile Publisher to gain more information about people of interest. History comes alive when you profile historical figures or interview veterans and generate profiles of local heroes. Imagine students creating a blog entry by George Washington. Or ask students to profile a type of cell, an endangered animal, or a science concept such as climate change. With this tool and some creative thinking, anything is possible.Be SURE to warn students to PRINT before closing. The site does NOT save work. You may want them to draft their work in a saved document before pasting it into the profiler, just in case work is interrupted by a fire drill or the bell.
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Snoopy - United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
Grades
3 to 8
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Find out all you can about Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang on Snoopy.com. This site provides a variety of great comic strips that can be applied to ...more
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Find out all you can about Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang on Snoopy.com. This site provides a variety of great comic strips that can be applied to many classroom lessons. The site also provides an Author Spotlight on Charles Schulz. There is also a link for fun and games with printable pages, puzzles, word problems, and other "fun" stuff. Some of the activities require Shockwave. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom
Have students utilize and manipulate comic strips for dialog-writing lessons, summarizing, predicting and retelling stories. Use comic strips for literature responses. School counselors will also like the Peanuts strips as conversation starters about feelings. You could even use an online comic strip maker, such as Make Beliefs Comix to create your own class or student comic strips after looking at some examples from Peanuts. Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to share the Fun and Games . Then have students work on individual computers or with a partner to try some of the educational activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Biography Maker - Jamie McKenzie and the Bellingham Public Schools.
Grades
4 to 12
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Writing biographies is a staple of English and history classes. This site takes students through the process in a way that will make reading them more palatable. It will also ...more
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Writing biographies is a staple of English and history classes. This site takes students through the process in a way that will make reading them more palatable. It will also help students delve deeper into a person's life , making it memorable for them. Divided into four groups (Questioning, Learning, Synthesis, and Storytelling), it helps students understand how to take facts and apply them to a real live person. It wraps up with the six effective traits of writing, reminding students that biography writing shouldn't just be a recitation of facts. The "learning" section does link students to Yahoo encyclopedias and Google (with search hints included), so be aware of that feature. This site serves as a guide for writing a biography of anyone (including students themselves).
In the Classroom
All material at this site is copyrighted, so it must be viewed online. For students who do best with step-by-step instructions, this site is a gem! You might have one group research authors from a particular country while others do artists, musicians, scientists, etc. A class report from each of these groups would do a good job of encapsulating a country or area of the world within any given time period. Teachers seeking independent projects for students who "test out" of a unit can assign this site's step-by-step instructions as a meaningful alternate activity.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Academic Vocabulary - Averil Coxhead
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
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This visually unexciting site offers the creative teacher a way to produce individualized vocabulary lists for particular content or unit areas. Type or paste your own text and call...more
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This visually unexciting site offers the creative teacher a way to produce individualized vocabulary lists for particular content or unit areas. Type or paste your own text and call upon the sublists of academic vocabulary included in the site to generate text passages with academic vocabulary in boldface (they call it highlighted). You can then create your own exercises t practice these words. Once typed in, you can save texts for later use or compilation lists. It gives examples of use of the AWL Highlighter and AWL Gapmaker, so it is easy to understand. Open the "teaching" folder (in the left column) for an easy explanation of how to make this site work best for you. The concordances section shows a word in multiple contexts for students to discern meaning from context clues.
In the Classroom
Use this tool (and save time) to create specialized academic texts and materials at varying levels. Check out the various word lists from the start to see if the vocabulary is what you need.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kids' Vid - Mike Keating
Grades
3 to 8
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Leap into video production with help from the Kids' Vid site! Kids' Vid steps you and your students through the process with tips on scripting, storyboarding, shooting video, and editing...more
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Leap into video production with help from the Kids' Vid site! Kids' Vid steps you and your students through the process with tips on scripting, storyboarding, shooting video, and editing it into a visual masterpiece. The site has classroom ideas, short exercises for story writing and learning video shots, an online storyboard creator, and lots of useful help from experts and kids on how to make the whole process an exciting educational experience.
In the Classroom
Start the activity by showing the student-produced videos on the web site. Use the resources on the site for a whole class jig-saw exercise. Assign small groups the task of learning one aspect of the process and then reporting and showing it to the rest of the class. Share the knowledge by creating working groups, which contain an expert from each aspect of the process. Use one of the many class ideas as practice activities for students to learn the finer points of video production before they start their masterpieces.Video is a great tool for authentic assessment - especially for ESL, ELL, and Special Education students. Think about letting each of your students create a short video about what they know for their parent conference meeting or Open House. Explore the realm of possibilities by having students develop and ask peers a "Question of the Week" and document the responses on video. Let students produce a walking tour of the school and key personnel as an introduction for new students. Post this video on the school website, but check the district and students' Acceptable Use Policies before videoing any student faces. You may want to ask your school's funding sources to consider purchasing a few USB plug-in "flip" video cameras that cost about $100 each so students can do these projects with an "indestructible" tool.
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Book Wizard - Scholastic
Grades
K to 12
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Wizards perform magical feats, and this book wizard proves to be equally supernatural. Claiming to be the first book search engine for teachers, it is built on a database of ...more
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Wizards perform magical feats, and this book wizard proves to be equally supernatural. Claiming to be the first book search engine for teachers, it is built on a database of 50,000 books from all publishers. Snazzy tools allow you to see the reading level of any book in several leveling systems, and use the BookAlike tool to see what books are similar to a particular well-loved book. Use the Discover New Books tool and you will find ready-made, themed lists. The Leveling Chart to find books by Guided Reading, Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA), and Lexile'''® Levels. This gives you the opportunity to buy them from Scholastic, but check your library first to find a free copy to use in class. Matching the right book to each individual student has never been easier.
In the Classroom
Teachers, make sure your librarian and even parents know about this wonderful web tool. This could be set up as the homepage for several computers in the library, so students can plug in their levels, their interests, and then enjoy the book recommendations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Power Point Games - Jefferson County Schools
Grades
2 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
This site contains several templates for familiar TV games useful for teacher (or student) created review. The activities include Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to be a Millionaire,...more
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This site contains several templates for familiar TV games useful for teacher (or student) created review. The activities include Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and others. Most of the games are done in PowerPoint. Depending on the version of PowerPoint you have, the formatting may be slightly off once you input your words, questions, or answers. Original games created by a teacher complete the offerings. Our editors note that the sound files included with some templates may be copyrighted material, and TeachersFirst does not condone the use of this content without the permission of the copyright holder(s). Most templates are "clean" of such potential problems. This website requires PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat. Download both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom
Use these templates with any subject you wish to review: foreign language word lists, social studies terms and concepts, science, language arts, art, music, sped, etc. These activities offer an excellent method to review information through a fun and different approach. Teachers can also have students create their own versions of review games.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Comic Creator - ReadWriteThink.org
Grades
2 to 12
17 Favorites
0 Comments
Your students will create comics in minutes using this Comic Creator site. No log-in is required. Just type in the prompted information, such as the name of comic character, author,...more
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Your students will create comics in minutes using this Comic Creator site. No log-in is required. Just type in the prompted information, such as the name of comic character, author, caption, and of course, the dialog that goes into the speech bubble. The 'creator' chooses the number of panels, type of characters, style of speech bubble, and various props. Two actions are needed: clicking and dragging the items to go into the comic strip, and typing dialog into the bubbles. Then, presto....a genuine comic appears, ready for printing. The tool DOES support accent marks pasted from Word.
(Unfortunately, there is no way to save your comic masterpieces.)
In the Classroom
Instead of writing boring summaries, why not summarize through a comic strip. It's much like storyboarding, but the drawing has been left to the Comic Creator pros. Make a class book of the comics created throughout the year. That book will become the most read classroom book of all in an elementary classroom. Use comics to show sequencing of events. When studying about characterization, create dialog to show (not tell) about a character. Another idea - why not use the comic strips for conflict resolution or other guidance issues (such as bullying). Sometimes it is easier for students to write it down (or draw the pictures) than use the actual words. World language and ESL/ELL teachers can assign students to create dialog strips as an alternate to traditional written assessments.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TeenInk Online Magazine - The 21st Century and the Young Authors Foundation
Grades
5 to 12
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This print magazine for teens also has a free, online version. While not all the content from the print magazine is found online, you will find a wealth of cool ...more
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This print magazine for teens also has a free, online version. While not all the content from the print magazine is found online, you will find a wealth of cool teen stuff there. Written solely by teens, the site includes edgy stories, poetry, opinion pieces, photography, extensive author and celebrity interviews, and call-outs for stories and contests. You need not "join" or "subscribe (at a cost) to read and use the site.
In the Classroom
English teachers, create your own TeenInk publication in your classroom. Work with your school's technology teacher to have students set up an online publication like the one at this site--perhaps on a wiki. Don't dare call it a literary magazine these days. Use TeenInk as a prototype of an edgy, creative outlet for your students. Put Shakespeare on the shelf for a few weeks and consider using the TeenInk site's content to show story elements and literary devices. If school policies prohibit publishing content online, make the wiki private and share the password with invited guests. Learn more about wikis at the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Online Newspapers - Web Wombat Pty Ltd.
Grades
5 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Never again wonder where to find a newspaper. This site accesses thousands of newspapers with just a simple sign-in from the drop down information search page. There are newspapers...more
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Never again wonder where to find a newspaper. This site accesses thousands of newspapers with just a simple sign-in from the drop down information search page. There are newspapers included from South East Asia, Central America, Middle East, and nearly every country throughout the world. There are some minor advertisements at this website.
In the Classroom
Students can update reports and research by accessing newspapers from around the world. Any of your favorite newspaper learning activities can transfer to a newspaper in another part of the USA or world. Foreign language teachers and students will enjoy using the foreign presses for authentic learning. Social Studies teachers can assign students to compare points of view on world issues or perceptions of the U.S. via various newspapers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips - QDTips
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Invite Grammar Girl into your English/Language Arts classroom! Covering the grammar rules and word choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers, Grammar Girl makes complex...more
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Invite Grammar Girl into your English/Language Arts classroom! Covering the grammar rules and word choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers, Grammar Girl makes complex grammar questions simple with memory tricks to help your students recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules. Through audio podcasts and written transcripts, get those short, friendly tips to improve student writing. Be sure to check out the "Top Ten Grammar Girl Episodes" and the "Related Grammar Girl Episodes." There is an archive link to all past episodes, an email newsletter signup option, and an RSS subscription option. Grammar Girl invites comments and questions.
The site includes ads and each podcast starts with a short commercial announcement. The transcript can be accessed online, sometimes with a short accompanying video that illustrates the grammar issue of the day. Grammar Girl tips can be heard as podcasts, which are played through an embedded online audio player. The podcasts can also be downloaded as Mp3 files and played through iTunes, QuickTime Player and RealPlayer installed on a local computer. You can get QuickTime and RealPlayer from the "Teachers First Toolbox page.
This site includes advertising.
The site includes ads and each podcast starts with a short commercial announcement. The transcript can be accessed online, sometimes with a short accompanying video that illustrates the grammar issue of the day. Grammar Girl tips can be heard as podcasts, which are played through an embedded online audio player. The podcasts can also be downloaded as Mp3 files and played through iTunes, QuickTime Player and RealPlayer installed on a local computer. You can get QuickTime and RealPlayer from the "Teachers First Toolbox page.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Check with your Information Technology Department to make sure the site is unblocked at school. If it is blocked, consider installing the free iTunes, QuickTime Player or RealPlayer on a computer at home and downloading the Mp3 files to play later at school. External speakers connected to the computer will help broadcast the sound throughout your classroom. IMPORTANT NOTE: This site includes tools for blog users to interact with others. Any visitor can comment on the posts and podcasts or participate in Forums. There are also links to other tip blogs on the web page. Check your school policies on students posting comments, etc. to the web and whether they are permitted to do so anonymously and/or with name or initials. Extend the concept of Grammar Girls by having students write and produce their own Grammar Girls style podcasts to explain the grammar demons that haunt their writing.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Scratch - Lifelong Kindergarten Group, MIT Media Lab
Grades
1 to 12
12 Favorites
0 Comments
Want to get in touch with your inner child? Get Scratch! Warning: The use of this application is quite fun and engaging! Scratch is a downloadable program that creates interactive ...more
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Want to get in touch with your inner child? Get Scratch! Warning: The use of this application is quite fun and engaging! Scratch is a downloadable program that creates interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art. This application can be used for bringing simple ideas and projects to life. It has great use as a paint program without using the animations. Download/install files are available for Mac or PC. Menu tabs include an Idea tab where you will find a Getting Started Tutorial, Activity Guides, Coding Cards, and Starter Projects. FAQs and support pages are also available for help in using the application.
Material created can only be viewed within the program. Drawings are not saved as a JPG or pic file. However, a "snapshot" of the screen can be created by using these keys in Mac: apple, shift, and 4 and click/drag to surround the portion to save. In PC use: control/print screen. These snapshots can be uploaded or used as a picture in other applications.
Material created can only be viewed within the program. Drawings are not saved as a JPG or pic file. However, a "snapshot" of the screen can be created by using these keys in Mac: apple, shift, and 4 and click/drag to surround the portion to save. In PC use: control/print screen. These snapshots can be uploaded or used as a picture in other applications.
In the Classroom
Be sure to "play" with this program before you present it to students; or, you could have computer savy students in your class pair up with not so savy students to investigate together. There are many tabs, folders; and icons to investigate. You (or students) could click Create and in the center pane, click on the tutorial. To begin your creation follow the steps in the tutorial. Once you have the idea, choose your own features from the menu on the left, and on the bottom right are two more menus; Look for the cat icon and the backdrops. Different colors, pens, and materials can be used to create the background or an image can be brought in from your computer. Objects in Scratch are called a Sprite and can be added in by choosing the folders below the screen. By clicking the script tab, blocks can be moved in to create motion, add sounds (even record your own message), and change the look of the Sprite. Blocks are linked on to each other to create a series of events. A control block dragged to the top of the blocks control which key starts the event. Advanced options include adding variables and other controls.Be sure to check with your Technology Department, as many districts require authorization to download or install new applications. Projects can be shared online; however an account is required.
Work is saved to the computer itself and only shared online via an account. To avoid problems concerning content made by outsiders or issues with sharing, save the work locally and either create your own gallery on a supervised class website/wiki or set up a single account where you share the "best" projects online via your own log-in. Remind students of the school's Acceptable Use Policy and consequences of violations, if you do allow them to join/share. Images used should adhere to all copyright rules. Use pictures taken in class or those with Creative Commons licensing (and provide attribution!).
Practical tips: Students quickly catch on to this program when allowed to play and easily see what they can make from it. Provide a simple assignment with defined rules/tasks to learn the tools. Younger students may familiarize themselves more easily working with a partner. Have students use a storyboard to write down what they will do/draw/say in their creation in order to keep tabs on what students and their creations.
Possible uses: For the lower grades, Scratch provides unlimited possibilities. Use as a new way to show vocabulary usage. Use the paint program to add information to a picture from your class field trip or science experiment. Use Scratch to help in storytelling a concept in a new and unique way, such as how rocks are formed. In the upper grades, use Scratch to show complex material in a new way. For example, students can draw DNA and show replication, etc. through their drawings and storytelling. Draw the different movements of landforms in plate tectonics. Draw or illustrate solutions to Math problems.
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Baseball (A Fan's View) - John R. Potter
Grades
4 to 8
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This website offers a word scramble with words and phrases from fans.
...more
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This website offers a word scramble with words and phrases from fans.
In the Classroom
Before handing out the printed copies of the word scramble, project the word scramble on an interactive whiteboard or projector and discuss the meaning behind some of the phrases.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Baseball Word Scramble - John R. Potter
Grades
4 to 8
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This website provides a simple word search that you can print and copy for student use. ...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:
This website provides a simple word search that you can print and copy for student use.
In the Classroom
Project the word search on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Assign each student 1-2 words to look up and define. Give the students a few minutes to look up the definitions. Share the definitions together before completing the word search.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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