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Newpapers in Education - Capital Newspapers
Grades
2 to 12
1 Favorites
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This wonderful collection of lesson plans and activities using e-newspapers offers a wide variety of motivating plans including how to use different sections of the newspaper for educational...more
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This wonderful collection of lesson plans and activities using e-newspapers offers a wide variety of motivating plans including how to use different sections of the newspaper for educational purposes and how to match curricular content an levels with various newspaper activities. A Special Report section offers timely, short-term projects that correspond with STEM and current hot topics.
In the Classroom
All of the lessons described here require online versions of newspapers, but you may be able to find any article in a hard copy newspaper as well. You could also use online newspapers from this resource to find online papers and conduct some of the same lessons. In the course of the discussion, or possible read the article from a different point of view, a topic of basic information literacy in the 21st century.
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Braingle: Brain Teasers, Puzzles, Riddles and More - Braingle
Grades
3 to 12
2 Favorites
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Exercise your gray matter by solving one of the 12,000 'braingles' at this site. It purports to be the largest collection of puzzles, riddles, mind games, etc, on the ...more
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Exercise your gray matter by solving one of the 12,000 'braingles' at this site. It purports to be the largest collection of puzzles, riddles, mind games, etc, on the Internet. Once you explore the site, you trust their word. The site is mobile phone and wii-friendly. Don't miss the section with SAT vocab (in Mentalrobics). There are articles on study skills and strategies such as clearing your mind before studying, "chunking" when reading, or various strategies to memorize material. Engage students into math and reading exercises through the endless riddles and puzzles at this site. They won't even be aware they are 'reading' or 'solving math.'
In the Classroom
Start class with a "warm-up" brain teaser. Or include this link on your teacher web page (with a caution about parental supervision for younger ones). Site creators claim the entire site is family-friendly, safe for classroom use. Portions of the site require membership, and the membership level that displays ads is free. You may want to set up a CLASS account and use it under controlled circumstances since there are forums and chat rooms, however. Or ask your tech folks to block the portion of the site that includes "community" in the URL (http://www.braingle.com/community/) to avoid having to deal with forums, chat rooms, etc.(If you are lucky enough to have such helpful tech support, make them cookies once in awhile!)Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bibme - team exibeans
Grades
6 to 12
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BibMe is a one-stop source for all kinds of bibliography needs. It is a great online tool for bibliographies--and more. It even has a function for those students who ...more
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BibMe is a one-stop source for all kinds of bibliography needs. It is a great online tool for bibliographies--and more. It even has a function for those students who don't remember all the information for the source you cited. BibMe allows you to search from a database of millions of entries to find your source and autofill in the information. If you have the source in front of you, you can enter your entries manually. BibMe also offers resources to help you cite your work properly in the 'Citation Guide' section. It offers examples in MLA, APA, and Chicago formatting, making it useful for a wide variety of schools. Set up a free account for yourself so you can "save" bibliographies.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
This is a great tool for students who are both learning to cite correctly and as a helpful tool for those who forget some of the "little" things that count when writing a bibliography. It offers a great example, too, of the difference between what is in a "Works Cited" page and what actually appears in the text as a citation. Teachers can use this on a Smartboard or simply through a computer lab or projector to demonstrate the correct way to cite as well as mistakes to avoid. Be sure to include the link on your teacher web page for students finishing reports in the wee hours of the morning on the due date. Set up a free account for yourself so you can "save" example bibliographies. If you assign independent projects to your gifted students (or any student), be sure to make Bibme part of your instructions so they learn to organize their sources early on. If students are allowed to set up individual accounts, this tool is worth the time! They must be 13 or have parent permission.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Simple English Wikipedia - Wikipedia Foundation
Grades
3 to 10
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Simple English Wikipedia is a new production of Wikipedia, focused on readers and learners with less vocabulary than native speakers of English. According to the producer, the pages...more
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Simple English Wikipedia is a new production of Wikipedia, focused on readers and learners with less vocabulary than native speakers of English. According to the producer, the pages featured here contain simpler words and shorter sentences than the regular Wiki pages. The number of pages is more limited as well, though this should grow with educators and learners contributing information. Another difference is that any slangs or idiomatic language is carefully explained to accommodate the ELL reader. The HELP pages explain how to write and submit articles for Simple English Wikipedia and have suggestions for simplifying English.
In the Classroom
Share this site with your school ESL teachers as well as classroom teachers who may have ESL students who are involved in researching and possibly even writing new articles. Bookmark this for your classroom computer. If you do recommend wikipedia as a source for research, be sure to have the discussion about its unknown authorship and usefulness as a general information tool but not as a "scholarly" resource. As a challenge to your better writers, consider asking them to write entries that you can submit to this encyclopedia on classroom topics in simpler English. They will have to analyze their own language and writing style with far greater scrutiny than ever before. Or have the class create a two-version wiki glossary of your own on curriculum topics in any discipline, using this as a model for the "easy reading" side.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Poetryfoundation.org - Poetry Foundation
Grades
3 to 12
5 Favorites
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If poetry is your interest, this is the site for you. This is a vast site that takes some mining to find what you want simply because there is so ...more
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If poetry is your interest, this is the site for you. This is a vast site that takes some mining to find what you want simply because there is so much of it. From a poetry search to poetry news, blogs, and podcasts, there is something here for any poetry lover. A smorgasbord of rhyme, about rhyme, and for rhyme, take a look for poem wealth. The Jack Prelutsky audio was especially interesting: hearing the poet reading his own poetry is something special. For older students, podcasts will hold a lot of appeal and can generate great class discussion.
In the Classroom
A caution: the site does contain links to poems that some schools or grade levels may find inappropriate (lesbian poetry, for example). However, the audio portions are excellent so sticking to what is geared specifically for your interests is easy and totally safe. Remember to connect speakers or headphones. Why not try making a poetry podcast with your class after you hear these?
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Teaching That Makes Sense - Steve Peha
Grades
4 to 10
6 Favorites
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This is an exciting site for teachers because of the practical worksheets and ideas that absolutely fill it. It is geared to writing, particularly writing about what we read. While...more
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This is an exciting site for teachers because of the practical worksheets and ideas that absolutely fill it. It is geared to writing, particularly writing about what we read. While it may seem geared for intermediate and middle school students, it has a lot to offer to older students as well-- particularly ones who are not good writers and need more engaging, closer work to become better writers. In light of NCLB, this is a great site for working with slow or disabled older students or really just any students who need to become better communicators.
In the Classroom
The PDF files that are downloadable from this site are great! It is divided into 6 sections that you can use to plan, or you can use portions directly with students in a lab or on laptops. Have students do different parts of the same projects, working from the templates provided. A great exercise for older students is to go through the writing samples and evaluate them as a class. Since there are multiple examples posted, it would be an excellent lesson to work with an interactive whiteboard. The ideas are limited only by your imagination!
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Educator's Reference Desk of Lesson Plans - Information Institute of Syracuse
Grades
K to 12
4 Favorites
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Over 2000 lesson plans are at your fingertips when you visit this site. Find lesson plans on these topics: Arts, Computer Science, Foreign Language, Health, Information Literacy,...more
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Over 2000 lesson plans are at your fingertips when you visit this site. Find lesson plans on these topics: Arts, Computer Science, Foreign Language, Health, Information Literacy, Interdisciplinary, Language Arts, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, and Vocational Education.
In the Classroom
Some of the lesson plans are actually units designed for a week or more of study. The site allows for printer-friendly versions of the plans to make printing them a neat option. When you need quick plans for the substitute--or if you are a substitute-- this site is a must-have.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Word Search Maker - A to Z Teacher Stuff Tools
Grades
K to 7
1 Favorites
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This is a time-saving online tool for any subject. Reinforce concepts and spelling with your own customized word searches. This tool allows for a variety of options for the ...more
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This is a time-saving online tool for any subject. Reinforce concepts and spelling with your own customized word searches. This tool allows for a variety of options for the placement of the words or even the shape of the grid puzzle. Teachers can personalize the font styles and sizes as well.
In the Classroom
Read the home page carefully for directions on setting your browser for a more customized look. Landscape mode works best for most puzzles. Make sure you take their suggestion of copying your word list onto your clipboard just in case you lose the word search. For younger students, consider sharing a word search on an interactive whiteboard and letting them "highlight" the words with a finger in different colors.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bulletin Board Hang Ups - TeachersFirst
Grades
2 to 12
17 Favorites
0 Comments
TeachersFirst provides this collection of printable quotations, ready for your classroom or bulletin board. Inspire, engage, or challenge your students to think with quotes from famous...more
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TeachersFirst provides this collection of printable quotations, ready for your classroom or bulletin board. Inspire, engage, or challenge your students to think with quotes from famous leaders, sports figures, thinkers, and writers.
In the Classroom
They look great printed on brightly colored paper! As an opening day activity, challenge small groups of students to interpret the quote hanging closest to them and predict how it may be important in your course this year. For younger students, ask them to write a paraphrase or to illustrate the quote. Be sure to change the quotes periodically and give a prize to the first student who notices. Or give a pop-quiz during the last week of school, asking students to recall as many of the year's quotes as they can (working in small groups will probably help). If you have classroom blogs, ask students to choose and reflect on a specific quote and its relevance to your class throughout the past year.
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Beacon Learning Center: Student Web Lessons - Beacon Learning Center
Grades
K to 12
8 Favorites
0 Comments
This website, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, provides an enormous collection of "web lessons" (interactives) for all grade levels. There are lessons in language...more
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This website, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, provides an enormous collection of "web lessons" (interactives) for all grade levels. There are lessons in language arts, math, science, social studies, and health. There are too many lesson plans to count - and all are projector, laptop, or whiteboard-ready. Just to give you an idea of some of these unique lessons, some of the titles include "Where is Japan?", "Walrus World", "Piece of Pie", "Medians", "Fence Me In", and "Critter Craze". On the main page, a brief description is provided for each lesson plan. Click Teacher Solutions > Lesson Plans to search by subject or grade level.
In the Classroom
If you want ready-to-go lessons guaranteed to work well on your interactive whiteboard, this collection is a winner. You simply open the activity on the whiteboard and have students tap and drag their way through as you talk with the class. (Invite your most "active" student to be "Vanna White" for a great behavior management solution). Many lessons would work well on laptops or on a computer cluster center, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Guide to British Life, Culture and Customs - Mandy Barrow
Grades
3 to 8
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This website provides a one-stop adventure for anyone wishing to learn more about Great Britain. There are over 1500 pages of information and activities - all "kid-friendly", entertaining...more
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This website provides a one-stop adventure for anyone wishing to learn more about Great Britain. There are over 1500 pages of information and activities - all "kid-friendly", entertaining and educational. You will find information about British culture, history, flags, education, daily life, climate and weather, government, the royal family and more. There are also links available to classroom activities to use while teaching students about Great Britain. These activities include WebQuests, "Winnie the Pooh" adventures, comparisons of Great Britain to various states in the USA and other countries throughout the world, worksheets, interactive activities and other learning adventures. A true inspiration for your students is the fact that much of the content was created by students aged 7-11. Some of the activities require FLASH, get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
In the Classroom
So many famous people and inventions are from Great Britain - J.K. Rowling, Shakespeare, the hovercraft vehicle, Darwin, Newton and countless others. If your class is learning about these famous people or inventions, use this website to further enhance their understanding of the people, inventions and culture of Great Britain.As you study about what unites cultures into communities and countries, ask your class what they would include if they made a similar site about the city, state, or country where you teach. Use a wiki to start just such a site, including digital pictures. You can always start out simple and make a guide to your school itself -- including playground etiquette and favorite foods.
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Free Typing Games - TypingMaster
Grades
2 to 8
1 Favorites
1 Comments
Build keyboarding skills with these free online games. The bubble game with lower case letters is simple enough for very young ones, since they need only recognize single letters. As...more
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Build keyboarding skills with these free online games. The bubble game with lower case letters is simple enough for very young ones, since they need only recognize single letters. As students progress, they can move on to more elaborate games involving words (free downloads) or try the online typing test (also free).
In the Classroom
Share this link on your classroom computer, teacher web page, or in a class newsletter so students can practice keyboarding outside of class or at home. If you have some students who have computers at home and some who do not, give the less experienced students time during recesses or after work is done to improve their skills using these engaging games.Comments
Love this service, recommended.Adam, , Grades: 0 - 12
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Panoramas.dk
Grades
K to 12
6 Favorites
2 Comments
Have a high speed Internet connection? (Most schools do) Then you MUST visit these 3D virtual tours of beautiful sites all over the world with your students. Read the Welcome ...more
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Have a high speed Internet connection? (Most schools do) Then you MUST visit these 3D virtual tours of beautiful sites all over the world with your students. Read the Welcome message on the home page for directions and details, then explore the current features and several years of archives for 3D virtual tours from major world capitals to true "experiences" such as Times Square and white water rafting. Even the tour of a Banyan tree will amaze you. Bring the world into your classroom for geography, landforms, world cultures, foreign language study, or literary settings. Be in the midst of festivals or atop the Sydney Bridge.
In the Classroom
Use a projector--or better yet, an interactive whiteboard--to take students atop the Eiffel Tower, to the high Sierras, or aboard a Mars explorer. Allow student to navigate on the whiteboard. Nte that Shift and Ctrl keys alow you to zoom, as well. Be sure to click at the top of the 3D view to Read More about the image. These tours will make landforms real, culture come alive, and science a visual art form. As you introduce terms and place, use images! You could even use a tour as a writing prompt for poetry or descriptive writing. Include the link on your teacher web page for students to "tour the world" outside of class or feature one location a week to broaden class horizons on a classroom desktop.Comments
What a GREAT idea! Thank you. I found one with mountain biking and vistas. I'll put it up early in the period and come back to it in the end and have them write their exit cards about it. Then I will revisit it in a week or two when we start talking about metaphorical language.Shirley, CA, Grades: 6 - 12
I plan to use this as a way to start the school year with my sixth grade G/T kids. I will display a panorama on an interactive whiteboard-- one of mountains with peaks and valleys. I will ask, "Why would I show you this and say that this is our classroom this year?" The students will write down an idea on a slip of paper, guessing why I might use this as an introduction to my class. They will most likely introduce all of the classroom conduct and learning environment issues that I want to touch upon that first day: peaks and valleys during the year, some rugged terrain, studying mountains and geography, some amazing views (everyone's opinions), and more. It will also get them thinking in analogies and allow me to see how quickly some of them do this and how literal others are.Thinking, PA, Grades: 5 - 10
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Colorin Colorado - WETA
Grades
1 to 10
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This totally bilingual website (a collaboration between Reading Rockets and the American Federation of Teachers) is packed with information for both ENL/ESL and regular classroom instructors...more
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This totally bilingual website (a collaboration between Reading Rockets and the American Federation of Teachers) is packed with information for both ENL/ESL and regular classroom instructors about how to encourage reading. Although the focus is on Spanish speaking students, the information is specific and easily adaptable for all reading learners. Lots of information is available on the site concerning not only reading instructional techniques, but building partnerships with families of Hispanic students, placement and assessment, and important authors. Webcast information programs include accompanying reading and discussion questions. Webcasts can be found under the Video tab on the top menu bar. This site is a good resource to help meet the needs of increasing numbers of students born speaking other languages. Videos and webcasts reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.
In the Classroom
All classroom teachers who have ENL/ESL students should consider this a primary source of information about how to teach and help second language learners. Share this link on your teacher web page and/or in a parent newsletter for those who are concerned with the challenges of the increasing number of ENL/ESL students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Deluxe Paralaughs - Mr. Nussbaum
Grades
3 to 8
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This mad-lib-type exercise will build better understanding of grammar. Students start by choosing a story category. They then review parts of speech by "writing" the story. They insert...more
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This mad-lib-type exercise will build better understanding of grammar. Students start by choosing a story category. They then review parts of speech by "writing" the story. They insert a noun, a plural noun, a verb etc. When finished inserting the required parts of speech, they see the new story on the screen. The results are hilarious! students will be motivated to think of many examples of each part of speech in order to make their stories funnier, thus building a better understanding of the concepts of "noun," "verb," etc.
In the Classroom
Use this site to reinforce the parts of speech with humor. Include it on your teacher web page for practice outside of class. Let your students copy and paste the funniest stories into decorative word processing documents and highlight the parts of speech in different colors as further reinforcement---then print and post them in your classroom! Now you have an instant grammar bulletin board, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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SIKids - Sports Illustrated for Kids &CNN
Grades
3 to 8
2 Favorites
0 Comments
All about sports: top sports news stories, sports polls, displays of readers' artwork, AND MORE, this site is sure to appeal to those reluctant readers and any sports lover. Users ...more
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All about sports: top sports news stories, sports polls, displays of readers' artwork, AND MORE, this site is sure to appeal to those reluctant readers and any sports lover. Users can get up-to-date statistics from the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NBA. Readers can enjoy sports jokes.
In the Classroom
Share this site on your teacher web page or classroom desktop for fast student access to sport statistics and a way to submit creative works. Use sports statistics for math practice and to teach graphing or data organization skills. Use the sports stories as non-fiction examples for reading comprehension. Share a Top Story on your interactive whiteboard as you ask students to highlight parts of speech, cause-effect words, main idea, and more. Suddenly your students will actually READ!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Common Sense Media - Common Sense Media Inc.
Grades
1 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
This site has current movie reviews from the parents' point of view: What current movies are appropriate? What ages are they appropriate for? In addition to current films, there ...more
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This site has current movie reviews from the parents' point of view: What current movies are appropriate? What ages are they appropriate for? In addition to current films, there are reviews of TV programs, new DVD's, games, websites, books, music, etc. The site uses its own rating system: "Appropriate for age," "Know your kid," and "Not appropriate for age." Along with written reviews and Q/A approaches, there are video clips and tips. Each category of entertainment has several recommended and reviewed items with age ranges. There is also a newsletter and in-depth articles on subjects of concern to kids and parents.
In the Classroom
Let your students' parents know about this site via your teacher web page or class newsletter. You may also want to share it with your school PTO or PTA.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Protopage - Protopage
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This online tool creates a highly visual "home page" that can incorporate multiple elements simply by dragging and dropping them in place. Not unlike Google's personalized homepage,...more
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This online tool creates a highly visual "home page" that can incorporate multiple elements simply by dragging and dropping them in place. Not unlike Google's personalized homepage, the elements look like little sticky notes or boxes, but there is far greater flexibility and a wider variety of content readily available. You can also make the page local (simply use it as the "home" on your classroom computer), shared by a select group (passworded), or completely public. You can easily make a theme or unit page for quick access of resources, complete with directions.
In the Classroom
How would you use this in your teaching? Create a set of RSS feeds for current events or a specific curriculum topic such as weather and make them available for an in-class activity, complete with directions. World language, world cultures, or geography teachers can profile a location on the globe, complete with local weather and news. Make separate tabs for separate activities. Students can access them by password or publicly from outside of class, as well. For primary grades, make simple instructions right on the desktop for a computer center activity. Use color coding of the instructions to differentiate for different children (Sam, I want you to do the yellow one). If your school permits students to set up accounts on web services, have groups make Protopages on an assigned topic, collecting and organizing resources, images, and information: "A Protopage Guide to Cells" or "Shakespeare's Times." Gifted and highly-able students will go crazy!Skills needed: Join (free). Check out the Intro, Overview, and Quickstart to see how it works. Play to your heart's content, including making tabs. Learn about RSS feeds and other Widgets-- including sticky notes. Share the URL with those you wish to have use it. Note: this works on Internet Explorer 6 and higher and on Firefox. If your users are on older web browsers, the developers recommend upgrading. This may be a problem for some. Check with your end-user computers before you spend too much time making the perfect Protopage!
If you allow students to create their own Protopage, you will need to have very specific rules about content, since there are non-educational elements available.
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The Music In Poetry - Smithsonian Institute
Grades
5 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
If you want to get students involved in listening to poetry, try this site featuring real life SOUNDS of poetry in both ballads and the blues. Ballads are traditionally taught ...more
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If you want to get students involved in listening to poetry, try this site featuring real life SOUNDS of poetry in both ballads and the blues. Ballads are traditionally taught as story poems and, while this site does that too, it makes ballads more relevant to the music that kids listen to today. Use this site to teach about meters (iambic triameter and iambic tetrameter) in ways that students can HEAR. The images of the short films are great, too. The site includes readings and singing of great, classic examples of ballads as well as some rarer film footage of great blues singers (ex: John Jackson singing "Steamboat Whistle" at Wolf Trap in 1997). There is a wide variety of tracks to choose from and the site includes lesson plans.
In the Classroom
Play the sound files on speakers in your classroom and be sure to include the link on your teacher web page for students to play at home, as well. If you are into podcasting, consider having students make their own recordings of ballads after hearing and studying these. Challenge cooperative learning groups to modernize one of the ballads and augment classroom technology use by creating a podcast by using sites such as podOmatic, reviewed here, or Buzzsprout, reviewed here. Help students create a checklist or rubric to use for self-evaluation or peer review. Use a tool like Quick Rubric, reviewed here, for the checklist and rubric. Use this same document to help students make constructive suggestions for story revisions. The lesson plans are printable PDFs and work with units/lessons on Langston Hughes and the blues as well as the meters of poetry.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Renaissance: The Elizabethan World - Maggi Ros
Grades
4 to 12
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This site has links to everything you ever wanted to know about the Elizabeth world from a Compendium of Life in Elizabethan England to Heraldry to the transcripts of the ...more
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This site has links to everything you ever wanted to know about the Elizabeth world from a Compendium of Life in Elizabethan England to Heraldry to the transcripts of the trials of the Earls of Essex and Southampton. It also includes a link to a list of more than a hundred recommended sites for the Renaissance and Elizabethan times.Teachers of everything from world history to Shakespeare will find something to mine at this site. The Compendium of Elizabethan Life is especially interesting to those students who want to know "how things worked" 500 years ago in the time of Will Shakespeare. While this is a great research sourcefor Shakespeare, it is also good for drama, literature, and history for all sorts of activities.
In the Classroom
Share this resource on your teacher web page for students to choose different research topics related to Elizabethan or Renaissance times. As you teach Shakespeare, bring up a daily "factoid," text snippet, or image on a projector to take students back in time before you start class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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