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World Climate - Robert Hoare
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Use the data along with world maps (or Google Earth) for students to draw conclusions about geographic features and weather or to collect weather data over a time period to compare seasonal differences between northern and southern hemispheres. As part of an Earth Day or climate comparison activity, have students create a color-coded climate data "globe" in small groups, showing major cities and their weather data by color. You can use basketballs and sticky colored contact paper to cut out continents and climate zones, or have students make the map on an interactive whiteboard using a globe projection and highlghter tools in different colors. Older students can use the raw data as part of study of climate and cultural differences, environmental issues, or related topics.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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ePals - ePals, Inc.
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
Navigating this site is rather simple. Simply scroll through the slide show at the top to find your area of interest: Collaboration Projects, Spark!Lab Invent It Challenge, etc. Parts of this site require log-in. Registration does require an email address. A lot of safety features are already put into place at this site. To learn more about the safety features at this site, check out the ePals webinar on YouTube link on the FAQ page.This site offers an amazing assortment of class activities and possibilities. Collaborate with schools in Africa (or 200 other countries) for a geography project. Have your students find ePals to correspond with and practice writing skills in English or in a language you are studying. Get additional ideas for projects, by visiting the "Projects" link or propose one of your own based on ideas from TeachersFirst suggestions you read in other reviews, lesson plans, and articles. After viewing one of the informative videos, challenge your students to study one of the topics available at this site and extend their learning by creating their own videos using Typito, reviewed here. Use a tool such as TeachersTube, to share the video clips, reviewed here.
Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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After the Deluge - Smith Magazine
Grades
6 to 12Warning: Be sure to PREVIEW each section before you show it to the class since there is some profanity in the speech of some characters.
In the Classroom
In light of the increase of hurricane activity, this is a wonderful resource to introduce this weather topic. Use it also in art class, graphic design, and with ESL and ELL students learning to tell stories. Use this site to introduce the world of graphic novels to students who are reluctant readers. Have your class make their own graphic novel about another catastrophic or historical event, either in groups or individually. Check with your administration to be sure it's OK to use this site at student computers since there are spaces for students to respond and also to submit their own work. If that's a problem, use it with your classroom computer and project the novel on the whiteboard (avoiding scenes with questionable vocabulary). Extend the lesson by having students create their own collaborative graphic account of a local history event or fictional tale in small groups.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Philologus - Richard Shakeshaft
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
The games created are interactive, so students can work individually, on teams, or on a class computer using an interactive whiteboard or projector. One of the best learning tools for kids is to have them create their OWN games, and this site allows them to do that easily. Use your own teacher account so you do not need student emails at school. Ideally, students can create games for either learning or review for their fellow classmates. Assign a small group of students to work with different game templates and then act as "host" of the game to quiz the rest of the class: an ideal review or way to present student research information an a topic and keep the "audience" engaged.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Abolitionism in America - Cornell University
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a "picture walk" in your classroom, introducing the topic of Abolitionism. Select 10-15 of the more powerful and diverse images, hanging them up in different locations around your classroom. Have students rotate around the classroom every 30-45 seconds, jotting down what they observe and infer about each image until the entire class has completed the circuit. After the class is back in their seats, have a class discussion based on what they observed and what this says about abolitionism as well as slavery. A great way to get students thinking about the content in a way that's more personal and lecture-less!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Inventor of the Week - MIT Lemelson Center
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use the Inventor Archive as an activator at the beginning of every week in a science or Physics classroom. This could be used as an activator over the interactive whiteboard, a projector, or as a learning center or station. This could be used every week or before inventive projects, serving as a motivator!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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DocsTeach - Digital Vaults - National Archives
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set for a unit in history or on inventions. Share a collection of images or invention drawings on a projector or whiteboard and ask what the invention will do. Or use the site as the starting point for individual or group projects. After demonstrating on an interactive whiteboard or projector, have students use laptops or lab computers to "collect" resources related to their assigned inventor, decade, or era in American history. Check your school policy regarding accessing student email. If students cannot have their own email accounts, consider using a "class set" of GMail subaccounts (managed by you), explained here. This tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. This would provide anonymous interaction within your class. Students can use their log-ins to collect resources.Since the documents are in the public domain (are not copyrighted), students may also download and use the files as part of other projects, such as video compilations, Powerpoint presentations, or multimedia of any sort. To access the resources in non-Flash format, click the small link to "research this record in ARC" in the detailed view of the item. You can then view and Save As for use elsewhere. Be sure you teach students about copying the URL and relevant information from this ARC page to cite the source and give credit in any presentation they make. This site is excellent for enrichment or projects for the gifted, as well. Include it on your teacher web page for students to access both in and out of class for students who are working in History Day projects or other assignments for your class.
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D-Day: Teachers' Sources - Imperial War Museums
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a World War II unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Extend learning by having students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a soldier, commander, or loved one during the D-Day invasion. Modify learning by challenging students create timelines (it can include text, images and collaboration) using Sutori, reviewed here. Make your D-Day lessons interdisciplinary by using the search bar to find Science and Technology lessons and share with science teachers at your site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Write Comics - Write Comics
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Create a comic to put on your website. Share this tool and the 10 Tips for Writing Good Comics with your students. You might want to use Write Comics to display the vocabulary word of the day, the math puzzle of the week, a concept your students are learning in social studies or science as an example and to engage students. Have students create comic strips for dialog-writing lessons, summarizing, predicting and retelling stories. Use comic strips for literature responses. For pre-reading students, create a comic of pictures and have students tell the story based on the pictures/scenes. It's a good idea to require students to create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. 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. World language and ENL/ESL teachers can assign students to create dialog strips as an alternate to traditional written assessments. Have students share all of their comics on your interactive whiteboard or projector.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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September 11: Bearing Witness to History - Smithsonian
Grades
10 to 12In the Classroom
The portion of this site that was the most impactful was the video posted with live footage of an ABC broadcast as the events of 9/11 were unfolding. You can access the Encyclopdeia Britanica's version of the video on YouTube here. Play the video on an interactive whiteboard or projector, for students as a way to introduce the topic. The advantage of this is it brings everyone to the same page, as some kids may not remember the details or may have forgotten the extreme emotion involved in that moment. It is a very powerful video, and really relays the significance and the pure shock on the part of airline personel (actual audio of First Responders, Air Traffic Controllers, Dispatch Personnel, Airline Employees ...) on that day. Use the video to lead into a lecture or conversation about what followed the report using the Bearing Witness to History site. Are you using blended learning in your class? Having students view the video at home and discussing it in class is perfect for blended learning if your district blocks YouTube. Whether viewing in class or at home you may want to use Moocnote, reviewed here, to add comments, links, and questions to the video.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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QuickRubric - Clever Prototypes, LLC
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use this online tool to create original rubrics before introducing a new project. Be sure to review the rubric with your students on a projector or interactive whiteboard, to be certain that they understand your expectations. As you approach the project deadlines, consider reviewing the rubric again having students mark or highlight key terms in the rubric that will help them get a better evaluation. Have a question and answer period at this time. Rubrics can be created for any task or project. For example, prepare rubrics for silent reading time, science labs, skills tasks in physical education, and all presentations. Visit Rubrics to the Rescue to see examples of topics and wording.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Case Files - The Franklin Institute
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Why not use this website as a resource for "case file" research projects. Assign each student (or groups of students) a different person to investigate. Weaker readers may need a partner with strong reading skills. Then have the students present a multimedia presentation about their "case file." Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, Vevox, Animatron, Renderforest, and Microsoft PowerPoint Online. Or have a day when students actually portray their scientist and interact with others "in character."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Visual Geography - Boris Kester and Nana Bj?rnlund
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a world cultures or geography unit or lesson on an interactive whiteboard or projector. This site offers a visual approach to studying and comparing other countries and interesting research information to use for independent projects. This site is also excellent for enrichment. Include it on your teacher web page for students to access both in and out of class. Use this site to introduce the countries your ESL and ELL students represent. Have your ESL and ELL students guide the interactive picture tour for the class. World language teachers can use this site as part of their cultural studies.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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World Myths and Legends in Art - Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station during a unit on myths & legends. This would be a great introductory activity, as a lot of the content is defining and providing examples that differentiate the two. This would be a great resource for a Language Arts teacher.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Cheeses of France
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site in a home economics class before discussing the different varieties of foods, or your World Language class when teaching French. The site would make a great example on the interactive whiteboard of the wide world of food that exists.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Schwab MoneyWise - Charles Schwab
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use the lesson ideas at this site to help your students understand economics. Take advantage of the free teaching guides and student worksheets.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Omaha Beachhead - US Army
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use the maps and images offered at the bottom of the site to aid presentations and lectures about D-day. The images are in black and white, but are still useful for discussing troop movements and the geography of the land and the battle scenery. When sharing the text with students use a tool like Read Ahead, reviewed here, to create a guided reading activity presentation using vocabulary, keywords, and phrases.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wide Angle: AIDS Warriors - PBS
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as an introductory vignette of one African country in your world cultures class or as a case study on HIV/AIDS in Africa.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Consumer Reports News - Consumer Reports
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Family and consumer science, business, or "Life 101" classes might ask students to research common teen purchases using this site as a resource. Similarly, economics or psychology classes might consider the impact of marketing on purchasing, and how advertisers target and influence their audience. Follow up by having students generate their own blog entry on a product comparison they do as a project.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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India and Its Neighbors
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station during a unit studying India. This activity works best if students have a graphic organizer to accompany the information - we recommend a tool such as Graphic Organizer Maker, (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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