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The Biography Maker - Jamie McKenzie and the Bellingham Public Schools.
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): questioning (37), writing (308)
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.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Building Big - PBS
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): bridges (9), engineering (141)
In the Classroom
Use the database of structures to search out local engineering masterpieces, or to get information about important buildings that are associated with historical or geographic areas that the class is studying. For students considering a career in engineering, there is good information about the real lives of professionals in the field. The labs are perfect for an interactive whiteboard, and can illustrate physical properties in a visually powerful way. The short simulations could be used by students individually, or by teams of students investigating the principles of "building big."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 12Material 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.
tag(s): animation (62), coding (109), computational thinking (45), critical thinking (180), design (76), drawing (57), problem solving (273), STEM (370)
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.
Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
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
Requires download/installation of software
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Science of Baseball - Exploratorium
Grades
4 to 10In the Classroom
After reading about the bat's sweet spot, students can design a simple hands-on experiment with rulers or dowels to test vibration and energy transfer, then connect findings back to the website. Have students test their reaction time using the site's interactive activities and record their results on Padlet, reviewed here to determine if they can see a pattern. Have students explore why curveballs curve and create a short diagram or explanation using Google Drawings, reviewed here connecting air pressure, spin, and motion using information from the site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Physics of Baseball and Softball - The Sweet Spot - The University of Sydney
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): baseball (28)
In the Classroom
Use this "ready to go" resource to teach your students about the physics behind the "sweet spot."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Exploratorium - Science of Baseball - Exploratorium
Grades
4 to 10In the Classroom
Treat your students to this content-rich website using your interactive whiteboard or projection screen. Take your class outside to try their hands at some of the experiments. Or have cooperative learning groups explore different sections of this multi-faceted website. What a fantastic way to excite your students about learning science.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Calibrated Peer Review - University of California
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site to teach students how to do peer editing. Besides allowing them to see their classmates' writings, it has a series of specific questions, called calibrations, which give them ways to make effective comments. After students make comments on others' essays by responding within a "calibration framework," they can read, respond to, and correct their own writings.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Paper Models of Polyhedra - Gijs Korthals Altes
Grades
6 to 10tag(s): paper folding (3), visual thinking (13)
In the Classroom
Why not print a pattern onto cardstock or other thick paper. Then project the image (that you printed for your students) onto a projection screen or interactive whiteboard, while students work independently at their seats. Before you pass out the paper copies, have them view the projected image and predict what it will be. These shapes can also serve as creative study aids for all subject areas, especially for students who need engaging ways to review. Have students write key terms and questions on the "faces" before assembling the figures, then "roll" them as a study game, testing each other to define or explain terms.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Africa Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent - University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): africa (162), architecture (83), black history (131)
In the Classroom
Teachers will find this site rich in resources for units on science, social studies, geography, architecture, music, art, and culture. Make Africa a "real" place by sharing on a projector as you share stories or learn about homes ("Structures") and habitats or landforms ("Landscape") with younger students. Use the sound recordings for lessons on oral history, myths, languages, and music. Assign student groups a topic area, which they can research and present to the class as a PowerPoint or another multi-media format using an interactive whiteboard or projector.Images, text, or other content downloaded from the collection may be freely used for non-profit educational and research purposes under Fair Use. That means that you may NOT put them on the web in a public site, blog, or wiki, since you would not be limiting access to class members. If you want students to create blog or wiki pages, create passworded access for class members only to areas displaying these images and resources. Check the website for instructions on how students can cite this source in their bibliographies.
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Rock Cycle Interactive - Annenberg Media
Grades
6 to 10tag(s): erosion (15), rock cycle (26), rocks (45), volcanoes (62), weather (175)
In the Classroom
Wow! If your class is studying rocks and the rock cycle, do yourself (and your students) a favor and take advantage of this wonderful resource. Use your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to take your students on this virtual "rock" journey. This website would also work well as a learning station for cooperative learning groups. Why not set-up several stations all about rocks. Use this website as one station on a cluster of computers, have a "hands-on" rock center with examples of each type of rock and testing equipment, make a literature/research center with books about rocks and samples to identify. Other centers could include watching a short documentary on rocks and volcanoes, a lab-report writing station, and many others.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Interactive Periodic Table - Annenberg Media
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): atoms (45), elements (32), periodic table (49)
In the Classroom
The Periodic Table interactive can be incorporated into a larger unit on chemistry or physical science and is best at the High School level. It provides a good introduction to chemistry and the chemical properties of substances. Students can use each chapter to obtain background information for discussion in class. The Interactive Periodic Table provides information for each element that can be used to create a presentation about the elements or to identify trends in the periodic table.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Case Files - The Franklin Institute
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): aviation (51), energy (139), inventors and inventions (89), scientists (72), transportation (31)
In 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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NOVA Online: The Perfect Pearl - PBS
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): environment (252), japan (62)
In the Classroom
This website would make an excellent "mini-research" project or a case study into real world ocean science and the problems of determining man's possible impact on nature. Divide your class into cooperative learning groups. Have the groups delve into one of the four main topics discussed. Then have each group present the information to the remainder of the class or prepare a "presentation" for world gem traders on the future of pearls. Check out the Teacher's Guide for additional ideas about how to integrate this website into your lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Animated Virtual Planetarium - Paul Stoddard
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Use your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to show students how the night sky changes as the hours pass. Since the print is small, have students use the whteboard pens to cirle things or point out special features of the "sky." There is a Notes for Teachers link that provides descriptions of each activity and some ideas to incorporate the activities into your class.Use this website when teaching ESL/ELL students about space and the solar system since this website is highly visual and contains few words.
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Teacher to Ranger to Teacher Program - National Park Service
Grades
K to 12Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wolf Quest - Minnesota Zoo
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): animal homes (53), animals (275), zoology (18)
In the Classroom
Introduce this free resource on interactive whiteboard or projector. The lesson plans and interactive activity are both perfect tools to drum up enthusiasm in biology class. The Game Info provides excellent descriptors and instructions for using this program. Be sure to check back for updated episodes. Include this website on your teacher web site (and the activities) as one of a set of activities on animals and their habitats to be done in class or outside. Then challenge your students to work together in documenting local animals and habitats in a class wiki or group science fair project.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CRAM - Flashcard DB (Database) - Cram.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): word study (58)
In the Classroom
Facts, spelling words, vocabulary, definitions, you name it --- all can easily be typed into this flashcard format for any subject. Plan to tag sets for related material so they can be grouped. For example: tag all geography terms "geography" and all words from the same science chapter using the chapter number or topic. You can use multiple tags, too! In the computer lab, using a projector or interactive whiteboard, walk your students through making their own sets of flashcards. Students or parents can then access their electronic cards at home or anywhere. No email address is needed to sign-up for this free service. Include the link to your sets on your web page for students to study before tests.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Universal Leonardo - University of the Arts, London
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): renaissance (38)
In the Classroom
Because Leonardo's work crosses so many curricular boundaries, teachers from many different disciplines might find this site useful as part of a lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard, particularly when painting "the big picture" for students (no pun intended!). Art teachers, of course, can access Leonardo's work, but science teachers can use the interactive games to illustrate principles of physics or early understanding of the human body. History or literature teachers might use the site to personify the term "Renaissance Man" for students studying the time period. Whatever your discipline, be sure to make the link available from your teacher web page for curious students to explore outside of class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Investigate Biodiversity - Conservation International
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): biodiversity (39), conservation (109), diversity (55), environment (252)
In the Classroom
Use this site to share specific examples of how biodiversity is being preserved worldwide. Ask students to choose one of the biodiversity hotspots shared on this site to explore further as a research project. One option for organizing information is Padlet, reviewed here. Use Padlet to curate and organize information found during research, and use the shelf option to create individual "shelves" for videos, online articles, and images. Padlet also has a timeline feature for students to add information and then share as a timeline demonstrating changes to the hotspot area over time. As a final project, ask students to share their understanding of their chosen hotspot, which includes conservation projects taking place and their thoughts on future needs that encourage successful conservation of the habitat. Suggestions for students to share their presentations include creating a podcast using Acast, reviewed here or a video presentation created with Animaker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National Agriculture in the Classroom - Center for Agricultural Literacy at Utah State Univery
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): agriculture (54), careers (191), nutrition (137), virtual field trips (141)
In the Classroom
Use the provided activities and lessons when planning a nutrition unit or learning about each state's agriculture products. Include the AgBadging Activities as part of a computer learning station or as a flipped or blended learning activity to engage students in learning about the many fields of agriculture. Download the Field Guide to learn more about the activities and suggested classroom uses. Create digital badges using Badge List reviewed here, to recognize students' completed projects. Ask students to share their learning by creating a multimedia presentation using tools found at Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here. Options include creating presentations, infographics, videos, and web pages.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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