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TeachersFirst Brain Twisters - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 9In the Classroom
Brain Twisters work well as a whole-class activity projected on a screen or interactive whiteboard, with students pooling their knowledge to work through questions as a team. Thinking aloud together -- eliminating wrong answers, testing possibilities, debating what they know -- builds both content knowledge and test-taking strategies. Alternatively, use them in small groups with assigned roles: a moderator to guide discussion, a keyboarder to submit answers, and researchers to look up what the group doesn't know. This makes Brain Twisters a natural fit for teaching information literacy and research skills in a high-motivation context.Offer Twisters as an enrichment challenge or extra-credit option for students to complete at home -- consider giving credit simply for completing the quiz rather than for the score, since family members may want to help. The printable version and last week's answers make it easy to use Brain Twisters even without live internet access. Be sure to mark this as a favorite and share it on your class webpage.
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The 50 States - TeachersFirst
Grades
4 to 8tag(s): california (18), new york (23), states (129), texas (7)
In the Classroom
Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study of the 50 states. One easy use would be for testing students on knowledge of the capitals. Open the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector, and you can test students not only by state recognition on the map but with what the capitals are. State location and capitol information are not clearly stated until clicked on, so this would be a fairly easy formative assessment or review of the information.Comments
Great resource!Ladisha, VA, Grades: 9 - 12
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Plagiarism Checker - Darren Horn
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): plagiarism (33)
In the Classroom
Students can use this plagiarism checker to be sure they are turning in original work. Teachers can use this service to check the work of students (submitted electronically). Students should create accounts with their parents to check their work at home. Model this site to explain what plagiarism IS and how students can avoid it. The hands-on experience will help them understand this challenging concept. You might even want to provide several examples of plagiarized writing as an exercise for student to check and correct before they copy/paste their way to trouble in a research assignment. Another interesting exercise for researchers is to locate an article on a how-to topic, such as "How to Paint a Room," then see how many sites use the exact same text. As a class, discuss whether this proliferation is good or bad (is the web spreading misinformation, too?).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Important Dates and Events in History - Hisdates.com
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use this site to display an interesting "this day in history" on your interactive whiteboard or projector each day. Use as a resource for students to research events during historical time periods being studied in class. Create a scavenger hunt to review dates in history - give students a list of events and have students find them on the calendar. For a more in=depth experience, share Teachers First's Dates that Matter, then have students create their own set of Dates That Matter style question prompts and provide a "Why Does it Matter" response for one of the events found here. Share their student-created Dates That Matter in PowerPoint slides or using an online presentation tool.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Learning to Give - Points of Light Institute
Grades
K to 12tag(s): african american (129), animal homes (53), animals (275), charactered (86), charts and graphs (180), colonial america (96), communities (40), data (204), diversity (55), ecology (117), environment (252), heroes (23), money (113), recycling (46)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for all subjects; search for a subject and browse the resources. Share with other teachers in your building or district, including teachers of the arts. Get your students involved! Challenge cooperative learning groups to create a multimedia presentation using one of many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here discussing one of the topics at this site. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Canva Infographic Maker, Lucidpress, Powtoon, and MoocNote.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Project Based Learning for the 21st Century - Buck Institute for Education
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): assessment (143), Project Based Learning (28), Research (86)
In the Classroom
Use these ideas in any subject area classroom. Aspects of PBL can be used in introductory activities or whole units. Use driving questions to stimulate student curiosity to know more about how curriculum applies to their lives. Use this PBL framework to give students freedom to research aspects of the content or problem of personal interest. Be sure to view the resources to adequately plan for a successful unit project that incorporates 21st century skills utilizing engaging activities and content.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Victorian Christmas - TeachersFirst
Grades
4 to 8In the Classroom
Save this site as a favorite on your desktop and use it to add supplementary activities to your classroom before Winter Break. Many of the sites can be used as webquests, classroom activities or Learning centers. This could be a great way to mix the holidays into content, comparing today's celebrations to those of the 19th century.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Make a Victorian Cornucopia - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 10In the Classroom
Try this easy activity during a Christmas 'Round the World unit or as part of a study of the Victorian Era. Have students take digital pictures of the steps and include them on your class web page or wiki (with captions!) so others can try the activity at home. Older students could enhance their learning by posting the photos with and explanation using a portfolio tool such as Seesaw. Seesaw also offers tools for incorporating blogs. Alternatively, students could transform their learning by annotating images taken of their activities with text, URL's, or videos using ThingLink. Make cornucopias as gifts for a visit to a local nursing home or children's home so the activity becomes a service project.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Aspects of the Antebellum Christmas - Tim Crumrin
Grades
7 to 9In the Classroom
Use this website as a resource during a unit on Christmas, or while looking at the differences in American life before and after the Civil War. Extend learning and challenge students to create a Venn diagram using an online tool like 2 and 3 Circle Interactive Venn Diagrams, reviewed here, and then writing about their learning and understanding using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or X (formerly Twitter) links. This blog creator requires no registration.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Victorian Christmas - Malcolm Warrington
Grades
4 to 8In the Classroom
Use this website during a unit on Christmas or Victorian history. Enhance learning and allow ENL/ELL students to try using Text to Speech Reader, reviewed here, which will allow these students to follow the highlighted text as the article or passage is read to them. Consider extending learning by having students create their own online Victorian "albums" using a tool such as Smilebox, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Video: Social Media in Plain English - Common Craft
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): blogs (78), podcasts (165), social media (61)
In the Classroom
If you are looking to learn more about various social media, check out this short video. Learn more about the "flavors" you could use in your own classoom. For research projects have students create a blog, wiki, or even a podcast and compare the pros/cons of each regarding communication and safety. Create podcasts using a tool such as podOmatic, explained here. If you use "centers" in your classroom, put the video on a "center" computer, do a "right click" on the video, select "save as" and save to the "center" computer.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Travel - National Geographic - National Geographic
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): cities (14), virtual field trips (141)
In the Classroom
Ask students to choose a city to investigate. Start their investigation with this site and then have them use a resource like Data USA. Have students create blogs sharing they learned about their city of choice using Telegra.ph reviewed here . With Telegra.ph you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or Twitter links. This blog creator requires no registration.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Jordan Times - The Jordan News
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): jordan (4), middle east (51), news (222), newspapers (87)
In the Classroom
Include this site with other newspapers from around the world as part of any current events lessons or global studies. Have students compare and contrast articles from different newspapers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Civil War: Soldiers and Sailors Database - National Park Service
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): africa (162), african american (129), battles (18), civil war (136), gbtn (10)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector. Demonstrate how to use this site for research about various topics involved in the Civil War. This site does require basic searching/research skills. Some pages include a lot of text, so be sure help your weaker readers and ENL/ELL students by sharing the vocabulary words prior to reading, either on a handout or by projecting on an interactive whiteboard and highlighting them in the text as you come to them.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Webquest 101 - TeachersFirst
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
Mark this in your Favorites as a professional reference. You may even want to assign students to create their own webquests following these guidelines. If you mentor new teachers, share this resource when they are designing their first web-based projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Select and Speak - Google Chrome
Grades
1 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): listening (117), text to speech (23)
In the Classroom
Use Select and Speak as your teacher's helper. Be sure to test it out on classroom computers and devices before using it with students. During research or computer explorations, allow students to use this read aloud feature. Honor the students who heavily rely on hearing as their preferred form of comprehending material. In lower grades, research on computers now becomes an easier task. This extension is perfect for ENL/ELL or learning support students to help with vocabulary development, comprehension, fluency, and repetitions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Quilting Techniques: Math Lesson Plans - Quilting Assistant
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): angles (52), fractions (178), polynomials (22), symmetry (30)
In the Classroom
During Black History Month or when learning about Western expansion or colonial days, students may enjoy making quilts from fabric or paper and learning about the different patterns used in quilt-making. Introduce this activity and have students label the different fractional amounts in the quilt squares. Practice adding fractions by writing the equations generated by making different quilt squares. Hang completed quilts in the classroom or hallway for an interesting display of work with fractions and proportion.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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This Day in History - A&E Television Network
Grades
5 to 12Although the videos are the highlight of this site, there is much more to explore! On the right side bar you will find text boxes to enter ANY date and choose the category. Some examples of categories include Civil War, Cold War, Presidential, Sports, Old West, World War I and II, Entertainment, and several others. On the left side bar there are even more topics and links to explore. Once you click on the subject area, specific "story topics" are provided under the subject. Both of the features on the right and left side of the site display text information, not video clips.
tag(s): 20th century (169), presidents (151), trivia (16)
In the Classroom
You can add this in your RSS reader. Why not use the RSS feature to remind you of the day's events? Share the site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. The topics on the left and right side bars make excellent research references.For a classroom-ready activity each day to build understanding of historical events in the context of your students' prior knowledge, also try TeachersFirst's Dates That Matter. Include both links on your teacher web page for instant access by students both in and out of class. Maybe start a class wiki for your own "This Day" collection and assign student groups a day of their own. Add to it from year to year. Or have students write blog responses on class or individual blogs as they choose an event for the day from several sources and react to it.
Comments
Perfect resource for stimulating interest on a variety of topics.Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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Ellis Island Records - Ellis Island Foundation
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1800s (86), 1900s (85), 1920s (25), ellis island (6), immigration (85), migration (45), new york (23), states (129)
In the Classroom
This would be a great site for your flipped or blended classroom. Engage students by having them do a little research on their family, or some one a parent knows whose family immigrated through Ellis Island. Enhance learning by challenging students to create blogs sharing what their learning and understanding using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or X (formerly Twitter) links. This blog creator requires no registration.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Who Are the Taleban - BBC
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as a means to provide students with background information on who the Taliban is, how they were formed, and what their goals are. This site could be used as a learning center during a unit on modern wars in the Middle East. Have cooperative learning groups explore different sections of the site, with the intentions of summarizing the main parts and teaching it to their classmates via online poster project on the interactive whiteboard. Use an online poster creator, such as Padlet (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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