Thursday+Tech+Topics

Here you can find a compilation of my Thursday Tech Topics!

media type="custom" key="1927238"

Language Arts Math Science Social Studies Tools Miscellaneous
 * By Category:**


 * Entire List, Ordered by week of appearance in MHH:**

Teacher Book Wizard Use to level your books, find book talks, author info, and lesson plans, and create and share your book lists.

[|National Geographic resources for teachers] -- visit here to find resources to use with your science and social studies readers!

[|Brain Rules for Presenters] Enjoy using PowerPoint presentations in your class? This is a must read!

[|Goodreads] - Do you loooove books like I do? Keep track of the books you read, save books of interest to read later, read and write book reviews! Make book buddies or start your own book groups!

[|Houghton Mifflin’s Eduplace] has a variety of resources that accompany your reading program. Check them out! It was fun to see some of our third graders interacting with reading vocabulary words yesterday via Smartboard and Eduplace activities!

For inspired “picture writing” activities, check out [|Pic*Lits]. Students can choose a photograph from the gallery, then write a descriptive paragraph or story that relates to the image. It also has a “drag and drop” word gallery to help with word choice.

Check out The [|100 Best YouTube Videos for Teachers]!

Read [|9 Ways to Motivate Kids], on the Scholastic website.

This article explains “[|how to find joy in school],” published through Educational Leadership.

I found some interesting online resources for teaching money/banking concepts... [|Money Instructor.com] [|Federal Reserve Bank] [|Practical Money Skills for Life]

This site rocks! [|Spelling City] allows students to enter a list of words, and then click “Teach Me,” “Test Me,” or “Play a Game” with the list. Words can be read aloud to students as letters are displayed, the program can read sentences aloud to students during the test mode, and games include crosswords, hangman, unscramble, and missing letter. Great for small groups or extension activities at home or in the lab! Fun for vocabulary words too!

The wiki called WebTools4U2Use has a variety of cool topics and lists of resources, one of which is all about using online presentation tools in your classroom. Check it out HERE!

Did you ever want to share a You Tube video or clip with students and were frustrated that YouTube is blocked by the filter? There are ways you can download videos from YouTube and save them to your computer so you don’t have to access the internet to show the videos (which is also a helpful feature if you work in an environment with inconsistent internet connections!) Here are some resources to help you do this!



Mr. Frederick shared this reading resource website in grade level meetings... all of the lessons include the actual materials you would need to use the activities in your classrooms! Check out the Empowering Teachers section of the site as well to find samples of explicit directions to use with students, scaffolding techniques, and suggested activities for skills practice. [|FCRR.ORG]

Need a map? Check out [|World Mapper]! There are 366+ maps available, most in pdf files that can be used to create posters for your classroom. World Mapper also makes available, as pdf files, the data sets used in the creation of each map!

WOW-- if you ever wanted to know how to use certain applications for educational purposes, or to learn about Web 2.0 tools, this wiki designed by a teacher at the Wissahickon SD is the site for you! The “eToolbox Wikispace” includes reasons for use, ease of use, and video resources for each applications. iTunes, Garageband, Google Earth, Moodle, SMART notebook, and more are featured. I highly recommend taking the time to learn more about just one of these applications!

Many ﬁgurative language resources can be found here: [|Figurative Language]

This site is called [|BYO Jeopardy]and allows you to build your own jeopardy games! You need to create a free account to access the templates. If you’re tired of searching online for Power Point Jeopardy templates, this might be the site for you!

If you or your students are looking online for photos to use in projects, newsletters, etc. check out this site: [|EveryStockphoto.com] It is a search engine for free photos, and each photo is license-specific, so you can find how they are allowed to be used.

[|The Problem Site] has many fun, educational problem solving activities to engage your students! You can find word games, math games, math problems, daily puzzles, and more!

The latest [|Teacher Tube newsletter] had links to many educational videos featuring topics like place value, money fractions and decimals, simple reading strategy flip bokos, and a WWII Veterans video.

Mr. Frederick found a resource site filled with links to great sites for phonics, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary lessons/activities! Many are interactive and there are also a lot of teacher resources. [|The reading links are found here!]

Mrs. Horning showed me [|this site] to practice math facts! Great resource!

This site is SO COOL! It’s called [|Storyline Online]! Celebrities read picture books! It’s sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild! Check it out!

Have a question about technology? Check out [|Tech Ease]: quick answers to real classroom technology questions.

For those of you that love Spelling City, here are some more fun spelling game resources!! 1. [|Spin and Spell!] 2. [|KidsSpell.com!] 3. [|Catch the Spelling!]

Want to take your class on a virtual field trip and explore the settings of your favorite novels? Using Google Earth, students discover where in the world the greatest road trip stories of all time take place... check out [|Google Lit Trips]!

Just for fun: I love sending eCards to family and friends, and with [|My Punchbowl.co]m you can create your own! They offer hundreds of free, beautiful, eCards that can be customized with colors, fonts, and images of your choice!

[|Mathtrain TV] features videos that instruct on math concepts. Many were created by students, for students!

A search for free online educational movies led me to [|The Totally Free Children’s Learning Network]. This is a very cool place kids can explore everything from astronomy to dinosaurs to spelling!

[|Literactive] is a way cool site for primary teachers! Enter an email address to create a free account, and then watch reading come to life! Many of the activities are Smartboard suitable as well! Check it out! “The program is comprised of carefully leveled guided readers, comprehensive phonic activities and a wealth of supplemental reading material which gradually develop a child's reading skills in a sequential and enjoyable manner.”

This video, [|44 Presidents in 4 Minutes], is so cool. It morphs portraits of Presidents from one to the next. If you can’t load the video here, I suggest you check it out at home!

Here are the links to some Jeopardy templates you can use to create review games. Most are Power Point files and can be utilized with the Smartboard!

http://www.elainefitzgerald.com/jeopardy.htm http://www.hardin.k12.ky.us/res_techn/countyjeopardygames.htm http://www.centennial.k12.mn.us/gle/Jeopardy/Games.htm (This site plays the theme music. Niiice.)

Thanks to Mrs. Libell for finding this site with [|some more fun game templates for Power Point]! Features Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader?, Wheel of Fortune, Twenty Questions, Guess the Covered Word, and Who wants to be a Millionaire? and more!

Here’s a great blog post asking you to think about “[|The Steep “Unlearning Curve]” as we deal with educational reform!

In the everlasting quest to make learning grammar more interesting for students, I’ve found [|Grammar Ninja]!! Three levels of adventures in language await!

[|Cramberry] is an online application that allows you to create stacks of flashcards to help you learn vocabulary, facts, and concepts. As you practice, it remembers which cards you’ve mastered successfully and organizes practice with those you incorrectly identify!

[|Create a Graph] - This site allows students to enter data and create bar, line, area, pie, and XY graphs. Printing options available. Suitable for intermediate students.

[|Free Reading.net] has 80 decodable text passages, reading activities, make-your-own word lists, and even reading raps!

[|Interactives] “provides educators and students with strategies, content, and activities that can enhance and improve students' skills in a variety of curricular areas.” A favorite of mine on this site is the “elements of a story” exploration.

Who loves the 50 States? Who loves Tetris? If you love both, check out this site! [|Statetris-USA]! Kids will love arranging the states in their correct locations “tetris-style!”

[|Prezi] is a site that allows you or your students to make interesting slideshows to present information! “With the help of Prezi you can create maps of texts, images, videos, PDFs, drawings and present in a nonlinear way. Move beyond the slide; it only takes 5 minutes to learn how to use Prezi.”

[|Kitzu] “is a resource for copyright friendly digital resources that students can use to create digital projects. Kitzu provides "kits" of images, videos, documents, and audio clips organized thematically. You can browse the Kitzu kits by subject and by grade level.”

This site just SOUNDS like a lot of fun! [|PinkyDinkyDoo] “is a massive site featuring a combination of online interactive activities (as well as offline printables) that affords the teacher and student many opportunities to play, learn and explore. The production quality, animations and layout are world-class. The overall site experience approaches the quality you’d expect from commercial software, and of course, it’s free.”

[|Wall of Words] is a cool interactive program that allows students to build sentences in correct structure. The Adobe Shockwave Player plugin is needed to engage in this site’s features.

Wow! Check out [|Scholastic’s list of Computer Lab Favorites]! This site offers “quick, compelling one-session activities you need to incorporate interactive learning and technology into your curriculum. Each activity requires no prep and can be completed in 15-30 minutes.”

[|Science Online] contains lesson plans, interactive activities, and links for K-8! The units of study are arranged on “sticky” notes around the border of the page!

[|SwitchZoo] is a lot of fun! It is a virtual zoo where you can build animals, solve animal puzzles, build a habitat, read stories, and more!

Visit [|Shel Silverstein.com] to enjoy the world of his poetry and books!

[|Homework Spot] offers resources in all subject areas and grade levels. Students and teachers alike will find something useful on this site! There is a “reference desk,” current events, and virtual field trips!

[|Alphabet Geometry] is a site for the visual learner! “This interactive site introduces geometry concepts to students by relating them to something they're all familiar with: letters!” Students can work with angles, lines, tessellations, transformations, similar figures, and symmetry.

[|Figure This!] has math challenges families can complete! Or, try them in your classrooms!

Author/illustrator [|Eric Carle] has a blog! Reading his entries is an interesting way to learn more about this popular author’s life!

Have you heard of Web 2.0 tools? Many of you may use them everyday without realizing they’re Web 2.0 (especially if you visit the wiki!) Web 2.0 refers to “The use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to facilitate creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, etc.” [|Web 2.0 for the Classroom Teache]r is a site with many links worth exploring!!

[|Topmarks] is an educational search engine that originates from the UK. Browse through subject areas, age groups, interactive whiteboard resources, math games, and parents’ articles.

Bring the rest of the world into your classroom with [|National Geographic’s Daily Dozen]. This page features user-submitted pictures from around the world. Each picture has a small caption containing a description and the location of where the photo was taken. The photos are stunning!

[|Meet Me at the Corner] is a website filled with educational videos for kids. There are even podcast lessons! The good news is, unlike most sites, these videos load here at school! You can submit your own videos as well!

Did you know you could access Scholastic News articles online? [|Check it out here]!

Since our new teeny tiny computers have Google Earth already included on the image, check out this list of “[|Google Earth Links You Might Have Missed]” with activities for math, science, and geography!

Want some quick, adorable videos to start a lesson about social skills? Check out [|Crawford the Cat]!

The student toolbox at [|Read, Write, Think] is vast and includes a variety of organizational, interactive tools for students.

Can’t remember to use affect or effect? Want your students to be able to find resources to help them use those “confusing words” correctly in their writing? Check out [|Confusing Words]!

The [|US History Map from Interactives] helps students learn about the geographic features of the United States, the regions and areas of the United States, and the development of the geography of the United States over the course of history.

This website is filled with [|Online Basic Skills Games], appropriate for grades K-8. The games are categorized by content area.

[|Merriam’s Visual Dictionary Online] is an interactive dictionary with an innovative approach. “From the image to the word and its definition, the Visual Dictionary Online is an all-in-one reference. Search the themes to quickly locate words, or find the meaning of a word by viewing the image it represents. What’s more, the Visual Dictionary Online helps you learn English in a visual and accessible way. The Visual Dictionary Online is ideal for teachers, parents, translators and students of all skill levels. Discover a visual world of information!”

Yes, Google Earth and Google Maps are wonderful resources, but sometimes you just need a clear map outline of countries/states/other. [|Check out this page], part of Houghton Mifflin’s website, which includes outline maps organized by region. You can save as PDF files and print for student use!

This slideshow is entitled “[|Top 100 Tools for Learning- 2008]” and is hosted on Slideshare. Click through the slides like you would a power point presentation and find links to many educational resources!

Love PBS videos? Videos from series such as NOVA, Frontline, Nature, and American Experience are now available online here: [|PBS Videos] You can search by topic, watch entire videos, or watch segments that relate to your curriculum. For the youngsters,[|PBS Kids] has videos too!

File cabinets have gone digital! This [|“file cabinet]” is a blog filled with resources, categorized by subject, and is teacher-created.

[|Planet Impact] is part of the website [|Amazing Space] and has interactive activities appropriate for upper-elementary and middle school students. Could be useful as whole-group or even enrichment offerings for students who need science extensions.

Have a few extra minutes in the computer lab? Want to brush up on students’ keyboarding skills? [|Check out these fun and FREE resources]!

Give their brains a boost with the [|Sliding Puzzle Block Games] page!

One of my favorite activities as a youngster is now online. Check out [|MAD LIBS] online and have fun with grammar!

Need the perfect certificate or award? Check out [|MyAwardmaker.com] Free downloads and cute templates!

[|Storynory] has free audio stories for kids! You can play the audio right from the website or download them to your computer. I ordered a few new sets of speakers that just arrived, so see Jean or Susie if you want to amplify your laptop’s sound for an activity like this!

[|Brain Bashers] has a collection of puzzles, brain teasers, riddles, games, and optical illusions to entertain and challenge your brains!

Looking for a whole-group activity to use with the Smartboard? Check out[|Parade of Games in PowerPoint]!

[|VocabGrabber] is a cool tool! It “analyzes any text you're interested in, generating lists of the most useful vocabulary words and showing you how those words are used in context. Just copy text from a document and paste it into the box, and then click on the "Grab Vocabulary!" button. VocabGrabber will automatically create a list of vocabulary from your text, which you can then sort, filter, and save. that allows students to enter a section of text.”

[|Mrs. Sterling’s Word Pad] is a website that has mini-lessons and activities for students to help them learn how to use the word processor. It’s important our young students learn how to properly format text (you don’t center text using the tab key or space bar!!), find/replace, add images, etc.

[|KidsNumbers.com] contains activities and step-by-step foundational lessons for math operations. There are weekly lessons and games. If a student needs more direct practice with math operations, this site could offer independent practice opportunities to do so.

[|How much sugar is in your snack?] I know this activity would be useful in some of our health/science units!

Have students that like a challenge? Provide them time to try out [|Games for the Brain]!

[|The Teacher’s Palette] is a blog created by art teachers, for all teachers! Use the resources to infuse creativity into your classrooms!!

[|More interactive whiteboard links!]

[|Social Studies Central]is “intended to provide resources with a focus on the Social Studies, to support teachers as they improve their instruction and to help educators engage kids in learning. You will find lesson plans, new web sites, links to standards and assessment advice, technology integration resources and information about workshops and staff development.”

This doesn’t have any bells or whistles, but sometimes it’s just fun to practice your typing online and see how many WPM you can type! [|Fun here!]

This site has many resources for teachers who love to [|Teach With Picture Books]!

I found this site created by the Allentown School District with [|grade-specific, standard-specific activities for MATH] at each grade level.

A [|compilation of the most popular blog]s that could be useful to educators can be found here!

[|Cobocards] is a cool site for creating and sharing flashcards. You can also print paper copies of your cards to give to students who don’t have online access.

Check out [|FRACTIONS] - exercises with graphics, Levels 1-5, from simple to fractions operations.

There is lots of fun to be had at [|PLANET SCIENCE]! This site offers free & fun science resources for children, young people, teachers and parents.

[|Radio Willow Web] is radio for kids, by kids. These podcasts are created by students on a variety of academic topics!

Do your students love to write poetry, but often have trouble finding rhyming words? Check out [|WRITE RHYMES], a very simple site to use. Students type their poem (or just a word) and option-click to bring up a list of words that rhyme with the word in the poem. What a cool tool!