|
|
Web PicksOngoing List of Web Site Picks
Ria's Favorite Web SitesInstant Poetry Forms Very slick tool! Select the type of poetry you want, fill in the template and the poem is created in the correct format. Go to ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/Poetry.htm. ProFusion This site searches the ?hidden Web,? which includes databases and directories that are not picked up by search engines. Go to profusion.com. Fry?s Readability Graph If you need to figure out the readability of a book, you can now get the graph and the directions for use online at www.kathyschrock.net/fry/fry.html. The Toymaker Access many patterns for paper toys, cards, boxes, baskets, bags and more at www.thetoymaker.com. Teaching American History Dayton Public Schools and Think TV in Dayton created this site. It matches events in American history with both the standards that are taught and the appropriate Web sites for that standard and topic (grades 5-9). The site is: www.dps.k12.oh.us/academic/secsoc/americanhistory/teaching_01.htm. Microsoft Free Stuff offers games that can be downloaded onto your computer. Sample topics include exploring Mars, volcanoes, whales, dolphins and bugs. Go to www.microsoft.com/kids/freestuff/default.asp. Great Web Sites for Kids is sponsored by the American Library Association. Go to www.ala.org/ala/alsc/greatwebsites/greatwebsiteskids.htm. Problem-Based Learning Checklist helps you to fill in the blanks to make your own checklist for your use or for student use. Go to www.pblchecklist.4teachers.org. Want an explanation of Ria?s October 2004 Web Pick, MysticalBall.com? Go to http://www.studioqb.com/QBlog/single.php?qb=32 Storyline Online, produced by the Screen Actors Guild, houses videos of stories narrated by famous people like Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings), Esai Moralis (NYPD), Al Gore and many more. Go to http://www.bookpals.net/storyline/index.html. SchoolHistory is home to interactive history games like Penalty Shootout, Walk the Plank, Beat 'da Bomb and more. Go to http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/games. MysticalBall.com is an amazing "mind-reading" site. Please e-mail me if you figure out how they do it. I'd love to know. Go to http://www.mysticalball.com. Kaleidoscope If you're studying the subject of light with your students, have them create a kaleidoscope online. (Even if you're not, it's a pretty cool site.) Go to http://www.zefrank.com/dtoy_vs_byokal. Bulletin Boards Across the World See what other elementary teachers have used as bulletin boards on a variety of topics. Send in your own bulletin board and see it online. Visit http://www.gigglepotz.com/bulletin.htm. Research a Topic Find grade-specific, educator-approved sites with this easy-to-use tool: http://www.aolatschool.com/research/index.adp. Ohio Technology Standards Implementation Tool Eric Kurts, technology specialist for North Canton, has scored again. He uses Excel to list the standards by grade level. This allows the user to add resources and academic connections right on the spreadsheet. Go to http://www.sparcc.org/downloads/TSIS.xls. (Great job, Eric!) Standards Guides for Families The Ohio Department of Education has taken the kindergarten through eighth grade standards (which we know are pretty lengthy) and made a condensed version for parent who want to know exactly what is being taught by grade level. http://www.ode.state.oh.us/families/ohioseducationsystem/academiccontentstandards/standardsguides.asp Jan Brett's Home Page 2,293 pages of free activities, coloring pages and projects http://janbrett.com Monthly Activity Calendar This site has online crafts, printouts and labels for everyday of the week. (The bottom of the page lets you switch months.) http://www.enchantedlearning.com/activitycalendars/ The Atoms Family Really cute study of atoms, matter, electricity, lighting, light waves with Dracula, the Phantom, Frankenstein and more! (Grades 4-12) http://www.miamisci.org/af/sln/
FontFiler This is sooo cool! You fill out an alphabet sheet (online) with your own writing. You scan it is as a .gif file and send it back to the company. They send you back a font to download that is your own handwriting! Check it out: http://www.fontifier.com.
Kindergarten Consultant Check out this hotlist of "everything kindergarten" at http://www.kindergartenconsultant.com/index2.asp. eThemes You select one of the 750 topics and get a hotlist of sites to visit at http://emints.more.net/ethemes/resources/index.shtml. MS Word to Web Page: The Syllabus This page offers step-by-step directions for converting a Word document to a Web page. Go to http://www.archiva.net/mstutorial3web.htm. How to Cite Sources This site, based on MLA Style, is like a template. The student picks the type of work he/she wants to cite and then fills in the fields. The student pushes a button and the information is put into correct form so that it can be copied and pasted into his/her paper. For elementary level, go to http://oslis.k12.or.us/elementary/howto/cited. For secondary level, go to http://oslis.k12.or.us/secondary/howto/cited. POWER in the Palm of Your Hand Kathy Schrock has scored again with this page. Find all types of resources for using handheld computers in the classroom. Kathy has collected research, lesson plans, tutorials, software and more. Go to http://kathyschrock.net/power. The UC Atlas of Global Inequality This site explores aspects of inequality using online downloadable maps and graphics. Statistics such as income, life expectancy, infant mortality and so much more are available. Go to http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/home.html. OWA / OWE / Intervention Teachers! TV411 is made for you. Designed for adults (but great for kids) who need basic skills but are too mature for much of what is on the Web or on video, this site covers reading, writing, vocabulary and mathematics. TV411 airs every Monday at 2:30 pm on PBS 45 & 49, but the Web site can be used without the program. The site also addresses career issues, such as filling out a job application. Visit http://www.tv411.org/index.shtml. The NOAA Photo Library contains a ton of photographs of weather phenomena and other climate-related images. It's great for junior and senior high school students. Go to http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/index.html.
Dositey.com Free interactive lessons, exercises and worksheets, educational games in math and language arts. Sections for grades K-2, 3-4 and 5-8. Check it out: http://www.dositey.com. Computer Training Tutorials See excellent, well-organized lists of tutorials for beginning and veteran computer users at http://www.ckls.org/~crippel/computerlab/tutorials. Print-a-Poster.com Get free 5" x 7" motivational and educational posters. Just print them out at http://www.print-a-poster.com. Copyright for Kids This has a very nice format for elementary and intermediate kids. When you hover over the image of a student, a question is asked. Click on the student and you get the answer. Go to http://www.cyberbee.com/cb_copyright.swf. Eduhound Hotlist This slick little template allows you to put a hotlist for any topic online for your students. You must, however, use the sites that they have chosen for your topic. No Web design experience is necessary. Visit http://www.eduhound.com/hotlist. ClassBrain, Inc. Reports This site helps students create reports by providing access to specific resources. It's divided into State Reports, Country Reports, Mission Reports and Freedom Files. Go to http://classbrain.com/cb_reports.htm. Create a Timeline (of 5- to 140-year spans) Check out http://www.ourtimelines.com/create_tl_2c.html . The Space Place An excellent site that contains printable images of Earth and space, fun crafts and space-related classroom activities. Go to http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/index.shtml. The Museum of Hoaxes This interesting site shows hoax web sites, photos, scientific tall tales, birth hoaxes and more. Go to http://www.museumof hoaxes.com. TeachersFirst.com Units of work are listed by subject and by grade level. There are LOTS of cool lessons available. It's also searchable. Check out http://www.teachersfirst.com/matrix.htm. KidsHub.org This educational portal for upper elementary and middle school students hives learning games, puzzles and quizzes. Visit http://kidshub.org/kids/kids.cfm. Word Problems for Kids This Canadian site has great word problems for kids from grades 5 to 12. These are real thinking problems. The site provides a hint and then the solution for each problem. Go to http://www.stfx.ca/special/math problems/welcome.html. 75 Ways to Use Your Digital Camera Separates ideas by subject area. Check out http://www.semo.net/suburb/mgilmer/digcam/index.htm. Number2.com contains free online help for the SAT, the ACT and the GRE. The site has practice tests as well as tutorials in a variety of areas. Check out http://www.number2.com. Kid Info is an excellent resource (hotlist) for material in subject areas, reference resources, search engines and fun sites. Visit http://www.kidinfo.com/SchoolSubjects.html. The Idea Box features tons of craft ideas, seasonal games and activities, music, songs and a wonderful list of recipes for play dough, bubbles and many other supplies you might need. Go to http://www.theideabox.com. Vistaprint Get free business cards. You just select the style you like and input your information. There are lots of options that you can pay for, but the standard style for 250 cards is free. There is a $5.25 shipping charge. Go to http://www.vistaprint.com/vp/ns/bcfree.asp?. Ohio Bicentennial If you're working with your students on Ohio's 200th birthday, check out http://wneo.org/hotlists/ohio.htm to find a hotlist of official sites, local celebrations and Ohio history sites. I'm cheating a little on this month's web picks. Thought you might be interested in the survey conducted by The Teacher List. They found the Top Ten Sites for 2002-2003:
Switcheroo Zoo Create new and exciting animals by morphing two animals together. This is pretty cool! Lesson plans are available for language arts and science. There is also an animal game available. Go to http://www.switcheroozoo.com/default.htm. Xpeditions This is a great site from National Geographic, with 1,600 outline maps, a virtual museum that is organized using the 18 Geography Standards, online activities and lesson plans. I was very impressed with this site. It's part of the MarcoPolo program but can be used independently. Go to http://nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions. PowerPoint Design Tips Many of you are using PowerPoint with your classes. Here are some design tips from a PowerPoint tutorial that you might want to share with your kids. (Might as well teach a little design while you're at it! I KNOW like you needed one more thing to teach!):
To get more tips, go to:
Easy Test Maker is a free online test generator that creates multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, short answer and true/false questions all on the same test. It will also print an answer sheet. Go to http://www.easytestmaker.com. Word of Mouse allows you to get free mousepads for your school. You fill out a form and your school is placed on a list from which sponsors select a school to provide mousepads. You are contacted for approval of the design. You are required to install the mousepads within one week of receiving them. Check out http://gomouse.westside.com/SchoolSignup/default.view . New IRS deduction for K-12 teachers The Internal Revenue Service has a new deduction available to eligible educators in both public and private elementary and secondary schools. Taxpayers may subtract up to $250 of qualified expenses when figuring their adjusted gross income. You will not need to itemize deductions to get this benefit. Details on this and other tax law changes are in IRS Publication 3991, "Highlights of the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002," available on the IRS web site at http://www.irs.gov. You can also call 1-800- TAX-FORM (1-). Technology in Education: 170 Ideas and Resources for Teachers This site is exactly what it says. There are links to all sorts of activities that could help you integrate technology into your classroom. Visit http://www.ael.org/rtec/ideas.htm. Up to Ten Over 600 educational games as well as practical ideas and advice for parents are offered at this site. Obviously it's directed to children "up to ten" years old. Visit http://www.uptoten.com. Where to Do Research Taking a class? Have your students doing research? This site lists 53 categories. Each category offers a list of places where teachers and students can go to get the information they are seeking. Check out http://www.wheretodoresearch.com. Free Software for Teachers and Schools Registered versions of software from Sheppard Software are completely free to teachers and schools. The software covers subject areas such as presidents, states, algebra, SAT review and more. You must have an e-mail address to order. Go to http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/teachers.htm. Puzzle Choice Both printable and online puzzles are available at this site. Crosswords, wordsearch and word play, logic and number puzzles are available at http://www.puzzlechoice.com. Concept to Classroom: A Series of Workshops These are free online workshops on a variety of topics, from multiple intelligences, constructivism and teaching to the standards to collaborative learning, inquiry-based learning, assessment and more. There is a place that you can check to get credit for professional development (pending approval from your district). There is a syllabus, a letter to administration and a rubric for evaluation. Go to http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/index.html . School Law Archive This site, posted by the National School Boards Association, hosts the current Supreme Court decisions about a variety of topics including academic freedom, desegregation, employment, facilities use, federal funding, first amendment and dress codes, harassment, liability, privacy and more. Check it out at http://www.asbj.com/schoollawarchive/index.html . Quiz Center allows you to create, administer and grade quizzes online. You'll be able to make online quizzes that provide instant feedback to you and your students. You do need to sign up for Custom Classroom before you can use the quiz maker. This also gives you a puzzle maker and more. Go to http://school.discovery.com/quizcenter/quizcenter.html . These three sites read stories aloud to your students as they see the words on the computer screen: HiYah at http://www.hiyah.com/library.html; Golden Books at http://www.goldenbooks.com/; Welcome to the World of Peter Rabbit and His Friends (this one's my favorite) at http://www.peterrabbit.co.uk/templates/index1.cfm. KnowPlay? When opened, this looks like a Google search engine. It's MUCH more! Select the headings at the top to get stock information, reference help, a "people finder," a recipe finder, a product finder and more! It also does reverse lookups for e-mail addresses, phone numbers and addresses. Go to http://www.kplay.cc. findtutorials Have a question about a program for which you just can't find an answer? This site has tutorials for many popular programs. Check out http://tutorials.findtutorials.com. Study Skills Topic Pages This site offers help to students on the concepts of how to listen, take notes, use index cards, prepare oral presentations and more. Go to http://www.how-to-study.com. Primary Games.com This site contains educational games and puzzles for elementary students in language arts, math and social studies. Visit http://www.primarygames.com. TerraFly This is so cool. You put in your address or your zip code and you get an aerial view of the site. You can zoom in and actually see the location you entered. (I saw my house!) Go to http://www.terrafly.com. Babel Fish This site is from Altavista. You enter text (up to 150 words) or enter a Web page and it translates it from one language to another. Languages on the site are Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Portugese and Russian. I am not a language teacher so I don't know if the syntax is correct, but it is a very slick tool. Check it out at http://babelfish.altavista.com/translate.dyn . Mr. Wakeup is a slick little site that actually rings your telephone and gives you a wake-up call. You register online and tell the computer when you want to be called and at what phone number and it really calls you! I tried it at work and it actually rang at the front desk at the time I specified. It's pretty cool! Go to http://www.iping.com. At A to Z Teacher Tips there are 244 different tips from seasoned teachers on topics such as classroom d cor, classroom jobs, learning centers, managing behavior, organizations, morning work and much, much more. Check it out at http://atozteacherstuff.com/tips/. Study Guides and Strategies at http://iss.stthomas.edu/studyguides offers teachers and students a wealth of information about studying (memorizing, organizing, etc.), reading skills, test preparation, test-taking skills, writing skills and much more. Tutorials are available in lots of areas and in 14 different languages. Want to create a dynamite bulletin board for your classroom? Try Teacher Helpers Bulletin Board Ideas from Kathy Schrock. This site offers pictures of bulletin boards and a hotlist to other bulletin board sites. Go to http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/bulletin/index.html . Pick a month and a day and find out what happened on that day throughout history at Scope Systems (http://www.scopesys.com/anyday). You can build a rubric online quick and easy and then copy and paste it into a document or print it out at Rubistar. You can select topics and the criteria for evaluation, plus can change any wording you like. Go to http://rubistar.4teachers.org. Anyone out there approaching retirement or have parents for whom they are caring? Try Benefits CheckUp at http://benefitscheckup.org. You enter information about yourself or the person about whom you are concerned. Information includes age, income and ZIP code. No personal information is required. When you submit your information, you receive a listing of programs for which you qualify. This is very easy and most informative. The Doucette Index at http://www.educ.ucalgary.ca/litindex provides access to books and Web sites that feature useful teaching suggestions related to books for students K-12. You input the title or author/illustrator. You get print and Web resources. You can specify to receive Web resources only. WorldSkip.com is made-to-order for international festivals. It features a very easy-to-use index of Web sites for countries around the world. You select the country and you find out about economics, business, language, etc. Check it out at http://www.worldskip.com. Take a look at Stellar Storyteller Studio at http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/slideshow/. Using a multimedia tool called RealSlideshow, you can put together a mini-movie of shots or drawings and record yourself telling a story about your pictures. You can play it back from your computer or submit it to Scholastic for posting. Really cool! Primary teachers can find lots for their kids to do at Learning Planet at http://www.learningplanet.com/. There is alphabet action, memory games, space math, word searches and Rusty Rat games with colors, numbers and words (you need to download Shockwave). Check out Ms. LeBeau's Home Page at http://expage.com/page/lebeau. This site, created by a 5th-grade teacher, lists links to lesson plans, subject area lists, greeting cards and much, much more. Here are mathematics lessons that are fun! fun! fun! http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Lessons/. These high school lessons deal with probability, slope, geometry, polyominoes (yes, that's spelled correctly) and more! Questions are posed that students must find answers to using problem-solving strategies and a little ingenuity. Check out Welcome to the World of Peter Rabbit and His Friends at http://www.peterrabbit.co.uk/templates/index1.cfm. This really beautiful site actually reads three different stories to the students. You can make and send very sweet greeting cards, meet the characters and go to the playground. Daily Grammar at http://www.dailygrammar.com sends middle school teachers and students an e-mail message with a writing lesson five days of the week and a quiz on the sixth day. The site is authored by a veteran junior high school English teacher. In the same spirit is A Word a Day, which sends you a word and a definition every day. Check it out at http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/. Harry Potter fans can go to http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter to find great discussion guides, quizzes and information on plot, themes, setting, characters, etc. Another site, http://www.geocities.com/hwarts/, tells us about the four houses in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Inventing and inventions are highlighted in the Great Idea Finder at http://www.ideafinder.com. The section on Myths and Facts provides interesting commentaries on the evolution of recent inventions. The origin of velcro, remote controls and a variety of other items are discussed. Other areas at the site include featured inventors, an idea showcase, Why didn't I think of that? and a variety of other fascinating topics. SparkNotes Online Study Guide at http://www.thespark.com/sparknotes/ provides students and teachers with free online study guides that replace the old Cliffs Notes we've all used for so many years. Many classics are included. The selections are complete and have been compiled by Harvard University students. Math Stories http://www.mathstories.com is a whole bunch of story problems dealing with the four operations of mathematics as well as rounding, estimating, factors and primes. They are broken into grades 1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 and story problems based on children's books. The Web site http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/2khome.htm is the official site of the U.S. Census Bureau. You can access information about the past census by clicking on your state and then narrowing your search to your zip code. There are great lesson plans about the 2000 census, divided into grades K-4, 5-8 and 9-12. A wealth of information is available. Do you love worms, bugs and other yucky things? Check out http://www.yucky.com. This science site appeals to the natural curiosity students have for all things gross. There are also lesson plans and ask an ask-an-expert site. Funbrain at http://www.funbrain.com is a really cool site for teachers. You can have your students take ready-made quizzes from the site, or you can input your own quizzes. The students take them online. Funbrain grades them and sends you the result through e-mail. The site is easy to use and kids will enjoy learning with it. The Research Paper site at http://www.researchpaper.com helps students in all aspects of writing a research paper, from selecting a topic to working through grammar and context problems. The site offers assistance in citing sources correctly and offers a chat line for students with questions or ideas. It assists in making a really polished product. Dave's Favorite Web SitesAs the presidential election draws near there are a host of Web sites out there devoted to elections. Here are some of the best:
Tall tales, tales of wonder, ethnic folklore and American folklore are all great ways to get kids reading, doing web work and learning a little more about their heritage. These are a few of the sites I found doing a Google search with keywords like "Native American Tales," "African American Tales," "Tall Tales" and "American" AND "American Folklore." If you are interested in the idea of storytelling, a Google search with the keyword "Storytelling" results in some great sites as well. Tall Tales This site briefly explores the features and history of tall tales, has links to tales and a template for readers to create their own tall tales. Visit http://www.hasd.org/ges/talltale/talltale.htm. Tales of Wonder features a small sampling of the rich heritage of folk and fairy tales from around the world. Go to http://www.darsie.net/talesofwonder/index.html. Native American Lore Index You'll find a list of links to several stories of Native American Indian lore from several tribes across Turtle Island. Check out. Afro-American Almanac Folktales This is a great Internet resource for African American history and folktales. Go to http://www.toptags.com/aama/tales/tales.htm. American Folklore This site includes retellings of American folktales, famous characters, Native American myths and legends, tall tales, ethnic folklore, weather folklore and ghost stories from each and every one of the 50 United States. You'll find it at http://www.americanfolklore.net/. National Service Learning Clearinghouse at http://www.nicsl.coled.umn.edu/default.html is a comprehensive information system that focuses on all dimensions of service-learning, covering kindergarten through higher education school-based as well as community based initiatives. Curious about what exactly El Ni o is? PBS Online, Nova and WGBH have banded together to produce Tracking El Ni o. Look into the anatomy of El Ni o, read dispatches from one of the trackers, see where El Ni o is now and just how far it will reach. Go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elnino/ The K-8 Aeronautics Internet Textbook is an electronic multimedia text, teachers' supplement and student workbook designed to be used over the Internet in conjunction with the World Wide Web. This electronic textbook presents a comprehensive, cohesive study of the science of aeronautics at a level elementary and middle school students and teachers can easily understand and enjoy. Internet communication media include written text, sign language for the deaf, still pictures and short video clips. http://muttley.ucdavis.edu/ Kites in the classroom. http://www.kfs.org/kites/zoo/class.html Cleveland Museum of Natural History. http://www.cmnh.org/ Ohio Historical Society Online. http://www.ohiohistory.org/index.html Franklin Institute Science Museum. http://sln.fi.edu/ Jim's Fine Art Collection. http://www2.iinet.com/art |
Copyright 2001-2004, Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc. All rights reserved.