4-18-2010

I have a couple of websites to share.

First sites for all classes:

"Interactives" provides educators and students with strategies, content, and activities that can enhance and improve students' skills in a variety of curricular areas. This site has interactive websites for Math, Science, Language Arts, History & Art - most activities are for 5-12 however there are a couple for all grades.

@http://www.learner.org/interactives/

Games to Make is a free resource for curriculum-based games to use mainly with primary students. Print ready-to-use Bingo cards for CVC words, a variety of activities for Word Walls (vocabulary building), including sight words, consonant sounds and rhyming words. Web: @http://www.kellyskindergarten.com/Games/ GamestoMake/games_to_make.htm

Students and teachers alike will love Quintura Kids visual search cloud. Take the free tour to learn how to work with this search tool. Search using the preset categories in the search cloud, click a road sign on the home page with newly added topics or type a word into the keyword search box. A minus sign lets you subtract a subtopic from your keyword search to refine results. The search cloud can also be embedded in your personal Web page using the code provided when you click the Embed button. Web: @http://www.quinturakids.com/

Sign up for Webspiration, an online collaborative visual thinking and authoring tool from Inspiration. Use Webspiration to capture ideas, organize information, diagram processes and create clear, concise written documents. New features let users create personal templates, set up their own collaboration groups and distribute documents to other Webspiration users. Get anywhere, anytime access for free during the public beta, after which the tool will be offered as a subscription service. Web: @http://www.mywebspiration.com/

Language Arts/reading

Focus on research-based reading strategies with Into the Book, a reading comprehension resource for K–4 students and teachers. The resource addresses eight strategies: Using Prior Knowledge, Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating and Synthesizing. Students can view the 15-minute videos and try the online interactive activities. “Behind the Lesson” provides information and teaching resources for each strategy. View the 10-minute professional development videos and explore the Web site for lesson plans, video and audio clips and more. Web: @http://reading.ecb.org/teacher/index.html

Try the free Seussville Story Maker to create your own storyboard using the characters from Horton Hears a Who! Other interactive games can be found by clicking the link to the Playground at the bottom of the Story Maker page. Web: @http://www.seussville.com/games/storymaker/story_maker.html

Math:

Print these free nets (3-D shapes) from SEN Teacher and create 3-D models to reinforce geometry concepts. Click the Printables tab for other free special needs teaching resources. Web: @http://www.senteacher.org/wk/3dshape.php

History/SS:

Around the World in 72 Days is the story of the record-breaking journey of journalist Nellie Bly, whose travel around the world began on November 14, 1889. The Web site for this American Experience program from PBS includes a free transcript of the film along with a free, online Teacher Guide, Special Features, Maps and a People and Events section. Web: @http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/world/

Investigate George Washington: A National Treasure, a classroom activity from the Smithsonian Institution. The detailed Teacher Guide includes lesson plans and activities that can be downloaded free of charge to guide this Web exploration of our first president. Web: @http://www.georgewashington.si.edu/kids/teacherguide.html Plus: Follow the clues in the free interactive Portrait for Kids and help solve a make-believe mystery of the half-finished portrait of George Washington. Click on the Kids tab at the top of the National Treasure activity to begin the adventure. Web: @http://www.georgewashington.si.edu/kids/portrait.html

Wayback: U.S. History for Kids is an interactive history resource produced by PBS’s American Experience. Explore the Summer Vacation topic and discover the history of car camping, learn more about the early days of summer camp and investigate some of America’s favorite vacation spots. Students can share their summer experience with the free email postcard at @http://pbskids.org/wayback/summer/postcard/. Web: @http://pbskids.org/wayback/summer/index.html