Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A Vision of Students Today

Mr. Byrne, teacher and blogger (Free Technology for Teachers) shared this video recently. Although it has been around for some time, I had not seen it and wanted to share it with you. Since it is a youtube video, you will have to watch it at home. If you have an extra 4.45 minutes, I think it is worth your time!

Rhyme Race

Here's a great rhyming game to use on your whiteboard. Students roll the dice and move their marker. If they land on a space which is the same color as their marker, they are given a chance to name a rhyming word. This needs to be a teacher-involved activity since the computer does not tell them if their answer is correct. It would be great for intervention with small groups. The game can have up to 4 students/groups. Try it out. I think you will like it. Thanks to I learn Technology for this tip!

The Tenement Museum


All 5th Grade teachers using Scott Foresman for Reading. This resource would be excellent to use with Unit 1 Week 5! Check it out and see how you could use this great site.

Blackline Masters for Math

Here's a site with lots of blackline masters for math. All you have to do is click on a link and print out the worksheet! It's that quick and easy...except you will have to study the sheets to make sure they work with your lessons! There are oddles of worksheets here! Thanks to Kelowna teacher, Sharon Affeld and Pete who writes the blog, The Teacher List.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Document Cameras in the Classroom

Here's a great slide show for using a document camera in the classroom. Thanks to Mark Warner for sharing this on Ideas to Inspire. To watch this video, go to the bottom of the screen and click on the square with the box inside. When you put your cursor on the square it will say "open in new window." It will open full screen in a new window. Click on the forward button at the bottom. When you are finished, click Esc. Enjoy!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs


Now this looks interesting. I haven't seen Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs (rated PG) and have just begun to explore this site. It looks like a promo for the movie but I think students might have a great time checking it out. In school, I would just share the link with students so they could look it over at home. Except for the literary connection, it does not appear to align with specific CSOs.

Do you remember that I have a PortaPortal for students? I have added this to the Neat Web Sites section.

Animals Talk


I have had great fun playing with this site! It is easy to use and fun, too! Have students write a script, remembering all those things you are teaching with Kansas Writing. When they go to talkingpets.org, they will need to pick an animal, type the sentences and play. Backgrounds and voices can be changed and the pets can have accessories. When the students are all finished, they can save and watch their video. If you want to save it for the future though, you will need to copy the address and/or email it to yourself. I'll keep looking to see if there is a way to save it in the program! Have fun!!

Friday, September 18, 2009

If you Printed the Internet...

Did you know that if you READ the Internet, it would take 57,000 years to get through all that information? That's a lot to read!!! That astounds me and I tell that tidbit to everyone I meet ! Now everything on the Internet is not good to read or valid info but none the less it is an interesting fact to share. Click on the title to learn other fun facts about the amount of info on the Internet!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Geo Mysteries



I'm always on the lookout for science sites and was thrilled when "I Learn Technology" shared Geo Mystery. There are several interactive mysteries to solve. Students solve the mysteries by watching videos and working through experiments.

Game Classroom

Here's a great site with lots of games for Math and Language Arts. Choose the grade level and check out all the games. Looks good to me!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Johnny Appleseed


Celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday on September 26th! Vickie Blackwell always has great resources and wonderful ideas!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

I Play Math Games


Here's a math site for printing out games AND it is FREE!!! Check the site for specific skill areas, print out the game, pull out the dice, cards or other manipulatives and get going! This is great for small group activities and differentiation. Enjoy!!

The Write-n-ator!


MrsD shared this site on Twitter. Although it is aligned with CSOs from New Hampshire, it would still work for us. Take a minute to look at the NH objectives to see how that aligns with WV CSOs. You'll find a "mission", a video and a writing challenge. There are several pages of projects so make sure you check all of them to align to the skill you are teaching. I noticed one on synonyms, another on alliteration and another on vocabulary development. Lots of neat ideas to use to supplement your writing lessons! I would suggest using the program on the whiteboard and have students write their document on word (or paper) to share with you.

The Story Starter

Here's an interesting site with over 370,000 story starters. You click the bar and get a random story starter. Some are odd but really push for creative ideas! Keep in mind this is not an education site and it is a random generator so use this with caution. I might just use it to help me with an idea but not neccessarily have students use the site. It's plain and to the point. No need to even look at directions for using it! Easy, peasy! Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for sharing this on Twitter! Let me know what you think about this site!

Childtopia


Here's a great site for beginning readers. You can find lots of great resources here...worksheets,crafts, but my favorite is Tales. Click on that link and you will find audio stories! The site is from Spain however you will see that English is the default language. I did notice a very slight accent as a story was read but nothing to distract students. The site has ads and some are in Spanish. To get rid of those ads and to show with full screen, you have to subscribe to premium services and PAY!!! The small screen works for me!

Grimm Fairy Tales

Thanks to Reader Reviews: Surfing the Net With Kids for sharing this site! Grimm Fairy Tales is dedicated to the Brothers Grimm and their stories. You can read stories, listen to stories, play games, and get some info about the Brothers. After esploring this site, head to the bottom of the page to check out some other fables and fairy tales.

September - Constitution Day

Thursday September 17, 2009

The National Constitution Center
The site includes many resources. Most are free. Check out the lesson plans on the right side of the site. Here's something neat to do with your class:

Virtual Field Trip: Signing the Constitution
September 17, 2009, at 9 a.m.

Classrooms around the country can join the National Constitution Center via live webcast for a special demonstration in Signers’ Hall about the signing of the Constitution. Participants will also learn more about the Center’s new virtual field trip program. Educators can register to join the event on the Constitution Center’s website.

If you are interested in doing this, please let me know no later than Tuesday so I can do a quick PD with a laptop and projector so you can do this in your classroom.

Thanks to AnneMarie of Talking Smartboards & Much More
Constitution Relay Game
This is a neat game you could project and do as a large group. Questions are asked about the Constitution and you would type in the answer.

The Bill of Rights Game
This game review the Bill of Rights and has an elementary and secondary level.

American SymbolsThis game is so simple to use. A question is asked about an American symbol and students drag the symbol to the appropriate box.

Vickie Blackwell always has lots of great resources for all curriculum areas. Check out her Constitution resources at

You can always find great ideas and resources from Thinkfinity. I did a search and found hundreds of lessons. You can check them out at Thinkfinity. Refine your search by putting in your grade level and the specific type of resource.

If you need help with Thinkfinity, please just ask. It is a great resource that will make your life easier!

Constitution Day
It's a bit lat however you may order one free copy of the Constitution from this site. Don't stop at the free booklet. Keep scrolling down to find oodles of resources including lessons, links and a poster contest!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Keyboard Climber


Students always need to practice their keyboarding skills. Check out this neat game for help with those typing skills! The goal is to have the monkey climb higher and higher. If a student types the wrong letter, a cocnut drops on the monkey's head and he falls down. This would be a great site for students to practice at home! Share the address with the students. Just click on the title to go to the site.