A Travelers Guide to the Planets

The Educational Technology Guy shared a great science resource today from National Geographic. A Travelers Guide to the planet is an interactive resource that allows you and your students to study any of the planets. Pluto is still included however Earth is not listed. Click on the title of this post or here to go to the site. It takes a few seconds to load so be patient. The first screen will open with Mercury. Here you may learn more about that planet by clicking on visit or any of the buttons near the bottom. To check out another planet click on the symbols below the picture. Make sure you find the forward button near the bottom so the info can be read aloud. I am impressed and plan to use this right away with a 4th grade classroom.

Lightning Bug

Lightning Bug looks like a neat site to use for writing. The tag line says it all..."Your writing partner, helping you write a story from beginning to the end." First click on the title of the post to go to Lightning Bug. Take some time to explore this site by clicking on headings on the home page. Scroll to the bottom and find some other links that target writing. Great resource!

BrainPop Jr.

I love BrainPop and BrainPop Jr.. Both are great sites with engaging videos for students. The problem is that there is a cost for membership. If you haven't ever looked at these sites, take a peek today. Notice that they have a trial subscription so you can look at it for a week to decide if you want to purchase a subscription. I feel the price is reasonable for the product however I usually don't share sites that cost. What I want you to do is click here or go to the title of this post. Find Free Stuff on the home page of BrainPop Jr. and click on that. You'll find some great resources to use in the classroom. I was interested in the Internet Safety video and the other one on Bullying. Then I decided to go over and visit BrainPop. Not only do they have the trial subscription but they have free stuff there too! If you keep looking there is a free page of resources for educators. I'm saving up for a classroom subscription for next year but in the meantime, I'll use the free resources available to all teachers. Lots there! Enjoy!

Chalkboard Paint

I've been reading a lot about using chalkboard paint and was thinking I might like to paint a table using it. That's an idea I got from Instructables. As I was reading the directions, there was a link to Lisa Stewart's blog, Creative Goddess. She has a great video explaining how to make your own chalkboard paint with any color paint. Think about a blue or red wall in your classroom...one you can write on with a piece of chalk! And then you can erase it! WOW!

I'm adding Lisa's video here but it is on youTube so you will need to watch it at home. Thanks to Lisa Stewart for her great directions on making chalkboard paint! Don't forget that you click on the title of the post or click here to go directly to Lisa's blog.

Writing Fun

Jenny Eather has put together a great website to help students with their writing. Jenny gives lots of info and support for the writing process with on-line writing, downloads and printables. She has text organizers for all types of writing. I was expecially interested in the poetry section and I was impressed with the many types of poetry. The email section gives an explanation and lots of samples. Every type of writing is included from informational to descriptive to persuasive and more. Check it out to see if you agree that this is one of the best writing sites around.

When you open the site by clicking on the title of the post or here, you will be directed to the home page. Make sure you spend a bit of time reading over the directions for using the site. Once you move to another section, the menu will be on the right side, small and in the middle. Click there to return to the home page.

I'm adding this site to the pages for grades 4/5 and 6/7/8 but check it out if you teach younger students. I think you'll find lots to use here.

Worlds’ Fastest and Slowest Land Animals

Worlds’ Fastest and Slowest Land Animals

Michael, Michael, Go Recycle!

Michael, Michael Go Recycle !

Online Games