Category: Science

Kerpoof

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on Kerpoof4699 views

What it is: Kerpoof is a free online creativity center where students can create their own pictures, stories, and movies. The Kerpoof studio provides students with scenes, characters, and props. Students use these tools to create stories that can be printed out or movies that they write and direct. These can be saved right on the website so students can revisit their picture, story, or movie.

How to integrate Kerpoof into the classroom: Kerpoof is the creativity tool that can bring your students stories to life. Use Kerpoof as part of your publishing center. Students can use Kerpoof to illustrate their stories, or to create a real movie out of their own writing. Kerpoof would also make a fun writing prompt center in the classroom. This site also provides students with basic movie making skills and would make a nice precursor to an iMovie lesson. Students could plan out their movies on Kerpoof before they begin filming and editing with iMovie.  Kerpoof can also be used to teach character education, have students create stories or movies that show emotion and solve problems. Teach the life cycle of a butterfly during science using Kerpoof’s butterfly pavilion scene.  User Kerpoof to create life cycle scenes.   Students will create a unique login so that they can revisit their stories and movies. Allow students to visit each other’s work during reading time.  The site would be best utilized in a computer lab one to one setting. The stories and movies will take too long to just set up as a center in your classroom. If you don’t have access to a computer lab for this activity but have a projector, create an ongoing story or movie as a whole class.

Tips: Be sure to visit the teacher area of Kerpoof for some outstanding lessons and ideas for using Kerpoof in the classroom. You can also print out coloring sheets from the teacher area.

P lease leave a comment and share how you are using Kerpoof in your classroom.

Science

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Science1862 views

What it is: Macmillan-McGraw Hill Science is the online student addition of the textbooks. Students is grades kindergarten through six can click on the book that matches their grade level. Here students can watch video clips, play vocabulary games, take animated summary quizzes, read e-journals, and more.

How to integrate Macmillan-McGraw Hill Science into the classroom: Even if your school does not use the Macmillan-McGraw Hill Science textbooks, this site is a wonderful supplement to any science curriculum. The fun interactive environment is sure to be a hit with students. The vocabulary review games would be fun to play as a whole class with the projector (split students into teams) or individually. You might also offer this site to students for homework help or for test review at home.

Tips: Click on the OSE button at the bottom of the screen for the Online Student edition of the text box. Below the OSE button are login names and passwords for various grade levels.

P lease leave a comment and share how you are using Macmillan-McGraw Hill Science in your classroom.

Class Tools

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What it is: Class Tools is possibly the most impressive, easy to use tool that I have reviewed to date! This allows teachers (even those who aren’t incredibly tech savvy) to create interactive Flash diagrams and games for learning and revising material. It is FREE! All diagrams created can be saved as data files or web pages to host on your school website or intranet. Quiz creators allow you to input up to 25 questions and answers an then choose a game to test student knowledge. Games include Matching Pairs, Manic Miner, WordShoot, and Cannon Ball Fun. Learning templates that teach and support chronological awareness include Time Line and Living Graph. Categorization tools include Post it, and a Target diagram. Linkage tools include Venn diagrams, and The Learning Puzzle. Priortization tools include Diamond Nine and a Priority Chart. Sourcework Skills tools include Lights Out and Source Analyzer. Essay skills tools include Fishbone and Hamburger diagrams. WOW!!

How to integrate Class Tools into the classroom: Class Tools may be one of the most versatile tools you can use in the classroom. Teachers and students can create learning diagrams together and upload to the school website for later study. Teachers, you can create games for your students to play focused on any specific curriculum. The sky is the limit for Class Tools in the classroom.

Tips: Print out a copy of the Class Tools Flyer, having a description of the tools handy is a must!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Class Tools in your classroom.

Christmas Tree Puzzle

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Christmas Tree Puzzle1894 views

What it is: Christmas Tree Puzzle is a fun game where students have to light up a Christmas tree by connecting all of the wires to a power source. This requires critical thinking and problem solving but is a lot of fun!

How to integrate Christmas Tree Puzzle into the classroom: This is a wonderful Christmas math game for students. All ages will enjoy this puzzle game, younger students will play with trial and error while older students will use some math strategy and planning to light the tree. Have tree lighting contest where students race to light their tree first or with the fastest time. This is a great activity for the last week of school when students are wound up!

Tips: Set up Christmas Tree Puzzle as a center that students can visit throughout the day or as part of a Christmas party.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Christmas Tree Puzzle in your classroom.

Make-a-Flake

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What it is: Make-a-Flake lets kids ‘cut out’ virtual snowflakes. This is a fun site for the winter season!

How to integrate Make-a-Flake into the classroom: Make-a-Flake is one of those sites that is fun for all ages. Students cut out a snowflake (no two are ever alike) and then they can send their snowflake creations to a parent via email. Students snowflakes are also featured on the first page of the site as falling snow. This is a fun way to create snowflakes without all of the little paper mess. The site is great for younger kids who are still learning to manipulate the mouse, but it is fun for older kids too. Set up a snowflake station in the one or two computer classroom where students can stop and make snowflakes as they finish work early.

Tips: Gather your parent email addresses at the beginning of the year for communication purposes as well as fun creations like Make-a-Flake.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Make-a-Flake in your classroom.

Kids Biology

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What it is: Kids Biology is a website designed to be kid friendly and informative. Here, students can learn about an assortment of animals (broken down by classes, what they eat, and where they live). Each animal has an about the animal section and a picture of the animal. Kids Biology also features kid friendly information on the origin of life, what are living things, needs of living things, cells, tissues, organs, systems, classification, five kingdoms, viruses, genetics, and Earth’s biomes. Each topic contains easy to read and understand information about the topic. Kids Biology has games that help students study what they have learned about each topic through word searches, hangman, and biology memory.

How to integrate Kids Biology into the classroom: Kids Biology would offer a nice break from traditional textbooks and worksheets. Give students time to explore the site on their own to introduce or review a new science unit. Read the online textbook as a class followed by a game using a projector. Split your kids into teams to play the game as a class. Kids Biology is also a nice resource for students researching an animal because of the kid friendly reading and wealth of information.

Tips: Save Kids Biology the bookmark bar for easy access in the classroom.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Kids Biology in your classroom.

SuperThinkers

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on SuperThinkers4105 views

What it is: SuperThinkers is a website that encourages students to become thinkers as opposed to memorizers. The goal of SuperThinkers is to teach children how to think by creating connections, look for meaning behind facts, and analyzing in order to understand. Even reluctant readers enjoy using this site to read for meaning. The Peetnik Mysteries are stories that the students read and interact with. In the mystery game, students use common tools such as maps, phones, and phone directories to follow up on hunches to solve the mystery.

How to integrate SuperThinkers into the classroom: SuperThinkers includes quality mysteries from author Peter Reynolds. Use SuperThinkers as part of a larger mystery unit or as a reading activity that encourages logic, problem solving, critical thinking, cooperative learning, analysis, pattern interpretation, mystery solving, writing, observation, sharing, discovery, imagination, self determination, reflection, and opportunities for self expression. The mysteries take about 30 min. to solve and would be best utilized in a computer lab 1 to 1 setting or as a whole class with a projector. The mysteries are popular with students, even the most reluctant readers enjoy working with the mysteries. The Peetnik Mysteries can also be used to teach students how to create a time line, compare and contrast skills, and as story starters.

Tips: Be sure to visit the Educators section of SuperThinkers for curriculum tie-ins, lesson plans, and posters.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using SuperThinkers in your classroom.

DIGI[cation]

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on DIGI[cation]1819 views

What it is: Digication is a website that allows teachers and students to create and keep e-portfolios. E-Portfolios are online spaces for teachers and students to communicate, share, reflect and collaborate in and outside of the classroom and have created exciting opportunities for teaching and learning world-wide. E-portfolios can be a continuing body of work that follow students throughout their school experience. The communication aspect that Digication provides makes for a richer school experience. The Student/Teacher edition of Digication is free.

How to integrate Digication into the classroom: Digication e-portfolios can be used in the classroom as a means for communication between students and teachers. It can also be used as an introduction to the student for other teachers. Students can use Digication for publishing school work, sharing school-related accomplishments, use for college admissions, sharing ideas and showcasing work, and build powerful learning communities with other students within the school. Students can control who has access to their e-portfolio and have control over the navigation of their e-portfolio. An e-portfolio can be a work in progress throughout the students school career. It can be used by teachers to see the progression of student ability throughout their school career. Teachers can use Digication to document student work, create a class/course website, share best practices in education with other teachers, gain recognition, link to external websites, upload documents that you have created, and display flash movies from your e-portfolio.

Tips: Ideally Digication would be used school or district wide so as to create a body of evidence in an e-portfolio.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Digication in your classroom.

Fleck

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Fleck1180 views

What it is: Fleck is a free web application (it doesn’t even require a download!) that allows teachers or students to add notes and bullets to any web page. The annotated pages can then be posted on a blog or shared with students or colleagues. This is amazing! Fleck also provides you with a history of all the pages you have Flecked so that they can be updated and visited again and again. Fleck makes the Internet a collaborative learning experience.

How to integrate Fleck into the classroom: Fleck can be easily integrated into any curriculum. Imagine finding a really great site on the Civil War that you want to share with your students. It is a very comprehensive page and has more information than they need. Fleck the site with your sticky notes about important information. Add bullet points to the information that you want them to be sure to read. Share your Fleck with your students and they will be able to complete an activity independently as though you were sitting their with them and guiding them through it! Students could use Fleck while they are completing research projects. They can bullet important information on sites as they are gathering information. When students are working on group projects that require the Internet, they can share their Flecks with each other as they research. This is a COOL tool. I know that you will come up with other incredible uses for Fleck. Be sure to share those ideas with us in a comment!

Tips: Fleck will allow you to add notes to web pages without an account, I recommend a free account so that you can share your Flecks and save them.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Fleck in your classroom.

Seussville University

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What it is: Seussville University website is created by Random House Children’s publishing in the spirit of making learning fun. Kids favorite Dr. Seuss characters serve as their guides to learning in the fun, interactive environment. Horton the Elephant hosts the reading area where kids learn basic reading concepts such as letter recognition, sounds of letters and rhyming words. Yertle the Turtole hosts the math area where kids learn to recognize numbers, number words, to count, and do simple addition. The Lorax hosts the science area where kids are introduced to animal categories, basic astronomy and ecology. Sam-I-Am hosts the reasoning area, here kids can compare size, number, patterns, and directions and learn opposites. These activities are best for kindergarten and first grade students.

How to integrate Seussville University into the classroom: Suessville University is a wonderful addition to any kindergarten or first grade classroom. It can be used for language, math, science, and reasoning reinforcement. Students will love the interactive games with familiar Dr. Seuss characters. This would make a fun center activity for student rotations during daily learning activities. There are also printable activities that coordinate with the website activities. Use Seussville while completing a Dr. Seuss unit. Encourage parents to use Seussville with their children at home as an extension activity.

Tips: Keep Seussville University in the bookmark bar for easy access for your students. They are bound to love this site!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Seussville University in your
classroom.