Tag: kids

Max’s Math Adventures

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What it is: Max’s Math Adventures teaches students math skills (kindergarten-second grade) through fun adventures. Skills include shapes, counting to 30, comparing and ordering, linear measurement, whole number addition, sorting and classifying, patterns, addition, subtraction, equal parts (fractions), counting to 100, size comparison, estimation up to 100, time, money, adding 2-digit numbers, simple graphing, number patterns, and concrete multiplication.

How to integrate Max’s Math Adventures into your math curriculum: Set up a math adventure as a center during math time. Use a projector and use a math adventure as an opening to a math unit. Work through the adventure as a class before the new skill is taught.

Tips: Be sure to check out the teachers guide for some great tips on using the site in your classroom!

 

 

Disney’s Surfswell Island

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What it is: Disney’s Surfswell Island is a fun interactive island where students learn about internet safety with Disney characters. Students go on an Indiana Jones type adventure with Mickey Mouse and friends around Surfswell Island to learn internet safety.

How to integrate Disney’s Surfswell Island into the classroom: Before using the Internet in your classroom, make sure your students know the rules of the Internet. Disney’s Surfswell Island is just the place to learn and practice the rules of the Internet. When students complete the challenges of Surfswell Island, they will be able to print out a certificate of completion.

Tips: Use this site several times throughout the year to keep the rules of the Internet fresh in students minds. Be sure to check out the teachers guide for this site!

imbee.com

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What it is: Social networking is now school networking! Imbee allows teachers to extend their classroom beyond four walls and onto the Internet. Establish class blogs and promote online interaction and collaboration. Teachers and Parents can work together closely to guide and teach about social responsibility online while increasing classroom learning.

How to integrate imbee.com into your classroom: Use imbee as a platform for your students to publish their work. This will give students a sense of audience and act as a motivator for students. Students can collaborate on projects and help edit each others work. This is a wonderful tool for teaching students Internet safety and responsibility in a safe, controlled environment.

Tips: Visit imbee.com/teacher for lesson plans, a teacher tour, and to find answers to questions you may have about imbee. The creators of imbee are very open and willing to take teacher suggestions and implement them in new imbee versions.

 

 

Cavantastic

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What it is: Canvastic is a great student focused graphics and text publishing tool for kindergarten through eighth grade. It has easy to use tools and options. You won’t find any of the “toy” features that you find in Kid Pix type applications. The control given to teachers is wonderful. Teachers can give students access to tools gradually so that as they learn more, they can use more. It actually grows with the user. It has the best spell checking feature for students I have seen. You can try Canvastic for free in your classroom for as long as you like but the print, export, and save features are disabled. For $39 you can purchase Canvastic.

How to integrate Canvastic into your classroom: Use Canvastic as part of your publishing center. Students can publish written stories complete with illustrations. Students can create their own graphic organizers on any subject using the Canvastic software.

Tips: Join the Canvastic community to contribute ideas for improvement of the software, how you are using it in your classroom, and to foster an atmosphere of communication and exchange. In the Community you will find example lesson plans that are tied to state and national standards.

 

 

 

I Know That Math

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What it is: I Know That Math is a site that teaches and encourages math practice through fun games and activities for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Activities include math stories where students get familiar with word problems, money workshop, speed building games, an arithmetic workshop where students learn about place value, fraction workshop, real world geometry practice, Leon’s Math Movies where students construct their own knowledge about math concepts, math practice with counters, and more.

How to integrate I Know That Math into your math curriculum: Introduce a new math concept with Leon’s Math Movies. Let students explore with Leon before your teaching. Students can get great fact practice on this site. Use it as a center during math time or as an extended activity.

Tips: I Know That has some advertisements on its site, these can be removed by purchasing a subscription. I use the sites advertisements to teach my students about how to spot ads on a website and to teach why some sites have ads. Check out the teachers guide for each game and activity for some great ideas.

 

 

 

Netsmartz Kids

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What it is: Technology is quickly changing the teaching and learning environment. The Internet in particular opens up our classrooms and students to the rest of the world. Netsmartz Kids teaches students about internet safety through fun songs, characters and interactive games. The site does not link to any outside sites. It is safe and easy to use.

How to integrate Netsmartz Kids into your curriculum: Before using the Internet in your classroom, introduce your students to the rules of the web through these fun songs and games. Netsmartz Educators offers wonderful activity cards and ideas for using Netsmartz in your classroom.

Tips: Allow your students to explore Netsmartz often, these skills cannot be reinforced enough! Tell parents about the Netsmartz Parents page where they can learn more about keeping their family safe online.

 

 

Think Free

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What it is: A FREE online alternative to Microsoft Office with 1GB of online storage for each user, online document collaboration, document viewer, and Think Free docs.

How to integrate Think Free into your curriculum: Think Free is not only a great way to get a complete word processor into your classroom, it also allows you to assign homework to students, and know that they students have the proper tools to get the job done. Students can easily collaborate on projects using Think Free. The best part? Students can access their files and the applications they need from any connected computer. Students can also create spreadsheets and presentations (like PowerPoint) for free.

Tips: Think Free is a great tool for you too! Instead of transferring files back and forth on a flash drive or CD, use Think Free for your word processing needs (lesson plans, class materials, homework) and access on your connected home computer. Easy!

 

 

Gamegoo

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What it is: Gamegoo features fun educational games that help students develop reading and language skills. When students play Gamegoo games, they are practicing the skills they are learning in class. Gamegoo is great for Kindergarten through third grade (although my fourth and fifth grade students still ask to play the games).

How to integrate Gamegoo into your literacy curriculum: Use Gamegoo games to reinforce literacy learning. In the one or two computer classroom, use Gamegoo as a center during literacy time. If you have access to a computer lab or mobile lab, build it right into your literacy curriculum.

Tips: Gamegoo has a great teacher section that gives descriptions, skills reinforced and grade levels of each game. Click on “Home” to get to the teacher section.

 

 

Artsonia

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What it is: Artsonia is the world’s largest kids’ art museum where each student in your class can have an online art gallery displaying their masterpieces for free! Artsonia is for pre-school through high-school students. Your students will develop a new sense of pride and feel like famous artists published in a museum. Friends and family members of the student can view the artwork, join fan clubs and leave personal comments for the artists. Family can purchase custom keepsakes with their child’s artwork (mugs, t-shirts, mouse pads, coasters, note cards and more). Your school will earn 15% of the purchases! Participation is completely free for teachers, students, and schools.

How to integrate Artsonia into your curriculum: Use www.artsonia.com as an enhancement for your school’s art program or use for your classroom projects. Students will put extra effort into their work and parents will be more involved in their classroom work.

Tips: Have a digital camera handy at all times, set up a place in your room to take a close up picture of student work. This will keep you from scanning all of the work in. Upload the pictures to Artsonia and you are finished! Set aside special days when students can visit the museum in class. Students can view and leave messages for classmates.