Category: Language Arts

edu2.0

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on edu2.02830 views

 

What it is: Web 2.0 resources are amazing, I love the potential for connecting students and teachers in a new way. edu 2.0 is an incredible free tool that allows teachers and students to connect and interact outside of the traditional classroom. This is, in essence, a virtual classroom.

How to integrate edu 2.0 into the classroom: edu 2.0 allows teachers to add a new dimension to teaching. Post private classes online, upload daily lessons, keep a student roster, student attendance, a calendar, assignments, grade book, graph scores, start a class forum, chat, wiki, polls, and feeds, create surveys and quizzes that can be completed online. This is a great way to extend teaching, teach students how to use web 2.0 tools, offer tutoring and out-side of school teaching, and offering courses to home school students or small schools who may not have the resources to offer specialized classes.

Tips: This is an amazing FREE resource, be sure to participate in the edu 2.0 forum. Graham, the creator, is extremely open to new ideas from teachers and often creates new features and implements them quickly based on user suggestions.

 

Wacky Web Tales

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Wacky Web Tales3127 views

 

What it is: Wacky Web Tales are online mad libs for third grade and up.

How to integrate Wacky Web Tales into your classroom: As you are teaching parts of speech, use the Wacky Web Tales website as a place for students to practice and play with different parts of speech. Students can each create a Wacky Web Tale and share with other students. Students can also visit the Parts of Speech help for definitions and examples of each part of speech. This would be a great learning activity- students could use the Parts of Speech help to learn the definitions of different parts of speech. It is also a great practice website. Complete Wacky Web Tales individually or as a whole class using a projector.

Tips: Check the Wacky Web Tales website monthly for new tales.

 

Letter Pop

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Letter Pop1436 views

 

What it is: Letter Pop is a web-based newsletter publishing center. Best of all, Letter Pop is free! The newsletters are easy to create, just add text and pictures.

How to integrate Letter Pop into your classroom: If you don’t have a publishing program like Pages, this is the next best thing. Students can use Letter Pop for mini reports, class newsletters, and book reports. Teachers can use Letter Pop to create their weekly or monthly newsletters or for back to school letters.

Tips: Letter Pop is integrated with flickr.com making uploading pictures to your newsletter even more convenient.

Google Lit Trips

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Google Lit Trips3577 views

 

What it is: Google Lit trips is a new way to teach literature. Using Google Earth, students discover where in the world the greatest road trip stories of all time took place. This is interactive learning at its best! Google Lit Trips include books such as By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleishman, My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, Traveling with P.G. Wodehouse, The Aeneid by Virgil, Candide by Volatire, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Night by Elie Wiesel, The Odyssey by Homer, and Blood Meridian by Comac McCarthy.

How to integrate Google Lit Trips into your classroom: Use these virtual trips to make literature come alive for your students.

Tips: These Google Lit Trips are best used for upper elementary through high school.

 

Mindomo

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Mindomo1659 views

 

What it is: Mindomo free web-based mind mapping tool that delivers the capabilities of desktop mind mapping software in a web browser with no software to install or maintain. Students can create, edit, and share mind maps with teachers and other students.

How to integrate Mindomo into your classroom: Students can use Mindomo to create mind maps for all subjects. Students can create character diagrams, comparison charts, story diagrams, vocabulary word diagrams, timelines, effect of events, experiment maps, food pyramids, scientific processes, life cycles, and more. This tool will be valuable for your visual learners!

Tips: Students have to sign up for a free account to use Mindomo they will need a email address to complete registration process.

 

 

Vocabulary

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Vocabulary2627 views

 

What it is: Vocabulary is a website where students can build spelling, reading, phonics, and vocabulary skills while playing games. The word games provide a motivation to manipulate, examine, and interact with the core building blocks of communication. There are six games to play and hundreds of options for each game. Games include: Hang Mouse (like hangman), Crossword Puzzle, Word Search, Vocabulary Quiz, Picture Match Game, and Word Scramble.

How to integrate Vocabulary into your classroom: Use the Vocabulary website to introduce new units, during phonics or center time, or as practice during a unit. The Vocabulary website offers multiple levels of each game and many themes.

Tips: Search this site for vocabulary words that tie in with your specific classroom and school themes. The site is appropriate for first through eighth grade. Find the levels that are most appropriate for your students.

 

 

The Story Starter

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on The Story Starter2037 views

 

What it is: The Story Starter provides 345,935,040 creative ideas for writers of all ages. The Story Starter randomly generates writing prompts that will help students start stories.

How to integrate The Story Starter into your classroom: Have one or two of your classroom computers set to this site during writing or journaling time. Students can click on the random story starter button and get the beginning of a story that they can add to. This is a wonderful creative tool for students who are learning to write fiction.

Tips: Bookmark this page for easy access during writing time.

 

 

Kidoons

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Kidoons15634 views

 

What it is: Kidoons brings time-honored, universally recognized stories to life. Stories include tales from the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault, Thorton Burgess, and more. Kidoons offers both online stories and games for kids developing literacy skills.

How to integrate Kidoons into your classroom: Offer students the opportunity to use Kidoons during silent reading time, or during a unit on one of the time-honored authors listed above. The online books are not read for the students, so it is best used with independent readers.

Tips: Visit the teachers section to join the Kidoons teacher’s resource newsletter. Kidoons will alert you of any new games, stories, and ideas for your classroom.

Kidoons does have advertisements on it, use this as an opportunity to teach kids about how to spot ads on the Internet.

 

 

Our Timelines

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Our Timelines5167 views

 

What it is: Our Timelines is a free web tool that lets teachers and students create and print timelines. Students can click on any entry in an already created timeline that is underlined as a link to a page that provides additional details on the event.

How to integrate Our Timelines into your classroom: Allow students to create timelines on Our Timelines. The timelines can be a 5 to 140 year span. Students fill in the time period, the event description and the event type. Students can also see a timeline of events that happened on their birthdays. This is a great resource for teaching kids about timelines and visualizing history. Use for history lessons, literature timelines, personal timelines, etc.

Tips: Be sure to click the printable check box in the timeline form so that the timeline can be printed.

 

 

Planetfesto

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Planetfesto2343 views

 

What it is: Planetfesto is a website dedicated to creating an Internet ribbon large enough to stretch around the planet. Students add their own six inches to the ribbon by creating a simple panel expressing their love for the Earth and a pledge to change something small in their life that might affect the earth.

How to integrate Planetfesto into your classroom: Planetfesto would be a great Earth Day activity for the classroom. Students can create their own tribute to the planet (on paper and scanned in or in a graphics program) or choose a picture from the site that demonstrates how they view the planet. Students then type a paragraph about why they love the planet and their pledge to personally protect it. There are some ideas for students to choose from for their pledge.

Tips: Your students will be proud to be part of the “bigger picture” with this ribbon that wraps around the world. Students can share their work by using Planetfesto’s search feature.

Planetfesto has been nominated for an Edublog Award!!  Vote for them here.  Congratulations Planetfesto!