Integrating technology in the classroom
What it is: Rhymer is a free online rhyming dictionary from Write Express. Students can find end rhymes, last syllable rhymes, double rhymes, beginning rhymes and first syllable rhymes.
How to integrate Rhymer into your classroom: Set up an inspiration center during a poetry unit. Students can stop by the center when they need a little poetic inspiration.
Tips: Bookmark this site for easy access.
What it is: The popular children’s series, Berenstain Bears goes 21st century with their very own website. Students can visit the art gallery, read biographies of each of the bears, print out activities, read interactive story books, visit Barn theater for some Berenstain Bear videos, write an email to the Bears at the post office and more.
How to integrate Berenstain Bears into your classroom: Allow students to explore the Berenstain Bear site as part of their reading time. The site is sure to motivate students to read. This is a great site to have on hand for indoor recess days!
Tips: Make sure you have the most current Java and Quicktime players for the interactive books and videos.
What it is: Author and illustrator Jan Brett has a wonderful website full of useful tools for teachers and fun activities for students.
How to integrate Jan Brett into your classroom: Use Jan Brett’s printable Classroom Help-a-longs to decorate bulletin boards, print name tags, and more. Print Jan Brett’s games for students to play when they finish an assignment early. Use the On Screen Computer Games during a unit on Jan Brett. There are so many printables and activities on this site, it will keep you busy all year!
Tips: Sign up for Jan Brett’s newsletter to receive an email when there are updates and additions to the site.
What it is: The Doodle Bops website is fun learning for pre-kindergarten through first grade students. Students can write a letter, play virtual hide and go seek, paint pictures, play games that encourage following oral directions, virtual dot to dots for counting practice, and other games to help build computer mouse skills.
How to integrate Doodle Bops into your classroom: Allow kids to interact with the Doodle Bops site during center time. The site is easy to navigate and very kid friendly. Use the site to build computer skills before introducing more complex sites.
Tips: Visit the Printables page at the bottom of the site for coloring sheets that coordinate with the Website. These would be nice to have on hand for indoor recess days.
What it is: I Know That Language Arts builds student’s language arts skills for kindergarten through sixth grade. Activities include word searches, word matching, word builders, scrambled stories, sentence puzzles, punctuation paintball, word tage, and more.
How to integrate I Know That Language Arts into your literacy curriculum: Instead of the standard DOL, set your students up for some Punctuation Paintball. Allow your students to use I Know That Language Arts for practice, as an extended learning activity, or as a center during literacy.
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 why some sites have ads. Check out the teachers guide for each game and activity for some great ideas.
What it is: The Little Animals Activity Centre has several activities for kindergarten through second grade including read along stories, math practice, and music games. The read along stories are wonderful for following auditory directions.
How to integrate The Little Animals Activity Centre into your curriculum: Use The Little Animals Activity Centre to reinforce classroom learning. It offers read along interactive stories that invite students to follow auditory directions. The math section is great addition, and subtraction practice. Students can have fun with words and practice end sounds, first sounds, and rhymes. These are great little games and activities for practice. This site is also wonderful for teaching students how to use and manipulate the computer mouse.
Tips: Click on the teachers page for activity overviews, lesson plans, and printable worksheets.
What it is: e-learning for Kids offers schools free and unlimited use of their courseware and access up-to-date content on children and learning. e-Learning for Kids provides a fun place to help your students build and strengthen skills in math, science, reading, computers and keyboarding. The programs are designed for kindergarten through sixth graders.
How to integrate e-learning for Kids into your curriculum: You can easily incorporate the e-learning for Kids courses into your current curriculums. Match up the e-learning for Kids courses with your current curriculum. Students can work on specific skills and access the self-paced programs independently. Students will be engaged and work at a level where they can perform successfully.
Tips: e-learning for Kids offers a free CD version of the courses. This is the perfect solution for computers that are not connected to the Internet or have an unreliable connection.
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.
What it is: Read Write Think offers a collection of online student materials that support literacy learning in the kindergarten through twelfth grade classroom. The free interactive materials can supplement any curriculum and provide an opportunity for students to use technology while developing literacy skills. There are 52 interactive activities with everything from Word Family Sorts, to a Comic Creator.
How to integrate Read Write Think into your reading and writing curriculum: For the one or two computer classrooms, use one of the interactive activities from http://readwritethink.org as a center activity. Many of the activities allow students to demonstrate understanding of their reading. Allow students to use the activities as they complete reading. Read Write Think has hundreds of ready made literacy lesson plans that incorporate the interactive activities on the site. Use these when you have access to a computer lab or mobile lab.
Tips: Create bookmarks to the individual activities instead of the Read Write Think site. This will save students (and you) time.
What it is: Starfall is a free learn-to-read phonics website primarily designed for kindergarten through second grade. It is a great resource for struggling readers. Starfall offers beginning readers interactive books, games, videos (complete with fun reading strategy songs). Starfall also offers free downloads of their printed materials which include short readers, writing and phonics journals, and more. The printed materials make classroom learning more fun and inspire a love of reading and writing.
How to integrate Starfall into your reading and writing curriculum: For the one or two computer classroom use www.starfall.com as a center activity during reading and writing time. Reinforce what is learned at school by sending some of the free printed resources home. If you have access to a computer lab or mobile lab, use www.starfall.com to introduce a new phonics concept. If you have access to a projector, use the Starfall videos for whole class phonics instruction, invite students to sing along.
Tips: Students as young as kindergarten will be able to navigate this site easily on their own. Create a bookmark for www.starfall.com for fast easy access. Students will love Starfall, send the link home so that students can continue learning at home.