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The Potato Story

What it is: The Potato Story is a great interactive from the UK that teaches students about food (specifically the potato) and how it gets from field to fork.  The story focuses on how the potato is grown and harvested and it’s journey from the farm to the table where kids eat it.  It also teaches the nutritional values of the potato and the part they play in a balanced diet.  The interactive for kids is spectacular, but the accompanying resources for teachers is truly incredible.  The first lesson of the Potato Story is the life cycle of the plant.  Each lesson comes with instructions for the teacher, the interactive portion for the student, additional educational weblinks, and pdf worksheets, quizzes, and printable lesson.  The second lesson is a simulation where students can grow their own potatoes and learn about healthy root systems and plant needs.  The third lesson teaches about plant growth and the plant life cycle.  The final lesson is all about making healthy eating choices and nutrition. How to integrate The Potato Story into the classroom: The Potato Story is a fantastic interactive that takes students on a journey of the food they eat.  Students learn about plant life cycles, necessary elements for growing a plant, and nutrition.  The Potato Story interactives are perfect as a center in a science class, completing individually in a lab setting, or completing as a class with an interactive whiteboard. Tips: Be sure not to skip the teacher section on this site, there are SO many great ideas and extension activities included. Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Potato Story in your classroom. // //

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Take a Video Tour of Planet Earth

Posted by admin | Posted in Fun & Games, Geography, Interactive Whiteboard, Middle/High School, Primary Elementary, Science, Secondary Elementary, Social Studies, Teacher Resources, Virtual Field Trips, Websites, inspiration, web tools | Posted on 14-10-2009

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What it is: Take a Video Tour of Planet Earth with the combination of Discovery channel “Planet Earth” and Google Earth.  Witness animal behaviors, dive into the deepest cave on the planet, and come eye to eye with a 30-ton humpback whale in this interactive tour.  Explore the earth through Discovery channel’s Planet Earth series embedded in Google Earth.  Just zoom into a location in the Planet Earth tour and view video clips from the popular 11 part series.  The tour is free to download and plays directly in Google Earth.

How to integrate Video Tour of Planet Earth into the classroom: Geography lessons come to life in Google Earth.  The Video Tour of Planet Earth infuses even more life into your classroom with an up-close look at the incredible animals and vegetation around the world. This tour is an excellent resource for teaching students about habitats, ecosystems, geography, animals, animal kingdoms, and more.  Your students will be able to virtually ‘fly’ to locations all over the world and get a real life look at each stop.  This is an outstanding resource to view on the big screen with a projector or an interactive whiteboard.  Allow your students to take turns acting as tour guide at each stop.  Students can preview the video, do some additional research and present their findings as the class visits their stop along the tour.  Set up the tour on classroom computers for a fun geography or science center.  Use a stop on the video tour as a writing prompt for journaling.

Tips: Google Earth is a free download, if you don’t already have it, this is a MUST have for every classroom.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Take a Video Tour of Planet Earth in your classroom.

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Comments (1)

Amy said on 28-10-2009

How did you get this site to work. I clicked on the button for having Google Earth and it took me to a “coded” page. I can’t figure out how to use the code in Google Earth. Any suggestions? Thanks:-)

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