Jan Brett

 

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.

 

 

Zoho

 

What it is: Zoho is a free office productivity suite. Zoho Writer is an online word processor with collaboration features. There is no download or install, just sign up to start creating documents. Zoho Sheet is an online spreadsheet application where students can create and share spreadsheets on the web. Zoho Show is an online presentation tool to create, edit, publish and show presentations. Zoho Notebook allows you to create, aggregate, and collaborate on content online. Zoho Planner is an online organizer to maintain your todo’s, reminders, notes, and attachments. Zoho Meeting allows for desktop sharing, web conferencing, online meetings, and remote assistance.

How to integrate Zoho into your classroom: Zoho is an amazing tool. Use in place of office suites that require expensive licensing. What is helpful for the classroom is the ability for students to collaborate on projects. Students can begin a project at school and easily access it later at home.

Tips: Sign up requires an email address, if your students do not have an email address, set up a special email account just for Zoho (you can set up one email address that all students use, as long as they have different usernames this shouldn’t be a problem.)

 

 

Doodle Bops

 

 

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.

 

 

Try Science

 

 

What it is: Try Science is an interactive websites where students can explore science through various online experiments, field trips, and adventures. There are so many units covered by this site (too many to list here!)

How to integrate Try Science into the science curriculum: Use Try Science to perform one of the activities as a demonstration or in a group. Use the ready made presentations with your whole class (this works well with a projection system). Make science fun with a Try Science game of Survivor. Expand your science curriculum with Try Science online experiments.

Tips: Be sure to visit this teacher page for a wealth of information and ideas for integrating Try Science into your classroom. Try Science also offers wonderful ideas for connecting with parents for more science at home.

 

 

Glossopedia

 

 

 

What it is: Glossopedia is a site for second to sixth graders about animals, plants, and the environment. Glossopedia offers multimedia tools and programs to teach students.

How to integrate Glossopedia into your social studies curriculum: Invite students to fill out a graphic organizer (like a KWL chart) using Glossopedia to introduce a new subject. Allow young students to use Glossopedia to learn basic web search skills.

Tips: Visit the educators page to download great learning activities.

 

 

I Know That Social Studies

 

 

What it is: I Know That Social Studies is a site that encourages students to learn geography and how to use maps through games and activities. Activities include clue maps, label maps, puzzle maps, and pushpins maps.

How to integrate I Know That Social Studies into your social studies curriculum: Use I Know That Social Studies as map practice. Students can practice geography with the puzzles, and label maps. This is a wonderful site to use in preparation for quizzes!

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.

I Know That Science

 

 

What it is: I Know That Science is a collection of games and activities that will teach and encourage students kindergarten through sixth grade in their science knowledge. Activities include, a science lab where students can explore the universe, matching animals and their habitats, energy and forces, optics, underwater expeditions where students can learn about ocean creatures and more.

How to integrate I Know That Science into your science curriculum: Use I Know That Science activities to introduce a new unit, students can construct their own knowledge on a new topic. These activities can also be used as an expansion to your current curriculum.

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.

 

 

I Know That Math

 

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.

 

 

 

I Know That Language Arts

 

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.

 

 

The Little Animals Activity Centre

 

 

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.