Tag: Art

Ideas to Inspire

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Ideas to Inspire2423 views

 

What it is:  Ideas to Inspire is a truly wonderful site and wealth of resources for teachers.  On this site you will find a collection of Google Doc presentations that include a number of ideas for engaging lesson activities in a variety of curriculum areas.  The collection comes from inspiring teachers from around the world.  You can find Ideas to Inspire on Writing, Interactive Math, Incredible Science, Amazing Art, Marvelous Music, and learn interesting ways to use Google Docs, Pocket Video Cameras, Interactive Whiteboards, Google Earth, Twitter, Netbooks, Webcams, and Visualizers.  Ideas to Inspire also has great tips for non-techy teachers (I remember being one of those once-upon-a-time).  Ideas to Inspire is very easy to navigate and each presentation is jam packed with truly inspiring ideas.

How to integrate Ideas to Inspire into the classroom: It happens to the best of us, we get settled in our ways and fall into a teaching slump where we can’t come up with a creative lesson idea to save our lives.  Sound familiar?  Ideas to Inspire is the place to go, here you will find inspiration, helpful tips, and get those creative juices flowing again!  Take a few minutes and look through some of the presentations, you will be happy you did. 🙂

 

Tips:  This is my last post for the day, head over to Ideas to Inspire and be inspired today!

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Ideas to Inspire in your classroom.

Toy Theater

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Toy Theater3117 views

 

What it is: Toy Theater is a fun place for students to practice math, reading, art, and music through puzzle type games.  Toy Theater encourages students in k-4 to get their problem solving brain cells working as they explore and discover the games in Toy Theater.  In the art section, students can animate their own cartoon character, put on a puppet show, or make a Matisse.  In the music section, students can make music with the Composer, interact with notes with The Music Maker, or go on a pounding mission with the Drum Beats, you will have miniature maestros in no time.  In Math students can practice math facts with flippy flashcards, or feeding Freddy, and take a math practice test to put those math skills to the test.  In the reading section students can enjoy a good joke, play with words with a sliding crossword puzzle (highly entertaining for teachers too), write their own road sign, or practice their typing skills.  In the puzzle section students brains gt put to the limit with tic tac toe and memory games.  In the playset section, students can create their very own virtual diorama about cars, sea creatures, plant, insects, ships, characters, aircraft, blocks, dinosaurs, and buildings.

How to integrate Toy Theater into the classroom: Toy Theater is a great website to use as a learning center in your classroom.  The short, easy to play games are perfect for short center activities.  I love the puzzle type environment that encourages problem solving and bends the brain a little.  The playset universe would be a great section to use with an interactive whiteboard, students could take turns creating a ‘universe’ to showcase learning on a topic such as ocean, plants, insects, dinosaurs, geometry, etc.  Students can work together to show what they know together.  After students create a playset, have them pull out a writing journal and journal about the playset the class created.  Being a computer teacher I am constantly looking for fun ways to let students practice typing skills.  In the read section you will find a game called letter fall, letter blocks fall from the sky, students have to type the letter before 5 blocks can stack up. There are multiple speeds to make the game a challenge for your different typing levels.  In the computer lab setting, see who can last the longest before 5 letter blocks stack up (there is a timer at the bottom of the screen).  

 

Tips:  This is a great site to send your students to when they finish work early and are asking “what can I do now?”  

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Toy Theater  in your classroom.

Aviary Toucan

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Aviary Toucan2094 views

 

What it is:  Aviary is a website on a mission to make creativity more accessible.  They do this by making powerful image software available online (no download required) and with free versions of the online software.  Aviary has four different offerings: Peacock, Phoenix, Toucan, and Raven.  Because each tool does something different, I am going to break it down into four posts.

 

Toucan is the third application in the Aviary suite.  Toucan is a color palette chooser. It is a simple tool but combined with the other Aviary applications is pretty powerful for the creativity process.  Choose colors for your palette and then adjust hue, saturation, hue, light, CMYK, and RGB.  The color palette helps students learn about relationships between colors on the color wheel.  As students manipulate and choose colors from the color wheel, they can save to the clip board.  When color palettes are in the clipboard, students can filter out colors in their palette or expand colors.  There is also an image chooser where students can choose an image and then pick colors directly from the image.  The last cool tool in Toucan is a color deficiency tool where you can see what people who are color blind might see when they are viewing your color palette (especially helpful for website creation!).  After you create a color palette, it can be imported into Pheonix or Peacock.  In the color chooser in Pheonix, you can click a special button to import your swatches from Toucan.  Neat!

 

How to integrate Toucan into the classroom:   Aviary Toucan is a wonderful addition to any art or science class studying color.  The color wheel and adjustment options make it easy to see and understand color relationships as well as concepts like hue, tint, and saturation.  This would be a great tool for students to explore individually, recording observations about hue, tint, saturation, etc. as they discover how each affects color.  Toucan would also be useful for whole class instruction on color with a projector.  The ability to create color palettes is a great tie in for the other Aviary applications as well as for website design.  I love the color deficiency tool that allows you to see what the colors in your color palette look like to someone with color blindness.  This is a nice way to teach students about color blindness and useful when creating websites, advertisements, etc.  

 

Tips:  Aviary Phoenix, Peacock, and Toucan are both in beta right now.  Be sure to check out the Toucan overview video to learn more about how Toucan works.  The video breaks down the application nicely.  

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Aviary Toucan  in your classroom.

Aviary Peacock

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Aviary Peacock1461 views

I hope that you all had a blessed Christmas!  What I learned this year is that even though I take a break from posting, spammers do NOT break for holidays and other bloggers tend to blog MORE when they have a break to do so.  This means that #1 I have a lot of spam to sort through and #2 it has taken me a long time to get through my Google Reader!  I am finally getting around to a post that I intended to do several days ago (actually 3 posts) all on the Aviary creative suite of tools.  So, without further ado- here it is…

 

 

 

What it is:  Aviary is a website on a mission to make creativity more accessible.  They do this by making powerful image software available online (no download required) and with free versions of the online software.  Aviary has four different offerings: Peacock, Phoenix, Toucan, and Raven.  Because each tool does something different, I am going to break it down into four posts.

 

Peacock is a “visual laboratory”that lets students experiment with pixel based images in fun ways.  Students can create pixel images applying filters (this will feel similar to other image editors such as Adobe).  Students can also blend several pixel based images together to create images.  These pixel images would make great backgrounds for other documents, web pages, or other Aviary tools.  Students can also upload “resources” or pictures from their computers or other sources to manipulate in Peacock.   Peacock easily integrates with the other Aviary tools switching images quickly between the applications.  This makes the possibilities for creativity endless.  

 

How to integrate Peacock into the classroom:   Aviary Peacock is a neat way for students to explore and experiment with visual arts.  The application really does feel like a laboratory.  Students start out with one image of their choosing and can manipulate the image with different filters, blenders, etc. to come up with completely new images.  It is interesting to experiment with the different ‘ingredients’ to see how an image can be transformed.  Peacock can be used to create backgrounds for web pages, documents, or other Aviary creations.  Peacock can also be used to help students understand cause and effect as they manipulate images.  

 

Tips:  Aviary Phoenix and Peacock are both in beta right now.  Be sure to check out the Peacock overview video to get an idea of how Peacock works.  

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Aviary Peacock  in your classroom.

Canvastic dot NET

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Canvastic dot NET15079 views

 

What it is:   Canvastic dot NET is the online beta version of a drawing software program I have written a post about in the past.  Canvastic is basically a Kid Pix type program without all the “toys” it lets students draw and write without being distracted by the ability to “blow things up” or “flush” their picture.  Canvastic dot NET is the FREE online version of the program.  The online version doesn’t have all the bells and whistle that the software version does but it is an excellent online drawing program that lets students save their work to a flash drive or computer and print out their work.  It also has a great replay button that lets them replay and watch the picture they just drew.  

 

How to integrate Canvastic dot NET into the classroom:   The online version of Canvastic is wonderful for those students who use software at school and wish they had it for home projects.  Canvastic can be used for all kinds of amazing classroom projects, some of the ideas included on the Canvastic website are:

abstract art
animations
bitmap art
books
brochures
cards
cartoons
characters
charts
conversations
covers
decorations
designs
diagrams
doodles
drawings
explanations
flow charts
flyers
graphs
illustrations
interviews
landscapes
letters
lists
logos
maps
math art
notes
pages
paragraphs
pictures
plans
plays
poems
portraits
posters
presentations
questions
quotes
reports
scenes
science reports
sentences
slide shows
stories
vector art
write-ups

The Canvastic replay button allows students to watch the process of a drawing.  Students could use the replay feature for a plant cycle unit.  Have students start out by drawing the plant cycle in order, when they replay their mini movie, it shows the plant cycle in action….very cool!

 

Tips:   Check out Canvastic.com to get great lesson ideas and resources for using Canvastic in your classroom!

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Canvastic in your classroom.

Picturing America Bookshelf

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Picturing America Bookshelf2102 views

 

What it is:  I have written a few posts about Picturing America but I have to do another one!  Picturing America is now offering a free Bookshelf to k-12 libraries.  The Picturing America Bookshelf is a set of classic books for readers in kindergarten through twelfth grade.  Applications for the Picturing America Bookshelf are being accepted online now through Jan. 30, 2009.  All that is required of your school is that you would encourage young readers to explore the Picturing America books.  The great literature included in the Bookshelf can provide students with a window into our nation’s character, ideals, and goals.  The books will give students the chance to experience some of the most iconic times, people, places, and stories in American history.  The Bookshelf comes with the following titles:

 

Kindergarten to Grade 3: Walt Whitman: Words for America by Barbara Kerley; Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull; Cosechando esperenza: La historia de César Chávaz by Kathleen Krull (translated by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy); The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Sweet Music in Harlem by Debbie Taylor.

Grades 4 to 6: The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich; American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne; On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck; Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet; The Captain’s Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe by Roland Smith.

Grades 7 to 8: The Life and Death of Crazy Horse by Russell Freedman; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving; La leyanda de Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (translated by Manual Broncano); Across America on an Emigrant Train by Jim Murphy; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.

Grades 9 to 12: Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis; Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange by Elizabeth Partridge; Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck; Viajes Con Charley – En Busca de América by John Steinbeck (translated by José Manuel Alvarez Flórez); Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville.
Bonus: Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out by The National Children’s Book and Literary Alliance; 1776: The Illustrated Edition by David McCullough.

 

These books would be excellent companions to the Picturing America art and curriculum!  Be sure to apply today, if the Picturing America art is any indication of the quality of the bookshelf, it will be amazing!

 


 

Tips:   Be sure to visit National Endowment for the Humanities site EDSITEment for sample lesson plans and resources to enhance the use of the  Bookshelf in your classroom or library.

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Picturing America Bookshelf in your school.

Free Federal Resources for Educational Excellence

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Free Federal Resources for Educational Excellence2289 views

 

What it is:  Free Federal Resource for Educational Excellence (that is a mouthful, hence forth shall be known as FREE) is a excellent resource for finding teaching and learning resources from federal agencies.  Resources are broken down in to subjects arts and music, health and physical education, history and social studies, language arts, math, and science.  Subjects are further broken down in to sub categories making it simple to find exactly what you are looking for quickly.  There is also a great section called U.S. Time periods where you can search US history resources by time period.  New sites are added to FREE regularly, you can get the new resources delivered to you by subscribing to the FREE RSS feed.  The teaching and learning resources linked to from the FREE site are valuable to your classroom and will save you loads of time in searching for quality resources.  

 

How to integrate Free Federal Resources for Educational Excellence into the classroom:  Use FREE to find quality online resource for any subject that you are teaching.  Some of the linked websites are specifically for teachers and some are activities and sites for students.  Use this as a first stop when you are creating new lessons or enhancing the good old standby lessons.  The FREEresources will enhance your lessons with rich content for your students.  

 

Tips:  Sign up for the FREE RSS feed for new resources delivered to you several times a week.  

 

 

Leave a comment and share how you are using FREE in your classroom.

 

Free Rice…New and Improved!

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Free Rice…New and Improved!3461 views

 

What it is: Free Rice is an amazing website that I have posted about two or three times in the past.  It has been a site where students can play a vocabulary game and earn 20 grains of rice for each correct answer.  The grains of rice are distributed to hungry people all over the world through the UN World Food Program.  Two of my students came in this morning with a printout of how many grains of rice they had earned over the weekend on the Free Rice website (we have a contest going each year to see which class and grade can earn the most grains of rice).   They were unusually excited about this bunch of earned rice because they discovered some new features on Free Rice.  Free Rice is now much more than a vocabulary game!  Students can choose the subject they would like to play.  As they increase in all types of knowledge, there is the added bonus of helping people in need.  Free Rice subjects now include art (famous paintings), chemistry (chemical symbols), English grammar, geography (world capitals), language learning (French, German, Italian, Spanish), math (multiplication), and of course…vocabulary!  Free rice is an incredible place for students to practice facts for a wide range of subject areas.  Some additional new features: now students can click on a speaker next to a word to hear it read to them and can change the level of difficulty manually!  I am so impressed with the site and impressed with my students for finding and sharing these new treasures!

 

How to integrate Free Rice into the classroom:  With all of the new subjects on Free Rice, it is the perfect place to send your students for fact practice.  Whether they are learning a new language, or need some practice with their multiplication facts Free Rice is a great place to practice.  What I love about Free Rice is the added bonus of character education.  Free Rice teaches students compassion and empathy.  My students truly play the game not for the learning taking place, but because it makes them feel good to do something for others.  Kids often feel like there is nothing they can personally do to help a cause…Free Rice gives them a voice and the ability to make a change.  It empowers them.  


Tips:  Set up Free Rice on your classroom computers as a place for students to go when they are finished early and need a little something extra.  Free Rice is also excellent in a computer lab setting and for home play.  

 

Leave a comment and share how you are using Free Rice in your classroom.

 

Picturing America Part 2

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Picturing America Part 21506 views

  

What it is: I have posted about Picturing America before (March 18th) but I just received my Picturing America kit yesterday and had to post again and make sure everyone was taking advantage of this amazing resource.  I knew that the kit was going to be good but I truly had no idea how AMAZED I would be.  The quality of materials is amazing (there really isn’t another word for it!)  I’ll post pictures of my actual kit so you can get an idea for just what you get in this kit.  Did I mention it was FREE?!  The Picturing America program is completely free for schools and libraries and provides them with 40 high-quality masterpieces, a teacher resources book, and the program website.  The National Endowment for the Humanities gives a grant making this all possible.  As the recipient your only task is to write up a one page report about your experience.  They give almost a calendar year for you to do this.  

 

How to integrate Picturing America into your curriculum: What better way to teach your students American history than actually bringing history into the classroom and providing students with real ties to the past? I wish that I had the opportunity to learn history this way!Picturing America is going to bring authentic conversation into your classroom about American history. It would be the perfect use of web 2.0 collaborative tools where students can discuss the history and the art in Picturing America. Picturing America masterpieces would also be easily integrated into the art classroom or in literacy as writing inspiration. The teacher resource book is going to provide you with wonderful tie ins to your current curriculum. This is an amazing program, I encourage you to take part in it!  These masterpieces will beautify your walls and provide teaching opportunities year round regardless of the age of students you teach.  

 

Tips: Apply for the Picturing America program today. I can’t tell you how completely blown away I am by this program!!!

 

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Picturing America in your classroom.