Category: Subject

ZuiTube

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on ZuiTube10658 views

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What it is: KidZui is a site I have written about in the past.  The KidZui network has added some sites to the network that I just learned about.  ZuiTube is a kid friendly You Tube portal.  It is the largest collection of kid friendly videos online.  New videos are added to ZuiTube daily.  All videos are approved by parents and teachers before being posted on ZuiTube.  Students can watch educational videos, funny videos, movies and movie clips, silly songs, and music.  There is also a special section on ZuiTube just for videos related to Thanksgiving.  The Thanksgiving collection includes everything from the Turkey Dance to videos about Native Americans and Pilgrims.

How to integrate ZuiTube into the classroom: ZuiTube videos can be used as an introduction to new teaching (on nearly any subject), to add some humor to the classroom, or to reinforce teaching.  Videos are a wonderful way for students to make connections to new learning.  I have found a video that correlates with nearly every part of our curriculum.  I even found a great Berenstein Bears video for character education…gotta love that!  With all the snow we get in Colorado, there are bound to be some indoor recess days for the kids.  ZuiTube is a safe place to find kid friendly videos that students will enjoy while they are staying dry and warm inside.

Tips: I often have parents asking me what they can do at home to keep their kids safe online.  KidZui is an excellent recommendation, the parent reports are a great way to keep parents involved in their children’s online activities.

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

Math Nook: Counting Money

Kelly Tenkely5 Comments on Math Nook: Counting Money1844 views

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What it is: Math Nook is a website with a collection of great flash based math games.  Counting Money is a fun little game from this website.  In this game students man a cash register and are given a target number to give change for.  This game allows for multiple solutions.  For example, if the target is ten cents, students could give a dime, two nickels, or ten pennies.  Any of these answers would be considered correct.  Target numbers are given in number and written form (0.10 and ten cents).

How to integrate Math Nook: Counting Money into the classroom: Counting Money would make a great math center on classroom computers.  Students can take turns manning the cash register.  Keep a class tally of the high score for this game and see how high the students can go.  If you have an interactive whiteboard, students could take turns returning change.  After the student at the board gives the solution, ask students what other coin combinations would have worked to solve the problem.  You could also turn Counting Money into a whole class game by splitting your class into teams and keeping score separately.

Tips: Thanks to @cwebbtech for sending me the ad free version of this game! Update: The ad free version URL does not always work so I changed the links back to the ad supported version.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Math Nook: Counting Money  in your classroom.

BBC Primary History World War 2

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on BBC Primary History World War 27129 views

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What it is: The BBC has so many incredible technology resources and websites for students.  Today I learned about the BBC Primary History World War 2 website.  I am really impressed with the wealth of information on this site, but also the age group it is targeted at: primary students.  So much of the time, history websites (especially on WWII) are geared toward older students.  This site is very kid friendly in its verbiage, images, and content.  This is a great site to explore with your class to learn more about World War II.  Students will learn about the world at war, evacuations, wartime homes, food and shopping, the war time efforts, children at war, air raids, daily life, growing up during wartime, and the end of the war. Each section has easy-to-understand information and pictures.  Students can also be a historical detective with a World War II time capsule game.  The teacher section has an amazing collection of related worksheets, activities, and links that can be used with the site.

How to integrate BBC Primary History World War 2 into the classroom: I am so impressed with the content presented on this site.  It is easy enough for young students to gain an understanding of World War II. This would be an excellent website to share and explore with your whole class with a projector or interactive whiteboard.  Read the facts and discuss the stories together while browsing through the primary resource photographs. Encourage students to imagine what it would have been like to be a student during the war.  After you have viewed the site as a class, students can explore more on their own in a computer lab setting or on classroom computers.  Allow the students to play the time capsule game to reinforce the skills they are learning.

Tips: This site could take several class periods or days to explore.  The additional activities are wonderful, students can do everything from exploring a war time shelter to learning about rationing by shopping for a meal in 1943.  I so wish that I had learned history this way!!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using BBC Primary History World War 2  in your classroom.

Create Your Own Storybook with Learn Direct

Kelly Tenkely3 Comments on Create Your Own Storybook with Learn Direct15909 views

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What it is: Kids can be the star in these online storybooks with Learn Direct. Students can type in their name and be a character in the book.  On each page their are options for customizing the story.  Students can adjust pictures and certain sentences in throughout the story.   After students have customized the book it can be read online, saved as a pdf or printed out.  These fun interactive stories will make reading time fun for your beginning readers (kindergarten through 2nd grade).  Learn Direct also features a fun little virtual world where students can play word and reading games.  Students have to solve word puzzles to navigate through the world.

How to integrate Create Your Own Storybook with Learn Direct into the classroom: These online stories are a lot of fun.  The ability to customize them will make them a winner in the classroom.  Use the Storybook with an interactive whiteboard and have students take turns customizing the story.  Set up the Storybook on classroom computers as a center activity during literacy or reading time.  Students can save or print out the books to share with others or take home.  The word games in the virtual world would be fun to play and solve as a whole class with the interactive whiteboard or play in pairs on classroom computers as a center.

Tips: There are some great tips and resources for parents about reading with their kids on the Learn Direct site.  Check out the Scared of Words? page and then pass it on to your parents.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Create Your Own Storybook with Learn Direct  in your classroom.

Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin2211 views

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What it is: You really can’t beat free clip art and this collection of clip art beats all I have seen for the classroom.  Phillip Martin has created a great educational collection of free clip art for classroom use.  Great features: it is easy to use (when you click on a subject or topic you are taken straight to the clip art selection, this is not true of most free clip art sites), there are no advertisements flashing and taking you to other clip art sites, all of the clip art is perfect for educational use, and the clip art is really great quality.  This is seriously one to bookmark right now!

How to integrate Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin into the classroom: This clip art is ideal for educational use, there are so many great images that would liven up any worksheet, blog, class website, newsletter, slide show, flipchart, notebook, or classroom wall. The clip art would make creating a bulletin board a snap.

Tips: If you Phillip Martin (who created the clip art) has the following on his website: I would like to relocate to New York City. So, I’m asking for some networking here. You’ve seen the art. Do you know a private school that needs an art teacher ? Or, I could turn to publishing with Children’s books, magazines, literature or for museums, UNECSO or the UN. Or I could paint murals in hospitals or private nurseries. I’m open to suggestions. Are you connected?

If you can help him out please do!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin  in your classroom.

Simple Timer

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Simple Timer2175 views

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What it is: Simple Timer is just what you would expect based on the name, a simple timer (imagine that).  The timer can be projected or used with an interactive whiteboard during classroom activities or work time.  There is a timer and a count down feature.  To time an even just click the ‘start’ button, you can pause and restart the timer at any time.  To set a countdown timer, just set the time you would like the timer to countdown from and click the start button.

How to integrate Simple Timer into the classroom: Simple Timer can be used in a variety of ways.  I like using timers with my students as a motivator.  For example, “Let’s see how quickly and quietly we can put everything away and line up.” Each time you line up you can try to beat the previous time.  I add 10 seconds if someone is talking.  This is also a great way to make tasks manageable for students who struggle with focus. If they can see a visual of how much time is left with one activity it is much easier for them to continue through to the next activity.

Tips: If you have a student who has trouble staying on task, put them next to a classroom computer with their own timer or countdown clock.  This way you can set it for shorter intervals for that student.  Each time they have made it to the count down they can stand up and stretch before beginning the next activity.

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

Link Up

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on Link Up1411 views

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What it is: Link Up is a web app that helps kids link words to categories.  Each game requires two categories with six linked words each.  Once you have created a game you can save it to access at a later time or to share with others.  Students use Link Up by dragging links between categories and words.  The game is easy to customize and create on the fly.  It would be a great site to use with an interactive whiteboard.

How to integrate Link Up into the classroom: Link Up is a great way to help students organize information and discover similarities and differences.  Use Link Up for word sorts in science, language arts, geography, social studies or math.  Students could sort living vs. non-living things, events in WWI vs. WWII, long vowel words vs. short vowel words, odd vs. even numbers, and a host of other topics.  The click and drag interface makes this site perfect for use with an interactive whiteboard as a whole class activity or as a center on classroom computers.

Tips: Link Up allows you to save and share your activities (hooray!) this makes creating activities for lessons significantly easier.

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

Picture Book Maker

Kelly Tenkely4 Comments on Picture Book Maker4439 views

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What it is: Picture Book Maker is a fun little online picture book creator (bet you couldn’t have guessed that from the name!).  What makes this picture book creator unique is the great illustration elements that students can use in their story.  The illustrations look hand drawn with crayon and can be adjusted to fit the story.  Each picture has actions, these are multiple poses of the same character.  Even the text looks like it is hand written.  All of the characters for the story are animals (this site comes from London zoos).  There are also several backdrops and props for students to include in their story.  When the book has been completed, it can be saved to the gallery, sent to a friend via email, or printed out.

How to integrate Picture Book Maker into the classroom: Picture Book Maker is a fun way for students to publish stories online.  I love how the stories look like they were created by children. Students can pick animals to write a story about, the penguin could be used as a spin off of Mr. Popper’s Penguins.  After they are finished writing their story, it can be printed out or sent in an email to parents.  Picture Book Maker would be a good platform to create a story as a class using a projector or interactive whiteboard.

Tips: Be sure to visit the gallery of stories to see other student’s creations.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Picture Book Maker in your classroom.

Binary Game

Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment on Binary Game3097 views

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What it is: Binary Game is a fun Tetris like game where students can learn about and practice binary numbers.  Students are given a target number that they must match by adjusting the 1’s and 0’s.  My fellow computer teacher tried to teach me about binary numbers last year with a binary clock he has (yes we are geeks!) but I didn’t fully understand until playing this game.  Students will have the concept down in no time!

How to integrate Binary Game into the classroom: This is a great little game to fill in those extra minutes in the computer/tech classroom.  The Binary game helps students understand the concept of Binary Numbers and could be a great introduction to a more in-depth study of computing.

Tips: This site runs in Flash, make sure your player is up to date.

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