Month: February 2014

NeoK12

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Source URL:

www.neok12.com

Details about the site:

NeoK12 is a website that provides educational videos, quizzes, and games for kids from K-12th grade. There are many science videos, lessons and games on many topics in physical science, the human body, life science, earth and space, and geography. There are also videos about topics in social studies, history, math, and English. In order to have access to all of the resources on NeoK12, you must purchase a subscription. A one-year teacher plan costs $19.95 and gives you access to all of the interactive content on NeoK12.

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Educational Uses:

Teachers can use the videos in their lessons to help engage the students in a lesson, and help them understand concepts better. You can use the videos to enrich a lesson, and can make the learning more exciting and visual. There are also interactive diagrams available on the site, that teachers could project on a SMART Board, and have students complete them as a group or as individuals. An example of one of these interactive diagrams is one about labeling a diagram of a plant and flower.

Content Standards:

The content standards depend on the videos and activities you use. There are many videos that could align with standards in science, math, and language arts. There is not a way on the site to search for videos by content standard.

Assessment Tools:

There are online quiz games for life science, physical science, the human body, history, earth and space, and grammar. Teachers can also print these quizzes out for their students. There is also the option to create your own quiz game using the website.

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Value/Merit of Tool:

One of the reasons why NeoK12 is a great place to find educational videos to use in the classroom is that all of the lessons, videos, and games on the site have been reviewed and screened by K-12 teachers. There is a fee associated with the use of all of the resources on the site, but it is a relatively small fee for an entire year of use ($19.95). NeoK12 is a great place to find engaging educational videos to use to enhance your lessons!

Screenshots created by Olivia Johnson taken from:

Educational Videos, Lessons and Games for K-12 School Kids. (n.d.). NeoK12. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.neok12.com

DonorsChoose

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Source URL:

www.donorschoose.org

Details about the site:

DonorsChoose is an online charity organization for K-12 public school teachers in the United States. Teachers are able to post classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org, and people can give any amount of money to the project.  When a project is funded, the materials are shipped to the school. After a project is funded, the teacher has the responsibility to take photos of their new materials being used in the classroom, and have the students write thank you letters for the donors. If a project expires without being fully funded, the donors get their donations returned as account credits. According to DonorsChoose.org, 70% of the projects posted on the site are successfully funded. Fortunately, the site is also completely free for teachers to register and use.

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Educational Uses:

DonorsChoose is a tool for teachers to use, that can have a benefit for student learning. Many teachers request materials like manipulatives, dry erase boards, books, tablets, document cameras, and even furniture like bookcases and tables for the classroom. There are also teachers who request funding for field trips.

Content Standards:

There aren’t any specific content standards that go with this website, since it is a charity for teachers to use to fund classroom projects.

Assessment Tools:

There aren’t any specific assessment tools that go with this website, since it is a charity for teachers to use to fund classroom projects.

Value/Merit of Tool:

I think this is a great tool for teachers to use to get materials for their classrooms, and it would be particularly useful for beginning teachers who may not have a lot of materials when they first start teaching. I was able to see my cooperating teacher in student teaching use DonorsChoose to successfully fund two classroom projects.  He was able to get a project funded to receive a horseshoe-shaped table and chairs for use with guided reading and other small group instruction. He also recently got a project fully funded for an iPad Air for the classroom. One of the benefits of using DonorsChoose that he shared with me is during the first week the project is posted, DonorsChoose will match donoation (up to $100.00) if the donor uses the code INSPIRE upon checkout.

Screenshots created by Olivia Johnson from:

See what great teachers need for their students. (n.d.). DonorsChoose.org. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.donorschoose.org

Library of Congress

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Source URL:

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

Details about the site:

The Library of Congress has a teacher website that provides educators with ideas and materials to use the Library’s collection of primary sources in the classroom. The materials include lesson plans, document analysis tools, timelines, and presentations. You do not need to register or pay a fee to use these teacher resources.

Educational Uses:

One of the best types of primary sources to use in early childhood classrooms is photographs. Students can analyze photographs from the past. Teachers can use photographs to spark discussions about moments in history, or have students compare and contrast life then to life today.

Content Standards:

There are standards in 1st-3rd grade that can be connected to the use of primary source documents such as photographs. On the Library of Congress Teacher Page, you can also search for classroom resources by standard and grade level.

1st Grade:

2. Photographs, letters, artifacts and books can be used to learn about the past.

2nd Grade:

Change over time can be shown with artifacts, maps, and photographs.

3rd Grade:

2. Primary sources such as artifacts, maps and photographs can be used to show change over time.

 

Assessment Tools:

The assessment you use depends on the resources you choose to use from the Library of Congress page for teachers, and the standards you choose to align your lesson to.

Value/Merit of Tool:

This is a great website for teachers to use to find credible, primary sources from history to use in the classroom. The website is also completely free to use, which is another positive attribute of this tool. The fact that you can find lessons with resources on a variety of subjects is also very useful and would fit a variety of classroom needs.

Screenshots Created by Olivia Johnson taken from:

Teachers. (n.d.). Teacher Resources. Retrieved February 25, 2014, from http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

 

ClassDojo

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Source URL:

www.classdojo.com

Details about the site:

ClassDojo is a free online classroom management tool for teachers. Teachers can set up avatars for each student in their class. Teachers can also print parent codes so that parents can set up accounts and have access to data about the behavior of their children throughout the day. You can customize the positive and negative behaviors for your class. Students are awarded points for positive and negative behaviors throughout the day. At the end of the day or week you can create a graph for individual students or the whole class that shows percentages of the positive and negative behaviors that have been awarded.

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Educational Uses:

You can leave ClassDojo on your SMART Board throughout the day and award students points. It can be used to reinforce good behavior from students. The students also get instant notification for their behavior, as there are different noises associated with the positive and negative points. One of the goals of ClassDojo is for teachers to have to spend less time managing behaviors in the classroom, and more time teaching.

Content Standards:

There are no specific content standards associated with this tool, since it is focused on behavior management.

Assessment Tools:

ClassDojo gathers data about each child’s behavior. It is an easy way to create reports of student data that can be shared with parents and administrators. The graphs are a useful visual of each student’s behavior from a period of time, and the teacher does not have to create the graphs, since Classdojo does all of the work.

Value/Merit of Tool:

This is a great tool to use in classrooms at a variety of grade levels. With ClassDojo, the students get immediate feedback on their behaviors. There is also a free app that can be downloaded for smart phones and tablets, which make it possible for the teacher to add points from anywhere in the room. The parent access is a wonderful way to keep parents informed about their child’s behavior in school. It is also an added bonus that the website is completely free.

Images from:

Media Literacy and Technology. (n.d.). Media Literacy and Technology. Retrieved February 25, 2014, from http://medialiteracytech.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/idea-share-class-dojo/

SMART Exchange

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Source URL:

exchange.smarttech.com

Details about the site:

SMART Exchange is a website where teachers around the world submit SMART Notebook files, SMART Table Activity packs, 3D content, SMART Ideas files and PDFs. It is free to have a membership on SMART Exchange, and with a membership you can upload or download resources. There are free resources that can be downloaded, and also Premium Resources that must be purchased. This website contains files designed for grades Pre-K to 12. Some of the subjects represented on SMART Exchange include language arts, geography, mathematics, history, science, social studies, music, and foreign languages. You are able to search the resources, or browse based on the subject, grade, and file type.

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Educational Uses:

This is a resource that teachers can use to find lessons at a variety of grade levels, and for many different content areas.  Teachers can use these files and lessons on their SMART Boards. Many of the lessons are very interactive, such as phonics sorts where children can sort short and long vowel sounds by dragging pictures to the appropriate categories.

Content Standards:

Since SMART Exchange has such a wide variety of files and lessons, it is difficult to narrow it down to several content standards that are covered. There is a tab at the top of the site labeled “Standards-Aligned” where you can search for resources by the standards (such as the Common Core State Standards), the grade level, and the subject. When you search, you will receive a list of resources available on SMART Exchange that are aligned to specific standards.

Assessment Tools:

There are many different types of lessons on SMART Exchange that are aligned to different standards, so the assessment depends on the specific resource downloaded. There are thousands of resources available on SMART Exchange.

Value/Merit of Tool:

This tool is a great way for teachers to share files they have created to use with a SMART Board. Since there is such a wide variety of grade levels and subjects, there are many resources to choose from to fit different classrooms. It is also a plus that there is no cost associated with a membership.

Screenshots created by Olivia Johnson from:

SMART Exchange. (n.d.). Lesson plans and resources for your SMART Board. Retrieved February 25, 2014, from http://exchange.smarttech.com/index.html#tab=0

 

 

Starfall

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Source URL:

http://www.starfall.com/

Details about the site:

Starfall is a free website that students can use to practice the phonics skills associated with beginning reading. There are four reading levels on Starfall: ABCs, Learn to Read (Early Beginning Reading), It’s Fun to Read (Intermediate Beginning Reading), and I’m Reading (Advanced Beginning Reading). The website includes games, and other activities like free ABC printouts for teachers to help children learn to read.

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Educational Uses:

I have seen Starfall used by teachers as part of a center so students can practice their phonemic awareness skills. Students and families can also access the site at home for extra practice. The ABC section teaches students about letter-sound relationships by focusing on each letter of the alphabet. Everything is read to the student, and they provide the sound each letter makes, as well as several words that start with the letter. The students are able to navigate the section for each letter at their own pace. After the students are secure with their sound relationships, they can be introduced to the consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words that are in the Learn to Read Section of the site.

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Content Standards:

The activities on Starfall are aligned with several of the Common Core State Standards for language arts.

Kindergarten: Print Concepts RF.K.1

1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

a. Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by     page.

b. Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.

c. Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.

d. Recognize and name all upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Kindergarten: Phonics and Word Recognition RF.K.3

3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

a. Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or most frequent sound for each consonant.

b. Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.

Assessment Tools:

The website itself is not really designed to directly assess students, but practice on Starfall could cause students to identify more letters and sounds on your letter identification and letter sound assessments.

Value/Merit of Tool:

Starfall is a great tool for young students to use to help them practice their early reading skills. Since the site is so easy to navigate, this is a tool that students can use independently at a literacy center after the teacher has provided some basic instruction. The fact that students can also access it at home is a benefit.

Screenshots created by Olivia Johnson from:

Starfall’s Learn to Read with phonics. (n.d.). Starfall’s Learn to Read with phonics. Retrieved February 24, 2014, from http://www.starfall.com/

 

 

BrainPopJr

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Source URL:

http://www.brainpopjr.com/

Details about the site:

BrainPopJr is a website that has hundreds of short flash based videos and activities for students in grades K-3. There are videos and activities that cover science, health, writing, reading, social studies, and math. This website has many features such as short animated movies, activities, writing prompts, and leveled quizzes. There are also lesson plans using BrainPopJr features that are aligned with the Common Core State Standards. There are a few videos and activities available on BrainPopJr for free, but in order to take advantage of everything the site has to offer, you must purchase a subscription. They offer classroom, school, district, family, homeschool, and virtual school subscriptions. With the classroom subscription, you can use the site in a single classroom with an interactive whiteboard, projector, or up to 3 computers, and it costs $145 for a year of access.

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Educational Uses:

You can find videos and activities to enhance a variety of different lessons across many content areas. You can show the videos and do the activities together as a class on the SmartBoard. You could also have students view the videos and complete the activities as part of a computer center.

Content Standards:

There are too many content standards that could apply to BrainPopJr to list them all here, and it is very easy to search the site for exactly what you need for your grade level and subject.

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Here is an example of just one of the videos and activities that can be used with a social studies lesson. The following Ohio Social Studies Standard is aligned with this video:

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Kindergarten:

Heritage-4. Nations are represented by symbols and practices. Symbols and practices of the United States include the American flag, Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.

Assessment Tools:

Each video on BrainPopJr has an easy quiz and a hard quiz. The easy quiz is designed for students in K-1, and the hard quiz is designed for 2-3. Both of the quizzes are read aloud to the student. A quick way to assess student comprehension would be to complete the quiz as a class after viewing the video, discussing, and completing any activities. You could project the quiz on the SmartBoard, and give students their own white boards to write their answers and hold them up for the teacher to see. There is also the option to print out the quizzes.

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Value/Merit of Tool:

The variety of subjects covered, and interactive nature of the activities on BrainPopJr make it a great resource for teachers or students to use to enhance lessons. The fact that the site also has lesson plans that are searchable and align to the Common Core Standards makes it a tool that is easy for teachers to find exactly what they want for their classrooms. The movies would help get the children engaged in the topic. One of the only downsides I see to using this technology tool is the fact that it costs $145 per year for access in one classroom.

All Screenshots Created by Olivia Johnson from:

BrainPOP Jr. – K-3 Educational Movies, Quizzes, Lessons, and More!. (n.d.). BrainPOP Jr. – K-3 Educational Movies, Quizzes, Lessons, and More!. Retrieved February 23, 2014, from http://www.brainpopjr.com/

Teachers Pay Teachers

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There is an open marketplace for educators to buy, sell, and share their original resources in a downloadable format. This website is called Teachers Pay Teachers. You need an account in order to download resources on TpT. There are four different types of accounts. All of the accounts can be upgraded at any time.

·         Standard Membership: This account is free, and is designed for the teacher who only plans on buying and downloading resources.

·         Seller Upgrade: This account is free, and is designed for someone who wants to also be able to sell products on TpT. You can sell items and earn royalties.

·         Premium Seller Upgrade: This account costs $59.95 per year. With this membership upgrade, there are higher royalties.

·         Publisher Membership: Publishers can sign up for this membership, and pay no annual fee. With this membership, you call sell digital resources and shipped items.

TpT includes resources for grades Pre-K all the way up to 12th grade. There are also resources for a variety of content areas, such as English language arts, math, science, social studies, and the arts. You can find lesson plans, worksheets, activities, games, posters, rubrics, and many other types of resources available to purchase and download.

There are many free resources available for download on TpT.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Polar-Bear-Penguin-I-Have-Who-Has-Game-Short-A-Words-FREE-1040399

This free game using CVC words with the short a sound could be used with the standard:

RF.K.2 Phonological Awareness

2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

d. Isolate and produce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words.

There are also many assessment tools available for free and available to be purchased on TpT. These kindergarten quarterly assessments can be used to assess letter identification, sight words, number identification, 2D and 3D shapes, addition, subtraction, and personal information.  

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Quarterly-Assessments-freebie-317225

Teachers Pay Teachers has so much to offer educators of many different grade levels and content areas. With TpT, you no longer have to reinvent the wheel. These are resources created by teacher, for teachers to use. There are many categories of products that are easy to search in order to find something that fits your classroom.