For Students | Olivia Johnson's Treasure Hunt Collection

NeoK12

February 26, 2014 at 7:29pm by johnson.4871

Source URL:

www.neok12.com

Details about the site:

NeoK12 is a website that provides educational videos, quizzes, and games for kids from K-12^th 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.

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.

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

Library of Congress

February 26, 2014 at 1:07am by johnson.4871

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 1^st-3^rd 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.

1^st Grade:

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

2^nd Grade:

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

3^rd 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/

Starfall

February 25, 2014 at 7:20pm by johnson.4871

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.

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.

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

February 25, 2014 at 3:26pmMarch 6, 2014 by johnson.4871

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.

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.

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:

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.

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/