CVSD Secondary Group

Word Twist is an online version of the popular board game, Boggle. Word Twist comes in two versions a four by four grid and a five by five grid. The purpose of Word Twist is to identify as many words as possible using the letters in the grid.

XP Math is a good place to find math games, math videos, math worksheets, and math e-books. The games section of XP Math offers games for basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and probability. Create an account on XP Math and you can keep track of your scores.

MSNBC offers a gallery of online games related to the news. The gallery is called the NewsWare Arcade.

Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has a great collection of interactive learning activities. The activities are categorized according to grade level and vary in format. Some of the interactive activities are like video games (Squish the Fish for 1st graders) while others are more like virtual scavenger hunts (Conservation Investigation). The games and virtual scavenger hunts could easily take students an hour or longer to complete and the students would learn something new throughout the activity. In addition to the interactive activities, Shedd Aquarium provides a host of great Marine Science lesson plans for grades K-12.

Decimal Squares provides simple games for students to use to develop their math skills. The games do not require an account to play and they work on any web browser that has current Flash plug-ins installed. The games are best suited to middle school students, but could be used with upper elementary grades or with high school freshmen.

Sheppard Software has a fantastic collection of free web-based educational games. Sheppard Software's free games cover Science, Math, Social Studies, and Language Arts. Most of the games are appropriate for elementary and middle school students, but some games are appropriate for high school students. The geography games are particularly good.

Novel Games provides a large list of fun, simple, educational games. The list of games includes numerous math and word games. All of the games are free and are available in multiple formats. All of the games on Novel Games are easily embedded into your class blog or website.

Develop your students brain with the variety of games provided on this Fit Brain Games site.

Interactive math games. Kids will have fun while reinforcing their math knowledge.

"Everybody learns better when they are having fun! Here at Quiz-Tree.com you will find educational games and quizzes on many subjects, including Math, Reading, Spanish, Geography, SAT, Spelling, Music and more. All"

Edhelper.com is a site with a variety of activities for students. Teachers can create puzzles, print quick handouts, provide critical thinking handouts, word search, sudoku, hidden square puzzles, logic shapes, and much more.

Creat your own crossword with the puzzle maker.

This is an instant online crossword puzzle maker. A fun way for students to review vocabulary.

Crossword Puzzles created on this readwritethink tool. The site allows the user to select the grade or age level for the crossword puzzle.

This is a virtual world devoted to science, technology and free educational games online.

Check out this site with lots of science games.

Watch2gether is an easy way of connecting with your friends to watch a video and chat together. Once you put in your name you will be given a URL to share with others so they can join you.

Dynamic Periodic Table

Class parrot is in beta version but it is a free way for teachers to text students and parents quick reminders about school related issues.

Studyblue is a free tool that allows users to create flashcards, quizzes, and lecture notes and share them with others. Teachers can set up a "class" and give students a code, and everyone with the code can create collaborative study materials. There are mobile phone apps that the students can use to take their flashcards and notes anywhere. They can access their files offline. StudyBlue also sends helpful test and study reminders via email and text message.

I learned about this tool from an article in Learning & Leading with Technology, August 2011. An educator shared how her students use it.

"Arcademic Skill Builders are free research-based and standards-aligned educational games! Engage and motivate students with our multiplayer and single-player games." As of August 2011 Academic Skill Builders has released 40 web-based learning games designed to help K-8 students build basic math, olanguage arts, vocabulary, and thinking skills. The games incorporate multiplayer capabilities in educational gaming. Studetns can play together in groups of 4, 8, or 12 at a time, promoting positive interaction and achievement. Educators can use the free arcade-like games with a projector screen, interactive whiteboard, or computer lab. Security safeguards ensure that no one outside the classroom can contact students who are playing the games. The games align with state standards and the Common Core Standards.

Sharing this again as there have been some additions to that that I think will be very helpful for teachers grades K-8.