Group items tagged

we've put together a listing of some of the best sites for elementary teachers and students online, plus a few tools to help you keep everything together.

Command of the written word is a vital 21st-century skill, even if we are using keys, buttons, and tablets instead of pens and pencils. In fact, in our digital world, communication is now more instantaneous than ever. How do we prepare our students to meet the challenge? Blogging can offer opportunities for students to develop their communications skills through meaningful writing experiences. Such projects not only motivate students to write, but motivate them to write well. Furthermore, student-blogging projects can be designed to address the Common Core State Standards for writing. For example, see anchor standard six, which calls upon students to use technology to "produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others." Score!

Intriguing site lets students or teachers read along to stories with audio, movie-style soundtracks or create their own soundtracks for creative writing assignments. Includes a few sample lesson plans for using the site with elementary, middle, or high school students.

"Kidblog.org is designed for elementary and middle school teachers who want to provide each student with their own, unique blog. Kidblog's simple, yet powerful tools allow students to publish posts and participate in discussions within a secure classroom blogging community. Teachers maintain complete control over student blogs. "

Partnership between college faculty, elementary teachers, and students.  Based on National Science Foundation 

ClassWish, a nonprofit, makes it easy for teachers and schools to create Wish Lists of the supplies they need for students to excel. Parents and others in the community see exactly what is needed and contribute online. Together, we can make a powerful difference in our children's lives

SIMPLE & SMART Socrative is a smart student response system that empowers teachers by engaging their classrooms with a series of educational exercises and games. Our apps are super simple and take seconds to login. Socrative runs on tablets, smartphones, and laptops.

Nature Works Everywhere gives teachers, students and families everything they need to start exploring and understanding nature's fantastic factory - videos, interactive games, and interactive lesson plans that align to standards.

Windows to the Universe is a user-friendly learning system covering the Earth and Space sciences for use by the general public. Windows to the Universe has been in development since 1995. Our goal is to build an internet site that includes a rich array of documents, including images, movies, animations, and data sets, that explore the Earth and Space sciences and the historical and cultural ties between science, exploration, and the human experience. Our site is appropriate for use in libraries, museums, schools, homes, and the workplace. Students and teachers may find the site especially helpful in their studying (and teaching!) Earth and Space sciences. Because we have users of all ages, the site is written in three reading levels approximating elementary, middle school and high school reading levels. These levels may be chosen by using the upper button bar of each page of the main site.

Pre-K-8 elementary educational resources for teachers, students, and parents.

Games for grades k-6. "We've thoroughly searched the web for engaging and educational games for kids, and we've collaborated with top educators to ensure that all of our games are age-appropriate, relevant and compliant with academic standards. Our team of educators has also created a vast library of "Homework Help" as an additional resource for students, teachers and parents."

"The History Engine is an educational tool that gives students the opportunity to learn history by doing the work-researching, writing, and publishing-of a historian. The result is an ever-growing collection of historical articles or "episodes" that paints a wide-ranging portrait of life in the United States throughout its history and that is available to scholars, teachers, and the general public in our online database." Via http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/04/history-engine-explore-stories-of.html

Every teacher who has attempted to integrate technology into the classroom knows that getting parents on board can sometimes be a challenge. It's not uncommon for the parent of a struggling child to be on the phone with you asking questions like: "Why do you need to use technology to teach math/social studies/English/biology?" or "This is an AP history class  - not computer science!" Your efforts to engage students and develop important 21st century skills can become the scapegoat explanation for problems that have nothing to do with tech. So, how do we as educators get these parents into our corner? Here are some strategies I've used successfully to gain parent buy-in.

The bomb-diggity learning resource for teachers and students! KlabLab feature songs and music videos about all sorts of topics. Very good stuff, definitely worth exploring. 

Teachers dealing with death

"Welcome to Myths and Legends. This site is for pupils, teachers and all those who enjoy stories and storytelling. The British Isles is rich in myths, folktales and legends. Almost every town, city and village in Britain has its own special story, be it a Celtic legend, Dark Age mystery, strange happening or fable."

How we define success may vary -- building 21st-century learning skills, closing the achievement gap, reinventing the learning process. But the tonic effect of success on teachers does not change. Everywhere we go, we hear it: There is no greater reward than knowing you have enhanced a child's chances of succeeding in life.

Transformers and Science - More than meets the eye The idea that one item can become another is something they find fascinating and you can tap into that curiosity via these lesson plans, "did you know" facts, and take-home project cards available here. All highlight the fact that science is transformation in action. These tools also help learning and fun come together which at The Hub, we believe can lead to endless possibilities. Join us in sparking student interest in the power of transformation and the science behind it!

OLogy, the Museum's Web site for kids ages seven through twelve, is based on the premise that "everyone wants to know something," and is designed as a place for kids to explore, ask questions, get answers, meet OLogists, play games, and see what