Group items tagged

A wonderful new way to research topics. The students type in the subject, the site 'groks' and returns with a concept map that can be made more complex or simple by dragging the green dot (beside the scientist situated at the top of the screen). Finally, a site that differentiates content for students!  The concept map can be expanded by selecting any of the yellow concept dots, and facts, videos, websites, images, etc. can be found on the right side of the screen. A journal tab beside the graph tab allows student to do some writing to record their learning and can be copied into a Google Doc for later reference.   French Revolution, organelles, succession, polynomials, Jane Eyre, composition . . .  this site has much to offer.   The "Quizzes" tools gives you classroom-ready quiz questions on your search term.   Tip: You can use the little slider at the top of the search results screen to adjust how detailed your results are.  You can go from the ABC chalkboard to the Einstein-y looking fella.

Wise Mapping is an online mind mapping tool. Free sign up, and easy to use!

You can look at all kinds of interesting places in Google Earth and Maps if you search correctly and long enough. But if you're searching for something small and you don't know the coordinates, you might get very frustrated. Maplandia offers an categories to help you zero in on what you need. 

Moon Zoo actually lets your students take part in science.  They are contributing to actual lunar research in real and meaningful ways while learning about the moon.  Moon Zoo would be a great activity to complete as a whole class in the elementary classroom.  Tell your students that they are going to be astronauts and complete a "launch" to the moon.  If you have time, students can create official astronaut badges to wear for the big launch.  Using a projector-connected computer or an interactive whiteboard, launch one of the shuttles here.  When you "land" on the moon, let students explore the surface together by hunting for craters in Moon Zoo.  Help students mark craters, look for boulders and map the lunar surface.  Each student should have a chance to make a discovery.  While students wait for their turn, they can track the crater/boulder count on a table to create a graph.  Categories can be small, medium, and large craters found and number of boulders.

 If it Were My Home is a fascinating website that asks students to consider what their life would be like if they were born in a different country.  Would they be the same person?  If it Were My Home is a country comparison tool where students can compare living conditions in their own country to those of another.  When students select a country, there is a visual overlay comparison of maps.  Students can easily visualize relative size of another country based on their own state or country.  Students will also see a break down of death rates, HIV/AIDS, birth rate, electricity availability, oil consumption, economic comparison, health care, and class divide.  Students have the ability to compare the country they selected with another country of interest.  Students can learn additional information about the country and vote to show if they would rather live in the chosen country.  Additionally, most countries offer a recommended reading list with books about the selected country.  When students click on the mini-facts, they get a full description of the fact along with the original source.  K Tenkley

Wordless picture books offer a wonderful foundation for creative writing. Often, students struggle with ideas and topics for writing. This genre of books offers a platform for students to develop their writing skills. In this lesson, students are exposed to wordless picture books and begin developing story lines orally and in writing. Educators can easily incorporate various instructional strategies into students' writing, such as use of dialogue, setting development, character descriptions, sequencing of events, and story development. An online, interactive story map is used to assist students in developing story lines.

This site uses maps, text and visuals to create timelines. Better suited to division 2 and up, you could use this for Stories of Alberta, Regions of Canada, and it would be a fabulous project for Democracy.

Create a floating timeline. Tell a story, map a historical event, or review a science experiment...

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Education Place offers thirty-eight free printable graphic organizers for your classroom use. Included in the roster of graphic organizers are templates for word webs, KWL charts, flow charts, story maps, and idea wheels. 

Moon Zoo actually lets your students take part in science.  They are contributing to actual lunar research in real and meaningful ways while learning about the moon.  Moon Zoo would be a great activity to complete as a whole class in the elementary classroom.  Tell your students that they are going to be astronauts and complete a "launch" to the moon.  If you have time, students can create official astronaut badges to wear for the big launch.  Using a projector-connected computer or an interactive whiteboard, launch one of the shuttles here.  When you "land" on the moon, let students explore the surface together by hunting for craters in Moon Zoo.  Help students mark craters, look for boulders and map the lunar surface.  Each student should have a chance to make a discovery.  While students wait for their turn, they can track the crater/boulder count on a table to create a graph.  Categories can be small, medium, and large craters found and number of boulders.iLearn Technology

Thought Boxes is a task management service with a hint of mind mapping in its user interface. At its most basic Thought Boxes is a place to create to-do lists. You can organize your to-do lists into groups that Thought Boxes refers to as "trains." Your lists can include basic text notes as well as links to other sites. The "trains" you create in Thought Boxes are basically categories for your to-do lists. 

"If It Were My Home now offers a feature for quickly comparing ten key statistics about life in different countries. To view the comparisons just select two countries from the lists and click compare. If It Were My Home will also show you a size comparison of a selected country centered over your hometown." Richard Byrne