Category: 4th Grade

50 Websites About Animals

Here are 50 animal websites for grades K-5, everything from Dinosaurs to the wildly popular Wolfquest (click here for updates):

  1. 3D Toad—3D science study
  2. Adaptations—game
  3. Animal Adaptations
  4. Animal games
  5. Animal Games II
  6. Animal games II
  7. Animal Games III
  8. Animal Habitats
  9. Animal homes
  10. Animal homes
  11. Animal Homes II
  12. Animal Homes III
  13. Animal puzzle games–cool
  14. Animals
  15. Animals—San Diego Zoo Videos
  16. Barnaby and Bellinda Bear
  17. Bembo’s Zoo
  18. Build a habitat
  19. Build a habitat II
  20. Butterfies and habitats
  21. Classify animals
  22. Cockroach—virtual
  23. Dino collection
  24. Dino Fossils then and now
  25. Dino Games
  26. Dino Games II
  27. Dinosaurs
  28. Dinosaurs II
  29. Dinosaurs IV
  30. Dinosaurs V
  31. Dinosaurs VI
  32. Endangered species collection
  33. Food chain
  34. Food Chains
  35. Frog habitat
  36. Google Earth—African Animals
  37. Google Earth—endangered animals
  38. Habitat Game
  39. Habitats—create one
  40. Habitats—match them
  41. Life Cycles
  42. Life—the Game–colorful
  43. Ocean Currents—video from NASA
  44. Ocean Safari
  45. Ocean Tracks
  46. Video Safari
  47. Virtual Cockroach
  48. Virtual Farm
  49. Virtual Zoo
  50. Wolfquest—simulation–DL

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LOTS of Resources for Kids’ Online Research

Here are quick, safe spots to send students for research (click here for updates to the list):

  1. CoolKidFacts–kid-friendly videos, pictures, info, and quizzes–all 100% suitable for children
  2. Dimensions–academic research geared for college-level
  3. Fact Monster–help with homework and facts
  4. Google Earth Timelapse–what changes to the planet over time
  5. Google Trends–what’s trending in searches
  6. History Channel–great speeches
  7. How Stuff Works–the gold standard in explaining stuff to kids
  8. Info Please–events cataloged year-by-year
  9. National Geographic for Kids
  10. Ngram Viewer–analyzes all words in all books on Google Books
  11. TagGalaxy–search using a cloud
  12. Wild Wordsmyth–picture dictionary for kids
  13. World Book–requires membership

Citing Resources

  1. BibMe
  2. Citation Machine
  3. EasyBib

Kids Search Engines

  1. Kiddle–visual search engine for kids
  2. Kidtopia

How to Research

  1. A Google A Day
  2. How to Search on Google
  3. Power Searching (with Google)
  4. Teaching students to search/research
  5. Internet Search and Research–a lesson plan for K-8

Lesson Plans

  1. Image Copyright Do’s and Don’ts
  2. Internet Search and Research

Resources/Research

  1. BrainPOP–Bring learning to your fingertips™ with the BrainPOP® Featured Movie app
  2. Kids Picture Dictionary
  3. Primary Source Documents
  4. SparkVue–collect and display live data from iPhone etc to the iPad
  5. Talk to Books–research your topic based on books
  6. TED app–TED’s official app presents talks from some of the world’s most fascinating people

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Three Projects to Kick Off the Holidays

Click to enlarge lesson plan

A Holiday Calendar

Kids love making this calendar. They get to talk about their upcoming vacations and hear what their friends are doing. It’s simple enough for third grade with advanced tools that satisfy a fifth graders growing intellect.


A Holiday Newsletter

Have students collaborate on a newsletter for a classroom unit of inquiry or a theme (colonies, animals, etc). Pick a template. Add text and pictures. Pay attention to layout details. Allow several class periods to complete

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12 Projects to Teach Digital Citizenship–by Grade

 

Education has changed. No longer is it contained within four classroom walls or the physical site of a school building. Students aren’t confined by the eight hours between school bells or the struggling budget of an underfunded program. Now, education can be found anywhere — teaming up with students in Kenya, Skyping with an author in Sweden, or chatting with an astrophysicist on the International Space Station. Students can use Google Earth to take a virtual tour of a zoo or a blog to collaborate on class research. Learning has no temporal or geographic borders and is available wherever students and teachers find an Internet connection. This vast landscape of resources is offered digitally, often free, but to take that cerebral trek through the online world, children must know how to do it safely, securely, and responsibly. This used to mean limiting access to the Internet, blocking websites, and layering rules upon rules hoping (vainly) to discourage students from using an infinite and fascinating resource. It didn’t work. Best practices now suggest that instead of cocooning students, we teach them to be good digital citizens, confident and competent. Here are eleven projects to teach kids authentically, blended with your regular lessons, the often complicated topic of becoming good digital citizens, knowledgeable about their responsibilities in an Internet world. (more…)

Facing Fourth Grade: Tips for Parents Dealing with Academic and Social Challenges

Dealing with academic and social challenges in fourth grade can be challenging for parents. There are several strategies parents can use to support their children effectively. Here are ideas from the Ask a Tech Teacher team:

Facing Fourth Grade: Tips for Parents Dealing with Academic and Social Challenges

As our kids step into fourth grade, it’s a big deal! It’s a time when they’re diving into more challenging schoolwork and facing new social situations. For us parents, it can feel like we’re navigating uncharted waters alongside them. From helping with tough math problems to supporting them through friendship ups and downs, fourth grade brings its share of hurdles. In this article, we’ll talk about the common challenges we might run into as parents in fourth grade and share some down-to-earth tips on how to tackle them, making the journey smoother for both our kids and us.

Academic Challenges in Fourth Grade

Navigating the academic terrain of fourth grade entails a substantial shift towards a more intricate curriculum and heightened expectations. As students transition into this pivotal year, they are met with a multifaceted array of challenges, each demanding a nuanced approach for successful navigation. At the forefront of these challenges lies mathematics, a subject that undergoes a profound transformation as students delve into more advanced concepts. 

With the introduction of fractions, decimals, and geometry, the mathematical landscape becomes notably complex, posing significant hurdles for students and parents alike. Concepts that were once straightforward now require a deeper level of understanding and application, leading to feelings of confusion and uncertainty among learners. This is where the importance of seeking external support becomes apparent. Enter the online math tutor for 4th graders, a beacon of guidance in the tumultuous sea of mathematical challenges. By leveraging the expertise of a qualified tutor, parents can provide their children with personalized assistance and targeted support tailored to their unique learning styles and pace. Whether it’s breaking down intricate equations, elucidating geometric principles, or fostering critical thinking skills, these tutors offer invaluable assistance that fosters not only understanding but also confidence in mathematical abilities.

Moreover, the academic challenges of fourth grade extend beyond mathematics, encompassing a diverse range of subjects such as science, language arts, and social studies. With this expanded academic landscape comes an increased workload, placing additional demands on students’ time and organizational skills. Managing this workload effectively becomes paramount, requiring students to develop strong time management strategies and study habits. Additionally, the transition to fourth grade often coincides with a heightened emphasis on independent learning and critical thinking skills, further complicating the academic landscape.

Yet, despite these challenges, there is ample opportunity for growth and success. By fostering a nurturing and supportive environment at home, parents can empower their children to overcome obstacles and thrive academically. This includes fostering open communication channels with teachers and school staff, advocating for additional support resources such as online tutoring services, and instilling a growth mindset that emphasizes resilience and perseverance in the face of challenges. Ultimately, by working together as a team and providing the necessary support and guidance, parents can help their children navigate the complexities of fourth-grade academia and emerge stronger and more confident learners. (more…)

Tech Tip #25: My Keyboard Doesn’t Work

As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!

You sit down to type, start in on that long project with an imminent deadline, and nothing happens. The cursor blinks… and blinks… and blinks… but goes nowhere.

What do you do?

Before you buy a new keyboard, try a few things:

  • Is the keyboard’s power light on? If it is, check your screen. Is there something that’s preventing you from typing? Maybe a dialogue box that wants an answer? If the light isn’t on, continue down this list
  • Check the plugs. Maybe the cord that connects the keyboard to the computer is loose or fell out.
  • Reboot. Sometimes the stuff in the computer’s boot-up sequence that makes the keyboard work gets lost. Restart your computer so it can re-establish itself.
  • Do you eat at your keyboard? Does anyone? I say this next solution hesitantly: Bang on the key. Sometimes keys get food between them. If that doesn’t work, turn the keyboard over and see what falls out.

If none of those work, here are some pretty good suggestions from ChatGPT:

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#72: How to Check Your Math in a Spreadsheet

This is one of the most popular lessons I teach to Excel beginners. It is relevant, instantly usable and makes sense from the beginning. Before you start this one, you might want to complete Project 70 and 71.

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–from 55 Technology Projects for the Digital Classroom

–image credit Deposit Photos


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Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.