Tag: lists

Weekend Website #91: 16 Word Study Websites for 2nd Grade

Every Friday, I’ll send you a wonderful website (or more) that my classes and my parents love. I think you’ll find they’ll be a favorite of your students as they are of mine.

Here’s a list of 16 Word Study websites for 2nd Grade. I’ve used all of these in my classroom. Usually, I create a ‘box of links’ on the internet start page and put them all there, let students pick. Sometimes, we all use one together. Enjoy!

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twitter for educators

13 ways Twitter Improves Education

Twitter can easily be dismissed as a waste of time in the elementary school classroom. Students will get distracted. Students will see tweets they shouldn’t at their age. How does one

twitter in educationmanage a room full of Tweeple without cell phones? Is it even appropriate for the lower grades?

Here’s some ammunition for what often turns into a pitched, take-sides verbal brawl as well-intended teachers try to come to a compromise on using Twitter (in fact, many of the new Web 2.0 tools–blogs, wikis, websites that require registrations and log-ins, discussion forums. You can probably add to this list) that works for all stakeholders:

You learn to be concise.

Twitter gives you only 140 characters to get the entire message across. Letters, numbers, symbols, punctuation and spaces all count as characters on Twitter. Wordiness doesn’t work. Twitter counts every keystroke and won’t publish anything with a minus in front of the word count.

At first blush, that seems impossible. It’s not, though. It challenges you to know the right word for every situation. People with a big vocabulary are at an advantage because they don’t use collections of little words to say what they mean, they jump right to it. All those hints your English teacher gave you–picture nouns and action verbs, get rid of adverbs and adjectives–take on new meaning to the Twitter afficionado.

Twitter isn’t intimidating

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keyboarding

44 First Grade Websites That Tie into Classroom Lessons

These are my 62 favorite first-grade websites. I sprinkle them in throughout the year, adding several each week to the class internet start page, deleting others. I make sure I have 3-4 each week that integrate with classroom lesson plans, 3-4 that deal with technology skills and a few that simply excite students about tech in education.

Here’s the list:

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tech ed awards

How to Integrate Web 2.0 Tools into the Classroom

‘Web 2.0’ is a term familiar to all teachers. Stated in its simplest form, it’s the set of interactive internet-based tools used by students to enrich educational opportunities. ‘Web 1.0’ referred to the act of accessing websites—

[caption id="attachment_2274" align="alignright" width="422"]web 2.0 tools Which of these do you use in your classroom[/caption]

nothing more. Students read websites, clicked a few links, and/or researched a topic.

Web 2.0—Web-based education basics–includes blogs, wikis, class internet homepages, class internet start pages, twitter, social bookmarks, podcasting, photo sharing, online docs, online calendars, even Second Life—all tools that require thoughtful interaction between the student and the site. For teachers, it’s a challenge to keep up with the plethora of options as the creative minds of our new adults stretch the boundaries of what we can do on the internet.

Students, adults, teachers who use this worldwide wealth of information and tools are referred to as ‘digital citizens’. They leave a vast digital footprint and it is incumbent upon them to make healthy and safe decisions, including:

  • Treat others and their property with respect (for example, plagiarismeven undiscoveredis immoral and illegal)
  • Act in a responsible manner
  • Look after their own security

Here are some activities you can do in your classroom that will make your lessons and activities more student-centered and more relevant to this new generation of students:

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kindergarten websites

62 Kindergarten Websites That Tie into Classroom Lessons

These are my 62 favorite kindergarten websites. I sprinkle them in throughout the year, adding several each week to the class internet start page, deleting others. I make sure I have 3-4 each week that integrate with classroom lesson plans, 3-4 that deal with technology skills and a few that simply excite students about tech.

Here’s the list (check here for updates):

  1. Aesop Fables
  2. Aesop Fables—no ads
  3. Alphabet—Kerpoof Letters
  4. Alphabet Animals
  5. Alphabet Doors
  6. Audio stories
  7. Barnaby and Bellinda Bear
  8. Bembo’s Zoo
  9. Brown Bear Typing
  10. Build a Neighborhood
  11. Color US Symbols
  12. Counting Money
  13. Clocks
  14. Clock Talk
  15. Create Music
  16. Dinosaurs
  17. Dinosaurs II
  18. Dinosaurs III
  19. Dinosaurs IV
  20. Dinosaurs V
  21. Dinosaurs VI
  22. Dinosaur VII
  23. Dino Fossiles then and now
  24. Dr. Seuss
  25. Edugames at Pauly’s Playhouse
  26. Edugames—drag-and-drop puzzles
  27. Fairy Tales and Fables
  28. Find a dog
  29. Game Goo—wacky games that teach
  30. Games to teach mouse skills, problem-solving
  31. Games to teach problem-solving skills
  32. Geogreeting—find letters around the world
  33. Holiday Gingerbread house
  34. Interactive sites
  35. Kerpoof
  36. Kid’s Videos
  37. Keyboarding—Hyper Spider Typing
  38. Kindergarten Links—Science, etc.
  39. Kindergartend Math Links
  40. Kinder Stories
  41. Learn to Read
  42. Make a Face
  43. Make a Monster
  44. Make a Scary Spud
  45. Make a Story
  46. Math for K
  47. Math/LA Videos by grade level
  48. Math Games
  49. Mightybook Stories–visual
  50. Mr. Picasso Head
  51. Museum of Modern Art
  52. My Online Neighborhood
  53. Puzzle
  54. Shapes and colors
  55. Starfall
  56. Stories—non-text
  57. Storytime for Me
  58. The Learning Planet
  59. Time
  60. Virtual Farm
  61. Virtual Zoo
  62. Word games—k-2

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Weekend Website #68: Live Like Bear Grylls

tornado and cityscape

Every Friday I’ll send you a wonderful website that my classes and my parents love. I think you’ll find they’ll be a favorite of your students as they are of mine.

Age:

3rd-5th

Topic:

Landforms

Review:

If you want to spice up a unit on landforms, have students look into surviving these unique natural habitats. To get out with their lives, they’ll have to understand the flora and fauna, dangers and helpers. Here are some websites they can visit to improve their survival toolkit:

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Weekend Website #72: 62 Favorite 1st Grade Websites

Every Friday I’ll send you a wonderful website that my classes and my parents love. I think you’ll find they’ll be a favorite of your students as they are of mine. Click here for updates on these links.

Age:

1st Grade

Topic:

General academic

Review:

These are my 62 favorite first grade websites. I sprinkle them in throughout the year, adding several each week to the class internet start page, deleting others. I make sure I have 3-4 each week that integrate with classroom lesson plans, 3-4 that deal with technology skills and a few that simply excite students about tech in education.

Here’s the list: (more…)