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Showing posts from November, 2010

Save a Tree- Use a Computer Sticky Note!

Here is a great tip! Watch this video!

Online Advent Calendars

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HO HO HO! Tomorrow starts the countdown to Christmas.  Why not use an online advent calendar with your students.  There are quite a few out there to choose from.  Here are three that I found that look good. Advent Calendar #1 - Click Here Advent Calendar #2 -  Click Here Advent Calendar #3 - Click Here I have not used these with students before and I have not been able to check them out since I'm writing this post prior to December 1st, which is when the sites become usable.  So check them out first before you use them.  Let me know if you find other advent calendars online. Have fun counting down with your students!

This Website Is a Real Gem!

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Today's web site is amazing!  It's called Teaching Gems .  I found a ton of things for my students to use on this site .  Here is a description of the site :    Teaching  Gems is a searchable database of over 1000 of the most engaging, interactive animations, tutorials, learning games, virtual labs and demonstrations freely accessible on the Internet in a wide range of academic subjects. Right now we are studying microscopes and cells in science.  Check out these great interactives that I found on Teaching Gems .  Here is one virtual microscope. Here is another virtual microscope. Here and here are great interactives on animal and plant cells. And this is just the tip of the iceberg!  The more I explore, the more I find.  I just love finding gems like this!   Enjoy Teaching Gems !

Tip of the Week- Opening a Link in a New Window

Today's tip is about opening a link in a new window and also how to tab between different applications that are opened on your start bar.  Check it out!

The Voyage of the Mayflower

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I'm having my students follow the voyage of the Mayflower on this Scholastic site .  The students can tour the ship and even take the journey.  I like how Scholastic has video, audio and images to make this such a fun webcast.  Play it on your smart board or share the link with your students. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Fun!

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Here are some great sites for your classroom on Thanksgiving!  Thank you to James Hollis and his amazing site for all of these resources! Too Many Turkeys - Find the turkey with a bow tie. Animated Jigsaw Puzzle Virtual Field Trip Funny Fill In Quiz Your Noodle Turkey Slide Puzzle

Tip of the Week- Make a Short Cut onto your Desktop

Here is a quick tip on how to create a short cut to a website and place it on your desktop.  Sorry for the bad humor!

Really Easy Collage Maker

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Photovisi offers a collage maker that is super easy and fun.  It is hosted by Facebook, but you do not need to be on Facebook to use it.  I made the collage below in about 2 minutes. I could choose the layout, move my pictures around and even add text.  When I had finished it asked if I wanted to share my collage on Facebook.  I just clicked the X to close the window and then I downloaded the picture right onto my computer.  I think this would be a lot of fun for students to make collages about a project they did or on a content area topic.  The best part about Photovisi is that there is no log in or registration needed!

Books Online that Students Can Listen to!

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Mee Genius is a wonderful site that has online books with pictures and words that are read out loud to students.  What I really like is that they are free right now.  Most are fairy tales that younger students will enjoy.  For the older students, these work great for teaching basic story elements that can then be transfered to other novels or literature.  These would also be great for a literature study on fairy tales and fractured tales. Another great is a site called Storyline Online .  This site has video of stories being read out loud by famous celebrities.  I watched the story called My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother read by Melissa Gilbert.  It was such a great story with a lesson to learn.  These are great for students of all elementary ages.  I am going to show some of these during milk break and reading class.  There are even activities to go with each story.

Add, Subtract, Multiply or Divide!

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This is a useful site called FactDash .  The nice thing about FactDash is that is allows the player to set up the exact type of practice they need.  Take a look at these screen shots:  Choose your operation or combination of operations.  Choose the numbers to work on.  Choose whether to be timed or not, and for how long. To answer a problem, just click on the digit(s) and click on "ok".  When you are done see your results and print out the results if you'd like! Special Note:  students can type their name in before printing! I like the idea of students printing out or showing the teacher their results.  It holds them accountable for trying hard and not just guessing or goofing around.  I also like that each student can set the drill to work on their particular needs.  Let me know what you think of FactDash ! Janet also shared this site with me this week.  It is great for learning and practicing your times tables.

We Love This Spelling Site!

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Kids Spell is a really nice site for spelling words.  What I like about this site is that the teacher can type in the spelling words and then copy the URL.  Then the teacher can share the URL with their students.  When the students go to the URL, they can play games and activities with their spelling words.  If the teacher bookmarks the URL, the saved spelling list and games will always be there. If you would like to see the list and games I created for our students click here .  This takes you to our Weebly site. Another great site to practice and play games with spelling words is SpellingCity.com

An Easy Way to Share Your Sites With Students

Watch these tutorials on how to share sites easily with students. Enjoy! What's Great About Weebly:

Friday Fun

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My students are addicted to the game Wake Up the Box .  The idea is to place objects in the correct place so that other objects move and wake up the box character.  Students work through each level as they become more challenging.  In the first two levels, the game is easy and it shows them exactly what to do.  But by the time they reach levels 5 and up, there are no more hints and students really have to think!  A quick warning, sometimes there is an ad at the beginning of the game.  It is always appropriate and students can click on Skip Ad, so no worries.  I'm predicting your students will LOVE Wake Up the Box ! And as if that isn't enough fun, there is a Wake up the Box 2 ! Wake Up the Box belongs to a site called Free Web Arcade , which offers hundreds of games.  I haven't had time to check out any others.  If you find another game worth sharing, let me know and I'll blog about it. Let me know your thoughts on  Wake Up the Bo...

Virtual Manipulatives

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I just came across this site and I think it is amazing!  It has every kind of possible manipulative available to put up on your Smart Board.  You can choose the grade level (PreK - 8) and choose all kinds of backgrounds.  I could tell more about this site, but I think you need to take a look for yourself!  Let me know what you think!  

Jigsaw Puzzle Site

<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>jigsaw pu<p><p><p><p>[Your web browser does not support frames or is currently configured not to display frames. However, you may visit <a href="http://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=2d775a9d18c4" target="_blank">the related page</a&a...

Text to Speech Site

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There is an easy text to speech site that is worth taking a look at.  It is called vozMe .  It is really easy to use.  You just copy and paste any text into the box and click on create mp3.  Then vozMe will speak whatever is in the box.  I could see students listening to what they have typed for a story or an assignment.  They could listen to a word they don't know.   I could also see students creating an mp3 file to download and use in a project.   To do this I created an mp3, then I just right clicked on download mp3 and then went to "save video as."  I downloaded the sound file to my desktop and then I inserted the sound into Smart Notebook 10.  It worked easily!