TeachersFirst: Interactive Whiteboards

Resources for Using Interactive Whiteboards:

1058 record(s) found - search again

Scribblar Grade 9 to 12 - Muchosmedia, Ltd.- 9616

Teacher’s First Edge review: for moderately adventurous technology users. This free provides an instantly-available online whiteboard for multiple people to collaborate as they brainstorm, add text and shapes, or annotate an image. You can also add video or sound (if you have Internet cameras and microphones). Create a graphic from scratch using the geometric shapes. Share the whiteboard to brainstorm with both words and shapes. Upload of photos is easy. Include photos or other images as part of your collective visual “thinking.” A chat function exists on the whiteboard space, as well. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom:
Skills needed: You need to know how to locate and upload a picture from your computer and how to manage basic tools, etc. Scribblar creates a temporary room for use by your group. Using the free room requires a name to be entered to temporarily manage and track edits. Email addresses or passwords are NOT required. Tools are easy to use and require a small amount of play to be comfortable. Invitations can be sent to other students in order to allow group contributions. Clicking “Take a snapshot” opens a pop up window to SAVE the collaborative creation. You can also use the print screen function (PrtSc button on a PC) or apple/shift/4 combination on a mac. For schools needing more photo mash up options to alter artwork or photos, this is an alternative.

Safety/security concerns: The site includes a chat function. Be sure to caution students about appropriate use. Continuous monitoring by teachers is essential!

Ideas for use: Use pictures from a science lab or experiment to write information on the picture. Have student groups collaborate to create a diagram of the steps in a process shown in a photograph. Have students add annotations to an art images or ad layouts, showing design elements and the path of your eye as you view the image. Show math concepts using geometric shapes. Create images as a group or use for tutorials. Create artwork or use for brainstorming. Have students create their own whiteboard as part of a research project. Project the “Scribblar – whiteboard brainstorming” on your interactive whiteboard or projector as you begin a unit or lesson or to recap the steps in a process with the entire class. Collaborate with others outside the classroom as you create a community map or action plan together.

Interactive Whiteboard Resources - Secondary Science Grade 6 to 12 - Think Bank Limited- 8273

This website provides numerous resources that can be downloaded and used in secondary science classes. All of the resources are designed to use on an interactive whiteboard. Specific topics include genetic crossing, writing scientific explanations, mitosis and meiosis, the periodic table, rock cycles and many others. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Use these "ready to go" resources on your interactive whiteboard.

Primary Resources for Interactive Whiteboards Grade 1 to 5 - Topmarks- 5828

This wonderful collection of activities - spanning multiple content areas and grade levels - is designed for classroom projection on an interactive whiteboard. Many of the activities feature engaging sounds, animation, and downloadable worksheets. If a whiteboard is not an option for your classroom, take your students to the computer lab and let them explore the lessons individually. Because this is a British site, be aware that some vocabulary and content may be unfamiliar to American students, so preview carefully before using.

In the Classroom:
MANY of the activities require FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

Interactive whiteboard Resources for Teachers Grade K to 12 - Teacher LED- 9304

This site has great simulations in Math that can be used with an Interactive Whiteboard. Math categories include "Algebra," "Data Handling," "Number," "Shape, Space, and Measure," and "General Maths." Specific topics include "Reading Scales," "Rotational Symmetry," "Shop Addition," "Prime Snakes," and "Number Cylinder." Information and ideas for use on each Interactive can be found both on the site and as an Adobe PDF download. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Show difficult-to-understand concepts on the interactive whiteboard or projector. Use these Interactives by having students predict outcomes and then carry out the experiment, such as in rolling die to determine probabilities. Students can then apply the information to a new set of problems. Use many of the interactives as a class game. Though perfect for the whiteboard, they can also be used on individual computers or as a computer learning station.

EFL Reading Grade 3 to 10 - Kieran McGovern- 7821

This UK-produced site offers free reading materials at six levels from beginning through advanced ESL/ELL learners. The collection is not extensive, but it is useful. Each reading has a level rating as well as links to the original work if an adaptation. The readings are divided into categories such as ghost stories, comic stories, and adventures. Most readings have accompanying exercises and plenty of interesting illustrations to keep motivation high and promote previewing skills. An added bonus is a selection of readings about world football (known as soccer in America).The children's stories include some favorite fairy tales. The fastest way to find stories is to use the site map to browse the list of offerings.

In the Classroom:
Some of these reading would work well for general comprehension activities, as well. Use the Before Reading and Glossary sections to introduce vocabulary. Share a story on an interactive whiteboard (or overhead transperancies if you do not have a whiteboard)to have your ESL/ELL or reading students use pens or whiteboard highlighting and annotations to show where they find important facts, new vocabulary, and main ideas. Use color coding!

Map Collections Home Page Grade 6 to 12 - Library of Congress- 9406

The Library of Congress offers this searchable database of historical maps, which includes a large collection of city maps, maps of military battles and campaigns, maps related to transportation and communication, and maps focused on exploration and discovery. Within each category, you can search geographically or by time period. Each map accessed can be navigated using a zoom feature for better viewing. Maps cover a wide range of national and international subjects.

In the Classroom:
Teachers with interactive whiteboards or projectors will find these maps a natural companion to lessons involving history, geography, and cultural changes. Sometimes seeing a map drawn at the same time as the event under discussion can lend a whole new understanding of the culture of the people being studied. It's far more dramatic to imagine sailing into the unknown on a voyage of discovery while you look at the only maps available to those aboard.

Be sure to have students use the whiteboard tools to draw in their own “corrections” or annotations showing the movement of people or strategies used in battles. Since thee resources are in the public domain, you are allowed to copy them into your whiteboard software and keep the student annotations atop the maps, as well. The maps also make good visuals for "mock" blog entries by historical figures!

Dabbleboard Grade K to 12 - Dabbleboard, Inc.- 9627

TeachersFirst Edge entry: for ANY technology user. Dabbleboard (still in beta) allows you to make whiteboard drawings and graphic organizers in an online space you can share with others. Since more than one computer can "work on" the whiteboard at a time, students in multiple locations can add to the board at the same time -- or come back to a saved board to add to it later. The whiteboard includes freehand drawing, basic shapes (some that even pop in when you come close to drawing that shape), text tools, and simple colors. You can also upload images, drag and resize anything you draw or type, etc. If used as a whole-class activity, such as on an interactive whiteboard, you can save it by clicking SHARE, copying the URL so you can put the link on a class wiki, teacher web page, or blog so students or the class can revisit and change it later. The tool requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

See an example created by the Edge team here . Note that you can change it, too!

In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Join the site (free), but only if you wish to be able to SAVE dabbleboards. You can share them in real time without joining, but they are lost once you quit. Joining requires an email address. Use your memberships email or check school policies before allowing students to sign up using email. Another option is to create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.

Once you join, watch the quick video tour or play with the tools. Be sure you can locate tools to draw, resize, delete, drag, and group/ungroup items. Try uploading an image (make sure you have the RIGHTS to use it!). Your uploaded items remain in your library for later use. Note that to add text you simply click in the whitespace and start typing. It is easier to change text size and color BEFORE typing. To keep a board, simply click NEW. The old board will become part of your library at the left of the screen.

Safety concerns: Once shared, any dabbleboard can be seen and altered by others who know the URL. You will not have any record of who makes changes, so student-to-student "vandalism" is possible. Do not make student drawings "public" unless this is within school policies. Clicking "Make public" will add that dabble board to the public library. Others can copy any "public" work. Note that sharing by URL does NOT make a board public unless you click "make public."

Ideas for using this tool: Assess prior knowledge as you start a unit by generating a class dabbleboard. Save it under your class/teacher account to re-access throughout the unit, adding new topics and content. Make the URL available from your class web page for students to use as review or for learning support teachers to reinforce what has happened in class. Have student groups map out the content of projects. Encourage visual prewriting for the students who "think in pictures." Have students create review organizers or drag and drop activities to share with classmates. Brainstorm together over time or distance by letting students add ideas from home or collaborating from another school. Save your visual notes from a faculty meeting to reopen next time. Allow students to use a dabbleboard as their visual during speeches. Map the sequence of steps in a chemical reaction. Then share the URL for absent students to "see" what happened in class. Annotate design principles directly on top of an uploaded image or have students submit their own analysis of an image by sending you the URL for their dabbleboard. Have young students use a dabbleboard to draw out ideas before they can even write entire sentences. This one has endless possibilities!

Design a Habitat Grade 3 to 9 - ARKive Education- 9073

This engaging website challenges students to create a safe habitat for the black-footed ferret. Students must make decisions about the size of land that is suitable, the type of habitat (i.e. grassland or desert), how the success will be monitored, and security (what kind of fence is needed, if any). This website requires FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Demonstrate this activity on your interactive whiteboard (or projector). Then divide your class into cooperative learning groups and have the groups design their habitats together. Extend the activity and your animal habitats unit by having students “design” a new habitat (drawing and description) for a mythical animal your class “creates” on your interactive whiteboard. Be sure to save the animal drawing and description from the whiteboard so you can include it with the new “habitats” on a class blog, wiki, or good-old bulletin board.

ABC Learning Time Grade K to 2 - Jack Armstrong- 8806

Kindergarten students learn their ABCs, numbers, how to tell time, and handwriting at this engaging, interactive website. Kindergarten teachers will appreciate this safe site to help with essential learning. Print the alphabet handwriting sheets for practice, or allow students to work the interactive clock to learn how to tell time, sans digital formatting.

In the Classroom:
The handwriting interactives would work well when traced by little fingers on an interactive whiteboard for "tactile" practice and a little "whiteboard magic" thrown in. A word of caution to teachers: This site is free, which means the countless games and activities must be paid through advertisement. Caution your students not to click on anything except the game components.

Bar Graph Generator Grade 2 to 8 - MrNussbaum.com- 8776

This site offers a simple interactive way to create bar graphs. Add a title for the graph, labels for the x and y axis and the value for each item to be graphed. Change the color of each bar then click on "Generate graph" to see the results. NOTE: Graph can be printed but NOT saved. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Use a projector or interactive whiteboard to introduce the site to your class, and then have students poll their classmates on a topic of their choice. Use the site to graph the results of the polls. Have students build several different examples in different windows on your interactive whiteboard to compare graphs and/or ask questions to check student understanding of data analysis. Remember that you can use the whiteboard pens to point out essential features on the graphs.

Music with Glasses Grade K to 6 - Fun4Brains by Julia- 8673

Have you ever wanted to create songs using crystal glasses filled with varying heights of water? Now you can do it without the mess, and you will never need to fear breaking an expensive glass. Just run your mouse over the various glasses to listen to the soothing sounds. Create your own music, just like Beethoven. This site should come with a warning though: it's addictive.

In the Classroom:
Music teachers or primary teachers can teach listening skills, pitch, and more by allowing students to play music using the whiteboard. Follow up on laptops or in a lab so students can develop their own "ear" ad you play follow the leader without showing them which glass you are playing. Science teachers can have students demonstrate the site on a whiteboard or projector and talk about the scientific reasons for the pitch changes with differing amount of water during a unit on sound.

Sketchcast Grade K to 12 - Richard Ziade - 8666

TeachersFirst Edge Entry: for moderately adventurous technology users. This simple-to-use online tool allows any user to create a "recording" of a drawing without without narration. Simply draw on a "whiteboard" space on the computer screen (and, if you wish, record yourself talking as you draw). The finished product is available as a mini-video (recorded in Flash) that can be shared via URL or embedded in a blog or wiki, much the same way people share YouTube videos. See a sample created by the Edge editorial team with some ideas for ways to use a Sketchcast. Requires FLASH.

In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Join the site (free). Membership requires an email address, but appears to work just fine with a "made up" address (warning: email notifications for forgotten passwords will not work if you pretend!). Watch the sample sketchcast, if you wish. Create a sketchcast (be sure to plug in a mike and check "with voice" if you want sound. When finished, name it, and publish it. You can copy/paste the URL from the page that shows the Sketchcast to share it, click to email it to someone, or copy/paste the code they provide to embed it in your blog. Edit or delete from the My Account page.

Some concerns: there is no way to keep your sketchcast private. Any visitor to the Sketchcast site can see it or link to it. They can also COMMENT on it--possibly a problem as you try to protect students. Also, your students can see any Sketchcast that has been made on the site, so content may NOT be appropriate to all classrooms. (Stick figures can be suggestive or scary, too!). There is a link to report any abuse of the site. The Edge team recommends some combination of a student-user agreement, signed by parents as well or close monitoring if you choose to use this in class. The safest way to SHARE Sketchcasts you make for students is to embed them in your blog so they will not "see" the rest of the Sketchcast site. NEVER allow students to create user names or Sketchcasts that are identifiable by unscrupulous outsiders. One other limitation is the difficulty of drawing with a mouse. If you have access to graphics tablets, these would really help. You might also try "drawing" with your finger with the site open on an interactive whiteboard!

Ideas to use Sketchcast: allow students to submit assessment quizzes using sketchcast instead of written essays (especially those with writing disabilities); create teacher-made explanations of concepts or math processes for students to access and play from your blog for review; Allow young ones to draw and talk about animals they have learned about (on the interactive whiteboard, then embed their videos in the class blog; have students talk about musical notes or symbols as you draw them and record for later review; allow students to do prewriting for assignments in Sketchcast; challenge students to create a visual explanation of an abstract concept, such as democracy or energy. The options are endless.

Colour Mixing Grade 2 to 5 - Think Bank- 8502

This simple tool demonstrates the fact that white light is made up of all colors in a simple, tactile way on a whiteboard. There is a green lamp, a blue lamp, and a red lamp. Students may mix the colors together any way they wish. Art teachers would point out that this tool combines colors of LIGHT, not pigment, so the "primaries" are red, green, and blue instead of red, yellow, and blue. If you teach about color in light, be sure to explain the difference, or your students will be quite confused when they start talking with the art teacher. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Let students demonstrate the power of color in the spectrum using additive light on your interactive whiteboard or projector screen.

Beacon Learning Center: Student Web Lessons Grade K to 12 - Beacon Learning Center- 8347

This website, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, provides an enormous collection of "web lessons" (interactives) for all grade levels. There are lessons in language arts, math, science, social studies, and health. There are too many lesson plans to count - and all are projector, laptop, or whiteboard-ready. Just to give you an idea of some of these unique lessons, some of the titles include "Where is Japan?", "Walrus World", "Piece of Pie", "Medians", "Fence Me In", and "Critter Craze". On the main page, a brief description is provided for each lesson plan. Click Teacher Solutions > Lesson Plans to search by subject or grade level.

In the Classroom:
If you want ready-to-go lessons guaranteed to work well on your interactive whiteboard, this collection is a winner. You simply open the activity on the whiteboard and have students tap and drag their way through as you talk with the class. (Invite your most "active" student to be "Vanna White" for a great behavior management solution). Many lessons would work well on laptops or on a computer cluster center, as well.

Mapping Our World Grade 3 to 8 - OxFam- Cool Planet for Teachers- 8256

Explore world geography in an interactive site ideally suited for interactive whiteboard or individual exploration. Content includes map skills, the globe, terms, geographical context, and more. This site is created to align with British curriculum, but the topics are quite parallel to those in the U.S.

In the Classroom:
Use the curriculum links Acrobat .pdf file to find the topics that connect to your curriculum needs, then open the page on your interactive whiteboard and get started. Include the link on your teacher web age for students to use as review, as well.

Click On Bricks Grade 1 to 4 - ThinkQuest- 7401

This simple and unique web activity challenges students to learn (and practice) multiplication facts 1-4. There is an instructional page with detailed information and pictures to help students to understand the concept of multiplication. Then the web activity challenges students to click on the correct answers to various multiplication problems. The site suggests giving students bricks (blocks) to use as manipulatives while they work at this site. If students choose an incorrect answer, the program gives them hints using online bricks. ThinkQuest sites are created by students but have been judged as exemplary in a major international competition.

In the Classroom:
This would make an excellent group activity using an interactive whiteboard. When introducing simple multiplication, provide your students with bricks (blocks or other manipulatives) and utilize the interactive whiteboard. The students can work independently at their seats (using the manipulatives), while students take turns at the whiteboard activities.

Pascal's Triangle Grade K to 12 - Drexel School of Education- 6869

This web unit on Pascal's Triangle is broken down into three age-level categories (K-4, 5-8 and 9-12). Each grade level category includes standards, lesson plans and additional links.

In the Classroom:
If you are unable to use a computer lab or laptop cart, these activities would be great to use on a interactive whiteboard or even printed out onto worksheets. If you use an interactive whiteboard, you can use pen and highlighter tools to draw and mark aspects of the triangles.

Alphabet Geometry Grade 2 to 6 - Mister Teacher.com- 6868

See animations and practice with Flips, Slides, and Turns (Transformations) of geometric shapes, using letters of the alphabet. After playing through the animations, you can test yourself (or students can review) using the link to "take a quiz." This site is great for visual thinking practice!

In the Classroom:
This site would work well on an interactive whiteboard or projector as a whole-class activity, followed by individual practice on the quiz portion. While on the whiteboard, you can even ask students to "predict" with the whiteboard pens what the transformation will look like. Ifyou use te site with younger elementary students, you may need to read some of it aloud for them. There is not a great deal of text, but words like "transformation" might be a little intimidating! Note: the animations require FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page if the animations do not show for you.

Maps from National Geographic Xpeditions Grade 3 to 12 - National Geographic- 1701

Here's an interactive resource that lets you find and print maps of just about any country. The final results are available as GIF or Adobe Acrobat files, and the site offers links to additional information on geography and cultures.

In the Classroom:
Use these maps on your interactive whiteboard as you teach about any location, using the whiteboard pens and highlighters to have students indicate landforms, places, and more on the maps. Also include this link on your teacher web page so students can generate map images to include in projects, multimedia presentations, and more.

Middle School Special Education Grade 6 to 8 - BCISD/ Colleen Schaeding- 8209

This lesson plan (in pdf Acrobat Format,"Real Estate Project," was created for special education students in grades 6-8, but could be used in the regular classroom too. It s mutltidisciplinary for language arts, math, and consumer/life skills. This lesson includes research, writing, creative thinking and much more. Students design real estate ads based on ads they find in their research (via the Internet). The lesson plan provides state standards (for Michigan), assessments and explicit details about the activities. There are interactive activities, printable worksheets, discussion topics and much more.

In the Classroom:
Team up with the math and language arts teachers on this project or teach it in a computer literacy class. Get your interactive whiteboards ready to introduce these ready-to-go activities. Use the whiteboard for editing drafts, if you have one available. Then have your students share finished real estate ads on a projection screen or interactive whiteboard.

Faithful John Grade K to 3 - Kidoons- 9581

This simple site provides an interactive story of "Faithful John." You may read the story in text or interactive (Flash) format. Although there is a link for a game, this site was under construction at the time of this review. The interactive (Flash) story provides audio, so even early readers and ESL or ELL students can participate in reading the story (with headsets, of course). The audio can be turned OFF. The story includes some animated pictures. Follow the arrows to go to the next page. There are also Play and Stop buttons.

Be aware that this site does include some advertisements. The site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom:
Share this fairy tale on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Turn down the volume (or turn it off), and have students take turns reading the pages to the class. Challenge your students to write new endings for the story. Use the story to teach students about plot, characters, conflict, setting, and other key elements in a story. Create a story map on your interactive whiteboard, pausing to switch between the interactive version and your story map as the story plays aloud!

Real Princess Grade K to 3 - Kidoons- 9545

This simple site provides an interactive story of the "Real Princess." You may read the interactive story or play a simple game (the game is fun, but not educational). The story provides audio, so even early readers and ESL or ELL students can participate in reading the story (with headsets, of course). All of the text is written and available in audio, for both your visual and auditory learners. The audio can be turned OFF. The story includes some animated pictures.

Be aware that this site does include some appropriate advertisements. To avoid seeing the advertisements, you may click Full Screen to view the story. The site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom:
Share this story on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Turn down the volume, and have students take turns reading the pages to the class. Challenge your students to write a new ending for the story. Create a story map on your interactive whiteboard, pausing to switch between the interactive version and your story map as the story plays aloud!

Little Red Riding Hood Grade K to 3 - Kidoons Network- 9409

This interactive site provides the story of the "Little Red Riding Hood." You may read the story or play a simple game (the game is fun, dress-up, but not necessarily educational). This is a text-only story, so no audio is provided. The story does include some entertaining pictures.

Be aware that this site does include some appropriate advertisements. Some of the activities at this site require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom:
Share this online fairy tale on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have your students take turns reading the pages to the class. Challenge your students to write a new ending for the story. Create a story map on your interactive whiteboard, pausing to switch between the interactive version and your story map as the story plays aloud!

Human Biology Grade 2 to 8 - kidsknowitnetwork- 9390

Explore the human body through images and text. Click on a part of the human body to get information about its purpose and function. Or click on a body system: circulatory, respiratory, etc. Vivid illustrations provide an inside look at parts of most body systems in the, although the reproductive system is excluded. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom:
Use this site when introducing body systems and functions. Use this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. If you prefer, have students work with a partner to explore the “systems.” Weaker readers will need a stronger partner to help with some text. Then have students create their own explanations of body systems and functions using a multimedia tool such as PowerPoint or your interactive whiteboard. Save this site in your favorites, so you (and your students) can visit often.

Build A Neighborhood Grade K to 3 - PBS Kids- 9370

This interactive site challenges students to create a neighborhood. The site provides a brief explanation about neighborhoods. Students can choose to create a neighborhood using a farm, a house, a construction site, or a castle. This site is part of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" and emphasizes that everyone and every community is special and unique. Students are provided with several pictures to "drag and drop" onto the scene. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Use this website during your social studies unit on communities. Demonstrate how to use this tool on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students work in small groups to create their own neighborhoods (or individual computers, if they are available). Have students (or groups) share their neighborhoods with the class. Turn this into a language arts lesson by having students write a story about their neighborhood. If you have Google Earth available, show your “real” neighborhoods on a projector or interactive whiteboard and compare with the newly-created ones your students invented.

Picasso - Maryland Electronic Fieldtrips Grade 3 to 12 - Thinkport- 9296

If you are teaching your students about Picasso, visit this website for some new ideas. This site focuses on the years of 1892-1906. There are links to learn more about point of view, reflection, focus, and more. The site includes a timeline of Picasso's life. Teachers, be sure to visit the "for educators" link to find math, social studies, and language arts activities to coincide with teaching about this amazing artist. Several of the paintings allow you to zoom in on certain features of the painting. Be aware, at the time of this review, the forums were closed to additional comments.

In the Classroom:
Start out at the "for educators" link for some great ideas to create an interdisciplinary lesson using Picasso in art, social studies, language arts, or math class. Use this site for research projects. In art class, use your interactive whiteboard or projector to show students an up close look at several of Picasso's paintings. Analyze and notate the paintings’ composition using the whiteboard tools!

Buggy Alphabetics Grade 1 to 3 - Cynthia Reeg- 9259

Children's author Cynthia Reeg offers a poem whose lines follow alphabetical order. The first word of the first line begins with "a," the next with "b," and so on. Imaginative illustrations change as the student clicks on the forward button to see the next lines.

In the Classroom:
Use this poem to introduce your children to writing poetry by sharing the poem on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Students studying alphabetical order will also be intrigued by writing within restrictions of this order. Work together on your interactive whiteboard or projector. To begin, ask your students to think of a similar word that begins with the same letter, and change just one line. When they get the idea, give them a series of 6 - 8 letters and ask them to write their own list of adjectives or lines of poetry. Work as a class or have them work in groups to complete a poem using the entire alphabet. ESL and ELL students will enjoy looking for new words t to express their ideas in the poems.

Batter's Up Baseball Grade 1 to 6 - Prongo.com- 9203

This website offers a Flash-enhanced math game built on a baseball theme. The problems (addition or multiplication) presented vary widely in difficulty, so the game could be used across several grades or with students of varying ability. Students have the option of choosing single digit questions, double digit questions, or a home run (difficult question). This website requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Demonstrate this colorful website on an interactive whiteboard or projection screen. Then have students work on individual computers at their current math level. Use this website for review before an addition or multiplication quiz on single or double digits. If individual computer are not available, use your interactive whiteboard or projection screen and play a class game of "around the world" with the math questions.

Interactives: Elements of a Story Grade 1 to 5 - Annenberg Media- 9110

“A good story is like tasty soup.” This website shares the secrets of creating a good story. They use the motivating story of Cinderella to share the elements of a good story: Setting, Characters, Sequence, Exposition, Conflict, Climax, and Resolution . After reading the story and learning about the important elements, students are challenged to create a story of their own. This website requires FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
What a motivating writing resource! Use your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to share this animated story of Cinderella. Continue the group activity by sharing the various elements of a good story. Ask your students to provide examples of other stories that offer great settings, characters, sequence, and other elements of a good story. Then brainstorm as a class a list of 4-5 ideas for each of the elements. Have a competent student (or yourself) type the ideas into a document on a projector or write on the interactive whiteboard. Display the brainstorming lists of ideas for students to use to create their own stories. Or drag the possibilities into different combinations on the whiteboard. Allow the students to "think outside the box" and use ideas other than those listed on the screen.

New York Times Learning Network Grade 3 to 12 - New York Times- 9085

Latest news for students, lesson plans for teachers, conversation starters for parents — this free site is loaded. When at the home page, click on the option button at the top to take a tour of The Learning Network . Students, teachers, and parents will appreciate the kid-friendly learning that awaits them. This website also features a TON of lesson plans (with national standards). From crossword puzzles to expanding their vocabulary, this interactive newspaper is definitely not a snoozer.

Note: While most of the news is national, NY area news is featured a bit more than others states, with good reason. Some of the activities require Flash or Java. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Teachers, set Today's News Summaries as the default homepage on your classroom computers, and watch your class gain knowledge of what is happening in this world. Use your interactive whiteboard or projection screen, and quiz your class on the five news questions to find out who is news-savvy. Highlight "clue" words from the stories on your interactive whiteboard. Take advantage of the many free lesson plans in various subject areas. Why not make the online crossword puzzle a learning center?

English literature: Lord of the Flies Grade 9 to 12 - BBC- 8989

This site gives us context, plot, characters, themes, and a model essay question and answer for the novel Lord of the Flies . While the context is quite short (Golding's biography is all of 4 sentences!), it gives insight into some of the meaning that Golding himself took from war and his own time as a teacher. The brief plot summaries are just enough to remind students of what each chapter is about-- all the detail is in the novel. Characters and themes are presented with interactive questions and self-quizzes that students can use to review or quiz themselves. One language note: to "revise" material in the UK is the same as to "review" it in the U.S. One "revises" before a test.

In the Classroom:
This is a great supplementary site for pre-reading or for reviewing. An especially nice extra is the inclusion of a sample essay question and answer. It sets up the question to be answered in a five-paragraph theme and offers possible topic sentences as an outline for writing that theme. Using the sample on a projector or interactive whiteboard is a good way to help students learn how to structure their own essay answers. Have students share and critique essays on the projector or interactive whiteboard.

ID-Fit Grade 3 to 8 - sciencemuseum- 8828

This intriguing forensic website challenges students to recreate a suspect's face. Students must analyze the features of an unfocused picture and determine the hair, eyes, nose and mouth of the suspect. There are detailed directions provided at the beginning of the activity. What an exciting way to teach your students about forensics and the systematic approach that drives all science! Incorporate this website in a unit about mysteries, forensics, or observation. Art teachers can use this site on an interactive whiteboard to help develop students' "eye" for facial structures. Language Arts teachers can inspire descriptive writing and characterization using these faces as students begin to notice and "show" what they see in their own descriptive words. This site requires FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Get your interactive whiteboard ready, turn up the volume - and turn your classroom into a detective lab, art studio, or writer's workshop!

ARKive Education Multi-Media Educational Resources Grade K to 12 - ARKive- 8726

This website provides numerous multi-media educational resources (ready to use modules) in science, geography, and other subject areas. Some of the challenging topics include classifying species, habitats, endangered species, plant life cycles, food chains and webs, ecosystems, survival, and numerous others. This website was created in the UK, so you may notice some spelling differences.

Permission is granted to download, so kids and teachers can embed the videos into their own products, such as PowerPoint presentations, interactive whiteboard flipcharts or notebooks, or Google Earth files. However, teachers may NOT incorporate these as part of online presentations, such as their own web sites, though they CAN link to them. The website's stated terms of use are, "Extracts of part of the website or compilations of extracts can be made for the internal educational purposes of any authorised educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the material is maintained and copyright ownership acknowledged".

In the Classroom:
These science and geography modules are ready to go and perfect presentations for an interactive whiteboard or projector. Students will be extremely motivated by the unique videos and activities.

Be aware that-- even on a fast connection - some of these files are very large and will take a few minutes to download. READ the download directions. If your school computers are set to prohibit downloads, you may want to download the files at home and bring them in on a USB "stick". Some are PowerPoint shows, and others include pdf files for printables. The video clips require Windows Media Player. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

Rubrics and Rubric Makers Grade K to 12 - TeAchnology- 8602

This online tool provides teachers with a multitude of "ready to personalize" rubrics. Teachers simply fill in their name, school name, and the name of the project - and a personalized rubric appears. You may think that sounds too "generic", but there is more. The broad topics include basic reading skills, behavior, class participation, handwriting, lap reports, maps, oral expression, persuasive writing, science projects, and many more! There is also a feature to create your own rubrics from scratch (you personalize and customize the entire document). The website does have additional features for a fee, but the use of the rubrics is free!

In the Classroom:
Use this online tool to create original rubrics before introcuding a new project. Be sure to review the rubric with your students on a projector or interactive whiteboard, to be certain that they understand your expectations. As you approach project deadlines, consider collaboratively "evaluating" a sample project with students by displaying the rubric on an interactive whiteboard and marking/highlighting the rubric using the pens.

Writing Prompts and Scoring Guides Grade K to 8 - Bakersfield City School District- 8600

Are you looking for some new writing prompts for your class? This website provides writing prompts for grades K-8 and includes narrative writing, expository writing, persuasive writing, observational writing, writing about events, writing a friendly letter, writing a thank you note, writing informational reports, writing responses to literature, writing technical documents, writing a character analysis, and many other forms of writing. The best part is that there are rubrics provided with each prompt. The rubrics offer explicit details for students and an excellent assessment tool for teachers.

In the Classroom:
Use the writing prompts (and rubrics) to simplify your lesson planning and grading. Model responding to a prompt on an interactive whiteboard. Then have the students "revise" your draft on the whiteboard and assess it according to the rubric so they can see how the process works. SAVE the various steps of this process in your whiteboard software as a "flip chart" or "notebook" so students can view it again later to reinforce writing process steps. Print some step-by-step examples out for a "Writing Center" bulletin board.

Plants - Life Processes Grade 1 to 6 - Birmingham Grid for Learning- 8454

This website includes comprehensive information on the life cycle of plants from the basic requirements and parts of a healthy plant to plant identification. The site is British so the plants identified are mostly native to Britain. Prior knowledge will be needed to complete some sections. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
This site is ideal for an interactive whiteboard. Have the students open the site and use the whiteboard tools to assemble and label the parts of a flower.

Word Games Grade 2 to 12 - east of the web- 8426

This interactive website provides hours of mind stretching fun. The mind challenges include cryptoquote, popword, eight letters, define time, storyman, wordsearch, and codeword. Some of these challenges are perfect for spelling practice, learning new vocabulary, problem solving and basic math practice. Each activity provides instructions for the user to explain the purpose of the activity. Many of the activities also have various difficulty levels to differentiate the activity for a variety of learning levels. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
This website is "interactive whiteboard ready." Students will love these mind stretching challenges and teachers will love the easy-to-use format of the activities. Put a game up on the whiteboard as students are taking their seats to focus attention and minds on WORDS before you start class. ESL teachers may find these games will help students practice language skills more readily. If you don't have time to utilize this challenge in class, provide the link in your class's newsletter or on your teacher web page.

Schoolhouse Rock! Grade K to 6 - Schoolhouse Rock- 8420

You will want to put on your dancing shoes as you listen to lively songs teaching grammar, multiplication, America, and science. While this site promotes their Schoolhouse Rock! brand of merchandise, they give educators free access to most of their songs. Click quickly past the commercial content by choosing one of the links to "America Rock," "Grammar Rock," etc. just below the title. The cool advantage to listening to the songs on the website is that the songs are written out for a possible karaoke sing-a-long as you learn! The songs fit easily into your existing units of study. They provide ESL teachers another venue to learning English, as students sing their way through learning our language. You will need QuickTime plug-in for the audio files. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Math, science, social studies and English teachers should mark this site as a Favorite for those days when students are snoring their way through learning or to share on their teacher web page for students to review outside of class. You will need to open another window in order to play the music and read the words at the same time (Right-click on the song link and choose "open in new window"). You may also cut and paste the song's words onto a song sheet for the students to hold as they sing-a-long or simply project them on a screen or interactive whiteboard. Students may underline key vocabulary words on that song sheet or the whiteboard for future study.

Biscayne National Park Grade 4 to 8 - eFieldTrips- 8004

This virtual fieldtrip takes students on an underwater adventure to the Biscayne National Park. The field trip has three distinct parts. The first part is the journal, which is presented to the students first (and requires Adobe). The journal provides numerous questions for students to search for the answers while they visit their destinations, plus a web to fill in missing terms. Part two is the virtual journey itself (which requires FLASH). There are many interactive activities within the "journey". Part three is "ask the experts" which provides past questions and answers. This is a very well done website and extremely useful if your class is studying the ocean, coral reefs or other marine biology topics.

In the Classroom:
Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to take your students on a virtual journey to Biscayne National Park. Be sure to print out the journal questions first to help your students focus on the content. The graphic organizer in the journal would work well as an interactive whiteboard summary activity.

Kerpoof Grade K to 4 - Kerpoof.com- 7759

Kerpoof is a site designed to inspire creativity among children as they interact with the pictures. They can select a scene and add items to the scene and/or adjust object sizes . The scenes are richly varied, containing fantasy as well as international items. The site promises to change often. You can also find coloring sheets to print and color. You and your students can customize your own scenes, if you join (see classroom use tips). Editor's note: in spring, 2007, this site became rather sluggish in opening. We suspect it has gained popularity, and the multiple users are slowing it down.

In the Classroom:
Use these online "scenes" for students to create their own writing prompts. Let students choose (you might want to limited their options to save time)and work individually or create a scene for the whole class on an interactive whiteboard. Then print it out and ask students to tell the story or write the paragraph about the scene. Special ed teachers and speech/language clinicians can use Kerpoof to prompt vocabulary development. Incorporate social studies and science curriculum topics by describing scenes with community workers, careers, farm animals, and more. NO reading required except to select print, save, etc.

If you "join" as a teacher, you can save the scenes your class creates and revisit them at a later date. Do NOT allow students to join unless you have parent permission. The information requested is very safe, but it would be simpler to use a whole-class account.

SMARTboard Two-Minute Tutorials Grade K to 12 - SMARTtech- 7649

Try these two-minute tutorials to learn how to use your SMARTboard interactive whiteboard. Take the time to learn specifically about the SMART Notebook software. This will provide you with the most power in using your SMARTboard. These tutorials are provided by the SMARTboard brand manufacturer and much of the information applies only to SMART brand boards.

Shoemaker and the Elves Grade K to 3 - Kidoons- 7364

This interactive site provides the story of the "Shoemaker and the Elves." You may read the story or play several games (not all games relate to the story and some are more for fun than education). This is a text-only story, so no audio is provided. The story does include some entertaining pictures.

Be aware that this site does include some appropriate advertisements. Some of the activities at this site require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom:
Share this story on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have your students take turns reading the pages to the class. Challenge your students to write new endings for the story. Use the story to teach students about plot, characters, conflict, setting, and other key elements in a story. Create a story map on your interactive whiteboard, pausing to switch between the interactive version and your story map as the story plays aloud!

Flash Earth Grade K to 12 - - 7354

You may be familiar with Google Earth but may not have the ability to install their free software on your computer, either because you are not permitted to or because your computer is not powerful enough to handle it. Try Flash Earth for a simpler tool to explore the earth as you teach geography to any age from kindergarten to seniors. Perhaps you just want to quickly show which way the Conestoga wagons crossed the U.S., or maybe to show where in the world a current events story is taking place. This simple tool, on a projector or interactive whiteboard, is just the trick. Note: You MUST have FLASH on your computer.

In the Classroom:
Use a projector or whiteboard to share a location as art of the background knowledge for a lesson. Be sure to add this link to your teacher web page as a reference tool, as well. Be aware that some world locations have much "fuzzier" satellite images than others. Always preview before your lesson to be sure you can show the features you want students to see. Show elementary students where their "neighborhood" is, perhaps even their streets!

Brementown Musicians Grade K to 3 - Kidoons- 7339

This simple site provides an interactive story of the "Brementown Musicians." You may read the story in text or interactive (Flash) format, or play a simple game (the game is a memory/logic activity). The interactive (Flash) story provides audio, so even early readers and ESL or ELL students can participate in reading the story (with headsets, of course). The audio can be turned OFF. The story includes some animated pictures. Follow the arrows to go to the next page.

Be aware that this site does include some appropriate advertisements. The site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

Dr. Saul's Biology in Motion Grade 8 to 12 - Leif Saul- 7267

Try these outstanding, highly-visual online activities, quizzes, and demonstrations to teach and reinforce biology concepts, including: classification, mitosis and meiosis, how enzymes work, selection/mutation/evolution, and multiple physiological processes. Your students will love the animation, created by a college professor/game developer.

In the Classroom:
Several of these interactives would be terrific on an interactive whiteboard or projector. The quizzes would be a great way to review on the whiteboard before a test.

Simple Scales - Teddy Bears Grade K to 2 - Crick Web- 7173

This "simple scale" activity asks the students to weigh teddy bears. This activity would work best as a class activity using an interactive whiteboard. FLASH is required for this site. If you see a blank screen, download the Flash plugin from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom:
Try using this open-ended activity to reinforce simple addition or subtraction. Don't forget the an interactive whiteboard ormake it available on your classroom computer as a center.

Materials 1 Grade K to 4 - Crick Web- 7145

This site has three parts (students move onto the next part by clicking "next"). The first activity challenges students to "click and drag" words to their appropriate label spot on a picture. The materials include glass, brick, tile, paper, plastic, wool, wood and metal. The second activity is a table that asks students to "drop" the correct word or picture onto the corresponding spot on the table. The topics on the table include the material name, picture example and property. The final activity is a writing challenge. Students are presented with two pictures. The students must answer three questions about the pictures. To type on the page, students simply click their mouse to where they want to insert their answers. Once students are finished with this activity, they may click to print. This site requires FLASH.

In the Classroom:
Try an interactive whiteboard for the first two activities. If you choose to make the final activity a class activity, project the questions onto a screen or whiteboard and challenge the students to answer the three questions independently. Used as a simple drag and drop, this site can help with vocabulary development for children with speech/language deficits.

Compound Words Grade 2 to 4 - Crick Web- 7115

This simple (yet useful) site asks the students to create compound words by "clicking and dragging" parts of the words to make the new compound words. You may notice 2 unusually-spelled words on this page - challenge your students to find these words. Use this opportunity to explain that "color" is "colour" in the United Kingdom. This site requires FLASH.

In the Classroom:
This site is ideal for an interactive whiteboard. After you complete the ready-made activity, challenge your class to create their own compound options by writing on the interactive whiteboard, creating more "pieces" to build compound words the class thinks of by brainstorming. Drag and drop them to form more new words! Note: this site is in the UK and can sometimes be slow opening when their schools are using it heavily. U.S. teachers might want to use it after 10 am to avoid this problem.

Sticky Numbers Grade K to 7 - Crick Web- 7072

This interactive tool allows the user to click and drag tiles. The tiles have numbers, operations and symbols on them. The user can make up any type of problem or equation and then use the calculator tool to check their answer. The Help section gives some suggestions. Symbols available include parentheses, greater than, less than, decimal, percent, and four operations. There are no superscripts or fraction symbols. This activity would work best as a group activity and requires Flash.

In the Classroom:
Use an interactive whiteboard to help your students make up equations. Utilize the onscreen calculator to check the answers. Students could play challenge games with partners at laptops or lab computers. Learning support students can use this as a whiteboard or on-screen manipulative to master any concept.

Math Teacher's Toolkit Grade K to 5 - Crick Web- 7070

This web page provides elementary teachers with numerous interactive tools to use in their mathematic lessons. Counters, calculators, number lines and more are included in this useful site. Think of it as a complete electronic manipulative library. Flash is required for some of the activities. REQUIRES FLASH and can get pretty busy at times, slowing it down.

In the Classroom:
These activities give you everything you need to do math on an interactive whiteboard for elementary grades. What a resource! If you have no whiteboard, use a projector alone or use some tools as a center.

Double Function Grade 3 to 6 - Crick Web- 7038

This simple web activity allows students to practice two operation mathematical problems. This web site allows students to pick the numbers (positive and negative integers) and the machine will give the solution. Or you can show the solution and ask them to work backwards, simply by hiding the numbers. This is a very basic activity, but would make a good introduction to how two-operation math problems work. This site requires Flash.

In the Classroom:
Use an interactive whiteboard for this simple activity to introduce two operation mathematical problems or negative integers. The possibilities are endless as students manipulate the options on their computer or on the whiteboard. If you see a blank screen, download the Flash plugin from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

Texas Instruments Virtual Conferences Grade 7 to 12 - Texas Instruments- 6679

Can't attend a workshop on the latest in interactive whiteboard, calculators, and other technology in Math? Watch the videos! This site look like nothing but a bunch of links, but they open the videos from the conference you missed in Feb, 2006: the Denver TI3 conference with Texas Instruments. The site includes the handouts for classroom use. Click on the links to "Play Window Media Player Content" - if you have a high-speed connection. Give yourself a professional break. Requires Windows Media Player plug-in.

Story Maker Grade 3 to 5 - Magnetic Poetry, Inc.- 5773

Use this virtual magnetic poetry activity as another tool in your arsenal of motivators for creative writing. The collection of vocabulary and phrases would work best with upper elementary classes, but younger students with strong language skills could have a lot of fun with this one.

In the Classroom:
This one is terrific as a center or on your interactive whiteboard. If you know how to "take a picture" of your whiteboard screen, you can save it or print it out for a student to use as a visual prompt for "the rest of the story" as he/she writes. Think of it as a new way of pre-writing.

Mike's Math Club Grade K to 7 - Milken Family Foundation- 3222

This website presents math activities in a clever format. Although this math link is mainly PDF files that are printable, many of the activities could be projected on a screen or interactive whiteboard while students work independently at their seats. This website offers "ready to print," motivating practice pages in vibrant color. Activities are also available in Spanish. Topics include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, algebra, coding, puzzles, fractions, factors, and many more. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Project the activity on an interactive whiteboard or projector while students work independently (or in pairs) at their seats. There is also a Teachers Corner with many lesson ideas - check it out!

PuzzleMaker Grade 1 to 9 - Discovery- 118

Here's every parent or teacher's dream: a site that helps you make your own puzzles, word games, and math puzzlers. There is a selection of almost a dozen different formats, each of which can be customized to meet your specific needs. Choose the puzzle type you want from the drop-down menu.

In the Classroom:
Create your puzzles by following the simple directions. These can not only be used in print form. You can also creat them on-screen for use on an interactive whiteboard (students highlight the answers in different colors). If you have kinesthetic learners or those with weak fine motor skills who have trouble with pencils, the whiteboard is a real help.

Fridge Magnets Grade K to 12 - xmleducation.co.uk- 9043

The wonderful world of word exploration, sentences, and vocabulary development has never been more fun or creative. Use this tool to create an endless number of words or terms that look just like word magnets that we have covering our own refrigerators. Just key in or cut and paste your text into the box. Click next, and you have just created a magnet for each word. Drag the words around the screen for endless possibilities. Change the color and font size of each word for customization. Teachers who have been painstakingly creating their own activites for their interactive whiteboards will love this instant way to create activities from any text. You cannot save your activity on the web site, but you CAN copy paste from any saved document in a moment to re-create the activity. Simply copy/paste it into the text box on Fridge Magnets when you want to "scramble" it and use it in class. The only thing this will not do is save any color changes you have made to selected words. Have the students make the color changes as part of the activity. The students can even do the copy/paste themselves. This site requires FLASH. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
Explore endless possibilities for classroom use. With individual laptops, students can type their vocabulary words for categorizing. Check prior knowledge of a subject, by creating words or phrases, then sorting them into logical units. Make a K-W-L chart using these Fridge Magnets on your interactive whiteboard (or projector). Create a matching game on your interactive whiteboard/projector. Sort high school vocabulary terms by connotation or sequence steps in a scientific process using "magnet" terms. Use color coding to help students understand parts of speech and their “roles” in sentences. Since words can be dragged and placed on top of other words, teaching grammar skills and editing of writing pieces will be a breeze now.

KiddoNet Alphabet Grade K to 1 - KiddoNet (Girls Sense)- 8670

Imagine motionless alphabet posters with corresponding phonetic pictures. Now imagine this site: alphabet letters in vibrant colors awaiting a click from a mouse, with an array of plain black and white pictures that pop into full color and motion if it is the correct corresponding letter. Voices of children say each picture's name as a hint to help the student make the wise click. When the pictures come to life in full-color, it's the electronic version of giving a student a brightly-colored sticker for making a wise choice.

In the Classroom:
Early childhood and primary reading teachers with whiteboards will appreciate the options this site offers (turn up the speakers). Navigate the site together, then have your class make their own quick drawings of pictures for each alphabet letter on the whiteboard. You may want to assign one letter per student, then print and assemble the quick draw pages into a book. The site would also be an excellent center with headphones.

Count and Order Grade K to 1 - WMnet- 8446

This interactive number challenge is sure to excite your students. The math skills covered include counting and putting numbers 1 to 6 in the correct order. The games can all be repeated again because new numbers are randomly generated. The entire activity requires Flash, get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

In the Classroom:
This activity screams - Interactive Whiteboard! Get your whiteboard ready and be prepared for motivated students who can't wait for math class. If you have some struggling students who are still weak with one-to-one correspondence, this site is a great "center" for them.

Queeky Grade 2 to 12 - Philipp Hennermann- 9692

TeachersFirst Edge Entry: For slightly adventurous technology users. This online drawing tools provides typical digital drawing tools to generate vector-based drawings as sophisticated as you wish to make them. Vector-based drawings use actual curves, not the pixellated little boxes that so many paint simple programs create. Queeky also hosts a community of very accomplished digital artists to learn from, even if you never lift an electronic pencil. The site allows users to draw, collaborate on a shared drawing in what they describe as "near-real time," watch a drawing played back to see how it was done, and even start from one drawing to create a new version("variate"). You have complete control of transparency, line thickness, colors (within a web palette), and much, much more. If yo press "u" while drawing, you can upload an image to include in your drawing. If you are fortunate enough to have a graphics drawing tablet, using the drawing tools will be even easier! There is a full screen option to use while drawing or playing back, as well. The site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

The TeachersFirst team also found that the site wanted to install a Microsoft add-on called "MSXML 5.0" from Microsoft, but tested the site without the add-on in an effort to duplicate the limitations most school computers have on downloads. The site features worked without it, as far as the team could tell. Teachers will certainly want to pre-test this tool on school computers, anyway, since it is powerful enough to use the Internet connection heavily at times.

In the Classroom:
Skills needed: To view and share drawings on a projector or interactive whiteboard with you class, you do not need to join. You can even draw and play back a drawing without saving. For full features, join the site (free). Membership requires an email address. The confirmation email is slow to arrive, so join a day or so ahead of time. We suspect that the Germany-based site has real humans checking memberships on Germany time! While you wait, you can experiment with the drawing tools or learn about them by visiting the gallery and "playing" some drawings to see how some of the tools can be set to create truly artistic images. Be sure to experiment with the tools together with your students. There is an undo tools--very important as you start out. There are no demonstration videos or help screens, so you may learn best by doing or watching what others have done. There is a forum where users discuss tools, etc. Preview before sending students here, but the advice may be very helpful. You will also want to try uploading an image (press U on your keyboard while on a drawing screen). You will need to know where the image file is saved on your computer.

Safety concerns: This is a public site, so. even though the Terms of Use prohibit obscene drawings, teachers will want to preview Galleries they plan to use and have a specific policy in place for students who navigate the site on their own. The public can see any artwork you create and view your profile, so students should have parent permission before creating any online artwork of their own and should maintain an anonymous identity on the site. This site allows outsiders to comment on your projects. Many school policies prohibit such interaction, so be sure to check your school policy. You will want to discuss these features in the context of Internet Safety or establish specific written class rules and consequences for interacting with outsiders. This is a good opportunity to discuss netiquette and how to participate positively and safely in online communities. Consider using a whole-class account so you can monitor activity. Students could name their works using a coded initial system so you would know who created what.

If you want to set up individual student accounts, first check your school policies about accessing/sharing student email on school computers. You may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to use these for any online tool.

Possible Uses: Art teachers will love th chance to tech about design elements in a public, hands-on environment. Assign students to use only certain tools or to "variate" on a starter drawing you provide to demonstrate both creativity and mastery of the elements. Students using the tool from home could generate an actual portfolio of drawings without expending precious art materials. Have students ) or groups_ create collections or locate artworks i the galleries that demonstrate the design elements or techniques you want them to notice. Without joining the site, play selected drawings on a projector or interactive whiteboard and have students narrate what they see the artist doing. Assign students to "variate" or annotate on an image from he gallery or one you upload. Teachers in other subjects may want to share this tool as a way to create visual explanations of science processes, book covers for literature (with explanations for the design choices, of course), visual responses to poetry, graphics or logos for "companies" they create in econ class, etc. The animated playbacks of drawings could even show how to form letters in manuscript or do calligraphy (if you can do it without making a mistake!)

Persuasive Writing, Speaking, & Activities Grade 7 to 12 - Kathleen Prody and Jean O'Connor - 9633

Created in 2001, this website has links that are no longer active. However, enough links are active (including the key explanations), that this site is worth a look. The key information regarding what constitutes argumentative debate vs. simple reporting is valuable and includes the classic breakdown of logos, ethos, and pathos for higher level students to consider. The R.A.F.T. examples given are good for teachers to use as well as some sample prompts from the 2001 ACT. Sample links plus one to Paradigm online writing lab make this a worthwhile site.

In the Classroom:
This site would best be used by a teacher working with students on an interactive whiteboard or projector to review key elements of persuasive writing. The inactive links might prove frustrating for students, but you can check them ahead of time. Once students know which links are active, you can use them to assign students various aspects of rhetorical debate and create argumentative theses based on each appeal. Share some of these resources on your teacher web page as you engage students in a real world task such as writing to persuade local politicians on a hot issue.

Earth Pulse: Our Relationship with Nature Grade 4 to 12 - National Geographic- 9625

Use this site to investigate ecosystems and their value to humans, biomes, and conservation issues, all using these interactive maps. Focus in on special areas of biodiversity concern. View additional maps and trends towards the bottom of the page. Review topics such as Connections and Resources, Human Impact Trends, Food and Water Trends, and others. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom:
Biodiversity and human population issues are large problems that are interwoven with many complexities. Begin by showing some of the visual information on this site on your projector or whiteboard to instigate excitement and concern among your students. Then divide students into groups to research and present issues affecting specific biomes, then debate as world groups. Additionally, groups can research particular issues to determine causes and possible remedies for the future. Have students create videos to share their research findings using YouTube or TeacherTube (explained here). Share the videos on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Or have them create a convincing presentation to share with policy makers on environmental topics.

Geni - Everyone's Related Grade 4 to 12 - - 9613

Teachers First Edge Entry: for slightly adventurous technology users. This tool allows you to create an interactive family tree. Once you are registered, you can easily create a family tree. You are able to include family member's birth-dates, death-dates, email addresses, pictures, video clips, and more. This site also has the capacity to create timelines for births, deaths, weddings, divorces, education, occupation, and other important events and information. The family tree and some of the other activities require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom:
Skills Needed: this site is fairly simple to use. Join the site (free) and log in. Registration requires an email address. Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.

Navigation of the site is simple. Click on Tree to start your family tree (or Timeline to use that free resource. For the family tree, arrows are provided to add family members. The arrows pointing up indicate a parent, arrows to the left or right are used to add a wife/husband or brother/sister, and arrows pointing down are used to add a son or daughter.

Safety/Security Concerns: This site allows users to set-up their family tree or timeline as PRIVATE. It allows you to control who can and can't view your profile, family tree, and other information. For more information about this feature, visit the Settings link (on the top right corner). Before you plan your family tree project, be sure to get parental permission.

Possible Uses: Use this site to create family tree projects in elementary or middle school classes. Have high school students create family trees as part of an immigration unit studying patterns in social studies classes. In science class, have students create fictitious "people" as they study genetics. With younger students, create a class timeline sharing important dates for individuals (i.e. birthdays) and class dates (field trips, tests, or other special events). Have students share their family trees on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Be sure to "advertise" this project on your class website (and newsletter, if applicable) so students have time to gather names, birthdates, and other information about family members. In world language classes, have student create a family tree using the correct vocabulary for relatives and talk about it as they share it on the interactive whiteboard. When researching famous people, reading biographies, or even reading literature have students create a family tree illustrating their discoveries about their famous person, writer, artist, musician, explorer, literary character, etc.

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