Digital Inquiry Group: Reading Like a Historian

WEBSITE ↬ Digital Inquiry Group: Reading Like a Historian

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers

CONTENT ↬ History, ELA

GRADE LEVELS ↬ all grades

I cannot tell you how I connected with this website, but am I glad I did! Wow!!! I had a conversation with a SS teacher in my school about teaching her students to read historical material and help them make sense of it and the very next day, I received an email highlighting this activity. (Ironic?) This site works on that very skill! I really wish I had this when I was teaching history! Amazing! The two big sections are US History and World History, and then you can dig in by era. 

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using this to teach students how to better read historical material. It will also allow teachers to introduce students to historical material and provide a better understanding of events of the past. This is a bookmark for sure!!! 

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A Soft Murmur

WEBSITE ↬ A Soft Murmur

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers

CONTENT ↬ all

GRADE LEVELS ↬ all grades

Ok. At first, I kind of did an eye roll when I came across this website. Then I started playing with the ambient noises and I realized how helpful it can be. I cranked up the chirping birds along with some waves and took a deep breath. Ahhhh, relaxing. Which is your favorite? 

You can set a timer so the sounds turn off. And you might miss it at first, but there is a little squiggle line to the left of the play button. It is the "meander" function which will randomly change the volumes of various sounds.  

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using this as background noise for their classroom. I know there is a place for silence and a place for noise. Sometimes our students need help regulating this. I think this site can help - possibly on their own, possibly for the entire class.

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Seterra - The Ultimate Map Quiz Site

WEBSITE ↬ Seterra - The Ultimate Map Quiz Site

AUDIENCE ↬ students

CONTENT ↬ history, geography

GRADE LEVELS ↬ 4-12

I am going to give the credit for this resource to my 7th grade daughter. She was recently telling me how she had to learn all the African countries and she showed me how she was studying for her test. Wow! There are so many different collections for students to study - maps, countries, capitals, bodies of water, and many more!  

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using this for students to learn countries, capitals, flags and more. One link for all of the games! 

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Peer Feedback: Making It Meaningful

WEBSITE ↬ Peer Feedback: Making It Meaningful

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers

CONTENT ↬ all

GRADE LEVELS ↬ aimed at grades 3 & up; modification might work for younger students

Feedback is important for both the creator and those giving the feedback. I've realized in recent years, honest & real peer feedback can go much further than teacher feedback. I am incorporating more peer feedback in various ways in my own classroom this year and really appreciate Catlin's choice board. I believe most students struggle to frame the feedback in an appropriate way - they don't want to be mean or they simply don't know how to take their thoughts and frame it in a way to make it valuable to their peer. Catlin's choice board can really help with both.

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using this across all content areas and for a variety of activities. I recently had my students complete a project and they had to provide feedback for each other. Comparing this choice board to the feedback form I had, this one wins, hands down! Since it's shared via a Google Doc, you can easily tweak it to best fit you and your students.

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US Mint Coin Classroom

WEBSITE ↬ US Mint Coin Classroom

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers & students

CONTENT ↬ coins / math

GRADE LEVELS ↬ K-6

Oh my goodness! How fun is this website?! I just played the "Counting with Coins" game on this site and, while it's geared for elementary students, I enjoyed identifying & sorting the coins. I KNOW your students will enjoy this game and the others. And it's created and supported by the US Mint, so you know you can trust it. No ads, either, so give your students the website and let them get to work learning and practicing coins.

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using this in their math classrooms to reinforce students' identification, counting, and adding up of coins. There are 17 games available (as of this publishing) and when you hover over each tile, you are given guidance for the grade level the game is geared toward. 

And if you have a way to share with parents, this might be a really good site to share. After all, if parents are going to give their kiddos time to play games, why not suggest this as an option?

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Media Smarts: Educational Games

WEBSITE ↬ Media Smarts: Educational Games

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers & admins

CONTENT ↬ all

GRADE LEVELS ↬ all grades

I am always on the lookout for resources to help me teach digital citizenship in my classroom. This one is created and supported by the Canadian government. I'm directing you to the games portion of this site, but make sure you check out the rest of the site for additional resources beyond the games. It might also be something you want to share with your parents, too. 

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers find several games and activities to help reinforce learning about being a responsible digital citizen. 

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Number Hive

WEBSITE ↬ Number Hive

AUDIENCE ↬ teachers & students

CONTENT ↬ math

GRADE LEVELS ↬ 3 & up

I'm impressed! 100% a game format, Number Hive is going to appeal to your students. And it will 100% force your students to think about math and apply math. It's focus is on number relationships, number operations and multiplication facts. 

If you teach math, you will definitely want to check this out ... if for no other reason than the free printables where you can try it out for free.

HOW CAN TEACHERS USE THIS RESOURCE?

I can see teachers using this exactly how it's presented - whole class, individual students, as homework, as a game, digitally or print. So many options and depending on your budget, you could gain insights with their analytics. 

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