Forvo - Any Word, Pronounced

Forvo is a site that bills itself as "Any word in the world, Pronounced!"  When I first started navigating the site, I instantly realized what a fantastic tool it would be for your English Language ELL and English as a Second Language ESL Learners.  The site is simple, you enter any word in the search box and can hear it pronounced by simply clicking the play button. You are not limited to a single pronunciation cause there can be dozens for a specific word. 

What is even more interesting, users from around the world can record their pronunciations and upload them to Forvo.  This is awesome to hear a word such as "Castle" pronounced with different accents, from males and females.  Currently, you can hear people from the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, and Canada all pronounce the same word.  This gives you a chance to discuss different regions of the world and how their accents may sound when pronouncing English words.  It also serves as a great example of how their are multiple ways to pronounce a word correctly.  Just because YOUR pronunciation doesn't sound exactly like someone else's, doesn't make it incorrect.

You can check out Forvo at:
http://www.forvo.com/

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"What September 11th Means To Me" a simple activity using Wordle.

Wordle is a site that allows students to create cool graphic images and posters using an arrangement of words, phrases, and sentences.  Words that repeat the most in your Wordle, will appear larger than other words.

Type in a list of words or phrases to get started!

In my class, students are using Wordle to create images/posters of "What September 11th Means to Me."  Students type into Wordle a list of words, phrases, emotions, sentences, what that date means to them as individuals, and anything else they know about September 11th.   The only input I give them is to make sure their Wordles are respectful and appropriate for school.


A few tips I give my students is to start their Wordle by typing "9/11" or "September 11" at least 5 - 6 times.  This will make those words appear larger and more like titles on the Wordle.  Also, make sure any names you want to appear together, that you type those names as one word.  For example, Osama Bin Laden you would type into Wordle as OsamaBinLaden so all 3 names appear together and do not get split up.

As they list their words, phrases, emotions, sentences, etc, I encourage them to type the words that mean the most to them more than one time.  This, again, will make these words appear larger within their Word Graphic.  This is a great little assignment to assess student prior knowledge about 9/11 or to open up your classroom lesson plan or discussions about 9/11. 

I have included a few examples that 2 of my students created in class to help you get started.

Check out Wordle at:  www.wordle.net 

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Wordia - "Bringing Words to Life"

Wordia is a very interesting "visual dictionary."  The site works as a dictionary, with parts of speech & definition, but each word also contains a video of the definition.  That's right, you get a user submitted and reviewed video where everyday people simply say or read the definition, act it out, dress up like the definition, etc.

It is a great tool for students just learning the English language, students strengthening their vocabulary, or even as a cool idea for a classroom project.  A collegue of mine had her students make videos of important ISTEP Testing Words and Terms.  The ISTEP is our statewide standardized annual test in Indiana.

Check out Wordia today, or get out and have your students start creating their own visual dictionaries.
http://www.wordia.com/ 

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Books Should Be Free - Free Public Domain Audio Books for ALL!

Books Should Be Free is an outstanding resource that contains hundreds of audio books totally free to download as an mp3 or iPod audio file.  Each audio book is in the public domain, meaning nobody owns the copyright any longer and anyone can distribute them.  There are many many classic books that can be shared with your struggling readers, ESL Students, or someone wanting to simply listen to a great story. 

If your classroom is readying a classic literary piece, you will probably be able to find the audio book on Books Should Be Free.  This is a great tool that should be in any teacher's "box of tricks."

http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/

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Paper Rater - Free online Grammar Checker, Plagiarism Checker, & Proof Reader!

Paper Rater is a very nice resource that allows teachers OR students to check their papers for spelling errors, grammar errors, writing suggestions, and even plagiarism.  We all know you can easily check spelling and grammar in nearly any word processing software.  However, Paper Rater also checks the content in your paper against an Internet Search to see if the content was copied from the Web.  Some of the best features of Paper Rater are that the site is TOTALLY FREE.  They even have a pricing link on the page that, when clicked, further reiiterates the site is completely free.  Also, you do not have to sign up to use Paper Rater.  You simply click "USE Now FREE" and you are ready to go. 

This is a great tool for teachers, but even better for students.  Many times, my students who have been accused of plagiarism make mistakes.  They copy and paste a small portion, intending to re-write in their own words, then site the source, only to forget one of these steps.

Next time you are checking Research Papers and one paper seems WAAAAAAAAAAY better than it should be  or if you want to be honest with your kids and show them Paper Rater as a tool before they turn in their work, check out Paper Rater.
http://www.paperrater.com/

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Comic Master - Anti-Cyberbullying Comic Example

Yesterday, I shared the resource Comic Master http://www.comicmaster.org.uk/.  The site offers a very simple comic book creator to allow students to create their own original stories, as well as, show understanding in nearly any classroom Topic.

My class is working on Cyberbullying Comic Books/Graphic Novels.  My students are required to:

• Define Cyberbullying within the Comic.
• Give at least 2 tips to stop Cyberbullying when it occurs.
• Give at least 2 tips to prevent Cyberbullying from occurring again. 
• Each Comic should be at least 2 complete pages, and no more than 3 complete pages. 

Today, I wanted to share the example I created for my class.  Feel free to use these within your classroom or as a Cyberbullying resource for your students.   You can even use them as examples for your students when you create your own Comic Books in your classroom.

Anti Cyberbullying Comic Book Example

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