Friday, September 9, 2011

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

10:59 AM Mr. Dean

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 

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

VectorKids - Interactive Math Games and Skill Builders for Kids!

6:29 PM Mr. Dean

VectorKids is a site that offers several interactivities and games to help build student skills in Mathematics (and even Social Studies too).  The site offers mostly math activities to help students with basic to intermediate math concepts. 

VectorKids skill builders include help for multiplication tables, solving for variables, division rules, addition, subtraction, counting money, geometry and even a United States Capitals Game.


The games are simple and would offer a nice extension to your classroom activities or extra help for specific students who may be struggling with these concepts.

Check out VectorKids at: http://www.vectorkids.com

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Illuminations: Resources for Teaching & Learning Mathematics!!

11:14 AM Mr. Dean

Illuminations is a site created by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) filled with resources, activities, games, lesson plans & interactivities to help teachers teach and students learn mathematics and math concepts.  This site has a lot of resources you could use in your classroom for students from Kindergarten to 12th Grade.

My favorites are the 107 different online activities to help make math come alive right in front of your students.  Instead of simply discussing fractions as parts of a whole, Illuminations allows students to actually see fractions visually represented and manipulate them to further understand their relationships to one another.

Illuminations also has over 600 lesson plans, all free to use, that include everything you need to implement in your classroom as soon as today (with a little planning of course). 


Check out NCTM's Illuminations at:

http://illuminations.nctm.org/
 


Monday, August 29, 2011

ChessKid - Learn, Play & Enjoy Chess!

9:34 AM Mr. Dean

ChessKid is a cool site that aims to teach kids the basics of chess, teach beginner and advanced chess strategies, allow students to practice chess, and students can even play opponents online.  The site has many videos that teach the basics for students who may struggle comprehending the written basics on the site.

Chess is a fantastic game but can be incredibly difficult to learn, especially as a child.  However, the game can be played whether your 8 or 80 nearly anywhere at anytime. 

If you are interested in having your students practice problem solving, use their critical thinking skills, starting a chess club, or simply sharing one of the greatest games with your students, ChessKid is the answer.

Check it out at:  http://www.chesskid.com/

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Math Playground - Math Games, Word Problems, Problem Solving & Math Videos for Elementary & Middle School Students

9:29 AM Mr. Dean

Math Playground is a nice interactive site that was requested to me by one of my 6th Graders.  I have hundreds of sites that help students practice and review math problems and functions, but this was not one of them.

Math Playground offers children in elementary and middle school many different math interactivities and games.  Some of these games are created specifically for the site, others are embedded from other sites.  The games are really good and there seems to be many different topics and standards covered.  The site does have a few ads on it, but students are used to this.

Math Playground is a great site to help students review particular concepts you are covering in class.  It is a great resource to extend your math curriculum outside of your classroom or to allow your students to play and surpass the time when they are finished with a class project.  I have added this to my Math Resources to allow students to use the site when they are don with their work in my Computer Class.

Check out Math Playground at http://www.mathplayground.com/.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

CommonSense Media offering Free Cyberbullying toolkit for educators!

7:16 AM Mr. Dean

CommonSense Media is offering a free cyberbullying toolkit for all educators.  If you aren't a member of CommonSense Media, what are you waiting for?  The site is free and offers a plethora of Internet Safety Resources, Strategies, and information for elementary, middle, and high school age students.

The Cyberbullying Toolkit offers information broken up into different ages.  It even includes all the information for an Internet Safety Outreach Program for your local community. 



The website also sends members email updates of new resources and information available on their site. 

CommonSense Media is a great site that should be in the Internet Safety Toolbox of all educators.  

You can check out the CommonSense Media Cyberbullying Toolkit by clicking here. 


Or, you can simply check out the CommonSense Media Site at http://www.commonsensemedia.org/







Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Diamante Poems : A Writing Resource from ReadWriteThink

6:21 AM Mr. Dean

Diamante Poems is a cool little resource that guides students into writing a Diamante Poem.  A Diamante is a type of poem that has a strict structure and does not have to rhyme.  A Diamante can be written as a Synonym Diamante or an Antonym Diamante. 

The project is a great way to review parts of speech such as nouns, adjectives, and verbs, as well as, practice creative writing and formatting in Word or Google Docs.  We are currently using the site to help us create a Diamante, then we re-type the Diamante in Word and practice our formatting skills by adding an image, a page border, changing the page color, text size and color, and adding a Word Art Title. 



 
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