Take a Virtual Tour of the White House

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Educational Resources, Social Studies Resources | Posted on May 29, 2009

 

White House Museum

Welcome to the
WHITE HOUSE MUSEUM,
the unofficial virtual museum of the president’s residence

1.5 million visitors go through the real White House each year. But they see only a handful of rooms. Even special tours visit only a handful more.

This online tour will take you through more than 140 areas in the grounds and mansion of the White House with photos and illustrations going back more than 200 years.

Text to Speech Web Site

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Early Learning, Educational Resources, Odds and Ends, Special Education | Posted on May 29, 2009

Oddcast Text to Speech Web Site

Kids learning to read and spell will get a kick out of typing in words and hearing them pronounced.

Tumble Books

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Early Learning, Educational Resources, Reading/Language Arts | Posted on May 29, 2009

Tumble Books

Tumble Books is a collection of online animated, talking picture books to teach young children the joys of reading in a format they will love.

Struggling Learners in the Classroom

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Professional Development | Posted on May 27, 2009

http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-bother-trying.html

This is a great article putting us in the shoes of struggling students with an analogy to running a race.  It certainly puts things in perspective and reminds us just how these students feel each day in our classrooms.

Writing & Grammar Lessons

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Educational Resources, Reading/Language Arts | Posted on May 27, 2009

Great Source Writing and Grammar Site

Learn more about this site at http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/05/animated-and-narrated-grammar-glossary.html

PBS Webinar Opportunity

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Professional Development | Posted on May 26, 2009

Join PBS.ORG Teachers Connect

Go to the PBS web site to read more about the webinar…

Free Media and Technology Webinars

Presented by PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0

Are you looking for ways to incorporate digital media into your teaching?

PBS Teachers introduces a series of FREE monthly webinars featuring leading education technology experts, authors, or producers of PBS programs who will share ideas on using digital media to engage students in rich learning experiences.

June 2009

PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0 are delighted to have technology integration specialists Bob Sprankle, Alice Barr and Cheryl Oakes as our guests for “Summertime and Your Personal Learning Network,” the next webinar in the PBS Teachers LIVE! series. Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, June 2 at 8 p.m. EDT for this upcoming free webinar.

In this webinar, our guests will discuss the value of online collaboration and provide guidance for those interested in joining or creating a professional development community during the summer months. They will share their own experiences of expanding their knowledge and improving their practice through online conferences, social networks, and other collaborative technologies. In addition, they will demonstrate tools and best practices to promote technology integration in K-12 classrooms.

MapTrot Mapping Web Site

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Educational Resources, Social Studies Resources | Posted on May 26, 2009

 

 

 

MapTrot Web Site is a good resource for creating maps to use on your active boards.  This site even has a searchable data base of maps previously created by users. 

Planet Science Web Site

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Educational Resources, Science Resources | Posted on May 26, 2009

Planet Science Web Site

Free & fun Science resources for children, young people, teachers and parents.

Booklet Creator

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Desktop Publishing, Educational Resources | Posted on May 26, 2009

Booklet Creator

BookletCreator is a free online tool that allows you to create a booklet from a PDF document. It reorders pages so that after printing and folding the pages, a small book is created.  You can work online for FREE. 

Format Factory Video Converter

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Desktop Publishing, Educational Resources, Technology | Posted on May 23, 2009

Format Factory allows you to convert media from one type to another.  I know this has been an issue for some of you as you integrate more video projects into your classroom. 

Format Factory is a multifunctional media converter.
Provides functions below:
All to MP4/3GP/MPG/AVI/WMV/FLV/SWF.
All to MP3/WMA/AMR/OGG/AAC/WAV.
All to JPG/BMP/PNG/TIF/ICO/GIF/TGA.
Rip DVD to video file , Rip Music CD to audio file.
MP4 files support iPod/iPhone/PSP/BlackBerry format.
Source files support RMVB.

Format Factory’s Feature:
1 support converting all popular video,audio,picture formats to others.
2 Repair damaged video and audio file.
3 Reducing Multimedia file size.
4 Support iphone,ipod multimedia file formats.
5 Picture converting supports Zoom,Rotate/Flip,tags.
6 DVD Ripper.

Scholastic Book Wizard

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Early Learning, Educational Resources, Reading/Language Arts | Posted on May 23, 2009

Scholastic Book Wizard

Scholastic Book Wizard allows you to customize book searches by reading and interest level, subject, genre, and more. 

Pete’s Power Point Station

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Educational Resources | Posted on May 23, 2009

Pete\’s Power Point Station

This is a large collection of Power Point presentations sorted into subject and topic categories. 

 

Online Learning Games

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Educational Resources, Professional Development | Posted on May 23, 2009

Best Online Educational Games

This is just one of many “BEST” lists on Larry Ferlazzo’s blog.  You could spend hours exploring these lists and find some treasures for your classroom.

Engineering in Elementary School

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Educational Resources, Science Resources | Posted on May 23, 2009

Engineering in Elementary Schools

This is an interesting journal article on ways to bring engineering concepts into the elementary science classroom.

Helping Our Kids Exercise

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Educational Resources, Health/Fitness | Posted on May 23, 2009

Kidsexercise

Now that school is out for the summer, teachers and parents might want to take a look at this site with more than 90 searchable articles on ways to help kids exercise and be healthy. 

Photos8 Public Domain Photos

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Art, Desktop Publishing, Educational Resources, Technology | Posted on May 23, 2009

Public Domain Photos at Photos8

This is a place for free public domain photos and desktop wallpapers. Large collection of High Resolution photos and wallpapers, Thousands of high quality public domain pictures, easy to search, All photos on Photos8.com are public domain. You may use these images for any purpose, including commercial.

Blog with Picture Book Instructional Strategies

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Educational Resources, Reading/Language Arts | Posted on May 23, 2009

Teach With Picture Books

This blog provides many ideas for utilizing picture books.  Scroll to the bottom of the page on the right with an index of topics. 

Photos from Akiko’s Bridal Shower

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Odds and Ends | Posted on May 20, 2009

 

Eaton staff celebrated the upcoming marriage of kindergarten teacher, Akiko Mizuno, to Richard Burchfield on July 11. 

Tips for Substitute Teachers

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Odds and Ends, Professional Development | Posted on May 20, 2009

Tips for Substitute Teachers

This is a wonderful article to print out and keep in your substitute teacher folder. 

Video Podcasting

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Educational Resources, Technology | Posted on May 20, 2009

Great Article about Video Podcasting

If you are interested in expanding your knowledge of video podcasting, check out this article. 

Illuminations Math Web Site

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on May 20, 2009

 

 

Illuminations Math Site

Based on NCTM Standards, the math site has hundreds of lesson plans by grade level.  There are also web links and some games for students. 

Stop the Summer Slide

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Early Learning, Educational Resources, Reading/Language Arts | Posted on May 19, 2009

Encourage Summer Reading with the Scholastic Summer Challenge!

Take the Scholastic Summer

Reading Challenge

 http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collection.jsp?id=608

We know that for students, summer can be a season of full of learning opportunities … or learning losses. Research confirms that students who don’t read four or more books over the summer typically score lower or stagnate on reading comprehension tests when they return to school. 

Keep your students turning the pages all summer long with these recommended books, reproducibles, book videos, and more. Get parents involved — share the importance of summer reading by downloading this send-home letter.

Summer Challenge LIVE!

In support of summer reading, Scholastic is encouraging you to get students excited about reading with the Scholastic Summer Challenge, a free summer-long literacy program designed to motivate all children to read four or more books.  The Challenge began with a live game-show webcast on April 30. Hosted by Jon Scieszka, children’s book author and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, the 40-minute game-show webcast featured four teams of fifth graders who answered trivia questions about authors, illustrators, and anything related to kids’ books. Classrooms around the world helped the contestants earn additional points by responding to live web polls, online questions, and more. It’s easy to integrate this event into your day with this classroom guide. Points earned during the April 30th webcast were awarded to the color teams to kick off the Summer Challenge.

Scholastic Summer Challenge

This free, web-based program helps kids find great books and provides a fun, multimedia platform for them to discover new authors, talk about books with other kids, and keep them motivated to read all summer long. When kids log their reading minutes, they earn points to win the team competition — and be part of the World Record Challenge. When your students read 4 or more books, they will be making a difference in their own lives and in the lives of other children in need. This year, Scholastic has partnered with Save the Children to raise awareness about the importance of reading and helping others in need. At the end of the summer, Scholastic will make a financial contribution to Save the Children on behalf of all readers in the Scholastic Summer Challenge, in support of Literacy, Early Steps for School Success, Emergency Relief, and Nutrition/Physical Fitness. The winning team gets to choose where a special donation to Save Your Children will go.

Happy Summer Reading!

The Last Few Days of School…

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Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Art, Educational Resources, Odds and Ends, Reading/Language Arts | Posted on May 19, 2009

from About.com

Assign Impromptu Speeches – Think of 20 quick speech topics and have the kids choose them from a jar. Give them just a few minutes to prepare mentally and then call them up for spur-of-the-moment speeches. Fun topics include “Convince us to buy the shirt you are wearing now” or “How would the school be different if you were principal?” Click here for a complete list of topics. The audience loves to watch and the speakers will love getting creative in front of the class.

You can either give your students a few minutes to prepare what they will say, or keep it truly impromptu and have the children present without any written notes.

  • You are an ant. Convince an anteater to not eat you. 
  • Explain three different ways to eat an Oreo cookie. 
  • Tell us about a nickname you have and how you got it. 
  • Convince us to vote for you as president of the USA. 
  • Explain three uses for a pencil besides for writing. 
  • Read us a letter you might write home when you are staying at a circus training summer camp. 
  • Tell us about your summer plans. 
  • Convince us that homework is harmful to your health. 
  • Tell us about your favorite pet and why it should win the Greatest Pet Ever award. 
  • If you were an animal, what would you be? 
  • You are a salesperson trying to sell us the shirt you have on. 
  • Explain how a smart person might not be wise. 
  • If you were the teacher, how would our class be different? 
  • Tell us about the hardest thing you have ever done. 
  • You are a mad scientist. Tell us about your latest invention. 
  • You are a famous sports player. Describe your best moment of a game. 
  • You are a famous rock star. Explain what the lyrics of your latest hit song mean. 
  • Tell us about the best job. 
  • Explain the benefits of drinking milk. 
  • Tell us how to become a millionaire. 
  • Tell us about the best dream you’ve ever had. 
  • Create a myth that explains why pelicans have large beaks. 
  • Tell us how to make a new friend. 
  • Tell us about the most fun recess activity. 
  • Tell us about your favorite holiday. 
  • Tell us how to make your favorite meal. 
  • Explain which came first: the chicken or the egg. 
  • Explain the rules to your favorite game. 
  • If everything in the world had to change to the same color, what color would you choose and why? 
  • Explain how you would use a hat to catch butterflies. Be sure to
  • identify the type of hat that is required. 
  • You are a piece of paper. Describe how we should use you before you get recycled. 
  • Explain how to make a pizza. 
  • Explain four uses for a drinking glass other than for holding a liquid. 
  • Convince our principal to give students their birthdays off of school. 
  • Describe how you would modify a snail so it can go faster. 
  • Explain the best way to teach an old dog a new trick. 
  • Describe the life cycle of a frog or butterfly.

 

Play Outdoor Games – Dust off that outdoor games book that you never had time to use this year and pick a few activities for the last day of school. A great choice is Guy Bailey’s The Ultimate Playground and Recess Game Book. The kids will be antsy anyways so you might as well put their energy and excitement to good use.

  • Organize Learning Game Centers – The children won’t even realize they’re learning. Pool together all of the educational games in your classroom. Split the class into small groups and designate centers in the room for each game. Set the timer and give each group a certain amount of time with each game. Give the signal and then the groups rotate around the room so everyone gets a chance to play all of the games.
  • Focus on Next Year – Give the kids time to write, draw, or discuss how things will be different in the next grade level. For example, third graders will love to imagine what they will learn, look like, act like, and feel like when they are finally in the world of fourth grade! It’s only a year but to them it seems a universe away!
  • Hold a Spelling Bee – Hold a traditional Spelling Bee using all of the spelling words from the whole school year. This one can take quite awhile, but it’s certainly educational!
  • Go Back to Back – Use a safety pin to attach a large index card or thicker piece of paper to each child’s back. Then, the kids go around and write nice comments and memories on each other’s backs. When you’re all done, each child gets to keep his or her note with compliments and fun times written on it. Teachers, you can jump in, too! You just might have to bend down so that they can reach your back!
  • Write Thank You Notes – Teach your children to recognize and appreciate those individuals who helped make them successful this school year – the principal, secretary, food service workers, librarian, parent volunteers, even the teacher next door! This may be a good project to start a few days before the last day of school, so that you can really do it right.
  • Print Friendly

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    Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Desktop Publishing | Posted on May 19, 2009

    Print Friendly

    This site is helpful if you want to save or print a copy of a web page.  I tried this with an MSNBC article.  When you copy and paste the URL into the text box on Print Friendly, it takes away all the ads and extras and renders a printable text copy.  It also allows you to save a copy of the document in PDF format. 

    Poetry Resource — Write Rhymes

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    Posted by jenmalonetn | Posted in Educational Resources, Reading/Language Arts | Posted on May 19, 2009

    Write Rhymes

    I know this school year is coming to an end, but keep this site in mind as you plan poetry units.  Students can type in any word and receive a long list of words that rhyme.

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