The Teachers' Tech Lounge Exploring the wise use of tech to increase student achievement 

Docs Teach is a site with the National Archives that has a searchable database of historical documents.

PBS News Hour Extra Lesson Plans is a great site to use for Common Core.  Start with a current events video, read background text, and analyze the meaning and implications of the story.  Lesson plans and ideas are included on the site.

Storybots is a place young students can create online books and videos.

37 Writing Prompts for Social Studies/History uses visual cues as prompts for student writing.  Great integration of Language Arts and Social Studies – compatible with Common Core.

Here is a collection from TN of sample Common Core writing prompts and a scoring rubric

5th grade prompts

8th grade prompts

11th grade prompts

Scoring Materials

Scoring materials for sample prompts

Just came upon a phenomenal resource for Common Core Math geared specifically to middle school teachers.  Created by teacher Alison Shook, this Livebinder has everything from tasks, teaching resources, inclusion ideas, integrating reading & writing, students activities, and even algebra resources.

Check it out at:

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=380192

  BBC Earth has a You Tube channel with some incredible videos that can be used in the classroom.  You’ll find 50 years worth of astounding, entertaining, thought-provoking and educational natural history content on here.

Quozio allows you to copy and paste any quote and author and the site will create a jpeg image you can save to your computer to use in slideshows, videos, or posters.  

Curriculum Corner Common Core ELA Checklists by Grade Level is a helpful tool for teachers implementing Common Core Standards in the classroom.  There are many other good Common Core Resources on this web site.

If It Were My Home

The lottery of birth is responsible for much of who we are. If you were not born in the country you were, what would your life be like? Would you be the same person?

IfItWereMyHome.com is your gateway to understanding life outside your home. Use our country comparison tool to compare living conditions in your own country to those of another. Start by selecting a region to compare on the map to the right, and begin your exploration.

Teach Your Monster to Read

Teach your Monster to Read: First Steps is a new, free game to practise the first steps of reading.

Combining top quality games design with essential learning, the game is built on the principles of synthetic phonics and follows the teaching sequence of the Letters and Sounds programme.

Printing Press  The interactive Printing Press is designed to assist students in creating newspapers, brochures, and flyers. Teachers and students can choose from several templates to publish class newspapers, informational brochures, and flyers announcing class events.

E for Explore is a new web site with dozens of student learning activities relevant to Common Core.

Unused Words allows you to learn a new word every day.  You can even sign up to receive a word each day by email.

Meograph helps easily create, watch, and share interactive stories. It combines maps, timeline, links, and multimedia to tell stories in context of where and when.  It is truly 4-dimensional story telling.

Fakebook Gallery has profiles of historical figures and simulations as to what their “Facebook” or Fakebook pages would look like.  Great place to give students ideas to do a similar project.

The Creativity Portal

Creativity Portal’s Imagination Prompt Generator will inspire you by outputting one of many randomly generated “Imagination Prompts” at the press of a button. We call them Imagination Prompts because they can be used for writing, blogging, art projects, music, discussion, or anything else you need some inspirational prompting for! Discover more writing inspiration, prompts, and how-to articles in the menus on both sides of this page.

Scootpad is a free site where elementary age students can practice reading and math skills. Watch the video and then sign up to try it out.

Reading Bear  Reading Bear is a fun way to learn to read.

We teach over 1,200 vocabulary items. Our 50 presentations cover all the main phonics rules. All free and nonprofit! [more]

  Literacy Without Limits.Org

Literacy Without Limits is designed to be a helpful, non-intimidating, and immediately useful resource for teachers. Effective instruction is illustrated in authentic classroom video with the featured Kentucky teachers providing insight into their planning, pedagogical reasoning, and expectations for each lesson.

Listen and Read Books from Scholastic

Captivate your early learners with these 54 nonfiction read-along books. Listen and Read activities tell the story through words, images, and sound. You can use these online activities in a variety of ways, from one-on-one instruction using a computer or tablet to class instruction on an interactive whiteboard.

Literacyhead Web Site

Welcome to Literacyhead! We gather visual art and organize it in reading and writing lessons and tools. From comprehension strategies to writing workshop mini-lessons, Literacyhead uses visual art to teach reading and writing standards in ways that are engaging and accessible to students with different needs.

  Skoolbo is a site where elementary age students can practice literacy and numeracy skills.  There is also a way for parents to sign up to receive free eBooks for their students.  Parents or teachers must first create and account, then students are ready to roll.

   The Literacy Shed is a web site with topic and resources to stimulate the imagination of middle and high school students.  The literature and videos are great springboards to writing.

Summer Reading Flowchart has a great list of summer reading for every book lover in your life.  Love this link!