Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 7/10/15

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

Weather Lab – “Weather Lab is a tool to help visualize how North America’s weather is formed. This lab is designed to model the complex interactions between air masses and ocean currents, but like all models it represents probable outcomes. Each prediction you make is for possible outcomes during Spring.” (L:E;M SA:S)

JellybeanScoop – “Jellybean Scoop is a new innovative way to engage children in reading. Our incredibly high interest nonfiction stories are sure to draw any kid's attention and spark an interest in reading. All stories are true and are provided with full audio files, comprehension tests, vocabulary building practice, sentence building practice and read aloud functions. New readers, reluctant readers, active readers. All will love Jellybean Scoop!”  (L:E;M SA:LA)

JellybeanScoopWriter – “The Jellybean Scoop Writer is our book-writing program. Children will love creating with Jellybean Writer. It's powerful, yet very simple and easy to use. Use our professional design templates and upload photos directly from your computer to create your very own news story, newspaper or even your own book! Photo diaries, book reports, homework assignments and photo albums created with Jellybean Scoop Writer can look amazing! (L:E;M SA:LA)

Ignite Teaching – free, “Ignite student creativity, build confidence, promote deeper understanding, and encourage accountability. When teachers use Ignite Teaching for Project Based Learning to express student knowledge and ideas, it leads to deeper understanding of topics and teaches students the importance of social interdependence and accountability. We empower students to create by providing a fully customizable canvas to demonstrate learning. Anyone and everyone can make an incredible and meaningful project with our platform. For the first time ever, you'll be able to see qualitative and quantitative analytics on individual student contributions in a group project through our assessment tools.” (L:G; SA:A)

Picturing America – “When displayed on the walls of your classroom or library, Picturing America’s noteworthy, high-quality images offer an innovative way to teach American history and culture. These images, and the accompanying Teachers Resource Book, help students better understand America’s diverse people and places and connect them to our nation’s travails and triumphs.

Visual stimulation enhances learning and makes it more enjoyable. Art can introduce social studies, literature, civics, and even science and math in an immediate, tangible way. With Picturing America, students develop a deeper understanding of history and our shared human—and American—experience. (L:T; SA:A)

Original photo by Pat Hensley