Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 5/20/16

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

Brainflex – from Ck-12; summer challenge; Invite students to get a head start or review concepts they missed. Utilize free math and science practice daily, which students can do anytime, anywhere. Track your student's progress over the 8-week challenge. (L:G; SA:M,S)

Ck-12 Summer Course for Teachers – “Join our new FlexBook® Jumpstart Program and transform your curriculum! Join us for the full six weeks to maximize your experience or check-in as your schedule allows. We’re here to help you as you walk through the process of creating, customizing, and sharing content. Weekly webinars will bring educators together. Case studies and resource links will inspire you and give you the tools you need to be successful. We’ve even set up a Forum for you to connect with others.” (L:T; SA:A)

Litcharts – “CliffsNotes and every other literature guide series that followed (including SparkNotes) all use long paragraphs of summary followed by long paragraphs of analysis. LitCharts break that mold in several ways: Side-by-Side Summary, Analysis, and Themes: LitCharts present a bulleted-list-style summary of every single plot point in the book side-by-side with analysis and color-coded themes for each point. LitCharts Make Theme Development Visual: Every LitChart includes a color-coded Themes Key, which assigns a specific color to each theme. Readers can then trace the prevalence of themes as they develop throughout the book. LitCharts Improve Close Reading: Close reading has become a crucial skill for English and ELA students in classrooms across the U.S., both in states adopting and not adopting the Common Core. While the analysis in other literature guides is often disconnected from the summary and underlying text, our side-by-side summary and analysis are always examples of close reading. As a result, LitCharts help students understand the text at the closest level, and serve as a model that teaches how to read closely. LitCharts Have Helpful Features That Nobody Else Offers We've applied the same innovative approach that we use in our summary, analysis, and themes to other aspects of our guides. The "charts" in our name originated from our PDFs, which present the same content you'll find on our website and mobile app, but in a beautifully designed chart-based format that's easy to print and share. Teachers love to use our charts as teaching aids in the classroom, and students love using them for quick-reference review for tests and quizzes.” (L:T; SA:LA)

Stackup – “Allow students to explore the web and read what interest them, or create guidelines and assign specific categories or websites to read at. Create challenges to encourage students, and see how they are progressing in live time. Allow students to see other students scores, or chose to keep it private”. (L:G; SA:A)

Bandlab-  “The cloud platform where musicians and fans create music, collaborate and engage with each other across the globe.” (L:G; SA:A)

Original photo by Pat Hensley