Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 06/17/22

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

The biggest mistakes in mapmaking history- “For thousands of years, people made both functional maps and what are known as cosmographies, illustrating the earth and its position in the cosmos, often including constellations, gods, and mythic locations. These maps were meant to depict the world's geography, but weren't necessarily useful for navigation and contained some glaring mistakes. Kayla Wolf shares mapmaking’s biggest blunders.” (L:M,H; SA:SS)

Feed the Dingo: An Ecosystem Game - “Players strive to create a balanced desert ecosystem in which each animal has enough food to survive over a period of 12 days, in this interactive game from PLUM LANDING™. Players see how the different species of plants and animals in a desert depend on one another. They also experiment with how changing the amount of one resource affects the whole ecosystem.” (L:G; SA:S)

Science at Home - “These simple, ready-to-use experiments utilize common household items to reinforce core scientific principles. Each experiment includes information on how to include them in your classroom or distance learning curriculum and are taught by real 3M scientists and special guests. All experiments meet Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).” (L:G; SA:S)

TypeLit.io - “Improve your typing online by practicing on your favorite literature. Choose a book below to get started, or subscribe and import your own!” (L:G; SA:LA, C)

Periodic Videos - “A lesson about every single element on the periodic table. Created by the Periodic Videos team using the TED-Ed platform.” (L:M,H; SA:S)

Original photo by Pat Hensley