Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 09/16/22

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

Animal Inquiry - “The Animal Inquiry interactive is a versatile tool that can enhance student inquiry in research at the elementary level. The graphic organizer invites students to explore four facets of animals [basic facts, animal babies, interaction with others, and habitats (shown at left)]; the possibilities for extensions or adaptations, moreover, make this a a nice complement with inquiry-based projects. The follow-up writing prompts can be used to organize research questions as well as to record findings. After completing individual sections or the entire organizer, students have the ability to print out their final versions for feedback and assessment.” (L:E; SA:S)

Worldle - a world-le game with street views and maps (L:H; SA:SS)

Learn to Tell Time – “Learn to Tell Time! This elementary activity is great fun for all children in the computer lab or at home! Kids practice setting the time on the clocks by selecting a type of clock and then dragging the hands of the analog clock or by clicking the up and down buttons of the digital clock. There are four levels of difficulty.”(L:E; SA:A)

Accessible color palette builder - “Please don't use these color combinations; they do not meet a color contrast ratio of 4.5:1, so they do not conform with the standards of Section 508 for body text. This means that some people would have difficulty reading the text. Employing accessibility best practices improves the user experience for all users.”(L:T; SA:A)

More Math Inspiration - “...​​ I really want more people to become inspired by math and mathematicians. If you’re a teacher with a few blank spaces on your wall, some of these might be great additions! (L:T; SA:A)

Original photo by Pat Hensley