Venn Diagrams Explain Everything

This will be my last post of 2017, so I figured something funny and educational.  This is from the New Yorker.  Venn Diagrams do Explain Everything.  To see the website this came from click here.

Blue Zones Life Expectancy Calculator

If you go to Blue Zones and take their short survey it will calculate how long you will live and give you some information on how to live longer based on your input.  To see the calculator and take their quiz click here.  You will have to register but it is free.  If you are teaching a health  or foods/nutrition class, this might be something to have your class try.

The Mercator Problem

This website explains the problem that happens with the distortion near the poles of this 2 dimensional mapping and this site has an itneractive component.  You can use the dropdowns  to choose two different land masses. You will then be shown the size of each land mass as shown on the Mercator projection and in reality. Compare and contrast the differences.  To see the website click here.

According to AASL, "Don’t assume that Vocabulary.com is just another digital flashcard site. This innovative site uses an adaptive learning system to help users learn the most essential English words needed in academic and business environments. Users quickly begin building their vocabulary knowledge as the adaptive learning system questions, reviews, and leads users to word mastery. Fun example sentences and responses “with an attitude” help keep the users’ attention, along with the level and achievement badges that can be earned. Leaderboards keep track of top achieving students and schools, creating a challenging game-like environment. Customized vocabulary lists can be added and grouped by categories, such as literature, historical documents, and speeches."  To see the website click here. 

GeoGebra - Free Dynamic Math Software

This is a free math website that allows you to visualize geometry, graphing, tables and much more.
According to Education World, "This tool is perfect for classrooms with Smartboards where the website can be projected, making it easier for teachers to have students follow along with the lesson. GeoGebra also has a large compilation of 263,067 free and interactive materials that can be used in the classroom. It’s a pretty intense app and will require tech knowledge, as well as the obvious math skills being addressed in the app. Usability is better on the web version and overall usability is in the middle when it comes to difficulty. The app is clean and allows you to complete many functions. It’s possible that this app could also make a graphing calculator unnecessary in the classroom."

To see the website click here.  If you want a comprehensive pdf tutorial  click here.

Tiki-Toki Timeline maker

A few months ago Mrs P asked me to find her a timeline maker that she had used a few years ago with her classes.  She said you could make a timeline that you put in pictures, texts, video, etc.  She  found it before me and told me the website.  Looks good.  To see Tiki-Toki Timelines click here. You must sign up for the free account but it is free.

Pear Budget

If you are teaching a personal finance course or math course that deals with budgeting you might want to look at this website by clicking here.  This is a step by step guide to help you develop your budget.  It does not give you the information needed to put realistic dollar values on each category, but that is what the students will need to research.

New York Times Country of the Week

According to the New York Times, "Our new “Country of the Week” feature celebrates this abundance to help build students’ geography skills. A weekly interactive quiz will first introduce students to a country via a recent video or photograph, then ask them to find that place on a map. Next, the quiz will focus on the demographics and culture of the country. Finally, we’ll include links to recent reporting from that place in case they, or you, would like to go further."

To see the website click here.

French Career Booster Poster

If you are a French as a second language teacher you might want to  make a poster out of this and post it in your room. 

Another Periodic Table

I have posted several posts on Periodic Tables.  To see the previous ones click here.  Today I have posted an interactive periodic table that will show you a picture of the element as well as other information about the element.  To see the website click here.

Animal Farm

If you happen to be teaching Animal Farm in your English class, they have an excellent student handout booklet and teacher booklet, click here and here respectively.   The student work book even includes a copy of the text of Animal Farm.  They also have downloads in math (algebra, geometry, statistics) and social studies.  To see the site click here.

career one stop

If you are teaching a Careers course this website has videos of virtually any career.  Videos include career details such as tasks, work settings, education needed, and more.  To see the website click here.

They also have the videos in Spanish, click here.

Central American Migration

Today's post is another current events, visually appealing article on the exodus from Central America.  With Dreamers and Trump in the news, this might fit into your classroom.  To see the website click here.

poets.org

Poets.org comes from the Academy of American Poets.  For teachers this site features: lesson plans, "teach this poem", links and "Dear Poet".  For both students and teachers there is poem of the day.  They also have a curated collection of poems.   To see the site click here.

Cardboard Regatta and Calculus

The students at Waubonsie Valley High used their Calculus III skills and some creativity in their schools pool  to make their cardboard boats.  To see the article click here.  I also posted in March 2014 another article about cardboard canoes.  To see that article click here. 

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

The United Nations has declared December 2nd to be The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.  I thought you might want to see the following video by CNN  about Migrants being sold as slaves in Libya.

Resume Generator by readwritethink

 

If you are teaching a Careers course, you probably will be having your students make a resume.  Read Write Think has their own Resume Generator.  To see their generator click here.  They also have many lessons that can be found by clicking here.

ESRI StoryMaps for World Geography

If you are teaching a World Geography course this site might be of some interest to you.  From their website, "this ESRI StoryMap is designed for geography students and teachers to get the most these sites. The various scoops and posts that I share represent the best news, articles, videos and other resources that I have found to be used in classes to act as an online textbook."  

All you have to do is cursor around the map to a country of interest.  Click on the circle with the initials of that country.  A box will then open up.  click on that box and you will get a scoopit page with geography articles from that country.  Click here to see it.

Why Do We Have Irregular Verbs?

I saw this video and thought I would share.  If you want a table of the most common irregular verbs in English, click here.

NASA Infographics

If you are teaching a space science course and would like to make some posters for your classroom or put an infographic in your webpage this site is for you.  They have a wack load of infographics.  To see their site, click here.

Spicynodes

According to Common Sense Education, "SpicyNodes is a website that can be used to create mind maps, take notes, write a story, or capture any information that lends itself to a non-linear presentation. You'll begin by adding content into separate nodes using a database-like interface. Content can include plain text, images, video, or audio, which you can upload or snag from the Internet. Things look pretty technical at this point, but you can always click Preview to view how your info will look in the actual nodemap. Once a map has been developed, you can fly around it, zooming in on nodes and exploring info."

This strikes me as a way to present  information, similar to Prezi but different.  As an educational tool, I think Spicynodes would be great to preview a course or review a unit.  See an example by clicking here.  For a tutorial, watch the video below.  To see the website, click here.

Pictify

If you like art and Pintrest then this site is for you.  According to their website, “you can curate your own collections of art, make albums of your favourite paintings, photographs, sculptures and so on, and you can share your albums with your Pictify friends and followers.”  To see the website click here.

The Two Koreas

The Two Koreas is a great interactive map comparing and contrasting North and South Korea.  This could be a useful tool in a current events course.  To see the website click here.

CommonLit

According to AASL, "This reading resources site offers teachers a free online collection of Common Core aligned reading materials. There are hundreds of fiction and nonfiction reading passages available for students in grades 5-12. Browse through news articles, poems, historical documents, and short stories all selected for young people. Questions are available for each selected text as well as analysis and reports for educational outcomes. Integrate Common Lit into your next National Poetry Month activities. "  To see the website click here.

Math Pickle

From their website, "Math Pickle is a practical resource for teachers. Its visually compelling puzzles and games engage students in tough problem solving. Its puzzles are organized by grade and subject – each designed for a 45-60 minute period. All have low-floor, high-ceiling. They engage struggling students in curricular skill acquisition, and deflect top students into tenacity-building challenges."

To see the website click here.

TodaysMeet - Backchannels in your classroom

TodaysMeet is a backchannel for questions or comments that can be sent anonymously  to the class.  To see how one English teacher used Todaysmeet in her class click  here.   Here is a link on "20 useful ways to use TodaysMeet in schools".  Click here.   Click here for another link on "5 Easy Ways to Use TodaysMeet in the Classroom"  To go to Todaysmeet website click here. 

12 Visual Design Principles

The following infographic and corresponding lesson will help you design your visual presentation.  Take a look at the following infographic.  If you go to their website(click here) and go below the infographic it will expand upon these 12 points.

My Name is Hunt.

Not sure if this is Geography or English so lets call Geolish.  This is an interactive fiction text adventure based on Google Streetview.  Read a bit, pick an option, cruise around in streetview.  Give it a try by clicking here.

Nasa Space Place in Spanish

  

Nasa Space Place is now in Spanish.  It has many space related activities and of course information.

The Spanish site can be found be clicking here.  If you want it in English just click on the rocket ship in the top corner.

Howtosmile

 

From their website "Search over 3,500 of the very best science and math activities on the web. Find handpicked activities from your favorite science museums, public television stations, universities, and other educational organizations. All activities are available to anyone, free of charge. Start searching now and filter by age, material costs, and learning time to find exactly what you need for your class, educational program, or family."  They have excellent sections on Astronomy, Life Science, Health and the Human Body and Chemistry.  The math section was not particularly useful.  To see the website click here.

 I liked the lesson titled "Sweetly Balanced Equations".  In this (edible) activity, learners balance chemical equations using different kinds and colors of candy that represent different atoms. Learners will work in pairs and explore conservation of atoms. One partner will use his/her candy to simulate the reactant (left) side of the equation and the other partner will use his/her candy to simulate the product (right) side.   To see this lesson click here.

"Turning passive video watching into an interactive and engaging learning experience? " says Joel Speranza.  "Viewing video is a passive experience. The moving images and sound just washes over you and it’s easy to tune out. This is fine if you’re watching “The Bachelor”, but what if you want to use video for education? Flipped Learning for example."

"PlayPosit  is about fixing the passive nature of video and making interactive video lessons instead. It works as a layer that sits over the top of a video source (youtube works with it as do many other video sites) and allows you to embed questions into a video. After students have watched you can check and see who watched it and how they answered the questions."

  To see the website click here.  To see an example click here.  Everything you want to know about Playposit can be found by clicking here.

Worlds Largest Lesson

The goal of the WLL is simple – support and foster the idea of Sustainable Development Goals.
There are 17 with lesson plans that you might be able to use in your class or your school. 

To see the website click here
.

Memes in History Class

I was reading Glen Wiebe's blog and he posted about using memes in his History class.  He suggests at least three ways that memes can be used.

Firstly he says "As another category of foundational knowledge, historical characters seem like a perfect fit for memes. Try having students use memes to highlight basic personality traits and characteristics of specific people – perhaps from different perspectives. What would a meme look like of FDR if created by a 1930s Democrat? Republican? Unemployed person?"

Secondly he says "A good meme is the 21st century version of a newspaper political cartoon. So have students analyze historical and current political cartoons. Have them create a meme version that says the same thing as the cartoons. Discuss the impact of cartoons and how they’re typically used versus how memes are spread and used. What are the similarities and differences? Advantages and disadvantages to those creating the cartoon and meme?"

Lastly he says "Have students create memes based on historical events. They research an event, select a photo or painting, and insert text. Perhaps have students exchange memes via social media or a shared Google Doc and have them interpret and explain each other’s memes."

A good place to make memes is at imgflip.  To see the website click here.

from Lisa Sabala

National Essay Contest in French

If you would like to have your students write a French essay for a contest where they could win some prize money for university here is one for you.  For more information click here.  

Would You Rather ...?

John Stevens presents this website that ask students to pick one of usually two options and justify their answer.   Most of the posts have a Personal Finance feature to them but there are some from other subjects.   To see the site click here.

Gen Nano - National Science Foundation Contest

This is the second post of the day.  Yeah.  I thought I would give students that like contests the weekend to brainstorm.  From the National Science Foundation website, "The competition asks middle and high school students to use scientific research to drive or equip an original superhero. Students can envision science that is grounded in current research but not yet possible, allowing them to learn about the potentials and limitations of real-world science and technology.

A complete entry consists of two components: a written section and either a short comic or a 90-second video. Entrants should introduce their superhero, demonstrate how they incorporated scientific research into their superhero's story and explain how it drives them on their mission. Winners will be chosen from both the middle school and high school categories."

This is only for US students, sorry.  To see the contest website, click here.

The Brain Scoop

 

The Brain Scoop with Emily Graslie  at the Fields Museum in Chicago is VLOG on her Youtube channel.  She is the Chief Curiosity Correspondent for the museum.  Sickest job ever.  If you think you could use the Field Museum (this is a huge museum of natural history) in class  than definitely check her vlog out.  To see it click here.