Flash Cards and Quizlet

I had a student ask me about making flashcards digitally.  I pointed out Quizlet  that I blogged about this a few years ago.  The site has some ready made flash cards or you can make your own.  Click here to see the post.  There are other flashcard sites I have blogged about.  See Flippity  by clicking here  and Memrise by clicking here.   After looking at Quizlet again I noticed you can do other ways of quizzing yourself instead of just flash cards.  For example you can do matching by  having your flash cards all on one screen and match the fronts and the backs.  See an example of this by clicking here.  You can see all the cards at the bottom and then select MATCH.  This is the last post for 2018.  Have a great holiday and I will post more in the 2019.  Be safe.

Citation Machine

I know I have discussed using bibme, mybib, easybib, University of Alberta's Centre for Writers and purdue owl before.  Here is another one that you might want to use for your citations.  It is called Citation Machine.  To see it click here.

The Historical Thinking Project

This is a site put together by the Canadian government.  Give it a look by clicking here.

Popsicle Activity in your Spanish / French Class

Last week I posted a Spanish teaching post using Jenga.  To see that post click here.  Today I am posting about a nice idea that could be used in your Spanish or French class.  Instead of using flash cards Ms Tarantino suggests using Popsicle sticks as the media she uses for an opposite adjective activity.  To see the website click here. 

Quick Feedback or Brainstorm

If you would like to have your students give you quick feedback on a lesson or maybe a question to brainstorm to begin a topic or solicit a quick answer from them digitally try AnswerGarden.  Click here to see a demo.  If you want to make up your own question click here.  Then just share the URL with your students.  

Scratchboard in the Art class

I saw a students scratchboard art in the library the other day so I looked for some online resources for you.  Here are a few links to some lesson plans on scratchboard:

1) from virtual instructor click here.  (note above picture is from this site)

2) from study.com click here.

3) from artist network click here.

4) from incredible @rt department click here. (note below picture is from this site)

5) if you go to December 4 2018 tweet on @awhsart you will see some student selfies.  Click here.

Persuasive Cartography

This collection of maps hosted by Cornell University is called The PJ Mode collection. These persuasive maps have  been described as “suggestive cartography,” “rhetorical cartography” and “propaganda maps”    From their website, "This is a collection of “persuasive” cartography: ​more than 800 ​ maps intended primarily to influence opinions or beliefs - to send a message - rather than to communicate geographic information. The collection reflects a variety of persuasive tools ​, including​ allegorical, satirical and pictorial mapping; selective inclusion; unusual use of projections, color, graphics and text; and intentional deception. Maps in the collection address a wide range of messages: religious, political, military, commercial, moral and social."    To see this searchable collection click here.

Conversation Jenga for Language Classes

Click here for a link to site about using Jenga to help students work on their conversational Spanish but it could easily be used in your French class.   As promised the explanation for the problem on Friday is that 2581 has two circles in it and therefore the answer is two.

composition of functions

When I was in grade 9 English class, it was in the same room of the senior math teacher.  I remember seeing on the board the title "The Washer and Dryer Theory".  This is what the teacher (Mrs P) called it.  I remember a few years later when I had her for math and she taught us this "composition of  functions" that I was so disappointed.  Dry dirty clothes are the input into the washing machine.  Wet clean clothes are the output from the washing machine which become the input into the dryer.  The output of the dryer are the dry clean clothes.  Ugh.   Oh well.  I saw this on twitter and thought it was perfect.

Oh by the way the solution to the problem from Friday is 2.  Why?  I will tell you tomorrow. 

Something to Ponder

Something different for a Friday.  Here is something for your students to ponder.  The key is that a pre-school student can solve this.

Have a nice weekend.  I will post the solution on Monday.

Indigenous Perspectives

If you are teaching History and/or any of the Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Metis and Inuit Voices  (NBE) courses you might want to look at the guide pictured above by clicking here.

Maps That Explain The World

Last Wednesday I posted about Common Geographic Misconceptions.   To see that post please click here. Keeping with "Maps" here are a couple articles about that you might find useful in your classes.  Both articles are over 5 years old but I think still are very good.   The first article is by Business Insider and is called "36 Maps That Explain The Entire World".  To see it click here.  The second by the Washington Post is called "40 more maps that explain the world".  To see that article click here.

Teaching Tolerance in High School English Class: Lesson Plan

 

Stephanie Jankowski said in her article, "History repeats itself, but sometimes it shouldn’t. That’s why it’s important to be teaching tolerance."  Most people think of the Holocaust or being of Ukranian decent I think of the Holodomor as events that should not repeat themselves.  From her article, "The R.I.G.H.T.S. Project is an extensive multifaceted program that requires students to research, write, collaborate, present, and utilize available technology. Nonfiction, historical pieces familiarize students with various atrocities that have victimized individuals or groups of people, and the overall objective is to encourage activism to prevent future instances of intolerance."

To see the article for English teachers click here.

S.T.E.M. Scholarship

Are you female?  Do you plan on attending a US university next year?  Are you entering a S.T.E.M. program?  If you said "YES" to all three then you might want to hurry and apply for this "full tuition scholarship" in S.T.E.M.  You have until December 11.  To get more information click here.

50 New Blog Post Ideas For Students

If you are having your students blog or are thinking about having your students blog, well here is a link to a great website that has a post with 50 ideas to get you kids going.  If you are not blogging with your class but have thought you might someday, the post has a few links on how to get started.  To see the post by Kathleen Morris click here.

Art Books

Richard Byrne posted about these two sources of Art books.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Getty Museum both have virtual collections of free pdf's that can be downloaded and also searched by title, author or keyword.  To see the Met's collection click here  and to see the Getty's collection click here.

Common Geographic Misconceptions

 

The National Geographic has a nice article online titled, "Why Your Mental Map Of The World Is (Probably) Wrong".  According to their article, "These are some of the most common geographic misconceptions that are both surprising and surprisingly hard to correct."    For example, "Most of Africa is north of the equator, though on many mental maps it is mostly in the southern hemisphere directly across the Atlantic from South America."  To see the article click here.

Glen Weibe suggests asking these questions:
Based on your mental (or actual) map of the world, answer a few simple questions:
How much of South America is east of Miami, Florida?
How much of Africa is north of the equator?
Which city is further north – Paris, France or Montreal, Canada?
Venice, Italy is located at the same latitude of what major American city?
Which is bigger? The lower 48 United States or Brazil?

Glen suggests having your students use "The True Size Of" website for the last question.  I have blogged about this map website in March of 2017.  To see that post click here.

He also suggests Bouncy Maps which  "connect locations with data. Maps become bigger or smaller to show differences in the data."  To see Bouncy Maps, click here.

All My Students Finished Early

If all your students are finished early and you have nothing for them to do or if you need something for your emergency lesson plan thank Laura Randazzo for these free lessons on her Teachers Pay Teachers website.  To see them click here and here.

Canstruction

From Yummy Math, "Just before Thanksgiving there is an annual demonstration at the Winter Palace in the World Financial Center of New York City.   Canstruction is a celebration of design, of engineering, and of donating time, talent and food to the hungry. At the end of the exhibit all the amazing creations are dismantled and thousands of cans of food are given to hungry people via soup kitchens, food banks, shelters and senior homes.  Canstruction, Inc now has events in over 200 cities worldwide.

Here is a picture of an exhibit called "Downside Up" which was the winning exhibit from Canstruction, 2010, in New York City.

"How many cans does it take to build this structure?  What information do you need to determine this?  How did you determine your solution? What else did you notice that is mathematical?"

The pdf of the student work sheet can be found by clicking here.    The YummyMath link for this activity can be found by clicking here.  Note that some of the solution pages will involve you having a membership.  Membership to YummyMath is $22 US.   Try asking your Principal or Department head if this is a possible for your school. 

Worlds Aids Day is December 1st so I thought I would give you a heads up if you would like to do something in your class.  Here are some resources you might want to use with your class.  "The Evolution of Aids" by the Globe and Mail can be found by clicking here.  NBC has an article called "Living With" which can be found by clicking here.  HIV and AIDS lessons and activities can be found by clicking here.  A "Lesson Plan for World Aids Day" by Channel One News can be found by clicking here.  In November 2013 I previously posted about World AIDS Day.  To see that post click here.

History In Motion

According to their website, "There is no lack of history resources on the Internet. Historical web sites, blogs, maps, videos, and animations abound. But two things are missing:

A way to tie it all together: text, images, video, audio, historical maps, and animation
A way for anyone to create and share multimedia, animated historical scenarios without having to know programming, graphics, animation, or digital cartography.
History in Motion offers powerful, easy-to-use features so you can create historical scenarios, animate events, share your work with others, and explore history in a way that was never before possible.

If it helps to understand that this was happening here while that was happening there, History in Motion is the tool for you."

To see their website click here.  See the video below for an introduction to their website.

Scribble Maps

If you need to get a base map and annotate it or scribble on it, draw some line etc then this site is for you.  Here is what Edshelf has to say about Scribble Maps, "The easiest way to draw and share maps!

We have focused on making a tool that makes it ultra easy to draw on maps, we have polished the user experience using a large amounts of feedback from our users, and we continue to improve on a regular basis. The effort has paid off with Scribble Maps being used in grade school classrooms all the way up to Government agencies. In addition to being able to draw, with Scribble Maps you can:

Add Custom Images / Overlays
Place Text
Place Markers
Create custom widgets
Export to Google My Maps.
Export to Google Earth.
Save as KML/GPX/JPG
Create 3D JPEGs and Widgets
Send Maps to Friends
Print"

To see the website click here.  See the video below for a brief explanation of the website.

 

Trading Card Creator - ReadWriteThink

I know one of our History teachers, Mr. E. has his students make trading cards for his class.  This could be done in the English class too.  ReadWriteThink has on their website a trading card creator. 

According to their website, "The Trading Card tool gives students an alternative way to demonstrate their literacy knowledge and skill when writing about popular culture texts or real world examples. This interactive allows students to create their own trading card about a real or fictional person, place, object, event, or abstract concept.

These cards are can be used with any type of book students are reading or subjects that they are studying, and make for an excellent prewriting exercise for students who are writing narrative stories and need to consider characters, setting, and plot. Specific prompts guide student through the various types of cards, expanding students' thinking from the basic information and description of the topic to making personal connections to the subject."

To see the website click here.

Build a Body

Last week I posted about BioDigital.  To see that post click here.  Another site that will allow your students to study the different systems of the body is Build-a-Body.  This site is designed for high school students.  To see the site click here.

News Aggregators

I was reading about News Aggregators.  They are like your own personal magazine.  You give it a topic and you will be delivered articles on that topic only.  As an educator you can put in your subject area and grade level and you will receive articles/blogs on what you you teach.  This reminded me of a PD session on Flipboard.   To see Flipboard click here.  Other News Aggregators are Feedly and News360 amongst others.  These can be found by clicking here and here.  An article on other ones can be found here.

I have PD on Friday so I will not be posting but will be back on Monday.  Have a great weekend.

Canada and The First World War

If you are teaching about Canada's role in the First World War or WWI in general you might want to look at the Canadian War Museums website.  They have many resources you might find useful in your class.  They even have an interactive adventure called "Over The Top".  Their online exhibition currently is "Canada and The First World War".  It includes a Teachers Resources section.  To see the website click here.

First Page Student Writing Challenge

Students have until November 29th to get their submissions in.  To see the contest webpage  click here.

Human Anatomy - BioDigital

I posted this in September 2017 but thought I should repost it again.  This interactive 3D tool is a very realistic way to look at the anatomy of the human body.  If you are teaching a science or physical education (Exercise Science)  that looks into human anatomy this might be what you are looking for.  You can login through your google account.  To see the website  click here.  Other similar sites I have looked at can be seen on my other posts by clicking here or here

Constitute

Would you like to see another country's constitution?  Have your students explore world constitutions and compare them side by side based on search terms.  To see the website click here.