RESOURCES AND TOOLS
Description, Example and Links
Mystery Science
www.mysteryscience.com
Mystery Science is a resource created by an elementary Science teacher, Doug Peltz. It incorporates all elements of Grades 2-5 Science Curriculum and uses the inquiry approach to engage students. Each unit begins with a hands-on question or mystery related to the topic that students are challenged to solve. They brainstorm solutions at various points as they are being taught key concepts to help them solve the problem using fun and engaging videos. Teachers will enjoy the activity prep pages, the pre-prepped e-mail pages to send information to parents about the unit and the assessments activities included with each unit. There are also extension activities for students who enjoy additional challenges.
Geoguessr - Genevieve Bain
Geoguessr is a play-based learning website where students can test their physical and human geographic knowledge in a technical game of ‘where are we?'
MyHistro (http://www.myhistro.com/)
MyHistro is web-based tool that teachers and students can use to create interactive timelines displayed on maps. This application has a feature in which students and teachers can save their work to be used offline as a PDF file or exported into Google Earth for viewing the targeted areas in ‘street view’.
Symwriter
I was introduced to this resource by a Special Education teacher. Her student was insightful and perceptive, but struggled with processing words. Symwriter employs pictures in the place words; the noun “dog” has a related symbol and the verb “run” has a related symbol. I modified this tool for use with my students during my practicum with success! I recommend using this resource alongside traditional forms of presenting information for our students, such as slides or selected passages, because it gives them an opportunity to process information in a way most natural to them. This is an excellent option for differentiating how students themselves present the learning goals we establish as well.
Haiku Deck https://edshelf.com/tool/haiku-deck/
https://edshelf.com/tool/haiku-deck/
Haiku Deck is a fantastic free app that I have had loads of success with in the past. This slideshow app is like Powerpoint for the new generation. There are tons of different themes and backgrounds students can choose from. It’s incredibly user friendly and students find it fun and easy to create presentations. What I have loved about this app is that students are limited in the amount text they can put on their slides. This forces students to engage with the audience and not just read off the screen.
EXPLAIN EVERYTHING
Applicable to math classroom and others.
Have students use their ipads to type or write on the screen and record their voice.
Students in pairs need to record a tutorial for how to solve a math problem.
Each student group uploads to the whole class and each topic covers information needed for a test.
Great studying tool.
Glogster
This is an online poster resource. It allows students to create posters, add videos, pictures, links etc. Creating posters forces students to make their information concise and appealing to their audience and include only the important information which is a skill that can be and should be practiced all throughout highschool. This is a great tool for visual and tech savvy learners. If students don’t care to use the online tool then they can create a poster of their own with physical craft supplies so the online component is not necessary for the project to work. I think this is very important because not all students will have consistent access to computers or feel comfortable working online. This way, all students are being appealed to, but can succeed in any way they deem fitting.
Read and Write
Dogo News
This is a great site to get students reading and accessing current events in an age appropriate medium. Through videos, games, and age appropriate articles and activities students can deepen their understanding of world and local issues and then collaborate on various tasks and activities.
https://www.dogonews.com/
MapMaster
https://www.pearsonhighered.com/johnson-11e-info/mapmaster/index.html
MapMaster is an online/offline app featuring layered and interactive maps. It allows students to visualize geography worldwide, deepen geographical literacy and self-assess their knowledge of different current events and geographical terms.
Linguee
-This is a french/english dictionary website that has it all. If a student is stumbling over a word direct them to this website and they will be given options on how to say the word in French. The website goes even further and gives you examples on how the word can be incorporated into a sentence. This website makes students more accountable for their learning and more self-reliant.
Flocabulary https://www.flocabulary.com/
Flocabulary is an online community forum that offers songs and videos about a variety of different subjects and topics. These resources are geared towards younger students. The lyrics teach students about a particular topic, and the students will probably find themselves singing along! As an extension, teachers can assign students a topic and they will have to create their own sing-a-long rap video.
Heads Up!
Heads Up! Is a really fun activity that you can use in any subject area. You can download the app for a price and create a list of categories and words for students to use, or you can buy some cue cards and create your own deck of cards. To begin the activity, you have to choose a topic or subject to focus on. You can use this activity for review of vocabulary words or math definitions and create a deck that include these words. Students will be able to get into small groups; one student will be the guesser, while the other students will give the guesser clues to help them figure out the word. The guesser will hold the deck of cards above their heads and try to guess the word. You can choose to use a time limit if you would like to make the game more competitive. This activity really helps students try to describe words without using the actual word, and it promotes teamwork and collaboration!
Kooshball Smartboard
Can be set up to review topics for a quiz.
Students throw a ball at the circles on a Smarkboard to reveal a review question. Great for Kinesthetic Learners.
Voice Thread
Voicethread is another collaborative online site. With Voicethread, you can set up an account, and within that account you can have multiple identities - one for each of your students. With Voicethread you can create a collaborative slideshow that others can comment on using text, audio or even video.
TES
TES - Topics include everything under the sun, and some you’d never thought of before. If you want your students to be buzzing in French about musical styles, physics or religion, it’s all here. There is a very helpful section full of resources for special needs students as well.
FluentU
FluentU - Whether you use it in class or have students use it for at-home practice, FluentU’s authentic videos make French fun and approachable. It takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
Prezi
Prezi is an advanced way to make presentations that will replace the use of PowerPoint. It is an online tool that allows for stunning interactive presentations and collaborating on different projects in real time.
Survey Monkey
SurveyMonkey is a good way to ask a variety of questions, find out what students are thinking, use it for a quick formative assessment, and more. Results are available quickly in order to provide the necessary feedback instantly, to then plan the next steps in class.
Padlet
Padlet is a “virtual wall” which promotes collaboration, communication, creativity and more. Students can write a response to a discussion question, add resources for a collaborative class project, work in small groups, use it for brainstorming or connect with other students and classrooms throughout the world.
Pictochart
Piktochart is a tool for creating infographics, social media flyers, engaging presentations and more. Students have created menus, self-descriptions, movie and tv advertisements, recipe presentations and much more.
Duolingo
Duolingo is a fun language-learning app and website that with comprehensive guides for nine commonly spoken languages, including Spanish, French, and German.
Quizlet
Quizlet allows students to create study tools, such quizzes, flashcards, and games, which can then be accessed on computers or mobile devices. It also allows teachers to create study resources and share them with an entire class.
Newslea
Newsela helps students develop critical reading skills that are aligned with the curriculum. The online reading program uses relevant news topics and articles to test students in five different reading levels. Quizzes help students work through the material they are reading. Teachers can view students’ activity to help them keep track of progress and areas of weakness.
Kahoot
Kahoot is an online game-based learning platform where students can answer questions from a computer, tablet or cell phone. Students are provided with a code that will allow them to access the quiz that was created by the teacher. It is commonly used to review content and it is an excellent way to incorporate formative assessment in the classroom! There is an element of friendly competition between students which motivates them to try their best!
There are thousands of Kahoots that you can access on their website! Simply sign up (for free!) and search.
https://kahoot.com/what-is-kahoot/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhK6sOQcPQ8&feature=youtu.be
GeoGebra
Geogebra is an interactive mathematics software program for teaching and learning mathematics. It will be specifically helpful in junior level geometry because students are asked to construct shapes and to sort and classify shapes based on various properties.
Geogebra makes learning geometry fun!!
https://www.geogebra.org
Duolingo
Duolingo For Schools is an application that can track a students’ progress as they learn French. It has fun game-like lessons that keep students engaged in the content. Duolingo provides students with feedback which motivates them to move through the material as they progress through the levels. Teachers can track their students in one place through Duolingo’s new dashboard. There are also various studies that prove the effectiveness of learning a language through Duolingo!
https://www.duolingo.com/research
FluentU
Access the world’s best foreign language content, including movie trailers, news, inspiring talks and music videos that expose and engage students to learn the language and the culture of its people. Students can immerse themselves within the language and learn the current trends from that language speaking country.
Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab
Although this is focused on ESL students, this is beneficial for all of our learners at the junior level. I have used this source many times and my students really enjoy it. Randall’s Cyber Listening Lab give you a short clip of people having a conversation, followed by a series of multiple choice questions to test understanding and listening comprehension. There are a variety of discussion topics and they vary in range of difficulty from easy, medium and difficult. There is also a pre-listening activity, that usually involves brainstorming and reflective thinking, and a post-listening activity that usually stimulates higher order thinking, critical thinking, and the use of problem solving skills. I enjoy using this in my classroom as a game with multiple choice cards! We listen to the conversation together than all raise our cards with the answer we feel is correct. It becomes rather competitive and exciting very quickly!
Youtube
Incorporating short video clips into your lesson is extremely beneficial! This is a helpful way to reach visual learners and to bring in some fun and entertainment into your lesson. YouTube has many educational videos, from Khan Academy to Crash Course for science, history and literature, students can learn so much from YouTube other than the latest fails of the month! Most videos do not require a subscription or an account which is great! I also like to assign YouTube videos for students to watch over the weekend to refresh their minds of concepts learned throughout the week. If you make the videos entertaining, it doesn’t really feel like homework!
Dreambox
“DreamBox Learning students actively engage in learning with interactive manipulatives that connect students to math learning. DreamBox students explore, reason, make connections and develop critical thinking and problem solving strategies.
Continuous formative assessment in and between lessons, analyzes over 48,000 data points per student, per hour to provide the right next lesson at the right time.”
The lessons can be aligned to the Ontario Curriculum and the teacher can select lessons to ‘assign’ based on what they are learning in class.
Flipgrid
A teacher (or student!) posts a prompt on Flipgrid and students upload their video responses. This provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning in a manner other than writing.
You can see an example of Flipgrid on the next slide where I Screencastified the Flipgrid.
Two related blog posts
15 ways to use Flipgrid for Social Studies
17 ways to incorporate Flipgrid Fever into your classroom
Screencastify
You can record the work on your desktop and add voice-over to explain how you are doing your technology-enabled work using a Chrome Extension called Screencastify.
Students can screencastify to show how they solve a problem, how they created something in Geogebra etc. Below left, I’ve Screencastified my desktop to showcase Flipgrid. Then I uploaded my Screencast to Youtube to be able to embed it into this Google Slides
Plickers is a data collection tool that can be used by teachers to analyze students assessment data in their classroom. It is a cross between clickers and student response cards, while also being similar to kahoot. Students use response cards to answer questions, and the teacher uses the Plickers app on their own device to “capture” the student responses. The app then analyzes the student data in real time to display individualized and whole class results.
TED - Ideas Worth Spreading
TED has so much to offer educators - from its videos, pre-made lessons and blog, there is something for everyone. Teachers looking to incorporate blended learning can easily use TED to help them achieve this - teachers can create an entire lesson using the TED platform where students have to watch a video and answer questions all online. TED talks can also be used to model public speaking techniques and to inspire students to go beyond your average “speech”.
Explain Everything
Explain Everything or EE is an powerful interactive whiteboard app that is used in enormous variety of ways. It can be used by the teacher to present information by projecting it on a screen. Like slides or as a video or recording. It can be used by students to capture learning by recording videos, taking pictures, writing/drawing on it or using speech to text. Is has a relatively new collaboration feature which allows multiple users at once. https://vimeo.com/59845203
Book Creator
Book creator is an app and online tool that students or teachers can use to create and publish eBooks. You can take photos, or use internet content. It can used by a wide range of ages and abilities. You can attach audio files which make it more accessible to learners. One cool application is to create personalized social stories book for students who are transitions to a new situation. (eg Changing Grade) https://bookcreator.com/ipad/
Touchcast Studio (Green screen)
Create professional looking videos using this green screen app. All you need is a green tablecloth to hang on the wall. It has a cool Virtual Studio feature and teleprompter that lets student pretend they are in a news studio. They can put in their own backdrops that let them be “on location” anywhere around the world! Better for older Junior students or those who are more tech savvy. https://www.touchcast.com/studio
DK The Human Body App
DK THE HUMAN BODY APP does a fantastic job of turning an in-depth reference book into an interactive, digital-learning experience. Kids can tap and turn their way through the body systems, learning amazing details about each system and its organs.
Google Sheets
While it is still a full-powered spreadsheet, Sheets is a great, user-friendly way for junior students to investigate making charts and graphs.
It works well on iPads and tablets.
https://www.google.com/sheets/about/
PicCollage
PicCollage is a great way for students to organize photos.
Portfolios that demonstrate learning can quickly be created and easily shared.
https://pic-collage.com/
Thinglink
Students can share information about a topic by using an image/photo as a visual. Links can be placed on the image that take the reader to text, other images or even video.
https://www.thinglink.com/
Google Translate
Google Forms
Can be used to check student knowledge, & create certificates:
Sample Form:
How-To Guide:
Socrative
Socrative is an online platform for teachers to engage students and visualize student understanding
by developing quizzes, posing questions to students, share exit cards for students to answer, and play games with the space race feature.
Nearpod
Nearpod allows students to access the teacher’s PowerPoint presentation on their own devices. Teachers can either control the presentation from a master device while the students follow along on their own devices, or the teacher can enable the students to go through the presentation at their own pace. Nearpod also allows the teachers to include interactive activities such as quizzes, open ended questions, videos and surveys in their lesson presentations.
Poll Everywhere
https://www.polleverywhere.com/
Teachers pose questions to students and they respond by texting their answer. Students answers are posted immediately. Teachers can design multiple choice questions, have students create word clouds, or answer more in-depth long answer responses. Great tool to check student understanding and open up dialogue about a topic or issue.
Boom Cards
Interactive lessons used by teachers in the classroom or for access at home. Just get a basic account for free – anything more and you’d have to pay. Students have digital task cards and answer (MC, fill-in-the-blank, etc.) and get to see their progress via bar graphs. The teacher’s account gets to see all their students’ progress.
Tellagami
An app that allows the user to create animated videos; Students can customize their character and choose a background, then either record their voice or type a message for what they want their character to say.
Quizizz
Seems like Kahoot, only it’s not timed, so students can answer quizzes that you make (or search for) at their own pace. Still gives the teacher feedback in terms of results as well as areas that are considered the student (or class) strengths.
GoNoodle
Epic!
CosmicKids
Seesaw
-Teacher moderated digital portfolios
-Students “show what they know” using links, photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, audio and more
- Comments from students, teacher and family provide formative feedback
-Families can be invited to view updates as a way of strengthening connections between school and home
-Gives students an authentic audience: peers, family, other classrooms globally
Screencast-o-matic
· Free screen recording with tools for video editing and sharing
· Some suggested uses: flipped or blended classrooms, video announcements, student video assignments
Mindmeister
· Develop and share ideas visually with this online mind mapping tool
· Students (and teachers) can collaborate in real-time, turn mind maps into presentations, easily add links, images, attachments, or videos
· Mind maps promote critical thinking, creativity, and organization of thoughts
It is for kindergarten to grade 8. They have full texts available online. They even have grade recommendations, such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid for grades 5-8.
They even have games for the kids to play on the site as well.
This site is for kindergarten right through to grade 12. They have thousands of free printable spelling and writing worksheets.
There is a list of helpful blogs, lesson templates, and graphic aids. There's even a book list.
This site is for kindergarten to high school.
It includes reading comp, spelling, grammar, vocab, literary terms and plot summaries of texts like The Giver, To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, Macbeth, etc.
Busted Halo
Busted Halo is a great website for Catholic Educators. It has wonderful articles and links.
I particularly like their interactive advent and lenten calendars and their video series. If you want to teach the sacraments, their Sacraments 101 series is fantastic. My students love the “You Don’t Know Jack” series with Father Jack Collins and their “...in 2 minutes” series is a quick way to introduce a concept. The link is: https://bustedhalo.com/
Fraction Strips, Circles and Math Manipulatives
I have a set of magnetic fraction strips like this which are on my board all year. Students love to use them and they are invaluable to many of my struggling learners. As part of my introduction to fractions, each student makes their own fraction kit, which includes fraction strips and circles, that they can then take out and use whenever
needed.
Every junior classroom should have a complete set of math manipulatives in the room. I don’t think it is enough to just bring them out when doing a particular task. By having them at hand, junior students find creative ways to help themselves learn, often finding creative ways to use manipulatives.
Scholastic’s The Stacks: Games
Scholastic’s game page offers puzzles, games, and quizzes, but the first things you should check out are the writing games. These prompts are based on characters and themes from Scholastic books and encourage students to practice their creative writing skills.
https://www.scholastic.com/kids/home/
Edmoodo
CBC Kids
SumDog
https://www.sumdog.com/
Prodigy
www. prodigygame.com
Google Knowledge Graph
What it is: Google Knowledge Graph is an enhanced way of using the standard search bar. In essence, Google Knowledge Graph consists of those short, accurate answers you see when you ask a question in Google search. Rather than dig through websites to find the distance to the moon in miles (for instance), Google Knowledge Graph quickly answers your query and suggests resources for further investigation.
Why it’s good: Google Knowledge Graph provides many resources for educators, including live and online tutorials, lesson plans, and interactive class materials.
Why it’s relevant: New developments in Google Knowledge Graph, such as Voice Search and Carousel, have made this product even more user-friendly. Google's ongoing efforts to make its search engine compatible with your mobile devices make for an increasingly versatile tool.
https://www.noodle.com/articles/32-innovative-online-tools-to-use-in-2015
Jeopardy
The classic jeopardy game can be used in a variety of ways as a teaching tool in a Junior classroom. It is fun and interactive to review learning, or as a diagnostic tool to see how much students know about a new subject, or to learn new stuff! With the link below, you can create your own game, by creating your own topics, adding in your own pictures, and creating the amount of each question. Or you can use an already created game. This website is accessible with many devices such as smartphones, iPads, and IPods.
Link: http://www.superteachertools.us/jeopardyx/
Scattergories
This is an offline teaching tool that is has a twist to the classic game of Scattergories. Get the class into even teams of about 4-5 students. The group will choose one “reader” and the others will each grab a piece of paper and create a list from 1-6. Example:
The reader will read the six
categories that the teacher
creates depending on
what they are working on.
The rest of the group must listen to the category and write an answer to each of the 6.
*However, each category must start with the letter rolled at the beginning of the game. (You only need one letter dice for the whole class because they will all get the same letter). If you do not have a letter dice, then you can use the link below.
Letter wheel: https://wheeldecide.com/wheels/board-games/scattegories-spinner/
Tell the students they have (2/3/4) minutes to complete all six.
After the time limit is over, students will share their answers.
Possible points:
Virtual Tours!
Take your students on virtual tours of almost any iconic building or location. Virtual tours are a great way to grab the interests of your students. It makes learning feel more realistic and alive since the children can visually see the building in a virtual environment. As a teacher, you could discuss the differences in buildings, location on a map, or the colours used, or you could have students guess what the room is/used for… the list is endless.
This link has many of the top virtual tours:
https://www.tripsavvy.com/virtual-field-trips-for-kids-3129414
Google Classroom
Google Classroom is a great resource that has many different uses in the classroom. Personally, I use Google Classroom in 3 different ways: I can post announcements to my students reminding them of upcoming assignments or tests, I can post activities for them to complete which then get submitted directly to me for marking, and I include all of the resources for my math lessons on my Google Classroom as well. The last example is the one that I find is the most effective. Each day, I post the math problem that we worked on along with the learning goal for that lesson, the co-created summary of learning, and extension questions. This creates a consistent place for the students to go if they need extra practice or when they are studying for upcoming quizzes. It is also great for students who are absent, as they know to check the Google Classroom to catch up on the math work they missed while they were away.
Conjugemos
Conjugemos is a website that is interactive and educational! It is used to practice verb conjugations in a fun and exciting way. It is play-based, so my students really enjoy it! I use it for French verb conjugations, but there are many other languages available as well. It is a great resource for students to get extra practice at home or if they have finished their work early and need something to do while the other students continue working. ��https://conjuguemos.com/
Mathies
Mathies is a great resource for those classrooms who are missing some essential math manipulatives. It is an online database that allows students to use manipulatives to help solve math problems. It is very basic, and not at all comparable to actually having the manipulatives for the students to work hands on with, but it works in a pinch! Some of my students do prefer this to the manipulatives themselves, but others don’t find it quite as helpful. It is definitely something worth trying! ��http://www.mathies.ca/
Il était une histoire...
This is a great resource for beginner FSL students specifically for listening and reading. It has all kinds of stories, fables and songs from all over the world in French. With a free account, you can listen to the stories or read along to a recording, which really helps young readers.
Languages Online
This is a website that reinforces basic vocabulary through games! You can either play the games together on the smartboard in class or you can put the links on a website so kids can play for extra credit at home.
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline/french/french.htm
Idéllo
This website has tons of videos for FSL students of all levels. There are cultural songs, mini-documentaries, and television programs. You can create a free account as a teacher, then browse the content by age and by theme. For certain video collections, they even offer lesson plans and tie-in activities.
Students can use Pinterest to help them generate creative ideas for a project. They can easily sort their pins into which projects they are working on, or just general interest. This caters to inquiry-based learning because students can search and pin what they are interested in and always have the option of looking at it later. For example, if there is a particular craft they see, they may want to come back to it, use it as inspiration and create their own flare/style to it.
Download the app or go to pinterest.com to access. Must have an account which is free.
National Geographic Kids
This website is great for Science and Social Studies. The site consists of videos, pictures games and a lot of information written in kid-friendly language.
Access the site at:
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
ABCya.com
This site goes up to grade 5 and provides students with games to primarily work on math and literacy skills. It's a great resource because you will find that the games relate very closely to the curriculum. Students get to choose what grade they are in and games for their particular age group come up. I have also used this with primary and have found that kids love this site and as long as they are playing a math or literacy game, it is educational.
Visit www.abcya.com. Click on grade 4 or 5.