Quickly mute a tab (in chrome)

As Alice Keeler shares in this post, I’ve opened a tab, realized the video is playing, and then frantically look for the volume key (this always seems to happen when I’m another machine and I can never find the mute key).  Use her suggestion and mute the tab!

Animals and Climate Change

I recently received this email with animal climate change resources:

The complex interaction of biological traits and environmental conditions

that cause a species to be susceptible to climate change and the basics of

the carbon cycle are made simple and understandable through illustrations,

symbols and brief explanatory text. Thoroughly documented to studies from

reliable sources, including the IUCN Climate Change Specialist Group, NASA,

NOAA, the US EPA, and the IPCC, the resource features 25 animals

that highlight the fundamental impacts of greenhouse gases—

causes, effects and risk of extinction—on all forms of life on the planet.

This material is available as a full color wall poster, a 70 page downloadable

PDF presentation, and online on our free educational website at

http://theglobaleducationproject.org/climate-change

You can never have too much Mr. Rogers

PBS has a collection of Mr. Rogers resources and videos- when people talk about teaching kindness, he’s the person that jumps up in my mind.  He was ahead of time and has left a legacy that you can use today. Here’s the link to the resources.

Free Art lessons

Artyfactory offers many free art lessons- this might be just the thing for the student struggling with their own talents (or in my case, the lack of!).  For the complete review from TeachersFirst, please click here.

So you don’t think you can code?

But can you copy and paste?  In this blog post from Alice Keeler, she gives several

suggestions to getting started to code in Google. And she is right about the copy

and paste- I did this when I was looking to modify a spreadsheet!

The Met for Kids!

One of the things I found interesting in this art site from the Metropolitan Museum was the section Made by kids.  I viewed several short videos produced by students- it might provide some ideas/inspiration for your own class! Visit Met Kids to get started! For a complete review from TeachersFirst, please click here.

ESL and Drama= Perfect Together

Here’s a site filled with ideas for ESL (and I think it could be adapted for ELA classroom)

to use in your classroom.  From script writing, reader theatre, and improvisation,

there is something for everyone. Check out Drama in the ESL classroom.

For the complete review from TeachersFirst, please click here.

Go on the Blvrd

You know- the online art tour Boulevard  (BLVRD). Here you can explore a variety of museum artworks and read (or listen) to the commentary- I like to listen since I can view the image at the same time.  For a complete review, please see TeachersFirst here.

Drama for all!

Drama Resources contains everything you need for drama class- lesson plans,

warm-ups, and activities.  I thought some of the warm-up activities would

be useful in most classrooms and weren’t restricted to drama!

For a complete review of the site, please see TeachersFirst.

Chrome Music Lab

Want to explore rhythms? Harmony?chords?  Check out the Chrome Music Lab.  For a complete review, please see TeachersFirst here.

For all the ARTS!

Arts Alive is a site filled with all things music, dance and theatre!  From becoming your own choreographer to an instrument lab, there is something for everyone.

If you are a novice to Google Forms,

You will want to check out this 5 step blog post from Alice Keeler!  
You will find everything you need to get a successful start in forms.

Think you know everything about Storyboardthat?

Ready to take your Storyboardthat skills to the next level?  Want to explore
cropping? Images features? Perspective?  Check out these posts to take
your creations to the next level!

• Special Effects
• Character Posing Tips
• Adding Perspective
• Be Your Own Storyboard Artist
• Storyboard Creator Help Page

Using Google Classroom with Parents

While Google Classroom has had the option for guardians to get assignment summaries, you can now use it to send email (and include assignment information).  Once you have the guardian email (and they accept the invitation), just follow Alice Keeler’s directions to send guardian emails.

When a worksheet will not work

Alice Keeler makes some valid points in her blog post on the quality of learning.  In her brief discussion of Depth of Knowledge, she strives to engage her students and add those 4 Cs (Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Communication) to the work.  She shares a sample project (and it is much more interesting than a worksheet.

Active and Healthy

In this nutrition and physical activity program from Discovery Education,

educators can help students develop lifelong healthy lifestyles.  

Please click here for the details on Fuel Up to Play 60!

Quizizz

Last week, I shared Quizizz with some new teachers.  While you cannot

beat Kahoot! for a game, Quizizz provides more options and deeper

learning opportunity. With the questions on their devices and the

numerous teacher options, Quizizz has added multiple correct

options as well.  Alice Keeler recently shared her thoughts here.

The Five Es

Alice Keeler shares her view of the 5Es in her blog post here.  

How could this strategy help your lesson plans?

SMART Lab

If you are looking for a general overview of the SMART Lab activities,

spend a few minutes with this video from SMART.  It’s interesting to see

the activities in action as well as the manage content feature and slide

editing processes.

STEM and the Navy

Discovery Education has an archived field trip (along with teacher material)

on the USS Nimitz- click here to view.

PI Day is coming!

TeachersFirst has collected all the Pi Day resources you will ever need.  Please click here to view!

Giving every student a voice

Here’s a blog post from PearDeck that might help you see why

every student should have a voice- and how easy it can be

using PearDeck.

Pi Day is coming!

For all my math friends, Pi Day is next week,  Here are some

suggestions from We Are Teachers.

Need material on Daylight Saving Time?

Here’s a slew of materials on Daylight Savings Time from

Discovery Education.  Given the last two snow days

(and I know many of you have benchmark tests), maybe

this is something for next week.

All you need to know about St Patrick’s Day

Here is a link from Discovery Education with everything you need to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (leprechauns and Irish Soda Bread not included).

Everything you wanted to know about Google classroom

Alice Keeler has compiled the ultimate Google Classroom instructional

videos- and they are short and targeted to your needs.  Don’t be afraid

of the number (almost 50) - they are short and will help you

answer specific questions.  Please click here for the playlist.

International Water Day

Click here to get all the information on monitoring Earth’s most important
resources.  International Water Day is this month, these yet projects will
continue through the end of the year.

All things Iditarod

If you considering exploring the Iditarod with your students, here is a list of
sites to meet all your needs. Information supplied by TeachersFirst.

Stop Motion with Google Slides

After watching Matt Miller’s video, I was motivated to try my own Stop Motion video using Google Slides and Screencastify.  While Matt used shapes in Google Slides, I created a character in StoryBoardThat and cut and pasted that image into my Google Slides.  While I didn’t add sound, your students could add sound (as well as a webcam) to their product. If you are interested, Matt’s directions are easy to follow and very complete.

Ideas for National Reading Month

This week’s edition of TeachersFirst highlights a variety of resources for March and National Reading Month.  From LIttle House on the Prairie  to leveled reading (Dreamreader) to The Cat in the Hat.  See all the resources here.

What can you do with a can?

In new Discovery Education lessons you will find a variety of lessons related to aluminum cans and the recycle process.  Lessons are sorted by grade level and include easy to follow lesson plans.

Real World for HS Science and Math

MIT has launched a new site - here is the press release form Big Deal Media:

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed BLOSSOMS

(Blended Learning Open Source Science or Math Studies) to help

students engage in a meaningful way with STEM subjects. BLOSSOMS

uses free video segments to build on math and science fundamentals

by relating abstract concepts to the real world. Educators and

professionals contribute their knowledge and learning to an open

database that anyone can access. Every 50-minute lesson is a

complete resource that includes video segments, a teacher’s guide,

downloadable handouts, and a list of additional online resources

relevant to the topic. BLOSSOMS uses a “teaching duet pedagogy”

model, in which a teacher will help students solve problems

before passing the baton to another teacher for a brief video lesson.

From my quick survey- it looked pretty interesting.  While it is geared

to grades 9-12- I’m sure some you could modify resources to work

with younger students.