Beverly's Academic World: Web Resources

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Web Resources

There are quite a few web resouces I use both personally and professionally. Most of my professional resources are geared toward using more technology and other hands on activities in the classroom. My classroom favorites are http://www.bristolvaschools.org/mwarren/SBActivities.htm and http://exchange.smarttech.com/no-download.html -both of which are geared toward Smartboard activities and lesson plans. These sites I find useful because they have allowed me to infuse the Smartboard more effectively into my classroom activities. My professional development favorites are http://www.pd360.com/pd360.cfm?#tab=home&page=homeWall and http://www1.teachertube.com/. These websites are useful because they provide me with a variety of videos on how to enhance my classroom teaching. My personal favorites are http://www.pandora.com/#/ and http://www.ajc.com/ which I find personally useful in feeding my love of gospel music (pandora) and my desire to know what is going on around me (ajc).

4 comments:

Joanne GilbreathJune 10, 2011 at 12:37 AM
Hi Beverly,

Great resources for your SmartBoard. I love the fact that teachers, who are natural sharers, have sites such as these where they can support one another. Community and common love for learning really develop in resource sites such as these.

Plus having the ability to customize what you listen to in Pandora is awesome as well.

Kewl!
Joanne
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AnonymousJune 10, 2011 at 4:47 PM
Beverly,
I love TeacherTube too! I had occasion to use it during a training session once, and really love it. The SmartBoard sites seem really good, I'll be sure to pass those along to some of my faculty members and my son's teachers. It sounds like from all of your posts that you've really found good online resources to fuel your passions and development.
Thanks,
Dyan
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AnonymousJune 12, 2011 at 12:09 PM
Excellent stuff. I've seen some similar sites for teachers sharing their ideas, but I hadn't seen TeacherTube yet. That's just fantastic.

And, yes, Pandora is a purely genious idea that has caused me to find several of my favorite artists over the years.

Joe Greene
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David BennettJune 12, 2011 at 9:54 PM
Great sites for the Smartboard. I was only just introduced to those last week and I sure hope I land a job in a school that is using them. I have already bookmarked the sites you provided (they look very useful) to bank them against the day I have my own classroom.
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Lesson Plan Summaries

Lesson Plan #1: The objective/goal of this lesson is for students to demonstrate their knowledge of 3-D figures. Students will do this by drawing and identifying the shape when a 2-D shape is rotated and translated through space. The procedures for this lesson include: 1) Pre-assessment, 2) Direct Instruction-the class will be broken down into 6 groups of 4 and rotate through stations. In the first station, students will rotate 2-D shapes on straws and draw and identify the 3-D shape formed. The next station includes students translating 2-D shapes through moon sand and drawing and identifying the 3-D shape formed. In the 3rd station, students will explore 3-D shapes further on the following website: http://www.learner.org/interactives/geometry/3d_pyramids.html. Students will then log onto their blogs and answer the following question: Which activity did you enjoy and most and why? Students will be assessed in a variety of ways. First, the pre-assessment will be an Anticipation Guide in which they will answer a series of questions. Throughout the lesson, they will fill in a graphic organizer for their rotations and translations. For the post-assessment, students will fill out the Anticipation Guide again.

Lesson Plan #2: The goal/objective of this lesson is for students to add integers using counters, number lines, technology, and the rule. The procedures for this lesson include students taking a Pre-assessment over adding integers. Next, students will be divided into 6 groups of 4 and rotate through 3 stations. In the first station, students will explore adding integers with red and black counters. They will see if they are able to come up with the rule for adding integers. In the second station, students will use number lines to explore adding integers. They will see if the rule they came up with in the 1st station also works in the 2nd station. At the 3rd station, students will continue exploring adding integers by using the following website: www.explorelearning.com/. Students will then log into their blog and explain how to use counters, number lines, and the rule to add integers. Students must include diagrams. The assessments include students taking a pre-test, using the counters, number lines, and rules to add integers, and creating a SmartBoard page and presenting it to the class.

Plan #3: The objective/goal of this lesson is for students to find the prime factorization of a whole number using the factor tree and upside-down division methods. The procedure for this lesson was for students to complete Prime Factorization WebQuest (included in the WebQuest links). In the WebQuest, students watched videos and read summaries of how to use the factor tree and upside-down division methods to find the prime factorization of whole numbers. Students kept tracked of what they learned which will be used in designing their final project. The assessments throughout the lesson include taking notes on how to use the factor tree and upside down division methods in order to find the prime factorziation of whole numbers. Students will then use that informatin to choose one of the following activities: PowerPoint presentation, comic strip, rap, poem, song, or a storyboard. Students will present their projects to the class.

Lesson Plan #4: The objective/goal of this lesson is for students to create an online animation to show what they learned over the course of the school year. The procedures for this lesson include: 1) Students creating an ABC book (using Word) to define and show an example of the vocabulary words they learned in the 7th grade. 2) Students will then use the site www.exploretree.org.uk/explore/?notice=new_user to create graphic organizers for their vocabulary words. 3) Students will use either of these sites: http://goanimate.com/studio or http://www.xtranormal.com/ to create an online animation. The animation must include a topic/unit covered in the 7th grade, define key vocabulary terms and pictures, explain how to solve at least 3 problems, and give example problems for others to solve. Students will then post a link to their animations on their blogs. The assessments for this lesson include the ABC book and the animation (which will be graded using a rubric).

WebQuest Links

1) Prime Factorization -This WebQuest has students exploring how to find the prime factorization of whole numbers using the factor tree and upside down division methods. Students are then given the choice of presenting what they learned by choosing one of the following activities: PowerPoint presentation, comic strip, storyboards, creating a rap, poem, or song, or creating another method to find the prime factorization of a number.

2) Graphs - This WebQuest has students exploring various types of graphs (bar, line, histogram, line plot, box and whisker plot, scatterplot, circle, and pictograph). Students have to define, explain when best to use, and draw an example of each graph and create a foldable with this information. This page also includes the Hangman Game and a Quiz.