Talking SMARTBoards & Much More!

Here is another very nice interactive game that will challenge your student’s  knowledge of the U.S. Constitution.   You are given 30 questions to answer.  Click on the “Draw a Card” option to the right bottom of the screen, a question will appear and then type in your answer (correct spelling counts!!). When finished click on the “Answer” option and you will be told if you are correct or incorrect.  Click on “Buy the Answer” option if you get stumped!  The instructions for the game can be found by clicking on that option at the top right of the page. This activity presents well on the SMART Board.  Of course you would need to either use the SMART Board onscreen keyboard or the computer keyboard to type answers.  The teacher I collaborated with had created an answer template, divided her class into groups and used it as a class review. ENJOY!

The Bill of Rights Match Game is a great activity/game to help students understand and review the Bill of Rights.  There are are two levels- elementary and high school.   The object is to read each statement and decide if the answer is yes or no based on the information they have learned about the Bill of Rights.  It then asks you to identify the specific Amendment you based your answer on. This game would present well on the SMARTBoard. ENJOY!

I stumbled across this great game to review/quiz students on American Symbols. You simply answer the 30 questions that appear on the screen by clicking and dragging the answer to the answer box.  The incorrect answer is not “accepted” into the box and the correct answer allows you to proceed to the next question. ENJOY!

GeoNet is a wonderful site from Houghton Mifflin that offers some challenging geography games.  Players are given a choice of answering questions regarding a U.S. or World map and then given choices of different regions to explore.  Once you pick a region you are then given 6 categories to test your knowledge and skills. Players also can select between two levels of difficulty. This game works wonderfully on the SMART Board- ENJOY!

The International Monetary Fund has designed a great game to help students understand the concept of international trade.  It’s called Trading Around the World. In their own words, “Play this game to experience the challenges and excitement of international trade. See if you can get the best price for the goods you sell and the biggest bargains for the goods you buy. Watch how the global economy is doing: the prices you’ll be able to get and the deals you can make depend on how healthy the global economy is.” This would be a great opportunity for students to have first hand experience in the world of economics and to use their negotiation skills.  Here is a link to the Teacher’s Guide for this game.  The first time you play you are given a game number so that when you return to the site you can pick up where you left off. ENJOY!

Just a quick share for an interactive site called  America by Air.  This is a site from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum that explores the history of commercial air travel.  There are several fun interactive activities to give visitors a sense of the way air travel was from the beginning. This site offers engaging and meaningful ways to explore the impact of air travel over the years. Many of the options offered present well on the SMART Board.ENJOY!

I was asked by a history teacher if I knew of any interactive websites to support a lesson on The Renaissance.  I was reminded of a site by the Allentown Art Museum called The Renaissance Connection. In their own words-”With the simple click of a mouse button, travel 500 years into the past to discover many Renaissance innovations revealed through the Allentown Art Museum’s Samuel H. Kress Collection of European art.”  This site does require Flash. All of the activities including Inventions 1400-2020, Art Explorer, etc. present very well on the SMARTBoard. ENJOY!

I learned of  this wonderful site that presents an amazing interactive history of money from Larry Ferlazzo on Twitter.  The site was designed by the National Museum of American History and is called Legendary Coins and Currency. There are many features to this site including the Online Exhibition and the Legends Game (that is quite fun!).  All of these features present and work well on the SMART Board. ENJOY!

There has been lots of tweets today over on Twitter about the new BBC Schools Primary History site, and rightfully so, it’s awesome!  Larry Ferlazzo also mentioned it on his blog today. The site focuses on six primary history subjects ranging from Ancient Greeks to Children of World War 2.  When you click on a specific subject you are brought to a page that is filled with information including photos, timelines. fund facts, etc.  This site would present well on the SMARTBoard- especially the timelines(click launch timelines from the main page).  Don’t forget to check out the Teacher’s Resources pages (links found on each subject page) where you will find pre-made, down loadable worksheets and quizzes to supplement and reinforce the lesson. This is definitely  a site worth checking out- ENJOY!

I learned of this very powerful, thought provoking video on Twitter from Naomi Harm called The Miniature Earth. Click on the language you would like to view it in– English, French, Spanish, etc.– and watch.  The premise of the movie is to demonstrate what the world would look like if the population was reduced to only 1oo people.  The statistics are very eye opening.  This would be a wonderful video to share with middle and highs school studentsvto elicit conversation about world hunger and poverty and the need to accept differences in our cultures and beliefs. Also a great video to share with staff. The video is very powerful.  It would present well on the SMARTBoard and could easily be incorporated into a variety of lessons. ENJOY!