Rainforest at Night February 17, 2009
Posted by anne marie in SMART Board, Science, Websites.Tags: National Geographic, Rainforest
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Found this really cool National Geographic interactive website that explores the Rainforest at Night. You simply mouse over the page (like shining a spotlight) to discover photos and then click on the photo to learn additional facts. When using the SMARTBoard it’s REALLY cool since you move your finger over the SMARTBoard to discover the photos and then touch the photo to learn more. ENJOY!
Free Elementary Activities to Use on SMARTBoard December 31, 2008
Posted by anne marie in ELA, Games, Math, Science, Websites.Tags: SMARTBoard
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I came across 6 free sample Spark Island activities that I found on e-gfl.org that work great on the SMARTBoard. Each game is interactive, engaging, animated and fun! There are 2 games each that address Numeracy, Literacy and Science skills. The Learning Outcomes are based on objectives from Wales, Northern Ireland and England, but would be appropriate for just about any learning environment. In addition to the activities they also provide teachers with other options such as teaching suggestions and printable resources.
For literacy there is It’s A Goal which asks students to chose the correct vowel to spell basic CVC words. The correct answer ellicits a goal! Spin to Win is my favorite! It reinforces the use of prefixes and suffixes using a very cool word spinner.
For Science there is Animal Magic which asks students to group animals according to observable similarities and differences and Home Sweet Home uses scientific evidence to explain why animals live where they do.
For Numeracy there is Play Your Cards Right which uses probability to make guesses in a card game and Down on the Farm reviews basic counting to 5.
Hope these activities help you as you plan your SB lessons for 2009- ENJOY!!
Learn Genetics December 8, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Science.Tags: Genetics
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The University of Utah has a marvelous page, Learn.Genetics, that every biology teacher may want to explore. There is a plethora of information using some very interesting and comprehensive animated lessons. These lessons present very well on the SMARTBoard. There also is a companion website called Teach Genetics that is “a wealth of resources and information aimed at helping educators bring genetics, bioscience and health alive in the classroom.” The print and go section is filled with several lessons and activities for teachers to use. ENJOY!
Free Rice….Free Poverty November 23, 2008
Posted by anne marie in ELA, Games, Math, Science, Websites, art, history/social studies.Tags: Free Poverty, Free Rice
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Over the past few weeks I know several Blogs have written about the two sites I am discussing today (including Mr. Byrnes over at Free Technology for Teachers), but in the spirit of Thanksgiving I wanted to mention each of them on my Blog– Free Rice and Free Poverty. Free Rice tests your knowledge in a variety of subjects (not just ELA) and with each correct answer rice is donated to charity. Free Poverty tests your Geography knowledge and with each correct answer water is donated to charity. Free Poverty is a great way for students to learn and development knowledge of geography and works wonderfully on the SMARTBoard. Free Rice offers a variety of subjects to test your knowledge including math, languages (French, Spanish, German, Italian), Art, Chemistry, English, Geography (click on “change the subject” in the right corner to advance to the page with the choices). Most of these activities work well with the SMARTBoard.
The most incredible feature of both of these educational games is that by using these sites to assist your students in reinforcing/learning specific skills you, and your students, will be helping others less fortunate. I know some school districts who have been keeping track (posting it daily on a board by the main office) of the amounts of rice and water the school has donated just by virtue of using these sites as an educational tool. I also know of one school who started a “Free Rice Challenge” as a motivator- classes have challenged each other to see which class can donate the most amount of rice before Thanksgiving. ENJOY!
HS Science Resources November 19, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Science.Tags: Science
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Rose Marie Chute from the Lone Star College- North Harris has created some fantastic science resources that all of you HS science teachers will love– guaranteed!! The resources that I found to be most helpful for my students are her Science Animations, Movies and Interactive Tutorial Links. They are phenomenal! Here are the links: General Science Collections, Anatomy & Physiology I, Anatomy & Physiology II, Biology I. Each of these subject areas include several subcatagries with a plethera of resources. The main Biology Department website also has links (list to the left) that are worth a look as they include tutorials and WWW Resources. So I would encourage you to go, explore and bookmark all of the sites that are pertinent to your classes. Thank you, Ms. Chute! ENJOY!
Free Science Videos November 18, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Science.Tags: science videos
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Came across a website that offers Free science videos and lectures. There are nine categories (listed to the right), so if you’re looking for a science video to supplement your lessons take a look. ENJOY!
Photosynthesis October 13, 2008
Posted by anne marie in SMART Board, Science.Tags: photosynthesis resources, Science
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As I went for my morning walk I was once again reminded of the magical powers Mother Nature displays during the fall season, here in New England. The air is crisp and fresh, pumpkin fields are dotted in orange and perhaps the most spectacular of her “tricks” are the trees splattered in colors that rival a Picasso painting. For those of you who will be teaching about the changing leaves I thought I’d share a few sites about photosynthesis, all work well, to some degree, with the SMARTBoard
The first is a 5th grade photosynthesis webquest from the Salem School District filled with some great ideas and links.
IKnowthat.com (you will need to register for a free account). You would click on the photosynthesis link and arrive at an interactive page that when your mouse hovers over the illustrations an explanation is given. Make sure you check out the “grow plant” and “Cells Science Desk” (plants) for other relevant pages.
Photosynthesis quiz. There are 15 interactive questions on this quiz. The BBC Bitesize has a great lesson explaining the process of photosynthesis for younger students. You can also print these pages for students.
Illuminating Photosynthesis is page complete with a poem and song about photosynthesis– who knew!!!! I’m sure younger students may enjoy this!
Harcourt School: Science Close Up has a great interactive slide show, complete with audio, explaining the process of photosynthesis. Macmillian/MGraw-Hill has two sites that explain and review photosynthesis. The first is short video (5th grade) Photosynthesis and Respiration. The next is the 5th grade science e-Review. What I really like about this resource is that the slide show is followed with a Think, Talk, Write section to review and engage student responses.
Eduplace has three fun interactive games worth checking out: photosynthesis crossword puzzle , eWord Game, and eWord Find. Flash Card Review has a good section (15 flash cards) to review words and concepts of photsynthesis. Click on start study session to bring up the pre-made flash cards. The University of
Aberdeen has created a very good slide show explaining photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis: Light Reactions is a short interactive slide show from Virginia Tech.
John Kyrk has developed very good interactive animation pages about photosynthesis.
The state of Maine has a very nice Flash movie explaining why leaves change color.
I’ll end with a site Foliage-vermont.com that has a great page that shares cumulative pictures of Vermont’s Fall 2008 Foliage season. There also is a very nice video called a “Taste of Fall”. Beautiful! Would be nice to end with these resources and have students write an essay/poem about the beauty of fall. I hope all of these resources are helpful-ENJOY!
Juice Bottle Jingle Friday FUN! September 26, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Games, Math, Music, Science.Tags: music fun, Science
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I came across this very fun science site (requires Shockwave) that works well on the SMARTBoard and is a fun way to reinforce the numbers 1-6, following directions, cause/affect and is all musically fun! It’s called the LHS Juice Bottle Jingle. Students have to touch the correct numbered bottle to produce a specific song. Again it is a science site specifically addressing sound waves and how so there are other hands-on activities on the page that you might want to check out. ENJOY!
Intellitools and the SMARTBoard September 2, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Assistive Technology, ELA, Math, SMART Board, Science, Special Education.Tags: Intellitools
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In my new role as the Instructional Technology Specialist I have been asked by the Special Education Director to create an Intellitools training for teachers and therapists. As I started to design the Notebook Presentation I was again reminded about how well Intellitools works with the SMARTBoard. Classroom Suite 4 is very user friendly, with pre-made activities/templates along with fantastic directions and how to’s to individualize your lessons. They offer a 30 Day Trial Download (at bottom of page) so you can explore the options and see if it is something that would enhance your curriculum. There also is a great Activity Exchange page (you need to register) that is overflowing with premade activities that have been submitted by teachers- an awesome resource! ENJOY!
Corn Lesson August 19, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Science, Websites.Tags: Corn
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We have been enjoying some DELICIOUS ears of corn this week– love mine dripping with lots of butter and covered in salt!! 
The Great Corn Adventure is a good website created by the University of Illinois Extension that shares all sorts of informative information about corn in an animated, audio format (also available in Spanish). This presents well on the SMARTBoard and there are some interactive features during the show. You can also have the students touch the arrow to advance the show which addresses cause/affect objectives. ENJOY!
