For me, the weekend consisted of getting caught up on housework, moving vehicles around for the guys in the field, and attempting to do some prep work for school. Part of that included finding some neat resources that I thought fit in perfect with my science and math classes that I am going to have in September! As always, I will be adding these to my list of resources under the Fav Websites heading.
1 ) Wonderopolis
- Have you ever wondered.....? This website is a great resource to explore
all of those random and thought-provoking questions that the innocence of
childhood brings up. Why do stink bugs, stink? Is the 5 second rule really
true? Can you tickle yourself?
- Wonderopolis allows users to search through various "wonders" that can
be narrowed down by subject area and grade level. Each "wonder" includes
text, videos, and images to help explain the question.
- The website also features a "Wonder of the Day" that could be built into a
morning routine or used as an activating strategy for science classes. I think
this website could be really neat for drawing students into science classes and
encouraging creativity and, well, wonder.
- http://wonderopolis.org/
2 ) PBS: Design Squad Nation
- This website, which is part of the PBS website, features some great hands-on
activities and ideas to get students engaged in engineering. Users can pick from
a variety of topics such as structures, simple machines, electricity, etc and find
a plethora of lesson plans, animations, and videos!
- Teachers can use the lesson plan/activity ideas or use the animations and videos
as supplementary materials for their own lessons. I am definitely going to be using
this with my students in the upcoming year as components of this are included in
both our Grade 7 and Grade 8 curriculum.
- http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/
3 ) Scholastic: Study Jams
- One of the fun things I try to include in my classes is a music lesson to meet the
needs of my musical learners and provide a new, engaging opportunity for my
students. More often than not, this is provided in the form of various YouTube
videos put out by other teachers/students, but Study Jams has now provided
a new platform for this!
- Put out by Scholastic, Study Jams features math and science songs to help
students learn and understand various vocabulary and concepts. Students
can watch videos, test their knowledge, and sing along with songs created for
educational purposes.
- While it states that it is created for elementary students I would use certain
videos with middle years and it would be a great website for differentiating
instruction.
- http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams
Happy Monday Tuesday everyone!
Great minds think alike! I just recently posted about Wonderopolis! We love it. :)
ReplyDeleteBrandee @ Creating Lifelong Learners
Hey Brandee! I absolutely love the website, so many neat things for students (especially those that may need that extra "hook" to draw them in)! Great minds truly think alike :)
DeleteI have just spent 10 minutes lost in Wonderopolis loving every minute of it. Not only can I not wait to use it in class but I can not wait to show my son - he will flip for it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for more of your wonderful helpful tips....good luck with your planning.
Angie, glad you are enjoying it as much as I am! There were so many interesting questions that I just kept searching and searching. I hope your son loves it as much as us :) Thank you for taking the time to comment and thank you for your support!
DeleteGreat sites! I have sent out the links to several members of our staff and added them to my pinterest boards. We have just added stem at the 4th grade level so the PBS site was perfect! Thanks for sharing and good luck with your new job this fall!
ReplyDeleteThank you Buckeyegal! I am happy to hear that they are not only helpful to you but your colleagues as well :) I am glad that I was able to share something that helped out other teachers. Thank you so much for stopping by the blog and your well wishes :)
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