I love TECHNOLOGY! I feel it's important for students to use technology as a means to understand (not using technology for technology's sake). Here are some of my favorites to explore that will also enhance learning! Have fun and enjoy learning!
UnitedStreaming - Your children have signed up and now have a username and password to use on this website. It is a website produced by Discovery (as in the Discovery Channel) and provides educational videos (some cartoon, some not), short video clips, and images that serve as primary sources. TUSD has paid for this service and I recommend you take advantage of its use! I use the videos in class frequently-- as your kids know-- to illustrate what we're learning about. Your kids can login, search for topics, and watch videos for free! There are videos all the way from kindergarten to grade 12 -- so your high schooler can use the same account!
How to use the tool:
1. Visit www.unitedstreaming.com
2. Login: Your child has their own username and password. I suggest you keep a copy safe at home.
3. Click on DE Streaming at the top.
4. Select a subject or type in a specific thing to search in the search bar (frogs, decimals, immigration...).
5. Watch the video, or click on the floppy disk icon to save the video to your desktop (then watch it).
Note: I prefer to save to my desktop and either delete it when I'm done watching or save it on my computer. If you don't save to your desktop, it acts similar to youtube in that it may stop mid-video to "buffer"-- especially for slower connected computers.
6. Learn and share with your family!
Additional cool facts: Full-length videos of Magic School Bus are on there... and various other great tools. If your child is struggling with division, for example, find a video about division by searching for it in the tool bar. This is a great computer activity that is much safer than other options and a great "I don't have anything to do on Saturday" tool.
It's a clean, educational activity that's similar to youtube, but without the rotten videos and poor language. Keep in mind though... depending on the child's grade level, there are videos that are directed for high schoolers that may not necessarily be appropriate for elementary-aged kids.
Social Studies
Boat Safe Kids
http://www.boatsafe.com/kids/mercator.htm
This site shows how maps and charts are made
Time Magazine Online for Kids
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/
If you like news and non-fiction stories, this one's for you!
TerraServer Maps
http://terraserver-usa.com/
Amazing aerial photographs and maps of virtually anywhere in America!
The Oregon Trail
http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail.html
Learn more about the famous path to the West
Place the Statehttp://www.sheppardsoftware.com/states_experiment_drag-drop_Intermed_State15s_500.html
Test your knowledge of the location of each of the states in America
State Tourism Offices
http://www.50states.com/tools/moreinfo.htm
Phone numbers and websites of all 50 states' tourism offices. Use this link to request information from CA
50 States.com
http://www.50states.com
All you need to know about the 50 states
Kids Konnect
http://www.kidskonnect.com/AlphabetizedList.html
A great source of information on all 50 states (and a whole lot more)
Stately Knowledge
http://www.ipl.org/youth/stateknow/
Facts about the United States
Netstate
http://www.netstate.com/states/
Another great website with tons of information on all 50 states
Congress.org
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/?lvl=L
Use this site to find information about state senators and representatives
The PBS Democracy Project
http://www.pbs.org/democracy/kids/
Learn all about how our government works!
The White House for Kids
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/
Learn all about the White House and the President of the United States
The White House Historical Association
http://www.whitehousehistory.org
Tons of information about The White House and its history
Presidents of the United States
http://www.presidentsusa.net/
All you ever wanted to know about America's presidents
Archiving Early America
http://earlyamerica.com/
A site with tons of information about our country's roots
Immigration WebQuest: America's Story
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/1492-1763
Meet famous Americans, jump back in time, or explore the 50 states
The American Immigration Home Page
http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/Immigration/
Look here for some great information on immigration
Foreign Currency Image Gallery
http://www.kcshop.com/imagegallery/
This site has great pictures of money from countries all over the world
World Flag Database
http://www.flags.net/
Find any country's flag
Math
All things math for grades 4-8!
http://www.sw-georgia.resa.k12.ga.us/GO%204-8/4-8%20GO.htm
Help worksheets on just about anything you're learning about in math class.
Math Playground
http://www.mathplayground.com/
Practice your math skills, play a logic game and have some fun!
AAA Math
http://www.aaamath.com/
Excellent site with links to pages in all areas of math
Fractions
http://www.aaamath.com/fra.html
Great explanations, interactive practice, and games about fractions
Divisibility Rules
http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/wrightj/MA22/Num/DivRule.htm
All the divisibility rules and why they work
Saxon Math
http://www.saxonpublishers.com/activities/index.jsp
Online activities to strengthen your math skills
A+ Math
http://aplusmath.com/
Interactive flash cards and games
Multiplication.com
http://www.multiplication.com
Practice your multiplication facts
Tangram Puzzles
http://standards.nctm.org/document/eexamples/chap4/4.4/
Like geometry? You'll love this challenging site!
Figure This!
http://figurethis.org/challenges/toc.htm
Math challenges for families
Quia Mathematics
http://www.quia.com/dir/math/
Practice your math skills, from multiplication to algebra
Math Helper
http://www.webmath.com/index3.html
Helps you figure out --step-by-step-- how to solve multiplication/division, etc.
Language Arts
Analogy of the Day
http://www.factmonster.com/cgi-bin/analogy
Excellent practice with analogies -- a different analogy every day!
Learning Vocabulary Can Be Fun
http://www.vocabulary.co.il/
Learn new vocabulary while playing games like Hangman and doing word searches
Learn English
http://www.learn-english.co.il/
Easily learn over 1,500 English words and phrases
The John Newbery Medal
http://www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html
Looking for a good book? Here's a list of those that have been awarded the Newbery Medal, an award given annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children
Merriam-Webster Online Language Center
http://www.m-w.com/
Online dictionary, thesaurus, and more!
Fake Out!
http://www.eduplace.com/fakeout/
A fun way to improve your vocabulary
Free Rice
www.freerice.com
This website may be too difficult but it would be fun to put your parents to the test and see what they know while learning a new word or two yourself!
Science
Weather Wiz Kids
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/
A site all about weather, designed by a meteorologist specifically for kids
The Nine Planets - Just for Kids
http://kids.nineplanets.org/
Great site on our solar system, designed for kids
Welcome to the Planets
http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/welcome.htm
Great pictures and information on our solar system's nine planets
The Discovery Channel for Kids
http://kids.discovery.com/
Packed with information on just about everything
Skateboard Science Exploratorium
www.exploratorium.edu/skateboarding/index.html
Learn the science behind skateboarding
Astronomy
http://www.frontiernet.net/~kidpower/astronomy.html
Learn about planets, stars, and more!
Misc.
Brain Pop
http://www.brainpop.com/
You can watch all the free videos without a membership!
FunBrain
http://www.funbrain.com
Great website for educational games. This site gets great reviews!
Yahoo! Kids
http://kids.yahoo.com/The web guide for kids! Games, puzzles, and more!
Funschool.com
http://www.funschool.com/
Educational games
Technology
VoiceThread
http://www.voicethread.com
This COOL website is good for "techie" kids who own a microphone and know how to upload photos!
Picnik
http://picnik.com
The best, free online resource (no downloading!) for editing pictures and saving them back to your computer!
I use this in technology club and love it!
Many of the above websites are borrowed from www.mrcoley.com. Thank you!
