HMS Friday Finds
2019-2020
POP into the library!
March 6, 2020
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January 17, 2020
Sutori
Check out more details about Sutori here, and read this blog post for 50 ideas of how you might use Sutori in your classroom.
Awesome Article Sites for Students
Free time? Try these sites!
20 sites for students with free time on their hands
(This is a Wakelet collection, a tool I mentioned last month.)
Some sites I think might be especially interesting to middle school students are:
- freerice.com (a vocabulary site that also gives back)
- icivics.org (games to play related to civics, and also lots of lesson plans and curriculum ideas if that's your content area!)
- Wonderopolis (questions asked and answered over any topic imaginable! A great site to satisfy curiosity...)
- Code.org (games that teach coding for the youngest on up!)
- Crash Course Kids and Sci Show Kids (two series of science videos made by the creators of the Crash Course YouTube channel)
Check out the link for these and more!
December 13, 2019
Ken Burns in the Classroom
Ken Burns, the filmmaker who has created award-winning historical documentaries for more than 40 years, has launched a research site through PBS Learning Media. Created for sixth through 12th grade educators, it houses free teaching and learning resources inspired by his documentaries. The site includes hundreds of video clips, lesson plans, activity suggestions, discussion questions, handouts and interactives to help educators integrate the films into instruction. Even if you don't plan to use one of his films, though, the site could be a great jumping off point for a variety of topics.
Green Screens for video use
This past summer iMovie got an update, so now it is SUPER easy to add the green screen effect within iMovie. There are other ways to record using the green screen effect, of course, but iMovie (available on iPads or iPhones) makes it an easy step by step process.
Audrey recently used the green screens with her 5th graders as they recorded videos of their Native American artifacts. They added pictures of their Native American region to use as background as they presented the artifacts. A few examples are below.
Let me know if you have ideas for how you might use the green screens and how I can be helpful in the process!
Wakelet
Wakelet is compatible with all kinds of other tools, including Google and Google Classroom.
If you ever have students curate content, or you curate content for them, Wakelet is a tool you might want to try.
Bonus: Gift Ideas!
Washington Post's Best Books of 2019 (books for adults)
Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best Books of 2019 (books for adults)
Bill Gates's favorite books of 2019 plus the decade (books for adults)
Smithsonian Magazine's Ten Best Children's Books of 2019 (books for children)
Publisher's Weekly Best Books 2019 (books for children and young adults)
Goodread's Best Books of 2019 (books for all ages, chosen by readers)
As always, I am happy to talk books with you if you're looking for ideas for the kids in your life!
November 8, 2019
Spheros
Shout out to Megan for using the Spheros within her ELA class over the last couple of weeks. Her students worked in groups to program the Spheros to trace the route that the main character took in the novel they are reading, A Long Walk to Water. In this case the purpose was to experience some frustration and challenge to increase empathy for the character's experience. But there are lots of other possible purposes for using the Spheros! Take a look at this site for a sample of all the different kinds of activities that the Spheros can be used for:
https://edu.sphero.com/cwists/category
I know Elise is also using them in the Engineering class, and I'm sure she or Megan would be happy to talk with you more about how you might use them in your class. I encourage you to explore how you might use them with your students!
Pulitzer Center Lesson Plans
They have hundreds of lesson plans related to writing, text analysis, debate, world history, science, photography, visual art, research, and digital storytelling. Take a look!
Genially
October 4, 2019
more FlipGrid ideas!
I mentioned FlipGrid in last month's edition of the Friday Finds, but I am highlighting it again. I want to give a shoutout to Heather who tried it for the first time this week! She used the whiteboard feature within the FlipGrid camera to assess students in their understanding of the concept they learning in math right now. See an example of a 5th grader's video below.
https://flipgrid.com/s/839aa0dac53c
With the addition of the new features within the camera, you could ask students to:
--compare and contrast two lists, two images, two sentences, etc.
--evaluate someone else's writing
--create a mini-poster to explain a concept
--and more!
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt FYI
I ran across this resource recently that might have some useful resources for some of you. Included are nonfiction texts, videos, etc related to essential questions. I encourage you to look at grades other than the one you primarily teach. There are articles related to the power of nature, ordinary people making extraordinary decisions, immigration and culture, and more. This might be a good way to include some timely articles within the content you are already teaching.
It looks like these resources might change monthly, so don't wait too long to check it out!
Flippity
Flippity is a website that transforms a Google spreadsheet into all kinds of fun things--flashcards, a quiz show, a random name picker, mad libs, and more. Directions and demonstrations are included, so you don't have to be a Google spreadsheet wizard to make it work. It could be a fun way for you to create activities for your students, or for your students to create activities themselves.
August 30, 2019
NEW databases from the State Library
NEW Flipgrid camera
- add filters (including pixel mode)
- add text boxes
- add stickers
- add drawings
- use whiteboard mode
- use live recording (make changes WHILE recording)
- trim and arrange video clips
WOW! Check out this blog post for a list of 20 ideas for using Flipgrid and more of its features. It's a tool that shouldn't be missed!
http://ditchthattextbook.com/2019/08/21/20-activities-to-bloom-with-the-new-flipgrid-camera/