Track Modern-Day Glaciers with Glacier Works

Ever wish you could look through a lens to see what things were like 100 years ago?  One site, GlacierWorks has made that possible for geologists studying glaciers.

"Founded by acclaimed mountaineer, photographer, and filmmaker David Breashears, GlacierWorks is a non-profit organization that vividly illustrates the changes to Himalayan glaciers through art, science, and adventure."

Explore maps of modern-day glaciers, learn about the rivers and local cultures surrounding the glacial sites, learn about the history of the glacier research teams, immerse yourself in 360° breath-taking photos of Himalayan mountain views, and best of all, interact with pictures that show the before and after views of the glaciers over a 50-100 year period.

This site would be an excellent discussion starter for your students, getting them to realize the minimal or vast changes that can happen over a human lifetime or a geological "eye-blink".

Visualize Word Defining

Looking for a neat new way to look up word definitions?  Try  Visuwords!  While browsing through one of my most favorite teacher blogs ever, (Your Smarticles....check it out!!) I noticed Mrs. Howard's recommendation of the site.  She had used it with her class in several different ways as a dictionary, thesaurus, grammar guide, and more.  I would recommend it for grades 5-12 teachers.

To use Visuwords, simply type in a word that you want to look up and then watch as you are able to interact with and explore the word to find new meaning and related terms.  TO read a full definition, hover over a word, to expand on a related term, just double click on it and watch as your word web grows.  Move the "bubbles", as I'll call them, around on the page and zoom in or out to adjust your view.

Try using it with your vocab list today!

(screen shot from looking up "suspense"...click for larger view.)