Free Documentaries - Inspire Knowledge, Debate, and more.

I wanted to share today's site because I think it can be the source of fuel for a great many debates in a high school classroom.  Have your students watch one of these documentaries on Free Documentaries.org and shake them out of their "blissfully unaware" status quo.

This site offers free steaming (and promised future download capabilities) of a couple hundred documentaries.  There are several topics including history, popular culture, politics, and more.  I have previewed several of the videos and I found that I only had to watch one advertisement at the beginning.  I was unable to watch the movies in their entirety, but I assume that they are uninterrupted by ads for the rest of their duration. 

I was excited to see that well-known documentarian Michael Moore also had some of his films listed on the site, but I was unable to get them to play.  However, that does not mean that the others are of a lesser quality.  Why not use the film Santa's Workshop in your economics class to provoke discussion on cheap labor and it's moral costs.  Maybe you would use the 6-part mini series Hitler's Holocaust to give your students a chilling story of what happened during that terrible time.  Or have your health class take a look at The Tobacco Conspiracy and have a debate over business vs. general good.

What's great about documentaries, is you can use them to show first hand facts.  If you are using them to spark a debate, you can show how not all issues are black and white, or the news you hear at 7:00 each night might not be the whole truth.  Share these with your students and see what you can spark within them.

Get Your Kids Interested in Government with iCivics!

Today is the big day!  Time to vote!  In celebration of our nation's finest quality, I want to highlight a great site that will help your students understand the different branches of our government and see that the jobs of politicians are not always easy!

Check out iCivics and go to the game section where your students can be immersed in the life of a lawyer in the Supreme Court, a legislator, or even the president!  These are real eye-openers!

Scholastic SMART Lessons Collection

Hey K-12 teachers!  Did you know that Scholastic offers pre-made Notebook files for you to download?  The activities available from Scholastic's SMART Lessons Collection are under the following categories: Back to School, Math and Science, Earth Day, Famous People, or Phonics Lesson Activities.  There are activities under each of these for students K through 12.  You can download them and use them as is or tweak them for your own specific uses.  There is also a link to the SMART Exchange.  Check them out!

SchoolTube - Videos for Education

Hello all!  Boy, what a busy month it has been!  Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've been so crazy in both districts!  Anyway, I have a great post for today! 

SchoolTube is a fantastic place to find educational videos that won't get blocked by Youtube filters.  Ads are minimal and, as far as I've seen so far, safe for school...no dating advertisements that is!  You can browse through featured videos and search for videos that are specific to what you are teaching.  The videos are made by students and teachers around the country and uploaded here to be shared.  Comments are controlled so you won't get any cyber-bullying here.

You can sign up for a FREE teacher account so you are able to favorite videos and upload videos that you or you students made.  This is a great way to share movie projects and photo slide shows that your students have made.  Even your students can create accounts, but it is up to you as the teacher to moderate all video submissions before they can be seen on the site.

There is so much available on this site!  But what's great is there are plenty of video tutorials to help you figure out things along the way.  Check it out!

Make Beliefs Comix

There seem to be a growing collection of online comic strip editors.  The most recent one I've found is Make Beliefs Comix.

Students are able to go in to the site without making an account and choose from pre-made characters with various emotions.  Students can also customize the number of cells in the comic, the size of objects, background color, and more.  When students are finished, they simply print the comic out (either to a printer, or by "printing" to pdf).  The finished comic can also be emailed.

The site is a bit limited in the character selection, and you have to be careful since the site does not store comics...a reload or using the back button will cause you to lose your work.

Have fun!

 

CLICK TO MAKE LARGER

Creative Writing Video Prompts

Ok, forgive me for getting into the Halloween spirit before it's even October, but I just can't help it!  I found this video today while browsing for Halloween lesson ideas to post for the month of October.  I got so excited about how you all could use this that I just could not wait for Friday.

Anyway, I found this video on the UK site, teachers.tv.  It's basically the United Kingdom's version of Teacher Tube.  The video explains it's use in the first couple minutes and then supplies seven different story starters that are dramatic and a bit creepy....but I guess that depends on where your little writers take the story!  Watch the video below and let me know what you think!  Maybe you could even come back and post a student's story!

Mission US, a fantastic US history resource!

I have discovered that there is a wonderful new online resource to learn about the Revolutionary War.  Mission US is an free online adventure game.  You as the teacher can preview by playing through each of the chapters and then set up a class of students so your students can do the same.  You can also track your students' progress through the game!

As you play, you will see the preceding events of the  Revolutionary War in 1770 Boston from the viewpoint of young apprentice, Nat Wheeler.  You can click on your surroundings, learning about daily life, political cartoons, and vocabulary of the time.  You can also unlock a Rock Band-esque mini game where students practice playing the penny flute and songs of that era.  It is loads of fun and completely educational, your students will LOVE it!

Register for FREE and share any experiences here!

Remembering 9/11, looking forward to peace.

Welcome to week two everyone. I hope the weekend went well for you all.  As you may well know, September 11th was this past Saturday.  9 years ago, a terrible tragedy happened and I think part of our job as teachers is to look at the past as a way to help our students envision a better future.  I have found a website that helps do just that.  Part of the Tribute to the WTC website is a collection of stories gathered from people who were affected by the tragedy but have taken great strides towards peace and rebuilding. 

Personal Stories of Transformation shares stories from individuals and teams of people who have done something to commemorate victims, move towards peace, or assisting those affected by the terrible day.  The site, geared towards grades 5 and up, comes complete with discussion questions, accompanying videos, and a complete teacher's guide with standards included.

Awesome online science with LHS Kids

The first site of the year is a branch of Lawrence Hall of Science from the University of Berkley called LHS Kids. 

LHS Kids has some really great places to check out.  Your students can do an online experiment like testing materials for cleaning up oil spills and learning about the functionality of different bird beaks.  Students can follow along with the experiments, fill in their answers, and even submit their final findings for comparison with other kids using the site!

Students can also check out pictures and videos of ongoing exhibits at the museum, take online quizzes, play arcade games, listen to whale sounds, and learn about interesting animals.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Happy Summer!

Well, what a year it has been!  I have learned a lot by keeping this blog, and I hope that you all can say that you learned something by reading it.  I am wrapping things up for this year because next week is jam-packed with training and because I've been busy this week, I doubt I'll have any time to post!

I will be back at posting come September, and I am anticipating an address change for the blog since I will be taking a new last name! Either way, check back here (http://ambergooshaw.blogspot.com) and I will steer you towards where you need to be. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful summer!

6/18/10 1679

Admongo

Last week, I found out about today's post through one of the blogs I follow; Kristin Swanson's blog Teacher's as Technology Trailblazers.  The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) funds a site called Admongo.This site was established to help educate kids about the true meaning behind advertisements.  In our age of text messaging, web surfing, and more, kids are even more susceptible to advertising than ever.  So, we should take the opportunity to educate our children about the typically misleading nature of advertisements before they go clicking on any pretty, well-placed ad.

Admongo lets students play through advancing levels of a fun video game to learn about ads and what they are all about.   What I really like about this site is that it also offers a text-version of the game for teachers who may not have time for students to play through the video version.  While playing or following along, students can learn how to spot an ad, parts of an ad, hidden messages ad's want you to believe, types of ads, how designers target with ads, placement, platforms, and more.  I would say this would best be used with 5-8 grade students.

The site doesn't condmen advertising...relentless process though it may be......it just allows an opportunity for students to see the behind-the-scenes world of advertising and have some knowledge so as not to be sucked in so easily.

What's in the Windosill?

Windosill is a funky website that is meant for fun.  Have your students explore the site to find out what's in the dark!  Light up the room to see if your guesses were right!  Make sure your speakers are on so you can hear the sounds!

Honestly, Windosill is kind of hard to explain, so check it out to see for yourself!

Crayon Physics is so fun!!

http://www.crayonphysics.com/download_demo.php

Create objects that obey the laws of physics....with crayon!

Make beautiful music in your classroom with a virtual keyboard!

Want a piano in your classroom without taking up all the space?  Check out this virtual keyboard!  Ok, so maybe it's not the same as a baby grand, but you can still have fun with it and it works great on an interactive white board!  Enjoy!

Parts of Speech Fun

For a fun way to practice parts of speech as well as keep things interesting as the school year comes to a close, try out Wacky Web Tales!  For all intents and purposes, Wacky Web Tales is a spin-off of the Mad Libs games.  Have students pick a story to fill in and then fill out the form with the corresponding parts of speech.  Get stuck because you can't remember what an adjective is?  Simply click on the Parts of Speech Help box and be reminded!  Once the form is filled out, click to read your funny story!

This can present well at the SMART Board if you don't mind using the on screen keyboard.  Or, have students work in pairs to make funny stories to share with the class!  Have a blast!