Math Support

It seems like there can never be too much practice when it comes to learning math facts and concepts. With that in mind I wanted to share two website resources that have a triple F rating: fun, functional, and free!



Ten Marks is a wonderful online program that can provide valuable math support for your students grades 2 through 1o.
You set up your class and are provided student usernames and passwords (an email address is not required). Students have their own account and work at their own pace with specific concepts that you design for them. The lessons include hints, examples, and video explanations along with instant feedback. You receive progress reports via email on how your students are doing, and these can also be sent to parents!
There are help videos for teachers that can help you get started. Click here to get an overview of the program or go directly to http://www.tenmarks.com/teacher/signup/step-one to sign up.





For PreK-Kdg students check out ABCMouse.com which has a complete math and reading online curriculum students can use to learn and/or reinforce math concepts. There is a free non-member portion that is beneficial, while the subscription option might be suggested to parents as way to reinforce learning at home.

Spell with Flickr Letter Images

Need a spelling activity that can be customized to your class list?

Try this fun interactive link that uses Flickr images to display the letters in words. Just type your spelling word into the dialogue box and click the spell button. Your word will then be displayed using actual photos of the letter. Click on individual letters to get a new image for a letter. Students will enjoy seeing their letters change and the extra visual support can aid in memorization. Click here for the link written by developer Erik Chastner.

For more spelling games and activities check out these links

http://www.kidsspell.com/

http://www.spinandspell.com/

Make a crossword puzzle with spelling words at http://edhelper.com/crossword_free.htm

A Google a Day

Google is now offering a great resource for educators and students.  It is called A Google a Day and it is a very simple idea but can be great for students and teachers.  Google a Day offers one question per day and students use their search skills to help them answer the question.  The students search using Google and the question stays with them at the bottom of the page as they search.  Once the students find the answer they can have Google show them what the correct answer is including directions on how the question should be answered and the proper way to search for it.  This is a great tool for students, not only will they learn something from the questions that are asked but they will also learn how to use Google to find the answers that they need more efficiently.

Anne Frank and the Secret Annex

Are you always looking for new materials and interactive resources to use with your students?  If so you will have to check out this website. http://www.annefrank.org/en/Subsites/Home/  This website it packed with really great information about Anne Frank and the struggles that she had to go through.  There is a 3D house which you and your students can tour and actually see where Anne hid out when she needed to.  There are some great videos of real footage from World War 2 as well as tons of information about the occupants that lived in the house as well as many other great resources.  If you like this website and you would be interested in more great websites (K-12) sign up here to receive emails when anything new is posted. After signing up look for the follow up email which will verify your subscription.

A Discussion on Osama bin Laden

Discovery Education had a webinar last week that explained the events that led up to the capture and demise of Osama bin Laden.  The discussion took place with Ben Rhodes the Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor.  Mr.  Rhodes tells about the events leading up to the big event and then he took questions from students from across the United States.  The archived event is located here if you would like to share this with your students.  The webinar is about 30 minutes in length with the first ten being a recap of events and the last 20 minutes being questions from students. Discovery recommends that due to the sensitive nature of the webinar that only middle and high school students watch the archive.