6-8+Resources

==SMART Express: Allows you to open Notebook files on computers without SMART Notebook loaded onto them. You would download the file, email it to the student using their school email account. Students would have to save the file to their computer, then open it using the website. If you have a class website, you could also post the file there. The students will still have to save the file to their computers.==

=SMART Exchange: Don't reinvent the wheel. Search for ready-to-go lessons here!=

=Reading=

ReadWorks.org - The site provides teachers with an online reading comprehension and methodology program as well as online training services and professional development resources.

Google Lit Trips See where the characters in your stories live and get tips on how to create your own Lit Trips using Google Earth.

International Children's Digital Library - this website contains children's literature from all over the world. The site includes a page for teachers with ideas on how to incorporate the digital library into your lessons. AWESOME!!

ReadWriteThink.org

Little Bird Tales - Capture your child's voice and imagination with our creative story building tool and share them with friends and family.

@http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr05/

Vocabulary Games and Resources

Magnetic Poetry - interactive poetry games where students can create poems using "refrigerator magnets".

Scholastic.com - If you search under "Student Activities" tons of resources show up and there are icons for activities/lessons that are IWB ready. Also check out their Flashlight Readers!

Free Rice - This site is a vocabulary builder as well as an opportunity to donate food to needy countries. For every correct answer you give, 10 grains of rice are donated!

Alice.org - Alice is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a teaching tool for introductory computing. It uses 3D graphics and a drag-and-drop interface to facilitate a more engaging, less frustrating first programming experience.

AlphaBot - word game that reinforces spelling skills. It has 3 different skill levels to choose from.

BIGbot - Synonym and Antonym game

Merriam-Webster - tons of interesting games and quizzes, not to mention great vocabulary builders here!!

VocabAhead - A Groundbreaking system for Vocabulary building through an innovative interface! Study Room makes it fun and easy to build Vocabulary for SAT, GRE and ACT words. Whether you create your own word lists or share your lists with your friends or students, this clean innovative interface makes all tasks easy! Frequently Test yourself by taking Quizzes and use Flash Cards for a quick review.

Graph Words - this site provides webs of related words; clicking on one word will lead you to a new web; great for collaborative writing!!

=Math=

MangaHigh- **Mangahigh** creates exceptionally high-quality, game-based learning resources to help Primary and Secondary students reinforce their Mathematics skills in a way that is both fun and engaging. In addition to all the great resources, the service includes assessment and analytical tools that enable teachers to monitor the progress of individual students.

Mr. Vizza's Math Site This is a site made for Algebra 1 and 2 students and teachers. I also found lots of geometry concepts here as well. He has download-able galleries that insert directly into your "My Content" folder in Notebook software. Lots of great resources!

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives A Database of free math virtual (digital) manipulatives

Physics and Educational Technology - Fun, interactive, [|research-based] simulations of physical phenomena from the PhET project at the University of Colorado. *Teachers Love SMART Boards said, "This site contains the most incredible collection of research-based, interactive, Physics simulations anywhere on the Internet. Best of all, these simulations are free to use online or download to your computer.They are a must-have for teachers with Interactive Whiteboards in the classroom."

ThinkingBlocks - let's you model your math problems!

Circle Fraction Tool - Allows you to examine fractions using circles. You can use different colors for the different sections, and this would be a great tool to use the Screen Capture with inside of Notebook software.

Rectangle Fraction Tool - Same as above using rectangles rather than circles.

Illuminations - NCTM website

Let's Tessellate! - A fun application from PBS where kids can choose shapes then figure out how to make tessellations.

Exploring Geometry - Interactive learning tools to explore 2D shapes, angles, symmetry, tessellations, circles, etc.

Gapminder.com - Information and interactive activities detailing statistics for countries around the world; can be integrated with social studies

**Khan Academy - Over 2,000 short videos on how to do certain math skills from basic to college level. Also has practice problems you can try after watching the videos.

National Center for Education Statistics Kid's Zone

Mr. P's Math Page - Math humor, interactive games, problem of the month, poems, videos, etc. Great resource!

Chartle - quickly and easily create interactive charts

=Science= **Flash Animations for Physics

Harvard Life Sciences Outreach Program - Site with teacher-created lessons and resources; great scientific animations. This may a little too advanced for regular ed. in middle school, but not necessarily for AIG (Academically/Intellectually Gifted).

The Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits- The activity is extremely thorough and provides a great introduction to electric circuits for students aged 7 through 11. The Blobz Guide has five sections: What Are Circuits, Conductors and Insulators, Switches, Changing a Circuit, and Circuit Diagrams. In each section, students go through a basic information activity, a hands-on reinforcement activity, and an assessment activity. Not only does the Blobz Guide utilize solid learning principals, it’s extremely easy (and fun) to navigate (from Teachers Love SMART Boards)

Stellarium - Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go.

OE-Cake - free software download; fluid simulator (physics); great tutorials on YouTube. Download for PC Download for Mac

Simple Science - Simplified Image Management and Processing Learning Environment
 * includes activities on biology, medicine, Earth and space science, digital literacy, and social science,
 * uses WebImage, a Web-based version of ImageJ, an image processing program used by scientists around the world

Science NetLinks - internet resources for science

Biology Resources - videos, animations, etc.
 * Giannini website
 * Sumanas Inc.

FreezeRay -This site o**ffers a growing bank of imaginative, highly visual teaching-aids developed for use with interactive whiteboards**. The resources are designed to be used as rich sources of visually stimulating material, making use of both animations and drag and drop interactivity. It is hoped that the resources will help students to make sense of some of the more challenging concepts they encounter. National Geographic for Kids - As awesome and information as the magazines are, the website is even better! Lots of videos, games, and resources!

Planet Earth - video clips from the very popular Planet Earth tv series

Science Buddies - Ideas for Science Fair projects for all ages and time constraints :)

Earth Quake Information - simulations and other resources to explain what happened in Japan in March of 2011.

Web Adventures - fun, engaging, interactive games from Rice University. They cover topics such as microbiology, medical research, infectious diseases, and more. Awesome resource!

Physics and Educational Technology - Fun, interactive, [|research-based] simulations of physical phenomena from the PhET project at the University of Colorado. *Teachers Love SMART Boards said, "This site contains the most incredible collection of research-based, interactive, Physics simulations anywhere on the Internet. Best of all, these simulations are free to use online or download to your computer.They are a must-have for teachers with Interactive Whiteboards in the classroom."

=Social Studies=

CNN Student News - current, relevant news reporting geared for students.

Google Historical Voyages and Events Project Schools are being asked to complete projects detailing historical events, voyages, explorers, etc. using Google tools. The site has all the information you need if you're interested in participating in this project. If you're not interested in completing a project, you may use the ones created by others to teach with. Really engaging stuff!!

From Ellis Island to Orchard Street - build a character and learn about their journey to America. As a class you can make an identity, learn about your journey, explore Ellis Island, learn about the Lower East Side of New York City, and learn how to make a life. While on the website, you can look at historic passports, tickets, health inspection card, and ship manifest. Small video clips tell about each aspect of immigrant life.

ICivics.org - a vision of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor; great website with free lesson plans, interactive games, and other resources for teaching civics.

Our Courts - precursor to ICivics.org

National Atlas - create maps with the criteria that you want

Google Maps

Google Earth - great interactive globe and maps; free software download

History Animated - allows students to see animated recreations of famous historic battles

Gapminder.com - Information and interactive activities detailing statistics for countries around the world; can be integrated with math

10 x 10- displays a 10×10 grid containing 100 thumbnail images that relate to the most discussed current events. The sight stays up-to-date by scanning the RSS feeds of major international news sources. When the user selects one of the current events, the site displays a window containing links to the actual articles for more information.

=Writing=

=General=

Gamestar Mechanic is a game-based digital learning platform designed to teach the guiding principles of game design and systems thinking in a highly engaging and creative environment.

Kerpoof - Kerpoof is a free website, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Co., that is all about “having fun, discovering things, and being creative.” ESchoolNews

JigSaw Sadoku You can edit the setting to make the Sadoku puzzles as easy or as challenging as your kids need. Research has shown that these types of puzzles help in keeping your brain cells healthy!!

Longwood Central School District - lots of premade SMART Board lessons

National Gallery of Art for Kids - great interactive art activities!

Interactive Piano

Poisson Rouge Art Gallery - different art tools and games

Brain Pop - although you can subscribe for $9.95 per month, or $99 per year there are some really good FREE resources here. They include instructional videos, lesson plans and games. There is also a brand-new ESL version!