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Learn Math Visually--addresses math disabilities! 

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Learn Math Visually--addresses math disabilities! 

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MIND Research Institute | MIND Education | Creator of ST Math

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MIND is a research based non-profit organization aimed at providing students a solid foundation in math. Impacting million students across 50 states!

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Write About--Digital Writing with Visual Prompts for students 

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Write About--Digital Writing with Visual Prompts for students 

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Write About is a classroom writing community and publishing platform built by teachers.

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Comment and receive feedback in a moderated social environment.

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Looks interesting, but not sure where to start?

We're happy to walk you through getting Write About set up in your classroom.

Contact a teacher ambassador

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Classroom writing community and publishing platform built by teachers.

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Free Videos for classroom --physical activities 

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Free Videos for classroom --physical activities 

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National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

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National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

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National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

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A digital library containing Java applets and activities for K-12 mathematics

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Voice Thread--great for virtual book study or group projects 

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Voice Thread--great for virtual book study or group projects 

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design discussions
no-schedule meetings
professional development
collaborate with clients
sales and marketing

replace text-only discussions
interactive lectures
support UDL principles
no-schedule office hours
professional development

student presentations
conversational practice
professional development
rich assessment
safe and accountable

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Transforming media into collaborative spaces with video, voice, and text commenting.

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Apps from Neave Interactive, including Zoom Earth, Webcam Toy, Strobe Illusion, Bouncy Balls and more.

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MIND is a nonprofit social benefit organization dedicated to ensuring that all students are equipped to solve the world's most challenging problems.

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Science articles multiple lexile levels--birdbrain science 

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Science articles multiple lexile levels--birdbrain science 

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RocketLit ~ Standards Aligned Differentiated Science and History Articles

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RocketLit serves differentiated, standards-based science and history readings to students to save time lesson planning for teachers. Our leveled science and history articles allow all learners in a classroom to improve literacy by reading at their independent reading level, and learn core concepts at the same time.

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Meet Freerice

Freerice is an educational trivia game that helps you get smarter while making a difference for people around the world. Every question you answer correctly raises 10 grains of rice for the World Food Programme (WFP) to support its work saving and changing lives around the world.

Across the globe, up to 783 million people do not have enough food to eat. From reducing our food waste to ensuring access to nutritious food for everyone, we have a lot of work to do. At WFP, we believe that food is a human right and that everyone deserves to live in a #ZeroHunger world. Let's work together to fill everyone's plate.

Our Impact

Playing Freerice sends an important message: community matters, and only by coming together can we help solve global problems like food insecurity and poverty. By using your knowledge to do good, you're advocating for positive change and supporting our mission to achieve a world of Zero Hunger. Whether you are playing Freerice at school or learning about the UN Sustainable Development Goals, you are paving the path for brighter futures ahead through nutritious.

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Across the globe, up to 783 million people do not have enough food to eat. From reducing our food waste to ensuring access to nutritious food for everyone, we have a lot of work to do. At WFP, we believe that food is a human right and that everyone deserves to live in a #ZeroHunger world.

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Lexile leveled expository texts with lessons, from the Smithsonian 

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Lexile leveled expository texts with lessons, from the Smithsonian 

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As of Monday, October 24, content that was on TweenTribune.com will now be available here on our new educational resources page and on our learning pages. While much of the content that you enjoyed will still exist, educators will unfortunately no longer be able to assign content to students. Tween Tribune has been a valued educational brand of Smithsonian magazine, and we appreciate your continued support.

Though the Girl Scouts of the USA initially declared itself a space for all girls, the reality was different for girls of color

Erin Blakemore

Get Smithsonian Educational Resources

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As of Monday, October 24, content that was on TweenTribune.com will now be available here on our new educational resources page and on our learning pages. While much of the content that you enjoyed will still exist, educators will unfortunately no longer be able to assign content to students.

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Non-fiction stories to listen to--includes free lesson plans for teachers (more appropriate for secondary students)

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Online platform for class discussions and sharing ideas in a new way.

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Review student understanding at the class, individual student, or question-level.

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12 year old girl who makes videos showing others how to be makers in the world!

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https://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/Choice+Boards

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Having the "same" text written for different levels of English comprehension can be a life-saver for a multi-level class of English Language Learners or for a teacher with a mainstream class that includes some students that are facing other challenges. They can be an important tool for differentiation.

But where do you get these different versions other than creating them yourself?

Here are a few sources, and I hope that readers will suggest more:

Newsela provides several "levels" of the same newspaper articles, along with accompanying online quizzes, that students can read and take. For a small fee, Teachers can create a virtual classroom, assign articles and monitor student progress. However, students can read the articles for free without having to pay anything.

News In Levels offers similar resources, but without the ability to track student progress online. The site is free.

For The Teachers has similar leveled articles available for download. It, too, is free.
Breaking News English
Text Compactor lets you paste text into it and then automatically shares different versions with fewer words. It seemed to work pretty well when I tried it.

Rewordify is like a super-sophisticated Text Compactor on steroids. You can read my previous post about it: "Rewordify" Is One Of The Most Unique Sites Out There For English Language Learners & Others.

Reader Laurie suggests Embedded Reading, which has these kinds of similar "leveled" texts in English, as well as in other languages.

I learned about CommonLit from the amazing educator Suzie Boss at her recent Edutopia post. It's a neat site that doesn't actually provide the "same" text written for different "levels." What it does do, however, is provide leveled readings - with prompts - on the same theme. It's pretty neat. (They've just added many new features - see "CommonLit" Now Lets Teachers Create Free Virtual Classrooms)

Books That Grow has a library of texts that have each been edited to be made accessible to different reading levels. And it has some other unique features - teachers can create virtual classrooms to assign and/or monitor what students what are reading and students can click on words that are new to them to see definitions and hear how they are pronounced. They are also planning on adding comprehension questions. The texts can be read on any device.

Thanks to reader Vincy Murgillo for letting me know about the Smithsonian's Tween Tribune. It provides daily news stories, with the same one edited several times for different reading levels. The stories also have self-scoring quizzes and provide decent "critical thinking" questions that students can respond to in the comments. On top of that, teachers can create virtual classrooms to monitor it all, as well as moderating student comments. And it's all available for free!

You have to pay for it, but Birdbrain Science and History have similar resources (they've changed their name to RocketLit).

Newsela, which is on this list, has now begun to provide Spanish translations of some articles, including providing them at different reading levels. Here is their blog post announcing the feature, and here's a link to their Spanish-language text sets.
The British Council Has Excellent Leveled Reading Resources "TIME/Edge" Could Be Useful For Students Over The Summer
Kids Discover has several levels for social studies instruction - for a price that does not seem to be unreasonable.
"Simplish" Automatically Simplifies And/Or Summarizes Text "ReadWorks" Now Provides "Same" Texts At Different Level
Scholastic has a small number of audio-supported same text at different levels (they also have a few more here). In addition, their Storyworks program has many more, though it costs about $8 per student to use.

Thanks to Christina Cabal's blog (which is on the The Top Blogs and Resource Sites For Teachers Of English Language Learners list), I've learned about a new site called Learn With News. It provides articles about current events, which each one having three versions at different lexile levels. They also provide questions for each article. However, they are not interactive online, so you would need to either print them out or project them. The site also says they will soon be adding audio support for the text.
"Freckle" Provides Hundreds Of Articles In "5 or more different reading levels" "News-O-Matic" Is Definitely A Site I Would Consider Using With Students Right Now "TIME FOR KIDS" NOW OFFERS MATERIALS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES, SAME ARTICLE IN DIFFERENT LEXILE LEVELS
Graded listening is a radio program from the British Council that is provided in three "lexile" levels.

Transforming the Resources You Have into Accessible Formats for All Students is an excellent post by Carmen Nguyen.

Brittanica Kids has all of its articles written in three different levels: Kids, Students, Scholars. There is a cost involved, but a lot of their resources are available for free. For example, I found this article on The Compromise of 1850 that I'll be using in my ELL U.S. History class. They also have a small collection of free "read aloud" books for new readers. I'm not sure what the restrictions are about what's free and what's for subscribers only.
The OER Project Offers The Same Social Studies Texts In Different Lexile Levels - For Free!
I think a lot of teachers will find this post from TESOL useful: Create Your Own Leveled Readers.

The Juice offers daily news articles at four different levels. You have to pay for it, though it's not astronomical.

This is a good list-I'd add that Scholastic Action (needs purchasing) is a hit with Middle & High #ELs newcomer to advanced. It includes different lexile versions. With engaging graphics, digital supplements, & access to past issues and it's easy to build high interest units.

- Holly Sawyer (@HollySawyerESL) October 31, 2021

VERY GOOD VIDEO ON "TEXT ENGINEERING" TO MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE TO ELLS & EVERYBODY ELSE
What makes writing more readable? is a really interesting interactive from The Pudding. It illustrates - graphically - how to write in a more accessible way.

News2You provides weekly news articles in four different levels. It costs about $240 annually.
ChatGPT Will Make Different Lexile Level Versions Of The Same Text
Welma simplifies sentences and paragraphs through the use of AI.

HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE TEXTS WITH CHATGPT is from TechNotes.
" Eigo.ai " Is A New Free Site Using Artificial Intelligence To Support ELLs NEWSELA MAKING BIG CHANGES TO THEIR FREE PLAN
Diffit looks likes a nice tool for teachers to use for creating differentiated materials and more.
HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THE GREAT SITE "DAYS IN LEVELS"?
I'm adding this list to The Best Resources On Differentiating Instruction.

Also, see THE BEST STRATEGIES FOR "ENGINEERING" TEXT SO THAT IT'S MORE ACCESSIBLE TO ELLS.

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The Best Places To Get The "Same" Text Written For Different "Levels"

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Having the "same" text written for different levels of English comprehension can be a life-saver for a multi-level class of English Language Learners or for a teacher with a mainstream ...

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Voice recording with visuals

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Get quick feedback from students!

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HowStuffWorks - Learn How Everything Works!

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HowStuffWorks has been explaining how things work to curious minds since 1998. Providing factual, unbiased content that's fun to read and makes difficult topics easy to understand.

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Voki | Speaking Characters For Education

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Voki is a fun tool that students can use for homework, classwork or projects. Customize their appearance and what they say, and share with others!

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Not ready yet, but keep checking back as they are developing this game specifically for students with disabilities to explore college and career--designed for middle-school age students.

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College Resources for SWDs

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Here you will find curated resources on some of the most critical topics in inclusive postsecondary education. Each page features selected key resources, a link to additional resources we have on the topic in our Resource Library, related external links and Frequently Asked Questions on the topic.

Click any state on the map to see information on activities related to postsecondary education for students with intellectual disability (ID) in that state. If there are policies and/or legislation related to postsecondary education for students with ID, we provide a link to that policy/legislation. If there is a statewide organization for inclusive PSE in your state, a link to information about that organization is provided. We also include contact information for someone in the state who can talk to you about postsecondary education for students with ID.

Think College is dedicated to developing, expanding, and improving inclusive higher education options for people with intellectual disability. We conduct and extend our work through several specific grant funded projects. Click the project logo to learn more about that project and its key activities, staff and resources.

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Think College is a national initiative dedicated to developing, expanding, and improving research and practice in inclusive higher education for students with intellectual disability. It is based at the Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts Boston.

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The Emotion Color Wheel can help visually group feelings. The circle is divided into colors to show some basic emotions. Read about a study using the EMOTIONS COLOR WHEEL to improve emotion recognition deficits and social functioning levels in inpatients with paranoid schizophrenia.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE EMOTIONS COLOR WHEEL

Within each basic emotion there are levels of that emotion which range from less intense on the outside to more intense in the center. For example, levels of angry are shown as:

Visually, it might help to think of basic emotions as levels of color that become more intense as they pull inward towards the circle center. Brighter, bolder colors are associated with more intense emotions. The most intense emotions are demonstrated by people less often and are contained within a smaller visual space near the dark center. Less intense emotions are on the outside.

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picture exchange communication system cards

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Do2Learn: Educational Resources for Special Needs

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picture communication cards, songs, games and learning activities for autism, aspergers, fetal alcohol syndrome and disabilities

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Toondoo.com and Toondoospaces.com have been shut down permanently, effective immediately.

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Magazine that celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will.

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Makey Makey: An Invention Kit for Everyone. Ever played Mario on Play-Doh or Piano on Bananas? Alligator clip to start inventing the future.

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Rewordify.com | Understand what you read

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Rewordify.com helps you read more, understand better, learn new words, and teach more effectively.

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Create videos that engage and impress. Animoto's drag-and-drop editing tools and visual effects make it easy. No training or experience necessary.

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As you get started making videos, we're here to help along the way! Join other businesses just like yours in the Animoto Social Video Marketing Community on Facebook. Our team of video experts is ready to help you grow with tips, ideas, inspiration, and feedback on your videos. You can also reach our dedicated Customer team directly at help@animoto.com .

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Free Video Maker | Create & Edit Your Videos Easily

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Create, edit, and share videos with our free video maker. Combine your photos, video clips, and music to make quality videos in minutes. Get started free!

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PBS LearningMedia | Teaching Resources For Students And Teachers

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Inspire your students with thousands of free teaching resources including videos, lesson plans, and games aligned to state and national standards.

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Do you like this page? Please share it!

Try creating a doodle on the Online Doodle Pad. You can select from various brush styles and colors. When you're all done with your masterpiece, click "save" to download it as a picture.

Doodle Pad Keyboard Shortcuts

Decrease brush size - Press the d key on your keyboard

Increase brush size - Press the f key on your keyboard

Free Online Drawing Board

Below is a description of each button in the drawing board menu above. Click/or tap to make a change to the colors and brush styles to achieve the artboard you are looking for.

A - Click the color square next to the pencil

B - Choose the color of the paintbrush

C - Choose a brush style

D - Change the canvas background color

D - Erase your current drawing

How do I save my drawing on my computer or phone?

Take a screenshot of your drawing to save it to your computer. Instructions for Windows and iPhone

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Online Sketch Pad - Free Doodle Pad & Drawing Board ✏️

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Try creating a doodle on the Online Doodle Pad. You can select from various brush styles and colors. Try the online drawing pad now. 👍

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The College and Career Readiness and Success Organizer | College and Career Readiness and Success Center

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What is the CCRS Organizer? The Organizer is a graphic that displays a consolidated overview of the many elements that impact a student’s ability to succeed in college and careers at both the institutional and individual levels. It is intended to be a comprehensive and visual representation of the c…

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The page you’re seeking may have been moved or may no longer exist. Try going to our home page, using our website navigation, or by using our search at the top of the page to find what you’re looking for.

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Organize and share education, small business and non-profit resources into virtual binders. Use LiveBinders for hassle-free access from anywhere.

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Services provided by Glogster.com have been temporarily disabled for operational reasons.

We are in the process of disabling all recurring payments, but we do recommend that you contact your bank or credit card company directly to halt them.

We would welcome the opportunity for investors who are interested in partnering with Glogster to contact us so that we are able to resume providing services to our customers who we have proudly served since 2008. Interested investors may contact the Glogster team here.

We apologize for the inconvenience that we know this disruption in service will cause and we hope to have Glogster back up and running better than ever in the near future. Thank you for your support over the last 14 years.

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Services provided by Glogster.com have been temporarily disabled for operational reasons. We are in the process of disabling all recurring payments, but we do recommend that you contact your bank or credit card company directly to halt them.

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Brown Bag Exams: A Creative Way to Assess Learning

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Brown Bag Exams use found objects and images to help students activate prior knowledge and create a framework for students to express what they've learned.

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Students can create interactive infographic sites to demonstrate their knowledge

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Expository Texts in multiple lexile levels

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It's time to improve literacy skills during social studies instruction and ensure that readers of all abilities have what they need to access grade-level social studies concepts.

Join us on Thursday, December 7 for a look at scaffolded materials that provide extra literacy support while building key social studies concepts and skills.

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Newsela | Content and assessment platform

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Content Aligned To National & State Standard, Flexible To Support Relevant Curriculum. Find the Perfect Piece Of Content For Lessons. Go beyond the book.

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Digital Collection of fiction and non fiction, can select by themes and lexile levels 

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Digital Collection of fiction and non fiction, can select by themes and lexile levels 

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For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your web browser.

World-class content

Access thousands of reading lessons and our comprehensive ELA curriculum, CommonLit 360.

Accessible for all learners

Tailor instruction to students' needs with text-to-speech, translation, and digital note-taking.

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Track students' reading performance, set goals, and plan instructional next steps.

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Digital Library

Discover thousands of free, supplemental lessons and quizzes in English and Spanish - all featuring great authors.

CommonLit
Assessment Series

Measure growth in reading comprehension with three benchmark assessments when you unlock our premium packages.

CommonLit 360 &
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Support a successful rollout of our research-backed ELA curriculum with personalized webinars and on-demand trainings.

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CommonLit has made a tremendously positive impact on my teaching practice. I'm very proud to teach CommonLit!

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CommonLit definitely keeps me organized. It's easy for me to grade and it's easy for me to see students' reading growth increase throughout the year.

"

The CommonLit assessment questions are aligned to our ELA standards, which is extremely helpful when prepping for the state exam.

Teachers trust CommonLit to foster students' reading comprehension

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CommonLit | Free Online Reading Passages and Literacy Resources

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CommonLit is a comprehensive literacy program with thousands of reading lessons, full-year ELA curriculum, benchmark assessments, and standards-based data for teachers.

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Safe and Simple Blog site

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Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed
citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a
straightforward, nonpartisan, primarily pro-con format.

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ProCon.org - Pros and Cons of 100+ Topics

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Explore both sides of debated issues. Presented in a non-partisan format with supporting background information, statistics, and resources.

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What you don't know about Jigsaw method 

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What you don't know about Jigsaw method 

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This cooperative learning strategy has been around for decades, but how well do you really know it?
Say "Jigsaw" in some teaching circles and no one will bat an eyelash. It's one of those techniques that has been with us so long, it is no longer seen as new. When considering methods to share in my collection of instructional strategies, I ignored it for a long time because I assumed most people already knew how to use it. Still, I figured it was worth including at some point.

When I finally sat down to review the steps of Jigsaw, I came across a few surprises.

Although Jigsaw is typically presented as just one in a number of cooperative learning strategies, its origin story has little to do with academics. The strategy was developed by social psychologist Elliot Aronson in 1971 in response to the racial turmoil caused by recent school desegregation in Austin, Texas. "Long-standing suspicion, fear, and distrust between groups produced an atmosphere of turmoil and hostility," Aronson recalls on his website, The Jigsaw Classroom. "Fist-fights erupted in corridors and schoolyards across the city. The school superintendent called me in to see if we could do anything to help students get along with one another."

Rather than take a crisis management approach to the situation, which they believed would only put a band-aid on the problem, Aronson and his colleagues wanted a solution that was more organic, something built into the structure of students' everyday learning. What they came up with was Jigsaw, an instructional approach that required students to learn from each other, rather than from the teacher. Because students in a Jigsaw classroom could not succeed without one another, they had to learn to get along. "Learning from each other gradually diminishes the need to try to out-perform each other because one student's learning enhances the performance of the other students instead of inhibiting it, as is usually the case in most competitive, teacher-oriented classrooms."

For a more thorough understanding of the strategy and its history, read the Jigsaw Classroom's Jigsaw Basics white paper.

Although cooperative learning in general has been proven to have a strong positive impact on learning (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001), researchers have found that Jigsaw in particular improves students' social-emotional learning. In studies comparing Jigsaw with traditional direct instruction, students taught with the Jigsaw method demonstrated increased feelings of autonomy, competence, and intrinsic motivation (Hänze & Berger, 2007). Another study comparing Jigsaw with cooperative learning that didn't include interdependence (a hallmark of Jigsaw) found that the Jigsaw students demonstrated improved attitudes toward their peers and reduced indicators of racial prejudice (Walker & Crogan, 1998).

Many teachers are looking for ways to help students become more independent learners who also function well in groups. If done correctly, Jigsaw can fulfill all of those needs without ever losing academic rigor.

As a teacher, I never received any formal training in this strategy, and when I tried it, I found it didn't work quite as well as I'd hoped. After studying the steps again, I realized I was organizing my groups the wrong way. Plus, I never bothered to give the quiz at the end.

Anyway, here's a video overview of the steps. If you're new to the strategy, this will show you how to do it. If, like me, you've tried it without success, this may help you fine-tune:

Want these steps written down? Click here to download a free copy (will open in a new window).

I had no clue about this! Since the original Jigsaw strategy was developed, other educators have improved on it with their own variations (Coffey, n.d):

Jigsaw II has all students read all of the material, but then specialize in one area for their expert groups. Then, when quiz time comes, students' individual scores are averaged within each group to arrive at a group score, which is then compared with other groups. This encourages groups to work harder to ensure that all members learn.

Jigsaw III builds in a group review before the final quiz.

Jigsaw IV adds a few extra components to Jigsaw III: The teacher starts by introducing the material, quizzes are given to the expert groups, and a re-teaching period is built in to address material that wasn't taught well in cooperative groups.

I should mention that clear information on these three variations was very challenging to find; with that in mind, I believe there's a need for a well-written set of instructions to help teachers give each variation a try.

So how do you like them apples? Kind of makes you want to get Jiggy with it, no? (Sorry, I couldn't help it. It was sitting right there.) If you have experience with Jigsaw and have insights or tips to add, please comment below. If you have questions about implementation, let's hear those, too.

Jiggy. ♥

References:

Coffey, H. (n.d.). Jigsaw (Educator's guides: North Carolina digital history). Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-eg/4584#noteref5

Hänze, M., & Berger, R. (2007). Cooperative learning, motivational effects, and student characteristics: An experimental study comparing cooperative learning and direct instruction in 12th grade physics classes. Learning and Instruction, 17(1), 29-41. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959475206001174

Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Silver, H. F., Strong, R. W., & Perini, M. J. (2007). The strategic teacher: Selecting the right research-based strategy for every lesson. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Walker, I. (1998). Academic performance, prejudice, and the jigsaw classroom: New pieces to the puzzle. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 8(6), 381-393. Retrieved from http://uwf.edu/svodanov/AS/Jigsaw.pdf

Stick around.
Join my mailing list and never miss another post. You'll get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration - in quick, bite-sized packages - all geared toward making your teaching more effective and joyful. To thank you, I'll send you a free copy of my new e-booklet, 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half. I look forward to getting to know you better!

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4 Things You Don't Know About the Jigsaw Method

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This cooperative learning strategy has been around for decades, but how well do you really know it?

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IEP alignment with standards flow chart 

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IEP alignment with standards flow chart 

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customize web site fonts and colors for students with dyslexia

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customize web site fonts and colors for students with dyslexia

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Evaluate the true usefulness of technology for the classroom

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New Toronto restaurant staffed with deaf waiters

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creative classroom management tool

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ClassDojo helps teachers, parents, and students build amazing classroom communities.

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Do Now is a weekly activity for students to engage and respond to current issues using social media tools like Twitter. Do Now aims to build civic engagement and digital literacy for young folks.

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Bouncy Balls...visual representations of noise levels in the classroom 

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Bouncy Balls...visual representations of noise levels in the classroom 

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Bouncy Balls – Manage classroom noise with bouncing balls!

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A free classroom noise level meter, monitor and management tool. Perfect if your school kids are too noisy! Bouncing balls react to sounds from the microphone.

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(Video not working? Try this.)

Introduce your students to the idea of a Growth Mindset. The simple idea that your brain is like a muscle is proven to have profound impact on learning!

Watch the video with students - they'll love the story and identify with Mojo's struggle. The video ends with a question, leading right into a class discussion.

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(Video not working? Try this.) Introduce your students to the idea of a Growth Mindset. The simple idea that your brain is like a muscle is proven to have profound impact on learning! Watch the video with students - they'll love the story and identify with Mojo's struggle.

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Add video with embedded quiz questions to your lessons! 

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Add video with embedded quiz questions to your lessons! 

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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Send studentswhole classes text messages from any device and hides your phone number from students 

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Send studentswhole classes text messages from any device and hides your phone number from students 

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Adoption and usage

Simple, effective, and surprisingly easy to use

With nearly 30 million users in 80% of US schools, the numbers speak for themselves: students, families, and educators love using Remind.

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Remind | Communication Platform for Education

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Remind is a communication platform that reaches students and families where they are and supports learning wherever it happens. Millions of educators, students, and parents use Remind to connect with the people and resources that help them teach and learn.

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Post video and pictures of student work 

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Post video and pictures of student work 

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This website is for sale! threering.com is your first and best source for all of the information you're looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, threering.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!

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Student digital portfolios and records of work 

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Student digital portfolios and records of work 

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School & District -Subscriptions | Seesaw

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Seesaw is the best interactive learning platform for PreK-5. Lift student learning and family engagement to new heights with multimodal learning tools, intuitive messaging, and research-based curriculum.

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Collabrify--online collaboration tools for students 

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Collabrify--online collaboration tools for students 

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Can record your voice to add to any picture you take on a mobile app 

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Can record your voice to add to any picture you take on a mobile app 

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Students create trading cards about people and/or events, real or fictional

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Students create trading cards about people and/or events, real or fictional

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The Trading Card tool gives students an alternative way to demonstrate their literacy knowledge and skill when writing about popular culture texts or real world examples. This interactive allows students to create their own trading card about a real or fictional person, place, object, event, or abstract concept.

These cards are can be used with any type of book students are reading or subjects that they are studying, and make for an excellent prewriting exercise for students who are writing narrative stories and need to consider characters, setting, and plot. Specific prompts guide student through the various types of cards, expanding students' thinking from the basic information and description of the topic to making personal connections to the subject.

The save capability gives students a way to work on a draft of their card and come back to it to rework and revise as necessary, and to save their finished product to share with friends and family. Images can be uploaded into the card to give the finished product a complete and polished look.

Cards can be bundled into a single, small collection (8 card maximum) so that students have a way of sort and grouping similar topics in one file. As an example, we have provided a collection of cards about Shakespeare. Feel free to download the .rwt file (right click the link and pick Save As) and upload it into the Trading Card interactive to see how collections can be used in your classroom!

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The Trading Card tool gives students an alternative way to demonstrate their literacy knowledge and skill when writing about popular culture texts or real world examples. This interactive allows students to create their own trading card about a real or fictional person, place, object, event, or abstract concept.

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We are the first and only interactive learning system teaching today’s essential digital life skills to students with autism.

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Be work-ready with Digitability.

According to the Department of Labor, nearly 75% of all jobs require digital literacy. For people with cognitive disabilities to achieve their independence, digital literacy, social skills and a contextual understanding of technology's use in the workplace are essential. Without these work-ready skills, our students face a critical barrier to becoming independent self-advocates.

Digitability is the bridge from a student's education to fulfilling work post-transition. You can learn more about Digitability by requesting a free demo.

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Digitability is the #1 pre-employment transition program used in the classroom to prepare students with work-ready skills for the tech-driven workforce.

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Lessons worth sharing

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TED-Ed celebrates the ideas of teachers and students around the world. Discover hundreds of animated lessons, create customized lessons, and share your big ideas.

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Instructional Strategies for Math--math4teaching site! 

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Instructional Strategies for Math--math4teaching site! 

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Math is the language of the universe. If one were to excel in science and know the secrets of the universe, he needs to have a concrete understanding of math. As teachers, we all want our kids to succeed in math. However, it is our duty to give them the material, help them apply skills, and build their concepts. It's imperative that we focus on making sure that our students understand the material rather than just memorizing it. In this article, I am going to highlight five tips that come in handy for students to understand math and grasp basic concepts.

Create a Perfect Class Opener
School is often boring for students. The reason for that is the approach of teachers when teaching their students. If the teacher sets a precedent that the aim of coming to class is to rote learning whatever is taught to the students, the ambiance will automatically become dull. The first five minutes of a class set the tone for the entire lecture, which is why teachers need to take a creative approach and opt for an effective class opener.

Solve the Problem in More than One Way
We have to understand that every student is not equal. Our brains are designed differently. If a certain student is able to grasp the concept taught in a certain way, it doesn't mean that every student might have understood that concept. The best way to approach this problem is by showing the students different ways they can solve a problem and letting them decide the best way that works for them.

Raise the Bar for Them
Meaningful math education goes far beyond the contents of the book. Teachers need to motivate their students and make them understand that they need to set higher goals for themselves and create room for improvement. With the internet becoming a powerhouse for learning, teachers can make use of some helpful courses like MathXL for students that contain digital information in the form of videos, animations, examples, and more.

Show the Application
Making students learn a concept is one thing; showing how it is implemented in real life is another. In a perfect world, teachers would be able to demonstrate how every concept is implemented, but they should be taking this approach whenever they can. When students see how math is implemented in the real world, it will become much easier for them to grasp confusing concepts.

Finish the Class on a High Note
Just like the class opener is an important way to set the tone for the rest of the class, you need to finish your class on a high note so that students feel motivated that they have learned something. The last five minutes of the class are critical when it comes to making sure that students have understood everything, and they have a clear idea about the homework. You can do a quick assessment to find out how much the students have learned from the class and discuss future tasks so that there is no confusion.

I propose here ideas teachers need to know and pay attention to when teaching mathematical proofs and how to prove.
A. What is a (mathematical) proof?
I define proof as a relational network of claims (propositions and conclusions), substantiation (established knowledge that makes the claim legitimate) and appropriate connectives so sequenced to justify why the conclusion is a logical consequence of the premises. Continue reading "Tips for Teaching Proofs and Proving"

Show and tell activity (aka lecture method) may work for some but never in a mathematics class. Getting students to explain and ask questions are nice but only when the explanation and the questions are mathematical. Reasoning and justifying are good habits of mind but they are only productive if they are based on mathematical principles. Explaining, asking questions, and substantiating one's conjecture or generalization make a productive class discussion but they are only productive for learning mathematics if the mathematics is kept in focus. Orchestrating a productive class discussion is by far the most challenging work of mathematics teaching. Stein, Engle, Smith, and Hughes* (https://doi.org/10.1080/10986060802229675) proposed five practices for moving beyond show and tell in teaching mathematics. I have always practiced them in my own teaching whether with students or with teachers and I find them effective especially when the lesson involve cognitively demanding tasks and with multiple solutions. Continue reading "How to orchestrate a mathematically productive class discussion"

It is a bunch of procedures. That's how people perceive algorithms are. And they are right. Algorithm has been defined as 1) "step-by-step procedures that are carried out routinely"; 2) "a precisely-defined sequence of rules telling how to produce specified output information from given input information in a finite number of steps". It is no wonder then that teaching algorithms is perceived by many as teaching for rote learning and produces not conceptual knowledge but procedural knowledge. Continue reading "Ideas and strategies for teaching math algorithms"

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Teaching mathematics Archives - Mathematics for Teaching

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Math is the language of the universe. If one were to excel in science and know the secrets of the universe, he needs to have a concrete understanding of math. As teachers, we all want our kids to succeed in math. However, it is our duty to give them the material, help them apply skills, and build their concepts.

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A film about education in the 21st century--winner of 2015 Sundance Film Festival award.

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Most Likely To Succeed is a thought-provoking documentary feature film that reveals the growing shortcomings of conventional education methods in today's innovative world. The film explores compelling new approaches that aim to revolutionize education as we know it, inspiring school communities to reimagine what students and teachers are capable of doing. To date, MLTS has screened for thousands of audiences around the world, igniting conversations and empowering change along the way. Share the film with your community to activate change now.

From Director Greg Whiteley (Last Chance U, Mitt,) and Executive Producer Ted Dintersmith (author, Most Likely to Succeed).

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Most Likely To Succeed - Ted Dintersmith

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Most Likely To Succeed is a thought-provoking documentary feature film that reveals the growing shortcomings of conventional education methods in today's innovative world. The film explores compelling new approaches that aim to revolutionize education as we know it, inspiring school communities to reimagine what students and teachers are capable of doing.

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Shelley Moore: Transforming Inclusive Education

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Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

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Ramsey Musallam: 3 rules to spark learning

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It took a life-threatening condition to jolt chemistry teacher Ramsey Musallam out of ten years of "pseudo-teaching" to understand the true role of the educator: to cultivate curiosity. In a fun and personal talk, Musallam gives 3 rules to spark imagination and learning, and get students excited about how the world works.

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National Center on Universal Design for Learning

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The Myth of Average:  Todd Rose at TEDxSonomaCounty

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The End of Average: Todd Rose's '8 for 8'

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https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/math-practice-standard-perseverance

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A good talk about why we should allow students to doodle in class--not a video to show to students, however (due to a word that is used that you would then have to explain to parents!).

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Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

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Studies show that sketching and doodling improve our comprehension -- and our creative thinking. So why do we still feel embarrassed when we're caught doodling in a meeting? Sunni Brown says: Doodlers, unite! She makes the case for unlocking your brain via pad and pen.

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https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/class-warm-up-routine

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/ CBS News

(CBS News) ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Sunday is Father's Day, which celebrates the special bond between a father and his son. We went "On the Road" to meet a father who couldn't be prouder, and a son who couldn't be more thankful.

When Keith Harris' son Tim was born, a half-hearted smile was all he could muster.

"Our pediatrician asked me if I knew what down syndrome was, and the world turned black at that moment," he told CBS News.

What a difference 26 years makes. Today, in sunny Albuquerque, you'd be hard pressed to find a more glowing father than Keith. Or a more shining example of what truly great parenting can accomplish.

Keith and wife Jeannie, who also have three typical boys, have raised them all with the same high-expectations. As a result, they're all successful. But, none are more successful than Tim, who not only lives on his own but owns his own restaurant.

"He works for me," Tim said, pointing at his brother.

In fact, as far as we know, Tim is the only person with Down syndrome in the country who owns a restaurant.

"Hi! Welcome to my place," he said enthusiastically as he greeted customers.

"All of us who are dads want our kids to wind up independent, happy, secure," Keith explained.

Tim's dad -- a small business owner himself -- provided the initial investment. Other people do the managing and cooking, but Tim is the front man and the genius behind it.

Tim realized that what people really want from a family restaurant is a family feel. That's why here, love isn't just in the air: It's a menu item. You can actually order a free hug from Tim. And even if you don't order it, chances are you'll still get one. Hugs are simply his measure of success: He's given out almost 19,000 hugs. He keeps track of them all on a hug counter.

Of course, profits are adding up too. Tim even has expansion plans. Yet no matter how big he gets, Tim says he will always be indebted to the man gave him his first hug.

"He's my super hero and my inspiration," he said about his father.

"We're happy for you," Keith told his son.

"Thank you Dad," Tim replied.

I don't think any one of us can imagine the time and tears that went into this moment right here -- that made it possible for Keith and Jeannie to walk away from their son and know that he will be alright with or without them. Only Tim knows that, which is why this Father's Day no father in America will be any more appreciated than his.

"I love my dad so much," Tim said.
To contact On the Road, or to send us a story idea, e-mail us.
Trending News

Steve Hartman

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Tim's Place restaurant takes unique approach thanks to special owner

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Tim Harris, who has Down syndrome, owns and operates an Albuquerque restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and thousands of hugs

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Tim's Place Albuquerque's Service With A Smile | You've Got

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Article about colors/fonts that benefit students with dyslexia  

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Article about colors/fonts that benefit students with dyslexia  

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WAI R&D Symposia " Text Customization Home " Proceedings " This paper.

This paper is a contribution to the Text Customization for Readability Online Symposium. It was not developed by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and does not necessarily represent the consensus view of W3C staff, participants, or members.

Luz Rello. Universitat Pompeu Fabra, luzrello@acm.org

Ricardo Baeza-Yates. Yahoo! Research & Universitat Pompeu Fabra, rbaeza@acm.

1. Problem Description

In this study we analyze how an specific aspect of text customization, text and background colors, can improve readability of people with dyslexia. Our user study compares two kinds of data, quantitative (user performance) and qualitative (user preferences), taking into consideration previous recommendations and the color luminosity ratio prescribed by the WCAG 2.0. (W3C, 2008).

2. Background

The role of colors in readability has been extensively discussed in relationship to dyslexia, a reading disability which occurs in around 10-17.5% of the English and 7.5-11.8% of the Spanish speaking population (Rello and Baeza-Yates, 2012). However, when reading the Web, poor colored text is one of the key problems encountered by people with dyslexia (McCarthy and Swierenga, 2010).

Previous user studies showed that specific text and background colors could be beneficial for reading on the screen (Gregor and Newell 2000; Rello, Baeza-Yates and Kanvinde, 2012). Moreover, text customization suggestions broadly agree that people with dyslexia normally prefer lower brightness and color differences among text and background compared to the average reader (Bradford, 2011; Pedley 2006; British Dyslexia Association, 2012). However, the relationship between this preference and the minimum color luminosity ratio prescribed by the W3C has not been studied.

In our study we empirically test previous recommendations and compare them with the W3C algorithm and the standard reading of a control group.

3. Approach

Our approach separates accessibility needs and personal preferences which are frequently mixed in the recommendations regarding colors and readability. Therefore, our tests were composed of two parts: (a) a set of texts to be read using eye-tracking to study the reading performance and (b) a questionnaire to collect the user preferences. Through this methodology we distinguish the aspects of text customization which allows readers with dyslexia to read more effectively and optional suggestions regarding their preferences. Each test was performed by 23 participants with dyslexia (Rello, Baeza-Yates and Kanvinde, 2012) and 92 participants without dyslexia (Rello and Marcos, 2012).

For the selection of the color pairs we took into consideration: (a) the previous literature, (b) the recommendations, (c) their frequency in the Web, and (d) their luminosity contrast ratio. The color pairs studied are given in Table 1.

Text and background color

Color difference

Brightness difference

Table 1: Color and brightness difference for the text and background color pairs. The RGB codes for the colors are presented in parenthesis and used for the cell text and background.

The pairs black & white and blue & white were chosen because they are the most commonly used. We selected off-black & off-white because it is recommended in Web accessibility for people with dyslexia (Bradford, 2011). The pairs brown & dark green and blue & yellow were included in the study because they were chosen by people with dyslexia in previous experiments (Gregor et al., 2003; Gregor and Newell, 2000). We chose black & creme because it is used -and recommended- by the British Dyslexia Association for their website and we selected black & yellow because of its high contrast.

Since the pair brown & dark green has a lower color contrast than the required by the WCAG 2.0, we created a dark brown & light green with the same color hue but following the W3C algorithm to compare both of the color pairs.

Each of the color pairs were presented in random order containing different comparable texts. The texts have the same length (22 syllables), belong to the same genre, and have the same metric and rhythm. They were written in sans serif arial (Al-Wabil, Zaphiris and Wilson, 2006), 20 points size, unjustified text (Pedley, 2006), and same line/word/character spacing.

The texts were presented to the participants to be read them in silence while they were recorded by the eye-tracker. Then, the participant filled a questionnaire regarding their personal preferences about the colors and their readability. The participants were trying to extract meaning from the text because they were expecting comprehension questions although the questionnaires were only about their preferences.

4. Challenges

There are three weaknesses in our methodology which will be addressed in future experiments. First, the color pairs were presented in random order but not in a counter-balanced order. Therefore we cannot be certain if some of the results could be affected by the position of the textual fragment in the screen and if the preference data is biased by order effects. Second, the texts are too small to draw strong conclusions. Third, the texts were presented alone in the screen, thus we cannot predict the color effect in other reading contexts such as Web browsing.

5. Outcomes

In Figure 1 we can see the comparison of the user performance and preferences, among the different color values across people with and without dyslexia. The performance is measured in reading time (mean of the fixation duration in seconds) and the preferences are represented by the percentage of the participants choice. Shorter fixations are preferred to longer ones, because according to previous studies (Just and Carpenter, 1980), readers make longer fixations at points where processing loads are greater.

The greatest difference among groups is on the black & white pair: while the majority of people without dyslexia prefer it (32.67%), only 13.64% of the participants with dyslexia chose black text on white background.

Participants without dyslexia tend to prefer color pairs with a higher color and brightness contrast while people with dyslexia read faster when color pairs have lower contrasts. For instance, the color pair which was the fastest to read by the participants with dyslexia was black & creme (mean of 0.214 for the fixation duration) while black text over yellow background presents the largest fixation duration mean (0.239 seconds). Although the pair off-black & off-white is the one recommended in Web design for dyslexics (Bradford, 2011), none of the users with dyslexia selected it. This pair presents the highest fixation duration mean for the participants without dyslexia (0.193 seconds).

Figure 1: Fixation duration (s) and user preferences (%) for the people with and without dyslexia (detailed description is at the end of paper).

The W3C algorithm suggests to avoid brightness differences less than 125 and color differences less than 500. Our results are consistent with this threshold since the only pair which did not match the W3C algorithm (brown & dark green) presented high fixation durations for both groups (the second and the third highest for people without and with dyslexia, respectively) and were also hardly selected by the participants (4.55% for the participants without dyslexia and 0.99% for the participants with dyslexia). Surprisingly, the pair dark brown & light green which is very similar in terms of color hue but differ from the brown & dark green in term of brightness and color contrast presents the lowest and second lowest fixations duration for people with dyslexia and without dyslexia, respectively.

Our results suggest that text customization preferences needs to be complemented by quantitative data from actual reading performance since we found no correlation between the reading performance and the personal choice of the users. Colors shall be taken into consideration by interface developers. Even if people with dyslexia read faster using lower color contrasts than the control group these are not lower than the W3C algorithm.

6. Future Research

On-going experiments address the challenges presented in Section 4. We are currently carrying out more tests with more participants. These tests include (1) further randomization of the position of the texts, (2) longer texts, and (3) the insertion of the texts in frequent reading contexts in the Web such as the Wikipedia layout.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Shadi Abou-Zahra (W3C) for his valuable comments and feedback about this research. We are also indebted to Mari-Carmen Marcos (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) for her assistance with the eye tracker, to Joaquim Llisterri (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona) for his help distributing our experiments announcement among experts, and to all the volunteers and people with dyslexia who performed the experiments.

References

1. Al-Wabil, A., Zaphiris, P. & Wilson, S. (2007), 'Web navigation for individuals with dyslexia: an exploratory study', Universal Acess in Human Computer Interaction. Coping with Diversity pp. 593-602.

2. Bradford, J. (2012) Designing web pages for dyslexic readers. Available: http://www.dyslexia-parent.com/mag35.html. Last accessed 20 September 2012.

3. British Dyslexia Association. (2012) Dyslexia style guide. Available: http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/. Last accessed 20 September 2012.

4. Gregor, P., Dickinson, A., Macaffer, A. & Andreasen, P. (2003), 'Seeword a personal word processing environment for dyslexic computer users', British Journal of Educational Technology 34(3), 341-355.

5. Gregor, P. & Newell, A. F. (2000), An empirical investigation of ways in which some of the problems encountered by some dyslexics may be alleviated using computer techniques, in Proceedings of the fourth international ACM conference on Assistive technologies, ASSETS 2000, ACM, New York, NY, USA, pp. 85-91.

6. Just, M. & Carpenter, P. (1980), 'A theory of reading: From eye fixations to comprehension', Psychological review 87, 329-354.

7. McCarthy, J. E. & Swierenga, S. J. (2010), 'What we know about dyslexia and web accessibility: a research review', Universal Access in the Information Society 9, 147-152.

8. Pedley, M. (2006), 'Designing for dyslexics: Part 3 of 3'. Available: http://accessites.org/site/2006/11/designing-for-dyslexics-part-3-of-3. Last accessed 20 September 2012.

9. Rello, L. & Baeza-Yates, R. (2012b), 'The presence of english and spanish dyslexia in the web', New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia pp. 1-28.

10. Rello, L., Kanvinde, G. & Baeza-Yates, R. (2012), Layout guidelines for web text and a web service to improve accessibility for dyslexics, in International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2012), ACM Press, Lyon, France.

11. Rello, L. & Marcos, M. (2012), An eye tracking study on text customization for user performance and preference, in 8th edition of the Latin American Web Congress (LA-WEB 2012), IEEE Press, Cartagena, Colombia.

12. World Wide Web Consortium (2008) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Available from: http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/ Last accessed 20 October 2012.

Appendix: Description of Figure 1

Fixation duration values in seconds and percentages of the user preference for the people with a without dyslexia. The mostly prefered color pairs by people with dislexia were (ordered from the most favorited to the less favorited): black & yellow; black & creme; blue & white; black & white; blue & yellow; dark brown & light green; brown & dark green and off-black & off-white. The mostly prefered color pairs by people without dislexia were (ordered from the most favorited to the less favorited): black & white; black & yellow; black & creme; off-black & off-white; blue & white; dark brown & light green; brown & dark green and blue & yellow. In terms of performance, the color pairs read by people with dislexia were (ordered from the fastest to the slowest): black & creme; blue & yellow; dark brown & light green, brown & dark green, black & white; off-black & off-white; blue & white and black & yellow. In terms of performance, the color pairs read by people without dislexia were (ordered from the fastest to the slowest): dark brown & light green; black & creme; black & white; black & yellow; blue & yellow; brown & dark green and off-black & off-white.

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Optimal Colors to Improve Readability for People with Dyslexia

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WAI R&D Symposia " Text Customization Home " Proceedings " This paper. This paper is a contribution to the Text Customization for Readability Online Symposium. It was not developed by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and does not necessarily represent the consensus view of W3C staff, participants, or members.

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Since launching on March 6, 2007, our goal at TeacherTube has been to provide an online community for sharing instructional and education videos for college students, high school students, middle school students and elementary school students. We seek to fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, students, schools, and home learners. It is a site to provide anytime, anywhere professional development with teachers teaching teachers. It is also a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.

On September 1, 2017, TeacherTube.com was acquired by Salem Web Network. Salem's goal is to continue the growth of TeacherTube and support innovative ideas for education.

Most importantly, TeacherTube community members are a major part of the evolution of the site. Members are encouraged to not only upload educationally relevant videos but also to make constructive comments and use the rating system to show appreciation for videos of value to one as an educator or learner. Users also have the ability to preserve the integrity of the site by flagging inappropriate videos. TeacherTube staff review flagged sites and will remove any inappropriate posts. With more collegial commentary and discussion through messaging and responses, the quality of this resource will only increase.

The service is free for everyone. We always encourage our users to Contact Us with thoughts, suggestions, or other feedback. We do have a vision for TeacherTube to truly be a better alternative to other video storage sites. With the community's help, it can become more interactive and engaging for all teachers and learners.

Science videos are one of the key subjects that students are taught in school. Science is present from the early years of grade school up to the highest levels of academic achievement. As students move up the ranks, their study of science tends to get more specialized into one specific field only, like chemistry, biology, or physics. We have educational videos for all of these courses.

TeacherTube.com's section on science educational videos has content of interest to all learning levels. We have topics as varied as educational songs for elementary school students, up to chemical engineering for college students.

Mathematics is one of the fundamental 3Rs of early education. Known as "arithmetic" in those levels, it involves counting and the basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. As kids advance through the grade levels, they progressively deal with more complex mathematical problems. Also, more new concepts get introduced as they progress.

Math is crucial for almost any business career. Accounting, budgeting, and projecting sales all require some level of competence in math. Many resources for these topics can be found here on TeacherTube.

Even everyday situations benefit a lot from math skills. Managing one's finances, for instance, obviously requires math, as with anything involving money. Cooking also involves math: proportions of ingredients, for example, as well as measurements.

TeacherTube.com's section on math education videos covers everything from fractions and measurements to money management. We also cover more complicated subjects such as trigonometry, and well as probability and statistics.

History is a very valuable subject, but not just because it is useful for preventing future wars. The lessons from history can also teach people to build a better future. What people have done right in the past should be continued and improved upon in the present.

The subject of history covers a wide range of timelines and locations. There's ancient history and modern history. There is also Asian history, US history, Latin American history, and European history. Each one is unique, reflecting the cultures of the people involved.

If there's one thing common to all history classes, it's usually names, dates, and places. This is also the part that many kids hate the most. They do not see the point of memorizing so many random facts that appear purposeless. Well, that is the wrong way to teach history.

TeacherTube's history education videos section makes the past come alive with a sterling array of videos and tutorials that cover subjects as varied as our prehistory, ancient history, the civil war, and the study of world civilizations.

The purpose of social studies, based on the US National Council for the Social Studies, is to promote "civic competence" among students. In other words, the subject equips students to become better citizens of a country. This is done by exploring history, geography, current events, and governments, among others. Middle school social studies usually deal with one of each of these fields per grade level.

With this knowledge, students gain the ability to become more socially aware and to be actively involved citizens of their country. Through analyzing current events, students will also learn how to predict the consequences of the things happening around them. With that, they can be good influences on their communities.

It is with this goal in mind that TeacherTube offers a wide variety of learning video materials for both students and enthusiasts.

We have videos on everything from strengthening your knowledge of economics terminology to the nuances of various world cultures.

Language arts, as the name suggests, equips students with a wide range of ways to use language. It comprises both speaking and writing skills. In addition to the basics, the subject also deals with the artistic side of language, infusing creativity in the ways students communicate.

There are four basic aspects to understanding a language: speaking, reading, listening, and writing. Language arts classes aim to enhance those skills at each year level. At first, it covers basic topics like grammar, sentence construction, and paragraphs. Exercises in language arts become progressively more complex as students move up the ranks, and usually, in higher grades, more emphasis is put on creativity and persuasiveness.

With the noble goal of harnessing the power of words to effect change in the world in mind, TeacherTube is proud to offer videos on everything from general communications to speaking and even videos on strengthening your studying skills.

Not all kids want to go through lectures. Some of them may not have the attention span or the patience to endure long hours just sitting down and listening to someone talk in front. No, that doesn't mean these kids are lazy. It just means they learn differently.

Some kids are auditory learners. In other words, they learn best when they listen to sounds and music. For this type of student, educational songs will certainly be a big helping hand. Even the most complex of concepts, when taught through songs, will be very easy for them to understand and remember. Even kids who are not so much inclined to auditory learning may like this method.

Educational song vidoes are available in a wide variety of subjects. English, math, social studies, science, and everything in between, there's bound to be a song for every subject. For example, on the website Teachertube.com, there are science topic songs, reading songs, skip counting songs, reading phonics songs, and even quadratic formula songs.

The advantage of using educational song videos is that it accomplishes two things at once. First, these songs are entertaining, and second, they also teach a concept. They facilitate learning a lot better than plain lectures simply because of the entertainment part. When a lesson is made fun of, kids will want to learn them. In fact, it could even be the kids themselves, on their own, who will play the songs repeatedly.

TeacherTube offers education songs on topics as varied as the circulatory system to math songs about polynomials and even videos on St. Patrick's Day.

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TeacherTube Educational Videos for the School Classroom and Home - Including Educational Songs, History Videos, Student Videos and Math Videos

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A free community for sharing instructional videos, Educational Songs, History Videos, Student Videos, Math Videos, and other content for teachers and students. We are an education focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home schoolers to access educational for the classroom and home learning.

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Graphing linear equations full body style video 

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Graphing linear equations full body style video 

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teaching channel graphing linear equations full body style - Google Search

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds. Subscribe to watch 1,500+ classroom videos and take any of our online teaching PD courses. The teaching strategies and classroom tools you need, at the price and pace you want.

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With the advent of the common-core standards, our thinking about how to support second language learners has become super important. While opting for services like Translation Services London is an excellent way to get one's work translated, one also has to know more than one language fluently. Our current focus for supportive instruction may be on grammar and vocabulary or we may be modifying the texts English Language Learners (ELLs) work with during a lesson so they're at a more "appropriate level." Under the standards developed through the Common Core State Standards Initiative, however, instruction for ELLs will have to move beyond modifying lesson materials and teaching fundamental components of language. Educators now have to ensure that we are teaching ALL kids, no matter their language background or where they are academically, how to grapple with complex, grade level information and texts.

So how do we do this? Well, a piece of it is thinking more carefully about what supports or scaffolds we can add to our instruction.

Through my experience working as a classroom teacher in an urban school with a large number of second language learners, along with two years experience as our school's English Language Acquisition Teacher Leader, I have identified eight " scaffolding strategies " that I believe should always be considered when planning instruction for second language learners:
Click Here for the 8 Scaffolding Strategies Printable
When I set out to plan a lesson, I always consider how to use any or all of these eight scaffolding strategies to support comprehension and language development.

1. Visuals and Realia

Whenever I can I include realia, or real life, tangible objects in my lessons. I have found that realia is super supportive for vocabulary development and engagement. For example, I recently selected a text about coral reefs for a close read lesson. I wasn't sure students would know what "coral" was, so I brought in an actual piece of coral to pass around. If you don't have realia available for a lesson, use visuals or images! You can frequently find me on Google images, looking for that just right visual to support my lesson.

2. Modeling/Gestures

If you were to observe me teaching a lesson, you would likely see me making all kinds of funny looking gestures. Funny looking maybe, but supportive definitely! When all you do is talk/lecture to students who don't speak English as their first language, most of what you say will probably fly right over their head. Modeling and gestures help bring your words to life. Couple this with the use of supportive visuals and say hello to comprehension!

3. Connect to Background Knowledge

When planning for the "hook" or introduction in a lesson, I consider what background knowledge students might have that I can connect to. For example, I might show them a picture of something related to our lesson and ask them a question about it. Connecting previous knowledge/learning to new learning is always a great support for ELLs.

4. Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers may not be an appropriate scaffold for every lesson, but they are for many! You can create your own or use one of the many free ones to be found on the www. Graphic organizers can be used as a tool to help students organize their thinking when responding to a text. They key is not to make them too complicated or they may end up being exactly the opposite of a useful thinking support.

5. Sentence Structures/Starters

Sentence structures can be a great support for English Language Learners. I often use them during the close of a lesson in the debrief or share. You can also slightly differentiate graphic organizers or recording sheets you provide students by adding sentence structures.

6. Read Aloud

Reading a grade level, complex text aloud to students at the start of the lesson can serve three important purposes: support engagement, support fluency, and give ELLs some access to the text they'll be working with. When reading a text aloud to students, it's important that it is displayed in a way that all students can easily see it.

7. Intentional Small Group/Partner Work

To support students during independent work time, you can consider small group or partner work. I say "intentional" small group/partner work because it's important to consider how and why you're pairing certain students. Pairing two students just because one is a "high" reader and the other is a less sophisticated reader can quickly backfire if you haven't considered how their personalities/work styles might pair up. Additionally, if you have chosen to provide a small group of students with additional support, just be aware of how much support you're providing...hopefully not too much! We don't want to take away all the challenges that a text/lesson presents.

8. Use of First Language

If a student's first language is available to you, then by all means make use of it as a scaffold. I'm not implying that the whole lesson should be translated. However if you can translate important vocabulary words, make connections between concepts presented, or translate specific instructions then go for it!

As a final note, even if you do not work with ELLs, try to keep in mind that good instruction for second language learners is great instruction for all kids!

Thanks for reading, and download your Scaffolding Strategies Printable for free.

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8 Strategies for Scaffolding Instruction - Ms. Houser

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With the advent of the common-core standards, our thinking about how to support second language learners has become super important. While opting for services like Translation Services London is an excellent way to get one's work translated, one also has to know more than one language fluently.