Great 4 a.m. Finds

Yes, insomnia struck again. But, check out all the cools things I found! 

  • This Smore, from Laura Chaffey, contains 2 web resources I’ve never seen before (actually shouted with glee as I was exploring). Photos for Class is an image search engine students can use to find copyright-friendly photos for research projects. What I LOVE is the way it automatically cites the author and the image license terms. Easy peasy. Speaking of research, DK Find Out is a free, children’s online encyclopedia that covers a variety of topics such as science, history, Earth, math, animals, nature and more. Students can use these 2 free resources to create amazing digital research projects.

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  • Kristen Wideen, Grade 2/3 Teacher in Windsor, Ontario, has a blog with fantastic resources. The original post that led me to her blog was found on Pinterest. She created a task sheet which guides students through several activities utilizing BrainPOP and the iPad. This is a great example of giving students choice when demonstrating understanding. Click here to access her presentation on creating authentic iPad learning stations.

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Putting it All Together

Now that you have been exposed to all of these great resources, let’s put it together to form a research project for your students.

  1. Introduce your research topic by uploading the RAN Graphic Organizer onto Padlet. Have students add their prior knowledge information to the wall. 
  2. Students use Photos for Class and DK Find it Out to create a digital artifact. Possible web tools and apps could include Tackk, Thinglink, Smore, Shadow Puppet, Storehouse or Discovery Education Board Builder. (Create a task card for students)
  3. Go back to the RAN graphic organizer and have students fill in the information under the remaining columns.
  4. Collect all student artifacts on a different Padlet wall for a share-out session.

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