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Week of June 15th, 2009

Wow... another school year is wrapping up to a close. This will be the last WWL update until school resumes in the fall.

I'd like to close off this year with Playing for Change, an inspirational music project that celebrates diversity and culture that was born out of the idea that through music we can inspire each other to come together as a human race. The project started four years ago on the streets of Santa Monica, with the recording of a street musician playing Stand by Me. I first learned about Playing for Change through a group of Alberta educators that come together each year in Belize to work with teachers there. It has inspired these educators (and me) and I know it will inspire you as well.

Share the music and the hope with your children. Have a wonderful summer wherever you are...

NEW! Playing for Change
http://www.playingforchange.com
Playing for Change, an inspirational music project that celebrates diversity and culture, started four years ago on the streets of Santa Monica with the recording of a street musician playing Stand by Me. The project was born out of the idea that we can inspire each other to come together as a human race and that music is one way to achieve this. Playing for Change contains videos and musical recordings of artists that have been recorded over the years. Start with the Introduction and for just the Stand By Me video, go here: http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741
*This site is also listed under The Arts.

Week of June 8th, 2009

I can't believe I haven't added PEEP and the Big Wide World to Worthwhile Websites for Learning. With all of the great web sites that I find, this wonderful science and math site for younger students got lost in the list and was never highlighted. We're changing that today!

Week of June 1st, 2009

The site this week is an interesting little multimedia tool called Capzles that allows you to create stories with photos and videos and music. It's free but you need to register to use it. Encourage your children to take photos and write about of their summer adventures to share with friends, family, and when they go back to school in the fall!

I had fun playing with Capzles and created a short montage of my photos from Ulukhaktok with some music as an example - http://capzles.com/#/55bfbded-a449-4aa4-b4c4-b7c56881d173.

Week of May 18th, 2009

We always encourage our children to wash their hands to avoid the spread of germs. This week's picks will raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing for children and reinforce the importance of this message.

Week of May 11th, 2009

I'm especially excited about this resource that I recently found about the polar regions of our Earth. A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to spend some time working with teachers in Ulukhaktok on the west side of Victoria Island on the Amundsen Gulf in the Northwest Territories. This week's site, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, will allow students to explore and deepen their understanding about Canada's great north as well as the polar region of Antarctica through a variety of different media.

NEW! Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears
http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org
Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears is an online magazine integrating science, literacy, and the polar regions. Through this web site, students can explore the Arctic and Antarctica by listening to podcasts, reading a blog, or listening to stories. Stories for Students are available in three formats: text only, text with images, or as an electronic book (audio and images). The stories are organized by reading level for K-1, 2-3, or 4-5.
*This site is listed in Grade 1 Science under Needs of Plants and Animals, Grade 2 Science under Buoyancy and Boats, Grade 3 Science under Animal Life Cycles, Grade 4 Science under Plant Growth and Changes, Grade 5 Science under Weather, Grade 5 Social Studies under Physical Geography of Canada, and Grade 6 Science under Sky Science.

Week of May 4th, 2009

This week's Site of the Week offers an engaging interactive activity that helps students discover the fascinating world of flowering plants and their reproductive lifecycle.

NEW! Pollen Park
http://www.concer-tina.co.uk/pollenpark/index.html
In Pollen Park, children join Bumbles the playful honey bee, on a pollen-collecting mission by completing activities and making amazing discoveries about plant reproduction. Students will learn the names of the different parts of the flower and understand the function of each in the reproduction process, the process of pollination and the varied methods of pollen transfer, the process of fertilization and how this differs from pollination, different methods of seed dispersal and why this needs to occur, and the process of seed germination and the necessary conditions for it to occur.
*This site is listed in Grade 4 Science under Plant Growth and Changes

Week of April 27th, 2009

Earth Day is just one day out of the year. We need to celebrate Earth on a daily basis with our children. This week, watch the blue whale, the largest animal that ever lived on Earth, swim across your screen and marvel at it's mass and size.

NEW! Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
http://www.wdcs.co.uk/media/flash/whalebanner/content_pub_en.html
What would it be like if you could swim with a blue whale? Visit this site and watch the blue whale, the largest animal that ever lived on Earth, swim across your screen and marvel at it's mass and size. Teachers, if you have an interactive whiteboard in your classroom, students can touch and drag the whale to move it or they can move the small viewfinder in the top-right of the screen to move directly to different parts of the whale.

For more information and facts about the blue whale, visit Discovery Education at:
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/planetocean/bluewhale.html
*This site is listed under Grade One Needs of Plants and Animals in Div 1 Science and Other in Div 2 Science. It also could be used to support Sound in Grade 3 Science.

Week of April 20th, 2009

Earth Day 2009 is just around the corner and this week's Site of the Week offers engaging interactive activities to assist students in learning about the environment.

NEW! EcoKids
http://www.ecokidsonline.com
EcoKids is a free, environmental education program that offers curriculum-linked materials and interactive, fun, educational games and activities for Canadian elementary schools to engage in environmental action. Children are encouraged to form their own opinions, make decisions, get involved and understand the impact their own actions have on the environment.
*This site is listed under Other in both Div 1 Science and Div 2 Science.

Week of March 30th, 2009

Even though we still have huge mounds of snow outside and are barely creeping over the freezing mark each day, it is spring break time for students of Edmonton Public Schools! Just in case the weather gets too cold to go outside, here's a web site for kids to explore and just have fun...

NEW! Poptropica
http://www.poptropica.com
Ready for some island hopping? Then head on over to Poptropica, a virtual world created by the Family Education Network. Players get an avatar and username, then board the Poptropica blimp for one of three destinations: Early Poptropica Island, Shark Tooth Island, or Time Tangled Island. Each island holds its own adventure; players climb, jump, and collect objects in order to complete missions, which they learn about by talking to the locals. Poptropica uses safe, kid-friendly, pre-scripted chat, which allows players to communicate without sharing personal information. After saving their game once, players can leave and come back at any time to pick up where they left off. Make sure you check out the Q&A.
*This site is listed under Div 1 Recess and Div 2 Recess.

Week of March 23rd, 2009

In the 'old' days it used to be about how much info one could remember. Now it's more about whether or not a person knows how or where to locate information. With access to an Internet that keeps on expanding, an answer is never too far away...

NEW! Ask Us!
http://www.epl.ca/EPLAskAQuestion.cfm
Are you trying to find out how many stripes are on a zebra or how many different kinds of trees are native to Alberta? Check out Ask Us! a chat feature of the Edmonton Public Library. Regular online hours are Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
*This site is listed under Tools for Learning under the Homework link

NEW! EPL Pathfinders
http://www.epl.ca/EPLMaster.cfm?id=PATHFINDERS00001
The Edmonton Public Library Pathfinders list books, sites and other info about specific topics or assignments. Pathfinders was created just for students and covers many different topics. A 'pathfinder' is a list of books, web sites and other information students will find useful while doing their homework.
*This site is listed under Tools for Learning under the Homework link

 

Week of March 16th, 2009

Enjoy a huge collection of children's videos from fairy tales to favourite Saturday morning cartoons on Totlol! And teachers... if You Tube is blocked in your school, use Zamzar, a free online conversion tool, that will convert a video into an mp3 format or whatever format you choose. http://www.zamzar.com

NEW! Totlol
http://www.totlol.com
Totlol is a video website designed specifically for children. It is community moderated, constantly growing, and powered by YouTube. At Totlol you can watch from a huge selection of videos submitted by parents including Seuss, Disney, fairy tales... Search by category or search by language. You don't need to register but registration does allow for more options (resizing video etc).
*This site is listed under Other in Language Arts for Div 1

Week of March 9th, 2009

I was very excited to learn about this week's site at our recent Teachers' Convention. Artsonia offers an exciting way to celebrate and share student art work in a global gallery. Very much worth a visit!

NEW! Artsonia Kids Art Museum
http://www.artsonia.com
Artsonia is free online student art museum where students' work is displayed side by side with the work of other students their own age from thousands of schools in over 100 countries. Artsonia is available to schools, families, and communities worldwide to help promote creativity amongst young artists. Registration is required and information on student privacy is clearly set out. If you are a parent, you can also buy custom-made gift merchandise with your child's own artwork.
*This site is listed under The Arts for both Div 1 and Div 2

 

Week of March 2nd, 2009

And now for something completely different...

NEW! Mathematics in Movies
http://www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/mathmovies
This is a collection of movie clips in which mathematics appear. There are a wide range of movies highlighted so parents and teachers need to take a look to determine which would be appropriate for the age of student being considered. To see the movies larger, watch the quicktime ipod version, which are files with .m4v extension.
*This site is listed under Other in Math Div 1 and Math Div 2

Week of February 23rd, 2009

Unite with students and schools from around the world to set a new world record! World Math Day is a fun and engaging way to promote numeracy for students. Students play against each other in mental arithmetic games in real time and the challenge is to correctly answer more than 182,445,169 questions in 48 hours.

Each game lasts for 60 seconds and students can play as many games as they wish. The questions are appropriately leveled for different ages and abilities and designed for students from 5 - 18 years old. Whole schools, individual classrooms, or students at home may register. Participation is free but students must be registered by March 3.

World Math Day begins for all countries around the world as soon as it is March 4th 2009 somewhere. The place will be New Zealand. So, as soon as it is 12:00am March 4th in New Zealand, the event starts for everyone. Our local time for World Math Day to start is: Tue Mar 3 2009, 04:00:00 AM

Have fun!

NEW! World Math Day 09
http://www.worldmathday.com
Unite with students and schools from around the world to set a new world record! Students play against each other in mental arithmetic games in real time and the challenge is to correctly answer more than 182,445,169 questions in 48 hours. This is the third year for the challenge and it will likely run again in March 2010. Participation is free but to participate this year students must be registered by March 3.
*This site is listed under Other in Math Div 1 and Math Div 2

Week of February 16th, 2009

Learn about a new technology that empowers struggling writers by enhancing their ability to write error-free texts independently at the

Ginger Software is a new technology that empowers struggling writers by enhancing their ability to write error-free texts independently.  By successfully tackling even the severest spelling mistakes, Ginger Software helps to level the playing field for children and adults with learning difficulties. This would be a useful tool for anyone who wishes to improve his or her English writing skills.

NEW! Ginger Spell (Beta download)
http://www.gingersoftware.com
Ginger provides an automatic spell checker, assisting people with learning difficulties such as dyslexia or those for whom English is not their native language to improve their writing skills, through an intelligent automatic context-based correction of spelling mistakes and misused words. Ginger Spell  runs within Microsoft Word for Windows, and requires an Internet connection. As the user works in a familiar word-processing environment such as Microsoft Word, the system responds quickly and accurately to automatically produce error-free texts.

*Compatible with MS Word 2003 and 2007, and Microsoft Windows;text-to-speech capabilities coming soon; Mac version is being worked on; a commercial version of Ginger Software will be available in mid 2009.
*This site is listed with Tools for Learning under Homework Help

Week of February 9th, 2009

Wade, a teacher colleague, shared a couple of excellent social studies sites that he uses with his grade 5 students. This week's highlight is 'From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham', an excellent resource for learning about the history of Canada.

NEW! From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham
http://1759.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca
When you surf on the site, you will revisit the siege of Quebec and the battle of the Plains of Abraham right in the shoes of a French soldier, British soldier, Canadian militiaman, and Amerindian. Four nations, four different ways of comprehending a war that could be qualified nowadas as the first world armed conflict.
*This site is listed under Grade 5 Canada: Shaping an Identity in Div 2 Social Studies

Week of February 2nd, 2009

NEW! Writing Fun
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jeather/writingfun/writingfun.html
Writing is Fun is a site created by Jenny Eather to guide students through the writing process. Choose the text type (information report, narrative, procedure, recount, explanation, persuasion, discussion, response, description, poetry, letter, email, news, or an invitaion), get an idea of what it is you need to do, and then check out the many examples complete with writing tips and mouse-overs. Finally, get started with your own writing right online. Perfect for older students!
*This site is listed under Writing in Div 2 Language Arts

Week of January 26th, 2009

While the resource this week supports the Alberta grade 4 science curriculum, it is also an excellent site for all students (and adults) to explore and learn about physics.

NEW! Phun
http://www.phunland.com
Phun is a free downloaded game where you can play with physics like never before. The playful synergy of science and art is novel, and makes Phun as educational as it is entertaining. The latest version has several fixes and lots of new features, including a pen tool, scaling, improved sticky menues, colored fluids, object transparency, import/export of phunlets, and much more.
*This site is listed under Building Devices and Vehicles that Move in Grade 4 Science

 

Week of January 19th, 2009

I'm always being asked by both parents and teachers where to find quality children's literature to download (audio books). This week I'm highlighting two resources, one of them free and the other with a cost involved. Most free access to literature on the Internet is to the classics (Robinson Crusoe etc) because after 100 years, there is no copyright involved. Newer literature involves copyright and therefore comes with a price tag. Both of these resources highlighted this week have lots to offer. With the number of children walking around with i-pods or MP3 players, it just makes good sense to take advantage of their use for learning!

NEW! Audible Kids
http://kids.audible.com
AudibleKids is an engaging, interactive community of parents, their kids, and educators that promotes the fun of storytelling through audiobooks. Listen to books, read and post reviews and share your favorites with others. (Cost involved with accessing literature on this site.)
*This site is listed under Literature in Language Arts Div 1 and Div 2.

NEW! Learn Out Loud
http://kids.learnoutloud.com/Kids-Free-Stuff
Learn Out Loud Kids Stuff Section features free podcasts and audio & video resources for kids & teens to learn from. Most audio titles can be downloaded in digital formats such as MP3 and most video titles are available to stream online. Enjoy titles such as Aesop's Fables PodcastAlice's Adventures in Wonderland, American Indian Fairy Tales, Robinson Crusoe, Tom Sawyer, Call of the Wild, Moby Dick, The Secret Garden, War of the Worlds, Treadure Island, and collections of literature and poetry for different grade levels. (There is also a huge collection of titles for purchase.)
*This site is listed under Literature in Language Arts Div 1 and Div 2.

Week of January 12th, 2009

NEW! Class Tools
http://classtools.net
Classtools.net allows you to create free educational games, activities, and diagrams in a Flash! Students can work right on the Internet and print off their work or they can host the activities on a blog or web site. Activities are listed on the right-hand side. Some of my favourites are Diamond 9, Fishbone, and Lights Out!
*This site is listed under Tools for Learning in Homework Help.

Week of January 5th, 2009

Want to try something enchanting, fun, and educational with your kids? Check out Questionaut, a BBC site, that takes participants on a magical journey in search of a lost hat...

NEW! Questionaut
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/games/questionaut/pop.shtml
Journey through strange worlds and test your knowledge of English, Maths and Science on this magical mission to recover your friend’s hat. Use logic (which becomes more apparent as you go along) and answer questions to inflate a helium balloon and retrieve the lost hat. I suggest parents try this activity with their children or teachers put aside a good half hour and problem solve through the levels as a whole group. Questions are different each time you go through. Would be great with an interactive whiteboard!
*This site is listed under Div 2 Recess

Week of December 15th, 2008

Winter arrived in Alberta with a vengence this weekend and temperatures well below -23C are going to be keeping our students inside at recess this last week before the holiday break. Get them busy playing a digital version of the memory game called 'Simon'. Great for an interactive whiteboard!

NEW! Simon
http://www.simonsaid.com/swf/766.swf
Do what Simon Says. Follow the pattern of lights and sounds for as long as you can... if you can!
*This site is listed under Div 1 and Div 2 Recess

Week of December 8, 2008

This week's highlight is not a new site but if it is one that you haven't taken a look at for a long time, it is definitely worth a revisit. A colleague, Cathy, shared with me how much her grade 2 students were enjoying some of the videos such as 'The Dixie Chimps' (kids will know the 'ch' sound after this one!) and 'My Favourite Word' (they'll never use the word 'big' again!). Get your dancing shoes on!

NEW! Between the Lions
http://pbskids.org/lions
Between the Lions offers a wealth of literacy resources - games, stories, video clips, and activities - for you to share with your emerging reader. A wonderful site to engage students!
*This site is listed under Early Reading Skills in Language Arts Div 1

Week of December 1, 2008

NEW! Give the Dog a Bone
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/DogBone/gamebone.html
My good friend, Tammy, tells me her students love this site and have become amazingly fast at finding the ten hidden bones on the 100-number square!
*This site is listed under Numbers in Math Div 1

Week of November 24, 2008
NEW! Tracking the Buffalo
http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/kids/buffalo
This activity explores the role of the buffalo in the lives of the aboriginal people of the northern plains. An interactive activity, 'You be the Historian', encourages students to find out what stories the pictures on the buffalo hide tell. Informational sections include: More about buffalo hide painting, Meet the artist, Key to the buffalo hide painting, What did Indians make from the buffalo, Origin Stories of Plains Indians, Map of the Plains Indians, and a bibliography for further reading. The Activities for Teachers helps you make a hide painting, discover what you can make from a buffalo, and provides some worksheets.
*This site is listed under The Stories, Histories and People of Alberta in Grade 4 Social Studies

Week of November 17, 2008

Research shows that skilled readers use a set of learning strategies that help them make meaning from text. Into the Book provides tools to help elementary students learn to use these strategies in reading, the arts, and across the curriculum.

NEW! Into the Book
http://reading.ecb.org
Into the Book is a reading comprehension resource for K-4 students and teachers that focuses on eight research-based strategies: Using Prior Knowledge, Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating and Synthesizing. Students can watch engaging 15-minute videos and then try the online interactive activities.
*This site is listed under Reading Skills in Lang Arts Div 1 and Lang Arts Div 2

Week of November 10, 2008

NEW! The Night Sky
http://www.quietbay.net/Science/astronomy/nightsky
Identify constellations, stars, planets, and how to navigate the night sky. This web site will take students step-by-step through a process to help them learn to identify the main shapes in Orion and then identify the whole constellation in the night sky.
*This site is listed under Sky Science in Grade 6 Science

Week of November 3, 2008

NEW! Historic Tale Construction Kit
http://www.adgame-wonderland.de/type/bayeux.php
This is a great site that lets students interactively create their own ancient manuscript or write tales of high adventure, noble kings, dragons, and wicked beasts. Just drop in an image from the tool bar and add some text (preformated to look ancient) and voila!
*This site is listed under Writing in Lang Arts Div 2

Week of October 27, 2008

Type or paste words or sentences you want to scramble using this quick and easy to use tool!

NEW! Word Magnets
http://www.xmleducation.co.uk/magnets.html
Word Magnets lets you create vocabulary words that can be moved around the computer screen or an interactive whiteboard to create sentences or demonstrate understanding. This new web site created by educators in the UK is quick and easy to use. Have fun!
*This site is listed under Working With Words in Lang Arts Div 1 and Div 2

Week of October 20, 2008

Children will really get to know Henri Matisse and his art work through this thoughtful and interactive exploration of his art.

NEW! Matisse for Kids
http://www.artbma.org/flash/F_conekids.swf
The Baltimore Museum of Art introduces Raoudi, artist Henri Matisse's perky schnauzer, in Matisse for Kids, a delightful on-line exploration of the beloved 20th century master's bold, bright paintings. Along the way, you'll earn props, patterns, and colors to use in creating your own Matisse-inspired artwork.
*This site is also listed under The Arts for both Div 1 and Div 2

Week of October 13, 2008

A colleague shared this math site a couple of weeks ago and it definitely has the potential to engage students to learn their multiplication facts! Timez Attack has graphics just like games kids play at home. It is a free download for either home or school. The home version has one player, the school version allows teachers to put in multiple student names and track their progress.

NEW! Timez Attack
http://www.bigbrainz.com
Chase dangerous monsters, find your way through dark tunnels - and learn multiplication at the same time with this free download! Timz Attack is a first person shooter game where you do multiplication instead of shooting! There is also a non-free version, which includes more levels and cooler monsters.
*This site is listed under Math Div 1 and Math Div 2

 

Week of October 6, 2008

NEW! World Food Day
http://www.freerice.com
World Food Day is on October 16. Students can challenge themselves with the activities on this site and for each question they get right, 20 grains of rice will be donated to the U.N. World Food Program to help end world hunger. Kids can do this at home or together as a whole class at school using an LCD projector connected to the Internet. Topics cover Art, Chemistry, English, Geography, Math, and Languages.
*This site is listed under Div 2 Recess

Week of September 29, 2008

Wordle has to be one of my favourite applications! Take a concept, brainstorm words to support it, and quickly create a professional looking visual that can be printed or saved. For example, if a grade 4 student has been studying Waste and Our World in Science, get them to brainstorm as many words as possible about the topic and input them in Wordle. Engaging and easy to use! *Teachers, this is an excellent tool to use with a class for pre- and post-assessment.

NEW! Wordle
http://wordle.net
Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.
*This site is listed under Tools for Learning under Homework

 

Week of September 22, 2008

Read over 2600 kid's books online in 48 different languages from over 45 different countries!

NEW! International Children's Digital Library
http://www.icdlbooks.org
The ICDL Foundation's goal is to build a collection of books that represents outstanding historical and contemporary books from throughout the world.  Ultimately, the Foundation aspires to have every culture and language represented so that every child can know and appreciate the riches of children's literature from the world community.The ICDL are continuously working to improve the user experience of reading books. To this end, they offer many books with PopoutText and ClearText, two significant new book reading technologies that improve readability, accessibility, and offer the potential of displaying translations in place, and allowing people to switch the language of the book page by page as they read – which is a great way to learn other languages.
*This site is also listed under Literature in Lang Arts Div 1 and Div 2

Week of September 15, 2008

Is your child looking for a good book to read? Have they just read one and want to share their thoughts about the book? Wired for Words encourages reading and writing for students of all ages...

NEW! Wired for Words
http://www.wiredforwords.com/wiredforwords.html
Wired for Words is dedicated to providing young avid readers with a place to get some advice on best-reads! It is also a place where students can share information about recommended books or read the reviews sent in by other readers. This site was created by the Calgary Board of Education.
*This site is also listed under Literature in Lang Arts Div 1 and Div 2

Week of September 8, 2008

Welcome back to a new school year!
The first site being highlighted this fall is an interactive math site for helping children understand and work with statistics in an interesting way.

NEW! Furbles
http://www.ptolemy.co.uk/software/furbles
If you have a child that is learning about statistics or graphing in math, Furbles provides an excellent opportunity to work with data and create different kinds of graphs. This is definitely a worthwhile site but does require a bit of patience and playing to understand how it works. First off, you need to click on 'Launch 08 Furbles Demo' to get started. The instruction screen is fleeting so here are the basic instructions: Toggle the colour, shapes, and eyes buttons to choose which properties the Furbles in your population will have. Change the number of Furbles by clicking on the arrow buttons above and below the total on the left which makes it easy to differentiate for different levels of learners. When you are happy with your selection, click ok. If you have trouble figuring it out, ask a student. If that doesn't work, feel free to send me an email and I'll try to help out. For teachers with an interactive whiteboard, this is an excellent resource...
*This site is also listed under Statistics and Probability in Math for both Div. 1 and Div. 2

 

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