TED Ed
This website, a spin off from the famous TED Talks, is full of classroom resources for all subjects. Most activities are broken into four parts: Watch, which includes a short video; Think, which has a few questions about the video; Dig Deeper, which provides ideas for further exploration of the topic, and Discuss, which gives a larger question to ponder. Sign up for a free account and you can personalize each lesson and/or receive occasional newsletters! TeachThought A great place to rethink how we think about K-12 teaching and learning. The content of the site combines timely thought leadership and learning models with accessible technology and resources that teachers can grab today and use tomorrow. The site includes blog posts, eBooks, eCourses, video, podcasts, keynotes, and professional development. Kappan This comprehensive website poses mind-shifting ideas that can reshape a teacher's thinking on educational practices, while simultaneously providing resources and strategies that can be easily implemented in the classroom. It focuses on the areas of reading, math, and language arts. Read, Write, Think This resource has a wealth of knowledge in the area of literacy. It has lesson plans, videos, activities and other materials to support students K-12. You can search by keyword/grade level to find the content that matches your needs. They're also PD opportunities that educators can explore: some available online for free! Newsela A collection of current news articles, this website sorts stories by topic in an easy-to-search-for way, notes the Lexile level, and then re-levels each story into various lower/higher Lexiles that teachers/readers can select based on each learner's reading ability. Write Well This website assits students in organizing any writing projuct by providing them with scafolding that helps to simplify the writing process while simlutaniously serving as a way to visualize the written work as a whole. It also provides over 100 outlines and templates for students to follow as they shape their ideas prior to starting a first draft. (For more information, read this!) LearnZillion This free online resources provides Math and English teachers with great lessons and activities that promote productive struggle. Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything An educational technologist's guide to, well, everything. Some of our personal favorites: Infographics, Rubrics, Readability, Critical Evaluation, and Intellectual Property. Common Sense Media A wealth of resources for teaching in the digital age. Some of our personal favorite areas to explore are: EdTech Reviews and Ratings (great for finding out new tools or tools for a particular need), Digital Citizenship classroom materials, and Book and Media Reviews. Indigenous Resources (from G. Capossela's RPS webpage) A wealth of online tools for educators ranging from basic information on current indigenous issues to teaching resources. Best Tools for Teaching and Learning AASL's handy resource for discovering new tools for teaching and learning or for searching for tools that would help with a particular need. ELM Publication Finder & RPS's Instructional Databases These tools help to ensure that students and staff are pulling high quality resources, especially when researching. Common Lit High-quality, free instructional materials that support literacy development: reading passages are leveled, have vocabulary resources embedded, and are paired with other correlating supplementary materials. Project Gutenberg This site offers over 50,000 free ebooks, all of which come in a variety downloadable formats as well as formats that can easily be read online. Use the "Search" box in the upper right corner to quickly find what you're looking for. LibriVox This site offers over 10,000 free audiobooks, all of which come in a variety downloadable formats as well as formats that can be listened to right on your computer. Use the "Search" box in the upper right corner or the blue tabs at the top of the webpage to quickly find what you're looking for. EBooks Minnesota Free ebooks! It's that simple. Search for a specific title/author or sort by category. Once the desired book is located, it can be read online. Unlock more features by creating a free account: then texts can be downloaded, eNotes taken, bookmarks added, etc. Rewordify This simple and free online resource is great for students struggling to read an online passage. Simply copy and paste a difficult section of text into the provided box and it the site will reword it for you by either replacing difficult words with simpler synonyms or by providing definitions for content-specific words. NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Created and supported by a professional association of English Educators, this website is filled with resources, PD, and articles to help English Educators enhance their classroom practices. Poetry Translation Centre Poems from Africa, Asia, and Latin America are beautifully translated into English. Each English translation is posted side by side with the original text. Poems can be sorted by country of origin or by original language. Biographies of the poets and translators are also included and there is a podcast component for more sensory balanced lessons. Follett Titlewave A great resource for searching for new titles, exploring new books, and finding supplementary literacy resources. |
Mind Shift
Often incorporating research, each succinctly written blog post aims to get educators thinking deeply about teaching and learning: focusing on topics ranging from motivation to culture, from classroom strategies to digital tools. Collabrify Tool Suite These apps, created by the Intergalactic Mobile Learning Center, are great ways to get your students working together with ease. Playposit An easy to use website that takes videos found online and allows you to insert questions (multiple choice, free response, and reflective pause questions available with the free version--many other formats available for a cost) and crop out portions of the video that are not needed. Works great in a flipped classroom structure as well as for full class instruction. It also stores and sorts students' responses which they can submit via any smart device. (Note: it functions best in Google Chrome.) Listen Wise This simple-to-navigate online resource provides teachers in most content areas with highly engaging, quality audio resources that have already been compiled around commonly taught subjects. Many of the compilations come with transcripts, graphic organizers, discussion questions, and other such lesson ideas! This tool is an easy way to keep things engaging for all learners, but is especially great for EL students. Match Fishtank Math, English, Social Studies, and Science teachers may want to check out these free resources filled with innovative lesson ideas created by some teachers in Boston. Simply sign up for a free account and dive in! Everything ESL This website offers lesson plans, teaching tips and resources to assist in teaching English Learners. Colorín Colorado Colorín Colorado has great articles and videos that describe best practices for teaching English Learners. It also offers a resource library that is filled with tools and materials that you can use with students and parents. Lesson Pick This site is one where teachers share resources for English Language Learners. A teacher can choose a grade, WIDA proficiency level, or content area to sort in the General Library of a variety resources. It also offers resources for Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) as well as materials for professional development. All can be downloaded for free with registration (and registration is free, too)! MN Humanities Center, Resources Page Filled with free resources and inexpensive PD opportunities, this is a great resource for teachers interested in expanding their cultural understandings, as well as for Social Studies, ELA, and EL teachers looking for varied resources (most free), ranging from Native American maps and literature to African American poetry and videos, from Somali picture books to Mong refugee memoirs. Be sure to click on 'Absent Narrative Resources' to explore the full extent of what they have to offer. Teaching History A website designed to help K-12 history teachers access high quality resources and materials. This is a great site for locating history content, teaching strategies, resources, and research. MN Center for Social Studies Education The CSSE is an organization collaborative that supports educators with the implementation of Social Studies standards, classroom resources, and opportunities for professional development. MN Historical Society, Educator's Page This website is filled with resources for Social Studies teachers: sixth grade social studies will find this site especially helpful. YouCubed A comprehensive website geared toward Math and Science teachers, students, and parents. Complete with videos, lesson ideas, and inspirational articles this web-tool will help approach STEM with a growth mindset. Nix the Tricks This website contains a free eBook that teachers can download along with supplementary resources. Filled with alternatives to the shortcut commonly utilized in math classes, this website is a go-to for any teacher who utilizes mathematical concepts in class. NRICH This tool-filled website is a great resource, filled with ideas for how to enrich mathematics instruction. Math Learning Center: Resources Numerous visual model math apps and resources: all are available in two or more versions (a web app for all modern browsers and downloadable versions for specific operating systems and devices). Robert Kaplinsky, Glenrock Consulting A simple website for math teachers. Click "Lessons" for real-world ideas to use in math classrooms or "Blog" for some conceptual or phylosphical takes on mathamatical approches in education. Resources from the Regional Centers of Excellence This simple website compiles many valuable online reading and math resources and lists them all in one place for teachers to easily access. The math section is particularly comprehensive. The Minnesota STEM Teaching Center This easy-to-navigate website lays out the framework for MN Science and Math Standards. This non-profit business/education partnership promotes quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in Minnesota's K-16 eschools. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Although not yet adopted by MN, the NGSS are K-12 science content standards that attempt to stimulate students' interests in science while preparing them for college, careers, and citizenship. The NGSS creators believe an in-depth understanding of science content means developing skills in inquiry, problem solving, flexibility, communication, and collaboration. |