Using Free Websites as Learning & Teaching Tools
1. Have students use Spelling City to learn their spelling words, vocabulary words, or site words through games, practice, and quizzes. Spelling City is a free resource for teachers.
2. Use Brain POP to show short, animated videos as a lesson opener. Brain POP is available in its original version (appropriatefor grades 3-8), Brain POP Jr. (appropriate for grades K-3), Brain POP Español, and Brain POP ESL. There is a 30-day free trialavailable.
3. Use Dove Whisper as a computer center in your classroom. This site contains Internet games for all subjects.
4. Create flashcards for math facts, science vocabulary words, and more. Plus, you are able to find flashcards created by others.
5. Create a game show for your students to participate in as a review for an upcoming assessment. This site offers free templates.
6. Students can track visitors to their blog, wiki, or website through Clustrmap. This tool can be used for an ongoing geography lesson.
7. Have students create a daily or weekly live broadcast on Ustream about school news, new concepts or original ideas.
8. Enhance your predictions and inferencing lessons by having students create sequels/prequels to movies and books on Fanfiction. This may be more appropriate for secondary students.
9. Let students add free, copyright-free music to their presentations and movies through ccMixter.
10. Create custom game boards, customized dice, and many other printables to use in a variety of lessons.
11. Create videos that bring your lessons to life! Share your ideas for integration on Animoto.
12. Have students create a comic strip using Make Beliefs Comix. Students can use this tool to show main idea, sequencing, predictions, and more!
13. Introduce a new unit in reading with a vocabulary word cloud. Have the students guess what the unit/story will be about. Set a purpose for learning.
14. Find out what your students know before a unit or how much they've learned after a unit through an online survey. Surveys give students a way to give feedback quickly.
15. Have students create a time line to have a visual representation.
16. User KerPoof to allow your students to illustrate their writing, create a movie, and more!
17. Use Class Tools to randomly generate names, to show a countdown timer, to find graphic organizers, to create timelines, play puzzles and access other neat tools.
18. Have students create their "Wild Self". Use their creations for an intro into animal adaptations and habitats in science, or use them as a creative writing prompt.
19. Have an advanced student who is always done early? Let him or her get on Free Rice and practice challenging vocabulary!
20. Students can create animated videos at Flux Time Studio. They are able to save their videos and share them with others!
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