Great Site to Differentiate Your Reading Activities and Meet Common Core Standards:)

How many teachers have classes where each and every student is at the same level in reading abilities?  My guess is that this is highly unlikely to say the least.  The vast majority of teachers have classes with students of mixed abilities in reading.  So how does a teacher support this wide range of reading abilities?  Try READ WORKS! 

With this site, teachers have a wide range of reading passages from all the academic disciplines and at many grade levels to pull from.  Registration is required, but it is free.

What options are there for reading strategies practice?  They are listed here:

What subject areas specifically are included?  See below:

The site also offers lesson plan units aligned to common core standards:

To successfully meet the reading skills development needs of diverse classrooms, this is a site teachers should bookmark and pull from as needed.  Note the EDMODO pin.  Teachers with EDMODO accounts can save work directly to that site for student use with just a click:)

I hope this site meets your needs:)

Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS

Twitter @ell_teacherpros (2062 followers).

Pinterest dmcyberteacher (1120 followers).

Great Interactive on Development of English From 449 A.D to Present

Both English teachers and English language enthusiasts will truly enjoy this site.  This BBC site looks at the development of English from 449 A.D. from many angles.  The audio clips contain language puns, insults, and riddles from old English.  Students will be able to hear the language the way it was spoken over 1500 years ago.

How does this tool enrich English class?  Click on Beowulf from the 8th century to hear it read in English's earliest forms.  Supports such as these not only broaden the students' knowledge of English, but also transfer over to world history in the study of Vikings, Anglos, and Saxons:)  Remember in the new common core, teachers of all content areas will be demonstrating to students that content knowledge in one course can and does transfer to other subject areas.

For vocabulary development, this site provides samples of words that each time period added to the language.  Again, such information easily bridges over into world history, English, science, and mathematics.  Everything now known about English took hundreds of years to evolve.  This site provides just enough to grab student interest without overwhelming them.  Think of it as a "hook" to build interest AND it is fun.

What about studying puns, jokes, and insults in the various forms of Old English?  What could be more fun for students studying Shakespeare than insulting each other in the language of Queen Elizabeth's reign?   What better motivator to fully engage all students in studying English literature:)

Explore the other great options this site offers and see how it can tap and hold student interest:)

A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FROM BBC

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

PS  Why not follow us on TWITTER @ell_teacherpros  :)

Khan Academy and Les Miserables!

The movie Les Miserables will probably walk away with several Oscars.  For students who see it, there will probably be some gaps in the historical background to fully appreciate Hugo's novel, Les Miserables, on which the movie is based. 

Great movies are many times based on great novels.  Many high school students do not often see that connection.  Khan Academy has taken on Les Miserables to clarify which French Revolution the film is based on.  Students will be shocked at the number of uprisings which took place in France from 1789 to 1870.  Both English and world history teachers will appreciate this link as a source to scaffold this chapter of historical literature/history for their long-term English language learners.  The timelines and visuals will both provide that critical context needed to support their efforts at understanding the period. 

KHAN ACADEMY AND LES MISERABLES

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Interactive History Site from GOOGLE!

Google continues to amaze teachers in the incredible resources it offers for free to educators around the world.  History teachers will have at their fingertips a formidable collection of key historical world events from 1905 to late 20th century.  The pictures would supply accessible content accessibility for English language learners who often times don't quite understand everything discussed in class.  Such visuals also activate background knowledge for them.  Think of this as schema building.  The more information an ELL can bring from his/her past school or life experience to a lesson, the more likely it is that s/he will connect with the content and therefore do well.

Though Google's video on the features of the site is temporarily down, most teachers won't really need to refer to it since, as history teachers, they already have all the background knowledge necessary to navigate the site.  Using the incredible resources will put a face on the dry materials in the textbook.  The human side of history presented here will build a deeper understanding of the time periods and the issues people of the time had to struggle with.

Google is continuing to build on the site so bookmark it to return to periodically for updates.  GOOGLE CULTURAL INSTITUTE

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Acer A200 Iconia Tablet, 16 GB, Titanium Gray XE.H8QPN.001 (Google Affiliate Ad)

Amazing Historical Photographs for World History--Provides Visual Context For ELLs

Visuals are a must with any student--especially ELLs.  History is a subject where photographs and historical videos can add context with ease to a lesson.  They are a must for any class with ELLs because they assist the students in attaching images to what the teacher is saying.  Heavy lecture without the footage or pictures can turn a 55 minute class into a 4 hour one for those students, and, to make matters worse, ELLs will understand very little due to being inundated with language that is for the most part inaccessible to them.

Below are two links with amazing photos that would easily supplement any lesson on world history.   A word of caution though is needed here.  Some shots from WWII and the Vietnam War might be a bit graphic for some students so get parent approval before showing them in class.

Some ideas for using these photos are:


HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS


1.  Man's footstep on the moon:  Write a reflective journal entry as the astronaut.  Address what it must have felt like to stand on another world.

OR  What do you think alien life forms will think about when they see the photograph of a human family on the moon?

2.   Howard Carter examining the tomb of King Tut.  Describe the contents of the tomb.  Why is this discovery important?  What do you think Howard Carter is thinking?


MORE HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS

1.  Photograph #4 shows a mob lynching of 2 young black men before the Civil Rights Movement.  If To Kill A Mockingbird is the novel students are working on, this might a photo to underscore the message of the time--racial prejudice in its ugliest form. 

Question:  Think about the ending of the book.  How could a jury convict an innocent man?  Using the photo and your knowledge of the book, explain how this was a common event of the time.  Address the ugliest of prejudice against anyone and why it must be stopped.

2.  Photograph #14 shows people running from a napalm attack.  The young girl survived and still remembers that day. 

Question:  Was the use of this type of weapon justifiable?  Should the use of biological warfare ever be used in the future?

I hope your students have the opportunity to explore the past with this material.  It attaches a human face to the events and therefore makes it easier to remember.

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Acer A200 Iconia Tablet, 16 GB, Titanium Gray XE.H8QPN.001 (Google Affiliate Ad)
HP g6-1d60us Notebook PC (Google Affiliate Ad)
Epson DC-06 Document Camera V12H321005 (Google Affiliate Ad)

Incredible PRIMARY SOURCE for World History!

Queen Elizabeth II has offered the world access to Queen Victoria's journals online.  This collection covers the years 1832 to her death in 1901.  Included with the journals are drawings, sketches, photos, and more.  The queen kept writing until she passed away.

 Queen Victoria was on the throne from 1837 to 1901 and was  Empress of India from 1877.  In total, her surviving volumes number over 43,000 pages. This unique record covers the day to day routines and insights of a monarch in her reign over the world's largest empire in the 19th century. 

What areas are specifically addressed throughout those 68 years?  Culture, empire and exploration, military, politics and society, royal family, science and technology, and sport are all covered in great detail within.  Use the timeline to search out specific details for any of those 7 areas. 

If you searching for a specific month, day, and year, use the time index.  If your world history is studying the British empire, you could assign different dates to students to research (or if they are familiar with the index, let them select the time periods most important to them in doing their research--PRIMARY SOURCE material).  

If you wish students to explore science and technology, have them use the timeline to guide them or get them started.  On the timeline, they will click on the icon associated with the area they wish to explore.  For example, if they want to research scientific advancements over her reign, they would click on the light bulb icon over any year where it is visible (each year or months within a year highlight a new invention).

If you teach art, take a look at the section on her illustrations.  It could easily be woven into any art appreciation class.  Students could focus on how her skills evolved over time. 


This is an overall recap of the online resource:
QUEEN VICTORIA'S JOURNALS

This link provides the overview of the journals:
INFORMATION ABOUT THE JOURNALS

Here you will find an index to all the journal entries:
TIME INDEX TO SEARCH FOR SPECIFIC DATES

Finally, here is an index to all of her drawings:
QUEEN VICTORIA'S ILLUSTRATIONS

As schools move to COMMON CORE STANDARDS in the coming year, the need to be to identify and use primary resources will be the focus of all the non-elective classes.  Here is a primary source that spans English language, world history, science, art, and mathematics.  It is a gem!

Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS

Be Prepared to Be Amazed! Visit the Google ART PROJECT!

Google has done it again in its mission to make the wonders of humanity available to everyone with a computer and access to the internet.  Their current project, which is the subject of this post, opens the doors to major museums from across the globe.  Here, 40 countries make their treasures available to all for free online.  

This site offers all of us the chance to do the unthinkable--visit EVERY major museum here on the planet in our lifetime and view over 30,000 pieces of art from over 150 collections.  Imagine how this will excite your students as you weave in works of art into your English, social studies, and math classes.  For English, it helps to capture life of the time of the novel being read.  Students learn to appreciate the tone and setting of the novels a bit more as they study the artwork of the period.  Social studies students are offered artist interpretations of major historical events and this makes the content more vivid and accessible to ELLs and others.  For math, students might study how math was used to design architectural masterpieces. 


Below are three major sections of the site:

GOOGLE ART PROJECT 
Provides an alphabetically arranged list of every museum.  Click on any one and you will be instantly transported to that museum!  I tried the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).  Click on the little orange human icon on the bottom left and you will be transported to the floor in which the exhibit you selected is exhibited.  It is the next best thing to actually being there walking around on your own.


ART WORKS VIEW
Here, type in the artwork you are specifically looking for and you will be sent there.  I picture art teachers really enjoying this link. I typed in photojournalism and selected photos from the 1930s.  Here is a photo (with notes) on General Miaja's militiamen writing letters.  World history students would definitely benefit for this tool in studying World War II for example.

MUSEUMS BY CONTINENT
This link maps out museums by continent.  Click on the yellow balloon in the country you wish to explore and you will be presented with all the museums in that area.

Great site!  Maybe it will help you plan out your well deserved summer vacations:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

PRIMARY SOURCES FROM AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE

This site offers a quick walk through American history.  The reading passages are packed with solid content, but at a reading level that an intermediate ELL could read with some support.  Further, pictures are found in many of the articles so ELLs would have visuals to make the articles accessible.

What is covered?  The site opens up with 1600-1859.  Students will see sketchings and paintings of the time that depict life as early Americans saw themselves.  There is also a section on the different state currencies.  Every state had its own monetary system and photos of each of the state currencies are here. Images can be blown up to include in power points so that all students can clearly see the images with ease.  Care to study the DEPRESSION?  This site has powerful images that underscore how difficult that period was on the average American.  It can supplement any history textbook.  In fact, teachers could assign sections to students to study with partners and then share out to the class what they learned.

The active links end with POPULAR CULTURE, as you will not, there are more sites being worked on that will take you up to President Obama.


THE AUTHENTIC HISTORY CENTER-PRIMARY SOURCES FROM AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS




from 1600 to 2008

A Look at Ancient Egypt Via The British Museum:)

With Howard Carter's 138th birthday in the news, why not take a look at the wonders of ancient Egypt?  Carter's discovery of King Tut's tomb was a major event of the 20th century.  It opened a window to the past of how the ancient Egyptians lived.  Thanks to the British Museum, students can actually explore many facets of life then through this site. 

Some of the topics addressed are geography, writing, gods and goddesses, mummification, daily life, and much, much more.  Each topic covered appears as a hieroglyph.  Click on one and you will be transported to a new link with photos and easy to read details on the item you selected.  I went to the one on writing and found a picture of the Rosetta Stone along with details on the writing system.  I then dug a bit deeper and found a story on the routine of scribes.  Students of all ages would be fascinated here since it covers a highly respected "job" at the time.  Next,  I explored the section on where writing was used.  Apparently, if you could write, you were in high demand in the society!  Last, but not least, is a challenge on completing a message using the ancient writing system.  This type of activity would be a fun approach to see how much your students understood from your lesson and the site.



ANCIENT EGYPT

HOWARD CARTER'S DISCOVERY OF KING TUT'S TOMB
This site is a mixture of real silent film footage and event re-enactments.  It provides a very well-rounded view of the event. 

KING TUT'S TOMB TOUR
What did the tomb look like?  This is a virtual tour.  Here you will find pictures of artifacts along with short descriptions of the tomb's contents.


Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

GREAT Study Tool for ALL Students-ELLs and EOs Alike!

As the school year draws to a close, students are looking for ways to do well on final examinations.  Many have created study cards which some teachers will let them bring to their exams.  Here students are given one 3 X 5 index cars on which they write all the notes they think they will need for the exam.  Only 1 card can be used however.   Another strategy some use is to make their own decks of study cards to prep for exams. These cards are used to help students memorize key concepts.  Some teachers allow kids to bring their organized binders in which students have been adding key notes all year long.  These binders teachers have been checking (and grading) every 3 or 4 weeks to assess for completeness.  Now, the big reward comes---if they have been keeping it current with all the course content,  they will be able to refer to it in doing their finals.

To add some variety to the review tools just mentioned, teachers may want to consider adding the following online site:  STUDY STACKS  Here, teachers can create flashcards on as many subjects as they wish for their students to use in a variety of ways.  Offer students options using formats that appeal to them and they will do well on their examinations.   Teachers may also use flashcards created by other teachers if they like.  Further, if teachers have really ambitious students, charge them with creating flashcards for the class!  This site will take the pain out of studying:)  Remember that the site is FREE to join.

Example GEOGRAPHY

Flashcards

StudyStack

Study Table

Matching

Crossword

Unscramble

Type In

Quiz

Test

Hangman

Chopped

Bug Match

Hungry Bug

Targets

Apps

Questions

Hmm...

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

The History of Maths! Absolutely Fascinating to Watch:)

Have your students ever wondered how math came into existence?  Of course those few who find the subject exciting need little encouragement here, but for those who do, these sites will provide incredible insight behind numbers and how they came into being:)  As a non-math person, I found this BBC series quite engaging in that its delivery is totally accessible to non-math individuals.  Further, in these videos, every segment of humanity is recognized from every continent.  If you have ELLs in your classes, you see some wide smiles when their culture is showcased.

HISTORY OF MATHS

In HISTORY OF MATHS, you will discover the many paths of discovery humans took along the way trying to find patterns and solve puzzles.  Egyptians were acknowledged at length in their handling of complex mathematics.  Land and taxes were the driving force:)


CONTINUTATION OF EGYPTIAN MATH
This section continues where the introduction left off.   The Babylonians are explored here along with their contributions to math.  Here the links to astronomy and math are a major focus in the clip.  Quadratic equations were also born in Babylonia.  Last, but not least, the concept of ZERO was touched on, but not fully addressed for 1000 years.


HISTORY OF MATH IN ASIA  The 13th century was the golden age of math in China.  Many of the formulas developed were linked also to astronomy.  India is also covered here and the fact that their number system laid the ground for our present day 9 number system.  They also created the number zero (now 0-9 was a reality). 


HISTORY OF MATH IN EUROPE You will travel through Italy and France.  The journey over the history of math in Europe then explores the major contributions of Newton and others to the field of mathematics.

I only wish that such a program as this BBC one had been available when I was in school many years ago.  For me, math class consisted of doing lots of exercises with no history or tie-in to the real world.  I loved this series. 

Denise


ELL TEACHER PROS

The OLYMPICS--A Teaching Opportunity In All Content Areas!

With the summer Olympics fast approaching, teachers may want to bring it into their classes in some unusual ways. 

First, teachers may want to have students look at the history of the games.  Here you will find a short animated cartoon on it.  It covers its earliest origins in just enough detail for students (about 8 minutes).  All main points are addressed in student friendly fashion while also delivering content.  In this same section, students can also get the names of every medalist going back to 1896.

Second, if you teach world history, you will enjoy taking a look at clips of past Olympic games going back to 1896.  I spent some time looking at the 1936 games.  The video clip is 2 minutes 25 seconds long and focuses not only on Jesse Owens, but on Jesse's German rival who helped him to qualify for the long jump.  In fact, the two remained friends until Jesse's friend was killed in World War 2.  Take whatever time period you are covering and weave in the games!  Another plus here is that ELLs will feel validated when their country is covered as a past host country.  Imagine being Mexican and seeing how Mexico welcomed the games back in 1968!

Third, if mathematics is the focus, why not look at any one of the 35 SPORTS (Winter OR Summer) and pick one the students like.  Create questions with more than one correct answer if possible such as "How much faster should the number two person have run so that he could have won?" "At what angle, should the bow have been raised so the arrow would hit the target?  (archery)"  Have students try making up their own math questions.  ELLs can fully participate here since drawing out sketches with numbers would be the basics needed to make their case:)

Fourth, if you teach science, take a look at the summer or winter games to show science in action.  If it is the winter games, try the luge events.  How does the knowledge of physics add excitement to luge?  If skiing is a favorite, how does one score a gold using science?

OLYMPICS  This site has so much more than I could address here.  Explore it and share it with your students.  It is truly an inspirational site.

Denise


ELL TEACHER PROS

HAVE FUN WITH HISTORY! See How Future Was Viewed in the Past:)

If you teach English literature, world history, science, or US history, you will truly the benefits of weaving in some of the material from this history site. Every major period from the 1700's to date is covered with free videos. Almost every topic you can envision is represented here.

Now, due to its size, I have pulled out only one area for this post and that is the world of science fiction. You will find unique views of what people in the past envisioned the world of the future to be. There is even a full length play from 1954 on George Orwell's 1984. RETRO FUTURE

The material here can easily supplement any content class material (including ELD/ESL). Every possible writing style can be used here: description, narration, comparsion/contrast, persuasive essay, and expository. Have students make their projections on life in 100 years. Through cooperative learning, model writings, video support with lots of think-pair-share and small group interaction, mind maps, and word walls (GOOGLE SEARCH WITHIN THIS BLOG WILL OFFER DETAILS ON EACH), ELLs will have the linguistic tools to write! Of course, it won't be perfect with the first draft, but through the drafting process along with peer editing and teacher one-on-one conferencing, the ELL will be able to generate a solid essay. Solid writing skills transfer to better grades, admittance to university/college, and good career choice opportunities in life.

Explore the future from the past:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Commerating Martin Luther King's Achievements in the Classroom

Today is MLK's birthday. How can his message of peace, equality, elimination of hunger, and a living wage for all be part of the classroom? At what grade level can it be incorporated into the curriculum and to what extent? These are the questions teachers attempt to address on a daily basis in the typical classroom.

Discrimination in any form is unacceptable in this day and age and yet it is still around. So what are educators to do? Why not find avenues within lessons to highlight the achievements of ethnic groups?

If guest speakers visit the classroom, why not try to find speakers who represent the group (if the classroom has a high number of minorities)? If the classroom has very few to no minorities, why not bring in some minority guest speakers to break any stereotypes students may have of those groups (conscious or subconscious)? How about bringing in women guest speakers to address sexism in society (female astronaut, physicist, mathematician, etc.)?

If historical material is being covered, bring in the viewpoints of the minority leaders of the time to provide a bigger picture of historical events. For example, if you are working with the US Civil War, bring in Sojourner Truth. Have students explore not only how she fought to liberate slaves, but was also active in fighting for equal rights for women of the time.

Remember that internet is an incredible source of supplemental material for anything here. Use it:)

SITE: Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching


Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

See New York Grow Over 200 Years:)

No matter what subject area you teach, you will definitely enjoy weaving this site into your lesson. If you have been to New York (Manhattan), have you ever wondered how the layout of the streets change after Wall Street? South of Wall Street is very European (a bit hard to follow without a map due to the irregular shapes of blocks among other things), but when you leave that area, you can navigate with ease. In fact, one might argue that for the most part, it is quite difficult to get lost.

This link shows the development of Manhattan's unique grid layout over 200 years.

NYC TIMELINE

Now, what might your students do with such information? If they are US history students (ELLs especially), they might contrast Manhattan in 1800 with Manhattan 2012. Bubble maps work or simple T-charts. How about having them create a Manhattan without the grid setup? How might this have affected the present status of the city? Would it still be the jewel of the US that it is now? Why or why not?

If the class is world history, would the Dutch style have possibly stymied growth and progress? Why or why not? Explain.

Teachers could then have students select any city of the world and look at its growth and development over time. Did the city layout help or hinder growth and prosperity? Why or why not? Explain.

Here is the complete ARTICLE. Your more advanced students might like to try reading this. For ELLs and those who generally need assistance, you could provide guided reading questions to help them process the material. As the teacher, pull out only the most important vocabulary words ELLs would absolutely have to know to benefit from the information presented.

As an end activity, why not have them in groups of 4, create a model of what they think a big city will look like in 2212. They could then justify their changes in writing (differentiate here according to their English levels). To get them started, you might ask them to think how a metropolitan center would have to changed to accommodate a tripling of its population. How will this affect schooling, traveling, working, etc.? Do some think alouds ("hmm...I think schools, as we know them, will have to change. Maybe students will have to attend class in their homes. What do you think?") to get them started and then interact with each group as they create their future cities (with justifications for every feature they add).

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

A Look at CHILD LABOR in the US in 1908-1912

Though child labor is a thing of the past for the most part in the US, it is still an issue in some countries. This site offers a window to the loss of childhood that these children experienced. Children today might develop a deeper appreciation for the lives they lead now--school, a home, parents taking care of their many needs, laws that protect them from unfair labor practices, etc.

This site (at end of post) could easily enhance a lesson in social studies, geography, world history, economics, writing, etc. If this surfaced in an English class, it could be tied to Upton Sinclair's THE JUNGLE (you may download this book for free from this link). As students progressed through the book, they could be reminded of what life was really like for these children--children who didn't know how old they were, who could barely reach the work assigned work area without a box to stand on, who toiled long hours selling newspapers often catching pneumonia (no health insurance), who looked much older than their years due to the harsh working environment, etc.

In an ELD class, these photos could be used to build a comparison/contrast composition. With a double-bubble graphic organizer, students would look at a child's life in 2012 vs a child's life then. This could be done as a small group activity where students could work as teams to complete the graphic organizer. Once the teacher had an opportunity to make sure that everyone was on the same page, s/he could have them start developing their essay outlines. The actual writing of the essay could be done with a partner (if the process is semi-new for them) or individually with teacher support as needed.

CHILD LABOR IN US (photographs and captions from Lewis Hine)

I hope you can use these photos in some of your lessons.

Denise:)

ELL TEACHER PROS

Interactives for all Subjects Grades K-12! All FREE:)

Well, today was the first day of school for many teachers. As planning unfolds for the new year, many of us are faced with trying to find ways to assist students in remembering some of the items addressed before the break:)

ALL SUBJECTS ALL GRADES INTERACTIVES is a website from the Utah Education Network. This site offers instructional materials for all subjects (including probability at the high school level) and grade levels. It can't cover every point taught in school, but it hits on some of the big ones. The science section for grades 9-12 covers physics, chemistry, biology, genetics, etc. It also has many virtual labs (some tied to PBS - Public Broadcasting Station). The Language Arts section covers vocabulary development, spelling, grammar, writing, etc. I was also impressed with their ARTS section which many sites don't address. Here even architecture was covered including a section on designing your own building! Like MUSIC? Use the virtual keyboards to create music.

Grades K-6 are equally well thought out and easy to use (to supplement school instruction).

The K-2 section has a doodle pad (like a smartboard minus the internet) where students can write, draw, etc. You have a choice as a teacher to print in black ink or color. Kids will love it of course. Then there is the FLIP BOOK (Read Write Think). Little ones will delight at the thought of being an author. Again, all subjects are addressed here. I have pulled out one for the blog.

Grades 3-6 has a technology component which not only covers the keyboard and hardware/software, but also internet safety. I have never seen a site address this (one written for students that is). Parents and teachers should appreciate this one. There are many more subjects here as well.

I hope you enjoy the site!

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Care to Greet the New Year With a Look Back at the Past? 365 Days Covering From 18th Century to Date!

With the start of a new year, we can't help but look back a bit at the past. Reviewing major events over time can open up the floor for lively "what if" conversations with students. For ELLs, such activities give them a chance to explore some of the nuances of English in these unreal scenarios:) Remember that ELLs need to have time to play with the language. Dr. Jim Cummins addressed this at the California Association of Bilingual Educators in March 2011. ELLs must have many ungraded opportunities to develop their English in all content areas. Through lively verbal interactions with peers on open-ended questions ("what if" discussions), ELLs learn to use the language to strengthen their use of academic language. As the oral skills become stronger, so do the reading and writing skills.

TIMELINES-WHAT HAPPENED ON offers choices of dates covering 365 days. Once you click on a date, you will see several topics surface over several centuries. In fact, I went to 12/31/1981 and found a story on my old hometown in the Hudson Valley (New York). It was one on the sitings of UFOs. I remember seeing strange lights which moved in patterns never before seen, but never thought much about it after the event....until I found it here on this site:)

What could your students do here? How about having them find the month and day of their birth? Then they could find one event of interest to them to share with the class. This would be low stress since they would not have to write on it. Also, as the teacher, you could take several events that they students uncovered of interest to them (key here), and have kids discuss in groups how that event could have been changed. For example, what if the Titanic didn't sink?

There are two other sections to this site which may interest you. Go to POPULAR TOPICS. If you want your students to zero in on specific people or wars and conflicts, go to this section. Once they click on the topic/person, a timeline is generated just on that topic/person. The readings are not overwhelming and might serve as a major support for writing for ELLs.

The last section is TRIVIA QUIZZES. I don't think it offers as much as the other sections of the site, but for those students who finish doing assignments early, this may give them something to do while the rest of the class focuses on completing their work.

Well, I hope you like the sites and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

Build Word Skills to Sharpen Vocabulary and Have Some Fun Doing It:)

How often do students have to take high stakes test with challenging vocabulary? Too often most students would say:) However, here is a site that used as part of a test taking strategy or prep would help to demystify the process of selecting the correct word in those tests.

This site uses several unique approaches to strengthening vocabulary bases for students of all ages. First, students (or teachers) select the subject specific academic terms they want their students to know. The subjects covered are the sciences, math, English, social studies, and foreign languages along with practice for high stakes tests such as TOEFL, ACT, and SAT. All grade levels are covered here as well from elementary through 12th grade and beyond! Second, DYNAMO keeps a running record of all scores (student must create a free account to do this) students can monitor progress. Teachers might encourage students to keep growth charts in their notebooks. ELLs would definitely benefit from an activity like this since learning a new language at the same time they are trying to do well academically in content classes being conducted in a new tongue is no easy task. With this site, ELLs would be able to see improved performance over time (with the side benefit being that they are developing an expanding passive vocabulary). Last, teachers could use the individual progress quizzes as a vehicle through which they can demonstrate how to guess definitions through word forms, Latin/Greek roots, parts of speech, and incorrect answer elimination. Such an activity would only take 5 or so minutes. The goal is to have the teacher model the thought process (think aloud) and then give students time to do the same.

WORD DYNAMO is a free website teachers will use time after time. Students will quickly fall i love with it also.

I hope your students have as much fun with the site as I did (and still do).

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

P.S. If you like the blog, why not subscribe:)

Amazing Historical Photographs!

If you teach history, you will want to bookmark this site. The photographs here capture famous historical figures and events through time. In fact, the first photograph ever taken (1826) is here!

Some of the major items captured here are the Titanic before and after the disaster, Hitler as a baby (the only time he was innocent), Che and Fidel in their youth, the destruction of the Berlin Wall, and black surgeons saving a white KKK member in the south before the Civil Rights Bill was passed. There are so many incredible photos in this collection. Teachers can use the to add to almost any lesson.

If you teach ELLs, these photos could build content background knowledge as you go through a unit on the Wright brothers (Aviation history) and how their invention still affects their lives today for example.

31 GREAT ICONIC PHOTOS

Hope you enjoy the site and don't forget to see me at C.A.B.E. (California Association of Bilingual Educators) on 3/8/11 for a half day workshop on creating virtual dioramas!

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS