Celebrate 100’s day with a bit of technology. These free online tools allow students extra enrichment when celebrating the 100th day of school.
3D pens are an easy way to create a 3D object. You can design from scratch or use a template. The pens work like a glue gun, except that they use the same filament in a 3D printer. The objects that the students create can be used in project based learning projects.
This Internet fact finding activity is as easy A-B-C! Students will get an introduction to safe search engines, including MeL, (Michigan e-Library.org), to find ways to do a basic online search safely for information by simply using the letters of the alphabet.
Students go on a hunt to find a word for each letter of the alphabet from a free online picture dictionary.
In fourth grade, students learn how to be better researchers and using AR Flashcards, they are taken to a new level with the interactivity of augmented reality. AR Flashcards Lincoln is an iOS app where students can see a full size Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg address, place magical doorways on the ground and walk through them using their device to visit places Lincoln lived.
In third grade students learn about Michigan history. The Michigan eLibrary has compiled a number of websites suitable for children to learn more about our state. There is information on Michigan Native Americans, folklore, wildlife, birds, bugs, and much more.
Students create a informational board on Discovery Education Board Builder. Discovery Education is a website that offers a plethora of information on any given topic. With the use of Builder Tools/Board Builder students create a dynamic research presentation on their given animal.
Students will practice looking at a topic from multiple points of view, and will discuss whose voices are amplified and whose voices are silenced. This lesson is part of a media unit curated at our Digital Citizenship website called "Who Am I Online?".
It is very important that students learn early on to respect the device they are working on as well as be safe when they are using it. The teacher and students will have a classroom discussion on responsibility on how to take care of the device, keep it safe and themselves while using it.
Due to a lack of content (in many textbooks) regarding the role women and minorities played during the Revolutionary War, students will be asked to compile resources using various resources including Michigan’s Open Book Project and various other online resources regarding a specific unit of study.
Students will learn how to use blogging to make online connections with other learners while demonstrating their learning in the core content areas. Students will have an authentic audience for their writing.
Bloxels is an innovative video game development platform that allows you to create your own video games. It’s a free app that helps you and your students create games. It’s also plastic board that fits a collection of plastic pegs of multiple colors.
Book Creator is a simple and free online app that even very young students may use to make interactive multimedia-rich eBooks.
Switch Zoo is a free interactive website that allows students to create their own animals, habitats and biomes. It provides games for students to get involved with their created animal and zoo. There are several different activities that students can interact with.
Building a blendspace is a great way for students to demonstrate their understanding of learned concepts in any content area.
It is so important that students learn about bullying at an early age. They need to learn what bullying is and how to respond to it. For children under eight, there is an app called the Allen Adventure for both iOs and Androids. The students will watch the video, play the game and complete the activities.
Text features is an important part of the English Language Arts informational writing curriculum. Students need to know to look for captions in nonfiction text and read them for help with understanding the text.
Kids love to build, what’s more they love to be challenged. Zoob Builderz STEM Challenge is designed for both. Students must read and create using the Zoob Builder pieces. Pieces include gears, axles, joints, wheels, and more for students to snap together.
Students need to check the accuracy of what they see on the Internet. Young children will especially have a difficult time knowing what is real or fake. Netsmartzkids has an excellent video for students to watch and learn how to fact check.
This activity assumes that students have some familiarity with using the Chrome browser, most likely a Chromebook before (probably in a previous grade). Using a simple KWL chart on a Google Doc, students can collaborate and acquire shortcuts for using a Chromebook (or just the Chrome browser) more efficiently.
Google Scholar Citations provide a simple way for students to keep track of citations to their articles. When students are using Google Docs to write their papers, they can easily link and cite the articles used for references.
Zoterobib also known as Zbib is a free online tool that helps you cite anything from any device. Students are able to copy and paste a title or a book, website, photo, etc and Zbib will easily cite the source. Students can then copy and paste the bibliography into their work.
Cleanopolis VR is a game that students can play to learn more about the environment and fight against climate change. The game does not have to be played with 3D technology, but it will enhance the experience. Cleanopolis has both an Android and iOS version.
Students enjoy teaching others. In fact, research says that when students teach others their own learning increases. QR codes are a way for students to teach community members about their local community.
Dash and Dot are robots that can sense, act and think! Coding with robots is great fun!! Students use block coding iPad apps to control their robots. Students will have a ball designing, testing theories and refining their code to create paths for the robots to follow.
Google Sites are a great platform to communicate both locally & globally. They are easy to set up for your students and easy to link information both individually for your students as well as setting up a group or classroom page. Our classrooms are busy places of learning and we feel strong about giving back to our Community & teaching our students at a young age the feeling of giving. We begin teaching the Core Democratic Value of common good in early elementary BUT until we DO it, the meaning can get lost. Google Sites is a great tech tool to implement for your Community Service projects & beyond!
In first grade students begin learning about basic nutrition and how to grow plants in a cup or small planter. In this lesson, the students will take it a step further and students will learn how to create a community garden and share the food. The students will use brainstorming apps to plan the garden and create a poster to advertise the garden.
Padlet is an online post-it-like board that you can use as an easy collaboration platform for students. Padlets can be created by you or students. Once created, student can share ideas and comment on other students as well.
The students are going to have their own chance to participate in a continuous story. One student starts the story and is given a certain amount of time for telling it. Another student will continue the story and each student will have a chance to add to it. The teacher will use ePals and submit their idea to find another classroom to collaborate together in the story. The students will learn about each other's cultures and lives through the storytelling.
Thomas Edison is a famous inventor. His work with the telegraph and telephone led him to invent the phonograph, which recorded sound as indentations on a sheet of paraffin-coated paper. Students can listen to his first recordings at the NPS (National Park Services) archives. Students will learn how to create their own recordings at the Online Voice Recorder.
MyStoryBook is a user-friendly website that allows students to create their own stories. Tools are provided to help design and create stories. Once completed they can be saved.
Lucidchart is a visual platform for creating flowcharts and graphic organizers in real-time. Students under the guidance of teachers can use the free version.
Creating a story is not an easy task. What should I write about? Who will the characters be in my story? What will happen? These are all questions that every author needs to answer before their story can take shape. Storybird is an online community that provides original artwork to inspire students. The artwork sparks their imagination and supports story creation. Collaboration can take place when students invite others to work on their story with them.
Students will be directed to an informational article and/or video on different content areas & will be asked to use a note-taking chart to give credit for the author’s work & to restate in their own words.
Students will begin to learn how to do basic research using Michigan eLibrary's World Book's Early World of Learning. This basic encyclopedia is meant for non-readers as the text is very basic and the site will read everything aloud for those who cannot read yet or prefer to listen. Students will learn about creepy crawlies and where they live, eat and other interesting facts about them.
First graders whether at home or school will be online using the Internet and need to know the basic rules of staying safe. ABYCA has a very good age appropriate video to share with young students on five rules to stay safe. There is even a quiz at the end to test their knowledge after viewing the video.
In 5th grade, students can begin researching and interviewing others on topics for a weekly or monthly newsletter for the school. The students will learn interviewing techniques as well as become better writers.
Decomposition one of the four parts of Computational Thinking breaks down problems into smaller parts so that it is easier to understand and solve them.
Seesaw is a web-based and application platform where students can post pictures from the classroom, annotate, speak their mind, and create electronic portfolios that connect school and home. Parents are able to see student work as soon as it is posted.
In this activity, students will take a common problem and use the design process to come up with a solution.
According to Eastern Michigan University, composing at a computer is a unique activity that many students will need time to master. Students have played games and may know some of the keys on the keyboard. Before students actually begin composing, they need to learn about the different keys on the keyboard without focusing on their writing skills and typing. Students need to learn how to create spaces between their words, type capital and lower case letters, delete text, save and print a document.