Posted on January 24th, 2011 by
conardlibrary
Many people know of Wordle as a way to give words & ideas special visual impact. (See earlier post.) Here are some other word cloud generators that offer different ways to analyze & present what’s happening in a piece of text. And they’re fun!
http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/waiting-for-wordle-free-word-cloud-options-to-use-now/
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Filed under: English, Reading & Writing, Show/tell/publish work, Tech tips & tricks, Web 2.0
Posted on December 17th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
Issuu.com lets students and teachers turn their multi-page documents (instructions, poetry portfolios, even research papers with lots of graphics) into professional looking on-line publications. Here’s what I did with Denise Jaffe’s edublog instructions. http://issuu.com/klarnet/docs/whps_edublog_campus_instructions
What a nice way to show off student work.
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Filed under: English, Reading & Writing, Show/tell/publish work, Teacher Resources
Posted on December 16th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
Our Books & Authors database will suggest a good next book to read — based on the title or titles of books you’ve already read. You can also browse by subject, location, time period or character. Create your own “reading room” list, read or write reviews, browse authors and genres, and more. A place to start for the student who asks…”what should I read?”
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Filed under: English, Reading & Writing, Recommended Books
Posted on December 16th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
Figment is a community where students can share their writing, connect with other readers, and discover new stories and authors. A great place for the already motivated student to publish… and for the un-motivated to get motivated! The New York Times call it “a kind of literary Facebook for teens.”
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Filed under: English, Reading & Writing, Show/tell/publish work
Posted on December 13th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
Books checked out most frequently this year so far:
1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. Forged by Fire by Sharon Draper
3. Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson
4. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
Now that’s diversity!
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Filed under: Reading & Writing, Recommended Books
Posted on June 7th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
Ms. Vranich’s 10th grade English classes are our pioneers in trying out Conard’s new VoiceThread website. Listen to some of their great book reviews. It’s the perfect place to find some helpful summer reading suggestions. (Scroll to the right – past the first page of instructional videos – to get to our collection.) http://conard.ed.voicethread.com/#q
What’s a VoiceThread you say? Here’s your answer: http://conard.ed.voicethread.com/share/409/
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Filed under: English, Reading & Writing, Recommended Books, Show/tell/publish work, Web 2.0
Posted on May 14th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
This Sparknotes feature lets readers see a modern “translation” of the play alongside the original. Can eliminate a lot of frustration yet actually lead to more appreciation of the poetry of the original. After all, who wouldn’t prefer this:
But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,Who is already sick and pale with grief,That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.
To this:
But wait, what’s that light in the window over there? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Rise up, beautiful sun, and kill the jealous moon. The moon is already sick and pale with grief because you, Juliet, her maid, are more beautiful than she.
See for yourself at http://nfs.sparknotes.com/
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Filed under: English, Reading & Writing, Teacher Resources
Posted on February 12th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
WHPS subscribes to TumbleBook Library, which you may assume is intended only for elementary grades. In fact, it has some great activities for secondary teachers. World Language & ESOL teachers will find special, easy-to-use features to engage their students. Explore the Language Learning and Record-a-TumbleBook features.
Go to: www.tumblebooklibrary.com Username: whps Password: book
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Filed under: Reading & Writing, Teacher Resources, World Language
Posted on January 29th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
A student (of course) recommended this site to Glastonbury English teacher Mark Dursin, who wrote about it in the Courant. “Sporcle.com is an online trivia site jampacked with timed quizzes…which run the gamut of categories, from geography to sports to literature to pop culture. Some require a doctorate and some fall into the “Just for Fun” category.” There’s bound to be something fun – and educational – here you can “assign” your students. Then let the games begin!
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Filed under: English, Math, Reading & Writing, Science, Social Studies, World Language
Posted on January 7th, 2010 by
conardlibrary
http://www.shmoop.com/literature/study-guides/
Literature study guides, well written, student friendly. Language & attitude that help make the work accessible and interesting. Recommended for teachers and students.
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Filed under: English, Reading & Writing
