Weather (Extra Credit)

1. Weather Wiz Kids

Weatherwizkids.com is a site designed by a meteorologist (Crystal Wicker) with children’s learning in mind. Her site provides detailed information on many weather subjects ranging from severe weather to general weather phenomena such as wind and clouds. Severe weather dominates the side bar with hurricanes and tornadoes topping the list and continuing with rain and floors, thunderstorms, and lightning. She also includes wildfires, earthquakes and volcanoes, which may not seem related to weather from a child’s viewpoint, which is good. For each of the topics I just listed, she provides definitions and explanations and links to external sites if you want to know more about a particular topic. She also includes graphics and pictures that are easy to read and look at. Each of these pages also includes links at the bottom specifically for teachers. The links include several lesson plans (depending on the age of the students you are teaching, it generally ranges from K-5), one or two experiment ideas involving the topic that the page covers and then a link to science fair ideas (for grades 1-12, basically). Also part of her sidebar are topics like Climate (what it is), optical illusions (like rainbows), Weather forecasting (and how it works), weather experiments for kids, weather safety, games, flashcards, jokes, folklore, words (and their definitions), instruments (in order to measure the weather like a thermometer or barometer), photos, a career corner (if a child or teen is interested in becoming a meteorologist, she provides information on how you can do that), “Ask Crystal” (you can e-mail her any question that is not addressed on the site, links, and “kids questions” where she answers some questions from kids like “why is the sky blue?” She provides a lot of really useful information that can be used for a range of small children to pre-teens. The games, which I like to focus on with websites when wanting to teach elementary school students, are not the site’s strongest point, but she does link to some games on other sites (such as the “Wild Weather Adventure” provided by NASA), which I think is good. A way to use this in the classroom is definitely through the experiments she provides. Though if you are teaching a specific lesson on one of the topics, the lesson plan may help you jumpstart your ideas, but the experiments seem like more fun and she provides a good explanation of why the experiment works (like with the “make lightning” or “make a tornado” experiments). Overall, this site is really excellent, however it does lack in its ability to support a multi-literacy classroom. It is only available in English and of all the great resources she provides and links; I did not see anything applicable to English Language Learners. But, I think if you as the instructor take some of the basic ideas she provides for your classroom, it can be adapted for bilingual education as well. I really do recommend this site!

2. The Weather Channel Kids

The Weather Channel is a popular source for some people to receive their weather forecasts, so it’s not surprising they have a site that is geared toward kids. They provide a link to receive the forecast on the homepage, but it isn’t exactly younger kid friendly. The entire site seems to be geared toward older children except in the “seek and find” games they provide (where you find “hidden” objects in pictures that pertain to a particular subject, like weather safety). This site as a whole seems to be more concerned with weather safety than information about various forms of weather (at least, it appears so on the surface due to the nature of the games). There is a “Weather Encyclopedia” however it only provides information on El Nino & El Nina, Flooding, Global Warming, Heat Wave, Hurricanes (& Tropical Systems), Severe Thunderstorms, Tornadoes and Winter Storms. Basically, they only focus on severe weather in the encyclopedia. There is also a glossary of terms that expand past severe weather terms, however does not provide the connection of ideas needed in order to understand our atmosphere and weather. They also provide “online resources” and “teacher resources” which can take you to sites that better explain what weather is and in order to use the teacher resources, you must be a registered user. Though the site could be properly used to teach students, I really wouldn’t recommend it because of its primary focus being on severe weather. Yes, severe weather is typically more interesting but it’s important to know about the weather basics before jumping into sever weather and why it happens. I think if a teacher were planning on going over weather safety in severe weather situations, this site would be a good resource. It generally does not seem to really be a good resource in ELL situations because the site is only available in English and makes no effort, even in the other online resources it offers, to help students in multi-literacy classrooms. Overall, I am very unimpressed by the site, but I am sure it could be used well if need be.

3. EdHeads.Org

The edheads site provides activities for students to use on several topics, one of which is weather. The primary function of the site is the “activities” for weather, which, once you click on the link to them, include “predict the weather” (using the “Predict-o-matic!”) and “Forecast the weather.” I spent some time playing both games and they are probably the most fun games I have found thus far in searching weather sites. The forecast the weather game requires the student to know what the symbols on the map mean when they see a weather forecast (such as a red capital L means a low pressure system). They are given the forecast and they must match the forecast on the map. The predict the weather game requires a student to not only understand how to read a forecast map that we often see on the news but also be able to realize that the weather moves and we can predict, based on how fast it is going and what direction it moves in, what the weather will be like wherever it goes. Both games are entertaining and I believe would be a good use of computer time if you were doing a weather unit for class. The site is generally built for students around the 4^th grade age, not only due to the nature of the games but also due to the other resources the site provides. They provide a weather glossary, only containing a few, but important terms, a Fahrenheit to Celsius & Celsius to Fahrenheit converter, an “interesting people in weather” page and weather class lesson plans. The lesson plans for weather are suggested for 4-5^th graders and the glossary explains some of the more complicated things to understand like what a front is or how clouds are formed or what air pressure is and how it affects our weather. Though the site generally seems to be kind of lacking in multi-literacy availability, I think the temperature conversion portion of the site is very good since the U.S. is on the Fahrenheit scale while most everywhere else is on the Celsius scale. It allows you to put in a temperature on either scale and it will tell you what that temperature is on the opposite scale. It also provides the formula you would need to use in order to convert it manually. Overall the site is very good if you want to use technology in the classroom for games. There are only 4 or so lesson plans available that are submitted by teachers, which you can use if you want a more hands on approach as well, but I think this site’s strongest suit is in the games.

4. Anglomaniacy

The last site I found, I made an effort to try to find one that would cater to ELLs more. The anglomaniacy site provides a “weather picture dictionary” where it provides pictures of the more common phenomena of weather (cloud, cold, storm) and provides the word underneath. When you click on the picture, it has a voice that will say the word, which I think is a wonderful idea because often times hearing the word helps more than reading it. The site has several online resources teachers can use for students besides the Pictionary including hangman, a matching game, Simon says game, spelling game and word search. All of the games are very simple and mainly test to see if the vocabulary is learned. More abstract concepts are not addressed. A teacher may also use the site for offline activities because they provide bingo card templates, crossword puzzles, matching cards, word search puzzle, picture tests and a vocabulary quiz, which you may print. All of these resources revolve around the 10 weather words that are provided in the picture dictionary. I think if you have a classroom of very young learners, maybe in kindergarten, that are native speakers, this is a good site for them. However, very beginning ELLs are what the site is made for and I think it works well. The site also provides these resources for other topics. I think using the computer for learning the vocabulary is a good way to get the students to learn how to use the Internet as well. You can then follow up with in-class activities like bingo or the picture test on paper without the website to help them later on.

Evaluated by: Anne Pugh

dinosaurs

www.sdnhm.org/

This website starts off with a series of common questions and answers. The format is a benefit because students can get the answers to questions that they may have about dinosaurs without going through each page separately. Second language learners that may be exploring the idea of questions and answers can see this format in use. The type of activity that the teacher can do is provide a list of questions and students can then explore the websites and find the answers associated with them. Not only would students be practicing their skill to answer questions but they would also benefit by learning more about dinosaurs. The benefits of this website is the simple structure which makes it great for lower leveled students and the pictured time line which uses pictures of dinosaurs to outline the different periods in which they were alive. Because of these pictures and simple worded sentences, this website is great for both English language learners and English proficient learners. Another quality of the website is the easy to locate game associated with dinosaurs and fossils. Games of course bring a benefit of their own because they engage students while fostering learning. These games are even more beneficial for ELL because they are simple worded and involve language as well. In fact on game is a word search so students can learn the association of words with a dinosaur while learning spelling as well! Another aspect of the site is suggestion side bar which gives easy suggestive links to other more interesting subjects such as “fossil mysteries” which explains how fossil are found and where you can go to see them. More importantly, it offers many photos and diagrams for students. Overall, I enjoyed this website and feel it would be very beneficial in the classroom when teaching about dinosaurs.

(evaluated by Jennifer Ramos)

www.sheppardsoftware.com

The website “DinoMight”, is an extremely effective website for second language learner children who are learning all about different dinosaurs. The first thing you see when you go to this website is a video called “Dino Movie”, which is a perfect introductory visual to spark children’s interest in learning more about dinosaurs. The video is shown with cartoon drawings and is narrated by the voice of young child, who does a wonderful job of giving a brief yet factual summary of what dinosaurs are and basic characteristics of them. I found that this would be a great resource for second language learners because it provides a simple visual aid that they could use to better understand the information. The website offers four different categories along the top which include timelines, fossils, dinos, and games. Timelines shows you the three periods of times that dinosaurs were on the Earth and gives you a short description of the different climates and different dinosaurs in each period. Fossils, provides another wonderful short video which provides a ton of helpful information about where fossils come from and how people are now able to find them. Dinos has eleven clickable pictures of the main types of dinosaurs and gives a physical description of each and what time period they lived in. These are great visual aids for children to begin recognizing the different types of dinosaurs. The last category provides several different games that are not only fun and entertaining for the children, but allows them to test their knowledge. One particular game that I like is called Name-A-Saurus, which has the child drag each type of dinosaur to their correct name. The first level provides black shadows of the dinosaurs so it’s fairly easy to match them but the next level takes away the shadows and increases the difficulty. This is perfect for challenging them to actually learn what their names are instead of just memorizing the different shapes. For second language learners the shadows can act as a form of scaffolding that provide the children a way to learn them but in a fun way. Overall I think that this is a wonderful website for children of all ages and provides a wide variety of options for learning. It has educational games, videos and visual clickable links that are perfect for engaging second language learner children and allowing them to learn during the process of playing games. Personally I would assign this as a website that the children would be able to explore on their own at school or at home, because it is so easily navigated and has content that is not too advanced for children while they are still learning a language.

(evaluated by Amy Sand)

www.kidsdinos.com

Kidsdinos.com is a low quality site that provides several resources for children learning about dinosaurs. The several resources that the site provides include a “Dino-Database,” where you can read about specific dinosaurs separated by type (example: “Early Dinosaurs”) and names within that type. Once you pick a dinosaur of your choice, the site provides you with a drawn picture of the dinosaur, where the dinosaur falls on the timeline (Triassic, Jurasic, Cretaceous periods, up until humans), where they would have lived in the world on the “dinosaur map,” a summary of the dinosaurs history and appearance, and then a list of “dinosaur facts” that include how to pronounce the name, what the name means, what did it eat, etc. The “Dino-Database” is quite informational and fairly easy to read and navigate, making it ideal for when students are looking up information.

There is also a section for Dinosaur Games which include the following: Make a Dinosaur; Dinosaur Match; Dinosaur Flashcards; Dinosaur Classification; Dinosaur Memory; Dinosaur Hangman; Dinosaur Mutation and Dinosaur Painter. The first game I investigated was the “make a dinosaur.” You were able as the player to give the dinosaur a name, body type head, back feet, front feet, and tail of your choosing. This game had a lot of potential to be fun and educational, however the graphics of the game were quite small and difficult to see and once you finished the game, nothing really happened so it was anti-climatic. The Dinosaur match game provided several “popular” types of dinosaurs (such as the T-Rex) and has you match the shadow with the dinosaur’s picture. This is most suitable for younger students but really holds very little educational value for older students besides teaching the physical appearance of these five dinosaurs. The dinosaur flashcards provide information on a dinosaur and you must select the correct dinosaur that corresponds with the information. These are handy because they require that students research the dinosaurs using the site’s Dino-Database. The Memory and Hangman games are just like the classic games where you must match pictures from memory and guess letters for a certain dinosaur to make its name. The Dinosaur Mutation game provides the picture of a random dinosaur and information on that dinosaur. You can then click on the dinosaur to “mutate” its appearance, which basically means you stretch the image.

Overall, the site is informational, but very low quality. Ads scatter the page and are placed in inconvenient places, especially in the Dino-Database where there is an ad below the picture of the dinosaur, which originally caused me to think that the database only provided pictures. It wasn’t until I scrolled down past the ad that I discovered all the useful information it had. These ads can be very distracting to students and are an eyesore. Also, many of the graphics in the games are very small and difficult to focus on. However, the graphics in the database where they place the dinosaur on the timeline and map make that information easy to read and process, so that is one of their strengths. It is primarily in the games they provide that their weakness exists.

As for use in the classroom, perhaps activities could be based in computer lab where students have to research dinosaurs and play the flashcards game. Or, perhaps they could each research one dinosaur of their choice and create a small presentation where they describe what era the dinosaur is from, where the dinosaur would have lived, how big the dinosaur was in comparison to humans, and 2-3 fun facts along with a picture (all of which could be found in the dino-database). They would become the “expert” on the dinosaur and they would teach it to the class essentially. Once they do that, they can maybe create their own dinosaur on the make a dinosaur and create information for the dinosaurs they make that are completely different so that it’s fun. For a multi-literacy classroom, this site is probably not preferable. It provides only information in English and the only language assistive thing they have is the phonetic pronunciation of every dinosaurs name in the Dino-Database. The site is definitely not equipped for English Language Learners unless they are at their grade-level of reading and writing (or close to native- speaking). Though this site does provide some good information in the Dino-Database, there are probably better sites out there to use when teaching a class.

(Evaluated by Anne Pugh)

teacher.scholastic.com

This website has many great dinosaur-related activities for students to complete with the help of their teacher. There are quizzes, fact pages, worksheets, and teacher suggestions to help students understand more about dinosaurs and test their knowledge. Much of the website is quite accessible to students in the higher elementary grades. This site benefits English Language Learners because of the pictures and the headings. The fact pages have quite a bit of text, but the way that it is organized allows ELLs to draw out the main points without necessarily understanding the entire body of text. Each page includes bold headings and main ideas that are in a different color from the other text. Simply reading the headings on most of the pages will allow students to complete most of the games and quizzes that the site contains. A game that is particularly good for English Language Learners is "Real or Make-Believe?" This game shows kids short statements relating to dinosaurs and the student answers whether the statement is real or make-believe. This is a variation of true/false that children will encounter in the classroom, and gives the ELL more vocabulary to express whether a statement is true or false. There is also a writing portion of the site that prompts the children to write what they know about dinosaurs. Because the prompt is not extremely specific, ELLs will be able to complete the writing activity using the vocabulary that they already know since the prompt is essentially must "write what you know."

Overall, the website is a good resource for teachers to use in classrooms with ELLs, but I believe that it is necessary for the instructor to guide the children through the information and activities.

(evaluated by Ashley Milliken)

www.planetdinosaur.com/

The website that I found has a lot of informational text about dinosaurs therefore I would use this site with middle school students who are learning how to write research papers. The website has different links to learn about classifications of the dinosaurs, cool facts, and much more which I find to be a strength because a teacher can give a free range assignment and allow the students to explore what they specifically like about the topic. For my class I would make this a research assignment. It would have little structure enabling the students to explore the site. They would have to pick a topic that they found interesting and find out more information about it by using only this websites. After researching using only this site, the students would write a paragraph if they are in the beginning stages of learning how to write papers or if capable they can write a full report on the topic they researched. Like a few activities that we have encountered throughout the semester, it is an important part of an ELL’s education to interact with their peers and for their peers to interact with them. So the conclusion of this activity could be a presentation about why they picked a specific topic and tell the class something interesting about it. This allows the students to use a few of the new vocabulary words they found through their research, forming grammatically correct sentences, it could also work on sequence words. An example of sequence would be: first I clicked on this link and found this, so next I continued to read, and afterwards I found another link, and so on. So with this site an assignment could work on the students writing as well as verbal communication.

(evaluated by Yasmin McKnight)

Cultural Dance-Extra Credit

Cultural Dance

http://fitforafeast.com/dance_cultural.htm

The website “Fit for a Feast” provides a great amount of information pertaining to different cultural dance styles across the world. On the home page there is a link provided for twenty-three different countries, descriptions of that region’s dancing styles and videos of people performing that specific dance. For example, if you were to click on the first link for Africa, it brings you to a page with a colorful map of the continent and links to each specific country. When you click on one of the countries, it takes you to a page that discusses what kind of dancing is culturally relevant to that area and provides a video of either children or adults performing. One of the main strengths that I could see in this website for English language learners, was that every single dance had a video link to show physically what the dance looked like. For the most part this website is meant for older children or younger children who have adult supervision, but the videos could be used for any age group. The videos provide the students a way to understand different cultural aspects of countries without necessarily having to understand the text explanations of each dance. This could also be something that any of the children could relate to and share more about dances from their own cultures or countries. This would be a great tool for teachers to use in multi-literacy classrooms because the videos could inspire some dancing time of their own and by participating in this they are actively learning about cultural subjects. One of the limitations of the website that I found was that although it provides wonderful videos, some of the text explanations are much stronger than others. Some of them go into great depth and speak of the reasoning’s and uses of the different dances while others give one or two sentences telling what the name is. Overall I would definitely use this as a teaching tool in my own classroom because it provides an array of information in a way that is not intimidating to children.

http://library.thinkquest.org/3081/

The website “Southern Pow Wows” discusses the many different forms of dance that are used as a part of Native American traditional ceremonies. The website provides different links to information about the different dance styles, proper etiquette, terminology, what kinds of people participate, and background knowledge of the reasoning behind this type of dancing. For example the website provides a great amount of terminology such as the word bustle, which refers to the arrangements of traditional feathers worn by the dancers. This website would be of most use to older children, because of the large amount of text for each description. One of the main weaknesses of this website would be that English language learners would most likely find difficulty in understanding some of the descriptions if they are struggling with their reading skills. There are a few pictures provided for each page, but not enough to supplement what they would be reading. I think that this website would be much more useful and effective to English language learners if the teacher were to navigate it for all of the students during class. There are many activities that could be branched off of this website and could act as the base for their knowledge on the Native American dances. Another disadvantage that I saw with this website, is that it doesn’t provide any form of educational games or activities that would interest many children. I think that this would make it a much more friendly and entertaining website that the students would want to explore outside of class. Overall this website could be a good tool for teachers to use to further knowledge on a different form of cultural dance but it’s success depends how the teacher presents it to the students.

http://www.dance-kids.org/main.html

The website “Dance Kids Club”, is a wonderful website that incorporates many children friendly aspects. When you are on the home page of the website it shows you a room with two children standing in it and many objects around them. When you move the cursor across some of the objects they activate sound effects and tell you what that section will be about if you click on it. One of the first sections that I clicked on was “Dancing Globe”, which brings you to a page explaining that the children are going to explore different countries. The choices for countries to explore include Poland, Greece, Austria, and Sweden. Each different section gives you a very detailed description of the types of dances in that region as well as descriptions of the costumes, customs, and music that are associated with that style of dance. One of the weaknesses I found for this website was that although they provide very helpful and educational information for learning about different cultural dances, there are only four possible choices to look at. If this website provided several more options of countries to examine, then I think it would be much more useful. English language learners would easily be able to navigate and use this website due to the clarity and welcoming nature. There are many pictures and easy to understand explanations that any young children would be able to understand. One aspect that I found as a strength for using this in a multi-literacy classroom, was that the section “Lucky Dip” provides a list of words and dances associated with the alphabet. It goes through each letter and finds an easily understood dance term such as ‘C is for Cha Cha Cha’, and explains in simple language what each means. Another strength that is provides for understanding these terms is a picture gallery that shows clears pictures of each style of dance. Personally I would use this in my own classroom by assigning two or three students to a letter and having them navigate the website and come up with their own dance related word to use. This is something practical to use in a multi-literacy classroom because the majority of the children will not know many of these dance terms or styles of dance and by having the children work together to explore this, they would all be on a level playing field. Overall I found this a very interactive and educationally helpful website that would be wonderful to use either in the classroom or have the children explore on their own time at home.

http://www.knowitall.org/artopia/dance/index.html

The website “Artopia: Dance” is a wonderful resource for teachers and students to use when focusing on the topic of dance. The website it set up so that the viewer is in the dance lobby and there are five different places that they can “go”. One of the best attributes that I found on this website was the one minute movie that is found at the top of the screen. This short video discusses how dance can be used in different cultures and how diverse it can be. This video has been created using cartoon figures that are very kid-friendly and is narrated by a young child. This would a good tool for children who are learning a new language because everything that the narrator speaks of has a supplemental picture or action that reinforces what they are speaking about. The one down side that I saw of this video for English language learners was that the narrator speaks very quickly. I had to pay very close attention to catch everything that she was saying and if a child doesn’t understand a vocabulary word, then the video will move on before they have a chance to reflect or realize what it means. Another aspect of this website that I found very helpful for English language learners was the entire section called The Studio. In this section there is a link to a subsection called The Language of Dance, which discusses how dancers use their bodies to represent different symbols. These symbols are universal pictures that any of the children can learn how to represent with their bodies and does not have a language limitation. It then provides a short matching game for the students to match the dance symbols with a stick figure’s movements. One last part that I thought would be perfect to use in a classroom when discussing dance would be the Meet an Artist section. This section has six different dancer or chorographers that have 4-5 videos discussing different aspects of dancing. By showing the children an actual dancer speaking about various subjects, they can feel more connected and are able to relate to them on a better level.

(Evaluated by Amy Sand)

Rainforest

http://www.kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/free-online-movies.php?movie=biomes
I was really looking for a website that would touch on the differences between biomes. I thought that this video was very good for both ELL’s and native English speakers. There are vocabulary words thrown into the video and also defined, which is great because all students would benefit from the vocabulary definitions for newly introduced science words. Because there are so many vocabulary words and the video is dense with content, it would help ELL’s who have developed pretty good English skills. There are subtitles and pictures for students, which could aid ELL’s, but does not have a pause button for students who read more slowly.
The video touched on many differences between biomes, with a good introduction to biomes and then segues into the rainforest, telling students what to look for in the rainforest biome specifically.
There is a fill in the blank test at the end testing both spelling and content retention, making sure they were paying attention, saw words on screen, now spell them. The questions were VERY specific, I’m not sure that I caught all the answers, but you can go back and watch the video again until you collect all the correct answers. I think this is good because then students can watch the video the second time knowing what to look out for. Overall, a great website for students and teachers because it will surely stimulate some classroom discussion!
By: Elyse Prevot


www.rainforest-alliance.org/kids
This website is helpful and entertaining for children learning about the rainforest. It is a website for all ages of people dedicated to saving and learning about the rainforest. The part that will be focused on is the “Kid’s Corner” of the website. Once you get to the “Kid’s Corner,” children are directed to a set of 6 pictures describing what each link goes to. Once they click the “Plant and Animal” link with a monkey on it, they are directed to a long list of many animals that live in the rainforest and break them up into their species profile. I think this is helpful because it also helps children learn what animals belong in what species. It shows the Red Eye Tree Frog under Amphibians, a Bird species list, an Insect species list, and a mammal species list. Once they click on the animal they want to learn about, for instance, the Capuchin Monkey, they are directed to the Species Profile page. Here they are given a picture of the animal and a long list of interesting facts such as their anatomy, habitat, diet and threats. After the children study up on their animals of choice, there is a link easily identifiable on the left labeled “online games”. There is a game called, “Jewels of the Earth,” which takes the child on a tour of the rainforest and it’s canopies where the child can run into a large variety of animals to learn more about. Through the “Kids Corner” page, children can also be directed to an activities page where they can print out coloring pages of animals to color and also some links to some hands on activities to teach about the rainforest through experiments, crafts and quizzes.
I like how the language is used through out the “Kid’s Corner” of the website. It is not too heavy of language so that an English Language Learner is not completely lost. The photo galleries are very engaging as well which give the children a better idea of what they are studying. I also like how the online games section is not just games; they apply information for children to learn from. I really like the activities page because it gives the children hands on experiments to grow plants in similar environments as those in the rainforest, such as the bromeliad experiment. I think this website is a fun and interactive way for children of all ages to learn about animals of the rainforest.
By: Cecily Augustine


http://kids.mongabay.com/elementary/002.html
This website will explain everything about rainforests. For example, it will explain what rainforest is, where a rainforest is found, what makes a rainforest, and the different types of rainforest animals, plants, and even people. This website has videos and pictures so that it can help ELL students. The topic that I picked was rainforest locations. In this website, there is a picture of the world and the locations that have rainforests are marked green. This visual representation is going to help ELL students understand where rainforests are located in the world. In this website, it even has pictures of different country flags explaining which countries have largest amount of rainforests. This will help students understand that not only one country has rainforests. This will help them understand that rainforests are located in different countries. In the picture, students will notice that almost all the rainforests are located between the tropic of Capricorn and tropic of Cancer. (Capricorn and Cancer are marked on the map). If students do not know what these are, teachers can show it to them by pointing. In this website it explains why most rainforest are located between the tropic of Capricorn and tropic of Cancer. This is because this region is the warmest. This way, student can learn that rainforest are located only in warm places, not everywhere.
By: Soo Yoon



http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/Kids
This website is very useful for kids to gain some knowledge about rainforests. Some topics that this site covers are rainforest people, plants and animals, threats to rainforests, as well as activity sheets and information on how to save the rainforest. The topic that I am focusing on is rainforest people. This website is easy to follow and when you get to the main page it says "What do you want to do," click on the first section that says "meet some of the people who live in the rainforest and find out how they live." It takes you to trail 1. There is a total of 7 trails. In trail 1 you meet Mirim who is part of a tribe who lives in the amazon rainforest. He acts as a guide that will assist you through each trail. The topics that Mirim covers about rainforest people are hunting, farming, medicine from plants, clothes and jewelry, homes, and daily life in the rainforest. This website is excellent for kids as well as ESL learners. The information given is short and simple. Each section also provides bold words through out the passage. This would be very beneficial for ESL learners so they can focus and the bold words and get the main idea out of the passage. There are also pictures provided for each trail that coordinates to the topic. This would be another resource for ESL learners to make the connection of the picture to the word. What I really liked about this site is that Mirim who is the guide, asks questions to engage the students and to check for clarification.
By: Aprial Guerra

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rnfrst_plant_page.htm
The website that I found was a place called blueplanetbiomes. I found the website to be very beneficial to those children who are trying to learn about the the rainforest. I really liked it because I find it was something that will help out all ages. It is a website that helps children of every age to be able to learn and navigate around the website. When you first get to the website you will find pictures and information on the rainforest biome.I think this is good for ELL students because they are able to look at a map and know where the rainforest is located. There are many tabs along the left side that help you learn a little about what is involved in the areas. The tabs include ?Plants? ?Animals? ?Climate? These tabs are really big and when you click on them they allow you to go to other sites to learn about what they choose. I am focusing on the different plants that are included in the the rainforest. When you click on the tab it takes you to another page where there is a list of different plants that are in the area. There are again tabs along the left side of the page when you click on one of the plants such as the Jambu you get a picture and information on what it is. This is something I think that ELL students would also benefit from they can know where the location is and even know the different plats that are located here. The teacher could even do different games with the different plants like identifying which plant is what and they can even take turns spelling it. These are different things that could allow the ELL students to get a better grasp on the material. I think that overall this site is a good one for both students and teachers.
By: Gabriel Gonzalez

Recycling

Recyclezone.org

I think this website provides some great age appropriate information about waste, recycling and landfills. This website would be great for the middle grades, probably 2-4. I think the website has some great information, but this information is not presented in a verity of ways, making its text inaccessible for some ELL students.

The text is broken up into different sections, including “what is waste,” “where do we put it” and “we’ve got to do it…or else.” I think it is good that the text is broken up into different sections with bold headings. This will help ELLs know when they are moving to a different main idea. I do think the website could use bold words within the text to help ELLs see main points or help them identify the information that is the most important.

I think this website would not be good for ELLs with limited English because there are no graphs or graphic organizers as to the different types of recyclable material, or even what can and can’t be recycled.

I do like the actual material that is covered in the text. For example the text talks about how recycling is more than just reusing something. The text explains how the process to make something new uses more energy than using recycled material to make something new. I like that it explains that there is more to recycling than just saving raw materials, such as tress, it is also about saving energy.

If I were to use this website as a resource in my classroom I would probably use it as an option for the kids to explore but not make the kids use it. For example I would provide them with a list of links with information about recycling. I would have them work in groups and then have them make a list of the environmental benefits to recycling or maybe a pro/con list for recycling.

childrenoftheearth.com

This is a great website that provides animation, text and oral reading for each slide that is played. The website is very informative and helps students learn where aluminum used in soda cans comes from, how it is made and how students can help conserve energy and resources by recycling. The paper link also uses animation, text and readings to help the students learn what items are made of paper and why recycling paper is important for tree conservation. There is then a link that offers an interactive quiz type game that allows the students to test the recycling knowledge.

I think this is a great website for ELLs because the slide shows are narrated so the student can use their oral language comprehension. Then the most important ideas are then reinforced with text so the students know which information in the presentation to attend to. I also think the animations will keep the students focused on the slide show. The game is also a great way to test the students knowledge of what was presented in the slide shows but in a low stress way. The game also has links to back to the slide show if the answer to the question was incorrect.

I think if I were to use this link in my class I would divide the class into two groups. I would have one group work on a presentation about where aluminum comes from and have the other group work a presentation about where paper products come from. I would then have the two groups teach each other about the topic they did not cover. I would then have all the students work together to make a list about why recycling is important. Then as a class project we would work on increasing the frequency that the schools recycle rate and reduce the amount of trash the school produces.

EEK

This website offers a variety of links to environmental facts and information. There are links called critter corner, nature notes, our earth, cool stuff, get a job and teacher pages. One of the cool things about this website is there is also a link to the environmental education for kids in Spanish.

I think the fact that this website offers a Spanish link is great and would be really helpful in developing literacy for ELL students who’s first language is Spanish. The down side to the Spanish link is that the information in each of the six previously listed links are not the same as the English pages.

Although the information in the Spanish and English pages is not the same, this might be a great way for students to work with partners to help translate for the other student. For example, you could pair and English speaker with a Spanish speaker and have the Spanish speaking student translate and help teach the English speaking student and like wise the other way. This activity could help the English speaking student see how hard it is when the teacher is speaking a different language and might foster a since of understanding and patients between the students.

nationalgeographic.co.uk

This is a fun game link, where the students have to sort as much trash as possible in two minutes. The students have to decide if the items are recyclables, compostable or trash. I think this is a fun way for students to practice putting different items in different bins. This really makes students think about if something can be recycled or composted.

This website would be great for ELLs because it is a game and uses pictures of everyday items. The students would not need to have advanced English language skills to learn the concept that some items can be recycled and composted.

This website is not good for academic content because it does not really teach anything. The teacher would have to first cover the concept of recycling, composting as well as what items can be placed in each of these categories. If I were using this link in my class I would use it as an option during free time. If we had a class computer I would leave this link open during free time so the students could practice the academic concept or recycling in a no pressure, fun, and relaxing way.

Evaluated by: Sarah Roddy

Ancient Egypt

Egyptian Realm
Discovery.com

Egyptian Realms gives students the ability to practice previously learned material on Ancient Egypt. The activity is formatted like a game with three different rounds. The first round allows students to enhance their memory skills with a simple game of matching, it makes the activity not only entertaining but also educational. The second round requires students to place the pharaohs in a time line based on order or rule. This material would have to be covered in class since the activity itself does not have any review of the information. Like round two, the third round would also require previous preparing since the task is to put the god correctly in place in their family tree. For this round students would have to know the name or the symbol that represent the god and of course which place they belong in the family tree. Between each round students are able to gain extra points by having about five knowledge questions.

This activity should be used with older students, like fifth or sixth grade, the questions between the rounds are at an upper level. This is great to allow students to review the knowledge they have gained in class, with the first round allowing them to enhance their memory. The down side to this would be that you can guess to finish the game, since you are given unlimited tries and once u reach below zero you may still continue. Also when going through the knowledge questions if you get one wrong you don’t have the opportunity to see which is the correct answer. Overall, it is a great way to have interaction with the material in a new more exciting way.

(Evaluated by Alejandra Santillanes)

Ancient Egypt
Historyforkids.org

With the 21st century in full swing, it’s of no surprise that technology has had an influence in redefining how learning occurs with students. Utilizing the Internet has become more frequent and with it comes more insightful websites to help expand one’s knowledge on a variety of subjects. With students, this is no different. The particular subject of Ancient Egypt is an example of this, especially when it comes to the website, Ancient Egypt for Kids. This particular website is excellent for satisfying the many curiosities students have about the past. Upon clicking the link, the student is automatically taken to the main menu where he/she can choose what he/she would like to learn more about. These subjects are organized in a precise manner so as to not confuse the student. Whether it’d be about Egyptian clothing or Egyptian government, there is an abundant amount of information available. What’s really excellent about this website is how the information is presented. The language used to describe Ancient Egypt is not overly complicated to understand, which proves to be a positive should an English language learner use the site to find information. Certain words are hyperlinked so if the student would like to learn even more information about a particular object, they are redirected to another page where it can be explained further. In other words, this site is extremely user-friendly especially with the pictures and photographs also provided. Having visuals is an important aspect in this website or otherwise the subject could easily appear dull. Not only that, but they would clearly help an English language learner understand what the text is talking about too. The visuals are clearly present and are often aligned to the text so the student will not get confused on what is being described or discussed this is another positive aspect about the website. Another interesting find about this site ishow it can make connections to stories/objects students are more than likely familiar with today. For example, take the story of Cinderella, which can be found under Egyptian Literature. This site provides one of Ancient Egypt’s earliest versions of Cinderella, providing the inference that such a story is timeless to tell. Overall, this website is highly recommended for second language learners to use if they ever find themselves researching the subject of Ancient Egypt. It is easily accessible and not difficult at all to navigate through as well.

(Evaluated by: Michelle Lopez)

More Fun Literacy Websites for Kids

http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/frieda/frieda.html

Fearless Frieda – Skillful Skateboarding starts with a creative interactive homepage. The user is told to make a “skater name,” which I think is a good way to get the user interested in using the website to learn. When I was younger, my friends and I would have fun making up nicknames for each other. The website directs the user on how to construct their name, with using three different steps. The user chooses an adjective from a list, which helps the user get an idea of what words are considered adjectives. Then the user gets to pick their favorite animal, and their favorite number, and the equation will give them their new “Skater Name” that they will use to play the games.

The user is introduced to Fearless Frieda, who is a skateboarder. She instructs the user to use their keyboard to type the words that she is saying. For example, she starts off with words like “hat.” She sounds out each letter you type, if it is correct. If you get the whole word correct, your character does a trick on the skateboard ramp. If you get one letter wrong, they fall. The more tricks the character does, the more points the user gets. The website progresses to different levels, making the words harder. The user gets different prizes, like a new skateboard, and this is a good positive reinforcement. The child will feel like they want to continue playing the game, because they want to see what the next prize is.

The website is very easy to navigate, it just takes you through the steps. It also will not tell the user the answer until they get it wrong more than a couple of times. The website has music playing in the background, as well as bright colors on the screen. It is a playful website, and integrates the child into it very well. The child being able to have a character on the website makes it more of a competitive game, rather than a lesson. The fact that Fearless Frieda is saying the words out loud once, and then each letter as the user types on his or her keyboard, helps the user learn how letters and complete words sound. Another plus about this website is while the student is learning speaking and spelling English words, he or she is also learning where letters are on the keyboard. It does not help students write letters, but they can identify the letters on the keyboard, which will help with other skill sets. But especially in today’s world, it is almost vital that people learn how to use a computer at a young age.

Evaluated by Myron Hardy

Fun Literacy Websites for Kids

1. Paw Park- Kangaroo Confusion Game

http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/pawpark/pawpark.html

The link I will be evaluating for blog 3 will be the paw park game on the Gamer Goo website. Basically how this game works is that you have different kangaroos wearing t-shirts bearing capitalized and lower cased letters. The objective of the game is to have the capital form of the letter match with its lower case counterpart, or vice-versa. So at the start of the game, you are given a kangaroo with a letter on its shirt and you have to match it with the correct lower or capital letter. You are given four different answer choices to choose from and you must choose the right one to advance. This is a type of game that helps English language learners learn the alphabet and the lower and capital forms of the letters. It is a great way to practice recognizing the letters and it also sounds out the letter for the learner to hear, so they know how to properly say the letter. The game also provides colorful, playful images that are fun, but appear to be geared more towards children starting to learn their first language. There is also music that is cheerful and gives a fun atmosphere, and a narrator that helps explain the rules of the game and gives guidance. It is definitely a fun way to learn the alphabet while getting good practice, so it is a worthy try for anyone starting to learn the English Language. This is one of many games that English Language Learners can play to get the practice they need while having fun play them. Included in this game are word/letter recognition, pronunciation, and introduction to spelling and writing.

Evaluated by Samuel Martinez

2. Giggle Poetry: The #1 Fun Poetry Site for Kids on the Web

http://www.gigglepoetry.com

I remember growing up and in school, I would always here my friends talk about how they didn't like poetry because it was so hard! I can recall to my first few poem assignments back in elementary school. We did a Japanese haiku poem sometime during 4th or 5th grade and I thought it was a lot of fun! But some of my other friends didn't... Even when I was taking literature classes here at UT, I would hear my fellow peers talk about how they didn't like poetry either!

Giggle poetry is a nice site for children who are learning to write poems and want to publish something online. They offer a HUGE selection of student-written poems from all grade levels in elementary school You have students from first grade to fifth grade submitting poems. I find this to be a good resource for other students to read poems and gain inspiration. Since they are written by students, ELL's and native English speakers will have that comprehensible input (i+1). They'll be able to identify more with what poems are about if they are the same age as the author.

The website is very easy to navigate and has THOUSANDS of poems – from many everyday topics like teachers and principals to excuses to school activities to homework and much more. All the topics can be easily related to students of all ages.

In addition, it has interviews with professional writers and poets where students can learn about what it's like to be a poet. What others' inspirations are and just information about their childhood experiences. There are also a lot of fun activities and games that do with poems. They have these fun things called fill-in-the-blank poems, where there is a poem with words missing and users can add in whatever words they like.

I think it's a great website to help upcoming poem writers. It provides a lot of information and examples on writing poems. Also, it's very colorful and cartoon oriented, so it caters to children of all ages.

Evaluated by Thaison Nguyen

Literary Games

Match beginning sounds

Paw Park: Sassy Seals: http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/pawpark3/pawpark3.html

Paw Park is a game site from GameGoo containing all different types of games and activities to help improve on or practice differnet aspects of literacy. What I like about this particular website is how it is geared directly toward children. There are bright colors, fun animals, animations, voices, etc. The game I am focusing on is called Sassy Seals. When you first click into the game, it starts right away stating a word. There is a dad seal and a son seal it looks like. The dad says a word. Next to them sits a huge teacup with five big fish on top. The whole point of this game is to match BEGINNING sounds of words. After the initial word is stated, the five fish then each state a word. Only one is the correct match, and begins with the same sound as the word the daddy seal gives. It is a little bit of a challenge, because they give some words that are similar, or even rhyme the initial word, but are not the correct answer. However, the dad is wearing a hat that says “Replay” so that the children are allowed to replay over and over the initial word that they must find a match for. Also, simply scrolling over any of the fish causes them to also repeat their words. The site is highly motivating, as it encourages kids to get a certain amount of fish in the cup. Each time they choose an answer, the little seal tosses a worm at the fish they chose. If the answer is incorrect, he says “Try Again” and nothing happens. But if the answer is correct, the blue fish turns a pretty orange and yellow color and drops into the cup. This gives kids a fun and obtainable goal. They are having fun and working on their literacy skills without even knowing it. I love that this really hope the children to focus on only the beginning sound. They improve not only their listening skills, but even their ability to sound out words themselves. They develop phonemic awareness, grasping the ability to sound out each and every part of a word, rather than just trying to memorize what a word looks like or guess how it sounds. When learning a new language or even developing a first language, it is critical to know how each and every letter sounds. This is something I constantly worked on with my tutee.

Evaluated by: Kayla Acosta

Spelling Bee

http://www.quia.com/pop/13123.html

This website in my honest opinion is not very good at all. This is a simple game that does not have much depth to it. A child will sit at his desk and chose between two words to see which one is spelled correctly and if the child gets the answer correct he is only awarded a point. The website has nothing to keep the child’s attention and is very dull. If you really want to take your time to become a better speller there are much better ways, but this way is definitely not the best. If a teacher would like to use this website to his or her advantage they would have to do a lot of setting up and this might not be worth their time. Also I did not see any way of choosing a difficulty level which would seem pretty ridiculous if you are trying to improve your 1^st graders spelling skills. I do not like this website at all and I do not recommended using it.

Evaluated by: Michael Dang

http://www.ictgames.com/dinosaurwordsrepeat.html

This game is great. It helps with pronunciation and reading. You have to match the word you have heard to the corresponding word underneath the egg. I think boys especially would respond positively to this game because the graphics are dinosaurs and eggs. I think this game, however, is very minimalist and only requires two aspects of language learning. This game will be very beneficial to phonology though. It is a great pedagogical tool for listening and reading!

Evaluated by: Kater Hoffner

Spelling City

http://www.spellingcity.com/

Practice spelling the words in your word bank.

The objective of the Spelling City is to improve on spelling skills. I found that the Spelling City website not only improves spelling, but reinforces a student’s understanding of the word as well. The website creates games for the student to play that involve synonyms, antonyms, and sentence creation which help the student with semantics and really grasping the concept. Through word scrambles, word searches, hang man, and other related activities, the students are presented with the word in several ways, letting them explore the proper arrangement of the letters.

This is a valuable resource for students, parents, and teachers because it allows them to input their own spelling words without limiting them to activities the teacher has provided. Students are able to work at their own pace which provides a less threatening environment because students can practice their semantics, sentence structure, and reinforce their spelling in a more autonomous atmosphere—something that is always great for ELLs.

Evaluated by: Karynna Garcia

http://www.web-pop.com/portal.html

The "Web-Pop Portal" (http://www.web-pop.com/portal.html) website is designed for "web-enhanced reading adventures." The site is great for parents and teachers alike. The website offers great features such as a "book-pop", "link-pop", "parent and teacher pop", "beta book pop", "mail-pop", and "art-pop" links. The "book-pop" link offers parents or teachers online books and stories to assist with enhancing the student's reading abilities. The user also has the ability to purchase books online, hear the author tell their stories, and the chance to email the author's with questions you may have. The "link-pop" link is great for teachers. It allows you yo play and download your favorite songs. This link is also great for children because they have the chance to check out "Barbie", "Theodore Tugboat", "Rugrats", and other children friendly characters that will gain their attention. The other links mentioned above share the same qualities as the aforementioned. They are all designed to assist parents and teachers with enhancing their children's reading ability. Something that stood out about this website was the "Stephen" characters Zibbies and Dunebug. The "Zibbies" feature was an additional website that had games, toys, and other items to help with developing a child's literary skills. "Dune Bug" is a very entertaining online story about life in a zoo. Overall, I would suggest this site to any parent or teacher who wants to help children to read.

James W. Jarvis

Grammar and Writing

These sights are designed to help children with their grammar and writing skills.

Clean Up Your Grammar: http://www.missmaggie.org/scholastic/cleanup_eng_launcher.html

“Clean up Your Grammar” is an online game from the site “Maggie’s Earth Adventures, LPC.” The mission of this website is to help children learn about real life environmental problems. They state that “learners respond best to integrated material presented in meaningful situations.” With this particular game, “Clean up Your Grammar,” students “recycle the trash that washes up on the shore by dropping the words in the right bin.” If the children make any mistakes the beach becomes dirty with litter.

The goal of the game is to recycle 10 pieces of trash. Each piece of trash has a word on it that’s either a noun or a verb. The children have to click on the words and drag them into their correct recycle bin. The recycle bins are labeled “Nouns” and “Verbs.” The game has a lot of sound effects and there are two different levels to choose from. If a child makes a mistake and puts a word in the wrong recycle bin, the game makes a noise and puts a big ‘X’ and the word ‘incorrect.’ The trash that the word was attached to then gets thrown on the beach.

Some of the strengths of this game are that it’s enjoyable to do and provides children with some information on the environment. It also teaches them an important difference between verbs and nouns. However, this game would be restricted to a very limited age group and some very specific words are continually recycled within the game. It would not be long before children master both levels and are ready to move on to something else.

I also think this would be a good game to use when teaching the specific concepts of verbs and nouns and I would probably use it in my classroom as a fun way to solidify those ideas. But children would definitely need some background information on what verbs and nouns are before playing. This game is also relatively applicable and useful for multiliteracy classrooms because there are visuals to help children with the concepts. Nevertheless, children would need to have a basic understanding of the difference between verbs and nouns and would need to know and understand the vocabulary words used in the game.

Overall, I think this is a useful game for solidifying the concept of verbs and nouns. Children should enjoy playing it and feel good about keeping the beach clean. The game can also teach them how important it is to recycle and they will hopefully be able to apply this in their own life. It would have been a great game to play during class on Earth Day this past week, or in a unit focused on educating children about environmental issues.

(Evaluated by Clare Cryar)

Toon University: http://www.toonuniversity.com/aol/aol_language_k2.asp

Toon University is an online activities website geared towards elementary age students, more specifically 1st & 2nd graders. This page offers 5 online games/activities students can play around with for fun, while learning at the same time. The focus of this site is to improve language arts skills and each game focuses on a specific area of content.

On the main page there are 5 links you can click on that take you to the game of your choice. The five focus areas are opposites, alphabetizing, inferences, punctuation & capitalization and abbreviations. I played all the games and they are fun and easy to use. These games can be used by teachers or parents because they are educational. Another great thing about this page is it can be used by students who are learning English because it is basic and not too challenging. ESL students who need help in these content areas will greatly improve their knowledge of language arts. These lessons teach necessary skills to speak and write in English and through repetitive practice they will grow as English speakers. Once they master one activity they can move on to the next and have a new area to focus on, and so on.

Some cons of this website are the limitations of the main page and rest of the website. There is not a lot of room to grow besides these 5 activities unless you want to pay to be a member. Kids may get bored or move on to the next language arts level and therefore move on from this site. Another con is some of the games don’t provide feedback or the correct answers so students who aren’t at the level of these activities may need teacher or parent supervision. Also some of the links lead you to other parts of this website rather than the activities main page. Though this site has some flaws its purpose is accomplished through the activities it offers.

As a teacher I would use this website during free time. If my class is working in the computer lab and students finish their work early I would allow them to play on this type website. It may not be used for a main assignment but more of a review type situation. I think it would be great for parents to use with their children at home if they are struggling or need extra practice. In classrooms, if students work on these activities alone, they won’t feel the pressure of getting the answers wrong in front of everyone which will build their confidence. As an ESL teacher you could play this game as a class or in groups which will work on comprehensible input and output from the teacher, students and website.

Overall this website is simple and beneficial for students. It helps to build a stronger foundation for reading and grammar while engaging kids in fun activities. I would suggest this site to anyone who is looking for an internet based interaction for students’, parents or teachers. Also if you do decide to become a member ($99.95 yearly, discount for students and teachers) there are a ton of resources and activities for all ages. Parents, teachers, and students will love the opportunities to learn, teach and grow because of Toon University. They offer activities for the subjects of math, reading, social studies, and science for Pre-K to 6th grade level students. Also they have a teacher store and toonbooks. If you are truly interested in this website they even offer a free 10-day trial. Check it out!

(Evaluated by Marissa Rosenstein)

Bitsize: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/writing/

Bitesize is a website where children can practice their English, math, and writing skills. It is really easy to navigate, with links that lead the children right to the different activity choices. This is a great resource for students who are English speakers or ELL students. It Explains why writing is important for children to be able to communicate, and then gives multiple kinds of writing styles that may be used. This would be very helpful in the classroom or for children to use at home, because it not only helps with how to form sentences, but also how to write letters, instructions, arguments, comments, leaflets, and story planning. Allowing students to practice different types of writing will help them in the future when they are writing for different purposes. This is an extremely hands on website. For each type of writing the students can play a game, read about important information on each type of writing, watch a video about it, or take a quiz over the subject. This gives them information and practice in multiple ways, which is one of the main strengths of the website. I would not say that there are any downfalls to it, and I will for sure use it when I become a teacher. I could use this website for home work assignments, and have the children practice playing the games and learning about each type of writing style, have them take the quiz, and then have a writing assignment in class using the different styles of writing. I would recommend this website for children who are ELL learners and English speakers for all the subjects that it offers, not only English.

(Evaluated by Micah Morgan)

Arcademic Skill Builders: http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/

This site has different subjects that the kids can build their academic skills on. The different subjects that they have are: Mathematics, Language Arts and Geography. Children get to play different kinds of games that will test how well they are doing on those subjects. Each game is a race against either the computer or another player and there are also some timed individual games. At the end of each game, the children are shown what they missed while they were playing the game. This site can be really fun and they have an option that once all the children are logged in they can all compete against each other.

This site can be really fun for the children who do well on the site. However, for the children whose minds are not as quick to be able to answer the questions fast enough to win, then it could have a negative effect on them. They can feel like they are not as smart as the children who always win the race because they are very quick with their answers. As for ESL learners I think that this would be extremely difficult for them because they won’t be able to think as fast as the other students who are native English speakers. So they wont be as motivated to try to win the games because they will most likely feel like the native English speakers will win anyway so there is no point in putting up much effort. The games are very fun; the individual games will be less pressure for the child to come up with the answers against anther peer but there will still be pressure to come up with the answer fast enough to have a high school. The timed games are much easier for a ESL learner because the only person who is going to see their score is the student.

(Evaluated by Candyce Pace)