The Healthy Refrigerator

Here is a great website that deals with teaching young children about leading a healthy and active lifestyle. It is based at a grade three level in the subject area of health and deals with controlling deals as well. The site mainly focusses on the fact that if you eat right and stay active you can prevent many diseases and keep your heart healthy! There are links in the right hand corner that you as a teacher or your students can access such as the healthy fridge, good nutrition, heart of the matter and then there is a link just for kids. I also enjoy the main page of this website, it draws you in because it has the cartoon heart pumping and colorful images that engage your attention. I could definately see myself using this website in my future classroom!

To incorporate this website into my lesson plans at school I would first give an introductory lesson to my class about controlling diseases and leading a healthy and active lifestyle and what it can do for your body. I would use areas such as the food guide on display, a list of physical activities that are simple and fun, etc. After this, I would allow for my students to access this website and click on the link "just for kids!" They could read about fun recipes, facts about heart disease, take a healthy fridge quiz from what they learned and seek a word game. I would allow for my students to go on the computers in partners when accessing this website because they then can collaborate information and ideas to complete the word game and quiz. After the students are done on the site, we would meet back at our desks and brainstorm healthy foods and learn more about the food guide. As a teacher, I would then send a note home with the parents/guardians to ask them to send their child with one healthy snack. Our class would have a potluck lunch including foods from the four main food groups. Some could bring veggies and dip, another a fruit platter, others could bring cheese crackers and meat, etc. During our lunch we would then further examine and learn about the heart and how healthy eating can benefit our health and body so greatly. We would also talk about some favorite areas of the website, how did everyone do on the quiz, what recipes sounded good, etc.

I feel that this website would benefit the learning of my students because it is kid friendly and engages the students attention through the images and interesting information. Instead of it being a site where it just lists information and facts, it includes recipes, quizes and word games which students really seem to enjoy. By providing this variety the students find it enjoyable and the content more easy to follow. Child obesity is such as growing issue within today's society, so as a future teacher I plan to help decrease this problem by beginning in my classroom with my students. This site is a great way to educate your students about a healthy heart, type 2 diabetes and how they can lead a healthy and active lifestyle. I would also send home this website in the parents/guardian newsletter so that the students can also access it at home to learn even further about this subject area!

Secrets at the Sea!

Here is a great site based on the grade two science curriculum level on the topic of oceans. On this website they display something similar to a television news program where you follow along on information and news about oceans. The news broadcaster has a mini speech bubble, and once you are finished reading it, you simply click on the bubble to hear the next set of news being said about the ocean. After the news reporter is done talking, you have the ability to click on the "field notes" at the bottom of the page where it explains several topics in relation to the ocean such as food webs, killer whales, tides, salmon, plankton and many more. Once you click on that topic it reveals a page of information that you can further read about and learn! It also displays a picture with the information, so not only are you reading about it but you are seeing it as well and getting a visual perspective!

To incorporate this website into my class I would have the students pair up with a partner to search through and complete this site. After they have gone through, read and listened about all the various news broadcasts and information, I would then have them read through the field guide and choose a topic that they want to do their own news broadcast on. They could choose anything from killer whales to salmon and plankton. After they chose a topic, they would return to their desks and with the teachers help I would help them write up a short news script about the topic they chose where each of them gets a turn to talk. Once all of the students have completed this step, I would then have them create a podcast news broadcast, where we would add in fun music as well and they could broadcast their information to the rest of the students. If my class had our own classroom web page, I would post these podcasts up on the web for the parents/guardians to listen to, so they can see what their child is working on and learning about in class!

After completing this task, I would then have my students revisit the site and just play around. If you click on the on/off button the television it takes you to another world on the site where you can click to various areas and learn more about the ocean! It makes you almost feel like you are a character of the site which engages the students more into its content. I feel that this site would benefit my students learning because not only are they learning about oceans and the animals that live in it and some issues such as pollution, but they actually get to make their own news broadcast about it using podcasts which reveals them to even more use of technology. By using the podcasts to wrap up this lesson plan, they are having the ability to collaborate information that they learned from the site and create it into a final presentation. Also, the site makes the student feel like a character as they have to proceed through all of the news broadcasts and can click on links to other areas about oceans, it even takes you to a small town and you can ride an airplane too!

Basketball Math

Here is a great site that deals with the subject area of math at the grade three level of numbers and operations including addition and subtraction. On the left hand column of this site there is a table of contents listed with addition and subtraction at the top of the list. Once you click on one of the areas listed in the table of contents a math question suddenly pops up for you to solve. Once you are finished answering the question you press enter and then head onto the next one. If you get the question wrong, they give the correct answer and allow you to try again. It gives you a variety of questions whichs makes the site engaging and educational for your students within the math subject area. You can also click on the start button at the bottom of the page which allows for you to practice a variety of math questions and everytime you get an answer correct the basketball player on the screen gets to take a shot at the basket and makes it!

I would use this math website in my class for my students to further practice this math skills in relation to addition and subtraction. A lot of students often get bored of using flash cards or completing math work sheets at their desks. So why not make practicing math skills fun and exciting by allowing your students to access this site. Instead of assigning a math assignment or making my students to flash cards with a partner I would have them access this website with a partner instead. I would have them first start off with addition in the left hand column of the table of contents and then move onto their subtraction later on. When one of the partners gets a question wrong, the partners then have the ability to work together and collaborate ideas to what they feel the right answer may be. As a teacher it is difficult for you to be by your students side 24/7 assisting them, but if you allow your students to work in partners then that gives you a bit of a break because they are working together and helping one another!

I feel that this website would benefit my students learning because it is a fun and different way for them to practice their math skills. It is also fun because seeing as this math is related to the sport of basketball, everytime you get an answer correct the person on the screen with the basketball shoots a basket and makes it! This allows your students to see how they are progressing and succeeding in this area and they have something to work towards on the website which allows for them to concentrate and try hard. Overall, I could definately see myself using this website in my future classroom through the use of technology. A lot of students tend to struggle with the subject area of math, but if I can make it fun and educational hopefully my students will have the potential to succeed to their fullest!

Sound

Here is a great interactive site that deals with sound at the grade three science level. It provides a variety of sounds such as insects, birds, reptiles, water, weather and human sounds as well. By clicking on the various links under the category of sounds it then gives you a list to choose from under that category. For example, if you click on insect sounds it takes you to a list including crickes, grasshoppers, night insects, etc. Not only is there a link to each one of their sounds, but a small description of that insect for the student to read about and further learn about that specific insect. This is a great website to be used within the subject area of sound, because not only are you listening to sounds you may hear everyday, but ones that are more abnormal that are harder to recognize making the site challening and fun!

I would incorporate this site into my class by first giving an introductory lesson to my students at their desks on the concept of sound. I would bring in tape recordings of different sounds including weather, insects and animals. We would then listen to the sounds and would match a picture of that specific sound to the tape recording. After completing this lesson with the class, I would then have my students access this site to further learn about various sounds and recognizing abormal ones too! I would have the students work in pairs for this lesson on the website, and would allow them to choose any category they wanted to listen to the various sounds. They could work as a pair to collaborate their ideas and perspectives on the sound playing so that they can realize which sound goes with which link. To wrap up this lesson, I would have the students return to the main page and look at the nature photos taken for fun, and check out some other links on the website. I don't want to completely guide my students to the proper areas on the site, but I want for them to have the freedom and choice to look at what else the site may offer as well in relation to educational material.

This site would benefit the learning of my students because through the prior class lesson with pictures and then eventually accessing the site to sounds, they are learning about sounds through both listening and seeing. By providing these various sources for the students to learn through they have the ability to reach their fullest learning potential and hopefully become engaged into the material. It is fun when you are out camping or out of the city, you can hear so many different sounds, as well as in storms and various weather seasons. Through this site the students have the ability to appreciate the uniqueness of these sounds and can then reference and recognize these sounds in the future!

Children's Online Storybooks

Here is a great website that deals with English Language arts in relation to the topic of reading at the grade three level. This site is an online storybook, where instead of going to the library to always choose out books to read, you can instead access this website to choose online books to read which includes sounds and illustrations! There is a variety to choose, and when the student are finished reading the first page, there are page numbers displayed at the bottom of the page so they can easily click to the next page to continue reading. It is important for students to learn how to access and sign out books from the library. However, by providing a variety of reading tools for them hopefully they become more engaged in the reading, and by being able to learn this task online it is new and exciting for the students as well!

I would incorporate this website into my lesson plans by using it with "reading buddies." Instead of always sending my students and their reading buddies to the library to pick out a book to read together, I would once and a while take them to the computer lab to access this site and read online. By allowing your students and reading buddies to access this site it is allowing for them to read out loud, read along with another person and also buddy reading. This is covering three main components of the reading topic in English Language arts at the grade three level. I remember being a reading buddy when I was in grade 7 and 8 at my brand new school, and because of the new technology our school had, we were able to take our reading buddies onto the computer and perform similar tasks online. It was much more enjoyable and exciting, it was nice to be provided with a variety because then our younger reading buddy didn't get bored!

I feel that this site would benefit my students because it is able to cover three main components of the English Language Arts Evergreen Curriculum guide. This includes as I mentioned before reading out loud, reading along with another person and buddy reading. It is always great to use reading buddies in your classroom, because the older students get to be role models and almost like teachers, and the younger ones get extra assistance on their reading skills and are able to progress to the next reading level. By allowing this site to be used within this area, it is allowing your students to accomplish their reading goals through a technological tool. So, not only are they practicing their reading skills and working with a partner, but they are also becoming more comfortable on using the computers and getting a feel for what resources are provided online for reading. This is definately a site that children could access at home as well for extra reading practice with their parents/guardians. So, as a teacher I would be sure to send this site home in the next parents/guardian newsletter!

Chicken Stacker

Here is a fun and interactive site based on the subject of English Language Arts at the grade one level dealing with communication. This is a great site for your students to access as it is a fun and educational game where you must listen and select the word with the proper vowel sounds such as a, e, i, o, u. It is called the "Chicken Stacker" because each try you have with connecting a vowel sound to a word, the word is displayed on an egg, and each word you choose right, you then stack a chicken and once you stack 5 in a row you can move onto a next level or a different vowel sound. The helpful component of this site is if you choose the wrong word, it explains why that word does not match the proper vowel sound so your students can learn from their mistakes and move onto the next try! For example, if you are looking for the "a" sound and choose the word rot, it then explains to you why that word does not contain the "a" sound and it also plays the sound on the computer so not only are you reading about it but you are listening to the vowel sound as well! It has great sound effects even such as the chickens that you must stack always make a fun chirping sound, and once you have guessed the right words that contain the proper vowel sound an egg cracks open with a baby chicken inside! You can make the speed go slow or fast, a level that is easy or hard, and you always get a re-try on connecting a word to a vowel sound so you can learn from your mistakes and continue progressing!

I would incorporate this site into my classroom by first giving a brief overview lesson to my students about all the various vowel sounds, and using words as examples. Such as for the sound of "a" I would use examples such as cat, sat, rag, which shows that the "a" sound can be a short sound or a long sound as well. After we have practiced this as a class and the students have a basis of knowledge within this area, I would then have them access this website of the "Chicken Stacker" to listen and communicate more through learning about the various vowel sounds. Instead of using flash cards to test their skills with the vowel sounds, I would have them access this site so they are provided with a variety of learning tools in hope that they can excel to their highest potential. I would monitor to see how my students were progressing, and if some were excelling at a high rate, I would have them move onto the hard level to challenge their skills even greater. To wrap up this lesson, I would have my students return to their desks where I would hand out a short exam on vowel sounds in order to test their knowledge on how they progressed through the class lesson at their desks and also at the computer.

I feel this site would be beneficial to my students because it is almost as though there is a teacher within the site. As a teacher, you cannot be by everyone of your students sides explaining to them what they did wrong for every question, but by the site providing guidance and assistance if the student answers one of the questions wrong, it then explains to them what they did wrong, and gives them examples of correct answers. This way they can learn from their mistakes and try again! It is also a kid friendly site due to the bright colors, animals and sounds. Also, by supplying both reading and listening skills within this site, it provides a variety of topic areas within the classroom. The students can listen on the speakers what kind of sound the word makes, and then use that sound for future reference!

Arithmetic Four

Here is a great website that deals with math at the grade four level dealing with whole numbers and multiplication! I would first have my students access this website on the main page by starting off with level one and checking off the box of "Whole Number Multiplication" and then press the start button at the bottom to start practicing their math skills! This is a great site because it allows for two players to play at a time against one another allowing for a competitive and challenging atmosphere. For each question you get 20 seconds to answer, and if you answer it correct, you get to choose a column on the board where your "connect four" piece will go. Once one player gets four dots in a row, they win!

I would incorporate this website into my classroom by instead of using math flash cards at their desks or a math work sheet I would have my students access this site with a partner. I would choose the partners, in hope for them to be around the same level allowing for the site and skill practice to be both beneficial and educational. I would closely monitor the skill tests on this site, and once the partners have completed one level I would then have them move on the next to challenge them more greatly. Math is a subject that I constantly struggled with growing up, so I feel that as a future teacher by incorporating fun and interactive math websites such as these it allows for the subject area to be fun and exciting for the students to learn from!

This site would be beneficial to my students because not only can they access within the classroom, but if their parents/guardians are feeling that their child needs extra math practice at home they can allow them to access this site as well! By allowing the students to work in partners during this math skills practice, they learn off one another's knowledge about the subject area and ask their partner if they are stuck on a specific question; allowing them to work together as a team. Also, by the site providing various levels, those that are struggling with math can start off at an easy level, and those that are excelling can begin at a higher level so it is suitable for all learning levels. It not only contains the area of whole numbers and multiplcation, but at the grade four level they can also practice their division, addition and subtraction all on this one website!