The Thinkfinity website I really liked was read-write-think, because I noticed right away a lesson on Snowflake Bently. I had just pulled snow books, as well as Snowflake Bently, getting ready to make lesson plans using both, and there was a lesson plan for me to look at! The timing was perfect. I'm getting some ideas from their lesson, and will be adapting part of it. I use the book for introducing biographies to the third graders. I found some links to other websites that led me to a biography on William Bently, as well as making a virtual snowflake. I'd probably have the students make their own with paper and scissors, and then hang them up, but would direct the students to the site so they could make a virtual snowflake, cutting out the paper and seeing the result before they made any actual cuttings out of their own paper.
When we checked the EconEdLink, I was amazed at the ease at which we got into the lesson and creating our own graph based on what we would opt to purchase. What a great way to teach students about supply and demand. The lesson on the dogs was great! The children I have come to the library constantly check out the dog books. They would really like to see this website just for the pictures of the dogs, let alone learning about the way a kennel works. I could see them going home and using this website for fun. This would also be a good website for students doing an animal report on dogs.
The Xpeditions website is great for geography lessons. All the sites were easy to narrow down the lessons because I was able to sort them by grade level as well as title, or even standard. The atlas featue was great. This could be used for teaching longitude and latitude, which is a difficult concept for some elementary students to grasp. I like that I could download any map to use with the students.
I liked the calendar options on many of the sites, but the read-think-write had actual photographs of authors. The standards for all the curricular areas are also right there, so it's easy to know you're meeting the ones you need to meet. Searching for lessons on each site was easy, and the wealth of information available is impressive. It'll be really easy for me to go to the lessons and find information on any type of lesson I need in the future, especially when it's free! I plan on sharing this website with other teachers so they can also have the benefit of another great resource.
The internet scavenger hunt had all of us in competition for being the first ones done. I wasn't first, but came away with the knowledge that kids are naturally competitive and turning learning into a "game" like a scavenger hunt is more appealing to them than sitting and listening to a lecture. They are contributing to their own learning.
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