Fractions

Today, I would like to present a few online practice exercises about fractions for your students.

The first one is to help them better understand equivalent fractions.














The second one will help them compare fractions.

















The third one will help them understand that a fraction is a part of a whole.















Finally, the last one is a practice at naming fractions.

Kideas

Kideas is a great website if you are looking for ideas of for arts and craft projects. All the projects are simple and do not require complex material. In all, there are about 40 craft ideas. They all come with a pictures and a PDF giving all the material and instructions to do it.

There are also many colouring pages. For kids who prefer to be artistic with food, there is a "creative food" section. Finally, the parenting tools will be helpful for parents with tips and ideas such as how to make your own baby sling, how to prepare a weekly chore chart, a diaper and feeding chart of a homework log sheet and some lunch box notes!

A Kid's Photos

A Kid's Photos is a website that provides you pictures for you as a teacher or for your students. The photos are available in four main topics : animals, scenic, flowers and objects. They are not very high resolution, but for most student projects, they will be appropriate. The photos are taken by the two authors of the website and the terms of use state that you may use the photos in any of your projects under the provisions that you may not include the photos in another collection for distribution, you may not claim the photos as your own and you do not directly link to the photos. Even if the collection is not complete and will not answer all your needs for photos, it is a great resource and you may always opt for a membership at www.clipart.com if you need more.

The Brain for Top to Bottom

"The Brain from Top to Bottom" is a great site provided by McGill University and it will cater to high school students as well as college or university students. In fact, when reading an article, you get to choose at what level you want to read: beginner, intermediate or advanced. You can also start to read it at the beginner level and if you understood most of it, you can re-read it at the intermediate or advanced level.

In addition, when the site title says "From Top to Bottom", it also refers to the levels of organization. The reader can learn more about the brain at the molecular, cellular, neurological, psychological or social level. The website is useful for biology courses, but also for psychology and sociology courses as well.

The website is also divided by themes. Among the theme, you will find memory, pleasure and pain, emotions, evolution, movement, senses, mental disorders, development, language, sleep and dreams and consciousness. It is a gold mine of information in both French and English for high school teachers who refer to the brain in their classes.

WordChamp

WordChamp is a very incredible tool to let your students practice the vocabulary while learning a second language. In order to use this website, you will first need to register and create a class. Registering is totally free and I tried to find if they will charge you something at a later date, but I couldn’t find any mention of it. Wow! Registering is quick and easy. When creating a class, you need to indicate the main first language of the students and the language they want to learn. It is also possible to create more than one class with only one account if you teach students at different levels or if not all your classes are learning the same second language.

Once the class is created, there is an option to print and instruction sheet for the students so they know how to access the system. As a teacher, it is possible to create many vocabulary exercises and flashcards that may be used as homeworks and include a deadline as to when they need to be completed. You may create your own list of words or you may choose from the database included with the website. Homeworks created fall in two categories: vocabulary exercises and reading exercises. Vocabulary exercises include translation, listening comprehension, dictation, reading practice, flashcards and pronunciation. The interface not only include the written version or words but sometimes include some visuals as well as audio files to let the students hear how the word is pronounce in both languages.

WordChamp will also let the student visit a website published in his or her second language. Without providing a full translation, students will be able to mouse over some words and get a translation as well as an audio file to hear how it is pronounced. This site is produced by linguists and is truly amazing. You should register to discover its full potential. The site supports many languages including English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin as well as dozens of other languages such as Slovak, Swedish, Romanian or Flemish.

A very simple calculator

This is a quick and easy one. It is a very simple calculator. Obviously, it is not scientific or graphic, but it does the job in elementary school when students forget their own calculator.

Systole and diastole

This animation of the heart is a great way to teach your students how the heart acts as a pump. The students can visually see the systole and the diastole and the contraction of the ventricle. A graph pressure vs. time shows the pressure in different part of the heart at different time. There is also a graph of an electrocardiogram and of the heart sounds. It is a great resource for biology teachers.

Kids' Lab

The Kids' Lab present reading workouts that are designed for parents and teachers to work with students who need some practice with their reading skills.

They are designed to be done with an adult because the student can get confirmation when he or she is right and may be corrected when there is a misunderstanding. The reading workouts are available for these grade levels : kindergarten, first grade, second grade and third grade. The workouts put the emphasis on vocabulary development, phonics and phonemic awareness and reading comprehension. The workouts are not easy to find on the website at first. You need to use the "GO" menu in the top left corner of the screen.

QUIA - Physical or Chemical Change

Here is a great quiz to teach your students the difference between physical and chemical changes. The quiz contains 20 questions including examples such as breaking glass, a rusting bicycle, spoiling food, bleaching your hair and burning leaves. Very simple but efficient.

200 Vocabulary Exercices

The University of Victoria in British Columbia presents 200 vocabulary exercises for students learning English as a second language. The exercise is very simple and looks like a resource already presented on this blog : illustrated vocabulary. An image is presented to the student and he or she must select that proper word. The vocabulary words are in the following categories : furniture, school, office, home appliances, kitchen utensils, clothes, animals, coins and food. An interesting fact, the coin category is adapted to the Canadian audience.

NRC - Periodic Table

If you need a periodic table, well layed-out and all in colour for your student, the one published by the National Research Council is great. It is available on-line as a website with an hyperlink for each element that takes your to a description and as a PDF, ready to be printed on cardstock and laminated to be used a reference in your students' binders.

Biology4kids

Still part of the "4kids" series, "biology4kids" delivers concepts in biology in a language easy to understand by students at the end of elementary school. Unlike the other ones, this one starts with the scientific method, reasoning in science, experimental evidence, logical reasoning, deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. This content is interesting, but it is a bit surprising to see it only in the biology unit.

The content of the biology website is very well layed-out with many pictures to enhance students understanding of the concepts. The content includes taxonomy, the kingdoms, labels and naming, relationship between organisms (commensalisms, competition, mutualism, parasitism, predator-prey), animal and plant cells, organelles, cell functions, osmosis, passive transport, active transport, mitosis, microorganisms, microscopes, prokaryotes, eukaryotes, fungus, photosynthesis, plant structure, invertebrates, arthropods, vertebrates, mammals, systems as well as some human anatomy and physiology. For each section, there is a quiz for student to check their understanding of the concepts. There is also a slideshow for some sections presenting many pictures with comments. A great introduction to biology!

Physics4kids

"Physics4kids" is yet another website of the "4kids" family. It presents physics concept in a language that most students at the end of elementary school will be able to understand. There are quizzes throughout the website as the student get acquainted with the concepts to test their knowledge. The site presents the concept of motion including simple movements and complex movements, forces, acceleration, mass, lever, vectors, the three laws of motion, instantaneous velocity, transfer of energy and work. Even as an adult, if all of this is just a big nightmare of your past when you were in high school, you can relax and read through it. You will realize that it is not that bad.

Other topics covered include : thermodynamics (energy transfer, expansion, heat, temperatures, first and second laws of thermodynamics, enthalpy and entropy), optics (electromagnetic radiation, visible light, light structure, reflection, refraction, lenses and lasers), electricity and magnetism (charges, conductors, electric fields, magnetic fields, current, resistance, Faraday's law, Coulomb's law, magnet and AC/DC power) and modern physics (nuclear physics, quantum physics, radioactivity, fission, fusion and reactors).

Cosmos4kids

"Cosmos4kids" is part of the same series than the site I presented yesterday : Chem4kids. It is a great introduction to space and astronomy with a language that most students at the end of elementary school should understand. The website design is appealing and subjects covered by this website include :the origins of the universe, gravity, the vacuum of space and electromagnetic radiations. The site also talks about galaxies and stars, including the Milky Way, constellations, black holes and clusters. Students will also get information about the solar system and all the planets that are part of it and other solar system details such as the solar wind, the heliosphere, the heliopause, the asteroid belt, asteroids, the Kuiper Belt, Comets and moons. There is also a technology component that includes spacecrafts, probes and satellites used to explore the universe.

Chem4kids

Now this is chemistry made easy! "Chem4kids" presents many different chemistry concepts in a language that most students at the end of elementary school and beginning of high school will understand. It is great to present the three states of matter and the changes from one state to another. Students can also learn about mixtures and solutions, alloys and amalgams. They also discover how neutrons, protons and electrons form atoms that can be combined to form molecules. They are introduced to the periodic table of elements. It also talks about reactions, stoichiometry, thermodynamics, equilibrium, catalysts and inhibitors as well as acids and bases. There is also an introduction to biochemistry. It is certainly too simple for advanced chemistry course in high school, but it is great for younger students who have an interest in the subject.

Catalogue of Illusions

No, we are not talking about a catalogue for magicians here, we are talking science. As you can see on this image, there seems that be imaginary black dots appearing randomly. This is an optical illusion. If you are teaching your students perception or just the five classical senses, this catalogue of optical illusions will be a success with your students as they will be amazed by what they see. The catalogue includes illusions in the following categories : Geometrical illusions, Lightness illusion, Color illusion and Anomalous motion illusion. Some classical optical illusions include : Müller-Lyer illusion, Ebbinghaus illusion, Zöllner illusion, Café Wall illusion, Fraser illusion and Poggendorff illusion.

Air Travelers

If you are teaching the properties of fluids and the properties of air at the elementary level, the web site "Air Travelers" will certainly be a good source of ideas then planning your lessons. It will provide you activities to explore buoyancy, the properties of hot air, the properties of helium and the effect of wind on a balloon. There is also a guide in PDF to build a hot hair balloon with all the details. There is a teacher guide and well as a section providing the science background information to truly understand hot air balloons. In the gallery section, you can watch pictures and videos of hot air balloons.

English Grammar Quizzes Using JavaScript

If you are teaching English as a second language, this site, "English Grammar Quizzes in Javascript", will be good practice for your students. It contains tons of computerized little quizzes to test their knowledge of the English Grammar. It is all multiple choice and the student gets immediate feedback after he or she answered. It covers many concepts of the English grammar including nouns, verbs, pronouns, punctuation, misplaced words, prepositions, participles, etc. It comes with five level of difficulty : easy, easy to medium, medium, medium to difficult and difficult. All the quizzes are written in JavaScript, so they should run easily in your web browser.

Curriculum Material for the Ontario Curriculum

If you teach in Ontario in grade 9, 10 or 11 in one of the following subjects, this "Curriculum Material for the Ontario Curriculum" website will certainly be very valuable for you : Science, Language, Physical Education, Technology, Mathematics, Native Studies. The website contains Unit Plans, Worksheets, Assignments, Organizers, Rubrics, Checklists & Scales, Tests & Exams and more. All the documents and worksheets are available in MS-Word Format, so you can easily modify them to suit the needs of your students. For some of the courses, almost all the units are covered, but some courses are incomplete. As an example, the geography grade 9 course has over 50 photocopy ready worksheets. Even if you don't teach in Ontario, you may find some documents that will be useful and will match the curriculum in your state, province or country.

Graphic Organizers

"Graphic Organizers" is a great website offering printable graphic organizers in Word or PDF format. Using those tools, students will be able to better organize their ideas when writing text. They can also use those graphic organizers to sort their knowledge in mathematics, science and social studies. There are over 70 organizers that you may download for free on that website.

Graphics organizers may be used to sort information, to compare and contrast, to research, to study, to sequence, to create a hierarchy, to determine cause and effect and to present concepts. Some of the organizers available on this website include : Two-Way and Three-Way Venn diagrams, Spider Web, Who/What/When/Why/How/Where, Compare and Contrast Charts, Comparing Maps, T-Chart, Source Cards, Boolean Search, Research Planning, Division of Labour Chart, Cycle Chart, Event Sequencing, Branching, etc.

Snacks at the exploratorium

The Exploratorium is the museum of science, art and human perception in San Francisco. Since most of us live far from the museum, they have a section called "Snacks". However, they're not the kind you eat. They're the kind you can learn from and have fun with. Exploratorium Science Snacks are miniature versions of some of the most popular exhibits at the Exploratorium.

These "snaks" are short experiments that can easily be presented as demo in your classroom. They require material that is very easy to find. They include perception experiments as well as physics and earth science experiments. Students can explore colours, mirrors, Bernoulli's principle, blind spot, center of gravity, magnetism, resonance, electroscope, geyser, batteries, pendulums, peripheral vision, pinhole camera, resonators, spectra, motors, vectors and many more. Each experiment includes material, assembly steps, what to do and notice and an explanation of what is going on.

Kids Gardening

Gardening may be very beneficial for youth. "Kids Gardening" is aimed at helping young minds grow. The website includes a teachers' resource room and a family resource room. You will find many classroom projects and activities and some classroom stories. If you want to get a greenhouse at your school, there is a "how-to" guide. In the teachers' room, there are lesson plans, stories, projects and web resources. Subjects include pollinator, hydroponics, plant-insect interactions, seeds, Dutch Gardens bulbs, greenhouse and harvesting. The family room include articles about the following subjects : Gardening at Every Age, What Turns Kids On and Off to Gardening, Start With a Design, Growing Big; Garden Structures Kids Love, Theme Gardens, Plants Kids Love, Starting Small; A Place a Kid Can Call Her Own, Who’s Taking Care of This Garden Anyway, Gardening Safely and So You Don’t Have Time and Space for Another Garden.

ChemTeam : A Tutorial for High School Chemistry

The ChemTeam provides study resources in all standard topics for students in high school and Advanced Placement chemistry. It doesn't seem like it has been updated since 2004 and not all the topics in the menu are covered yet, however, for the information that is already there, it is worth a visit. The site is easy to navigate and information can be found without a problem. However, the look of the website is a bit too simple. It is all black text on a white background without pictures.

It covers subject such as Acid Base, Atomic Structure, Bonding & Isomerism, Chemical Equations & Reaction Types, Electrons in Atoms & Spectroscopy, Equilibrium, Kinetic Molecular Theory & Gas Laws, Matter, Physical Properties,The Mole, Nomenclature, Kinetics, Metric System, Radioactivity, Reduction Oxidation, Significant Figures & Scientific Notation, Solutions, Concentration & Colligative Properties, Stoichiometry and Thermochemistry.

Make Your Own Word Search

Word searches are an excellent way for your students to review important vocabulary. Making one yourself can be painful and very time consuming. "Make Your Own Word Search" makes the development of new word searches very easy. In order to produce your own word search, all you need to do is to enter the list of words you want to include and then click the "Create Puzzle" button.

After you entered all the words, the system will then generate a grid with all the words that are included in the list. You can change many parameters before starting your grid including: Rows, Columns, Font Size, language on the grid and Background colour. Have fun using it!

Make Your Own Printable Sudoku Puzzles

According to wikipedia, Sudoku is "a logic-based number placement puzzle. The objective is to fill a 9x9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3x3 boxes contains the digits from 1 to 9. The puzzle setter provides a partially completed grid." If you students are not addicted to completing Sudoku grids, this "Make Your Own Printable Sudoku Puzzles" will certainly be very useful and it is very easy to use as well. All you need to do is to choose the difficulty level and click "Generate New Puzzle". You also get to customize the worksheet by adding your own instructions and title. You can also add a line for students to write their name. You can also generate the answer key.

Interactive body

This "interactive body" game is very well designed and is highly visual. The game starts with a human body and students have to choose between organs, muscles, skeleton or nervous systems. Both the male and female bodies are available. Various organs or muscles or bones are presented to the students. He or she can rotate them to see them in 3D and must locate where they should be in the human body by dragging them to the proper location. If the student is unable to locate it properly, he or she can read a hint. This great game is sponsored by the BBC. If you are using a Mac, the site doesn't work with Safari 3, but works great with Camino.

All Kinds of minds

"All kinds of minds" is a very useful collection of documents and information for kids who are learning differently. It presents learning disabilities in a very positive way. The online parents toolkit is great with sections on mathematics, reading, writing and attention. It includes firsthand experiments that simulate visual and auditory distractions for parents and teachers to truly understand what it is to learn with a disability. For each condition, the basics are given and the difficulties are described. Strategies on how to cope with the difficulties are provided as well as a list of resources. The site is constantly updated with news and recent content. This is a web resource that should be added to your bookmark no matter if you work in a special education classroom or in a regular classroom.

Powerpoint templates

If you are the kind of teacher using multimedia presentations a lot but you find the background included with PowerPoint to be a bit boring, this website is for you. It includes tons of new PowerPoint templates (backgrounds) that you can include in your multimedia presentations. Categories include business, creative, education, finance, humour, holidays, social, spots, science, technology, abstracts, frames, textures, etc. All backgrounds are available as pictures so you can use the Format Slide Background menu to change the picture. Instructions are included with each package on how to do it in PowerPoint. In total, there are 720 new backgrounds on this website.

Quiz Myself

"Quiz Myself" is a good tool if you want to prepare computerized multiple-choice questions or flash cards for your students. You can produce quizzes even without opening an account, but you won't be able to modify them if you don't have an account. Opening an account is free.

This tool is a bit different from one I presented a few months ago. "Hot potatoes" let you produced computerized quizzes but you need access to a server to upload the files to make them accessible to your students through the web. "Quiz Myself" will host the quiz for you. Once the quiz is complete, you get a URL (a link) that you can give to your students. When preparing a quiz, you can assign a category, a discipline, a subject and even a specific course.

e-Pals

E-Pals is a great way to foster literacy, language and critical thinking skills in a fun and safe environment. It is a network to match classrooms around the world for students to have penpals. It is a great tool for classroom-to-classroom for project sharing. Educators around the world can also connect using that service. When searching a classroom, it is possible to enter criteria such as city, province, country, age group, language and special categories (such as preschool, gifted, special education, undergrad, etc). Using that free service, it is possible to connect with over 7 million students and teachers from 191 countries in a safe online environment.