From  Jeff Dunn on 2013-03-12 Edutopia.

There’s been a lot of talk about 21st century learners, 21st century teachers, and connected classrooms. There’s a daily influx of new technology into your inbox and your classroom feels woefully behind the times even if you’re flipping your 1:1 iPad classroom that’s already online and part of a MOOC. What are modern teachers to do with all this jargon and techno-babble being thrown at them all day long?
Simple. Take a step back. Breathe. And pick out just a small number of things you want to try in your classroom. Whether you’re itching to try a BYOD classroom or simply integrating a HyFlex model, it’s easy to take one digital step at a time, right? No need to try and revolutionize your
classroom in one afternoon. That’s a recipe for failure.
In my experience, I’ve seen teachers attempt to integrate 30 iPads into their classroom by handing them out and then trying to figure out which apps are worth using. Integrating something as powerful as the iPad takes months of preparation, professional development, and buy-in by the students. If they just think ‘hey a way for me to play Angry Birds during class!’ then you have a steep hill to climb. So that’s why I’d encourage you, the modern teacher, to tackle each modern method one at a time.
In order to do this, you’ll need skills modern teachers must have. Hence the title of this post. So if you’re ready to take your classroom or digital skills to the next level, read on. In fact, these skills are worth knowing for just about every teacher at any age. So feel free to use it as a sort of checklist for colleagues.

1) Build Your PLN

Whether you call it a ‘personal learning network’ or a ‘professional learning network’ is not important. What is important is that you know exactly how to connect with teachers, admins, and students from around the world. This network can answer questions you have about absolutely anything. Before setting off on any digital adventure, make sure your fellow teachers in your district know what you’re up to and then be sure to connect with similar teachers around the world. So update your Twitter stream, start using Google+, and get to know Learnist.

2) Establish Real Relationships

Whether it’s online or offline, the ability to establish real relationships is critical to any modern teacher. So what do I mean by ‘real’ relationship? Simply put: know more about someone than their screen name (if online) or first name (if offline). Spend some time (digital or in-person) with the people you want to get to know a lot better. Go out for a coffee, have a Skype chat, shoot them an email with some questions. If this person is someone that you think you can learn from, spend some extra time actually becoming a trusted friend of theirs. You’ll be glad you did.

3) Understand Where Technology Fits In Education

As mentioned above, we are simply deluged with new tech toys for education on a daily basis. No exaggeration: the Edudemic email account sees on average 750 emails a week from people wanting coverage or to alert us to some new tech. That’s more than 100 emails a day! Teachers get similar emails from companies, colleagues, and administrators on a daily basis as well. So figure out where technology actually fits in education. That means you need to establish a mental filter that lets you look past the bells and whistles of a new piece of tech and figure out exactly what it does to help you.
If you can’t figure out how a digital tool helps you in under 15 seconds, you don’t need it. Simple as that.

4) Know How To Find Useful Resources

There are plenty of education technology resources out there. Edudemic is just one of them. We don’t bring you every single bit of edtech news to know about. So I’d recommend becoming familiar with RSS readers and social news aggregation tools. For example, you should have a Google Reader account that you carefully curate over time. You should also be trying out Zite, Rockmelt, and perhaps even Digg. While not always education-based, these mobile news readers are indispensable for any modern teacher on the go.

5) Manage Your Online Reputation

Sometimes called ‘digital literacy’ and sometimes an ‘online reputation,’ modern teachers need to know how to manage how they appear online. I’m not talking about not posting scandalous photos on Facebook. I’m talking about making sure your LinkedIn profile is accurate. Making sure you’re on the right social networks (probably don’t need to use Snapchat or Vine to connect with fellow teachers) and not leaving too many digital footprints in different places. For example, if you’re an early adopter of web tools and apps, be sure to close down your accounts if you stop using the service. Remember Google Buzz? Color? MySpace? It’s probably worth the effort to either close down your accounts or at the very least remove your connections to these networks. For example, you can click on your ‘connections’ tab in Facebook to see where you’ve used Facebook to log into other networks. It’s worth trimming back these connections on a regular basis.

6) Know How To Correctly Blog

There’s no completely correct way to blog. You can blog by uploading snapshots of your classroom onto Tumblr or you can blog by sharing your lesson plans and thoughts on a WordPress site. Heck, you can just upload memorable quotes from your day to a Blogger account.
But there is a wrong way to blog (and modern teachers should know what that is). It’s basically sharing too much information online. I’m not talking about over-sharing thoughts on the lessons you’re working on, flipping your classroom, etc. I’m talking about sharing too much information about people who don’t know what you’re doing. In other words, you should upload information about people only when you have their permission and that they know their info is going up. You should simply never share the personal information of students or just about anyone else. Stuff like that. Modern teachers usually know this but it’s worth a quick reminder. Be careful what you blog as it’s nearly impossible to completely delete. Once you hit publish, it might as well be etched in stone. (fun sidebar: ‘etched’ has the same letters as ‘edtech’)

7) Slow Down

Don’t read just the headlines. Don’t speed through a lesson just because it’s nearly the end of the day. Slow down and catch your breath. If you find yourself finishing one lesson but not having enough time to adequately explain the next, slow down. Spend some time figuring out the best ways to augment your current lesson to make it even better. Ask questions, see if technology could play a role, just have fun and don’t feel rushed. This skill is not to be able to ‘drag out’ a lesson but instead to let it breathe enough to the point where students have spent enough time on it to make a lasting impression. Big difference and knowing what that difference looks like is key.

8) Make Social Media Work For You

Figuring out the best social network to use is tough. There is a lot of trial and error. But here’s the thing: you need to simply figure out the best way to make social media work for you. By that I mean you need to curate the list of people you follow on Twitter, manage your friends on Facebook, and follow the most appropriate boards on Learnist and Pinterest. If you don’t periodically trim down and monitor who you’re connecting with on social networks, you’ll face a tough decision of choosing to give it all up or simply use it less. Easier to just regularly manage your contacts and make sure they’re providing useful information and resources.

9) Don’t Be Afraid Of Failing

Like I said in #3, you need to know when technology is right for you. 99% of the time, you don’t need the newest gadget or web tool. But let’s say there’s a great resource that you want to try. This is the time when you need to not be afraid to fail. You need to not be afraid that your students, colleagues, or administrators are going to find fault with what you’re doing. Just believe in yourself and know that you simply can’t go wrong with just trying it out. So don’t be afraid. Jump into trying out new technology with both feet and don’t look back. But if that new technology doesn’t work as you want or at all … don’t be afraid of cutting your losses and moving on.
So to sum it up: half of trial and error is error. You might as well try!

10) Know When To Disconnect

Finally, this may be the most important part of being a modern or connected teacher. You have to know when to disconnect. You need to know when to say that your Twitter stream is feeling a bit too overwhelming and that you need to spend more time managing other aspects of your life. Whether you move onto lesson planning or just kicking back and watching a movie (or TED Talk), variety is the spice of life. It’s also critical to not becoming a modern teacher that is completely burned out by this time next year.
What other skills do you think a modern teacher must have? Add them down in the comments so others can benefit from your expertise!

Lesson Plan

I found a lot of resources to help me with D5/CAFE activities.  I have created blog pages with those activities and URL's for them.  However, I couldn't really find a lesson plan/template that helped me.  Here is the beginning of my lesson plan that I will expand on.  Once I get the bones in place, then I'll be able to substitute different web activities.  I'm thinking about adding www.spellingcity.com as a word work activity, however, I want this to be rotating and revolving also.  I do have the word lists ready for Words Their Way also.
This is the basic reading/comprehension portion of the daily lesson.

Objective: RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

• 

Materials:   Junior Great Books Story, paper, pencil, technology, Eduplace.com/graphic organizers

Vocabulary:

•Terms                                                 Definitions

•Acquaintance                                      N. someone you know or have met, but who is not a close friend

•Logical                                                makes sense

•Pitiful                                                   someone who looks very sad and you feel sorry for them

•Sensitive                                             able to feel or perceive

•Gravely                                               seriously

•

Procedures:

•1. Read story to self. Arap Sand and the Cranes from Junior Great Books.

•2. Go to computer and sign on.  Go to eduplace.com/graphic organizers

•3. Click on the Story Map 1 and download (file, save, desktop)

•4. Open Story Map 1 and fill in the story details.

•5. When finished, print your paper and turn in. (file, print)

•

Assessment: Being able to answer objective questions on electronic form.

30 Hands for Book Reports

30hands

30hands is a wonderful free iOS app that I was lucky to find out about from an email.  This app is perfect for digital storytelling and very easy for students use.  All a student has to do is upload any photo from their iPhoto library into the app.  Once this is done they can arrange which order their pictures are in.  After that a user can either record their voice or create a new slide w/ images.  Best of all there is a simple video tutorial that one can watch before starting.  This is something that not all apps have and is refreshing to see.  A finished story can then be saved into a user's iPhoto library or exported onto 30hands learning website.

I highly highly recommend checking out 30hands by clicking here!!!

Five Free Web 2.0 tools to Support Lesson Planning

"Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instead of viewing it as an add-on, an afterthought or an event." -- Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Educational Consultant, Curriculum Designers, Inc.

Web 2.0 tools are online software programs that allow users to do a number of different things. They can be used to teach curriculum content, store data, create or edit video, edit photos, collaborate and so much more. These programs are often free and are used by teachers, students and sometimes parents, both in and out of the classroom, on a pretty regular basis.

The question then becomes: are educators prepared to use these tools? Are educators, especially new ones, ready to incorporate Web 2.0 tools into their classroom? How can they be sure that the tool will remain a support piece rather than a replacement for their lesson planning and instructional practice?

Embracing the use of Web 2.0 tools in lesson planning may still be new to many educators. However, it's important to consider how these tools can serve as a powerful companion as we seek to improve and enhance our lessons with students. When we learn to harness their power to bring learning alive in the classroom, it’s a benefit to all!

As we talk about Web 2.0 tools, here's one point I want to stress. We need to remember that it's not about the specific tools we use with our planning and our students, but why and when any given tool is needed. Ideally there also needs to be a culture within the school that values using technology to build lessons that ultimately will be used in the classroom. As a former school principal, I can guarantee that if the school leadership is modeling the use of technology by providing professional development in this area, it will support the school community to effectively integrate technology for teaching and learning.

With so many free tools available on the web today, how do we decide which will be the best fit for our use? Let’s take a look at five free Web 2.0 educational tools. I encourage you to seek them out, practice with them and learn to incorporate them as you prepare your lesson plans. Will learning to use these tools take time? Yes. But I hope you’ll agree that the benefits are well worth your time!

1. Pinterest

If you've not heard of Pinterest, what rock have you been hiding under? OK, kidding aside, Pinterest is a virtual pinboard filled with incredible resources for anyone, anytime! Most importantly, it’s become a huge support piece to educators worldwide. The Pinterest team describes it this way:

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

Pinterest has taken the educational community by storm, and here’s why: resources there are visual, clickable and shareable. Not only that, the virtual boards created can be shared by a group or built by one person. Further, the lessons being curated in an "open source" manner are easy to access and integrate into your planning. Many thoughtful, experienced educators are sharing great lessons and resources that simply should not be missed. Here are a few "pinners" that I recommend you seek out as you consider this resource for lesson planning support:

• Laura Candler

• David Kapuler

• Angela Watson

• Edutopia

• Me!

Each of us has resources to share that you can easily access and begin to incorporate into your planning. If you have an account, you can choose to follow a bunch of cool pinners and take advantage of the resources they share, or just curate for yourself. And remember . . . you don't need to have a Pinterest account to access these great, free resources.

2. Edcanvas

Edcanvas is a fairly new free Web 2.0 tool. I see so much potential for it as a support system for good, strong lesson plans. The education community is growing at Edcanvas, and developer Amy Lin blogs about product updates here.

Here's what the Edcanvas team has to say about their tool: "Edcanvas is the one place for teachers to create and deliver lessons digitally. Teachers and students can use Edcanvas to organize their work and present knowledge." Pretty neat concept.

Through the use of canvases that you build and create following simple steps, you are organizing, presenting and sharing online resources with your students and colleagues in a way that's vibrant and unique. Visit the Edcanvas home page to see how it works and how easy it can be to start building and sharing a great lesson. Once there, you'll see and experience tons of resources that you can start using right away to enhance your lessons. Here's an example of a canvas already created by Anthony Evans on Sentence Writing. Lastly, here is a short 38-second video that shows how easy it is to create an Edcanvas.

3. LiveBinders

I'm a big fan of Livebinders, and so are thousands of educators world-wide! Livebinders were created so that anyone, but especially educators, could do with digital information what we typically do with the papers on our desk -- organize them into nice containers like three-ring binders on a shelf. With these online binders, you can also upload your documents and easily combine them with your links in a neat and organized way. The beauty of LiveBinders is that you can organize a lesson there, collaborate with a colleague in writing that lesson on a binder, and share it across many spaces. You can even have students work collaboratively on binders.

Once you’ve created your binder by filling it with links, resources, photos or videos, you can share it via email, link it to anything, embed it in a blog or view it in presentation mode. Many educators are using LiveBinders to support their going paperless or to house their presentation materials for an upcoming conference. Or they might create one at an event and add links to it as the event is in progress. Creating a LiveBinder to support your lesson planning will save you time and become a living document that you can update anytime. Here's a binder that I created for my presentation in June at ISTE12 that's been viewed over 4,800 times! Take a look at it and think about ways that you could begin developing one to use in your classroom. Could it work for you?

4. Storybird

If you're looking to provide vivid, visual support to your language arts lesson, this is the tool for you. Here’s what the Storybird team shares:

Remember, Storybird is family friendly, and all stories submitted to our public library must be appropriate for children. Storybird helps people connect, play, and create and enjoy stories. Like a game, it's meant to be fun and give you hours of enjoyment. And, like a game, it comes with some rules.

That said, Storybird is a fun and easy-to-use tool for creating short, visual stories. You and your students can select artwork, drag and organize photos, and add your own text to create beautiful digital stories. These creations can then be published on the web with adjustable privacy settings and with the option to allow comments, which is perfect for teachers to encourage student collaboration. In addition, there is the option to create a classroom account. You can sign up for free or consider an upgrade to a paid account. There's even a "refer a friend" program. The opportunities to use this free Web 2.0 tool to enhance your reading lessons are there for the asking. Take a peek at one of my Storybirds, then get started with creating yours!

5. VoiceThread

VoiceThread has been a solid lesson-planning standby tool for some time. It's a collaborative, multimedia slide show that allows students to comment on images, documents and videos through text, video and audio files. Teachers can set up groups and classes as well as moderate comments, embed in blogs, and export to audio files. It's an easy way to differentiate instruction while providing choices to "show" learning, engage in conversation, and think openly and critically about content. Click here to see a great example: "What's a VoiceThread anyway?" Then consider the ways you could incorporate VT into a great lesson in reading, writing or arithmetic.

Finding Your Comfort Zone

Sometimes the idea of incorporating these tools into your lesson-planning structure might seem overwhelming. You may even be concerned that Web 2.0 tools won’t fit into your school or district standards. Well, for those who have trepidations, ISTE has developed a set of educational technology standards for teachers. These standards, called ISTE NETS, seek to move beyond the tool and address the bigger picture of technology in the classroom and in professional practice. Take some time to visit the teachers' page and decide for yourself regarding what will or won't work to support your comfortable tool integration.

6 iPad Apps That Help You

With the end of the semester drawing near, so are the plans of preparing students for final exams and standardized tests. Check out these six iPad apps to create fun, engaging, interactive study guides for your students.

1. ScreenChomp - Create a list of equations for students to solve. Student’s task will be to work out the equation and record the steps they took to solve the equation.

2. StudyBlue - Give students a list of important terms to know for thier exam, have students create flash cards. Students should review using Review mode and then take the quiz.

3. Socrative - Create sample test item questions for students to review. For a fun and engaging practice, allow students to use Socrative’s game mode.

4. Red Laser - All students love a scavenger hunt. Create a scavenger hunt for equations, or vocabulary. Use www.qrstuff.com and create QR codes. Post the codes around the school and have students complete the scavenger hunt.

5. SonicPics and Doodle Buddy - Give students a word problem to solve. Have them find pictures to explain the word problem and use Doodle Buddy to work out each step. Screen shots of their work in Doddle Buddy will used in their SonicPic presentation. Have students explain their process in a voice recording.

Students love to use engaging activities to review and prepare for exams. These 5 Review Stations can be used at the end of a unit or for a final exam.

More Options for showing Mastery of Comprehension Through CAFE

Beyond the Book Report: Ten Alternatives

February 19, 2013

Photo credit: pollyann via flickr

Let's consider some activities that allow a student to show understanding of a book and that might be enjoyable. This selection of activities is also intended to meet the needs of different kinds of learners -- or to contribute to the development of skills beyond writing. I often allowed students choice in deciding how they wanted to respond to a book -- they could choose from a list like the one below.
1. The Graphic Novel: Students draw scenes from a selected part of the book-perhaps a scene that represents the beginning, middle and end if you're working on understanding chronology; or three scenes that depict how the main character changed. If the book is rich in setting, then asking them to illustrate where the story takes place can also be revealing. Drawing will help students remember or find details. Then you can also ask them to highlight or copy the textual evidence for their illustrations.
2. An Alternative Ending: Asking students to create an alternative ending to a book -- one that makes sense -- pushes them to really demonstrate an understanding of characters and plot. What makes a gripping novel is often that you don't know what's going to happen in the end. Asking students to diverge from but build on a writer's style is very hard -- and an exciting challenge for skilled readers.
3. A Sequel: Sequels are also fun for kids to write. How many of us have reached the end of a book and wanted more? This gives them an opportunity to predict what would happen next. It's also challenging because a sequel has to make sense; there must be a continuity of some elements of theme and plot. If there are other students who have read the same book, they can be the judges -- is this sequel believable? Students can write a few pages, a short chapter, or a whole book.
4. Diary of a Character: What might Professor Snape (of Harry Potter) have written in his diary? Students can select a character and compose a few pages -- or many pages -- of a diary. For fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid they can emulate that author's style and include illustrations. Such an assignment reveals a student's understanding of the character and the genre of the personal narrative.
5. A Monologue: What might a major or minor character want to say? How might they say it? Students can take this in many directions. Again, this is another way for a student to communicate how she understands a character, as well as to practice speaking skills.
6. The Talk Show: When several students read the same book, they can put on a talk show for the class with each student representing a different character. The "host" prepares a list of questions to ask each guest, pushing the student to develop higher level thinking questions such as "Can you explain why you...?" or "What regrets do you have about..." Again, as you (the teacher) listen, you can assess how well each student understood the book.
7. Letter to the Author: If a book really moved a student, he might be interested in writing a letter to the author. There might be more information he'd like ("Did any of this really happen to you?") or he might want to share his reflections and thoughts about the book. It's no uncommon for authors to respond -- and that's a thrilling experience for a kid. This kind of assignment helps you assess how a student connected with a book and responded to it.
8. Review for Peers: This could be done in writing (and posted online somewhere including Amazon.com) or it could be shared verbally with a class. This is a way for students to practice persuasive writing and to share their opinions.
9. A New Cover: Creating a different cover for the book is a great project for artistic students. They might use traditional mediums -- paper, markers, and so on, or those with the skills and resources could create one using digital tools. This assignment is really a persuasive one: we all judge books by their covers, so how can students communicate their thoughts and feelings about a book through an image?
10. A Reading Guide: At the end of some novels there are a set of questions that are designed for a book club to use in discussion. This is a challenging project, but one that some readers love because it allows them to direct the conversations of others. In order to formulate good questions, they are required to have a deep understanding of the book. This activity is also great if you have book clubs or literature circles as students can provide their peers with this guide.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of alternatives to book reports, but I hope it's spurred some thinking about how to get students to respond to books they read.
What alternatives to book reports have you offered students? What would you like to try? Share with us in the comments' section below.

I found this article that will help me with Word Work for the Daily 5/CAFE

21 Literacy Resources For The Digital Teacher

by Kimberly Tyson, Ph.D., learningunlimitedllc.com
If you follow this blog, you know that I believe effective vocabulary instruction is just about the most important instructional activity for teachers to get right. For lots of reasons. Vocabulary influences fluency, comprehension, and student achievement. How’s that for starters?
In addition, a broad vocabulary is important for effective speaking, listening, reading and writing.Vocabulary is a foundational component of an effective K-12 comprehensive literacy framework. And, vocabulary plays an important role in the Common Core State Standards.
I’ve posted previously about the importance of effective vocabulary instruction and developed a popular Infographic featuring the “Top 10 Characteristics of Effective Vocabulary Instruction.” Since a broad vocabulary program includes both direct and indirect word learning strategies, the following online tools can be easily integrated to support word learning.
In today’s 21st century classrooms, digital tools should coexist alongside more traditional tools. Online tools, compared to their more traditional counterparts, provide a broader array of information about words and word meanings. In addition, some tools allow teachers to easily customize words so that students can practice, review, and play games with content or unit-specific words. Digital tools allows students to:

• hear pronunciations;
• read words in a variety of authentic examples;
• view photos and images related to words;
• reinforce word learning through interactive games;
• play with and manipulate language;
• discover rhyming words; and
• collaborate with classmates to create virtual words walls.

The following digital tools show promise to support word learning, review, and play with language. I’ve grouped them into four categories: Reference Tools, Word Clouds, Games and Review, Word Walls and Virtual Field Trips. They’re not listed in any particular order, so check out the entire list. Like other digital tools, they’re not all created equal. Choose tools carefully to support standards and learning goals.

21 Literacy Resources For The Digital Teacher

Reference Tools

1.  Lingro
Lingro is a cool tool for both the “wow” factor and for its usefulness. Simply type in a website address on the Lingro website and it instantly turns the website into a clickable dictionary that translates text in 12 languages. Lingro hides in the background until students need it. To use, students simply click on any word and several definitions of the word are instantly displayed. I could see this as very useful tool for just-in-time support forEnglish language learners.
2. Lexipedia
Looking for a visual thesaurus? Then Lexipedia is for you. Simple to use. Just type in any word and Lexipedia instantly displays the target word along with other words. It also color-codes the words by both parts of speech and relationships. As you hover over a word, a complete definition is displayed.
3. ShahiShahi, as described on the website, is a visual dictionary that combines Wiktionary content with Flickr images, and more! An absolute new favorite for me. Besides serving as a non-linguistic tool, I can also see this as a very useful tool for English language learners.
4. Snappy Words
Similar to Lexipedia, Snappy Words is another visual thesaurus. Teachers may want to introduce several of the thesaurus tools and allow students to select which works best for them. The visually sparse, cleaner display of Lexipedia works better for me.
5. Visual Dictionary Online
Check out Webster’s visual dictionary which is simple to use. Type in a single word or choose a theme that also includes many sub-categories from which to choose. Even though Webster’s is simple to use, there is a downside to this tool. After typing in a word search, 4 or 5 Google ads quickly appear above the definitions. Distracting. Yuk. It’s so clunky I almost didn’t include this tool.
6. Word Hippo
An all-in-one reference tool, Word Hippo does the following: defines a word, provides a meaning, provides a word that is opposite, pronounces a word, provides rhyming words, places the word in many different contexts, and translates the word. Whew! That’s a lot.
7. Wordnik.com
Wordnik has the look and feel of a traditional dictionary with a twist. Along with the definition, students can see images related to the word, hear related sounds, and even see tweets with the target word highlighted. The “related words” feature is particularly helpful. Wordnik also features a “Word of the Day,” “Random Words,” and pronunciations of words.
8. Your Dictionary
Your Dictionary bills itself as providing simple, straightforward definitions and the easiest-to-use online dictionary. That’s about right. Sometimes simple is good. In addition to providing a definition, Your Dictionary also includes a thesaurus and places the word in varied sentence examples.
9. MathWords
Math Words is a simple-to-use online dictionary specifically for math terms and formulas. This dictionary appears most appropriate for intermediate and secondary students.10. A Math Dictionary for Kids
A kid-friendly math dictionary. I like the simple, bright appearance that includes visual examples of each term. This math dictionary seems to be appropriate for elementary students.

Word Clouds

11.   Wordle
Type (or copy & paste) in a chunk of text or individual words and Wordle generates a word cloud of the key vocabulary based on word frequency. Wordle can also be used for many varied purposes – check out these 52 ideas for using Wordle to support learning.
12.  WordSift
Similar to Wordle, students type (or copy & paste) in a piece of text and WordSift sorts the text based on word frequency.  The visual thesaurus that displays beneath the words is a nice addition in WordSift. With the visual thesaurus, students immediately see how words are grouped semantically. A useful addition, I think.
13. Tagxedo
Tagxedo is a word cloud app with style! Tagxedo provides a good deal of customization for users. For example, if teachers or students want to create a word cloud in a shape such as the apple shown above, then Tagxedo is the right tool for the job. For younger students, Wordle is much more straightforward to use; however, older students will love the customization Tagxedo provides which includes colors, shapes, fonts, and themes.

Games and Review

14.  Flashcard Stash
While I think that flash cards are sometimes poor practice, students can benefit from instant recognition. Fluency, if you will, with a specific set of words. Now, if understanding doesn’t go deeper than instant recognition, students are in trouble. Teachers can sign up for a free account and create flashcards to coordinate with units of study.
15.  Vocabulary Games
While I’m not a fan of word searches for review or “seatwork,” this website also includes a wide assortment of other vocabulary games that can be used on a SmartBoard for review purposes. To make a tool like this more effective, be certain to review the meaning of words as students play games.
16.  Vocabulary Spelling City
A beefed-up version of vocabulary games, Vocabulary Spelling City includes many more game-like activities useful for reviewing words. A number of teacher-made lists are included such as analogies, compound words, math words, and many more. The free version seems to include about 5 activities and teachers can save lists. “Teach Me” pronounces words and uses each word in context. Teachers can use pre-selected sentences or create their own. Vocabulary Spelling City is a useful tool for students, teachers, and parents. While there is both a free and paid version, Vocabulary Spelling City seems like a natural for PTA funding. The classroom paid version allows students to practice in school and at home as well.
17. VocabAhead
VocabAhead is a useful tool for secondary students and teachers. Short videos – 30 to 60 seconds – accompany each word and make this tool stand out among others for secondary students. The Study Lounge, for students, features leveled word lists (grades 6-12) and SAT word lists. Students can view videos, hear pronunciations, practice, take quizzes, play games, track performance, and more. In addition, teachers can create their own word lists for students. Custom word lists can be embedded in a blog or class website which makes integration and review a snap. Apple and Android apps are also available for free download.
18. Free Rice
At Free Rice, students can practice matching words to the correct definition, and donate rice at the same time. For each correct answer, the United Nations World Food Programme donates 10 grains of rice to a country in need. How’s that for combining word learning with social goodness? When a student plays, there is a visual display of rice (see image) which is added to a bowl each time the student makes a correct response. Free Rice includes subject area lists in Geography, Science, Math, and others. It is leveled so students can play at just the right level of challenge for them. Note of caution: Free Rice may be addicting to youand your students.

Word Walls & Virtual Field Trips

19. Wallwisher
Wallwisher is an online space to create a collaborative, digital word wall. Getting a leg up on the more traditional word wall, Wallwisher allows users to create sticky notes that can include text, images, links and videos. Teachers can embed this into a classroom website or blog which makes it a go-to collaborative space for students. For primary students, teachers will probably want to create the wall with words and links for students. Older students will get the hang of it fairly quickly. A great, collaborative tool and virtual classroom space to build online references and key vocabulary for content units.
20. ThingLink
ThingLink is a tool for making images interactive. To use, simply upload an image, identify hot spots on specific parts of the image, and add text or web links to the image. In the classroom, teachers could use ThingLink to launch a unit by introducing students to key vocabulary or students could design interactive images as they become more familiar with vocabulary. There are many possibilities; I’d love to know how you use ThingLink to extend and deepen student learning.
21. TrackStar
TrackStar, a free online program, allows teachers to collect a series of websites and annotate them so that students can follow an online journey. With a little work, teachers can create a visual vocabulary field trip for students. Teachers determine topics which support units of study. TrackStar is a great way for students to experience multiple exposures to words in varied contexts (a characteristic of effective vocabulary instruction).