Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Technology
A glossary of technology for students that links to 3-D images for each definition. Users must enter each term in a separate search, but graphics and definitions are worth exploring.
4Teachers.org works to help you integrate technology into your classroom by offering free online tools and resources. This site helps teachers locate and create ready-to-use Web lessons, quizzes, rubrics, and classroom calendars.
AdLit.org: Computer-Assisted Instruction and Writing
This article from The Access Center, featured on AdLit.org, discusses what computer-assisted instruction is, what it looks like when used with writing, and how it is implemented, as well as a list of resources.
Apple Learning Interchange: iLife in the Classroom
See how students use the program "iLife" from Apple computers to create a variety of projects. The site includes many examples of student work, each one accompanied by a detailed lesson plan for teachers to use and adapt to whatever resources they may have.
Center for Digital Storytelling
This site demonstrates how pictures are a visual means of communication in which we can retell the story using specific strategies. It also provides support for ELLs to grasp the elements of the story, including the characters, setting, and plot.
Education World: Technology in the Classroom
Online activities for ESL students about technology.
Since its inception in 1991, the George Lucas Educational Foundation has been documenting, disseminating, and advocating for exemplary programs in K-12 public schools to help these practices spread nationwide.
This story discusses how teachers are discovering the value of imparting media-literacy skills, from critical analysis of news programs, commercials, and films to basic design and video-production techniques.
From Consumers to Critics and Creators, critical thinking skills and fluency in multi-media production are integral to media literacy. This article from Edutopia discusses how media literacy is changing the classroom.
A menu of virtual reality experiences from exploring the Amazon to experiencing a black hole. Sites are set up like computer games and allow users to interact with the material.
Electronic Forums for Written Interaction
This page provides a round-up of electronic forums in which content material can be conveyed and students can exchange written information, within the confines of the classroom or across the globe.
Getting to Know Your Computer Lesson Plan
Basic computer diagram, activity, and lesson plan. Good introduction activity for beginners.
Institute for Connectivity in the Americas
The ICA strives to create a true community in the Western Hemisphere by connecting the citizens of the Americas and promoting hemispheric integration through innovative uses of interactive communication technologies. The website is also available in Spanish and French.
PBS Teachers: Media Infusion Blog
Each month, PBS Teachers' guest experts discuss using multimedia resources to address common instructional challenges. Topics range from digital literacy to online poetry activities.
PBS Teachers: To Triumph in This Country
A teacher writes about using technology to help his ELL students succeed in the 21st century in this PBS education blog.
PBS: A History of the Computer
A timeline of important events in the history of the computer.
Reading Online: Traditional and Digital Literacies
Link to David O'Brien's research on adolescents and media literacy: "Juxtaposing Traditional and Intermedial Literacies to Redefine the Competence of Struggling Adolescents."
ReadWriteThink: Examining Electronic Sources
Lesson plans designed to teach students how to evaluate electronic sources.
ReadWriteThink: Paying Attention to Technology
Lesson plans designed to get students thinking about the technologies they may take for granted.
SMART Notebook Lesson Activities
Browse lesson activities and materials for classrooms using SMART notebook software. Choose the country or region, and search by curriculum standards, subject and grade level.
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