2 sites full of K-12 Interactive Resources for SMART Board

I usually do not post huge lists of resources, but this Livebinder and website are definitely exceptions.  We have so little time in the day and sometimes finding time to create our own resources can be difficult. These websites have tons of interactive resources organized by topic that you can use on your SMART Board.  I would highly recommend checking these out!

1. http://bit.ly/SIVXCI
2. http://bit.ly/S5IIuR

2 Tools to Integrate in 5 Minutes or Less

Wonderopolis

Wonderopolis is a great tool to engage students with high interest nonfiction text.  Each day a new "wonder" is added.  Each post will include a video, 3 questions, and information to answer each of the questions.  I know this tool may not be a new one, but I wanted to include some ideas for integration.

Integration ideas:

• This site provides a great way to practice reading with the question in mind.  This is a great tool to use as a shared reading piece where you model/practice using the 3 questions to focus your reading.  Some of the "wonders" can be at a high reading level so keep that in mind as you integrate it.  
• Use it as a station where students can read about the different wonders answering the questions they provide. 
• This site provides high interest reading material and will encourage your students to read nonfiction.  Now this list is not be exhaustive, so please leave a comment sharing a way you are using this tool in your classroom.  

Primary Wall

Primary wall provides a space to collaborate, share, and work together in real time using sticky notes.  This is an easy program to use and students can all be engaged in the discussion and you can view their ideas on your SMART Board.  You can also lock this site and students can access it from home.  Each wall comes with an embed code which allows you to post on your blogs or websites.

Integration ideas:

• Exit slip-students can reflect on class and post it to the wall.  This can be used the following day for discussion or reteaching. One technique is the 3-2-1 summarizing technique.  This technique was designed by Rick Wormeli.
• Brainstorming-students can post questions, things they have learned, research around a topic.  The cool paret is then you can sort their thinking on the SMART Board after you have collected it.

6 Traits Writing Lessons

In our classrooms we use 6 Traits Writing.  This is a good resource which uses mentor texts to teach various aspects of the writing process.  One website that has many good ideas is Writing Fix.  This site has many lessons, interactive writing prompts, and much more.  As I was browsing this site I came across a NING network dedicated to the sharing of these lessons.  There are almost 20,000 educators signed up for this network.  When you sign up for this NING you will have access to all of these resources.  You will also receive an email with the "Writing lesson of the month."  Please sign up  to access all these great resources.

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Writing Lesson of the Month NING Page