8th Grade

8

Ask Philosophers

— Ask Philosophers

8-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.askphilosophers.org/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

Sometimes, right in the middle of an ordinary lesson, a student asks a question that is so profound, so abstract, that it brings the entire class to a screeching halt. It’s so tempting to say to the student, "We don’t have time for that right now..." This site is about those big questions, and it’s really very simple. Ordinary people send questions to a panel of philosophers, and the philosophers answer the questions. There are over 3000 questions answered on the site, all indexed by topic or keyword, and be aware that one of the topics is "sex." It’s not pornographic, but the questions are direct.

In the Classroom

If you’re looking for meaty writing prompts, this site is full of interesting and open-ended questions. The questions might also serve as a good data base for a class learning debate. It may also be helpful for students to see that philosophers use formal rules of thinking in answering their questions; they don’t just say what they "feel" is right. Understanding that moral and ethical decision making is based on a set of predetermined principles is a concept that many students struggle with. This site would be useful for teaching ethical decision making with students whose thinking has progressed to the point where they are able to think more abstractly and philosophically: a gifted class perhaps? Have a class wiki dedicated to philosophy and profound questions. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the <a href="/content/wiki/">TeachersFirst’s Wiki Walk-Through</a>.

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College Personality Quiz

— US News and World Report

8-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2008/08/21/college-personality-quiz.html Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

One of the most difficult things about the college search process is knowing where to start. Many students find that first step so overwhelming, they delay beginning the search and may miss valuable opportunities. The College Personality Quiz is one way to help students get un-stuck. The Quiz takes a good 20--30 minutes to complete thoughtfully, and requires Java and that cookies be enabled in order to get the results. However, the questions that the student must consider will spark more concrete thinking about college choice, regardless of the specific results the Quiz returns.

In the Classroom

Include this site in your favorites for college bound students and allow students who have finished work ahead of their classmates to use their extra time by completing the quiz. Consider having students complete the quiz at home and journal (or blog) about the results they discover. Advise parents of this site and encourage them to review student results with their student. Of course, once the student has results, US News and World Report’s website provides a wealth of data about specific colleges as well as their annual rankings of colleges by category.

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Tag(s): college,

Your Life, Your Money

— PBS

8-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.pbs.org/your-life-your-money/index.php Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

This site accompanies a PBS series on money management, however, the entire series is available to video stream from the website. Pick and choose from segments such as making money, getting out of debt, saving money, understanding insurance, and entrepreneurship. Along with each segment, there is a facilitator’s guide, web exclusive content, activities and simulations. There is a comment section associated with the site, and limited advertising for other PBS products, so preview before making available to students. A written transcript of the segments can be made available to ELL/ESL students.

In the Classroom

The nature of this site makes it especially conducive to a "learn at your own pace" approach to managing money. Students can access areas of interest, dig as deeply as they are interested into the associated activities, and tailor their own experience. Alternatively, the video segments might be shown on an interactive whiteboard or projector, and students could work in groups on the activities. Finally, you might choose to isolate particular activities and use them in conjunction with your regular curriculum and lessons, and skip the video segments completely. Create a class wiki to discuss budgeting, debt, savings, and more. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the <a href="/content/wiki/">TeachersFirst’s Wiki Walk-Through</a>.

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Tag(s): money,

Economics Guides

— Shmoop University Inc

8-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.shmoop.com/economics/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

Shmoop has added Economics to its series of study guide sites. To call this "just" a study guide, however, would be to underestimate its depth and usefulness. The site includes content in the major subareas of economics (supply and demand, money and banking, macroeconomics, etc.), and within each area, there are content summaries, questions that require higher order thinking, an interactive to try and test student content mastery, and links to content elsewhere on the web. The layout is intuitive and easy to use, although there are ads on the side.rn<br><br>rnStudents can create accounts on Shmoop to access more features, but the site is very useful even without an account. Creating an account does require an email address. Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. <a href="/whats-hot/policy-tips.cfm#8"> Here is a blog post </a> that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.

In the Classroom

Add this site to your classroom favorites and list it on your class website so students can access it from home or in class at times when they may think they have mastered content ahead of their classmates. Use the interactives as a classroom activity on an interactive whiteboard or projector to test student knowledge or to prep for an exam. Use the summaries yourself to help organize your presentation of the content.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
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Tag(s): money, financial literacy,

Flower Power

— Manga High

3-8 0 favorites 0 promising practices https://www.mangahigh.com/en-us/games/flowerpower Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

How much money can you make growing and harvesting exotic flowers? In order to be a professional grower, you need to order decimals, convert fractions to percentages and decimals, and more. The better you are at these skills, the stronger and more interesting flowers will develop. This activity doesn’t require a login; however, teachers can create an account and add student information so that scores can be saved. Be sure to check out the Achievements section which lists math skills practiced at each level.

In the Classroom

Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study of percentages, decimals or fractions. Use on the interactive whiteboard as a springboard for classroom discussion on conversions of decimals, fractions and percentages. Install as a center on classroom computers for student practice of skills. Share this link on your class website for students to use both in and out of the classroom.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
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Tag(s): percent, fractions, decimals,

Cybraryman Educational Chats on Twitter

— Cybraryman

8-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://cybraryman.com/chats.html Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

Use this resource to find great educational chats (#hashtags)found on Twitter! View the various hashtags that have been created for a multitude of educator chats in different content areas. Scroll down the page to view a schedule of the various chats organized by day. Be sure to note the times that these chats begin on those days. View the various tools that you can use to "follow" the chats. Follow these chats to find incredible support and ideas for creating positive change in teaching and learning. Consider Twitter one of the best professional development opportunities teachers can participate in.

In the Classroom

New to Twitter? Learn more about Twitter and how to set up searches to see these chats on your own time using suggestions and other reviewed resources included on <a href="/spectopics/twitterforteachers.cfm">TeachersFirst’s Twitter for Teachers</a> page.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
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Tag(s): chat, twitter, social networking,

Layers of Life - Gulf Life Interactive

— National Geographic

5-8 0 favorites 0 promising practices https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/gulf-mexico-layers-life/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

The "Layers of Life" interactive from the fantastic folks at National Geographic offers a detailed, informative tour of the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystems, the organisms that thrive there, and the conditions that need to be maintained for the health of this environment. This interactive has layers of information that can be clicked through easily. The small navigational square in the bottom left corner allows you to click through the different zones of the ecosystem with ease.

In the Classroom

To teach about the zones of the ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico, have students form four groups and create a summary of the features and creatures of that zone. This will reduce the time necessary to share all of the information in class. Turn the activity into a jigsaw by having the student teams number themselves and form new groups of numbers so that all information is shared to all students. While students are sharing information, post questions about the oil spill impact on the ecosystem. Examples would be "Why would oil being introduced into this unique zone of the ecosystem cause a problem for organisms that live in this area?" or "How could the oil from the spill cause a chain reaction for biotic and abiotic components of the environment?" Encourage students to discuss within their groups the questions and then have discussion with the whole class where the groups share ideas. Create a class wiki to discuss the questions and answers. Learn more about wikis at the <a href="/content/wiki/">TeachersFirst’s Wiki Walk-Through</a>.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
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Tag(s): water, oil spill, oil, environment, diversity, biomes,

The Tank Man

— PBS Frontline

8-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

This site from PBS provides in-depth information about the events of Tiananmen Square. There is a 90 minute documentary on the site, accompanied by timelines, witness interviews and discussion of how Tiananmen has impacted present-day China. There is also a teachers guide on the site, providing teachers with 4 lesson plans, utilizing the information on the site.

In the Classroom

Use the documentary on this site as an in-class activity during a lesson or unit on Modern China. Introduce the circumstances of Tiananmen Square to the class before playing the video on the interactive whiteboard or projector. Make sure to give students sufficient contextual information before playing the video. After the video, have a class discussion about the video, using your own prompts or those derived from the teachers guide! Challenge students to create fictitious blog posts from those living near the area, or from family members living far away.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
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Tag(s): china, communism, china, communism,

China From the Inside

— PBS

8-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.pbs.org/kqed/chinainside/index.html Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

This site from PBS takes a look at Modern China, and the issues facing it regarding government, women’s rights, the environment, and political freedom. This site accompanies a documentary, and has short clips on the site as well as lesson plans, and a U.S.-China quiz.

In the Classroom

Take advantage of the free lesson plans in the "Educators" section! The lesson plans connect the content to geography and economics, and are aligned with national standards. The U.S. China quiz may be a bit challenging, but teachers can easily use it as a formative assessment to see what students already know about modern China before entering a new lesson or unit on it. Make sure to save the site as a favorite to allow for easy reference later on!

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Tag(s): china,

The Tibet Question

— Mark La Porte

8-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices https://tibetquestion.weebly.com/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

This webquest from Temescal Canyon High School looks at the conflict between Tibet and China. The project assigns students various roles, ranging from Human Rights groups to news teams, in an attempt to provide a more accurate picture of the events. Students research their various roles before putting together a presentation on their assigned perspectives. Standards are included with this activity.

In the Classroom

This is a great activity to use in a World History or Government classroom. This would be a great way to show how the media and globalization impacts public policy and opinion of events. Be sure to save the site as a favorite on classroom computers to make it easier for student groups to navigate there. rn<br><br>rnFor an alternative to the traditional paper or PowerPoint as the end product, consider using Google Docs Presentation <a href="/single.cfm?id=8030">reviewed here</a>, or one of many creative collaborative web 2.0 tools reviewed in the <a href="http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/edge.cfm">TeachersFirst Edge</a>. Your students can work collaboratively without even being in the same place, and their projects can be shared easily on the web.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
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Tag(s): china,