Engineering Interact

www.engineeringinteract.org is a great way to learn about Science. It covers a range of topics including sound, light, electricity, forces and Space. Thanks to the Revision World Blog for the link.

Myths and Legends

Myths and Legends is a brilliant piece of online software for all those who enjoy stories and storytelling. It allows you to read stories from all over the Country and once inspired, to create your own. These can include pictures and sound effects before being submitted to the site.

Digital Audio

Recently, I have been working on a number of different projects using digital audio and have found some great tools for the job. These include the brilliant Easi-speak (below) from TTS, the free to download Audacity and the great podcasting tool Podium. 

Thanks to a post by Doug Dickinson on his blog dougmuses I can now also add Vocaroo to that list. It is such a simple way to quickly send a voice message. Listen to Doug explaining just how easy it is to use …. here

In the style of Famous Artists

I was shown Check the map this week, which aims to support parents and tachers working with children with Special Educational Needs.  We spent some time looking at the extensive Free Fun Sites for Children and especially enjoyed 2 sites which recreate art in the style of famous artists. Jackson Pollock and Mr Picaso Head. Thanks for sharing Rowan!

 

Staying Topical

Are you one of the many schools currently covering either of these topics? Schools can access iboard’s Divali activities from: www.iboard.co.uk/thismonthfree

Or if it is the Fire of London you are covering then try the great interactive website created by the Museum of London. It contains historical evidence and experiences of people who were actually there. www.fireoflondon.org.uk

Newspaper Generator

The Newspaper Generator is another ‘nugget’ from ICT Nuggets.

And from the St Mark’s Blog comes Puzzlemaker, which allows you to create and customise a range of different Puzzles including word searches and cross words.

ICT Games for Key Stage 1

There are some great free educational resources on the ICT Games site, which are generally aimed at infants.  Also available from here is the Calmness Counter which I was shown recently. Once a microphone has been connected and the sensitivity level selected this site will keep track of the noise levels in the classroom. I just wonder how many pupils will see it as a challenge to get the pointer into the red levels!

Primary Literacy Resources

Learn English Kids is a free British Council site for children who are learning English. It has vast range of games, songs, stories and things to print off and do. The site is appealing to children and also has sections for parents and teachers.

Tom Barrett has been busy blogging again and this time he has shared his favourite spelling resources. The accompanying text in italics is what he likes about each site: 

1) Spelling City

‘This has proven to be a highly valuable resource. You are able to save spelling lists for the children to access beyond school. It comes into it’s own as each list is used in a variety of different games to help the children learn them. Each word that you add to the list is automagically linked to a snippet of audio pronouncing the word and there is even audio of the word used in a sentence. Lists can be downloaded, printed and there is even a handwriting sheet that you can print off for your spelling list. My only grumble is that some words are difficult to understand in the audio as the pronounciation is American.’

2) TutPup

‘No problem in TutPup with the English pronunciation of the words as the lady who has done the audio, I am told, did the announcements for the London Underground system! TutPup provides a social competitive edge to the children’s practice which they really enjoy. The main bulk of games are maths based but the audio quiz for spelling is excellent too. The children listen to a word and type in the spelling, they are of course paired with another user from somewhere in the world giving it that competitive fun.’

3) Look Say Cover Write Check

‘There are a whole bunch of these resources but the best in my opinion is the Crickweb version. You can add your own 10 words, practice using the look, say, cover, write and check method and there is even facility to print paper based resource cards and review and assess progress. Simple and very effective.’

4) Spin and Spell

‘A lovely interactive site for the simple practice of common key words. Children can choose from a range of different word topics such as “In and around the home” and “Animal Kingdom”. The children then are presented with a big wheel in the centre of the screen with all of the letters on it. They choose a little image from the many that populate the rest of the screen and they hear audio of that word and then have to spell it using the dial. You can select to have the words chosen randomly and they can reveal and hear the word again as they are working. Again the American pronunciation can cause some confusion but otherwise it is worthy of a spot in my top 5 spelling resources.’

5) GeoGreeting

‘A bit of fun for number five – this resource will help children to see their spellings in a different way.  GeoGreeting finds satellite images of buildings and other objects from around the world that resemble the letters in your words.’

Great resources. Thanks Tom!

Multiplication Tables

Some great resources to help practise Times Tables from the blog of primary school teacher, ICT subject leader and prolific blog writer Tom Barrett. They are:

Multiflyer - A wonderful resource which Tom discusses in more detail here.

BBC Skillswise Times Tables - a classic on the Skillswise part of the BBC site.

Maths Trainer – part of a series of excellent resources from the Maths is Fun website.

Multiplication Puzzle - This resource is flexible enough to allow you to tailor it to individual needs and offers valuable practice.

Primary History Links

Searching for Primary History resources I came across a long list of websites on Schools History. Specifically I was looking for sites about Eygpt and found the section of the British Museum devoted to Ancient Eygpt particularly inreseting. Topics include pharaohs, gods and mummification. I also really liked the Eternal Egypt site.  Other periods of History are also covered by BBC Schools and the Wiltshire History Quest.