Spelling for Everyone

It’s funny how we remember some details from events. One incident that stays in my mind from my first year of teaching is the day that I gave a particular spelling test. I said each word and then followed with a sentence using the word. The students wrote the word—hopefully spelled correctly—on their papers. Circus. We saw elephants at the circus. Circus. C-i-r-c-u-s. Oops! The students—not the teacher—were supposed to spell the word! I managed to read the remainder of the spelling words that day without spelling the words for the students. But, my slip guaranteed that everyone had at least one of the words spelled correctly!

Well, it’s still important for our students to spell words correctly. And not just in spelling class. Every subject—at every grade level—has its own vocabulary. Teaching our students how to use and spell each discipline’s vocabulary is necessary. Technology can help that process.



Teachers can post their spelling words on the SpellingCity.com web site. Students can then hear the words spoken one-by-one. They can listen to sentences that use the words. They can play games using the words. And they can take practice tests.

I learned about this site on a Tech Chicks podcast. When they’re excited about a spelling site, I know I should check it out. And I am impressed!

Students…

• can take practice tests
• can play games (online or on paper) to help learn the words
• do not need to register to use the site
• can type in their own words and practice and play with them
• can practice with existing spelling lists
• can find their teachers’ lists and practice them
• can print a certificate with their name and test results after they complete a practice test

Teachers…

• can post their spelling lists
• can register for free
• can put a link on their web sites for their students
• can sign up for a newsletter
• can suggest words to be included in the SpellingCity database
• can access SpellingCity’s forum
• can import lists

SpellingCity.com lists these features…

"... contains over 25,000 words, including plurals, contractions, future and past tenses
... uses a REAL human voice that says both the word and the word in a sentence
... a 'Teach Me' function that spells out the word using both visual and auditory input to improve retention
... teachers and parents can enter and save their own spelling lists for their students/children
... students can play games with their words or any saved lists
... teachers and parents can save and share their lists
... the forum allows teachers and parents to share lists and ideas"

Sample lists include…

• grades K through 8
• big numbers
• dinosaurs
• Dolch - sight words – PreK through 3
• Harry Potter words
• state capitals
• states
• words of Arabic, Dutch, French, or Greek origin
• middle school US political terms

Interesting notes…

• obscene words are not permitted
• the site might be very useful for special education and ESL in addition to other classes
• this site would work well with interactive whiteboards
• SpellingCity knows blog but not wiki
• it’s free

SpellingCity.com is fun and useful and would work well with an interactive white board. That's quite a combination!

Web Sites to Use in the Classroom

I've been looking at some web sites recently that can help us to teach and help our students to learn in our classrooms. Here's a list of sites appropriate for a variety of grade levels and of topics.

Enjoy! :)




CURRENT EVENTS, JOURNALISM, FOREIGN LANGUAGE __________________________

http://www.newseum.org/

Read the headlines from the front pages of 561 newspapers from 52 countries. Play a news trivia game that includes questions about today’s news and some of the historical information in the background of today’s news. View editorial cartoons. Read in-depth stories. Run your mouse over a small image of a newspaper’s front page and a larger image will be displayed.

ARTS ______________________________________________________________________

View the works of American artists—Heade, Lane, Peto, Decker, Homer, Eakins, Church, Bingham, and Kensett—at http://www.nga.gov/feature/wilmerding/jwsplash.htm

View the works of artists Dali, Moses, O'Keefe, Cassatt, Escher, Warhol, Rodin, Picasso, and Wood. A webquest and other resources are also available at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000989.shtml

Read the biography of Leonardo da Vinci. View his sketchbooks. Take a virtual tour of his studio. You can do all this and more at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001896.shtml

HISTORY ___________________________________________________________________

Read stories from war veterans about their roles in obtaining military intelligence at http://www.loc.gov/vets//stories/

Learn about the art, inventions, science, and people of the Renaissance in Europe. Additional resources are also available at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001530.shtml

Read about Woodrow Wilson and his presidency. Check out related resources at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001880.shtml

Read about Theodore Roosevelt and his presidency. Check out related resources at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001740.shtml

Biographies of the US presidents and their wives plus related resources can be accessed at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000030.shtml

Go to http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001899.shtml to study the 1900-1909 decade in America’s history.

Dates That Matter (http://www.teachersfirst.com/dtm/) is a teacher resource ready to display on a screen for the class to read. The students are given a clue about the date. Hints are provided to help them. When the actual historical event shows, more information is added. Teachers can see an annotated view of the event.

SCIENCE __________________________________________________________________

Read about research being conducted in the Arctic and the Antarctic at http://nsf.gov/news/overviews/arcticantarctic/index.jsp

Read about hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanoes and what the research is discovering about minimizing their effects at http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/disasters/index.jsp

Learn what scientists have discovered about climate at http://eo.ucar.edu/educators/ClimateDiscovery/

Watch animations and listen to experts to learn more about cancer. Learn about causes, diagnoses, and treatment at http://www.insidecancer.org/

Read a fifth-grade teacher’s journal of her 56-day cruise into the Antarctic and what the crew members learned about ocean circulation and its role in determining the world’s climate at http://www.esr.org/maudness_cruise/cruise_main.html

Learn about monarch butterflies at http://www.monarchlab.umn.edu/default.aspx

This web site (http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html) for kids explores the brain and nervous system.

ScienCentralNews shares recent developments in life sciences, physical sciences, and technology at http://www.sciencentral.com/

View weather-related simulations at http://www.vets.ucar.edu/vg/categories/all.shtml

Resources for food chains and food webs are available at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000328.shtml

An overview of our planet’s ecosystems can be found at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000050.shtml

Learn about forests at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000683.shtml

Learn about wetlands (swamps, marshes, and bogs) at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000687.shtml

Resources about producers, consumers, and decomposers with respect to food chains and food webs can be found at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001674.shtml

Read about tropical and temperate rainforests in the US, Tasmania, and South America at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000684.shtml

Learn about stars and watch a video at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001325.shtml

Read about eclipses at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000402.shtml

Considering the recent discussions about whether or not Pluto is a planet, the web site about Kuiper belt objects (http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001887.shtml) should give some timely insights.

LITERATURE _______________________________________________________________

Lesson plans and activities for “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” by Barbara Robinson are available at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000534.shtml

Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven has become interactive at http://www.teachersfirst.com/share/raven/

GEOGRAPHY and FOREIGN LANGUAGES _______________________________________

Learn about Costa Rica at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001901.shtml

MUSIC _____________________________________________________________________

Read—and watch and listen—about some of the modern types of music (e.g., jazz, country, rock and roll) at http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001576.shtml

ESL _______________________________________________________________________

Learn how to adapt lesson plan activity types to meet your ESL student’s needs at http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/esl/adaptstrat.cfm