Tool #5

I used the tag "elementary education" and found some sites that I think I will be visiting again in the future.

Reading Rockets-This site has tons of information for teaching literacy. Whether it is new strategies, ways to motivate struggling readers, activities, or articles that teachers may find interesting, this website is full of resources and tools for teachers.

Math Playground-This site is a great tool for problem solving. The "Model Your Problems" section is very kid friendly by providing a video explaining the directions, how to use the website, and guiding students through a word problem. Students are then able to do problems on their own and can easily show their thinking. Having this online is a lot easier for students that may have language barriers, so this is definitely a tool I will be using in my ESL classroom.

I think social bookmarking is a great way to get students motivated to learn. When students know they are able to share information they are finding online with their friends, I think they are likely to put more effort into their work. It's also a very easy way for them to stay organized and start to learn effective research strategies. I can think of many ways to use this in my classroom, but I think I will start off by trying it in a workstation. I can bookmark several options and have students choose which site they visit. Students can also add comments so I can track their understanding and learning.