Updates 11/27/2009

• MyFrenchResources

  26/11/09 - Secondary School site, with Year 7 resources that may be suitable for upper KS2 French. Very easy on the eye and easy to navigate.

  tags: French, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 09/21/2009

• Free Gong Button

  20/9/09 - Press the button to hear a loud gong sound effect.

  tags: teachers'.fun, children's.sites

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 09/19/2009

• Mathematics on MEWAN :

  18/9/09 - Superb for planning and resources. This site cannot be recommended too highly.

  tags: mathematics, planning, resources, best_of_the_web

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 09/10/2009

• Shop Horror - Funny Shop Names

  9/9/2009 - Amusing collection of photographs of shop signs that use puns. Almost safe for school, depending on parental attitudes to risque phrases, e.g. the opticians called "Spex Appeal".

  tags: english.poetry, English.Word.Level, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 08/19/2009

• BBC NEWS | Education | League tables health warning call

  18/8/09 - Apparently there's more to a school than raw data. And the leader of the Catholic church does have an elevated outdoor space attached to an upper story wall.

  tags: education.facts, bbc

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 07/14/2009

• Read Write Inc. Fresh Start (Series) - Phonics - Literacy - Primary - Children's & Schools - Oxford University Press

  tags: no_tag

  • Read Write Inc. Fresh Start offers older primary and lower secondary children, who have not made progress in their reading, a second chance to catch up and become fluent readers.
    

    Features
    • As with Read Write Inc. Phonics children are taught the 44 sounds systematically in lively, fast-paced phonics lessons
    • The Fresh Start Modules contain engaging, age-appropriate stories and non-fiction texts
    • The 33 modules give clear progression and practice in reading and develop comprehension and writing skills
    
    
    • New anthologies provide extra practice and consolidation
    • All the text have been specially written for this age group

• South Glos. ICT Curriculum Website

  13/7/09 - A huge number of ideas on what to do and how to move ICT on.

  tags: ICT.Coordinator, Start_of_year

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 07/13/2009

• Clip Art Warehouse - Free clip art images by the thousand !!

  12/7/09 - GIFs page - seems pretty comprehensive.

  tags: multimedia.animation, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 07/06/2009

• Child Speak ICT Levels for ICT Suite or self-assessment

  5/7/09 - Nice and simple.

  tags: ICT.Coordinator, Start_of_year

• BBC - Schools - Primary History

  5/7/09 - Great site for colourful, interactive history resources.

  tags: history, resources, iwb, bbc

• BBC NEWS | Education | Is it time to trust the teachers?

  5/7/09 - Unequivocally, YES!

  tags: education.facts

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 06/29/2009

• Educational Videos for Kids about Science, Math, Social Studies and English

  28/6/09 - American site with thousands of videos, many of which are pertinent to primary teaching.

  tags: multimedia.video, resources, all.subjects

• Science experiments and lesson plans with Captain Curiosity: Experiment List

  28/6/09 - Excellent site for science experiments and ideas for developing children's scientific knowledge.

  tags: science.general, resources, ideas, planning

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 06/19/2009

• Resources - CLC Podcasting

  18/6/09 - Introduction to podcasting and links to free resources to help you produce your own podcasts.

  tags: podcasting, ict, resources

• Visuwords™ online graphical dictionary and thesaurus

  18/6/09 - Great way of showing links between word groups and synonyms. Fully interactive and colourful.

  tags: resources, english.writing

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 06/12/2009

• iPrimary.co.uk | ICT Tutorials for Teachers

  11/6/09 - "Tutorials
  
  The following video tutorials cover software and hardware that can be used within the classroom to improve teaching and learning, or can be used to support every day administration tasks. Use the search box on the right to find a specific tutorial.
  
  
  
  007 - Video conferencing with FlashMeeting
  Learn how to use FlashMeeting, a free web-based video conferencing tool intended for education.
  Open Tutorial Quick play
  
  
  
  006 - Using Harvest Sounds to play audio files during dramas and radio shows
  Find out how to use Harvest Sounds, a piece of software used for playing audio files on the fly.
  Open Tutorial Quick play
  
  
  
  005 - Using SpellingCity.com to support the learning of spellings
  Find out how to use SpellingCity.com, a free website, to support the learning of spellings.
  Open Tutorial Quick play
  
  
  
  004 - ActivPrimary 3 - A basic introduction
  Find out the basics of how to use ActivPrimary 3, from Promethean.
  Open Tutorial Quick play
  
  
  
  003 - Adding a soundtrack with Windows Movie Maker
  Find out how to add music to a video using Windows Movie Maker.
  Open Tutorial Quick play
  
  
  
  002 - Creating word clouds with Wordle
  Find out how to display word lists in attractive word clouds.
  Open Tutorial Quick play
  
  001 - How to download movies from Youtube
  In this tutorial you'll learn how to download movies from Youtube for use at a later date within the classroom."

  tags: multimedia.video, resources, ict, Training, ICT.Coordinator

• Welcome to the Web: A beginner's guide.

  11/6/09 - "Thank you for visiting 'Welcome to the Web'. By working your way through this web site and taking part in the exciting challenges and activities, you will learn all about the Internet. Good luck!" This is very well put together, and a great starting point for introducing the web to primary-aged children

  tags: ict, resources

• Wallwisher.com :: Words that stick

  11/6/09 - This is a fantastic idea for collaborating. "Wallwisher is an online notice board maker...! ...it is ideal for making announcements, wishing people, keeping notes, and anything you can do with Post-its"

  tags: ict, resources

• "Printable Flash Cards for Vocabulary Words-with Photographs

  11/6/09 - Learn new vocabulary in an appealing, visual way. The pictures are - in the main - of particularly high quality.

  tags: vocabulary, English.Word.Level, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 05/16/2009

• Most Dangerous Bridges In The World

  15/5/09 - High-quality images of rickety bridges in a range of different places around the world. I will use this page of over 20 pages for describing settings in narrative.

  tags: english.narrative, english.writing, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 05/11/2009

• Pun jokes

  10/5/09 - Mostly amusing, provided that you like this kind of thing!

  tags: teachers'.fun

• Fossweb.com | FOSS 3-6 Modules

  10/5/09 - Superb, colourful and interactive interactive whiteboard resources addressing virtually every aspect of science at KS2.

  tags: iwb, best_of_the_web, science.general, science.sc2(life), science.sc3(materials), science.sc4(physical), resources, ks2

• Fossweb.com | FOSS K-2 Modules

  10/5/09 - Superb, colourful and interactive interactive whiteboard resources addressing almost every aspect of science at KS1.

  tags: iwb, best_of_the_web, science.general, science.sc2(life), science.sc3(materials), science.sc4(physical), resources, KS1

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 05/05/2009

• compfight + a flickr™ search tool

  Searches Flickr and Creative Commons for images.

  tags: search.engines, multimedia.images

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 04/27/2009

• Dozens of Smart Technology Sites

  26/4/09 - A must-visit site for any teacher with a Smartboard. Links to plans, resources and activities, videos on using different aspects of the IWB.

  tags: iwb.smart.notebooks, resources, weblinks.pages.on.teaching.sites, best_of_the_web

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 04/23/2009

• edu 2.0: the free, easy way to teach and learn online

  tags: no_tag

• Tips/Back-to-School/First Days of School Activities

  22/4/09 - Looks good. Plenty of ideas, keep for summer holidays.

  tags: Start_of_year

• Adding Unlike Fractions

  22/4/09 - Very simple, very effective way of demonstrating common denominators and equivalent fractions. Uses a mixture of fraction notation and colourful pictographs.

  tags: mathematics, resources, iwb

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 04/20/2009

• Switch Zoo - Animal Games

  19/4/09 - "Photorealistic zoo". Make your own new animals, play animal games and puzzles. Learn about animals. Build animal habitats. Superb site for habitats or as a writing stimulus. The site even offers lesson plans.

  tags: planning, resources, science.habitats, english.writing, ideas, english.nonfiction

• earth album alpha - a slicker google maps + flickr mash-up

  19/4/09 - "earth album is a simpler, slicker Flickr mash-up that allows you to explore some of the most stunning photos in the world courtesy of Google maps and Flickr. To begin your journey, just click somewhere on the map, e.g. "India". Note-- since the top Flickr images are used, the images change every few weeks; bookmark this site and check back for a different experience in a month!" Superb resource, just add keyword/sunset after the URL to see amazing sunsets from around the world.

  tags: multimedia.images, resources, geography

• Figures of Speech - Teach a Kid to Argue

  19/4/09 - "How to Teach a Child to Argue. Why would any sane parent teach his kids to talk back? Because, this father found, it actually increased family harmony." This could have great application in P4C / thinking skills, or just conflict resolution. Essentially, it focuses on arguments/persuasive rhetoric founded in logic, reputation and emotion. This could also provide the basis for an interesting speaking and listening or persuasive writing lesson.

  tags: thinking.skills, p4c, resources, english.s&l, english.persuasion, english.writing

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 04/19/2009

• Free Movie Fonts Collection (TTF)

  18/4/09 - Free fonts similar to Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean, Enemy of the State, Frankenstein, Harry Potter, The "Hollywood" hills sign, Monsters Inc, Scooby Doo, Walt Disney, 28 Days Later, Addams Family, Austin Powers, Flubber, Jurassic Park, Shrek, Sleepy Hollow, Willy Wonka and more.

  tags: freebies.fonts, fonts

• French for primary teachers

  18/4/09 - As it says!

  tags: ideas, French, resources, planning

• Teaching the Solar System

  tags: no_tag

• A Solar System Scale Model Meta Page

  18/4/09 - General background information, scale-models of the solar system, plus plenty of teaching ideas and resources.

  tags: science.space, resources, ideas, weblinks.pages.on.teaching.sites

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 04/14/2009

• Shangrala's Animated Gallery - Over 2200 Free Animated Gifs

  13/4/09 - Ronseal. Easily searchable GIFs site with many of interest for teachers or children.

  tags: multimedia.animation, GIFs, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 03/30/2009

• Spelling List Generator - BrendenisTeaching.com

  29/3/09 - "Using a database of UK words, produce spelling lists and/or flashcards based on the criteria you set. The 'search' set of search types will take your search term and use the filter you select. The other search types are pre-selected words, which you can limit in size and categorise into groups."

  tags: English.Word.Level, resources, spelling

• StoryTop Story Maker -- The Online tool for storytelling

  29/3/09 - "create multi-page stories, drag and drop clip art to illustrate your story, add text in dialogue boxes, create storytelling clubs with your friends, share your stories with others" Free, for the moment at least.

  tags: multimedia.images, resources, english.narrative

• YouTube - EDU

  29/3/09 - All the educational YouTube videos and clips organised in one easily-searchable portal.

  tags: multimedia.video, resources

• Visual Geography: World

  29/3/09 - "Visualgeography.com lets you explore the world through images, flags, money, language, maps and other information."

  tags: geography, resources, multimedia.images

• Lee County Schools » SmartBoard

  29/3/09 - Beginner's guide to using a Smartboard. Packed with ideas and resources, there is definitely something new for all but the most advanced users.

  tags: iwb.smart.notebooks, resources, ideas, ict, ICT.Coordinator, Training

• Kids Who Think!

  29/3/09 - "A Program Designed to Encourage Kids to Think Outside of the Box...Challenges will be posted weekly".

  tags: thinking.skills, resources, activities, ideas, inspiration

• American Mensa | Games

  29/3/09 - Thinking Skills: word, number and logic games.

  tags: thinking.skills, resources

• Top 10 Time-Lapse Videos Show Nature at Work | Wired Science from Wired.com

  29/3/09 - This will be particularly useful for discussion of life cycles and as a writing stimulus. Clips include: snowstorm, eclipse, corn growing, caterpillars turning into butterflies, earth rise, a rotting apple, a thunder storm, the Northern Lights, and a firestorm.

  tags: science.general, resources, english.writing, ideas, inspiration

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 03/23/2009

• Science Projects Experiments & Educational Toys - Cool Ideas, Gifts & Lesson Plans from Steve Spangler at Steve Spangler Science

  22/3/09 - The description in the title is pretty much accurate - videos explain everything; well worth a look.

  tags: science.general, ideas, resources

• Primary UPD8 - Translating the latest breakthroughs and science behind the news into inspiring activities.

  22/3/09 - Science lesson activities and ideas, sorted by QCA topic. Some available for free, some are subscription-only.

  tags: science.general, planning, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 03/18/2009

• educational-origami » Bloom's Digital Taxonomy

  17/3/09 - Huge amounts of information on Bloom's Taxonomy and other aspects of thinking skills.

  tags: thinking.skills, resources

• Lightning Bug

  17/3/09 - A wealth of writing resources for primary and secondary teachers. Helps with finding story ideas, developing plot and finishing the narrative. Highly recommended. Also includes writing warm up games / warm-up / starter activities.

  tags: best_of_the_web, english.writing, resources

• EtherPad: Realtime Collaborative Text Editing

  17/3/09 - Up to 8 users can collaborate on a document in real time. This free-to-use website could be fantastic for shared writing, brainstorming or ICT Club.

  tags: resources, ict.clubs, ict, english.writing, thinking.skills

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 03/16/2009

• E.gg Timer - simple online countdown timer

  15/3/09 - Can be configured to any time you want. Fills the screen width - but not height - with text and is clean / distraction-free.

  tags: iwb, resources, ict.tools

• Indispensible ICT tools for teachers

  15/3/09 - Very comprehensive A-Z list, from 2Simple to Zamzar and Zoho.

  tags: ict.tools, ICT.Coordinator, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 02/23/2009

• Kakuro - Cross Sums

  22/2/09 - "Hot on the heels of Sudoku comes Kakuro. Think of them as the mathematical equivalent of crosswords. Also known as Cross Sums or Kakro in Japan they have recently come to the UK featuring in The Guardian newspaper.
  
  A Kakuro consists of a playing area of filled and empty cells similar to a crossword puzzle. Some black cells contain a diagonal slash from top left to bottom right with numbers in them, called "the clues". A number in the top right corner relates to an "across" clue and one in the bottom left a "down" clue.
  
  The object of a Kakuro is to insert digits from 1-9 into the white cells to total the clue associated with it. However no digit can be duplicated in an entry. For example the total 6 you could have 1 & 5, 2 & 4 but not 3 & 3. Sound simple? Be warned it gets hard and is as addictive as Sudoku."

  tags: mathematics, resources, activities, thinking.skills

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 02/21/2009

• Ideas to Inspire

  20/2/09 - "'Ideas to Inspire' is a collection of Google Docs presentations, which offer a large number of ideas for engaging lesson activities in a range of curriculum areas.The presentations are a collaboration between lots of fantastic teachers around the world.Choose a presentation to begin..."

  tags: resources, ideas, planning, inspiration, all.subjects

• Selenia: Science Comics

  20/2/09 - The University of West England designed these science comics which provide a colourful introduction to several SC3 and SC1 topics, including: dissolving, cooling, gases and air resistance. This link goes directly to the Teachers' page.

  tags: science.sc3(materials), science.sc1(enquiry), resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 02/09/2009

• Illuminations: Mathematics Lesson Plans and Resources

  8/2/09 - over 100 activities, more than 500 lesson plans, plus web links to support teaching across the full mathematics curriculum.

  tags: mathematics, planning, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 01/25/2009

• Random Teaching Idea Generator

  24/1/09 - Now I wish I had invented this myself! Click the button for another of the 2,500 teaching ideas, methods and activities. Very highly recommended.

  tags: 5-star, best_of_the_web, all.subjects, resources, ideas, ict.tools

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 01/18/2009

• Ideas for integrating ICT

  17/1/09 - integrating ICT across the curriculum

  tags: ICT.Coordinator, resources, planning, ideas, ict

• Mind42.com: Stuff that's useful to teachers

  17/1/09 - list of technology / websites for teachers, including podcasting guide.

  tags: ICT.Coordinator, podcasting, Training

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 01/04/2009

• Up to 15 teachers a day call in sick… « Teachinglinks.co.uk

  3/1/09 - My response to the Independent article bookmarked today.

  tags: education.facts, news, comment

• Up to 15,000 teachers a day phone in sick - Education News, Education - The Independent

  3/1/09 - See also my response at http://teachinglinks.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/up-to-15-teachers-a-day-call-in-sick/ - bookmarked separately

  tags: education.facts

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Updates 01/02/2009

• 40 Unusual Websites you should Bookmark

  1/1/2009 - All kinds of web tools and distractions.

  tags: ict.tools, ict, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.