Open Education Week

I didn't find anything pertaining to the area in which I assistant teach, which is Cosmetology. However, I found some resourses on UDL which I am currently taking some courses on. One that I found was using video for UDL and personalizing the reading experience by editing display options and using text to speech.  

I also found a resource for counselors and any educators on positivity that we all can use. It is 101 ways to start your day in a positive way https://www.oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/70726/overview

Well jeez, you definitely hit one of the few topics that are not covered!  I'm sorry.  Maybe you can help us fix that 😁

I love the 101 Ways to Start Your Day resource and totally agree, it can help everyone!  Thanks.

This sounds cool - I see the link but where did you "discover" it under?

Hi Kelley, great question!  When you see a resource like this there is a details menu on the right side.  To back track to where it was discovered you can look at the material type, in this case it is in the teaching/learning strategies! I've added a screenshot for reference.  Thanks!

I found some interesting items specific to digital literacy and computer knowledge (career and technical education).  I am a technology trainer in higher education and am responsible for training the faculty as well as students in technology tools, best practices, etc.

Hi Bonnie, 

I'm so glad you found some resources that you like!  It looks like you saved them to the Group, I would hate to have you lose them.  To save them in My Items you can do the following:

• go to our group home page
• check the box in the resource next to the title
• Create a Folder
• Save in My Items

I did that also!  So sorry I saved to the group too!  Should I go in and remove what I think I saved or do you (as group owner?). Thanks - Bonnie

No problem Bonnie!  I will remove them from the group, just wanted to make sure you had them first.  Thanks!

I chose to look at elementary math.  I taught 3rd grade but am currently home with my kids, one of whom is a 3rd grader doing cyber school this year, so I was looking for some resources that I could use with her to supplement that would also be useful when I go back in the classroom.  I really liked the games and simulations material types, because kids love to play games to practice but sometimes it can be hard to find ones for certain concepts that really are effective in providing practice.  One I found that looked especially fun was called "Muggins Mania", which looks like a fun game to make expressions and equations using dominoes.  One neat thing about this is that included worksheets as a pre-activity and post-activity, as well as lots of variations for the game to change the difficulty or practice different concepts.  

Wow Jennifer, that is awesome, kids learn so much from playing games!  If you are on Facebook there is a group called Maths Resource Hoarder (I found the name interesting, apparently the US is one of the few places that says Math instead os Maths). There is a lot of good stuff there.  Our session tomorrow will have some resourses too!  Thanks.

Thanks for sharing about the games.  My students would definitely benefit from extra practice in a fun way!

I chose math and then narrowed that down to middle school and perused content by looking at specific types of resouces, games, activity/lab were the two that most piqued my interest.

I found a great 7th grade math site, from University of Texas, Inside Mathematics.  This bascially is an entire curriculum package!  Videos, problems, examples.....great resouces for distance learning.  I also thought A+ math clicks was pretty cool and would be a quick and easy way to start class or do a warm up/brain break/etc.  The solutions are right there - only thing is since it is multiple choice (the ones I messed with anyway) that might encourage just guessing instead of figuring.

Material type most helpful for me is probably the activity/lab since that can really get the kids engaged and applying what they've learned, or doing some discovery before a formal lesson.

Hi Kelley,

Yes, there are so many great options!  Sounds like you are already planning in your head.  I also recommend checking out CK-12, it is a free digital flexbook.  It is totally customizable and easy to use, great option for interactive engagment.  Thanks!

I am a certified secondary Science/Biology teacher, but I currently work as a curriculum coordinator and support our K-12 Art, Music, and PE designers. I found a really neat lesson that combines my love of insects and all that I am learning as I support our art team!

Insect Anatomy and the Scientist as Illustrator

Because my team creates lessons in art, music, and pe that are housed in our LMS, the material types I found most helpful are illustrations and lesson plans.

Wow Stefanie, you cover a lot of content.  What LMS do you use?  I'm glad you found something that matches your passion (interesting that it is insects, lol)! Thanks!

Hi Tracy!

I work for Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA) and we actually have our own LMS, edio. I support the designers who create our lessons in art, music, and PE. It's gives me the chance to really explore and experience a lot of content and I really enjoy it! 

I went perusing with an open mind, and pretty quickly, I found a resource on resume building for 11th graders. I began working with a few colleagues and district partners on a resume workshop for our online high school students just last week! This will be great to explore and maybe use in the workshop!

Awesome Dave, resume building is so important!  Great timing!  Thanks!

I browsed resources under English Language Arts. I found a "Creating Character Blogs" project that I can use in both middle and high school classes. With this project, students get step-by-step directions for creating their blogs. Not only will students practice their writing skills and mix in creativity, but they will also practice giving constructive peer feedback! 

I looked at the math and thought A+ math was cool. I want to spend additional time looking at other educational areas as well.

I searched for math items. I love some of the resources from Texas and New York. They are like entire curriculums so it's easy to find something I can use. I need to search around some more and find some math games. My students are really receptive to practicing using games. 

I chose History and found a full unit resource on the "Causes of the American Revolution." It includes graphics and explanations of the period of time that are grouped into lesson topics.

I found the lessons to be a great resource because the content can be used as a direct supplement to similar curriculum.

The subject area I chose was primary math.  This resource is used to to mark the 100th day of school with math activities. It Challenges students to generate 100 different ways to represent the number 100. Students will easily generate 99 + 1 and 50 + 50, but it encourages them to think out of the box.

It challenges them to include examples from all of the NCTM Standards strands: number sense, numerical operations, geometry, measurement, algebra, patterns, data analysis, probability, discrete math. 

The materialo type tht was most helpful was the activity/lab type style of activity. 

Hi!  I chose to look up resorces for the 13 colonies.  I found a gem!  I have struggled before finding resorces online that students can research from that includes easy to read text, good accurate information and little to no ad pop- ups.  I found a whole project with links incuded, interactive maps and even a rubric to grade the final project. 

I teach 7th grade English, and my focus is on the writing standards. I found the 100 word memoir resource that I think would be wonderful for my advanced students. I loved the examples that were included so that my students would have a clear idea of what I am expecting them to do when they write their own. This is a good mini-lesson that I could use to help them focus on telling a story in just a few words.

I explored the Business and Communication tab.  I teach middle school level computer applications so I felt like it was the topic that could have computer resources.  It examined a project called "Computer Buying Project."  I have students who are interested in what they need in a computer when they buy a new one or build one themselves.  The activities or homework assignments would be useful in my class.

I looked under English Language Arts and I searched the term "short story" because I teach short stories in all of my English classes.  I found a unit plan that has 28 lessons; many of the lessons involved reading and writing.  Sometimes I struggle finding material that students will be excited about, so I think it was cool to find a unit with so many different lesson ideas.

I chose "mathematics" and more specifically "numbers and operations."  I found a remote learning plan on multiplying fractions using models.  It seems like less plans are the most helpful when I search. Some of the links to games don't work because Cool Math apparently still utilizes Flash Player...

I looked in Mathematics under linear equations and found a lesson that works for a solid review of the concept and has links to different Desmos activities.  I did use one of the activities before, so that was nice.

I chose ELA then searched within Language, Grammar, and Vocabulary. I choose Game and typed in Nouns. I really liked "Nouns and Its Kinds" since it had links to four different games that each focused on different skills pertaining to nouns. 

I found this too and thought about trying it in my classroom during independent centers. I found some other ELA concepts similar to it to try also.

The subject are I chose was Algebra. I currently push into inclusion math with my special ed students and having extra resources to work on skills with is alwyas a plus. I searched and looked up lessons within ck12. I found this most useful since it gives the students another avenue to explore math through and not just paper and pencil activities. 

I started by doing a search by language to find anything in French.  The very first one I clicked on I liked immediately and have saved it.  It is a unit of lessons based on French songs with comprehension activities and lyrics and a link to the song video.  The very first one is a song that could be used in any class as it is a nonsense song made up of common French words that even the novice learner might recognize.  This strikes me as a great way to end a class duing the first week of school.  Using this resource probably saved me a lot of time as the work is already done for you.  Students also ask for songs a lot and it is just hard to find and takes a lot of time to sift through songs to find something appropriate.

I teach reading in grades K-5. I found a resource called Shapes and Sight Words. I like that it incorporated geometry into the reading lesson. I found that lesson plans were the most helpful material type.

I'm a school counselor and I didn't think I would find as many resources as I did because I didn't see anything under the categories at first. But once I used the search tab, I found a lot of great resources. I explored resources in feelings and found some great ideas. 

I teach grades 7 and 8, mathematics. I found some resources with practical applications that I think will be helpful. 

The area I chose to search was life science, then filtered for biology. I found an interesting game called "Bug Hunt" that I could use with students to demonstrate how various factors impact populations of living things.

I'm sorry. I'm not seeing a place where I can add my own response to this discussion, even though I joined the group.   I am a Computer Science/Technology teacher.  I decided to look under Technology Education.  I like that there are tutorials for Java script. I, personally, am not that familiar with Java, but some of my students are.  These resources would allow us both to learn.  I also loved that they had specific resources for hte 4 C's.

I explored the science resource for K-4 content. Wow, such a plethora of subjects. As I scrolled through all the resources, I was taking careful notice at locating units that I have to teach. Specifically, I searched for "space" information as this is an upcoming unit. I was impressed with the resource of stars and the Milky Way galaxy especially as the resource included the lesson plan and background knowledge.

I searched for resources related to social emotional learning.  I was able to find a few resources that would be useful to use in my PreK classroom.  This resource includes the first part of a 2-week activity designed to teach Social-Emotional Learning and build relationships in the classroom through gamification.

As I teach 8th grade English, I looked under the "English Language Arts" category using the filter education level for middle school and high school. I found a great resource for using primary sources along with Sherman Alexie's book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I wanted to use some primary sources when I was using this book in one of my units, but I couldn't find any. Now I have some great options for next year!

Autism resources!  

I found: Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders- it gives a nice overview of autism. 

I teach all subjects in an alternative education setting to students in 7-12th grade.  Everything that I see can be applicable to one of my classes at some point.  I didn't realize the immmensity of the information available.  I will say that it seems much better than just doing a Google search for a topic.  

I used the hub "We the People" and discovered a collection of civics and history resources that I will be able to incorporate into both my Civics class (grades 10-12) and my American History class (grade 8).  This particular provides materials to help better understand the Constitution and American's civic rights and responsibilities.

One resource I found that I will definitely be using is StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators Curriculum Lesson 2. Voter Suppression: Literacy Tests. 

I teach 1st grade and looked at the math. My class always build gingerbread houses around the holiday and I found really cute activities to go with gingerbread men, along with snowmen, snowflakes, and other fun graphs and glyphs.

I found some useful resources at the elementary level and UDL.

In the mathematics tab I was able to narrow down a lesson about describing 2D shapes without using shape names. This is a great skill for kindergarten just to get them used to thinking about the parts of a shape.   It gave step by step instuctions on how to introduce, teach and assess the students. 

I liked looking through the lessons.  They really provided some nice activities that I could implement in addition to the activities I usually do.

I teach young students who need time to practice math facts with fun activities.  I searched through and found a few games that might intereste a few of them.  I was not impressed as there was not much available.  Years ago I taught computers to elementary children and there was a good amout of drill and practice software availalbe, I was hoping to find something along these lines.

The subject that I chose was mathematics, specifically geometry in a Middle School setting. I work in a learning support setting with students who will be taking the PSSA's, however the content is too high for the learning levels. So, i found a resource that was a more hands on activity for students to work on what an angle is and how to manipulate angles.

I find games or more hands on for student activities the most helpful. Like I said, the content of most information learned is too high for my students learning, so having a hands on activity or game encourages them to continue to learn in a way that is more interesting to them and they can gain knowledge they might not have been able to in a lecture type setting.

I found a good resource dealing with forging, I'm currently covering a unit on metal forging with my shop students.  The resource that I found has information regarding the tools/equipment, processes, and chemical reactions involved in the forging process.  There was some useful graphics and diagrams that I found benificial as well. 

I teach science and found a resource on the parts of a cell. The resource gave key vocabulary, KWL chart, bell ringer ideas, and showed pictures of different models of cells that students can make using edible materials.  I found this very helpful and would usei it to accompany my lesson on cells.

I was pleasantly surprised with the number of FCS resources available. I also teach a general careers course and found a lot of great content for that topic as well. 

I teach Kindergarten and I found great resources for incorporating a Science-Space theme into my classroom.

I chose Reading/LA for lower primary. I found a lesson with -or, ore, oar spelling patterns. I loved how it provided a video for the kids. Explicit instruction of this spelling pattern was taught...I loved that! Very nice!

I went into the collections tab and found the Power Library site.  I explored the items about the United States that allowed the students to complete various charts related to information that they were to learn about each state.  I liked the site becasue I was able to find many facts about the state that I chose to research.  Great way to learn information about each individual state.

I teach health and physical education. I found it difficult to find good resources for specifically my content area. I did find one activity that would be fun to do if we had the resources at our district.

Outdoor Education- Orienteering Lessons

I found this one to be the most helpful because it was an actual lesson. It would be a fun lesson to introduce outdoor education and map reading skills. Some of the resources just provided links to other sources. I liked that I could follow this as if it were a sub plan and outlined all the standards, directions and materials needed.

I explored a STEM activity "Anatomy of an Apple" for PreK-1st Grade. The lesson plan included a variety of activitiessuch as  literacy connections, songs, poetry, science explorations, and diagram labeling.  It seemed like a well- organized and age-appropriate resource.  The Material Type that I found most seful was the Activity/Lab because I like to include hands-on learnning components in my lessons.

I looked at Elementary Mathematics, since I am a Special Education teacher for 5th/6th grade students.  I found a lot of activities that could be useful, particularly one about solving two-step word problems.  My students struggle with this concept, so now I have a different place to look for more resources.

As a first grade teacher, I was able to find a fun phonemic awareness activity relating to the story Seven Fat Cats. It seems like something I could use with a small group that is focusing on this skill! 

I chose English Language Arts for my subject area. The resource I liked was 100 Word Memoir. In this resource, students looked at 100 Word Memoir as a mentor text and then tried to write their own 100 word memoir.

The Material Type I found most helpful was the assignment so I did not have to generate something.

I chose Social Studies and got the 50 Nifty United States.  I like the resource because it has a lot of things for the students to do.  It gave them an activity to name and talk about a new state that would be entering the United States.  The thing I liked the most was that students could find out about all 50 states.  Then they would need to choose states on different sides of the country and compare and contrast the two states they chose.   

I teach chemistry, so I searched resources for chemistry. I found some interesting hands on activities and AP chem videos. I think videos are very helpful as I do not have to make my own.

I chose English Language Arts and explored a lesson plan on the spelling patters "OR, OAR, and ORE".  I liked the way it had different visuals for the students, could be shared directly with the students,  and it had whole group and small group activity ideas incorporated throughout the lesson.

I discovered under performing arts an area called music tension & release. It's ways to help students hear how music stressing & releasing can effect a piece of music. I found everything in this particular area very helpful & look forward to teaching students with this the following school year!

I decided to look up information on Math and ELA.  I specifically looked up about the read aloud "Because of Winn Dixie" This is a read aloud book that I do with my classroom every year and the students absolutely love it.  There were a lot of helpful resources.  Once I see my new class, I am excited to utilize and come back to these materials. 

I chose Chemistry.  I looked at Beginning Chemistry.  It was broken down into 16 topics of learning and the timeline was about a quarter in order to give a basic understanding of what Chemistry is and how it impacts their life.  I like the Periodic Table resource.....although it several cool resources to look at.

I found a powerpoint slide presentation about nuclear chemistry.  I liked it because it was a really good overview of nuclear chemistry.

However, I like getting ideas for activities. In why I looked up there was not a lot of activities.

I chose to explore the math subject area.  I liked the resource "Modeling multi-step word problems_ball throws.  It takes a multi-step word problem and breaks it down into smaller steps with scaffolding and help along the way.  The material type I found most helpful was the lesson plans.

I teach middle school world history. I discovered a breakout lesson was created for a lesson on Ancient Greece

I chose science elementary science. I found NASA for students Kindergarten-4. I teach 4th grade.  This resource is loaded with ideas. NASA 2025 art contest. Students can dream up a space mission challenge and enter it. There are read alouds, computer games and activities, a make own sections wihic has step by step directions to make balloon noise maker and a cloud mobile. I also found a launch it section with step by step videos of how to make a mars helicopter and paper airplanes. Ebooks, podcasts, images, and a a NASA kids club.  So much fun and engaging information and activities that can be used in a classroom!