A teacher at my school was interested in details of how to make good quality compost. Well, Tom and Barbara Goode do not have a patch on Andy and I, who are the proud owners of no less than 4 compost bins, which aid us in our venture of growing delicious organic veggies. To assist children (and not so green fingered adults) in knowing how to get the balance of oragnic materials right in your bin visit the Compost4Fun website... I kid you not about the title!
Someone was asking me about more animals in action websites for their science topic so here’s one from National Geographic Kids.
Choose your video and watch it online, click on the more tab for even more.
Also take a look at the National Geographic’s own video vault and its Animal Videos section.
I’ve had a look at lots of these and although the voiceover is distinctly American, the content is excellent. You may want to watch the piece yourself before showing it to your class, some of them have Mild Scenes of Peril!!
If you want to use the People and Travel section, please be aware that some of the subject matter may not be suitable.
From Learning and Teaching Scotland come there fab illustrations and photographs.
They’re free for any kind of educational use – whether you are a teacher creating topic worksheets or looking for ideas to spark creative writing, or a pupil who needs illustrations for a presentation or website. You can find them on the LTScotland Website – Royalty Free.
You can download them, print them off or use them online.
Copyright
I’ve checked with LTScotland and you can use these images for educational purposes without worrying about cost or copyright. All they ask is that you don’t sell them and that you credit LTS when you use them. Thanks to Tegwen Wallace of LTScotland for this information.
I’ve always been a fan of the way Dorling Kindersley present their books, maybe because I’m one of those visual learner types. Here’s DK Clip Art.
They’ve released some of their fabulous images FREE! Lots of catagories and once you’ve waded through the many different pictures, just choose the one you want, RIGHT CLICK, SAVE PICTURE AS and then save it to a folder! Couldn’t be easier.
The original Domesday book is now available online including the original latin text and it’s translation. The book detailed the landholdings and resources that belonged to the King William the Conqueror in 1086.
On the site you are able to search a place name and see the index entry made for the town, city or village.
The Focus on Domesday part of the project helps teachers and pupils find out more about the book itself.
The only downside is that you need to pay a one-off charge of £3.50 per location to get the full information, but to be honest it’s worth it.
With the huge explosion in iPods and other MP3 players over the last few years and the fact that Santa has just been visiting the children in your class, why not encourage the pupils to use their imaginations by downloading stories for them to put on their players? Try Storynory!
You can also subscribe to their podcasts and to their iTunes page (all free!)
For use at school and at home, Film Street has interactive activities, movie-making ideas and advice. Youngsters will be able to log on, choose a character and stroll around the virtual street. They can explore a film studio, costume shop, cinema, library and film academy to learn about editing, animation and special effects.
A Film Street cinema previews the latest releases and showcases short films from around the world. Children can also submit and check out their own films. A ‘Film Mag’ will feature events, interviews and competitions.
You have to register and log on to use it.
Bonjour, Comment ça va? This MFL site, is currently free to use (until April 2007) so make the most of it now! A Tantôt is an award winning languages site for KS2, KS3 and KS4, so if you’re doing French, Spanish or German have a go. It works really well on an interactive whiteboard.
On the Saachi Gallery Site they have a small but very easy to use paint program, it’s free of course, and by the look of the site they have competitions virtually every month. Take a look at the Artroom where you can paint and display your art online.
When you’re looking at local studies or even pondering about a specific location, try http://www.old-maps.co.uk. Not only does it give you a map from the 1889-1891 census but the chance to see an aerial shot of the location from 2001. If you use a Smart Board then capture the map and aerial shot onto a notebook page. Use the transparency tool to make the image at the front of the two slightly transparent and position one directly on top of the other image. Wow, you can now compare the growth and change of the area.
