January 2016 Picks

January Blog | App of The Month | What's Happening |
New- Online Practice | New- Printables | New- Answer Keys |
Teacher Resources | Parent Resources | Technology Tips |
Other Areas of Interest | Common Core | SAT and ACT Test Preparation

January brings National Staying Healthy Month, MLK Day, National Puzzle Day, and much more. Visit our monthly newsletter to see all the details.

January Blog: 7 Collaboration Platforms which will Enable Students to Work on Group Projects Online

7 Collaboration Platforms which will Enable Students to Work on Group Projects Online

This month's blog 7 Collaboration Platforms which will Enable Students to Work on Group Projects Online discusses some of the best online applications which students can use to make working on group projects simpler. Our guest blogger Antonio Tooley, a consultant at the essay writing service EduGeeksClub, shares some of his favorite platforms that facilitate collaboration online. One of the platforms he recommends is GoogleDrive. Google's app makes it easy for a student to create a document or file and then invite their group members to edit it. For more tips from Tooley check out the rest of this month's blog.

App of the Month

Every month we are going to feature a different, and hopefully FREE, iPad/iPod/iPhone/Android educational application. Visit our ever-changing app page.

The App of the Month for January is GroupMe. GroupMe is a FREE messaging app available for all devices-even your computer. With GroupMe you can add anyone to a group via their phone number or email address. If they are new to GroupMe, they can start chatting over SMS immediately. Don't worry about getting notifications all the time, with GroupMe you can mute specific chats or even the entire app. Teachers can set up Classroom Notice chat groups for parents to stay connected, and parents can easily organize classroom celebrations in the app instead of playing email tag. With GroupMe the gallery for each group allows you to explore all of the photos and videos that have been shared in the group.

GroupMe is available for both Apple and Android devices, it is also available on the web.

Compatibility: Requires iOS 8.0 or later on Apple devices and varies depending on your Android device.

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS MONTH?

Here are some of the January events that you can celebrate or make note of this month:

1. National Staying Healthy Month - We're in the midst of cold and flu season - keep your students and yourself healthy! Here are some great tips for you to share to your classroom! Make sure to emphasize the importance of washing your hands and covering your mouth when you sneeze or cough!


2. Betsy Ross (1/1/1752)- Did you know that Betsy Ross sewed the first flag of the United States? I4C has printables and other resources to help students learn about the evolution of flag of the United States of America.


3. Louis Braille (1/4/1809) - Did you know that Louis Braille was blinded in a childhood accident and created the braille system when he was fifteen? I4C has resources for the visually impaired, including Braille and audio resources. Be sure to check out I4C's other Assistive Technology resources.


4. The iPhone Turns Nine (1/9) - On this day in 2007, the iPhone was announced! Find some interesting iPhone and iPad tips from Buzzfeed. Be sure to check out our Educational App page to find free apps to use in your classroom!


5. Benjamin Franklin's Birthday (1/17/1706) - Did you know that Ben Franklin invented the first American instrument, the glass armonica? Find out about other things that Franklin invented and contributed to from the Franklin Institute. Check out this great book recommendation for 6th grade about Ben Franklin. Lasalle University has a great Ben Franklin lesson plan for middle schoolers and Scholastic has a ton of Ben Franklin themed resources and lesson plans for all grade levels.


6. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (1/18) - Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in your classroom today! Learn about his life and his accomplishments, read and watch his 'I Have a Dream' speech, and learn about the Civil Rights Movement on our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. resource page


7. National Handwriting Day (1/23) - I4C has tons of handwriting resources for you to use in your classroom! We have a page for kindergartners with tons of handwriting worksheets. Help your students with uppercase and lowercase letters. We also have resources for your students to practice manuscript and cursive and handwriting help for students with ADHD.


8. Jackson Pollock's Birthday (1/28/1912) - Celebrate Jackson Pollock's birthday in your classroom today! Watch a short video about Pollock and read his biography. If you have a SMARTboard in your classroom, here is a great activity about action painting to do with your students! I4C also has art resources and lesson plans you can use in your classroom.


9. National Puzzle Day (1/29) - Work puzzles in your lesson plans today! I4C has word search and crossword puzzle makers and tons of brain teasers!


10. FDR's Birthday (1/30/1882) - Happy Birthday to President Franklin D. Roosevelt! Did you know he was the only president elected to four terms in office? Find teacher resources like curriculum guides and an interactive timeline from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and read and listen to some of his speeches and Fireside Chat radio addresses.

New- ONLINE PRACTICE AT I4C

Internet4Classrooms now offers Online Practice and Interactives, covering Kindergarten to Eighth Grade Common Core Mathematics. Look for a rapidly growing variety of thousands of practice quizzes tied to the Common Core State Standards, School Subjects, Activities, and Holidays.

Check out our Online Practice Quizzes! More grades and subjects coming soon!

New Online Practice Quizzes Available!

We have released many new online quizzes this month supporting the Common Core Standards.

Try them out, and then use them with your students as:

• Bell Ringers,
• In Class Assignments,
• Homework or
• Extra Credit.

Here is a list of new quizzes by grade.

New- COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS PRINTABLES AT I4C

Internet4Classrooms offers Printables, covering Kindergarten to Sixth Grade Mathematics. Look for a rapidly growing variety of thousands of practice worksheets tied to the Common Core State Standards, School Subjects, Activities, and Holidays.

Check out our Common Core Printables! More grades and subjects coming soon!

New Printables Worksheets Available!

We have released thousands of new printables worksheets this month supporting the Common Core Standards.

Try them out, and then use them with your students as:

• Bell Ringers,
• In Class Assignments,
• Homework or
• Extra Credit.

Here is a list of new worksheet sets by grade.

New- Answer Keys




New Worksheet Answer Keys Available!

We have released thousands of new answer keys for our printables worksheets this month supporting the Common Core Standards.

Remember that you can sign up for answer key access here: https://i4c.xyz/n89msyv.

Here is a list of new answer key sets by grade.







TEACHER RESOURCES



1. Many historical events happened this month which you can cover in your classroom. Check outI4C's History page for lesson plans, videos, activities, and other resources to supplement your lessons!


2. In need of project ideas for the second half of the school year? We have them: subject areas, inventors, biographies, middle/high school level projects, and countries and continents.


3. Keep your students and yourself healthy this cold and flu season! Here are some great tips to share with your students and their parents.


4. Be sure to check out I4C's collection of free educational iPhone and iPad apps!


5. National Handwriting Day-I4C has tons of handwriting resources for you to use in your classroom! We have a page for kindergartners with tons of handwriting worksheets, help for uppercase and lowercase letters, resources for your students to practice manuscript and cursive, and handwriting help for students with ADHD.


6. Looking for lesson plans to bring in the new year? We have a whole page dedicated to lesson plans by grades and subjects.


7. Are you using our Site Map? Don't forget it's an easy and quick way to search alphabetically by topic.


8. Remember to visit our Teacher Tools section! This home page contains all the topics you may need to use during the school year.


9. Go to our grade level help for lesson plans, activities, instructionals, and tools organized by grade and subject.



PARENT RESOURCES



1. Keep your children and yourself healthy this cold and flu season! Here are some great tips .


2. Work puzzles in to your day! I4C has word search and crossword puzzle makers and tons of brain teasers!


3. Want to reinforce a concept with your child? Check out our Grade Level Skill Help page for tons of resources in math and language arts covering a variety of topics.


4. Be sure to check out I4C's collection of free educational iPhone and iPad apps for you and your child!


5. You can always visit our Parent Resources page to get grade level practice sites, find online sources, and information pertaining to homework, special needs, reading help, and more.


6. Don't forget our Technology Tutorial section in case you need refresher courses in your computer skills.





TECHNOLOGY TIPS



1. Give Parents Access to Assignments : Don't forget about Blogging. You can create your own classroom web page, or use this month's app, so that your students will never be able to use the excuse they didn't know the assignment!


2. Quickly Type Website Addresses : You can use keyboard shortcuts to auto-complete a web address in your browser! After typing in the domain name, press CTRL+ENTER for ".com", SHIFT+ENTER for ".net", and CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER for ".org". Add ALT in any combination, it will not only auto-complete the web address but open the website in a new tab! More keyboard shortcuts here.


3. Search Within a Specific Site : Did you know you can narrow your search on Google by a type of site or with a specific site? Start your search with "site:", add the website you want to search, and then the terms you want to search for. You can do the same with .org and .edu sites - to search only .edu sites, type "site:.edu" and then your search terms. Find more Google search tips here and information about search engines here.






We also have other basic instruction in Microsoft Office, including Word 2007, Excel 2007, Powerpoint 2007.





OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST



1. Resources for Educators - In this section you can find classroom resources for Exceptional Children, Smartboards, Character Education, Web 2.0 Resources and other topics.
2. Resources for Parents - Parents can find resources
   on assisting their children with homework, time management, Internet Safety, subject area resources, grade level resources and more.




Common Core State Standards at I4C




Our Common Core State Standards are full of resources for every individual standard. Students can take control of their own learning by clicking on the page with the standard number, and choosing their own resource to practice that skill.




Check out our Common Core Math High School Algebra Standards, Common Core Math Standards, and Common Core ELA Standards.




SAT and ACT Test Preparation

Free Online Practice Resources for ACT Tests and SAT Tests! I4C now offers free SAT and ACT vocabulary and math quizzes. Join our SAT and ACT Test Preparation program and log in as much as you'd like. Students can take practice tests on 5000 vocabulary words or over 1000 math problems. Parents and Mentors can log in to monitor your scores - including seeing which vocabulary words that were missed. Interactive quizzes allow the test taker to retake and study as much as they want.




Sign Up Here for ACT Test & SAT Test Preparation!