Five on Friday

1.  Topics in Google Classroom-Recently a teacher asked me if there was a way to filter or sort posts in Google Classroom.  For example, could students pull up just the posts from each of the nine weeks?  Or perhaps, could they pull up Ancient Greece or Ancient China?  At the time of the question, I was not aware of any way of tagging posts.  I was wrong.  

Toward the end of last summer Google added a feature to Classroom that I have not had an opportunity to explore until now:  Google Topics.  When you are creating a post or assignment in Google Classroom you can give it a topic.  Then every post that falls under that same topic gets tagged with that topic.  Google then creates a "Table of Contents" that remains on the left side of your Classroom Stream page.  Really cool feature, Google!

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2.  Google Keep is my go-to app for writing short notes and setting reminders for myself. I've also used it as a mindmapping tool from time to time. If you have Google Keep on your phone you can even draw notes in the app. 
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​To draw a note just open the app and tap the pen icon to start drawing. You can also add a drawing to a text, image, or voice note. To add drawings to an existing note tap the three dots in the upper-right corner of the screen and select "add drawing."

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3.  Math is Fun is a free website that offers math games, puzzles, and tutorials. One of the tutorial resources that they offer is an illustrated mathematics dictionary. The Math is Fun dictionary offers more than 700 definitions of mathematics terms. All of the definitions include an illustration. Nearly 200 of the definitions include an animation. Some of the animations are interactive tutorials.

​For some students one of the obstacles to understanding how to solve a mathematics problem is understanding the vocabulary used in the problem. Once they understand the meaning of terms they have an easier time understanding and solving the problems. Having a glossary of terms often helps students get to the heart of a mathematics problem.

​If you are a math teacher, this would be a great link to add to your website!

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4.  Histography is an impressive interactive timeline spanning today through the beginning of recorded history. The timeline is divided into fifteen categories including war, politics, discoveries, inventions, and art. To explore the timeline select one of the categories listed on the Histography website then adjust the timeline slider to see events from the range of dates that you've selected. After choosing a category and date range you can click on dots in the timeline to see pop-up boxes containing event titles, representative pictures, and a link to a Wikipedia page about the event.

All points on the Histography timeline are based on Wikipedia entries, but don't let that discourage you from using it. I think viewing and manipulating the Histography timeline could be a good way for students to discover events and topics that they otherwise might not find in a typical history textbook. That process of exploring the timeline could lead students to further investigate an event or topic outside of the Wikipedia entry.

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5.  Friday at the Movies- Check out the first video below.  Is this what you think of when you hear this nursery rhyme?  

Most people do.  However, earlier this week I was chatting with a friend (about politics cause who doesn't talk politics these days)  and we somehow got on the topic of nursery rhymes. That prompted us to Google search for an explanation of the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme. We stumbled on a YouTube channel called Nursery Rhyme History that I have now fallen in love with! The channel offers sixteen short videos explaining the origins of common nursery rhymes including one of my childhood favorites, Jack and Jill.  Being a lover of history and literature, I just HAD to share this site with you!

If I were teaching history I would definitely use these videos in class to share how news was passed around in older times when the common people didn't read.