January Features from Internet 4 Classrooms

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: Digital Learning: 5 Ways It Changed Education

Digital Learning: 5 Ways It Changed Education

This month's blog is Digital Learning: 5 Ways It Changed Education.

Digitalization and new technologies have certainly changed the world, including the way we learn and educate. These changes have been really good in connecting students and teachers and helping them find new ways to integrate learning into their daily lives.

Guest blogger Sherie Raymond works as a business writer and editor at Academicbrits.com and OriginWritings.com. When she has free time, Sherie likes to do yoga.

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 Tynker: Coding Games for Kids By Tynker ( iOS (iPad only) and Android ).

Tynker is the #1 Kids Coding platform! Over 60 million kids and thousands of schools use Tynker's award-winning curriculum to learn coding.

Strengthen your child's educational foundation with step-by-step tutorials that teach kids coding in a way they enjoy. Your child will learn as they build games and apps, modify Minecraft, program drones, and even explore STEM.

Whether your child loves Minecraft or Barbie™, Tynker offers coding courses to teach them key programming skills.

Learn to code with Tynker:

AWARDS

• Parents' Choice Gold Award
  
• Academics' Choice Award
  
• Tillywig Brain Child Award
  
• Selected for Everyone Can Code program by Apple
  
• Editor's Choice, Children's Technology Review
  
• Rated 5 stars for Engagement, Common Sense Media
  
• Featured by Apple in Education, Kids, and Best New Apps
  
• Rated "Best for 8-14" by USA Today
  

CODING GAMES

• Learn to code by playing puzzles and games
  
• Use block coding to create games, math art, apps, and more
  
• Use loops, conditional statements, functions, and subroutines to find treasure
  
• Learn sequencing and pattern recognition while collecting candy
  
• Animate creatures and code their behaviors
  
• Switch between block coding and Swift
  
• Solve coding puzzles using Swift programming
  
• Learn programming for AR games and apps
  

CRYSTAL CLASH — NEW Battle your friends with code. Write code to cast fireballs, avoid incoming spells, and collect power-ups. Program your hero to victory and climb the leaderboard in this new multiplayer coding arena game!

ROBOTICS PROGRAMMING

• Learn to code drones, minidrones, Sphero, Ollie, LEGO® WeDo, and more
  
• Program drone flight paths and stunts
  

MINECRAFT CODING

• Design Minecraft skins, items, mobs, and blocks – and then launch them!
  
• Use coding to change mob behaviors and build instant structures
  

LEARNING WITH BARBIE™

• Explore 6 careers with Barbie™ "You Can Be Anything"
  
• Use programming to animate characters, create music, and more
  
• Learn how programming can be used in all parts of life
  

COMMUNITY CODING EDUCATION

• Learn coding with our library of courses and activities
  
• Search millions of community-generated coding projects
  
• Tynker works in conjunction with Apple's Schoolwork app
  

CODE AT SCHOOL

• Teach with the app used in 80,000+ schools
  
• Take advantage of coding lesson plans, classroom management, automatic assessment, and more
  
• Add coding to any subject with our STEM coding courses
  
• Great for the Hour of Code!
  

Tynker's coding games teach kids important lessons and skills. Program drones, Minecraft mods, games, and more with Tynker.

What is Tynker? Tynker is a complete learning system that teaches kids to code. Kids begin experimenting with visual blocks, then progress to JavaScript, Swift, and Python as they design games, build apps, and make incredible projects. Over 60 million kids around the world have started coding with Tynker.

Computer programming is an important 21st century skill that kids can start learning at any age. While coding with Tynker, kids apply skills such as critical thinking, pattern recognition, focus, problem solving, debugging, resilience, sequencing, spatial visualization, and algorithmic thinking. The Tynker visual language makes it easy for them to learn and apply concepts like conditional logic, repetition, variables, and functions – the same coding concepts as any mainstream programming language.

Tynker is available for Apple and Android devices.

Compatibility: Requires iOS 8.0 or later on Apple iPad and Android version 4.0 and up 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. 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.


5. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (1/21)
   
   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







6. 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.


7. 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.


8. 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!




9. 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 Made Available in AUGUST!

We have released many new online quizzes during the last months 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 the newest 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 Made Available in AUGUST!

We have released thousands of new printables worksheets during the last months 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 the newest worksheet sets by grade.

New- Answer Keys




New Worksheet Answer Keys Made Available in AUGUST!

We have released thousands of new answer keys for our printables worksheets during the last months 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 the newest 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. 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.


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


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


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


8. Remember to visit our Teacher Tools section! This home page contains all the topics you 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. 18 Good Chromebook Apps for Teachers:
   For those of you using Chromebooks in the classroom, Educators Technology has put together a strong collection of applications to try out with your students. These are tools that will enable you to: create timelines, design educational videos and tutorials, make beautiful posters for your class, engage students in digital storytelling activities, and gather students' feedback for formative assessment purposes and many more. The article features an infographic and links to the apps are included in a table placed under the visual.
   
   Learn more in the article found: HERE


2. Why These 10 Less Popular Apps Rock Your Chromebook Classroom:
   Teaching is about inspiring, creating geniuses, reaching goals and engaging students to go higher. There are so many amazing apps for Chromebooks in the universe of the internet that help you to achieve this. Almost too many. Lucie Renard make a good selection of 10 of the lesser known Chromebook apps. Learning apps that will have you swept off your feet!
   
   Learn more by visiting: HERE.


3. Teaching Kids of All Ages How to Code:
   What is wonderful about learning to code is that anyone can do it. You don't even need to be sitting at a computer! The basics of computer coding rely on patterning and sequencing. These are excellent critical thinking skills that are the backbone of many disciplines including science. Learning to code allows us to take a science and technology skill and create something new.
   
   You can find out more: 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!