Ilyssa+Leeper

Technology Sources

Puzzlemaker is a puzzle generation tool for teachers, students and parents. Create and print customized word search, criss-cross, math puzzles, and more—using your own word lists for FREE. I like this website because it is easy to use and customize your own puzzles. I also like that the puzzles go beyond just word searches and crossword puzzles, but you can also make other types of puzzles. I would be able to use this program in my classroom to create puzzles that relate to the work in the classroom. I can even give students the address and let them make their own puzzles too. I think that this is a great resource to have. ** RubiStar ** is a free tool to help teachers create quality rubrics. I like this website because it is user friendly and allows teachers to create and customize rubrics. They are also able to save them and access them from any computer. This is a great tool, especially when you might want to update or change the rubric. This program can easily be used in the classroom to create rubrics for projects and presentations that the students complete. Even, if you don’t use their program to create the rubric, it can give you good ideas about the criteria you want to include.
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It’s My Life is a great resource where students can access information about Friends, Family, School, Body, Emotions and Money. I like this website because it is built for tweens and teens to learn about important topics in a fun way made just for them. There are videos and games as well as reading and interviews. The website really relates to this age group and focuses on important issues that all teens are dealing with. I would use this in my classroom as a resource when discussing the topics covered on the site. There is so much information and fun games available to the students that they can gain a lot out of it and it would hold their attention.
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4. [] The parents/teachers sections “It’s My Life” on the PBS website provides important resources to parents and teachers about Friends, Family, School, Body, Emotions and Money. I like this website because it has great ideas for discussions and lessons for teens on these topics. They break the information down so that it isn’t too much to handle at one time. They have lesson plans on several topics including Bullies, Drug Abuse , Eating Disorders , Home Alone , Making Money , Smoking , Sports Participation , and Time Management. I would use this website in my classroom to give me ideas on how to present information to the students. This website also provides some valuable discussion questions. This can be useful when presenting these topics to a class.

5. [|www.fitday.com] FitDay is a free online diet & fitness journal. Fit Day allows the user to input the food they ate and produce charts and graphs about the food they consumed and the nutrients it provides. You can set nutrient goals and even track you mood based on what you ate. I think that this could be a really great tool for students in a Food and Nutrition class. They would be able to learn and reflect on what they ate and hopefully change their lifestyle and make more healthy decisions.

6. [] MyPyramid offers personalized eating plans and interactive tools to help you plan and assess your food choices based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. I like this website because there are endless amounts of activities and resources. You can determine your own personal pyramid plan, calculate the cost of raising a child, and even play games relating to the food pyramid. Every time I am on this site I find more things to see and do. I think this is a great resource for students to be aware of and use. They can use their own information to create their own pyramid to help them make better food choices. There are even activities focusing on just teens. This is a great way for students to learn about nutrition and improve their own habits.

7. [] This website has a lot of information on Family and Consumer Sciences as well as lesson ideas. I like this website because practically every topic in our curriculum is focused on and has accompanying material. I would use this in my classroom to help come up with ideas for lessons and other information about FACS.

8. [] Your source for the most up-to-date nutritional information on your favorite fast food for dieting and weight control; sugar levels for diabetics; carbs (carbohydrate) for low-carb dieters; and health & nutrition class projects for students and teachers. I like this source because you can find out nutrition information at virtually any fast food restaurant. I think it is important for people to know the facts before ordering the food. I would use this in my classroom to point out to students how important it is pay attention to nutrition facts and try to eat the most healthful foods they can. I think that this website can open a lot of eyes and help students recognize how fast food might not always be the best choice.

9. [] The Food Detectives Fight BAC!® game gives kids a fun way to learn about foodborne illness. More and more, foodborne illness is making news headlines. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), foodborne illnesses in the United States affect millions of people and cause thousands of deaths every year. The CDC says 300,000 people are hospitalized every year. I like this game because it is a really fun way to focus on food safety. It teaches them about keeping things clean, cooking and storing food properly and separating raw meat from foods that are ready to eat or won’t be cooked before serving. I would use this in my classroom to reinforce food safety skills. This is a very important topic for students to understand before cooking in the kitchens and the more reinforcement the better. I think that this is a really fun way for them to “practice” what they have learned.

10. [] Spot The Block is a website about reading food labels for kids. There are videos, music, games, and information. I like this website because it presents a somewhat dry topic in a very fun colorful and animated way. It is a great resource for students to explore and learn from. I would use this in my classroom by playing the songs or having the students play the games. They could even do it home as a reinforcement to the lesson.