Olympic Resources for Kids (and Teachers)

Poetry and Biographys

Poetry:

• Blog of Poems - http://gottabook.blogspot.com/
• Poetry Blog written for kids. Ideas & tips for writing http://www.poetryforkidsjoy.blogspot.com/
• Rhyming dictionary - http://www.poetry4kids.com/rhymes
• Poetry in Classrooms - http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/

Biographies:

• Encylopedia Britannica Online, Elementary Edition http://school.eb.com/levels/elementary
• Famous Texans on Lone Star Junction http://www.lsjunction.com/misc/cites/cites.htm
• Author’s on the Web http://people.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/authors.html

Writing Websites

JIT Literacy Tech Resources - writing, drawing, mindmaps

Blabberize

A great way to publish student's work is through Babberize.  Instead of writing, they are recording!  Students find a image, upload it, trace the mouth, then record what they want it to say. Great for biographies, reports about characters, sharing original writing, or asking questions.    Check out these great talking animals from Old town Elementary at http://oldtowntech.edublogs.org/?s=blabberize

Other classroom examples are listed here http://web20.wicomico.wikispaces.net/Blabberize

Here is a a quickguide to get you started Blabberizing!

Make Writing Interactive

Teachers and Parents, make reading and writing interactive the following websites:
- Build a Story Cube on a story they are creating , or one that they have read with Cube Creator at http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/cube_creator/
- Visualize the character by creating one at http://www.doppelme.com/
- Create the scene at http://sketch.odopod.com/
- Create a story at http://www.artofstorytelling.org/kiosk/

Writing and Drawing

Happy Valentine’s Day to all you writers and artists. Use these tools to help create your fairytales, create friends and draw something special. These sites are great for young writers and artists of any age!

Set the Mood
Key parts of writing is setting the stage. Use these free online sites to create a photo collage with images that capture the mood of a story your are reading or writing.
• Photovisi: http://www.photovisi.com/ - Online Photo Collage
• Picture Trail: http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/flicks/sample - Online Photo Flick Slideshow

Draw the Scene
Using the descriptions from the story, draw your interpretation of the important places in the story. Explain their significance.
• Odo Sketch: http://sketch.odopod.com/ - Draw your own charcoal drawing. Click play and have it replay the drawing!
• Picture a Story: http://www.artofstorytelling.org/kiosk/ - Choose your Genre, Choose your characters, add props and record your story!
• DoInk: http://www.doink.com/ - Create animation and Make your own friends! What could be better?

PicLits

www.piclits.com  This is a cool site and great way to have students get creative with poetry, complete sentences, keywords and more.  Users have a chance to matches images with carefully selected keywords or can write "freestyle".  Check it out with your students, and create your own PicLit!

See the full PicLit at PicLits.com