Games

BrainPOP []

Brainpop provides many educational videos and games to play on a variety of academic subjects. Math, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies are justa few of the main topics covered. Though this is a subscription site, free movies and games are available to the public in each of the core area addressed. The characters are funny and inviting and children get excited to navigate the site and take on the short quizzes, vocabulary words, and games. This site is easy to navigate and is searchable by topic. It is suitable for students ages K-12 when including it’s sister site [|www.brainpopjr.com] for the younger students. Emily Bryce Fernandes

Sheppard Software http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/

Sheppard Software offers many education games for students from PreK-8th. They cover all topics and are actually a lot of fun. (My state capital knowledge is pretty good but turns out my knowledge of plant cells could use some work!) The graphics are fun, but more than that students will receive a 'grade' being informed of what they've missed, a great way for students to learn without the typical worksheet. There are also fun games that are not topic related, called Brain Games. These are a fun way for students to relax but use their brains at the same time. A combination of games that reinforce teacher taught subjects and fun games would give the students an opportunity to do their work and play at the same time, and the fun games could be used for incentives.This can be used in the classroom or in the library. The subject games would be extra practice and help librarians could direct students to, and the fun games could be used as incentives in the library as well.--- Lauren Robertson

Fun School []

Fun School is an interactive website with numerous educational games for elementrary students from science to math to geography. This website would be good for elementary students because it is colorful, clean and fun to look at with minimal advertising. It uses fun, catchy titles to grab the students' attention. In addition, it provides a place for parents and teachers to access all the games and printables which are specific to what the students are studying. Their vast educational game library is perfect for helping those struggling students understand difficult concepts by showing it in a different way. Kay Revell

RIF Reading Planet

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This website allows users to illustrate a story, write creatively and share their writing, play word games (in multiple languages), write collaborative stories, discover more information about authors and illustrators, watch and listen to animated stories and songs, contact authors and illustrators, rate and review books, browse booklists, and create wish lists of books. I would incorporate this website into a school library setting by allowing users to contact authors and illustrators, rate and review books, and create a wish list for books that they desire the library to purchase. Also, students would be given the opportunity to publish their own private works and contribute to others writing if they desired. Book reviews and ratings could be posted in the library based on what students shared on the website.

Susan DeLuna

TumbleBooks [|http://www.tumblebooks.com]

On this interactive website students can select from hundreds of e-books to be read aloud to them while they follow along. One of my favorite elements of this website is that many of the stories are read with emotion, feeling and emphasis, so it will especially help students who are struggling with fluency and reading with expression. In a library I would use this either as a whole group or small group activity where I choose a book to have read to the students and then discuss it with them using various comprehension questions and strategies. I would also utilize the website as an independent activity for students either to use in the library or to recommend to teachers and parents to use with their students in the classroom and at home. After the students read a story the site also offers puzzles and games to support the vocabulary from the story and build their comprehension skills. You can get a free trial for this site but then the school or district would need to purchase a license to use the website. Ashley Nichols

PhET Simulations []

These simulations are amazing for use in a math or science classroom. They can be used to emphasize a new concept, like refraction, or the bending of light in physics, or to introduce a new concept, like electric circuits. The students love to play with the different moveable and interactive parts and it is easier for a teacher to do a lab this way, if supplies or time are limited. I love that the lessons could be made on a middle school, high school or college level. There are also lots of teacher resources attached to each simulation. These lessons can be downloaded and changed based on the teacher's needs. The lessons are uploaded by other teachers and inspected by the people at the University of Colorado. I love these games and the students will too.

Allison Salgado

Arcademic Skill Builders: Online Educational Games http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/

This is one of my favorite educational game websites. I've used it in my classroom, the school's computer lab and library. As the name suggests, Arcademic combines the concept of arcade video games with educational instruction technology. These multiplayer games are highly engaging and cover the basic skills in the content areas of mathematics, language arts, reading, vocabulary, and critical thinking. The repetitive nature of the games helps to accelerate students' mastery of targeted skills (e.g., math facts) in a fun environment; this lends itself to extended on-task behavior. The math races are excellent. My ESL students especially benefited from these games, which helped them to master their multiplication facts. Students can set games in private mode (where only those students who know the password can play) or public mode (where any student connected to the Internet can play). This makes for a great math workstation or for independent practice.

Karim T. Aldridge-Rand