URL of PLE: http://www.symbaloo.

com/mix/teaching118
Tool

Summary/ Purpose of
Tool

Rationale based on Research

Supportive research

Integration Ideas

WordSift

Students can type or

paste text and words
are sifted according
to frequency. Students
can see words
organized semantically

According to Diego Roman and

Kenji Hakuta, WordSift can help
students preview text and rapidly
scan for relevant and challenging
vocabulary (Roman 2016).

Roman, D. (2016).
Supporting Text
Comprehension and
Vocabulary
Development Using
WordSift. Retrieved
from Teaching
History website:
http://teachinghistor
y.org/teachingmaterials/englishlanguagelearners/24552

This would be great

for students to use
for projects, to
create a mini poster
or a
worksheet/handout.
Also I might use it
for a vocab list.

WordHippo

Defines words, shows

meaning, antonym,
pronunciation, a
rhyming word, puts
word in context, and
translates

Word Hippo is a vocab site that is

helpful quickly and in a variety of
different ways. According to
EnglishClub, Word Hippo is a
simple vocabulary resource that can
help when you have a quick
question (EnglishClub 2011).

Site of the Month.

(2011, August).
Retrieved from
EnglishClub
website:
http://www.lessonp
aths.com/learn/i/eng
lishclubcom-site-ofthe-monthwinners/word-hippo

I would use this

during class time, as
a way for students
to research
independently. This
could also be used
along with a
worksheet, that
could have the
student match
words to their
antonym or

meaning.
3

Lingro

Translates websites for

students, students can
click on a word to
have defintion shown
also.

This website is helpful for students

who want to learn another language
or for second language learners.
According to Lingo Education,
Students can learn another
language or build on preexisting
skills. They'll learn a few different
ways to study: They can try to read
an entire website in Spanish, for
example, stopping only to look up
words they don't know, or they can
review word lists they've created
using Lingo's online flashcards
(2013).

Lingro Educator
Review. (2013).
Retrieved from
CommonSense
Graphite website:
https://www.graphit
e.org/website/lingro

I would use this

resource for my
second language
learners who can
sometimes get
easily frustrated
when working on
research projects.

Shahi

Visual dictionary, nonlinguistic tool

Shahi is a online dictionary that

uses pictures to describe meaning.
According to Esengulov, some of
the cool features include: Cool
visual dictionary with photos from
the web, Combines Wiktionary
content with Flickr, Google and
Yahoo images, Search for word
definitions and expand the search
by clicking related terms (2009).

Esengulov, K. A.
(2009). Shahi:
Online Dictionary
with Pictures.
Retrieved from
Make Use Of
website:
http://www.makeus
eof.com/tag/shahivisiual-dictionarypi

I would use this in

the classroom
during an
independant
research time.
Because I have
found a lot of these
types of resources
(online dictionaries)
I would like to
include a lesson just
on research and
have students look
up the same word
using multiple
websites.

SnappyWords

Visual thesaurus

According to a review from

TeachersFirst, Snappy Words is a
easy to use classroom tool that
works as both a dictionary and
thesaurus. The website says,
Elementary students will enjoy
defining their spelling words or
content area vocabulary (2016).

Snappy Words-Free
Online Dictionary.
(2016). Retrieved
from TeachersFirst
Review website:
http://www.teachers
first.com/single.cfm
?id=11752

This website would

be great to use
during a vocab
lesson, for creating
word maps, and
with a graphic
organizing tool.

WordNik

Dictionary that shows

related images to the
word, as well as
sounds, and tweets.

This website gives the student both

the definition and related images,
sounds, and tweets. According to an
article published on Teachthought,
the website has a related words
feature that is particularly helpful
to students (2013).

21 Literacy
Resources for the
Digital Teacher.
(2013, November
12). Retrieved from
Teach Thought
website:
http://www.teachtho
ught.com/pedagogy
/literacy/21literacy-resourcesfor-the-digitalteacher/

I would use this

during class time, as
a way for students
to research
independently. This
could also be used
along with a
worksheet, that
could have the
student match
words to their
antonym or
meaning.

The School Bell

Resources for teachers

and students, has
games, worksheets and
puzzles

According to Teaching Resources

website, The School Bell is a great
resource to use along Dolch Sight
Words.

Teaching Resources
and Activities .
(2016). Retrieved
from Your
Dictionary website:
http://education.you
rdictionary.com/forstudents-andparents/first-gradeword-lists.html

I would use this in

the classroom
during an
independant
research time.

Wordle

Students can type or

paste text to create
word clouds

Wordle is a great tool for making

word clouds from text. According
to the edshelf site, the tool allows to
create, change, and customize your
word cloud by allowing you to play
with fonts, layouts, and color
schemes.

Feinberg, J. (2016).
Wordle Reviews.
Retrieved from
edshelf website:
https://edshelf.com/
tool/wordle/

This would be great

for students to use
for projects, to
create a mini poster
or a
worksheet/handout.
Also I might use it
for a vocab list.

Lexipedia

Dictionary type
website tool that
creates a web of
related words once a
word is entered.

According to the TeachersFirst

website review, Lexipedia is a great
tool for students because it is a
place Where Words have
Meaning. The review explains that
a web is created when a student
enters a word and that a different
color is representative of the
relationship (noun, verb, etc).

TeachersFirst
Review. (2016).
Retrieved from
Teachers First
website:
http://www.teachers
first.com/single.cfm
?id=10637

I would use this to

help students
improve on how
they use descriptive
words, as a warm
up activity, or a
word study unit.

10

Flashcard Stash

Digital flashcards.
Students can view
flash cards from a
teacher account or
make their own

Free vocab flash card service. In a

review by Richard Byrne, this
website is described as making it
easy to quickly create flashcards
and sets of flashcards (Byrne
2016). Byrne also states that there
is a list of pre-made flash cards.

Byrne, R. (2016).
Flashcard Stash Create Online
Vocab. Retrieved
from
FreeTech4Teachers
website:
http://www.freetech
4teachers.com/2013
/02/flashcard-stashcreateonline.html#.Vy6AR UK-U

This would be a
great tool to use to
have students ready
for a vocab test or a
unit on a story.

11

Vocabulary
Games

Lots of vocab games

According to 21 Literacy
Resources for the Digital
Teacher, this website also
includes a wide assortment of
other vocabulary games that
can be used on a SmartBoard
for review purposes (2013).

21 Literacy
Resources for the
Digital Teacher.
(2013, November
12). Retrieved from
Teach Thought
website:
http://www.teachtho
ught.com/pedagogy
/literacy/21literacy-resourcesfor-the-digitalteacher/

I would use this

during tech time in
class, or assign it as
an activity that can
be done at home.

12

Spelling City

Includes games for

students to use. Has
pre-made teacher
lists

This website is a tool that creates

word lists that can be customized
by both teachers and parents.
According to a review from
Common Sense Media, there is also
an app that can be downloaded on
most devices.

SpellingCity App
Review. (2016).
Retrieved from
Common Sense
Media website:
https://www.commo
nsensemedia.org/ap
previews/spellingcity
#

This would be great

to use to help
improve spelling,
vocab, and
grammar. I would
have student
download it on their
devices to use
during tech time or
at home.

13

Vocabahead

Vocabulary tool that

includes short videos
for each word. Useful
for SAT prep

According to Leslie Crennas

review on Graphite, Vocabahead
design is nearly flawless with a
multimedia approach [that]
reinforces learning and is
particularly important for kids with
auditory or visual learning styles
(Creanna 2016). This site is great

Crenna, L. (2016).
Word A Day Visuals
and Audios by
Vocabahead.
Retrieved from
Common Sense
Graphite website:
https://www.graphit

I would use this to

help students
improve on how
they use descriptive
words, as a warm
up activity, or a
word study unit.

for students who need to try a few

different approaches to learning
vocab words.

e.org/app/word-aday-visuals-andaudios-byvocabahead

14

FreeRice

Students match words

to definitions. Nations
World Food
Programme donates 10
grains for each correct
answer. Includes
subject area lists and
levels based on student
ability.

According to Lorchers review on

Bright Hub Education, the Free
Rice website is built on an
intelligent model that starts with the
basic questions, so even beginning
students in a particular topic can
learn and contribute (Lorcher
2012). The website also remembers
the incorrect answers and shuffles
them around so that you can learn
from the wrong answers.

Lorcher, T. (2012).
A Review of How
Teachers. Retrieved
from Bright Hub
Education website:
http://www.brighthu
beducation.com/tea
ching-methodstips/19464-freericecom-for-teachers/

I would use this

during class time, as
a way for students
to research
independently or as
a homework
assignment.

15

Reading Rockets This tool has multiple

resources including
articles and tips for
parents, materials, free
reading guides,
podcasts, videos, and
webcasts.

Reading Rockets is a resource that

can be used at the student, parent,
or teacher level. Although Mike
Jovels review on the Parents
Choice website states that the
website is not designed for
children to use, but rather is
dedicated to providing adults with
information to help children, I
think that this is a great website that
students can explore, or even for
parents to use at home with their
children (2008).

Jovel, M. (2008).
Reading Rockets
Review. Retrieved
from Parents
Choice website:
http://www.parentschoice.org/product.
cfm?
product_id=24833

I would use this as a

homework resource
for parents to look
at with their
students.

16

Scholastic

The review on the examiner

Review: Scholastic

I would use this

Provides information

about book fairs,

clubs, and offers a
parent's tab with
printables and
activities as well as a
kids tab with
features for kids

website states that the scholastic

website offers a wealth of
information for parents and
students.

Website. (2013).
Retrieved from
Examiner website:
http://www.examine
r.com/review/revie
w-scholasticwebsite

during class time, as

a way for students
to research
independently or as
a homework
assignment.

17

ReadWriteThink

This website is for

both teachers and
students, with
activities, lesson plans,
and games.

According to Polly Conway on her

review on Graphite,
ReadWriteThink is a well
organized resource that allows you
to find what youre looking for,
and exactly which standards are
being met (2016).

Conway, P. (2016).
ReadWriteThink
Educator Review.
Retrieved from
Graphite website:
https://www.graphit
e.org/website/readw
ritethink

I would use this as a

homework resource
for parents to look
at with their
students.

18

Padlet

Visual collaboration
tool (Boll 2016).

This is a great website that allows

students to collaborate, use virtual
sticky notes, and bulletin board.
According to Boll, some of the
sample uses include:
Note taking, Exit Ticking, Living
Webquest, Field Trip
documentation, and Digital Posters

Boll, M. (2016).
Padlet Reviews.
Retrieved from
edshelf website:
https://edshelf.com/
tool/padlet/

This would be a
great website to use
for group
presentation
projects.

19

ThingLink

Makes images
interactive by
attaching hotspots and
adding text/web links
to images

According to the review on

TeachersFirst, Thinglink is an
interactive image tool offering a
unique way to link things within
images (2016). The student can
either upload an image, paste a url,
or use Flicker and then select

TeachersFirst
Review- ThingLink.
(2016). Retrieved
from
http://www.teachers
first.com/single.cfm
?id=13216

I would use this

during tech time in
class, or assign it as
an activity that can
be done at home.

things to link.
20

TrackStar

Annotation tool for

websites

This website provides students with

an easy way of annotating and
sharing websites. According to the
review posted on Merlot II,
TrackStar is a true learning object
that can be replicated over and over
with user-selected content (2005).
This website can also be used to for
web-based units and online quizzes.

Peer Review: The

Track Star. (2005).
Retrieved from
Merlot II website:
https://www.merlot.
org/merlot/viewCo
mpositeReview.htm
?id=156684

This is a great tool

to begin a research
unit with. I would
also like to use the
online quiz section
for a exit ticket or
an assessment.