Ask Smithsonian - Short Science Lessons

Ask Smithsonian is a fun video series featured on the Smithsonian Magazine website. All of the videos in the series are less than two minutes long. Each video tackles a fun topic in science. Some of the videos address questions that are less serious topics than others. For example, on the first page of Ask Smithsonian there is currently a video about zombie rats alongside a video on the effects of Daylight Saving Time on the human body.

Applications for Education
The videos in Ask Smithsonian could be useful as fun lesson starters. I would also consider adding these videos to my classroom website to display as "bonus" materials for students to watch and respond to for extra credit points.

Get a Free DVD Copy of 12 Years A Slave

Thanks to an email from Julie Greller I learned that teachers can receive a free DVD of 12 Years A Slave. The DVD, distributed by Fox Connect, comes with a study guide and a copy of the book. You can register here to receive your copy of 12 Years A Slave.

Please note, the registration form does ask for your principal's approval and Fox Connect will not ship to residential addresses.

Free Webinar - Storyboards In the Classroom

Next Tuesday at 7pm EST I will be hosting another webinar on using storyboards in the classroom. In this free webinar sponsored by StoryboardThat.com Aaron Sherman and I will share strategies and resources for using storyboards in your classroom. Click here to register.

Webinar highlights: 

• The benefits of using storyboards and comics to illustrate ideas.
• How to use StoryboardThat.com to create storyboards. 
• Lesson plans for using storyboards in ELA, Social Studies, and Science. 
• How to create Thanksgiving stories on Storyboard That. 

 ***This webinar will be recorded***

Everyone who attends the live webinar will be entered into a drawing for door prizes from StoryboardThat.com and FreeTech4Teachers.com

Registration is limited to the first 200 people. Complete the following form if you know that you cannot attend the live webinar, but you would like to watch the recording. 

An Overview of the Core Features of ClassCharts

Disclosure: ClassCharts is an advertiser on FreeTech4Teachers.com

ClassCharts is an excellent tool for creating online seating charts, behavior charts, and behavior reports. One of the best features of ClassCharts is the option to create seating charts based on behavior data that you record for each class. In the video embedded below I provide a demonstration of that feature and others.

Colds, Flu, and Germs Explained

As much as I love winter, I don't love the onset of cold and flu season. How do colds and flu get passed from one person to the next? A new TED-Ed lesson titled How Do Germs Spread has some answers for us. The video is embedded below.


What is the difference between having a cold and having the flu? Explania has the answer in the video below.


What is ‘flu? - Explania


So how is a cold or flu passed from person to person and what exactly is it doing to your body? NPR answers those questions in the following animated video.


The Obligatory Fall Sick Song offers a fun reminder about getting rest, eating vitamins, and washing your hands.