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Here are three quality resources that I love to use in my classroom!
Mystery science is an awesome web application that offers interactive lessons for the whole classroom. It focuses on science, but it is branching out to other subjects as well. I primarily used it to supplement our science curriculum this year. Students really enjoy the video lessons. Each lesson video has parts where you, as the presenter, stop the video to have discussions with your students. It also provides printable class activities that go along with each lesson. All mystery science lessons align with NGSS standards and were a big hit in my classroom this year! This is a resource that might have a subscription fee, but it often also provides a lot of free codes to teachers who sign up at particular times throughout the year.
This resource is wonderful if you are doing any kind of informational or current event reading in your classroom. NewsELA provides articles on various topics from around the world. However, the best thing about NewsELA is that it can provide the same content on a particular article using different reading levels. You can choose an article, assign it to your class, and students can read it based on their Lexile level. This creates a lot more accessibility for young readers who all have varying reading abilities. I was able to use it alongside science and speaking & listening assignments, and the students were all able to access it using their computers.
Last but certainly not least is the Classcraft resource! This is my favorite web tool to use in my classroom. Much like ClassDojo, students have characters and can receive class points for exhbiting good classroom behaviors. Classcraft, however, takes the experience several steps further. It lets students create their own fantasy characters, customize them constantly, and play in a more gamified classroom setting. Using Classcraft has improved Classroom behaviors and provided different ways to engage my students through formative assessment games and challenges. Since characters earn points and level up all year long, earning their characters powers that give them real-life incentives, extrinsic motivation is sustainable since the rewards continue to level up with the players. Confidence in using the web app has resulted in my students developing more intrinsic motivation academically throughout the year as well. It has done wonders for PBIS in my third grade classroom! The app also provides useful teacher tools such as timers, daily challenges, student selection, etc. You can get a free account, but purchasing a full-access account is really the way to go if you want to fully utilize Classcraft's benefits in the gamified classroom.


