August 6, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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You can see photo excerpts from a new book called Monumental India at this site. They’re pretty impressive images.
I’ve also added some photos from the Sacramento Bee of Sikhs celebrating a holy day in India.
I’ve placed the links on my Geography page under Asia. I’ve place the Sikh images under Religion, too.
August 2, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Glencoe has a nice companion website for its Exploring Our World geography book.
If you go to the link, you’ll see resources they have for each chapter, including online games and animations called “In Motion.” They’re from National Geographic, are short, and accessible to English Language Learners.
I’m not going to do it now, but the next time I teach Geography I’ll add direct links to each one on my Geography page.
It has the same set-up for its Civics textbook, with similar “In Motion” animations (though these are not from National Geographic).
July 22, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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In Virtual Pilot, the player is given the name of a destination and has to land a plane as close to it as possible.
It’s a fun little game, not unlike several other map games out there. It’s a good way to reinforce geography skills.
I’ve placed the link on my Geography page.
July 14, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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“Mashups” are the common word to describe the result of combining the features and information of two or more websites or tools.
“Mashing” data together with a map is one “mashup” that can make information more accessible to English Language Learners.
Virender Ajmani has a blog called MIBAZAAR where he shares mashups he creates using data and Google Maps. I’ve posted about several of his creations in the past. His newest one highlights CNN’s ranking of what they think are the 100 best places to live in the United States.
If you go to his blog, you’ll see a listing of his previous mashups on the sidebar. They’re worth a visit.
July 11, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
I’m adding Bluewalks to The Best Places Where Students Can Create Online Learning/Teaching Objects For An “Authentic Audience”.
You can easily create a “walking tour” with text you write and images you can grab off the web.
Thanks to Google Maps Mania for the tip.
July 8, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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This Madagascar slideshow from Time magazine shows wildlife in Madagascar. It has a lot of cool images and simple captions. It would work well with a short excerpt from the animated movie.
I’ve placed the link on my website under Africa.
July 4, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
Guess The Flag is a game where the player is showed a flag followed by three names of countries. The goal is to choose the correct country to go with the flag. After the selection, in addition to being told if your choice is right or not, a map appears showing the country with a few facts about it.
I’ve placed the link on my Geography page.
July 3, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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The Boston Globe has quite a collection of incredible images from India. They each have short captions that should be accessible to Intermediate English Language Learners.
I’ve placed the link on my website under Asia.
June 27, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Onion Maps are a series of unique maps of major cities around the world. What makes them different is that they are “sort of” 3D. I say “sort of” because they’re not exactly. In fact, I don’t know the appropriate word to use to describe them.
If you click on “Attractions,” you’ll be able to zoom in on the most important sites. A window will pop-up showing information about them, along with photos.
It’s certainly accessible to English Language Learners,and I’ve placed the link on my Geography page.
June 26, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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The Las Vegas Sun has an exceptional collection of online multimedia presentations, many which would be accessible to English Language Learners.
The stand-out among them is an amazing presentation on the history of Las Vegas, which will work will with the Las Vegas unit we teach in tenth-grade English classes at our school.
I’ve placed the link to all their interactives under Multimedia Resources From News Outlets on my website. I placed the direct link to the Las Vegas history on my Geography page.
June 24, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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The World’s “Germiest” Attractions is a slideshow from LIFE Magazine that students will love…at the same time they yell “eeewww!”
Photos include ones of people kissing Ireland’s Blarney Stone and a “bubblegum wall.”
June 7, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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A Europe of Tales shares several animated traditional stories from different countries in Europe.
Even though there isn’t audio support for the text, it still should be accessible to Intermediate English Language Learners.
I’ve placed the link on my website under Europe.
June 3, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Hypercities is a neat “mashup” of what various cities have looked like over the past several hundred years. By using a “slider,” you can choose a year, and then various images of that city from that time are shown. It’s pretty ingenious, and certainly the basics are accessible to English Language Learners.
Thanks to Jeff Mummert for the tip.
May 25, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Don’t Gross Out The World is a game that challenges you to answer questions about dining customs in different parts of the world.
It’s accessible to Intermediate English Language Learners, educational, and fun.
Thanks to Tony Cassidy for the tip.
I’ve added it to my Geography page.
May 19, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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MapTrot is the newest addition to The Best Map-Making Sites On The Web.
No registration is required and it’s super-easy to use. You can write descriptions of the points you place on the map, and you can link to a Google search of images for that place, but you can’t choose a specific photo.
I learned about MapTrot through a Webware post sharing a number of map-making applications. It’s a useful list, but I think they missed several of the best ones — or at least the most accessible ones for English Language Learners.
May 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Satellite Challenge challenges players to identify landmarks on earth from images taken from satellites. It’s probably best for students to play it only after they’ve developed some geography knowledge, though the game does offer three simple hints for each round, too.
The language is definitely accessible to Intermediate English Language Learners.
I’ve placed the link on my website under Sites That Cover Many Areas.
May 11, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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My English Language Learner students are always interested in learning about New York City — they’ve all certainly heard of it. I, too, am interested in it since I’m a native New Yorker. So I thought I’d put together a “The Best…” list to help my students become more acquainted with the city.
Readers might also be interested in The Best Sites To Help Teach About 9/11.
Also, you might want to check out The Best Displays Of Just-Released New York City Historical Photos.
Here are my picks for The Best Sites For Learning About New York City (and, of course, are accessible to ELL’s):
USA Today has a nice introductory slideshow on the city.
National Geographic has a page filled with great info on the city.
The Sound Guide (with videos from watchmojo) has several videos and language exercises about the city, including:
The English Language Listening Lab Online has a short listening exercise and quiz about a person’s visit to New York City.
You can take a panoramic Virtual Ariel Tour of the city.
Lingual Net has a movie with exercises about New York.
Here’s another listening exercise about famous spots in New York City.
You can take an interactive tour of Ellis Island.
Here are two videos from “Meet Me At The Corner” — one about the Empire State Building and the other about Christmas in New York.
This is just a fun slideshow from The New York Times about how people walk in the rain and snow in the city during winter.
Yahoo Travel has a short and simple slideshow on the city.
NYC Tourist has many excellent short videos about New York’s attractions.
MSNBC has a slideshow on the famous Coney Island Amusement Park.
150 Years of Central Park is a new slideshow from TIME Magazine.
Michelle Henry has a great collection of Webquests/Internet Scavenger Hunts about New York City.
“New York City from Above” is the title of a series of pretty neat photos from The Denver Post.
New York City’s Waterfronts, Covered is a New York Times interactive showing images of…New York City’s waterfront areas.
New York: Portrait of a City is a slideshow from LIFE.
“The Greatest New York Photo Book Ever” is the title of a slideshow from TIME Magazine.
Empire State Building: Made by Hand is a slideshow from LIFE.
Suggestions and feedback, as always, are welcome.
If you found this post useful, you might want to look at previous “The Best…” lists and also consider subscribing to this blog for free.
May 8, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Wanderlust is an interactive map from Good Magazine. Users can pick from a number of famous explorations (Lindbergh, the Northwest Passage, etc.) and trace it through images and simple text.
It’s accessible to Intermediate English Language Learners.
I’ve placed it on my website under Sites That Cover Many Periods Of Word History.
May 5, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Culture Crossing is a unique resource for information about different countries. It provides some basic demographics, but it also shares details about communication style, dress, gestures, etc. It’s unlike any other source of information about countries that’s on the web. I’ll certainly be having my students use it now when they develop reports about countries.
It’s probably accessible to high Intermediate and Advanced English Language Learners.
I’ve placed the link on my website under Country and U.S. States Information.
April 8, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
Pictures offer countless learning opportunities for English Language Learners (and mainstream students). Writing descriptions, using the Picture Word Induction Model, etc. They’re great in Geography to give students a sense of different places, and questions can be asked about them to provoke higher-order thinking.
I think panoramas are even more engaging, and have posted links to a number of good sites for panoramic images on my Geography page. I’ve decided to highlight a few them in this latest “The Best…” list.
You might also be interested in The Best Online Applications For Creating Panoramas.
Here are my picks (not in any order of preference) for The Best Sites For Panoramas:
The Worldwide Panorama Map (this site appeared to be down when I updated this post. I don’t know if it permanently or temporarily off-line)
360 Cities (you can embed any of their panoramas on your own site)
Pano Google is a search engine specifically for panoramic images on the Web.
Tours From Above is a new site hosting spectacular aerial panoramic images from around the world.
CyArk is laser-mapping and producing incredible panoramas of five hundred key World Heritage sites. They have a good start, and plan on completing the project by 2013.
“1001 Wonders” is an amazing site sharing panoramic photos from United Nations’ World Heritage Sites around the world.
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