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Free Interactive ‘Hansel & Gretel’ Opera!

December 8th, 2012

Hi! It’s Saturday, December 8, 2012 and time for Music at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

Creative Kids Central: Hansel & Gretel

Age Range: All (with parental supervision)

Kids of all ages can learn music appreciation while choosing different settings for their own animated opera based on the fairy tale, “Hansel and Gretel.”

When you get to the site, enter your name (or pseudonym) and click “Next” to launch the game. A new page opens with the opera program containing a description of all three acts. Notice that your name is listed in the credits. Click on “Next” and the opera begins. You’ll hear the introductory music and see the animated presentation begin to unfold.

With each scene, you’ll hear the music from the opera “Hansel and Gretel.” The meaning and nuances of the music are pointed out by a narrator. The lyrics that are being sung are on the screen making it easier to understand the storyline. You’ll have an opportunity to engage in activities that include:

  • A Costume Designer – Select costumes for Hansel and Gretel.
  • A Choreographer – Make Hansel and Gretel do various dance steps.
  • A Set Designer – Choose the backdrop you like best.
  • A Property Manager – Provide props for the actors.
  • A Lighting Technician – Move your cursor to control the spotlight.

Then, during “Intermission,” try your hand at being an orchestra conductor! Learn about the instruments including strings, percussion, and brass.

When the opera is over, you can go backstage and see how the production was put together. Use the “spotlight menu” to learn all about:

*The Composer – Learn about the German composer, Engelbert Humperdinck.

*Opera – Find out what an opera is and explore links to opera websites.

*Fairy Tales – Get links to sites about fairy tales along with some downloadable activities.

*Voice Studio – Learn the definitions of a Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Tenor, and Baritone. Visit a Master Class with Placido Domingo. Meet famous opera singers.

*Teacher Resources – Download free lesson plans for the opera along with games and activities to enhance learning. Take a fun quiz to see what you’ve learned!

This educational activity takes about 45-60 minutes to complete. Navigating this site is easy as long as you follow each step in the order presented. I didn’t find a way to fast-forward – and if you hit the back button at any time, you may have to start the presentation all over again. So, plan to visit when you have the time to really enjoy every step of the presentation – it’s fun, educational, engaging, and entertaining for the whole family!

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Literacy Through Greek Mythology!

October 24th, 2012

Hi! It’s Wednesday, October 24, 2012 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

MythWeb

Age Range: 9 and up (with parental supervision; younger children may enjoy aspects of this site))

This commercial website offers many free resources to help students learn about Greek mythology! Learn about the gods, creatures, and heroes from ancient Greece that equip kids to understand vocabulary and references in literature, poetry, the newspaper, blogs, and all forms of communication and entertainment. Consider these basic examples provided at the website:

  • In tribute to Hercules and his Labors, a huge or heroic task is said to Herculean.
  • The Midas touch, or the gift of profiting from whatever one undertakes, is named for a legendary king of Phrygia.
  • A book of maps gets its name from Atlas, the Titan who supported the heavens on his shoulders.

You’ll find many more examples in the “Teachers” section of the website that you can access from the home/landing page. It also includes free suggestions for mythology-themed activities and lesson plans designed to build skills in creative writing, vocabulary development, and art appreciation, along with two free downloadable ebooks titled, “The Heroic Myths” and “The Illustrated Odyssey.”

When you get to the site you’ll see a main menu that includes:

*Gods - Learn about 12 deities that dwelt on Mount Olympus through engaging text and colorful graphics.

*Heroes – Read the comic-book-style biographies of Jason, Hercules, Bellerophon, Theseus, Odysseus and Perseus – in English or Latin! Print them out to read offline too!

*Today – Find out how the Greek myths are relevant today.

*Encyclopedia – Get definitions and descriptions of various characters, places, and events in Greek mythology.

You’ll also find links to other websites with more in-depth information about Greek mythology.

This website is actually a commercial site that offers a CD-ROM of a Greek Mythology game for sale. However, that is one small aspect of this mostly free educational site.

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Interactive Shakespeare!

June 6th, 2012

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, June 6, 2012 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Globe Education: Playing Shakespeare

Age Range: 10 and up (with parental supervision)
 
This website, sponsored by the Globe Theater in London, provides a range of engaging activities that help students learn language arts through studying some of the plays of Shakespeare. Designed for classroom use, the activities can be tweaked for independent use. Students will learn about character development and motivation, themes and issues in the plays, and they explore the language of the text.

When you get to the site, you’ll see an icon menu of 4 plays that have been performed at the Globe Theater:

  • Midsummer Night’s Dream
  • Macbeth
  • Romeo & Juliet
  • Much Ado About Nothing

Click on any play title and a new page opens where you can read the play, and learn more about it through the pictures, videos and interviews taken throughout rehearsals. Use the menu to find ingenious methods to engage students including:

*Language – Read every scene of the play online with links to definitions of the terminology in the script. Plus, you can use a “Tools” feature to find examples of literary techniques Shakespeare used in the text including iambic pentameter, onomatopoeia, couplet, simile, alliteration, and more.

*Character – The character pages on the website are intended to look similar to Facebook. Each character has their own page with a profile, photographs, and quotations. Listen to audio clips of actors discussing how they interpret their character by creating a back story with explanations as to what motivates them. Then, learn how the cast works with the director to further develop their characters

*Themes – Learn about the main ideas in the play such as love, family, ambition, duty, loyalty, violence, guilt, blame, etc. You’ll find discussion questions as well.

*Text In Performance – Discover the process of building a production including designing a set, creating costumes, and writing marketing materials. Read interviews with the creative team and crew.

This is a great opportunity to explore Shakespeare’s plays interactively through text, video clips, and commentary.

 

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For Students Who Think Grammar “Bites”!

April 11th, 2012

Hi! It’s Wednesday, April 11, 2012 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Grammar Bytes

Age Range: 9 and up (with parental supervision)
 
Do you or your students think learning English grammar “bites”?  Then, check out this website developed by a college English professor with attitude. She’s irreverent and funny and has devised a way to provide meaningful grammar lessons and interactive drills and quizzes that won’t bore your kids to death.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu that includes:
 
*Terms — Detailed definitions of grammar terminology including:

  • Adjectives
  • Adverbs
  • Conjunction
  • Dangling Modifier
  • Gerund
  • Nouns
  • Participle
  • Semicolon
  • Verbs
  • And more!

*Exercises — Interactive exercises (lessons) to help students learn correct grammar usage. Topics include comma splices, fragments, irregular verbs, misplaced modifiers, pronouns, subject-verb agreement, etc.

*Handouts — FREE handouts in PDF files that are companions to the exercises that students can do offline.

*Videos at You Tube – A short selection of fun, entertaining videos and animations that teach grammar.

Just click on any menu item title (in black) and a new page opens where you can access the free materials.

You might want to click on the “About” section as well, where you’ll meet Professor Robin and discover her views on grammar instruction (and other areas of interest as well). She makes it very clear that people who don’t like her methods — can go to another grammar website! If you decide to stick around, this website offers something quite unusual — interesting grammar lessons developed by a teacher who believes, “There are NO good textbooks.”

 

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Wacky Ways to Learn Parts of Speech!

February 1st, 2012

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, August 22, 2007 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Wacky Tales

Age Range:  7-12 (and fun for all!)

Houghton Mifflin (the education textbook publisher) sponsors this website that helps kids learn parts of speech – nouns, adverbs, adjectives, verbs, etc.  Using interactive stories called “Wacky Web Tales” they offer an online version of the classic car game, Mad Libs.

When you get to the site you’ll see a menu of Wacky Web Tales titles. Click on any one and a new page opens that reveals the story title and a form. The form requires you to type in parts of speech (such as a singular noun, adjective, or present tense verb). The words you enter will be used to create a Wacky Web Tale — simply click on the “See Your Wacky Web Tale” button at the bottom of the form.

If you are unsure what an adverb (or any other part of speech called for on the form) is – just click on the “Parts of Speech Help” button for some quick definitions.

Because you don’t know how the parts of speech you filled in on the form will be used in the story – the resulting Wacky Web Tale can be pretty funny. :)

This is a painless way to learn, reinforce, or remediate parts of speech.

 

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Online Literature Games & More!

June 8th, 2011

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, June 8, 2011 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Learning Games For Kids

Age Range: 4-12 (Pre-K & Elementary Grades, with Parental Guidance)

ClickScholar Theresa recommended this ad-supported website, sponsored by our friends at Time4Learning.com. It provides free interactive, multi-media learning games that help students practice language arts skills including reading, spelling, vocabulary, and keyboarding.

The site also includes learning games for other subject areas such as math, health, geography, social studies, and science.

I focused on the “Literature Games” section for this review.

When you get to the site, you’ll see an icon menu of the featured games. Look on the menu on the left side of the screen and click on “Literature Games.” A drop-down list appears with the following book titles:

  • Huckleberry Finn
  • David Copperfield
  • Gulliver’s Travels
  • How To Eat Fried Worms
  • Madeline
  • The Black Stallion
  • To Kill A Mockingbird
  • Where the Sidewalk Ends
  • Where the Wild Things Are
  • Wuthering Heights

Click on any title and a new page opens with a menu of games themed around that story.  You’ll find:

  • Fill in the Blank (based on the story line)
  • Hangman (using vocabulary words from the story)
  • Spelling Games (based on words in the story)
  • Word Search (using story vocabulary)
  • Word-O-Rama (match definitions to story vocabulary words)

If your children are reading or have read these book titles, they’ll enjoy the games.  If they haven’t read the books – it may inspire them to do so.

This site is a great resource for augmenting pre-k and elementary school studies – plus, it’s a whole lot of fun for the whole family!

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