Sunday, January 31, 2010

Using Shmoop to Make Learning Relevant

Students often ask - "Why must we learn this?" Shmoop helps educators answer this question through its digital resources that make learning fun and relevant for students. The online resource uses relevant and current cultural points-of-reference to help students see how inspiring and useful these subjects are to their daily lives. A conversational writing tone is also used to make topics both approachable and accessible for students.

Shmoop offers free Learning Guides in seven subjects: literature, poetry, bestsellers, history, civics, biography, and music. Written by experts and educators, Shmoop Learning Guides contain analysis, questions, quotes, and multimedia for each topic. Popular topics include The Great Gatsby, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," Causes of the Civil War, and the US Constitution. Shmoop also provides book summaries translated into Spanish for English language learners or students learning Spanish.

To help educators use Shmoop in the classroom, Teacher's Editions are offered for 18 of the most popular Learning Guides, including Hamlet and Twilight. Accessible through Shmoop's Teacher Resources Center, Teacher's Editions provide free access to standards-based activities and related interdisciplinary readings. Premium teacher resources are also available, including discussion and essay questions, quizzes, and activities for relating the topic to current events and pop culture.

Check out this video overview for some ideas about using Shmoop with your students.

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