“Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” – Rita Pierson
Around this time of year, I like to help students get into the giving spirit. One way is to introduce websites and apps that help others ☃️ I will be sharing these digital platforms along with teaching ideas regularly this month with the hashtag #DigiGift on social media (Facebook (ShellyTerrell), BlueSky (ShellTerrell), LinkedIn (ShellyTerrell), and X (ShellTerrell)). You can also just check this post regularly because I will be collecting posts on my Wakelet. Scroll down to access. Below are some of the websites and apps I will be sharing.
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Digital Platforms that Make a Difference
The following are the platforms I recommend with ideas on how to use them with students. I’ve used these websites in the past with my students.
Click for Paws– Read a short blurb about an animal in need then click for that animal to receive a donation. You could do this during a morning routine (a pet you save for the day). Choose a student to read the short blurb or you could read to them then all could say, “Click!” together as the chosen student clicks to give. Rotate who gets to click each day.
Freerice is a trivia game. Every question students answer correctly raises 10 grains of rice for the World Food Programme (WFP). Categories in different subjects, such as English, Math, History, Art and others.
St. Jude’s E-Greeting for Hospitalized Children – Send a free card to hospitalized children with cancer at St. Jude’s Hospital for free. The website is also in Spanish and provides suggested messages and examples to help students.
Be My Eyes connects blind and low-vision users who want sighted assistance with volunteers through live video. My elementary students loved this experience. We only got called on twice but this was enough. I downloaded the app on my phone and I handled the call. It’s important to set and model expectations. I introduced the app ahead of time with a few short videos so they knew what to expect then we pretended we received a call and shared what was the appropriate voice level and why it was important to be respectful and be well behaved. I also let the person we helped know my students were there so they could decide to stay on the call. We helped locate socks then reviewed how we might have given better help.
With SciStarter and Zooniverse your students can choose from several research projects and become citizen scientists. Search for free and find a project aligned to your objectives or goals and age appropriate by using their search engines. Students read the simple instructions, which might include playing a game, clicking images, taking photos of nature, and so forth to help advance real research, science, and knowledge.
Trivia Websites
The following websites are good for a trivia question of the day. Answer the question and give to a cause. This could be part of a Trivia Tuesday or Thursday or any designated day in which the class answers the question to support a cause. Poll students to see which answer the class agrees on or you could get them to do a quick search so they discover the answer and share what other 3 facts they discovered with their table or a partner. Another idea is to post a graph, chart or spreadsheet where students track what the class has been given over time.
Trivia to Give is a website where you answer a trivia question to help a cause. Click on one of the colored tabs above the question to choose if you want to help people, planet, or pets. The trivia question is also related to the cause. If you don’t like the trivia question then click another a tab to see if that question is better.
The Animal Rescue website will give to animals when you click but doesn’t share a story. If you scroll down the page you will see a trivia question to answer. Playing supports Animal Victims of Natural Disasters.
Free Wheat– solve a simple math problem (mostly multiplication) and the website donates wheat to children in poverty. You can see the amount of wheat grown with each math problem solved.
Bean Bean Bean – answer quiz questions to collect digital beans and the host converts this to a dollar figure donated to charity of their choice. You can read about the different charities donated to on the website. Choose between categories like math, knowledge, language, geography and science.
Free Kibble has a trivia question related to their products on the website. Students can guess the answer using context clues. Each answer allows you to donate kibble to dogs or litter to cats.
Other Digital Platforms
Ecosia is a free search engine. When you or your students browse or conduct searches with Ecosia then the company plants trees, protects endangered animals, or uplifts communities around the world. The company also generates solar energy for every day that you use the browser.
