Fact Check Explorer tool

 I found this on the Australian Teacher Librarian website and thought I'd share it with you. 

It could be handy for anyone checking on whether something is 'fake news' or misinformation.  I usually use Snopes.com - but this one could be easier for students to navigate. 

https://toolbox.google.com/factcheck/explorer

Snopes and Fact Checking

 Just a reminder that you can always get your students onto snopes.com to check out the truth - or otherwise - about things that appear on Facebook, or all over the Internet.  

Below are a couple of links to some of the more current things that people have been asking about recently - but there is so much more to be found.  Take a look at the Crystal Pyramid one if you get a moment. 

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/crystal-pyramid/

https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/02/25/tank-kyiv-car/

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/putin-hitler-time-magazine/

Crystal Pyramids, Bermuda Triangle and Snopes

Well, apparently the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle has been solved after all this time!  Score one for modern technology and sonar.  It seems that there is a HUGE crystal pyramid underwater using some totally unknown technology, which is why there has been such a loss of planes and ships.  
See the link below:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1945098/crystal-pyramids-discovered-lurking-beneath-tropical-seas-of-bermuda/

Of course, in today's world of fake news, and so many people believing everything that they read on the Internet, I can't help thinking that it is just as well we have Snopes on hand to sort out the urban myths running wild. 
http://www.snopes.com/?s=crystal+pyramid+bermuda+triangle

There are lots of urban myths and hoaxes that regularly circulate on the Internet and FaceBook - and they seem to just keep looping around.  Sometimes they undergo a slight mutation as someone updates them, but mainly, they just keep on going.

The best way to check these sort of facts is to run it through snopes.com which is a independent fact checking site.  
Please see the link below:
http://www.snopes.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Probably a good site to pass onto your students - and your friends.

Vocabulary, Word Power and Urban Legends.

I was asked to to find some resources that may be able to engage students and help out with vocabulary and word knowledge, and I thought that maybe other teachers would be interested in some of the sites that seemed to fit the brief. 

I have included what I think is one of the best for this; Freerice - a game that covers a lot more than just vocabulary as for every word you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated to help with world hunger - and it is a self-leveling game that adjusts to the vocabulary level of the person playing it, so it should suit all our students.  It isn't just words though, as there are sections for Maths, Science and Art... with multiplication tables to try out in the maths section.

Check them all out - and if you are wondering if you can really help world hunger by playing a game online, check the site out using Snopes.  Snopes is a site that ferrets out the truth about all those urban myths and legends and tells it like it is. 

 http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1538

http://www.eslgamesplus.com/fun-games/     (Printable board games)         

  http://www.manythings.org/vocabulary/

http://www.english-4kids.com/games.html

http://www.vocabulary.co.il/word-power/

http://busyteacher.org/13612-7-best-games-for-vocabulary-class.html 

http://www.snopes.com/