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November 30, 2015

Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers®

Welcome back to school! The upcoming few weeks may be the busiest time of the year (both in and out of the classroom)! As the ride begins, hold on tight and remember TeachersFirst is here to help you find great resources and refreshing ideas.

 

Audio Books for All
Did you know that TeachersFirst has an extensive offering of reviewed websites with audio books? Find audio books to use with all students: emerging readers, ESL/ELL learners, kindergarten students and more. TeachersFirst's Audio Book collection includes reviewed resources with books that are audio only, others include text, and some offer the options to interact with the book by clicking, responding, and watching animation. All ages of students will appreciate downloading a book file to “read.”

 

OK2Ask Archives: PD on Demand
Our Fall season of OK2Ask has come to an end. You can access the OK2Ask archived recordings anytime. These recordings (mostly 90-minutes) open in Adobe Connect. The online “classroom” space allows you to start, stop, and pause to learn about many teaching topics. Since we cannot assess your learning from an archived session, we are not able to grant certificates for watching a recording, but you will LOVE being able to watch and learn with OK2Ask. See the full archive listing here.

 

If They See It, They Will Understand It
Infographics are everywhere: magazines, Facebook posts, tweets, posters, and more. They help explain ideas in a visual format. Make infographics a tool for your students to explain what they have learned. TeachersFirst's collection of resources for creating and understanding infographics includes options from simple to sophisticated.

 

Donate by Shopping
TeachersFirst gives much and asks for little in return. Take an online shopping moment this gift-giving season to donate to TeachersFirst—at no cost to you! “Shop” a donation our way by doing some holiday shopping at Amazon. Just be sure to enter the Amazon site via the link at the bottom of our How TeachersFirst Stays Free page, and complete your purchase during that visit. TeachersFirst earns a percentage of the profits from the purchases completed via this entry point. Help us maintain our free, ad-free service to teachers. Our non-profit parent company, The Source for Learning, appreciates your help.

 

Attending the VSTE Conference?
Are you attending the VSTE Conference on December 6-8 in Roanoke, VA? The Source For Learning is a proud sponsor of the VSTE Conference and we hope to see you there!

 

Calendar Happenings
The TeachersFirst Classroom Planning Calendar offers resources related to events and observations on the calendar all throughout the year. Take a look at:

Hour of Code

Hanukkah

Pearl Harbor and World War II Resources


By Car, Bus, or Foot?
This week’s Teacher Poll asks: How do most of your students get transported to school? Place your vote on the teacher poll on the TeachersFirst home page.

 

Never Enough Time
Check out TeachersFirst’s Editor's Choice Online Tools and Timesavers to find just a few extra minutes here and there, or possibly a lot more! Find tools for organizing and communicating, saving paper, sharing links, managing your classroom, and much more.

 

Featured Sites
This week in our Featured Sites you will find:

  • Radio Rookies
  • Radionomy
  • Milestones
  • Justin Guitar (FREE lessons)
  • WizerMe
  • TWO Social Studies YouTube Channels
  • GIFs
  • Science4Us
  • My Storybook
  • Triangle Calculator
  • And more

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are reading this December 6 or later, the link above will take you to the Featured Sites for the current week. Find the archived November 29 Features here, and don’t miss our many other recent additions from the link at the bottom of the Featured Sites page.

 

We hope that you are well rested from the Thanksgiving break and ready to “tech out” the few weeks of instruction in December.

The TeachersFirst Team