Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Discover what is trending on Google with the interactive Global Trend Map. Use the drop down box on the right to choose a country and change the visual appearance of the map if desired. The top Google searches for that country appear in a list with the top trend written across the chosen country. Click the Translate button to translate into English. Get the embed code to share this on your website or blog.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (176), maps (223), news (228)

Climb the icy path of Everest's most popular route as you experience this journey from the mountain base up to the summit. Scroll up to discover the height of Everest compared to familiar buildings. Learn about animals found on the way up to the summit, read fast facts, and listen to an audio of those who have made this strenuous climb. Read the related news story and learn how climbs will now be different from those in the past.

tag(s): field trips (8), mountains (10), virtual field trips (131)

The 180 Days Challenge is based on the PBS series 180 Days: Hartsville documentary. Take the challenge as a teacher, administrator, or parent to answer problem-based scenarios related to education. After completion, view results that provide insight into your education style and how it relates to the current educational climate. In addition to the challenge questions, this site includes several video excerpts from the series featuring events such as conferences and a discussion of generational poverty. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.

tag(s): classroom management (119), professional development (390)

This word cloud generator is similar to other word clouds except it includes a fascinating mathematical twist. Enter any URL or text to begin a word cloud, and then start playing with the different options. In addition to changing the font, take the time to play with the angle parameters. Move the arrowheads and rotate to view different orientations of the same text. Other options limit the number of words, the amount of words per line, or spiral and scale of the image. When finished, download and save the image as a PNG or SVG file. Jason Davies' Word Cloud Generator works on any device with a modern browser and Internet access.
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tag(s): angles (52), measurement (122), word clouds (13)

Looking to identify a wild bird? Visit the Merlin site to download the Merlin ID app for any phone or device. When using a mobile device, the Merlin app asks a series of five questions starting with when and where, followed by choosing a basic body type and other questions. View the generated list of possibilities to find your bird and identify it! Merlin is capable of recognizing 400 of the most commonly encountered birds in the US and Canada. When you choose the bird, data is recorded with Merlin. Read more about your identified bird and listen to its bird song. The Merlin bird identifier is designed for beginning and intermediate bird watchers. Note: When using Merlin on the web upload a photo of the bird, and then follow the prompts to place "pointers" on the bird image. The web version cannot be used to identify a bird and is different from The Merlin ID app.

tag(s): birds (46), DAT device agnostic tool (146), ecosystems (83), habitats (92)

Learn about pandas through a visit with Wang Wang and Funi, residents of the Adelaide Zoo (in Australia). Watch videos, explore the panda exhibit, and learn about Wang Wang and Funi's family tree. Learn about their natural habitat, and the different types of conservation efforts. The videos on this site reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): animal homes (57), animals (293), australia (29), habitats (92)

This engaging YouTube channel offers an excellent variety of videos for AP U.S. and European History and AP Government. Additional offerings include review sessions about South Carolina history. Each video explains different topics in history through lecture. Videos range in length from one minute to over an hour. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
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tag(s): 1700s (36), 1800s (75), 1900s (72), advanced placement (26), american revolution (83), black history (134), colonial america (95), england (50), france (41), germany (28), greece (47), greeks (46), industrial revolution (22), jefferson (19), romans (52), rome (37), russia (36), spain (13), video (267), washington (28), world war 1 (79)

Visit Canada's prairie habitats and learn about plants and their pollinators through videos, games, and activities. Take a tour of the Plant and Pollinator Gallery for photos of important and rare species. Choose the Virtual Tour option to observe wild plants and pollinators in their natural habitat. Test your pollination IQ, create your own pollinator in the Honey Hunt Game, or go on a virtual museum hunt to find out more about other plants and pollinators.

tag(s): canada (24), habitats (92), insects (67), plants (147), prairie (6)

This resource is an excellent online activity to learn Python through coding challenges. Choose a challenge and solve the problem to move onto another challenge. Complete each of the tasks to gain points and move to the next area. Designed for beginners and experts students will have to stick with it to be able to move past the beginning as the backstory is lost moving from one action assignment to another. The story can be the one item that makes this site different from other coding challenges. After most of the challenges, the solutions are shown. Create an account or log in through Google or Facebook.

tag(s): coding (86), critical thinking (135), problem solving (233)