TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Sep 13, 2020

Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive

 

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Alison - Mike Feerick

Grades
10 to 12
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Alison is a free learning platform offering courses for education and skills training provided by the world's leading experts. Find courses using the dropdown boxes at the top of the...more
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Alison is a free learning platform offering courses for education and skills training provided by the world's leading experts. Find courses using the dropdown boxes at the top of the site sorted by Explore Diplomas and Certificates and Discover Careers. Under More find Assessments and a Resume Builder among other tools. Browse the home page to find the popular courses and most recent offerings. Complete the free registration to begin. Upon selecting a class, view information on the number of modules, topics, and approximate length. Upon completion, Alison provides a certificate or diploma, depending on the duration of the offerings.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): business (47), careers (139), chinese (44), coding (87), communication (136), engineering (117), french (73), german (48), literature (217), multilingual (63), OER (43), Online Learning (39), politics (113), psychology (67), sociology (22), spanish (104), STEM (259)

In the Classroom

Use Alison to find professional learning courses, learn the basics of a new language, or for personal development. Share Alison with students to learn skills not offered in school or share with ENL/ESL students to use when learning English. Use Alison with student cohorts interested in learning about a new topic or preparing for college-level courses.

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Orli Shaham's Bach Yard - Orli Shaham

Grades
K to 4
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Welcome to Orli Shaham's Bach Yard, a place to create, play, and learn through music. Orli Shaham offers interactive music experiences to young people that combines storytelling with...more
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Welcome to Orli Shaham's Bach Yard, a place to create, play, and learn through music. Orli Shaham offers interactive music experiences to young people that combines storytelling with costumed musicians. The activities guide invites you to discover music at home through games and learning activities. Choose from resources that teach you to build musical instruments and experiment with rhythms. Some links lead to YouTube videos; if your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): crafts (50), makerspace (41), musical instruments (45), musical notation (35), rhythm (20)

In the Classroom

Use the activities found on this site to guide music lessons or integrate music into curricular areas. For example, use the lesson called Music and Animals to incorporate poetry and music into your animal unit. Gather the items found on the instrument making directions to create a maker space area for students to explore and experiment with different ways to create sounds. Ask students to document their steps with photographs, and when finished, ask students to create videos sharing their instruments using moovly, reviewed here. Create a digital class book using Book Creator, reviewed here, that includes all of the students' videos and other work created during your unit to share on your class website.

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Developing Empathy - Equality and Human Rights Comission

Grades
8 to 12
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This high school level lesson teaches the development of empathy through role-play activities. The activities include slides and student worksheets to download as PDF documents. In...more
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This high school level lesson teaches the development of empathy through role-play activities. The activities include slides and student worksheets to download as PDF documents. In addition to the lesson, extension activities include suggestions for examining your school's anti-bullying policy and ideas to differentiate instruction based upon students' literacy skills.

tag(s): character education (75), emotions (46), social and emotional learning (80)

In the Classroom

Include this lesson with others as part of character education and empathy activities. The starter activity includes students sharing a time they experienced different feelings. Use AnswerGarden, reviewed here, to post each question and ask students to share their response. This allows students to answer anonymously while still creating a visual word cloud with responses. Copy the embed code to include each of the word clouds on your class website or share using your AnswerGarden poll's link. Include all of the polls within one collaborative Wakelet collection, reviewed here, that includes students' responses to the other lesson activities including written reflections, analysis of your school's bullying policy, and discussions of how to recognize and encourage empathy in others.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Diversity Toolkit - National Education Association (NEA)

Grades
K to 12
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The Diversity Toolkit provides teaching strategies and resources based on multiple facets of diversity. Explore the topics found on the toolkit to learn more about Cultural Competence...more
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The Diversity Toolkit provides teaching strategies and resources based on multiple facets of diversity. Explore the topics found on the toolkit to learn more about Cultural Competence for Teachers, Class and Income, Social Justice, and more. Each subject includes a short introduction, a discussion of the main issues, and suggestions for teaching strategies. Use the links within each of the issues to find support resources.
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tag(s): civil rights (193), difficult conversations (58), diversity (38), racism (76)

In the Classroom

Use this toolkit to identify different facets of diversity to include in your lessons about social justice and inequalities in society. Consider using Wakelet, reviewed here, as a resource to create and share your lessons with students. Create a Wakelet that includes links to your instructional resources, including videos, online information, and uploaded documents. Include in your Wakelet a link to a different collection that is created as a collaborative space for students to add text responses, videos and reflections. Have students upload a video into the collection directly from Flip, reviewed here. For example, visit this collection entitled "Diving into the Civil Rights."

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Talking About Race and Privilege: Lesson Plan for Middle and High School Students - National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

Grades
6 to 12
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This lesson plan guides students toward defining the concept of "privilege" and to identify examples of "privilege" in their lives. The lesson begins with using the Webster's Dictionary...more
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This lesson plan guides students toward defining the concept of "privilege" and to identify examples of "privilege" in their lives. The lesson begins with using the Webster's Dictionary definition of "privilege" and then leads to historical perspectives on "privilege" related to race in the United States. Another component of the lesson is the use of the Privilege Aptitude Test adapted from the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel with follow-up reflection questions. Use the link to print or download the lesson in PDF format.

tag(s): civil rights (193), psychology (67), racism (76)

In the Classroom

Include this lesson plan with your other resources when teaching lessons on racism and social injustice, either in-person or through remote or blended learning situations. Instead of using paper charts as mentioned in the lesson, use a digital chart creation resource such as Lucidchart, reviewed here, to create collaborative digital workspaces. Lucidchart includes several features that expand learning through the use of commenting, real-time collaboration, and colorful visual displays. Guide students in how to think through reflection questions using topics available in Thinkalong, reviewed here. Thinkalong offers an interactive multimedia format that guides students through investigations that lead them to contemplate possible solutions to serious problems.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Teaching 'The New Jim Crow' - Tolerance.org

Grades
9 to 12
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Teach the lessons of race and justice in society using the book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, as a resource. The ten lesson unit ...more
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Teach the lessons of race and justice in society using the book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, as a resource. The ten lesson unit includes a Teacher's Guide that provides chronological lessons, activities, and audiovisual resources appropriate for Social Studies, Language Arts, and American History courses. All materials align with Common Core Standards. Additional information found on this site includes a conversation with the book's author, Michelle Alexander, and two webinars that discuss the book and suggestions to support using the book in high school classrooms.

tag(s): civil rights (193), courts (19), politics (113), racism (76)

In the Classroom

Incorporate this free unit as a guide to teaching the sensitive topics of race and justice with or without using the novel. As you begin your unit, use AnswerGarden, reviewed here, as an anonymous brainstorming and response tool. Use AnswerGarden by forming open-ended questions such as "The hard part of talking about racism is..." or "The beneficial part of talking about racism is..." as a way to elicit student ideas without students being concerned about sharing ideas orally with their peers. Use AnswerGarden in various ways throughout the unit to gauge student ideas and responses to lesson topics. All of the lessons include essential questions and big ideas, use Flip, reviewed here, as a collaborative tool to encourage student conversations through Flip's video response options. Extend learning using podcasts as a format for students to share their learning about race and our justice system. For example, PodcastGenerator, reviewed here, for students to create podcasts to discuss different components of race relations and the justice system.

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Healthy Digital Citizens: Helping Kids Stay Active & Safe in the Internet Age - Tennis Department

Grades
K to 12
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This resource is for all adults who teach kids how to be safe and responsible digital citizens. This site contains two sections - Internet Safety and Digital Wellness. Each of ...more
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This resource is for all adults who teach kids how to be safe and responsible digital citizens. This site contains two sections - Internet Safety and Digital Wellness. Each of the two parts includes small portions that share tips for talking to children and discussing the different facets of staying safe online. In addition to written information, this site contains some videos that provide valuable information, including creating secure passwords and responding to bullying.

tag(s): cyberbullying (40), digital citizenship (83), internet safety (112)

In the Classroom

Include this resource with your other information for use when teaching online safety and digital citizenship. Share the information with parents on your class website or through email. Use the format of this resource to your advantage by sharing the different topics bi-weekly. Embed activities found on this site on ClassTools, reviewed here. Encourage student communication with parents as you share the topics. For example, the first topic is Open Communication. Use the Drag and Drop Quiz Generator to create a quiz for parents and students to take together based upon the communication suggestions found in the article. Upon completion of the quiz, use ClassTools to create a certificate to acknowledge the achievement.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Milanote - Milanote.com

Grades
K to 12
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Collect, organize, collaborate, and visualize with Milanote's visual boards. Milanote is a digital bulletin board that includes drag and drop features to add notes, images, files, text,...more
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Collect, organize, collaborate, and visualize with Milanote's visual boards. Milanote is a digital bulletin board that includes drag and drop features to add notes, images, files, text, almost anything! Share your boards with others to collaborate in real-time, when finished, share your boards using the link to view online or download as a high-quality PDF. Additional options include a web clipper app to add items directly from your browser, and the Milanote app allows you to save text, images, and links on your phone for use when working on the computer interface. Take advantage of the ready to use templates available to start your visual boards. Education examples include boards for research projects, brainstorming, class notes, and an academic project plan. Free accounts include adding up to 100 items, unlimited boards, and uploading up to 10 files.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): collaboration (85), collages (20), creativity (92), curation (35), DAT device agnostic tool (143), graphic organizers (48), organizational skills (90)

In the Classroom

Use Milanote to organize ideas and resources for upcoming lessons and units. Collaborate with peers using a visual board to organize and brainstorm ideas. Share with students to use when planning collaborative projects, to share resources, or to organize notes. Don't forget to look at all of the templates, not just those found under the education label. Use mood board templates for students to creatively share images and ideas to describe the mood or setting in a novel. Take advantage of the storyboard templates to help students organize an upcoming podcast or video presentation. Use the brainstorming templates as a visual mind map to map out features such as parts of a plant or insect body parts.

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Virtual Manipulatives - Toy Theater

Grades
K to 6
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This site shares a large variety of virtual math manipulatives that are useful for many occasions. Select from virtual dice, number lines, place value disks, and much more. It even...more
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This site shares a large variety of virtual math manipulatives that are useful for many occasions. Select from virtual dice, number lines, place value disks, and much more. It even includes play money from several locations around the world! Many of the virtual manipulatives include interactive content to adjust settings, change color, and suggestions for use. Most items also include a link to further explanation of how to teach the content along with links to printables and worksheets. This site would be a good one to leave for your substitute to use; it's high interest, no sign-in, thorough directions, and some have worksheets.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): charts and graphs (168), decimals (84), fractions (159), measurement (125), money (119), number lines (33), number sense (70), place value (34), substitutes (27), tangrams (8)

In the Classroom

If you teach elementary math, this site is a must-have to include with your bookmarked sites. Include manipulatives from this site with blended learning and remote teaching lessons to provide students opportunities to explore and practice math content. Include a link to manipulatives and other student sites using Symbaloo, reviewed here, and share with students as a resource for practicing math concepts. Items to include might be instructional videos, online games, and other practice activities. Add manipulatives within a learning system such as Curipod, reviewed here, to create a complete online lesson that has opportunities for students to share and discuss their learning. Encourage students to share their findings by creating a screen recording using Free Screen Recorder Online, reviewed here. Ask students to conduct a math talk as a response to a teacher prompt after having the opportunity to explore and interact with the virtual manipulatives.

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Where to? What next? - National Park Service

Grades
5 to 8
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Where to? What next? includes a film and accompanying lesson plans dedicated to the life of American poet, Carl Sandburg. The short (9 minutes) film explores Sandburg's childhood and...more
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Where to? What next? includes a film and accompanying lesson plans dedicated to the life of American poet, Carl Sandburg. The short (9 minutes) film explores Sandburg's childhood and how his love for words developed into a love of poetry and stories. The lesson plans include an exploration of essential questions based on family heritage and future aspirations.

tag(s): authors (103), family (53), famous people (21), genealogy (8), poetry (188), racism (76)

In the Classroom

Include this video and these lesson plans with your current poetry unit. Engage students by creating a Padlet, reviewed here, to learn more about Carl Sandburg and other poets. In your Padlet, post links to poems to read and watch as they are read by poets and entertainers. Find some ideas and examples to use at the Archive of Recorded Literature, reviewed here. Encourage students to collaborate as they plan and create their own poetry by using a shared whiteboard tool such as Draw.Chat, reviewed here. Draw.Chat doesn't require registration, invite collaborators by sharing the link. Use the whiteboard to upload images, create graphic organizers, and brainstorm ideas for poems. Share your class's poetry using PodcastGenerator, reviewed here, challenge students to create podcasts with short Twitter-like segments of up to 256 seconds each.

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Be Fearless Be Kind - Hasbro Children's Fund

Grades
K to 5
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Be Fearless Be Kind is an empathy toolkit (PDF) developed to help kids become "change-makers" through fostering not only empathy, but leadership, creative problem solving, and teamwork....more
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Be Fearless Be Kind is an empathy toolkit (PDF) developed to help kids become "change-makers" through fostering not only empathy, but leadership, creative problem solving, and teamwork. You'll first find a definition of empathy and why it is important. Then comes the nitty-gritty to use in the classroom: videos, projects, lesson plans, and activities. Some categories include Build the Foundation, Identify Feelings, Self-Regulation, Practice Perspective-Taking, Self-Awareness, Use Problem-Solving Procedures, and several more. All have many ideass for you to use with your students.

tag(s): bullying (49), conflict resolution (9), emotions (46), empathy (26), problem solving (225), school violence (10), social and emotional learning (80), social skills (22)

In the Classroom

Be sure to investigate the abundance of resources and information shared in this free toolkit for use in classroom lessons on social and leadership skills, empathy, and problem-solving. Several portions in the booklet include scenarios and questions for discussions. Extend student learning by challenging student groups to create weekly podcasts addressing common social issues along with suggestions for dealing with them. PodcastGenerator, reviewed here, offers free tools for podcasting. Use the resources and suggestions with character education activities throughout the year. Share ideas from this site with parents to use at home with their children. Create a class (or school) bulletin board with examples of students demonstrating empathy.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Google Arts and Culture - Google

Grades
6 to 12
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This unique collaboration between Google and many of the world's most respected art museums enables viewers to discover the museum's thousand of artworks in extraordinary detail. All...more
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This unique collaboration between Google and many of the world's most respected art museums enables viewers to discover the museum's thousand of artworks in extraordinary detail. All content pertaining to individual artworks was provided by the museums. Visit over 2,000 museums without leaving home through the lens of Google Arts & Culture's presentations. Explore the studios of famous artists, take tours of historical cities through virtual trips, or use the search bar to find the categories for "selfie" (then take a selfie to find a piece of art that looks like you). Use the menu (the three lines at the top-left of your screen) to choose from the different collections, themes, and experiments. Collections include resources to learn about art, music, and drama through many different options. Other choices include searches by artists, historical events, and art movements. You won't want to leave the profusion of engaging content at this site!

tag(s): art history (85), artists (77), museums (43), virtual field trips (80)

In the Classroom

Share this site with students and allow them time to explore on their own. Encourage students to find and share interesting art and activities with their peers. Use Padlet, reviewed here, as a collaborative tool for students to share items from this site. Ask them to include a link to a favorite portion, then add a comment on why they found it interesting. Include information from Arts & Culture when studying historical events to provide interest and perspective on that period. Have students use a map storytelling tool such as Google My Maps, reviewed here, to add information found on this site and others to tell the story of art around the world throughout history.

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