TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Jul 21, 2024
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
iThrive Sim- Digital Simulation Games - ithrive games
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): collaboration (94), flipped learning (9), game based learning (181), Online Learning (42), simulations (11), social and emotional learning (96)
In the Classroom
Teachers can find links to individual games, downloadable curricula for various video games, lesson plans, and teaching resources. These game simulations are designed to build skills in decision-making, understanding bias, compromise, advocacy, and collaboration among students. The games support face-to-face interaction and can also be adapted to the needs of online and hybrid learning environments.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Overcoming Obstacles K-12 Curriculum - Community for Education Foundation, Inc.
Grades
K to 12tag(s): communication (138), conflict resolution (9), OER (43), problem solving (226), social and emotional learning (96)
In the Classroom
Use the Overcoming Obstacles curriculum as a stand-alone life-skills curriculum or as a supplement to your current social-emotional learning (SEL) teaching materials. If you cannot take advantage of the complete curriculum, use the site's library to find lessons and activities on specific topics to address in your classroom as needed. For example, if peer pressure is a concern, select that activity to include in classroom lessons. Many of the activities include role-playing, extend these activities by creating student-led podcasts using Buzzsprout, reviewed here. Create podcasts with different scenarios for students to role-play appropriate and inappropriate responses, including suggestions for making informed decisions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Along - Gradient Learning
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): classroom management (122), communication (138), social and emotional learning (96), Teacher Utilities (159)
In the Classroom
Along makes it easy for you to implement this tool into your classroom with their many free resources. Resources include guides to introducing Along to students and fellow educators. Share the privacy information guide with parents as you begin using this tool. Begin by using the customizable calendar as a method for planning to introduce and use Along. Consider using the information found on the site to create and share a presentation about this product using Google Slides, reviewed here, or by creating a short video using Adobe Creative Cloud Express Video Maker reviewed here. Be sure to show students how to prepare for their responses. If you find some students are reluctant to use one of the modes, for instance, the video, work with that student to help them feel comfortable. Uses for this tool are only limited by your imagination, and it's perfect for staying updated on the social-emotional learning (SEL) of your students. Check-in with students during long projects or reports to see where they are in the process and if they have any frustrations, check-in after a science lab to see who has questions, ask students at the end of a project or lab what they would do differently next time. Check-in with Language arts book groups to see how students are doing with the novel, their group, the project at the end, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WellCheq - Jodi Miller
Grades
K to 12tag(s): emotions (48), identity (29), social and emotional learning (96), Teacher Utilities (159)
In the Classroom
Add rhis program to your social-emotional learning (SEL) resources. Share WellCheq with your school counselors for possible use in monitoring the mental wellness of students. If your school doesn't want to use a program such as this, consider other possibilities for sharing wellness tips with students and parents and share resources for obtaining help when needed. Find resources at the TeachersFirst Resources for Self-Identity Special Topics Page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Change Begins at School - Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility
Grades
K to 12tag(s): bullying (50), climate change (93), conflict resolution (9), disasters (37), diversity (37), elections (83), holidays (178), Juneteenth (22), politics (114), racism (79), religions (83), social and emotional learning (96), women (140)
In the Classroom
Engage students in any of the provided lessons by starting with a simple poll using Slido, reviewed here. For example, ask students if they are familiar with the topic discussed, have experienced a similar emotion, or display an image on your whiteboard and ask students if they know what it represents. Enhance learning throughout any of the lessons by sharing additional resources using a curation tool such as Padlet, reviewed here. Add links to videos, articles, or online activities related to the lesson's content. As you complete lesson activities, extend learning by asking students to share their understanding by creating digital books using Book Creator, reviewed here, flyers made with Adobe Express for Education, reviewed here, or infographics created with Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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SpeakUp! - Martie Gillin
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): bullying (50), cyberbullying (40), diseases (69), drugs and alcohol (28), eating disorders (7), sexuality (15), social and emotional learning (96), social media (54)
In the Classroom
Share the resource guides with parents and students on your class website to use when facing any of the covered topics. Use Padlet, reviewed here, or Wakelet, reviewed here, to curate and share helpful guides for parents and students within one collection. As you and your class discuss problems that face teens, ask students to use Canva Edu, reviewed here, to share what they learn. For example, have students create posters to display in the classroom that include the dangers of drug abuse and include tips for helping someone that displays signs of drug abuse. Ask other students to design and share infographics that include facts and figures discussing cyberbullying, along with suggestions on how to respond to bullies.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CASEL Program Guide - Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
Grades
K to 12tag(s): professional development (407), social and emotional learning (96)
In the Classroom
The guide shared on this website provides a structured framework for evaluating any social/emotional learning program. Use the information to analyze any programs or tools being considered for use in your classroom. Share this guide with administrators in your district to use when considering implementing new learning programs. Create your own evaluation framework based on this information using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to serve as a useful look at the pros and cons of the resource being considered.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Education for the Real World - EVERFI
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): cross cultural understanding (165), financial literacy (89), game based learning (181), literacy (113), mental health (36), social and emotional learning (96), STEM (276), Teacher Utilities (159)
In the Classroom
Discover the many free resources on this site to provide individual lessons or complete learning units for your students. As students complete assignments, use the many offerings found at Class Tools, reviewed here, to enhance learning through creating timelines, completing graphic organizers, and more. For activities that include new vocabulary, use a digital game creation site such as Baamboozle, reviewed here, to review and practice new words and terms. Have students show what they know upon completion of any of the activities using Adobe Express for Education, reviewed here, to create a collage, poster, flyer, or multimedia presentation sharing their knowledge of the subject.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Classroomscreen - Laurens Koppers
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): classroom management (122), emotions (48), functions (51), iwb (33), multilingual (69), social and emotional learning (96), Teacher Utilities (159), time (92)
In the Classroom
Use Classroomscreen on your interactive whiteboard for quick access to many commonly used tools. Enhance SEL for your students by using the backgound widget to set a calm tone for learning as students enter the classroom, use the timer for destressing during activities. Add to student computers for access to a calculator and text box for notes. ENL/ESL teachers will enjoy the multi-language feature, set it up under Personalize. Use the different backgrounds as inspiration for creative writing projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teach With Movies - TeachWithMovies.com, Inc.
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): difficult conversations (61), essays (21), movies (53), questioning (35), social and emotional learning (96), social skills (23), worksheets (70), writing (321)
In the Classroom
Movies offer an entertaining format for history and thematic studies. Use a video to add to the learning experience of students who are visual and auditory learners. Use this site to find videos in a wide range of topics to share on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector. Take advantage of the free lesson plans for classroom use. Preview the lessons before viewing and convert those that can be to a real-time discussion to engage students WHILE they watch a video! Enhance classroom learning and technology use and achieve this by setting up a backchannel chat using GoSoapBox, reviewed here. Alternatively, if you are distance or remote teaching or have a blended classroom, use VideoAnt, reviewed here, to ask questions and have students respond directly on the video.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Big Ideas Video Series - Class Dojo
Grades
K to 8tag(s): brain (56), emotions (48), empathy (32), learning styles (18), social and emotional learning (96), social skills (23)
In the Classroom
You may want to start your school year by sharing the three part video series on Empathy. Each video is five minutes and has a discussion guide. As a follow up use the Ripples of Kindness activity in small groups. Share younger students' observations on a whiteboard or poster. Older students can share their observations using a tool like Stickies, reviewed here. Dotstorming allows participants to add comments. Share other videos with a projector or on an interactive whiteboard to introduce a video each week and explore the discussion questions together. These videos could be very useful when preparing and motivating students for upcoming standardized testing or at the beginning of a school year to set a tone that everyone can learn. Include a link to videos on your class web page for parents to discuss at home with their student, and be sure to send home the take-home questions with topics to talk about.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Happier - Nataly Kogan
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): emotions (48), mental health (36), psychology (67), social and emotional learning (96)
In the Classroom
With testing, social pressure, and the desire to do well use Happier in class to reinforce social-emotional learning (SEL) by celebrating the small steps and successes on which students should be focusing. Teach students to identify positives along the way, no matter what the test or situation's outcome. Consider asking what did you learn from the situation? Identify categories that encompass all of the student's lives and focus on finding happy moments in all areas. Be sure to use this yourself! Find the positives in every facet of your day building happiness day by day. Psychology and Sociology classes can use this as an experiment about happiness, collecting student or family data through the year.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pear Deck - Pear Deck
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): assessment (148), differentiation (88), emotions (48), gamification (79), slides (42), social and emotional learning (96)
In the Classroom
Invite students to join. Students will not see your slides UNTIL you start the presentation. Use the presentation tools. Students' view of the presentation follows the changes you make. Be sure to become familiar with these tools before using the tools with students. As students join, their names appear in the dashboard view. Tools include Lock and Unlock Responses from students, Hide and Show Responses, Ask Again, and more. Answer the questions more than once if desired. Pear Deck maintains the results of both attempts.It may be a good idea to open both the Session Dashboard and the Projector View before using with the students. Keep each in separate tabs (or use a different device such as a tablet for one of these). Be sure to turn off student responses and lock responses UNTIL every student has responded (so students will not be swayed by other responses or change answers). With the draggable slide, insert an image that requires quick input such as where a basketball thrown at a hoop will land, where on a timeline image a specific event occurred, or where erosion would be deposited on a river bend picture. You might consider using Pear Deck as a check in or exit ticket using emojis for feelings or depth of understanding. This resource is invaluable for presenting questions for quick formative assessment of the content that students are to learn in any subject area!
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Do Nothing for 2 Minutes - Alex Tew
Grades
K to 12tag(s): social and emotional learning (96), stress (7)
In the Classroom
Use Do Nothing for 2 Minutess to settle students down after activities or during transition times. Use it to relax them before "big tests." This site may be perfect for those students that need a little quiet time in their daily routine. Use this site with any students who may need some quiet time between transitions. Share this site to use with students while studying. They could study for 15 minutes (or longer, depending on the age) and "earn" two minutes of relaxation. If students feel stressed out about a project, try starting with this 2 minute relaxation exercise to calm the nerves. Use this site for yourself: relaxing, destressing, and enjoying life for a quick 2 minutes. Use this tool during a unit in study skills to talk about ways to refocus as you study. There is great value in incubation time before actually launching into a new project or creative challenge, and this tool can help!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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