TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Dec 15, 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

 

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Change Makers - Pioneering Women - TeachersFirst

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K to 12
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Women have blazed trails and opened doors for future generations through their pioneering achievements in science and medicine, politics, civil rights, media, sports, and countless...more
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Women have blazed trails and opened doors for future generations through their pioneering achievements in science and medicine, politics, civil rights, media, sports, and countless other areas. Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize for her pioneering work on radioactivity. Aviator Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Civil rights giants like Rosa Parks and Mary McLeod Bethune fought racial injustice and advanced equality at significant personal risk. From the frontlines of scientific exploration to the vanguard of human rights movements, these tenacious women defied societal conventions, overcame steep obstacles, and profoundly expanded opportunities for those who followed in their pioneering footsteps.

tag(s): women (144), womenchangemaker (32), womens suffrage (50)

In the Classroom

Skim this collection of reviewed resources to find appropriate pioneers to share with your students. Don't miss the "In The Classroom" section for lesson stems and ideas to integrate the resources with your lessons.

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Upschool - Richard Mills and Gavin McCormack

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K to 12
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Upschool provides many free learning opportunities aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The core of Upschool's content includes a selection of 10-week and short courses...more
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Upschool provides many free learning opportunities aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The core of Upschool's content includes a selection of 10-week and short courses with topics such as The Solar System and Beyond and The Importance of Mountains. Additional learning opportunities include Social Scenarios, Comprehension Corner, SDG Challenges, and Teacher Training. Upschool also has a library of over one hundred books submitted by authors with a special message to share. Read the books online or download them as a PDF for free. Many of the books also include teaching resources such as task cards.

tag(s): animals (289), antarctica (30), careers (141), climate (83), earth (185), explorers (66), food chains (17), gifted (65), glaciers (16), journalism (72), mountains (10), oceans (149), Online Learning (42), photography (118), planets (112), plants (147), rainforests (18), social and emotional learning (96), solar system (109), sustainability (43), weather (161), writing (322)

In the Classroom

Share Upschools 10-week and short courses with students to complete as individualized learning projects. Encourage gifted students to select courses that meet their interests and develop a personal learning plan based on the content. Each course includes accompanying materials for parents and teachers to support student learning. Use Whiteboard.chat, reviewed here as a collaboration tool for students while taking courses provided on the site. Create a board for each "cohort" to share ideas, ask questions, and add resources. After completing courses, ask students to share their learning through a method of their choosing. Examples might include podcasts shared using Spotify for Podcasters, reviewed here or videos created with Typito, reviewed here.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Resources related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - TeachersFirst

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K to 12
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If you are not familiar with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), learn about them through the resources in this collection. The SDGs are the 17 global goals adopted by the ...more
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If you are not familiar with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), learn about them through the resources in this collection. The SDGs are the 17 global goals adopted by the United Nations designed to be a blueprint for achieving a more sustainable future for all. In this collection, you will find helpful information about the SDGs and web resources to help you to teach the SDGs in your lessons. There are resources included for all grade levels.

tag(s): climate (83), energy (131), recycling (45), sustainability (43), water (100)

In the Classroom

Help to deepen your students' understanding (and your own) of the Sustainable Development Goals. Share these resources with your colleagues and students by emailing the page or sharing the link from your school web page and in your school newsletter. Find resources to incorporate into your lessons.

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Oxfam's Education Resources - OXFAM

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3 to 9
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Find an extensive list of free resources for developing learning about global issues from Oxfam's collection for education. These resources aim to give students the materials and activities...more
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Find an extensive list of free resources for developing learning about global issues from Oxfam's collection for education. These resources aim to give students the materials and activities to think critically and act responsibly. In this collection, you'll find activities, lesson plans, quizzes, PowerPoint presentations, and more. Topics explore high-interest issues for learners ages 7 to 14. Examples of a few cases are Children's Rights, Sustainable Clothing, Climate Change/Emergency/Challenge, Where Food Comes From, and much more. The units are downloadable in PDF format and include plans for different age groups, a teacher overview, related links, a detailed resource outline, and PowerPoints (where applicable).

tag(s): civil rights (201), climate change (93), environment (245), immigration (68), nutrition (135), sustainability (43), women (144)

In the Classroom

These units are very comprehensive! Choose a unit to complete as a class using your interactive whiteboard or projector to show students all activities, links, and other resources. Then go through some titles and descriptions of several units and ask the class which ones they would be interested in exploring. You may want to use a tool such as Padlet, reviewed here, to keep this organized and eventually form student groups. Students interested in the same topic can form small groups to explore their topics. For younger students, structure this in a very organized way in that all students will look at the links for their unit on a certain day and divide them up with their group to explore and share with other group members after a given time. For older students you could modify their technology use using a tool like Kumospace, reviewed here, to keep student groups organized and moving forward in their research. At the end of the research, enhance student learning by having student groups share with the class what they learned using a multimedia tool like Genially, reviewed here. With Genially, students can choose what type of presentation they want to use (interactive poster, infographic, videos, games, etc.).
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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How Do Human Rights Work? - Equality and Human Rights Commission

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8 to 12
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How Do Human Rights Work? is one of twelve lessons offered by the Equality and Human Rights Commission that teaches students about different components of human rights. This lesson...more
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How Do Human Rights Work? is one of twelve lessons offered by the Equality and Human Rights Commission that teaches students about different components of human rights. This lesson begins with a quiz that asks students to consider additional questions about their understanding and views on human rights. The main lessons take a look at human rights throughout history, focusing on modern ideas of human rights that developed after the Holocaust. This lesson includes a complete Teacher's Guide and support materials, with student worksheets and lesson slides. Please note that this lesson plan is still available, but currently only provided on the archived site. When you arrive at the site, click the button to continue to the archived site to see this specific lesson plan.

tag(s): civil rights (201), holocaust (42), identity (28), religions (84), social and emotional learning (96), world war 2 (161)

In the Classroom

Include this lesson as part of lessons teaching about the Holocaust and human rights. Engage students by replacing the quiz on the included slide with an interactive quiz response tool such as Quizizz, reviewed here. Use the PowerPoint slide presentation as a starting point to make an interactive learning experience using Google Slides, reviewed here, or Microsoft PowerPoint, reviewed here. Add links to additional resources, videos, and images to enhance student learning. Extend learning by asking students to create a human rights campaign using Canva for Education, reviewed here. Canva for Education provides options for creating media such as infographics, presentations, and videos.
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Global Citizenship Resources - TeachersFirst

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K to 12
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Encourage your students to be global citizens with the resources shared in this collection. Global citizenship helps students to understand both world events and their role within the...more
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Encourage your students to be global citizens with the resources shared in this collection. Global citizenship helps students to understand both world events and their role within the international community. When students begin to become global citizens, they learn to respect universal values such as peace and the human rights of all people. Use this curated list to start your class discussion of global citizenship.

tag(s): collaboration (94), cross cultural understanding (170)

In the Classroom

Help your students to become global citizens using these engaging resources. Find ways to connect with other schools around the country or even around the world. Share these resources with your colleagues and school parents by emailing the page or sharing the link from your school web page and in your school newsletter.

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Creative ChangeMakers - Creative Visions

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6 to 12
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This middle school and high school curriculum challenges students to think about issues and concerns faced in their communities and beyond, then develop campaigns to overcome the obstacles...more
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This middle school and high school curriculum challenges students to think about issues and concerns faced in their communities and beyond, then develop campaigns to overcome the obstacles found. Based upon Common Core Standards, the program includes over 70 lessons that begin engaging students through developing an understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Lessons don't have to take place in the order offered; select lessons that fit the goals chosen for you and your students.

tag(s): civil rights (201), social and emotional learning (96), women (144)

In the Classroom

Include these free lessons in a variety of ways in your classroom. Use the content to help students understand social causes important to them and how to engage in their cause. This site offers various methods to create social issue campaigns, including music, film, and persuasive writing opportunities. Use this information to differentiate learning opportunities for students with activities that appeal to their interests.
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World's Largest Lesson - Project Everyone

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K to 12
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World's Largest Lesson provides resources for educators who teach students about 17 Global Goals created by the leaders of the 193 countries of the United Nations. Visit the Resources...more
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World's Largest Lesson provides resources for educators who teach students about 17 Global Goals created by the leaders of the 193 countries of the United Nations. Visit the Resources portion of the site to browse through the many activities. Narrow your search using the provided filters to locate information by grade level, topic, type of activity, and more. In addition, if you are interested in a particular goal, say Zero Hunger, find the poster with the 17 goals and click on Zero Hunger to find activities and lessons. Downloadable lessons include complete directions, printable worksheets, and key questions highlighted during the lesson. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable. This site would be a good one to leave for your substitute to use; it's high-interest, no sign-in, and has lesson plans & video clips.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (170), earth (185), energy (131), engineering (126), environment (245), inequalities (24), maps (207), STEM (284), substitutes (26), sustainability (43)

In the Classroom

Discover the many free educational resources found on this site to include with your lessons about global cultures, the environment, health, and technology. Use the activities and lessons found on the World's Largest Lesson to engage students in understanding and processing information related to serious global issues. Have students use a collaborative whiteboard tool such as FigJam, reviewed here, to brainstorm solutions to problems using the sticky note feature or to create mind maps and flow charts to organize further research. Enhance learning by asking students to create an interactive, choose your own adventure story using StoryLab, reviewed here. Ask students to use information learned from their lessons to create a story that tells what happens if the earth continues on its current course vs. what happens when suggested changes are implemented.
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Sojourner Truth: Abolitionist and Human Rights Activist - PBS Learning Media

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3 to 7
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Learn about Sojourner Truth and her fight against slavery along with her support for women and equal rights using primary sources in this lesson provided by PBS Learning Media. The...more
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Learn about Sojourner Truth and her fight against slavery along with her support for women and equal rights using primary sources in this lesson provided by PBS Learning Media. The lesson includes a video and two primary source documents - a photo of Sojourner Truth and excerpts from her most famous speech. Information is correlated to National Standards for History, Civics and Government, Common Core State Standards, and College and Career Readiness Standards.

tag(s): black history (130), civil rights (201), civil war (137), women (144)

In the Classroom

Take advantage of this free lesson to introduce students to Sojourner Truth, Civil Rights, or Women's Rights. Share the lesson into your Google Classroom account using the provided link. Extend this lesson using technology to motivate and engage students as they learn more about each topic. Create an entire unit that includes this lesson within Actively Learn, reviewed here. Include links to additional online resources, have students take notes, and include assessments all within the Actively Learn framework. Use the many resources found at ReadWriteThink, reviewed here, to help students organize and share information. For example, use the Bio Cube with students to organize biographical information on Sojourner Truth or have students use the Comic Creator to tell the story of Sojourner Truth. For a complete multimedia presentation, ask students to use Book Creator, reviewed here, to share their information about Women's Rights. Book Creator offers a variety of options to include in the digital books such as video, images, audio, and more.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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What has the United Nations ever done for you? - The Guardian

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6 to 12
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This interactive offers the opportunity to view what the United Nations has done to help people of all ages from around the world. Choose a persona by entering gender, age, ...more
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This interactive offers the opportunity to view what the United Nations has done to help people of all ages from around the world. Choose a persona by entering gender, age, and country to view a list of ways the United Nations has had a positive influence on their situation. Categories include items such as Human Rights, Child Mortality, and Cultural Heritage. The site was created in the UK, so some of the pronunciations and spellings may differ from those in American English.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (170), cultures (147), united nations (6)

In the Classroom

Introduce this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Allow students to explore on their own. Social studies teachers will want to bookmark this interactive for use throughout the year as students learn about different countries and cultures. Instead of paper notecards enhance student learning by having them use Simplenote, reviewed here, to take digital notes; tell students to be sure to save the URL to share their notes and questions with you and their peers. updates across all devices Then, modify technology use by challenging students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, to explain what they learned from this site.

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Wide Angle Window Into Global History - PBS

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6 to 12
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Looking for videos and resources that peer into Global Issues? Start with this resource! Click the Video Bank to view resources by themes: conflict, power, human rights, social structures,...more
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Looking for videos and resources that peer into Global Issues? Start with this resource! Click the Video Bank to view resources by themes: conflict, power, human rights, social structures, migrations, economic systems, factors of production, or political systems. Also, view the video bank by location in the world. Videos in each theme are up to several minutes in length and are clips of larger videos. Click on the video of choice, to view the video on a larger screen, see the guiding questions, read the background essay and transcript, and find related links. Text can easily be printed using the print function along the bottom. Videos are easily downloaded, with directions for both PC and Mac users. View the country and region map along the left side along with the accompanying lesson plan. Additionally, click on Lesson Plans instead to display the following for each global issue: overview, learning objectives and standards, media components (with links), and materials. Be sure to note the Prep for Teachers along the bottom of each lesson plan.
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tag(s): cross cultural understanding (170), cultures (147), maps (207)

In the Classroom

These resources and videos are extremely flexible for classroom use. Use the film clips for current events, and to also highlight events from the past. Use a video segment to get students thinking about past incidents, solutions, and whether today's environment has changed from that of the past. View a variety of clips from one theme and discuss events in the clip or use a writing assignment to provide time to process the events. Discuss in what ways these clips are similar and other societal, economic, and political factors that affected them. Use any of these videos to find any current events that are still dealing with the same issue today. Be sure to brainstorm how different people, in other areas of the world, would view these issues. Research these issues using resources from other areas of the world to see editorials and news clippings that are not American. Note: Use the country code after your search term or use this news search. Were there other people interviewed about any of these issues? Who are they and what did they say? Consider creating videos showcasing a variety of viewpoints using Typito, reviewed here. Besides the viewpoint of each video, what would be a common question that all videos within the theme have in common? How does the bubble of our American culture hamper our understanding of other people both here in the U.S. and abroad? Research the history and culture of the various areas to identify factors responsible for the themes portrayed by this resource.

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Created Equal - National Endowment for the Humanities

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9 to 12
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Four documentary films related to the Civil Rights Movement, available to stream either in part or in their entirety, form the centerpiece of this effort from the National Endowment...more
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Four documentary films related to the Civil Rights Movement, available to stream either in part or in their entirety, form the centerpiece of this effort from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The films cover time periods beginning with the Abolitionist Movement and continuing through the Freedom Marches and the turbulent 1960s. Explore the meaning of freedom and equality in the United States with relevance still today. There are teacher resources for using Created Equal in the classroom.

tag(s): bill of rights (31), black history (130), civil rights (201), civil war (137), cultures (147), emancipation proclamation (11), segregation (18)

In the Classroom

The documentaries, or the excerpts presented, are all available to stream from the site. While they may be too lengthy to show in their entirety during one class period, they have also been divided into clips according to themes. For example, Equality is part of the full video about Law and the Strategy of Nonviolence. This makes them more adaptable for classroom use. Share the videos on your interactive whiteboard or projector, or flip your class using edpuzzle, reviewed here, and have students watch clips at home and come back to class ready to discuss. eduzzle is a great way to take sections of videos and add your own voice or add questions within the video. Alternatively, you could use VideoAnt, reviewed here, to enhance student learning with students asking questions about the parts where they need clarification. The issues raised by these Created Equal documentaries may be easily incorporated into lessons related to the Civil Rights Movement, modern U.S. history, Black History Month, or civics and government. Use these videos as conversation starters in the classroom.

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UN Water - United Nations Development Programme

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4 to 12
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Water is a basic human need and also a human right. Water and Sanitation is Sustainable Development Goal (SD) 6. Read about this goal and the UN's progress towards ...more
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Water is a basic human need and also a human right. Water and Sanitation is Sustainable Development Goal (SD) 6. Read about this goal and the UN's progress towards it. Explore the statistics, controversies, and issues concerning water use around the globe. Click the "Water Facts" tab to learn important information about Water Ecosystems, Human Rights, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Climate Change, Quality and Waste Water, Scarcity, and more.

tag(s): climate change (93), conservation (92), earth (185), earth day (60), pollution (51), resources (87), sustainability (43), water (100)

In the Classroom

Identify similarities and differences in water issues around the globe. Have cooperative learning groups create online Venn Diagrams comparing two distinct areas and their water issues. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here.

Students can choose an area or topic of interest either individually or as a group. Look at water issues that many students may not be aware of including water quality and distribution. Create a campaign to increase water awareness that may or may not coincide with world water week (or day.) Have students create a video or podcast sharing their campaigns. For podcasts, use a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here. If creating videos, use a tool like FlexClip, reviewed here, where you can add music and the computer microphone to make comments, explain, etc. Share them on a site such as TeacherTube, reviewed here. Use these resources to determine how to help other countries in their need for clean water and how everyone can conserve.

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