TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Dec 14, 2025
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 go to the Featured Sites Archive
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Games and Activities - Van Andel Institute for Education
Grades
K to 8
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Van Andel Institute for Education provides free, engaging games and activities for students in grades K-8. The website is organized into four main sections: Content-Specific, Cross-Curricular,...more
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Van Andel Institute for Education provides free, engaging games and activities for students in grades K-8. The website is organized into four main sections: Content-Specific, Cross-Curricular, Artificial Intelligence, and Social-Emotional Learning. The content-specific games support science, ELA, and engineering skills. Cross-curricular games include Baboon's Dilemma, Fact or Funny, Persuasion Contagion, and Twin to Win. In the AI section, students can explore AI Discovery Quest, Beat the Bot, Right or Wrong, and What is AI?. The social-emotional learning section features resources such as daily SEL activities, social stories, "Diving into CASEL," and "Be Kind to Your Mind" Bingo. Each game links to a Google Slides presentation that includes a teacher overview, estimated time, targeted skills, and reflection prompts.
tag(s): artificial intelligence (216), engineering (140), social and emotional learning (114)
In the Classroom
Students can engage in the activities that are available on the site. Students can use Seesaw, reviewed here to answer the reflection questions. Students can use post answers to questions associated with the different activities using Padlet, reviewed here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Take A Family Break Videos, Activities, and Songs - WXXI
Grades
K to 5
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WXXI's "Take A Family Break" offers short videos and activities designed to help children and adults de-stress through simple exercises, such as stretching, breathing techniques, and...more
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WXXI's "Take A Family Break" offers short videos and activities designed to help children and adults de-stress through simple exercises, such as stretching, breathing techniques, and interactive games. At school, teachers can utilize these quick breaks to enhance focus and foster a calming classroom environment. At home, families can incorporate them into daily routines to bond and manage stress together. Each video includes additional resources, such as articles and related activities, to further support emotional well-being.
tag(s): social and emotional learning (114), stress (7)
In the Classroom
Use the short videos as quick movement or mindfulness breaks between lessons to help students refocus and improve concentration. Activities such as belly breathing or freeze dance can help energize or calm students as needed. Pair activities with subjects like science (learning about the body and breathing), ELA (storytelling exercises), or math (counting games). This helps reinforce learning in a fun, interactive way. Turn the activities into a class-wide challenge by tracking the number of different exercises students try each week. Encourage students to share their favorite techniques and create their own variations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mind and Movement - Let's Learn
Grades
K to 3
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Let's Learn Mind and Movement provides free, engaging videos that encourage children to stay active and practice mindfulness through "Let's Move" and "Let's Be Mindful" segments. Perfect...more
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Let's Learn Mind and Movement provides free, engaging videos that encourage children to stay active and practice mindfulness through "Let's Move" and "Let's Be Mindful" segments. Perfect for brain breaks or transitions, these short videos--ranging from 1 to 10 minutes--help support physical wellness and emotional regulation. Educators can sort content by themes such as Transformation, Feelings, My Five Senses, Animals, Plants, Colors, and more, making it easy to integrate movement and mindfulness into daily routines.
tag(s): emotions (52), social and emotional learning (114)
In the Classroom
Students can use Book Creator, reviewed here to create a book about their feelings. Students can use Aha Slides, reviewed here to create word clouds to generate synonyms for feeling words.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Microsoft Reflect - Microsoft
Grades
K to 12
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Reflect is a well-being app that uses check-ins to support connections in learning communities and promote a culture of self-awareness and empathy. Reflect is built into Teams education...more
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Reflect is a well-being app that uses check-ins to support connections in learning communities and promote a culture of self-awareness and empathy. Reflect is built into Teams education accounts and requires signing in with a valid school account to use within Google Classroom, Canvas, and other Learning Management Systems. Some available activities include brain breaks, guided meditation, and 2-minute stretching routines.
tag(s): classroom management (106), communication (113), social and emotional learning (114), Teacher Utilities (194)
In the Classroom
Use Reflect as part of your classroom social and emotional support activities. For elementary classrooms, include daily check-ins, provide learning opportunities to encourage the use of emotional vocabulary, and incorporate reflections as part of discussions of characters and their emotions when reading stories and books. In middle school, include Reflect as part of weekly check-ins for emotional support, facilitate group discussions based upon feedback from check-ins, or use Reflect's tools to encourage students to set personal and academic goals. Use Reflect with high school students to promote mental health awareness and provide tools for stress management.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Drench - FlashByNight.com
Grades
K to 12
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Drench is a highly addicting, entertaining problem-solving game for players of any age. The concept is straightforward: use the buttons to change the colors in the square and drench...more
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Drench is a highly addicting, entertaining problem-solving game for players of any age. The concept is straightforward: use the buttons to change the colors in the square and drench the square with one color within the prescribed number of moves to complete the game. Each game begins with the square in the top left-hand side of the large square. Click on one of the colors in the circles next to the square that touches the starting piece. Continue expanding the block of colors to fill in the large square with one color. Upon successful completion, move to a different level that becomes more challenging by offering fewer opportunities to drench the square.
tag(s): brain (58), classroom management (106), game based learning (215), logic (158), problem solving (243), social and emotional learning (114)
In the Classroom
Add Drench to your resources to share with students for quick brain-break activities that encourage problem-solving through gameplay. Ask students to share their strategies for selecting colors as they work toward completing the game board. Curate and organize brain break activities into a single resource to share with students using Symbaloo, reviewed here or 3X3 Links, reviewed here. Find more ideas for brain break activities on TeachersFirst Special Topics Page: Brain Breaks for Students, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TEACHFLIX - Ditch That Textbook
Grades
K to 12
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Teaching with videos engages and excites students, but finding the right video takes time. TEACHFLIX is a curated collection of videos shared by classroom teachers to put to immediate...more
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Teaching with videos engages and excites students, but finding the right video takes time. TEACHFLIX is a curated collection of videos shared by classroom teachers to put to immediate use in class. Begin by browsing by grade level or content area. If browsing by grade level, open up your choice to view all videos or narrow your selection by specific topics. No registration is required; however, sign up with your email to receive the Teaching with TEACHFLIX ebook to download, which includes suggestions and activities to use with videos. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
tag(s): coding (89), computational thinking (37), computers (108), digital citizenship (84), engineering (140), problem solving (243), social and emotional learning (114), STEM (331), virtual field trips (131)
In the Classroom
Use this curated collection of videos to engage students in lessons in all subjects. Use edpuzzle, reviewed here, to enhance the video content by adding comments, questions, and more within the video. Create interactive lessons with videos from this collection, formative assessments, and other interactive content using Pear Deck, reviewed here, to present material in a deeper, more robust manner. Upon completion of your lesson, extend learning by asking students to share their learning using a simple web page builder such as Straw.Page, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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My Social Media Life - Common Sense Education
Grades
6 to 9
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This lesson provides resources for guiding middle-school students in learning about the role of social media in their lives, especially the effect of social media on relationships....more
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This lesson provides resources for guiding middle-school students in learning about the role of social media in their lives, especially the effect of social media on relationships. The lesson plan takes approximately forty-five minutes to complete; however, an alternative suggestion shares a fifteen-minute quick activity. Resources provided include a slide presentation, video, student handouts, and family take-home information. Also available is the correlation to Common Core ELA, CASEL, AASL, and ISTE Standards. You will need to sign in to access this free lesson and resources.
tag(s): digital citizenship (84), social and emotional learning (114), social media (50)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this lesson plan for use with lessons on media literacy, social media, or social-emotional learning. Engage students by creating visual mindmaps or flow charts using Coggle, reviewed here. For example, create a mind map with different social platforms and ask students to share the pros and cons of using each tool. Use a flow chart to share suggestions on how to address common issues that occur through the use of social media and relationships. As a final activity, ask students to create interesting video presentations using Typito, reviewed here. Typito's drag and drop interface includes free templates, drag and drop features, and the ability to personalize and share content easily.
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Overcoming Obstacles K-12 Curriculum - Community for Education Foundation, Inc.
Grades
K to 12
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Overcoming Obstacles free curriculum shares hundreds of lessons based upon a foundation of thirty life skills. Skills include effective communication, making informed decisions, setting...more
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Overcoming Obstacles free curriculum shares hundreds of lessons based upon a foundation of thirty life skills. Skills include effective communication, making informed decisions, setting goals, respecting one another, and more. Find content organized into four grade bands, beginning with kindergarten through second grade and finishing with high school. Each printable lesson starts with a plan that includes goals, objectives, and a materials list. In addition to specific lesson instructions, each activity includes additional extensions to practice and reinforce skills taught. All information is available without registration; however, registering on the site allows you to customize lessons before downloading and saving. In addition, student activity sheets are available for download in 25 languages.
tag(s): communication (113), conflict resolution (10), OER (38), problem solving (243), social and emotional learning (114)
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.
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WellCheq - Jodi Miller
Grades
K to 12
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WellCheq is a digital application that provides a daily wellness check-in for students. Students log in each day and answer two questions - how are you feeling today, and how ...more
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WellCheq is a digital application that provides a daily wellness check-in for students. Students log in each day and answer two questions - how are you feeling today, and how are you doing overall? This information is then immediately available to the teacher or counselor. WellCheq tracks both individual and class data over the short and long term. Students reporting a three (out of five) or lower are identified with an email to the teacher and go on the Students of Concern page. Students log in through the student portal to provide responses and access suggested resources. There is a link for students to ask for help using the "Cheq on me" button. Create and use a teacher account to add and manage classrooms and access reports. Reports include daily information, students of concern, as well as longitudinal class and student reports.
tag(s): emotions (52), identity (35), social and emotional learning (114), Teacher Utilities (194)
In the Classroom
Add this 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 12
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Morningside Center provides resources for K-12 educators that encourage social responsibility and help develop social and emotional skills. The site was created following 9/11 to help...more
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Morningside Center provides resources for K-12 educators that encourage social responsibility and help develop social and emotional skills. The site was created following 9/11 to help teachers address sensitive issues that arose in the aftermath of the tragedy. Select the Classroom Resources section to find and filter TeachableMoments lessons. Sort by topic area, subject, and grade level or search by keyword. Each lesson includes instructions and background information as well as links to supporting material. The site is constantly updated with lessons relating to current events. Many activities include links to YouTube videos, if your district blocks YouTube; the videos may not be viewable.
tag(s): bullying (46), climate change (100), conflict resolution (10), disasters (36), diversity (49), elections (83), holidays (228), Juneteenth (22), politics (120), racism (80), religions (123), social and emotional learning (114), women (174)
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 12
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SpeakUp! is a non-profit organization that provides resources to support teens in their social emotional learning (SEL) while developing positive relationships with adults. Their programs'...more
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SpeakUp! is a non-profit organization that provides resources to support teens in their social emotional learning (SEL) while developing positive relationships with adults. Their programs' focus is on encouraging teens to have supportive conversations that help teens deal with any issues. Register for upcoming programs or learn how to become a SpeakUp! school. Be sure to check out the link to the site's resources that includes helpful guides with contact information for help with many different topics, including suicide, drug abuse, bullying, and more.
tag(s): bullying (46), cyberbullying (42), diseases (65), drugs and alcohol (27), eating disorders (6), sexuality (14), social and emotional learning (114), social media (50)
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.
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Teach With Movies - TeachWithMovies.com, Inc.
Grades
3 to 12
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Hundreds of teachable movies! That's how many lesson plans or guides you'll find at Teach With Movies. Search one of the numerous categories to locate the movie, documentary, or short...more
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Hundreds of teachable movies! That's how many lesson plans or guides you'll find at Teach With Movies. Search one of the numerous categories to locate the movie, documentary, or short you want. Some of the categories are Subject Matter (and not just math, science, history, etc.), Social-Emotional Learning (themes like Ambition, Coming of Age, and many others), Appropriate Age (three through adult), and Set Up the Sub (found on the top menu under Features), just to name a few. Lessons include a general summary of the film and discussion questions with answers. Most also include a rationale for using the movie, the subjects, topics, and themes, if there is a book - a bit of background and review of it, objectives, possible problems, historical context, and more. Of course, the topics for consideration depend on the film. Sign up for the newsletter to see when there are lesson guides for the newest movies. Whether culminating a unit or introducing one, using these lessons and guides along with the video will help to make a lasting impression about your topic.
tag(s): difficult conversations (53), essays (20), movies (55), questioning (34), social and emotional learning (114), social skills (24), worksheets (72), writing (308)
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 Bluesky 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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ClassDojo Big Ideas, Big Conversations - Class Dojo
Grades
K to 8
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Looking for a simple way to spark meaningful conversations and build a positive classroom culture? The ClassDojo Ideas website offers a collection of engaging, ready-to-use activities...more
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Looking for a simple way to spark meaningful conversations and build a positive classroom culture? The ClassDojo Ideas website offers a collection of engaging, ready-to-use activities and lessons designed to support social-emotional learning, classroom community building, and student well-being. Organized into categories such as mindfulness, empathy, growth mindset, and gratitude, the content features short videos, discussion prompts, and reflection exercises that can be easily integrated into daily classroom routines. Ideal for elementary teachers, these resources encourage students to develop positive behaviors and emotional intelligence in a fun and interactive way.
tag(s): brain (58), emotions (52), empathy (39), learning styles (19), social and emotional learning (114), social skills (24)
In the Classroom
You may want to start your school year by sharing the three-part Empathy video series. 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.io, reviewed here. Stickies.io 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.
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Radio Rookies - WNYC Public Radio
Grades
8 to 12
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Radio Rookies offers programming created by teens for teens to help in coping with the challenges of teen life. Scroll down the home page to browse through recent episodes and ...more
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Radio Rookies offers programming created by teens for teens to help in coping with the challenges of teen life. Scroll down the home page to browse through recent episodes and articles featuring difficult topics such as abuse, dating, and dealing with peers. Become a part of Radio Rookies by downloading the DIY Radio Rookies Toolkit here, featuring ideas and information for sharing your own story. Be sure to check out the features of the toolkit for videos and tip sheets with ideas for using Radio Rookies as a teaching tool. Please note - many topics discussed on this site are sensitive, and not necessarily appropriate for your class. Be sure to preview any broadcast before sharing with the class.
tag(s): adolescence (7), behavior (40), difficult conversations (53), emotions (52), radio (19), social and emotional learning (114), social skills (24)
In the Classroom
Be sure to include this site on your class webpage for students to access both in and outside of class as a resource for hearing how peers handle difficult teenage issues. Share a link with parents as a resource for them to use with their teen. Remind parents to PREVIEW! Be sure to share with your school's counselor as an excellent tool for use when working with students. Listen to episodes together with your class, and then have cooperative learning groups create podcasts discussing specific issues found in your school or classroom. Use a tool such as podomatic, reviewed here. Before beginning the podcast, have students create a storyboard using a tool like Notepad, reviewed here. They will also need to develop a script and practice. Try using Typewrite, reviewed here, for students to write the script collaboratively. This tool allows groups to write together. All the tools mentioned in this review will augment classroom technology use.
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