Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Games for Languages is a free site that contains blogs, travel stories, and games. Blog topics include learning and retaining a language, knowing verses speaking, and dialect. Travel stories allow you to learn and practice the language. You can learn French, German, Spanish, English, Italian, and Dutch in the game section. Games teach vocabulary, colors, verb tenses, and question words. You can hear the correct pronunciation with each game and practice it yourself. Before playing each game, there is a brief overview of what you will learn and how many minutes the game will take to complete. When playing the game, you have multiple opportunities to learn and practice the language.
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tag(s): game based learning (205), italian (31), multilingual (77)

50 Languages offers games called Memo and Opposites, which allow you to learn a new language. Memo is a memory game in which you match two language cards from a variety of topics including: feelings, animals, music, food, finances, shopping, weather and more. Memo will pronounce the words for you. In Opposites, you find the opposite noun, verb, or adjective. Both games can be played with one or two players, and you can select from 50 different languages.
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tag(s): game based learning (205), multilingual (77)

The Getty Museum's Exploring Photographs provides the tools to analyze photography and enhance learning on any theme, topic, or historical period expressed or documented in photographs. On the right side, "For the Classroom" links directly to lesson plans, image bank, analyzing photographs, CA State Standards Chart, and National Standards Chart. The three lessons featured are Visual Analysis Methods, A Closer Look, and Writing the Artist's Statement. Each lesson has a time allotted, overview, objectives, materials, steps, assessment, and extensions. The lessons are aligned with the Common Core Standards.

tag(s): critical thinking (127), images (263), photography (130)

The Getty Museum's Arts and Science: A Curriculum for K-12 teachers focuses on the science of art production and conservation and the scientific skills of investigation and experimentation; it supports student proficiency in science and visual art. On the right side, "For the Classroom" links directly to lesson plans, image banks, timeline, glossary, print and web resources, and standard charts. The featured lesson topics are titled: Insect Anatomy and the Scientist as Illustrator, Capturing Light: The Science of Photography, and Fighting Corrosion to Save an Ancient Greek Bronze. Each lesson has a time allotted, overview, objectives, materials, steps, assessment, and extensions. Each lesson is divided into beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. The lessons are aligned with the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts.

tag(s): insects (68), photography (130)

The Teach Democracy section on the Share My Lesson website provides educators with a wide range of resources to teach civics, democracy, and government to students. View lesson plans, activities, and multimedia materials designed to help students understand democratic principles, the Constitution, and the importance of civic participation. These resources are ideal for grades K-12 and include engaging materials like simulations, debates, and primary source analyses. The website helps teachers foster critical thinking, civic engagement, and active citizenship, aligned with national and state standards. The videos are hosted on YouTube.

tag(s): bill of rights (33), civil rights (209), constitution (96), democracy (24)

The Getty Center's Historical Witness, Social Messaging lessons explore how art can provoke dialogue regarding the costs and consequences of important events in U.S. and world history while simultaneously effecting social change and increasing awareness among individuals and governments. On the right side, "For the Classroom" links directly to lesson plans, image banks, related works of art, glossary, print and web resources, and standards charts. Click Lesson Plans from the menu on the right to find the eight lesson topics featured; they include: Breaking the Chains, Rising Out of Circumstances, Celebration and Satire, Depicting Women and Class in a Global Society, Flawed Democracies, Human Rights, Land Use and Lawmaking in California, The Many Different Sides of War, What Is Work and Who Are the Workers?, and Putting a Spin on Current Events. Each lesson has a time allotted, overview, objectives, materials, steps, assessment, and extensions. Each lesson is divided into beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. The lessons are aligned to the California Visual Arts Standards, History-Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools, and the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts.

tag(s): art history (102), images (263), photography (130)

The Getty Center's Who's Afraid of Contemporary Art? challenges students to discover how "traditional" works of art have inspired and informed contemporary artists. On the right side, "For the Classroom" links directly to lesson plans, image banks about contemporary art, and a glossary bank. The four lessons featured are titled A Bug's Journey, Chairs, Rooms, and Time Travel, Moving Pictures, Moving Stories, and Sculptural Space/s. Each lesson tells you the time allotted, an overview, the objectives, materials, steps, assessment, and extensions. The lessons are aligned with the California Visual Arts Standards and the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts.

tag(s): art history (102), artists (84)

Visit the items shared in this group by BookWidget users to find and use several different SDG-related activities. After registering for a BookWidgets account, you can use all the items for free. Resources include an invention timeline, quizzes, flashcards, and more. Click on any link to view the resource. Share activities using one of the options to share items with students, including links to send activities to Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams.

tag(s): climate change (99), cross cultural understanding (173), energy (133), flash cards (44), nutrition (140), sustainability (50), timelines (56), women (151)

Great Lakes Now Collection 1 is a free website that offers introductory lessons on the science of the Great Lakes by introducing basic scientific and geographic concepts. Seventeen lessons are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards, the Common Core, Earth Science, and SEP standards. The lessons feature interactive or hands-on activities and videos on topics including the Great Lakes' physical features, the interconnectedness of the water system, and the geology and formation of the Great Lakes. The lessons link to PBS Learning Media, allowing posting on Google Classroom.

tag(s): biomes (110), water (102)

The Library of Congress guide on the 13th Amendment is an invaluable resource for teachers exploring the history of slavery, emancipation, and the evolution of civil rights in the United States. This comprehensive guide provides primary source documents, historical context, and legal insights into the amendment that abolished slavery. Designed for educators, it offers easy access to speeches, legislative records, and images that bring the historical significance of the 13th Amendment to life. Whether you're teaching a civics, history, or government class, this guide equips you with the tools to foster meaningful discussions about freedom, justice, and the enduring impact of this landmark amendment.

tag(s): civil rights (209), constitution (96), emancipation proclamation (13), slavery (79)

Follow two curious mice, August and Pearl, as they explore the artwork in over one hundred museums worldwide. Their easy-to-understand observations and conversations provide a unique and playful perspective. After launching the activity, choose to explore by art or museum view. Replay conversations and toggle on subtitles if desired. After listening to the conversation, return to choose a new selection or choose the link to explore other art available in the museum.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (177), artists (84), museums (52)

Farm Food 360 showcases virtual tours of various aspects of farm life and food. The tours include eggs, sheep, mushrooms, veal, chickens, beef, turkeys, pigs, milk, and many more. The different Farms connect to videos, quick facts, lesson plans, and related resources. You must create an account to access the lesson plans and related resources.

tag(s): agriculture (49), animals (294), nutrition (140), virtual field trips (128)

NASA At Home: Virtual Tours and Apps explores the solar system and beyond by uncovering worlds, stars, and cosmic mysteries near and far with their robust fleet of space and ground-based missions. There are three sections of videos: The International Space Station, the Solar System, and NASA. Videos on the International Space Station include training the astronauts, exploring NASA's deep space network, payload Operations Integration Center, and Hubble Space Telescope. Solar System videos are on Perseverance and the Moon. NASA virtual tour videos showcase Goddard Space Flight Center and Wallops Flight Facility.

tag(s): planets (113), solar system (110), space (222), virtual field trips (128)

Johnson Virtual Tours are free 3-D tours inside the Johnson Space Center. Tours include the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility, Christopher C. Kraft Mission Control Center, Flight Control Room-1 (FCR-1), Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), Ellington Field, and Lunar Sample Curation Laboratory. Questions and answers (Q&A) are also available to answer questions on Mission Control and Living in Space. When you are on the tour, you can watch videos, learn information, and see photographs.

tag(s): space (222), virtual field trips (128)

NASA's Glenn Virtual Tours are free 3-D tours inside the Glenn Research Facility. Tours include the Supersonic Wind Tunnel, Low Speed Wind Tunnel, Electric Propulsion and Power Laboratory, In-Space Propulsion Facility, Icing Research Tunnel, Ballistic Impact Lab, Flight Research Building, Propulsion Systems Laboratory, Simulated Lunar Operations Lab, Space Environments Complex, and Zero-Gravity Facility. When you are on the tour, you can watch videos, learn information, and see photographs.

tag(s): aeronautics (11), virtual field trips (128)

Great Lakes Now offers free five-minute virtual field trips to coastal wetlands, algae, and Lake Sturgeon. The website states that the videos are for grades 6-8 but could be shared with other grades if they cover the topics in the curriculum.

tag(s): habitats (92), virtual field trips (128)

The YouTube Kids platform provides teachers a safe, engaging tool to incorporate kid-friendly video content into the classroom. The site offers a simplified and safer experience for children exploring videos, with customizable parental controls and personalized student profiles. There is also a free app available. Teachers can tailor content to specific age groups (4 and under, 5-8, or 9-12), ensuring that videos align with students' developmental levels. The platform also allows educators to share relevant content directly with students, manage screen time, and block inappropriate videos when necessary. With its smaller, curated content library and protections like automated filters and human reviews, YouTube Kids offers a secure way to enrich lessons with videos while fostering responsible media consumption habits in students.
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tag(s): enrichment (13), internet safety (114), personalized learning (10), playlists (8), video (266)

NASA's Visual Universe website, part of Google's Arts & Culture Experiments, offers an interactive and visually stunning exploration of NASA's extensive media archive. This platform uses artificial intelligence designed to process large amounts of data, identify patterns, and group related content to analyze and organize over 150,000 NASA images, videos, and audio files into clusters of related content. Images of Mars rovers, audio from Apollo missions, and videos of spacewalks are organized into groups, making exploration more engaging. Teachers can guide students through activities such as exploring the visual history of space exploration, discovering thematic connections, and discussing the role of art and technology in science communication. The site is an excellent resource for integrating STEM with visual literacy and inspiring curiosity about space and innovation.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (177), space (222), STEM (297), visual literacy (3)

Geography.com is an engaging educational resource that helps teachers bring geography to life in the classroom. The site offers interactive maps, quizzes, articles, and videos covering physical geography, human geography, climate, and world cultures. It provides student-friendly explanations, real-world examples, and multimedia content to support lessons on global issues, ecosystems, and geographic concepts. With its interactive approach, Geography.com is a valuable tool for fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and spatial awareness in students of all grade levels.

tag(s): climate (84), critical thinking (127), cultures (180), ecosystems (83), maps (220), multimedia (53)

Games and AI in the World Language Class is a blog post and podcast that shares five games to play in the classroom. The games included are Mentira or Verdad, Who Has the Question, Trashguetbol, Game of Boom, and Group Bingo. Under each game header, you receive directions on how to play the game, along with tips. The blog suggests using the AI tool Questionwell.org to create the questions in your desired language.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (177), game based learning (205), multilingual (77)