TeachersFirst's Reference Materials

 A collection of reference materials is an invaluable asset for students at all educational levels. Reference materials are helpful to all students, especially our multilingual learners. These materials serve as foundational tools for research, fact-checking, and expanding knowledge across various disciplines. Digital reference tools have revolutionized access to information, offering features like full-text search, multimedia content, translation, and other accessibility features. By leveraging these diverse reference materials, students can enhance their research skills, verify information accuracy, and develop a deeper understanding of their subjects, ultimately fostering academic success and lifelong learning habits.

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Connected Papers - ConnectedPapers.com

Grades
K to 12
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Connected Papers generates visual graphs of connected and similar papers based on your search queries. Begin with a search for a topic or use the name of a paper to ...more
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Connected Papers generates visual graphs of connected and similar papers based on your search queries. Begin with a search for a topic or use the name of a paper to find academic research papers, select a title that fits your criteria, and then select a paper to build your graph. Create a graph with links to scholarly papers relating to your topic and clickable links to view the documents. Free accounts allow members to create five monthly graphs.

tag(s): professional development (373), Research (84)

In the Classroom

Share this site with high school students to find academic papers related to their current research projects or use this tool as a professional aid to research current teaching practices. If citing research found when using Connecting Papers, use MyBib, reviewed here to create citations in many different formats.

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ZeroGPT - ZeroGPT

Grades
4 to 12
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ZeroGPT offers a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including a plagiarism checker, chat, summarizer, spell checker, citation generator, and more. Select a tool from the left...more
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ZeroGPT offers a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including a plagiarism checker, chat, summarizer, spell checker, citation generator, and more. Select a tool from the left side of the chat box, then type in text, upload a document, or paste text to begin. Registration isn't required but allows you to save and access your history. Free plans include up to 15,000 characters in AI detection, 1,500 in the AI Summarizer, 300 words in the paraphraser, and 1,000 prompts in ZeroChat-4.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (169), citations (32), editing (93), plagiarism (33), summarizing (23), writing (320)

In the Classroom

Use ZeroGPT for several purposes, including checking student work for AI-written content with the AI detector tool. However, caution should be exercised, as not all information provided by AI tools is accurate. The AI checker gives you a percentage likelihood that the content is either written by AI or a human. This site should be used as part of a qualified educator's overall evaluation of work and not as a sole means of evaluation. If students use AI to create writing projects, images, or media, teach them to use the citation generator to provide credit for using AI in their work.

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Almanack - Almanack.ai

Grades
K to 12
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Almanack uses AI (artificial intelligence) to generate lesson plans and materials for educators. Create an account to begin using Almanack and access your account dashboard. Select...more
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Almanack uses AI (artificial intelligence) to generate lesson plans and materials for educators. Create an account to begin using Almanack and access your account dashboard. Select the Resources link to choose from options to create a resource. Options include assessments, group activities, slide decks, and additional activities. After selecting one of the tools, follow the prompts to add course information, learning objectives, and outcomes. Export materials created by Almanack to Google Docs, PowerPoint, or Google Slides and edit as needed, depending on the type of tool made. Use the Courses link to develop lessons and units using Almanack's suggestions or add information manually.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (169), assessment (143), presentations (23), Teacher Utilities (183), worksheets (69)

In the Classroom

Use Almanack to quickly create classroom slide presentations, worksheets, and learning activities. Quickly create materials to differentiate instruction using the same topic but adjusting for different grade levels to meet students' abilities. A straightforward way to learn how to use Almanack is by beginning with the resources section. For example, start with video recommendations to find YouTube videos to include with your lessons. Being as specific as possible with requests will lead to the best suggestions that meet your needs.

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MyBib - MyBib.com

Grades
6 to 12
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MyBib is a bibliography and citation generator that offers many different citation styles. Use this simple tool to create and save citations for various resources, including websites,...more
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MyBib is a bibliography and citation generator that offers many different citation styles. Use this simple tool to create and save citations for various resources, including websites, PDFs, and ISBN. Begin by selecting the type of resource from the options bar or drag a PDF onto the site. Follow the prompts that may ask for additional information. When finished, select the download option to copy and add to a document, choose from other options to print, add to Google Drive, and more. Creating an account is optional; however, it allows you to save your citations for future use. MyBib also offers a Chrome extension that creates citations directly from websites.

tag(s): citations (32), expository writing (31), persuasive writing (58), plagiarism (33), Research (84)

In the Classroom

Include this tool on all classroom computers and as a link on your class website for student use. This bibliography tool helps students properly format their Works Cited pages. Use this tool to help keep your students (or even yourself) organized! Make sure you teach plagiarism lessons about paraphrasing and proper citation of sources, so students use this tool properly! Take the drudgery out of writing formal papers by emphasizing thinking over mechanics. Whether teaching beginning research or seniors in high school, introduce them to MyBib. For younger students, seeing all the formatting and citing done correctly from the beginning makes sense, whether it is the body of the writing or the bibliography. With either age group, give lessons about each part of a paper or letter. Demonstrate on an interactive whiteboard (or with a projector) and think out loud as a group to pull together ideas, sources, quotes, and more to support an argument and build a paper. You can use it, too, when you write for your graduate program. Since you can choose from virtually any formatting style, you do not have to worry about memorizing punctuation and double-checking the format.

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Country Flag Pictures - FlagPictures

Grades
3 to 12
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Flag Pictures shares information about country, military, marine, and military flags and their story. Explore flags by topic or use the search bar to find specific flags. Country results...more
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Flag Pictures shares information about country, military, marine, and military flags and their story. Explore flags by topic or use the search bar to find specific flags. Country results include several data points, including population, capital, and more. Download any image using the provided link.

tag(s): countries (72), flags (17)

In the Classroom

Bookmark this site to use as a quick reference and resource for information about any country. Share results on your interactive whiteboard with students. Engage students in learning by using flag images from this site using Whiteboared.chat, reviewed here. Create and share a Whiteboard.chat with students and add the flag image. Ask students to add sticky notes to the board, sharing information they already know and questions they want to find out. As students learn more about countries and their flags, create digital books sharing their learning using Book Creator, reviewed here, that include student text, upload images, and videos.

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openverse - Creative Commons

Grades
5 to 12
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openverse is a search tool to find free images that are available under public domain and Creative Commons licenses. At the time of this review, in Beta, is an Audio ...more
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openverse is a search tool to find free images that are available under public domain and Creative Commons licenses. At the time of this review, in Beta, is an Audio search. Type your search term in the search bar to begin browsing. Narrow your options by using the available filters, including image type, file type, source, image ratio, and image size. Each image includes HTML attribution information to copy and paste onto your web page.

tag(s): copyright (44), creative commons (28), images (260), photography (120), search engines (48)

In the Classroom

Use this image search in a variety of ways for classroom use. Ask students to find images of cells, animals, geographic formations, etc. to use with class projects and presentations. Be sure to remind students to use the attribution link along with the photo, especially when publishing on the web. Keep this site as a reference link on your class web page for any time students are creating wikis, blogs, or electronic projects where they need images. They can find just the right picture with CC licensing, and you should require them to include the citation provided! Be sure that students understand the rules for sharing appropriate and inappropriate images and copyright concerns.

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National Park Service - National Park Service

Grades
5 to 12
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Celebrate and learn about America's national parks through the home page of the National Park Service. This site provides comprehensive information on planning a park visit, exploring...more
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Celebrate and learn about America's national parks through the home page of the National Park Service. This site provides comprehensive information on planning a park visit, exploring nature, and getting involved as a volunteer. Choose from a variety of lesson plans sortable by subject, grade level, and Common Core Standards. Find the lessons by clicking on the site menu, then slide over to Learn & Explore, slide down to Educators, choose your topic. Most lessons will have a download button to print lessons using the link to the PDF file. The National Park Service also offers several resources to loan to classrooms such as traveling trunks. Although traveling trunks ship for free; you pay for return shipping.

tag(s): animal homes (57), animals (295), habitats (90), national parks (29)

In the Classroom

Bookmark and save this site to use with a wide variety of language arts, science, and social studies activities. Take advantage of the free lesson plans to include with your classroom activities. Include the section for kids with your other bookmarks on classroom computers for students to explore during science centers or during free reading time as a non-fiction selection. Share images from the media gallery with students as you study biomes, states, or historic areas of the United States. As students learn about different parks around the country, ask them to modify their technology use to create infographics using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, to share facts and information. Transform student technology use even further by asking students to use Google My Maps, reviewed here, to create a virtual field trip to a national park or across different biomes found in the United States. Include this site with your history lessons then ask students to use eStory, reviewed here, to create an animated map telling the story of historic events including text, images, historical maps, and more.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Dictionary.com - Dictionary.com, LLC

Grades
4 to 12
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Dictionary.com provides much more information than a typical dictionary. Browse the page to find the Word of the Day, grammar tips, and word trends. Use the menu tabs at the ...more
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Dictionary.com provides much more information than a typical dictionary. Browse the page to find the Word of the Day, grammar tips, and word trends. Use the menu tabs at the top of the page to play games, find the meaning of Emojis, Slang, Acronyms, and more. Creating an account isn't necessary; however, it allows you to save words as favorites.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (146), dictionaries (48), game based learning (187), thesaurus (22), word choice (14)

In the Classroom

Use this online dictionary instead of printed dictionaries and thesauruses in the classroom. Be sure to share a link to this site on your class website. Display the word of the day on your interactive whiteboard as a lesson starter during writing or language arts lessons. Ask students to include featured words during writing activities using Google Documents, then highlight each time the word is used. Take it a "tech" step further and have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. Dive even deeper and have students or groups of students create daily video presentations featuring their choice for word of the day (or week) using a tool like Powtoon, reviewed here. Share their videos on a site such as TeacherTube, reviewed here.

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Space, NASA Information and News - Tech Media Network

Grades
3 to 12
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Space.com is your one stop extraterrestrial resource! Featuring current information and articles about all things out of this world, Space.com is a resource full of images, videos,...more
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Space.com is your one stop extraterrestrial resource! Featuring current information and articles about all things out of this world, Space.com is a resource full of images, videos, and interactives. Images here are brilliant and beautiful. Articles are professional and meaningful.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): moon (72), nasa (30), space (216), stars (70), sun (71)

In the Classroom

Share the videos and activities on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Try using this website as a resource in art class to have students find a picture and recreate it though their own interpretation. Have students in a language arts class choose a photograph and create a story about how it came to be as a creative writing exercise. Have students in science class use it as a research resource for adding great images to their presentations. Or assign a particular article that relates to an astronomy class, have the whole class read it as homework, and then have them post reactions on a class wiki page. Not familiar with wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.

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World Sites Atlas - sitesatlas.com

Grades
3 to 12
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Look up countries, continents, animals and other features to make the world come alive using this interactive site. One of the easiest ways to find maps available is to choose ...more
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Look up countries, continents, animals and other features to make the world come alive using this interactive site. One of the easiest ways to find maps available is to choose the map link near the top of the site to get a listing of all maps available. You can also scroll down and search by state. Selections include physical and political world maps, maps by continent or region, countries and territories, U.S. states and Canadian provinces, maps of U.S. cities, and thematic world maps. The thematic world map may be particularly useful in some classrooms as it offers interesting statistical information such as public debt, internet users, and many more topics.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): continents (32), countries (72), maps (215), states (124), statistics (120)

In the Classroom

Share this site with your students on your interactive whiteboard or projector, and then allow them to explore on their own on classroom computers. Create a scavenger hunt for students to find information included on maps located on the site. Have students find interesting facts, then prepare a scavenger hunt for other students.

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Khan Academy - Sal Khan

Grades
4 to 12
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There are plenty of helpful sites to learn content. What makes this so special? Created by an uncle wanting to help his nieces learn material, Khan Academy has grown into ...more
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There are plenty of helpful sites to learn content. What makes this so special? Created by an uncle wanting to help his nieces learn material, Khan Academy has grown into a Creative Commons attributed site for helping all students. What information is available? Maybe one should ask: What are you looking for? View a vast array of videos on many topics: SAT prep, Algebra, Geometry, Chemistry, Biology, History, Trigonometry, Calculus, Economics, Brain Teasers, Banking and Money, Statistics, Finance, Physics, and more....Whew! The only problem? The videos are hosted on You Tube. If your district blocks You Tube, then they may not be viewable. Ed note: An alternative is to access Khan Academy through iTunes U FREE downloads, assuming you can load and access iTunes!

tag(s): atoms (44), cells (83), energy (131), functions (51), homework (29), matter (46), molecules (43), photosynthesis (21), respiration (10), structures (18)

In the Classroom

Share the site with your students in order to access at home for homework help. List this link on your class website. If you are unable to view this site on student computers but You Tube is unblocked for teachers, consider using a projector or interactive whiteboard to show to the whole class. Use your google account to log in once you click on the exercises link. From there, find access to exercises that students can complete that are related to each video. Encourage students to share links to specific videos they find helpful on a "Video Reviews" (yes, that is a pun) page of your class wiki. For a very real challenge, have students create their own simple review videos in the Khan Academy style using FlexClip, reviewed here. FlexClip is designed to allow you to create short animated or explainer videos to share on YouTube and other social media sites, then, upload to SchoolTube, TeacherTube, or YouTube, whichever works best in your school. Embed them on your class wiki for a year-to-year student-made study guide!

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Linda R., , Grades: 0 - 12

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College Confidential - Hobsons Inc

Grades
9 to 12
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College Confidential is one of the many websites designed to help students evaluate and choose a college. As with other such sites, there is a "Find a College" section, advice ...more
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College Confidential is one of the many websites designed to help students evaluate and choose a college. As with other such sites, there is a "Find a College" section, advice on preparing a successful application to the colleges of your choice, financial aid information, and a discussion community with forums where students voice opinions about the colleges and the application process. Students can view videos and photos of the colleges. Using much of College Confidential requires registration, but there is no fee. Registration does require an email address. You may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.

tag(s): college (44), financial aid (12)

In the Classroom

College counselors can provide links to College Confidential as one of the resources for students to use in searching for a college. Although a double edged sword, the on line forums for students to share opinions can provide important first hand information from an unbiased perspective, and the reality is that more students are turning to social networking to gain information about post-secondary education. There are virtual chats and open houses happening regularly from the site, and students may feel these "conversations" offer more honest and useful data than relying on the traditional college controlled marketing material.

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Google Earth - Google

Grades
K to 12
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Bring the world into your classroom with Google Earth. This interactive view of the Earth (and more) is available on all web browsers. Find landforms, geographic locations features,...more
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Bring the world into your classroom with Google Earth. This interactive view of the Earth (and more) is available on all web browsers. Find landforms, geographic locations features, pictures, and more from around the world using this satellite-powered software. As you spin the globe, you can tilt to view locations at an angle to show elevation, click to play a "tour" or "fly" from one location to another, or simply open tours and placemarker files created by others. Once you are comfortable, try making tours and placemarkers of your own.

tag(s): climate (82), earth (184), landforms (37), landmarks (22), news (228), oceans (147)

In the Classroom

Use tutorials from this site to learn more, or try some Google Earth files from TeachersFirst's Globetracker's Mission to get a taste of what the program can do. Get started by exploring the different LAYERS available in the left side and searching a location you know. Locate and try the tools to drag, tilt, zoom, and even measure distance. Extensive user forums are available through the help menus.

Placemarker files created by you "live" on the computer where you make or save them and are not shared on the web. Note that your computer will ask whether you wish to save your "temporary places" (any places you have marked during a session) each time you close Google Earth. If many students use that computer, you may find you have a disorganized mess of saved places. Be sure to direct students to either name their saved places logically and file them into folders or NOT to save them to My Places! Students and teachers can create placemarker (.kmz or .kml) files and share them as email attachments, files on a USB "stick," or any other means you would use to share a file, just like a Word document.

Another practical tip: if students are using Google Earth on several machines at the same time, you may put a heavy load on your school network. Plan accordingly, perhaps having groups alternate their Google Earth time if it becomes sluggish.

Use Google Earth to teach geography or simply give location context to class readings or current events, especially on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Ex. you can tilt to show the peaks scaled by Lewis and Clark or volcanoes that rise in the Aleutians. Have students show the locations of historic events or literary settings and create placemarkers with links to learn more. Placemarker text is editable by going to the placemarker's "properties" or "info," so students can enter the text description, place title, and any inks they want to include, such as a link to a certain passage of text, an image of a character, or news image/article for a current events map. Students who know html code can get even more sophisticated in what they include in placemarkers. Have students/groups create and play a "tour" of critical locations for global warming, a comparison of volcanoes, or a family history of immigration. Navigate the important locations in a work of literature using Google Lit Trips or search the web for placemarker files connected to civil war battles, natural resources, and more. Turn layers on and off to look at population centers and transportation systems. Teach the concept of scale/proportion using a tactile experience on an interactive whiteboard and the scale and measurement tools. See more ideas at the teacher-created Google Earth 101 wiki reviewed here. Even if you do not venture into creating your own placemarker files, there are many already made and available for use by teachers and students. TeachersFirst's Globetracker's Mission includes a weekly file to follow the Mission.

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CIA World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency

Grades
6 to 12
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Get the facts fast. Simply click Country to find an alphebetical list of countries and learn all about its significant data. The information is separated into categories: Introduction,...more
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Get the facts fast. Simply click Country to find an alphebetical list of countries and learn all about its significant data. The information is separated into categories: Introduction, Natural Resoures, Land Use, Natural Hazards, Geography, People, Government, Economy, Communications, Transportation, Military, and Transnational Issues. All the information is presented in a dry, factual format (mostly numbers) but provides an excellent way to compare countries, draw inferences, and predict trends, hypothesize cause/effect, and more. By researching the data, your class can look for possible connections between demographics and economics, for example.

tag(s): data (151), demographics (13), population (50)

In the Classroom

Provide this resource as a link on your teacher web page or in class for supporting data to be used in discussions or debates. In math classes, use the data to create and compare graphical representations of real-world data. In geography classes, use the information to draw connections between physical features of a nation and its economy. World language classes can compare the various nations that speak the language they are studying.

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Google Maps - Google

Grades
1 to 12
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Google Maps gives you live visuals of any location, ideal for planning a trip, picturing the relationship between places, and viewing physical characteristics of almost anywhere in...more
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Google Maps gives you live visuals of any location, ideal for planning a trip, picturing the relationship between places, and viewing physical characteristics of almost anywhere in the world. Type or paste in an address and click "search maps." If you click Satellite or hybrid versions of the map, you will see actual satellite images of the terrain. Zoom in and out, use the street view "orange man" to walk among the buildings and trees, or plan and share a route easily with Google Maps. Using your (free) Google membership allows you to save favorite places and more. Find businesses and other features near a specific map location: hotels, restaurants, schools, parks, and more. Google Maps has become more and more sophisticated, now offering many features previously only available in Google Earth, such as opening and/or saving placemarker files. Unlike Google Earth, Google Maps does not require software installation and does not use as much bandwidth for constant reloading. You can even play a tour of places you mark in Google Maps. They just keep adding more features! Google Maps is available as a free app for Android and iOS, too. The handy embed codes let you put any Google Map in a web page, blog, or wiki. Of course you do not need a membership or any special skills to simply SEE, share, or navigate a map. Membership gives you more ways to save.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (146), directions (12), maps (215)

In the Classroom

If you teach geography, this one's a must. It is also helpful for showing students WHERE a story or news event takes place. In lower grades, use it to show students basics of their community. Teach map skills by showing students their own community. Zoom in on their street or on the school. This site and its more sophisticated cousin, Google Earth, are great on an interactive whiteboard. Set up a class Google account (or use student accounts if permitted). Have students create their own custom route plans to tour historic sites. Challenge math students to plan the most economical route to visit several vacation destinations, including gas mileage and gas prices. Have students create placemarker files of the important places in the life of a famous person or the route traveled by a particular unit during the Civil War. Have student groups create placemarker files to show environmental sites, habitats, landforms, or anything you can place on a map. Embed projects in a class wiki using the handy embed code offered as a sharing option. Not comfortable with wikis? Check out TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.

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HubbleSite - NASA

Grades
1 to 12
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NASA's comprehensive Hubble telescope site includes six major sections targeted to different student audiences. There are games and introductions for elementary students, as well as...more
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NASA's comprehensive Hubble telescope site includes six major sections targeted to different student audiences. There are games and introductions for elementary students, as well as images and more detailed information for older students. If the galaxies are your destination, this is an ideal starting point.

tag(s): space (216), stars (70)

In the Classroom

Students can use Book Creator reviewed here to create a book about space or planets. Students can create a timeline using Timeline Maker, reviewed here to create a timeline of important space events. Finally, students can create a podcast using Podcast Generator, reviewed here about information that they learned about space and questions that they have.

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