Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Zoho Show is an online presentation and document creator tool. This program is somewhat simpler than PowerPoint, but runs on a similar format. Use this tool as you would PowerPoint with your students. It is very advantageous if you have assigned a project and students do not have access to PowerPoint at home. This can be accessed anywhere with no cost to the student, the parent, or you. Sharing and collaborating is also simple. Upload, edit, and save your documents easily.

tag(s): multimedia (53), slides (43)

Learn about the state of Maryland and its' laws, history, symbols, and more at this site presented by the Secretary of State of Maryland. The site is divided into sections with sub-categories included on the home page. The history portion includes a great deal of information including a timeline of Maryland, women's history, Native American history, and African-American history, plus famous Marylanders. The government portion of site includes a very nice graphic demonstrating the bill-creation process. Learn all the state symbols such as the state song, bird, and even the state dog in the state symbols portion of the site. Be sure to visit the geography links and choose fun stuff to find lots of fun facts and state trivia.

tag(s): biographies (94), maryland (7), states (124)

Learn all about Maine (for kids) without having to leave the room! The "All About Maine" portion of the site includes information about the state including famous people, a history timeline, maps, state symbols, and more. Be sure to check out the "Tree of Facts" that includes information outlined in the image of a tree. Another useful link takes you to a list of children's books about Maine. The "Fun and Games" section includes several activities for kids including a symbols matching game, recipes, a coloring book, and more.

tag(s): maine (4), states (124)

This easy to navigate site includes basic information for kids about the state of Louisiana. Click on each of the icons to go to a different place on the site such as state symbols, learning about how a bill becomes a law, activity and coloring books/pages, and a quiz on state facts. Note: completing the quiz online requires entering your institution (school) name and email address before answers can be submitted. Rather than using your personal or professional email, create a FREE gmail account. Activity book pages can all be easily printed by using the print portion of your toolbar.

tag(s): branches of government (65), louisiana (6), states (124)

Learn a Little and Have Some Fun! Idaho's government website for kids offers facts, information, and history about the state. Capital Building Trivia offers an extensive history about their capital building including construction dates, materials used (four types of marble among them), and estimated replacement cost in today's dollars. The School Report Resources section contains all the vital state information such as the state seal, motto, flag, population statistics, and more. Be sure to check out all of the information about the famous Idaho state potatoes included in this section. At the time of this review, one of the links on the "Student Links" page, was no longer active.

tag(s): states (124)

You can find interesting facts and information about the state of Colorado by visiting this interactive website. Learn about 14er's (no, not 49er's) found in the state, people and places, and Colorado facts. Be sure to visit the link with Colorado podcasts to view many videos about wildlife found in the state, activities to do such as biking and water rafting, and snowshoeing. Also available for download from the site are puzzles and pictures in pdf format. Many portions of the site containing facts that are also available to print easily.

tag(s): mountains (10), states (124)

This is a site that contains numerous links to lessons and websites on various social studies and world history subjects. There are numerous subjects: Ancient History, American History and American Government, World History, Geography, and others. For each subject there is a For Teachers with lesson plans, links, quizzes, and more.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): 1920s (15), africa (148), archeology (28), china (81), civil rights (209), civil war (139), colonial america (95), egypt (56), great depression (30), greece (47), holidays (187), immigration (68), india (32), industrial revolution (22), japan (56), mayans (23), mesopotamia (32), native americans (108), psychology (65), religions (95), renaissance (38), resources (84), rome (37), slavery (79), westward expansion (39)

The International Civil Rights Center & Museum site highlights the non-violent protests of the 1960's Greensboro, NC sit-in movement. This site has links to the history of the sit in movement and other civil right movements. There is also a section of photos and videos that is continuously being updated, so be sure to check back frequently. Though this site is relatively new, there are several good historical timelines and chronologies.

tag(s): 1960s (26), african american (115), black history (133), civil rights (209)

Learn more about the state of Arizona with this site offering facts and information just for kids. Choose the Natural Wonders link to learn about the many natural wonders and national parks within the state such as the Grand Canyon, the town of Tombstone, and the Apache Trail. Get all sorts of information on the state by choosing the Arizona Library that includes an Activity Book, Almanac, Research Topics, and more. Check out the left menu on the library page for even more topics. Learn about state facts, emblems, motto, and much more in the State Facts section (did you know Arizona has official state neckwear?). Be sure to view the state photos section for realistic images of many portions of the state and of its natural wonders https://www.arizonahighways.com.

tag(s): national parks (29), native americans (108), natural resources (37), westward expansion (39)

At this site you will learn about festivals in South America and create charts and essays based on the research. There is a lesson plan complete with discussion questions, links (one of which was not working at the time of this review), vocabulary WITH audio, and more. Classes with international students can draw on them for knowledge and cultural object contribution. A video is available for purchase to add to information about South America, but the lesson plan suggestions will work without it.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), portuguese (22), south america (47), spanish (109)

This new site focuses on the Negro Baseball Leagues from their beginnings in the late 19th century until the time that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. Much of the content is the work of James A. Riley, one of the foremost experts in the study of the Negro Leagues. The site includes information on players, teams, video clips, resources and current issues. Only a few items still require Flash. The other information and videos don't, and are well worth your visit. The videos reside on YouTube. If your district or school blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): baseball (32), black history (133), civil rights (209), sports (82)

Find a treasury of old radio shows from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. There are seven genres from which to choose (comedy, mystery, western, drama, etc.), and each genre has at least ten different old radio shows for your selection. There is a miscellaneous section that has such treasures as "Voices From History," "World War II News Broadcasts," and "Fireside Chat with Franklin D. Roosevelt." Downloading of the Mp3 files takes a while, so be patient.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): 1930s (20), 1940s (14), 1950s (8), listening (93), oral history (13), radio (20), world war 2 (161)

Find out what happened on any date in history with this informative site. Each event is listed with a short description. Historic events are listed chronologically from oldest to current times. (Some dates are several pages long, be sure to click the "read more" link to continue to newer dates.) Information includes birthdays, discoveries, events, and more. Searches by specific years, months, and famous birthdays. You are able to add events and comments. Note that the general public can also add comments, so preview before projecting in class!
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): calendars (37), timelines (56)

This site looks at Victorian Christmas observances from the American point of view. Focusing on holiday celebrations between 1830 and 1860, this site examines the growth of the Christmas holiday as we know it, examining those traditions that have continued into the 20th Century and those that are but a memory.

tag(s): christmas (38), civil war (139), victorian (16)

This is your GO TO site for the Civil War. Here you will find information about sailors and soldiers, battles, monuments, and more! Scrol down the page and click battles and search by battle name, state, or year. Find out the basics about each battle. There are also links to more information. Click on the Soldiers link to search for information about soldiers by state, side (Union or Confederate) or even by name! Click on the Sailors link to find more information about their important role (including records of about 18,000 African American sailors).

tag(s): africa (148), african american (115), battles (18), civil war (139)

This site offers suggestions and examples of different types of questions to include in classrooms. Each type of question is explained and sample questions are included. For a visual explanation of how questions work together, choose the Essential Questions link and scroll down to the diagram showing that this is center of all questions, then all other types of question serve to illuminating the Essential Questions. Links are included to additional information on each of the topics.

tag(s): critical thinking (127), questioning (36)