Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Do you have trouble finding suitable sites to teach state history for YOUR state? This site includes more than 130 "ready to go" lesson plans organized by state. You can also view the collection by states, social studies standards, U.S. History standards, specific skills, time period, or topic. This resource was pulled together by the National Park service. The specific topics vary from America's Space Program to Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike to Brown v. Board of Education to The Trail of Tears to Pearl Harbor to Lewis and Clark to the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and countless others. Check out what it highlights for your state.

tag(s): cities (17), inventors and inventions (80), landmarks (22), maps (220), states (124)

If you are a politics geek, this site will occupy you for hours! "Real Clear Politics" is a collection of video clips, editorials, blog postings, and news stories on current politics. The site strives to capture both the left and the right, and "everything in between" and carries the full range from Limbaugh to Olbermann; from the Wall Street Journal to the Nation. If you and your students don't have time to catch all the evening commentary programs, read half a dozen papers, and search the blogsphere for facts and opinion (and who does?) this site might be a great place to start each day. Stories are categorized by date and by topic and there is a link to video content.

tag(s): politics (118)

Not sure what sites exist for your topic? Start here and find sites listed by icon for Art, Encyclopedia, History, Languages, Science, Writing skills, Music, and numerous other topics. Whether you are searching for research information, enrichment, or tutorials - check out this site. Notice that TeachersFirst is among the "faves" for teaching!

tag(s): dictionaries (47), literature (222)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Martin Luther King Jr. vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

tag(s): african american (115), black history (133), civil rights (209), holidays (187), martin luther king (45), vocabulary (238)

Explore vocabulary and word activities related to Veteran's Day on this extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more. Find interactive vocabulary activities the same list of using Veteran's Day vocabulary words. There are printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun. Use the Microsoft Edge browser to avoid inappropriate advertising pop-ups.

tag(s): veterans (27), vocabulary (238)

Looking for interactive review activities for your subject area? Use Bubbabrain's vast array of activities created for many levels and subjects. Registration is not required to play. When Game ID is checked (this is the automatic default for the site,) you choose a level ranging from Elementary to College (be sure to click the circle in the appropriate grade level) and then choose a subject area from the drop down box at your level. Subject areas vary by grade level and may include: telling time, government, family and consumer science, world languages, sociology, technology, and countless others.

Click the "Go" button to start your activity. Click on the correct answer to the question and then a new question appears. Prompts to try again appear if the answer is wrong and a percent right appears on your screen as you progress. Click on the teacher's link in the upper right hand corner for more information on becoming registered. Once registered, teachers can create their own games for the site. Your teacher ID can be entered by students to access created games.

tag(s): psychology (65), sociology (23), time (91)

Learning for Justice is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center and seeks to provide educators with tools to reduce prejudice of all kinds. You might already be familiar with this group's "Mix it Up" initiative which seeks to get middle school and high school students to sit with someone new for one day during lunch at the cafeteria. This site contains lesson plans, links for teachers, teens, and kids, current topics related to prejudice, an on-line version of the Learning for Justice magazine, an order form for free curriculum materials, and links to other resources.

The Classroom Resources link offers Lessons, Learning Plans, Student Texts, Students Tasks, Film Kits, and other helpful pages. There is also a link to receive FREE kits and handbooks! There are online activities, recommended books, "talking points," and more.

tag(s): bullying (48), diversity (40), tolerance (8)

Nursery rhymes and other children's songs have been passed down through the centuries carrying various messages within them. BusSongs.com offers the lyrics and downloadable music for over 2,000 nursery rhymes and children's songs. The songs are arranged by genre or easily searched for by title. The list contains songs for such categories as camp fire tunes, traditional and multicultural songs, holiday songs, learning songs, and much more. Don't forget to turn up your speakers!

tag(s): lyrics (15), nursery rhymes (9), rhymes (22), songs (46)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for Constitution Day. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Constitution-related vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

tag(s): constitution (96)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for Halloween. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Halloween vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

tag(s): halloween (32)

Want to make more connections between the smallest things in the world and the largest? Universcale has an opportunity to view vast differences in size using a slider and images from the largest of things (planets, etc.) to the smallest (portions of atoms). Additional information is provided with the images. Choose "Full Screen Mode" or "Normal Screen Mode." Grasp the physical differences and presence of various objects in the living world around us.

tag(s): matter (46), organisms (15)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for Columbus Day. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Columbus Day vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

tag(s): columbus day (8), holidays (187)

Do you sometimes just want to compare two things and not need a lengthy explanation of either? Diffen offers the simple goal of entering two terms and instantly receiving the similarities and differences in a table format. View simple definitions under the information table. Need more information? Wikipedia style entries of information area also available on the page. There is a Top 5 list. At the time of this review, the Top 5 included "Gross vs. Net," "Affected vs. Effected," "Meiosis vs. Mitosis," "DNA vs. RNA," and "Fruit vs. Vegetable. While not ALL topics are included, the variety is impressive. You can add your own comparison of terms to the list. You may want to discuss with your class the fact that the information here is only as reliable as the people who submitted it, and ask them whether they agree with the comparisons you find here. NOTE: If you explore some of the ready-mades or requested topics, there are some topics "compared" that are not school oriented, such as comparisons of popular television characters. Preview before turning students loose or simply direct them to a specific "diffen."

tag(s): vocabulary (238)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area about Pirates. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Pirate-related vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

tag(s): vocabulary (238)

This site offers essay-writing tips, podcasts, and more. Useful across a wide array of humanities topics, including English, social studies, art, music, religion, and speech, this site is an inspiration to students and can serve as an essay starter, a discussion starter, or contemporary information about politics, economics, and the world. On its home page it states that this is "an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values that guide their daily lives." There are essays from the 1950's when the first incarnation of this idea was heard on the radio from famed journalist Edward R. Murrow. There are essays from those who are famous and those you never heard of. All of the essays are short--usually no more than 400 words. You can hear some of them as they were first broadcast on NPR, and there is a general podcast you can play which defines the site. Anyone can submit their own "This I Believe" essay as long as it follows the guidelines given, and they include essay-writing tips and advanced essay searches to assist anyone interested. The site includes special features which deal with specific topics and there are ideas for educators, students, and community leaders. The printable curricula require Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

tag(s): 1950s (8), writing (325)

Primary Research is an archive of student projects related to local history near Beverly, Massachusetts. Projects range from an examination of local cemeteries and tombstones to the lives of African Americans in antebellum Boston. The site represents an excellent example of the kind of innovative projects student groups can undertake, and might spark ideas for similar projects regardless of the location. The "Library" section of the site provides primary documents used in the student projects, while the "Guides" section gives additional instruction used in the analytical sections of the projects.

tag(s): history day (39), local history (14)

A great, concise, focused site on the American Presidents. Click on any President (including Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden), and you get a thumbnail sketch of that President, as well as a more in depth resource list of primary documents and essays. There is also a multimedia gallery related to each President. You can access audio recordings of either the President himself, or of others reading his words, and there is a link to oral histories related to the presidents. There are narratives about each first lady and timelines that detail significant events in each administration. The "Ask a Question" feature allows visitors to submit a question to the site's editors and researchers.

tag(s): presidents (135)

This ambitious site has something for anyone who teaches American history. In fact, if you love history, be prepared to completely lose track of time as you explore the site. Discover American History through images, exhibits, primary sources, and more with The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Click Education on the top menu where there are special programs and exhibits for teachers and students. A large collection of primary sources complements many studies in social studies-- and literacy. As a member, save all of your favorites and make lists for each area of study. The multimedia tab reveals documentaries, videos and virtual field trips. History Now publishes monthly newsletters.As a teacher or student, you can have free access to the website.The site may be useful to students working on research for History Day projects.

tag(s): 1600s (20), african american (115), american revolution (82), black history (133), civil rights (209), civil war (139), colonization (21), foreign policy (13), great depression (30), history day (39), immigration (68), industrial revolution (22), migration (45), native americans (109), primary sources (117), westward expansion (39), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

Four significant dates surrounding the Declaration of Independence are examined in this lesson that gets students thinking about why we celebrate the nation's birthday on July 4. With an emphasis on reading and writing, students investigate the origins and characteristics of myths, develop strategies for spotting bias and missing information, and, in the process, learn a lot about the birth of our Independence Day observance. Handouts, worksheets, and a project rubric are provided along with links to related resources. Aligned to .Common Core Standards.

tag(s): declaration of independence (16), holidays (187), july 4th (12)