Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

The Whose Land website offers interactive tools and lesson plans to help students learn about Indigenous territories and the history of land ownership in North America. The platform includes resources like videos, maps, and guided activities encouraging students to explore whose land they live on and the importance of Indigenous sovereignty. The lesson plans are suitable for various grade levels and promote critical thinking about historical and contemporary issues related to Indigenous peoples and land rights. These materials are designed to foster respect for Indigenous cultures and awareness of ongoing settlement efforts. It's recommended to check if YouTube is accessible on school networks if you are planning to use these resources in the classroom.

tag(s): columbus day (8), native americans (117)

ExpeditionsPro is a platform designed to help educators and leaders create and manage virtual and in-person field trips. The website provides tools to plan immersive experiences to enhance student learning and engagement, whether in local environments or through global connections. Teachers can use the platform to customize itineraries, track trip details, and even incorporate augmented reality or virtual reality elements for a modern, interactive approach to exploration. ExpeditionsPro emphasizes making educational trips accessible and organized, offering opportunities to bring the world into the classroom or take learning beyond its walls.

tag(s): augmented reality (9), virtual field trips (132)

The Virtual Field Trip- I Do Solemnly Swear: The U.S. Presidential Inauguration is a free website highlighting President Joseph Biden's inauguration process and Vice President Kamala Harris (from January 2021). The site highlights what it is like at the Presidential Inauguration, why we had an inauguration, why it happened on January 20th, why is the inauguration held at the Capital, and what it is like to move into the White House. Each lesson contains a PDF file you can download, but you must create an account to access the lesson plans. A 22-minute video from Discovery Streaming is posted on the website. Although this inauguration is not the most recent, students can still view the activities to learn more about the inauguration process.

tag(s): inauguration (10), presidents (136)

This site shares many resources that provide accurate cultural information and representation of the Native Indian culture, which are available in most content areas, including math and science. Download lesson plans that encourage students to explore and research the work of Indigenous leaders, learn about Native American recipes, and read about storytelling and traditions. Visit any link to access the lesson plan in PDF format, which includes activities and links to supporting materials.

tag(s): cooking (33), crafts (74), cross cultural understanding (176), cultures (211), game based learning (207), landmarks (22), native americans (117), poetry (196), stories and storytelling (61)

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum offers lessons for all age levels. Depending on the women or topic you click on, resources can include a video, lesson plan, photographs, and podcasts. Topics included on the site are Women in Space and STEM, Inspiring Women, Zines and Self Expression, We Belong Here: Title IX, Girlhood (It's Complicated), Innovative Lives, and Latinas Talk Latinas.

tag(s): women (152), womenchangemaker (37), womens suffrage (52)

National Women's History Museum is a free site that offers digital resources on famous women. Lessons contain guiding questions, time, objectives, prerequisites, materials needed, examples, assessment/homework, and future research/resources. The site allows you to filter by grade level and "movement" in time. Women featured on the site include Belva Lockwood, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, Sally Hemings, Clara Barton, and many more.

tag(s): women (152), womenchangemaker (37), womens suffrage (52)

Pedagog.ai supports educators using AI by providing free resources such as a prompt library, lesson plans, and AI tools for teaching and learning. After creating an account, use Pedagog.ai's dashboard as a starting point to find and access information. The prompt library includes suggested prompts for all curricular subjects, professional development, student prompts, and teaching strategies. The lesson plans include categories of AI Literacy and Integrating AI to share topics such as Generating Hybrid Animals with AI or AI and Historical Perspective. Visit the Using AI section to gather ideas on using AI to gamify your classroom and how to use AI with student projects.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (186), computers (109), creative writing (125), critical thinking (136), digital literacy (9), editing (93), images (263), media literacy (109), persuasive writing (58), politics (118), population (51), readers theater (12), shakespeare (99), vocabulary (242), vocabulary development (95)

Teach Starter offers a variety of Veterans Day activities designed to engage students in learning about the holiday's significance and honoring those who have served. The blog post provides ready-to-use resources like crafts, writing prompts, and classroom discussions to help educators plan meaningful lessons for Veterans Day. Teachers can explore these resources through a free trial that requires no credit card, making it easy to try out the platform. Additionally, a premium paid subscription offers access to an even wider range of features and educational materials. If your district blocks YouTube, you may be unable to play the videos.

tag(s): veterans (27)

Learning for Justice has compiled an invaluable collection of resources to help educators explore Dr. King's work beyond the "I Have a Dream" speech. From lessons on economic justice and civil rights to multimedia tools and primary texts, these materials foster meaningful discussions on social justice, past and present.

tag(s): civil rights (217), martin luther king (46)

Rock your lessons using popular music and pop culture to engage students. The standards-aligned lessons provide interdisciplinary connections using music as the starting point for in-depth explorations and guided activities. Use the search feature to find lessons and collections sorted by subject, music genre, type of activity, and topic. Subjects range from Civics to CTE to STEAM to Art/Design and many others. Each lesson begins with an essential question and includes procedures, student handouts, and videos.

tag(s): artists (88), cross cultural understanding (176), dance (33), empathy (36), jazz (17), musical instruments (54), social and emotional learning (109), sociology (23), STEM (306)

The Smithsonian Latino Center website offers rich educational resources focused on Latino history, art, and culture. Explore the exhibits, virtual tours, and multimedia content that highlight the diverse contributions of Latino communities to the United States. The site provides access to digital collections, lesson plans, and videos that align with various subjects like history, social studies, and art. Engaging tools like the Smithsonian Learning Lab allow educators to create interactive learning experiences. This site is invaluable for integrating Latino culture and history into the classroom, promoting inclusivity and multicultural understanding. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): art history (106), cultures (211), hispanic (36), virtual field trips (132)

Visiting Mount Rushmore National Memorial is typically out of reach for most classrooms; however, a virtual visit is accessible to all. This site includes links to exhibitions, videos, a panorama tour, a 3D explorer, and more. Visit the lesson plans section to find lessons for grades K-12 that include several content areas, including math, science, and visual arts. Use the provided links to download individual lessons in a zip file. Lessons include correlations to national teaching standards.

tag(s): jefferson (19), landmarks (22), lincoln (67), photography (131), roosevelt (15), virtual field trips (132), washington (28)

This set of downloadable teaching resources features a comic that introduces students to Martin Luther King Jr. and his role as a civil rights leader and a Microsoft Word document that includes a supporting classroom activity. The two documents are available by clicking the link under "Download primary resource." Additional information on this site provides correlations to English and Scottish teaching standards.

tag(s): civil rights (217), comics and cartoons (55), martin luther king (46)

The "2023 Veterans Day Teachers Guide" is a guide from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs filled with resources for educators. It helps teachers explain the importance of Veterans Day through a mix of history, classroom activities, and insights into U.S. military traditions. The guide also provides details on scholarships for veterans' families and outlines the significance of the Medal of Honor. It's designed to make learning about Veterans Day interactive and meaningful for students.

tag(s): holidays (194), veterans (27), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (162)

Join National Park Service employees on a virtual visit to presidential monuments and memorials in Washington, DC, and across the United States. Begin with 360-degree visits to presidential memorials for Dwight Eisenhower, Franklin Roosevelt, George Washington, and other former presidents, or listen to an audio tour of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. After virtual visits to memorials in Washington, travel across the country to visit the homes of former presidents, including John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Ulysses S. Grant.

tag(s): capitals (15), lincoln (67), presidents (136), virtual field trips (132), washington (28)

This YouTube video examines primary source documents that describe Harry Truman's decision to integrate the military as part of a presentation for several participating classrooms. The moderators share stories of Truman's upbringing, his time as a senator, and his view of his responsibilities as president. If your school has YouTube blocked, you may not be able to view the video.

tag(s): civil rights (217), presidents (136), primary sources (120)

The Crash Course has over 45 videos on topics ranging from Anatomy to Zoology, Artificial Intelligence to Outbreak Science. There are the more common topics one might want to learn about, like Ecology, Films, Geography, and much more. All videos are free to watch. Each video also includes a short description (some with lesson stem ideas). Crash Course videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district/school blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable. The good news for teachers whose schools block YouTube is that you can download the video if you fill out a form. Go to the Download tab from the top menu, select Students & Teachers, scroll down the page, and follow the directions.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (186), black history (135), branches of government (65), business (53), climate (85), computers (109), copyright (43), ecology (103), energy (133), engineering (137), human body (91), literature (221), media literacy (109), myths and legends (41), plants (147), politics (118), space (220), statistics (121), video (267), zoology (18)

Loud Lit offers "literature for your ears and eyes" (although the site's visual appearance is quite plain!). This collaborative project with public domain offers recorded literature. You are given the options of listening to the literature, listening and reading the literature, or downloading the literature to an MP3 player. The number of items available for public use is constantly increasing. The current contents include novels, poetry, classic children's literature, a few historical items, and classic short stories. Some examples of the available literature includes A Tale of Two Cities, The Little Match Girl, The Gift of the Magi, The Declaration of Independence, The Gettysburg Address, and countless others. A separate column lets you know about newly recorded items.

tag(s): audio books (29), declaration of independence (16), gettysburg (15), gettysburg address (12), literature (221), poetry (196)

ADL Education provides professional learning resources, educational programs, and strategies for building and sustaining equitable and inclusive environments. Program topics include Anti-Bias, Antisemitism, Holocaust Education, and Bullying and Cyberbullying Education. Browse all content or use the filters to find online learning, classroom, and family resources. The classroom resources include a booklist, lessons for K-12 classrooms, monthly featured books, and more. Most lesson plans correlate to Common Core and SEL Standards.

tag(s): bias (27), bullying (48), civil rights (217), cross cultural understanding (176), cyberbullying (42), difficult conversations (57), disabilities (32), holocaust (43), racism (81), religions (112), social and emotional learning (109), women (152)