Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Explore vocabulary and word activities related to Memorial Day on this extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more. Find interactive vocabulary activities the same list of using Memorial 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.

tag(s): holidays (187), memorial day (11), vocabulary (238)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for April Fools Day. Find interactive vocabulary activities using April Fools 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): holidays (187), vocabulary (238)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for St. Patrick's Day. Find interactive vocabulary activities using St. Patrick's 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): holidays (187), ireland (11), st patricks day (12)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area about Women in History. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Women in History 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), women (151), womenchangemaker (37)

If you are looking for a new way to involve students in literature, this is a great idea. This site offers a two-day plan for students to create dramatic monologues for different characters in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. The lesson does require that students research sources for authenticity and suggests that students work in groups to come up with the monologues. The lesson includes standards, extension activities, vocabulary words (with audio) and links to other resources. This site requires Media Player. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

tag(s): writing (325)

The Library of Congress has collected this exhibit of 2,100 early baseball trading cards, published at a time when collecting was a passion among adults, not children. The site is interesting as a reflection of cultures and interests at the turn of the century, and also for its portrayals of some of the greats of the game as their contemporaries saw them. Click "View All" to see the trading cards.

tag(s): baseball (32)

This Library of Congress collection has information on Jackie Robinson and lots more. As always, the images are the star of the show, and there are pictures of early teams, documentation about Robinson's entry into the big leagues, and much more. Students can click on a time period (1860s-1890s, 1900s-1930s, 1940-1946, 1947-1956, 1957-1961, or 1962-1972) to learn more about the history of African-Americans and baseball.

tag(s): 1800s (75), 1900s (72), africa (148), african american (115), baseball (32), black history (133)

This gallery of World War II-era cartoons by Theodor Geisel, reveal the acerbic wit and political philosophy of the beloved children's author. The site also features audio and video clips from Dr. Seuss on his career and a brief history of political cartooning. Two lesson plans - focusing on the American themes and social messages addressed by Geisel - are available for downloading (and include McRel standards).

tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), dr seuss (12), world war 2 (161)

Here is a tribute to baseball as an essential part of American culture. Learn everything you every wanted to know about each of the Major League ballparks, from seating charts to attendance figures, to the history behind former ballparks, you'll find it here. The site does include some minor advertisements.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): baseball (32), sports (82)

Baseball and history fans will love this Library of Congress site with historical pictures that trace the heritage of our nation's pastime. Each page of pictures provides the historical context for the shot. The site also has a special presentation on Jackie Robinson and his historic breaking of baseball's color line.

tag(s): africa (148), african american (115), baseball (32)

Create maps -- for multiple reasons -- with ease. As you 'travel' through your geography or history course, create an ongoing map of the places you've visited and embed/post it on your blog or any webpage. Simply type in the title of your map, choose the land masses you wish to include, and then click on the correct boxes for your particular locations. When finished, click the You're Ready box at the bottom of the screen. Now scroll to the top to see what your map will look like. The embed code (geek-speak term for computer gobble-dee-gook that tells your computer how to find and display the map you have made) for your map is ready to copy and paste into your webpage. You can find the embed code to the right of the map. There is also a button to Reset and Start Over.

tag(s): maps (220)

This site offers a different perspective of the "festival of the dead" on October 31st. This site highlights Day of the Dead celebrations as they relate to Halloween. Although this site is text-heavy, it would be very useful in upper elementary grades and beyond. There are also video clips. The site includes background information, conclusion questions, and class activity suggestions. Very basic standards are included.

tag(s): halloween (32), japan (57), mexico (37)

Use this site to create polls for your students (or have students create their own). The polls are embeddable in your wiki, blog, or class website. The site is still in beta. You can create a name, an expiration date for the survey, questions (multiple choice, yes or no, and ranking), and input your email address to be informed as results come into the site. 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. Registration is not required to use this site. There are some advertisements and external links at this site (all appropriate at the time of this review). So if you allow students to use this site on their own, be sure to watch carefully.

tag(s): data (151), polls and surveys (49)

Take a short journey to learn about the Blues' history, including audio presented by the Kennedy Center. Begin by learning about the roots of blues found in songs and spirituals of Black field workers in the 1930s, then travel on a four-part journey through the decades to discover "new" blues heard in the music of modern artists such as Cat Power and Gnarls Barkley. Audio recordings are available to download to your device as an MP3 file.

tag(s): blues (22), chicago (4), jazz (16), louisiana (6), mississippi (5)

Need a PowerPoint? Check this site first to find one on a topic you need from the vast array available. The free PowerPoints and interactive activities are easily downloaded. To find the FREE PowerPoint presentations, click on the FREE Presentations in PowerPoint Format link found directly under the red train. There are literally hundreds of topics (over 1,200 at the time of this review). Topics are listed in alphabetical order. There are so many topics: Plagiarism, Integers, Interjections, IQ Tests, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Graphic Organizers, Graphs, Gold Rush, the Bible, Economics, Amelia Earhart (and many other heroes), Descriptive Writing, Coral Reefs, Civil Rights Movement, Autism, Ancient Civilizations, Presidents, Louisiana Purchase, Money, Music Instruments, How to Write an Outline, Rosa Parks, Resumes, Terrorism, Vietnam War, and many MANY others. Primary teachers will appreciate simple activities on Dolch words and other sight vocabulary! Pages are arranged in topics such as "Plants and Animals," "World History," "Biology, Chemistry, and Physics," and "Problem Solving." There are many professional topics on exceptionalities, as well. Each page includes a vast array of subtopics. Other links on the page include "Greta's Game Station" and "Hannah's Help" which offers information on researching.

tag(s): 20th century (62), adhd (28), back to school (55), electricity (61), flight (34), inventors and inventions (80), literature (222), parts of speech (39), polar (10), politics (118), speech (69), states (124), war of 1812 (15), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

Original illustrations of classic Christmas memorabilia highlight this no-frills site. If you need a quick explanation, with photos, about the origin of Christmas, Christmas trees, and evolution of Santa, this site will suit your purpose well. The four main topics include: Origins of Christmas, Evolution of Santa, The Christmas Tree, and Twas the Night Before Christmas. Students researching old customs will appreciate the simple approach.

tag(s): christmas (38), trees (18)

The Smithsonian's presidential biographies resource offers basic biographical information and images on all American Presidents, along with highlights of their administrations. Useful for both its content and its comprehensiveness. The site offers some basic information about all presidents (Washington through Obama).

tag(s): biographies (94), politics (118), presidents (135)

The White House web site includes short biographies of all the American presidents, suitable for introductory use or to compare presidencies. There are also a few facts about the presidents, presidential "firsts," and the various administration.

tag(s): presidents (135), white house (16)

Looking for some new tricks to teaching this genre (fairy tales, folktales, and Myths) to your students? Check out this site that provides lesson plans, interactives, class activities, reproducible pages, and more. The lesson plans and activities are divided by grade level (K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12). The site says that the lessons (for all levels) will take approximately one day/class period.

tag(s): air (102), folktales (34)

Celebrate great African-Americans from this complete link. Research those famous in medicine, politics, arts & entertainment, armed forces, and sports. This site is actually a downloadable PDF file of a Teacher's Guide with standards, objectives, printables, discussion questions, and specific activity ideas. The PDF file links to a site that provides a timeline of "prejudice to pride." Examples of activities include analyzing photos or poetry, research presentations, and writing exercises. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

tag(s): africa (148), black history (133)