Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This site presents facts, video, activities, and thoughtful questions about the treatment of migrant children today in the U.S. Help students learn first hand about social problems, the possibility of social change, the role of legislation, critical thinking, and the power of original documents.

tag(s): immigration (68), migration (45)

Find multimedia content and lessons ready to go, and customizable by your preferences on this incredible, free, online learning site. Whether you need a comprehensive curriculum for selected high school courses, a way to differentiate instruction, or materials to reinforce challenging topics, this site has it. The current subjects include Algebra, American Government, Biology, Calculus, Environmental Science, Physics, English, Religion, Economics, U.S. History, among others. The subjects extend through high school and into AP and college level material. Open a course at the left and browse the topics, especially the multimedia offerings. A free instructor account allows you to select the modules you want your students to see and share them via a unique URL for assignments or at-home review. Since the content is offered collaboratively from multiple sources, the courses each have their own "look." The ones our review team explored all included audio-- a real plus for ENL/ELL or low level readers.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): environment (252), OER (43)

A compilation of data about fund-raising and the financing of political candidates in the United States, this site contains a massive amount of information. You can drill down to the zip code level and find out who in your local area is donating how much to which political candidates and parties. You can search by politician or by candidates and see where their financial support comes from. You can track particular issues or take a historical look at campaign and political finance.

tag(s): elections (82), politics (118)

From the Library of Congress' American Memory project, this site links to a large collection of audio, video, text, and artwork related to the events of September 11, 2001. Search by media, topic or title.

tag(s): new york (24), sept11 (18), terrorism (41)

This Alphabet Organizer makes learning words and terminology exciting-- and organized. All levels may use this--from primary students learning the alphabet to secondary students learning advanced vocabulary. On the interactive keypad, key in the beginning letter of a word. Key in the rest of the word on the blanks provided. You also have the option of typing in the word's meaning. When your list is entered, you may choose a booklet or a chart format for the presentation of your information. Studying content-area words or vocabulary meanings have never been so easy.

tag(s): alphabet (53), vocabulary (238)

There is so much to explore on this site, you will need to place limitations on it! Digital Collections of everything from clothing to chronology, turns of the century exhibits, in the classroom activities, curricula, New England architecture and tools, manuscripts from people who lived in the time-- this site is truly a museum on the web made student-friendly. The activities section is full of ways to involve students with real objects from history. Students can actually hear some of the artists and writers reading their own words -- which is remarkable. If you teach American literature or history or are interested in artifacts from the past, this is a great site. If you choose, you or your students can create a login and save to "my collection."

tag(s): colonial america (95), england (50), slavery (79)

This is a wonderful compilation site of news from all over the world. Users can read the home page or search news of a specific geographic region. An excellent plus here is the ability to choose to read the news in a variety of languages. World Photos today, multimedia, global weather, and sports are just a few of the many attractive sections that add to this site's appeal.

tag(s): news (228)

This comprehensive history/culture resource is the mother of all timelines with over 3000 years of history available in "synchronoptic" form, that is, in parallel timelines. Users can view by searching year, event, people, stories, subjects, events, political movements, and maps. Constant updates to the events section and additional "people" lines ensure the timeliness of this amazing site. (The site does NOT include people who are still alive). The span of the timelines and people, events, and cultures is extensive. Timeline elements are clickable for more information. We recommend the site for grades 6 and up purely because of the level of exposure necessary to appreciate all the information and because of the reading level.

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

This unit plan gives students the opportunity to get feedback on their writing from a totally impartial source. Students research and write position papers on a variety of topics, working step by step from to thesis statement to writing. The students then email their papers via e-mail to other schools and students for feedback. The students' final papers are posted to the school's web site for global access.

While this site does give a template of lessons for students to follow as a guide, teachers have a wide range of flexibility with it. Topics can be about anything of your choosing; the length of time given to the lesson and the type and amount of feedback is controlled. While this project started within the subject of Social Studies, this unit can be used in conjunction with any subject.

tag(s): writing (325)

SHOW your students the changes in U.S. presidential politics and policy over time using this "tag cloud" of word frequencies from presidential speeches (and a few before we even HAD a president) 1776-2007. If you have never seen a tag cloud, it is simply a way of using the relative size of words to show the frequency with which that word appears. Slide the slider across the timeline at the top of the tag cloud to see words appear, shrink, disappear, etc from the language of U.S. leaders over time. Note the introduction of new terms (terrorism) and when they appear. What a marvelous way to build perspective on history and awareness of the importance of rhetoric in the role of a leader.

tag(s): debate (42), elections (82), politics (118), speech (69), speeches (23)

This crafty website provides students (and teachers) with directions to create paper toys. The patterns are printables on the web page. The website provides instructions for approximately 100 unique models. The types of models vary from monuments (such as the Chrysler Building or the Eiffel Tower) to holiday creations. There are printable instructions provided for each model. This website is a refreshing activity for art classes, social studies classes or any class seeking a creative method to use to re-create famous monuments and other objects or buildings.

tag(s): architecture (75), paper folding (3)

This is a simple webquest to introduce students to many of the techniques used in radio that are still used in film production today. It also familiarizes students with the era of radio -- an important experience for those trying to understand history of the first half of the twentieth century. The webquest is almost deceptively simple. The age of your students and the sophistication with which they approach the task can determine the level you want to teach. It includes the elements of typical webquests from introduction through evaluation in an easy, step-by-step manner.

tag(s): 1930s (20), 1940s (14), decades (7), radio (20), writing (325)

The Mayflower comes alive as you explore the passenger list with accompanying personal history and genealogy. Click on the Pilgrim History link for a history of Thanksgiving and other Mayflower-era topics, including authentic recipes.

tag(s): genealogy (8), pilgrims (12), primary sources (117), thanksgiving (24)

This website, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, provides an enormous collection of "web lessons" (interactives) for all grade levels. There are lessons in language arts, math, science, social studies, and health. There are too many lesson plans to count - and all are projector, laptop, or whiteboard-ready. Just to give you an idea of some of these unique lessons, some of the titles include "Where is Japan?", "Walrus World", "Piece of Pie", "Medians", "Fence Me In", and "Critter Craze". On the main page, a brief description is provided for each lesson plan. Click Teacher Solutions > Lesson Plans to search by subject or grade level.

tag(s): charts and graphs (171), evolution (89), expository writing (31), industrial revolution (22), native americans (108), primary sources (117), probability (99), symmetry (26), writing (325)

Have a high speed Internet connection? (Most schools do) Then you MUST visit these 3D virtual tours of beautiful sites all over the world with your students. Read the Welcome message on the home page for directions and details, then explore the current features and several years of archives for 3D virtual tours from major world capitals to true "experiences" such as Times Square and white water rafting. Even the tour of a Banyan tree will amaze you. Bring the world into your classroom for geography, landforms, world cultures, foreign language study, or literary settings. Be in the midst of festivals or atop the Sydney Bridge.

tag(s): images (263), landforms (39), virtual field trips (128)

Doris Voitier, Superintendent of the St. Bernard Parish Schools in New Orleans area gave this speech in acceptance of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation's Profiles in Courage Award in 2007. Her account of the challenges during and after Hurricane Katrina and the response by the staff of the St. Bernard Parish schools is awe-inspiring and heartening to educators. Her oral history also provides a powerful view of FEMA and the U.S. government from the eyes of hurricane survivors and local public officials.

TeachersFirst is fortunate to have Doris Voitier as a member of the board of directors of our parent company and is proud to congratulate her on this prestigious award.

tag(s): hurricanes (32)

The National Women's Hall of Fame celebrates the contributions of women to society and each year nominates outstanding women for inclusion. This site contains brief biographies of each of these women. Be sure to see the video interviews with many modern day women "heroes" such as former first lady Rosalynn Carter, pilot Emily Warner, astronomer Dr. Judith Pipher, and several others.

tag(s): famous people (19), women (151), womenchangemaker (37)

This website is filled with wonderful information about our national bird, the American Bald Eagle. It is a detailed site, with topics ranging from nesting and migration to eyesight and hearing. The site is easy to read and simple to navigate. Be sure to click on the Myths and Legends to see how the Bald Eagle has been viewed throughout history. Students with reading disabilities or low reading levels may need to some assistance with Native American verbiage.

tag(s): endangered species (27), species (16)

This site has links to everything you ever wanted to know about the Elizabeth world from a Compendium of Life in Elizabethan England to Heraldry to the transcripts of the trials of the Earls of Essex and Southampton. It also includes a link to a list of more than a hundred recommended sites for the Renaissance and Elizabethan times.Teachers of everything from world history to Shakespeare will find something to mine at this site. The Compendium of Elizabethan Life is especially interesting to those students who want to know "how things worked" 500 years ago in the time of Will Shakespeare. While this is a great research sourcefor Shakespeare, it is also good for drama, literature, and history for all sorts of activities.

tag(s): elizabethan (13), renaissance (38)