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PBS Video Online - PBS
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): video (264)
In the Classroom
Teachers you can now access videos from PBS without having to record them. Use the subject search to find videos relevant to a unit of study. Display videos with your projector or add a link to your class website so students can watch at home.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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The White House Tour - Google Maps
Grades
K to 12tag(s): presidents (135), virtual field trips (119), white house (16)
In the Classroom
Take your students on a virtual field trip! This is a great way for kids to "visit" the White House. Include it during inauguration week or any time you are studying U.S. government. Show the website using a projector, and have students write a tour script or a tale of something that might happen in the White House. Younger students might want to write a story from the President's dog's (or other pet's) point of view! Before using the site, you should familiarize yourself with how to use the Google Maps street view tools to navigate through the house. Better yet, have a student operate the tour on the whiteboard or projector.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Edsitement - EdSitement
Grades
K to 12tag(s): art history (99), cultures (172), Juneteenth (22), literacy (121)
In the Classroom
Use Edsitement for lesson ideas in language, history, literature, and cultures. Find multiple sources to give a deeper comprehension on the subject matter. In history classes, keep the ongoing calendar in your favorites to celebrate an important historical day every day. Lesson plans cover multiple grade levels in many different subject areas. Resources can enrich, or even to give further explanation to current topics of study.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Zinn Education Project - Zinn Education Project
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): african american (110), bias (27), black history (130), civil rights (201), hispanic (34), racism (79), women (146)
In the Classroom
If you are looking for additional teaching materials that focus on issues of social justice, racism, or which provide information from a progressive point of view, you can search by time period or theme (i.e., African American, Mexico, Hispanic, Latinx, LGBT, War and Anti-War, Civil Rights, Racism, and many more). The teaching materials are in PDF format you can download once you log in. Language arts teachers will find the articles here great for nonfiction reading and terrific as discussion starters!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tesla - Master of Lightning - PBS
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): electricity (62), energy (131), industrial revolution (22), inventors and inventions (80), motion (50), radio (20)
In the Classroom
Add intrigue and mystery, to your science unit on electricity, motion, or inventors as you study the life and accomplishments of Nikola Tesla. Excellent lesson plans include a concrete understanding of potential energy, mechanical energy to electrical energy. Use on an interactive white board to begin your unit or create a "Who Dunnit" with electricity or radio. Follow the structure of ideas presented to create an online "famous scientist" wiki, blog or PowerPoint to add to your class website. Use a Socratic seminar to debate which scientist should get credit for the induction motor, radio, and even the Industrial Revolution. Use the readings for older students, advanced readers, or gifted students, as they are far above the reading level of elementary and early middle school students. In language arts, writing topics could include "What a shock electricity is in my life" and "Will the true inventor of electricity please stand up?" The ideas and resources are electrifying!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Martin Luther King Jr. Resources Overview - Stanford Research & Education Institute
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): black history (130), civil rights (201), martin luther king (45), rosa parks (9)
In the Classroom
This is a perfect place to send students for research. Have students use the timeline to find out about important dates in civil rights history. Use the encyclopedia to not only learn about civil rights champions, but about organizations of that time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Now I See! Infographics as content scaffold and creative, formative assessment - TeachersFirst: Candace Hackett Shively and Louise Maine
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): infographics (56)
In the Classroom
Read through this professional tutorial if you have even considered trying infographics with your students. You will find just the encouragement you need. Mark this one in your Favorites and share the many examples with your students, including student-created examples from a ninth grade class, as you launch your own infographics projects. Let your students "show what they know" in a new way.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Venngage - Venngage
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): data (151), infographics (56), posters (43), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Consider creating Infographics of material learned in class and for better understanding and connection with other topics and the "real world." Make curriculum content more real with infographics that students can relate to. Have students create their own infographics with this site to display what they have learned from a unit of study, how vocabulary words are related to the unit content, or as a review before a test. It could even be a replacement for the test! Connect data found on the Internet to information needed to understand that data. (Consider looking at different ways to show the data which can generate bias.) Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to allow student groups to present an Infographic about a book they've read, related news article, etc. Create Infographics about events such as Earth Day, D-Day, Take Your Child to Work Day, and other observances.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Four Directions Teaching - 4D Interactive Inc.
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): canada (24), cross cultural understanding (172), cultures (172), native americans (108)
In the Classroom
The series of animated mini lessons are perfect for use on an interactive whiteboard (or projector) and help anchor the learning activities available for download. They could also be used as stand-alone resources to complement lessons you have designed. You might choose to look at creation myths across the various tribes or how each culture constructed shelters or conducted ceremonies. These themes make the lessons useful even for those not studying specifically Canadian history. Have students make a multimedia presentation on a chosen topic using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): PBWorks (wiki), Site123 (blog), Renderforest (newscast video), and Genially (poster/bulletin board).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kansas State University
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): baseball (32), black history (130), civil rights (201), racism (79), sports (81)
In the Classroom
This is a great resource for "hooking" students interested in sports into the study of the Civil Rights Movement, understanding racism and bias, or modern US History. Consider including the resources here in your recognition of Black History Month as well. Share the introductory video on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Ask cooperative learning groups to explore a specific part of this site and create a paper poster or modify student learning by challenging them to use a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or enhance learning using PicLits, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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With Liberty and Justice for All - The Henry Ford Museum
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): branches of government (64), civil rights (201), constitution (93), freedom of speech (14), womens suffrage (51)
In the Classroom
While the site is focused on preparing students for a visit to the Henry Ford Museum, the site provides good resources and lesson plans for the study of both the Women's Suffrage Movement and the Civil Rights Movement. The video tour of the exhibit also provides a "virtual field trip" experience.Comments
This is a virtual field trip that groups resources for 6-8 grades and will be extremely useful at all levels towards a discussion of justice through evidence evaluation, pro and con using various issues from our history.Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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American Indian/Alaskan Native Book List - Talk Story
Grades
K to 12tag(s): alaska (22), cross cultural understanding (172), independent reading (83), native americans (108)
In the Classroom
Encourage students to select books about a culture that interests them. Include this list during a multicultural unit. Have students collect ideas to create a book for their target culture using a digital tool like Story Map, reviewed here, then enhance student learning with a challenge to students to create an online book of images and captions about their target culture using Ourboox, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Critical Past Stock Footage Archive - Jim and Andy Erickson
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 20th century (62), afghanistan (7), africa (144), american revolution (82), china (81), europe (84), north america (15), south america (40), video (264)
In the Classroom
Use photos or videos on Critical Past to help illustrate what students are learning in history. Ask students to be "eyewitnesses" of history and watch a video before they have context for it. Students can write or blog about what they think they are witnessing. Afterward they can research the event in more depth and write a follow-up reflection on what was actually happening in the clip. Challenge your students to use a site such as Sutori, reviewed here, to create timelines of topics researched on the site. Use images from public domain sites, such as the collections, reviewed here, to illustrate the events.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Oh Freedom! Teaching African American Civil Rights Through American Art at the Smithsonian - Smithsonian American Art Museum
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): african american (110), art history (99), artists (83), black history (130), civil rights (201)
In the Classroom
This site is a must for any Art, Art History, or Social Studies classroom. The program really lends itself to having a discussion. Visit the Artists area, choose an artist, and project the artwork on an interactive whiteboard. Using the "looking questions," have a class discussion. Assign groups and give each group a different picture. Let them discuss using the questions and then jigsaw them so they can share each other's answers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Picturing US History - American Social History Project at CUNY
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): african american (110), civil war (138), colonial america (95), slavery (78)
In the Classroom
The site offers several "lessons in looking." Project the site on an interactive whiteboard and use the discussion questions to guide students through a look at history. The site provides a way for you to zoom into the artwork so students can get up and personal as if they were in a museum. Use the zoom tool to assist you with your classroom discussion.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Book TV - National Cable Satellite Corporation & C-SPAN
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): biographies (93), independent reading (83), interviews (17), politics (117)
In the Classroom
Use the online resources from this website to accompany your nonfiction literature. This collection is particularly useful when reading about historical figures. Make books and authors come alive for your students by accessing and projecting videos on your interactive whiteboard and sharing "Book Notes," biographies, and more. Lure students into independent reading by allowing them to explore the videos and find a book they might enjoy reading. After viewing a program or reading a book, have students share their opinions in a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, Vevox, Animatron, Renderforest, and Canva Inforgraphic Maker.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TED - TED staff
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
If you are looking for a clearinghouse that offers free inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, this ever-evolving site is perfect for engaging your students with digital videos of the global issues facing our world today. Use your projector or interactive whiteboard to project videos. Watch your students' enthusiastic reactions in science, social studies, or English classrooms as they view a TED video and then follow-up with a debate on the future or the impact of technology on society, or use them as a springboard for interesting writing prompts or to spark a discussion connected with a unit of study. Challenge students to do a compare/contrast activity using an online Venn Diagram tool (reviewed here). Most of the videos are less than twenty minutes, which makes it real doable to embed in a one-period class lesson.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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How Our Laws Are Made - Mike Wirth
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): branches of government (64), congress (40)
In the Classroom
Use the graphic as an introduction to a detailed discussion. Share the site on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Use it to reinforce the process once you've taught the lesson. Encourage students to bookmark it to review or test their understanding. Anyone who teaches civics, government or US history will be able to use this graphic on an interactive whiteboard. For that matter, it should be required viewing for citizens and politicians alike!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CK-12 - CK-12 Foundation
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): atoms (44), cells (83), charts and graphs (170), decades (7), energy (131), equations (118), fractions (159), genetics (81), inequalities (25), landforms (37), measurement (123), oceans (147), organisms (15), periodic table (46), probability (98), pythagorean theorem (18), rocks (35), scientific method (48), seasons (37), solar energy (34), solar system (108), statistics (120), STEM (288), test prep (69), variables (14)
In the Classroom
Introduce CK-12 to your students (and parents) on your interactive whiteboard and demonstrate ways to use the site at home. Be sure to create a link to the site on your class website or blog for easy access at any time. Create an account and upload your own resources and activities to create your own flexbooks for use with students. CK-12 is available in many languages. Use this site with your ESL/ELL students as a supplement to classroom resources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mining the Riches of History: Creating Oral Histories - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 9tag(s): interviews (17), local history (14), primary sources (116)
In the Classroom
Mark this in your Favorites as a way to develop information literacy in your classes, even if you no longer have a library/media specialist to help out.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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