Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Twiddla is an online meeting space and collaboration tool that is like having a whiteboard skin placed over any website or image so you can draw and more. Discover options available in the practice area named the Sandbox. Choose options for collaboration such as a url, uploaded image or document, or collaborate together on a blank screen. Use the Invite button to share the collaboration url via email or copy/paste. Take a snapshot of your session at any time and export as an image. Pro Accounts offer additional features, such as screen captures and password protection. Receive these services free as an educator, find the directions in the FAQ.
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tag(s): design (79), editing (93), iwb (31), note taking (36)

PreKinders offers printables and teaching ideas for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers. Explore the learning areas to find quick and easy activities for literacy, math, and more. Choose from themes such as fairy tales and families. Search through the many printables in all subject areas as well as classroom management checklists, assessments, and posters.
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tag(s): alphabet (53), alphabetical order (8), back to school (55), classroom management (120), colors (63), counting (60), magnetism (36), musical instruments (52), numbers (120), nursery rhymes (9), preK (270), songs (46), sounds (43), weather (160)

Choose from almost 300 courses to take for free at Saylor. Topics range from general education to computer science and professional development. There is a K-12 area that includes Common Core information (for teachers or parents), test prep, and English lessons. Explore a specific area of study to find courses or choose the course list to view all offerings. Some courses include a full textbook and/or a full set of video lectures and are listed on the content matrix. Each course lists learning outcomes, course requirements, and a course overview. Create your own eportfolio to enroll in courses, track progress, download transcripts, and engage with the online community. Pass the final exam of each course to receive a certificate of completion.

tag(s): professional development (385)

View visual guidelines for proper email etiquette. We all need to develop e-mail writing skills for an academic setting with classmates, teachers, administrators, and members of the community in the 21st century. Download the PDF visual guidelines to guide you and your students on the manners and responsibilities associated with communicating through email. Be sure to provide credit to the author in your classroom, website, or blog if you post the PDF.

tag(s): digital citizenship (85), writing (324)

The World Digital Library makes it possible to discover, study, and enjoy digitized cultural treasures from around the world. Resources include manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, and architectural drawings. Browse by place, time, topic, type of item, and contributing institution, or use the open-ended search available in many languages. Information included with items includes a description, place of event or item, date, location of the item, and tags for viewing items similar in nature or topic. Move the timeline to view items for specific time periods.

tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), 1800s (75), 1900s (72), 20th century (62), africa (148), asia (116), australia (28), china (81), cross cultural understanding (173), europe (84), images (263), north america (15), south america (47)

Skype as a Learning Call is a PDF loaded with information on using Skype calls in your classroom. Different pages include information such as what to do before, during, and after a call for both you and your students. Also included are student handouts to record information from calls. Be sure to check this out as an excellent resource for getting the most of your Skype learning experiences!

tag(s): skype (2), webcams (19)

Inspire yourself and your students with Windows to the Universe Motivational Quotes. Although a rather simple site in appearance, there is a lot of "good stuff" here. Add creativity, encouragement, and an atmosphere of excellence to your classroom and your life.
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tag(s): firstday (22), quotations (19)

Deep Space Sparkle is an out of this world site that provides art lesson plans, student examples, tutorials, tips, and techniques. Are you looking to become art smart? Are your students craving creativity? These ideas are classroom tested and teacher approved. Perfect for art or classroom teachers in grades K-6, this site was developed by an elementary art teacher. Lesson plans are organized by subject, grade, and techniques. Use the search box to find specific lessons. Visit the "Art Basics" section to build your background or review art vocabulary found in the lessons. Go "Inside the Art Room" for information on classroom management, organization, supplies, and how-to videos. The posts are detailed and provide insight with authentic classroom experiences. Don't forget to dig through the "Scrap Box" section of the site for more great art information! Blog posts, book reviews, and art shows are just a few of the items located in the "Scrap Box" section. At the time of this review, there were also a few Common Core and the Arts blog posts. Deep Space Sparkle is free, but offers eBooks and eCourses for purchase. This review was for the FREE portion only. Don't forget to subscribe to the Deep Space Sparkle mailing list to receive updates.
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tag(s): architecture (75), art history (102), artists (84), design (79)

Find and choose from 100's of online coloring pages sorted into categories at The Color. Choose from holiday categories, colors, alphabet, occupations, continents, dinosaurs, nursery rhymes, numbers, and much more. Click on an image to begin coloring. You can color online or print the page to color on paper. Share finished images via email using the link provided. Registration isn't necessary, but if you register you may save finished projects for later viewing.
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tag(s): alphabet (53), animals (294), birds (46), colors (63), continents (33), dinosaurs (43), holidays (187), numbers (120), nursery rhymes (9), planets (113), preK (270), presidents (135), space (222), transportation (30)

The Digital Public Library of America is a central portal pulling together the collections of US libraries, archives and museums. These individual collections are available in a single large database. The DPLA does not actually have any collection of its own; rather it provides direct links to individual artifacts that reside in other collections across the US. Artifacts include text, images, video clips, and more. You can search the DPLA using a timeline, using a map, or using a more traditional search box. The timeline feature makes accessing topics such as "civil rights" by decade very helpful. Creating a free account allows you to save searches. The DPLA also "collects" groups of artifacts into exhibitions.

tag(s): 1910s (6), 1920s (15), 1930s (20), 1940s (14), 1950s (8), 1960s (26), 1970s (10), 1980s (7), 20th century (62), data (151), museums (52), primary sources (117), Research (87)

U.S. History Images is a large site of Public Domain images beginning with Native Americans up to the Civil War. Choose from categories offered to locate images within the different choices. For specific searches, use the search bar or site map to locate content. Be sure to view the Terms of Use for understanding of proper use of images.
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tag(s): 1800s (75), american revolution (82), civil war (139), colonial america (95), colonization (21), emancipation proclamation (13), images (263), industrial revolution (22), industrialization (12), lincoln (66), native americans (108), pioneers (9), states (124), transportation (30), washington (28)

Forge connections between the arts and other subjects through resources at Education Closet. Choose the lessons link to find many lessons for grades K-12. Each lesson preview contains a short description, information about classroom and fine arts content. Many also correlate to Common Core standards. You can search for lessons by grade levels (K-3, 4-8, or 9-12). Choose a lesson for a more complete description. Click to download the complete lesson in PDF format. Each lesson contains a list of materials, complete directions, assessments, and suggestions for extending the lesson.
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tag(s): american revolution (82), bullying (48), charts and graphs (171), civil war (139), dance (31), descriptive writing (42), energy (133), immigration (68), main idea (8), narrative (16), patterns (61), photography (130), poetry (193), ratios (47)

The 360Cities panoramas are a new way to showcase places, businesses, and events from around the world. Looking for a new virtual field trip? 360Cities will have your students spinning in circles with excitement. The pictures are out of this world! View 360 degree panoramic pictures from Mars or under the sea. Travel to snowy mountain tops and many more of the Internet's largest collection of uploaded panoramic images. 360Cities panoramic aerial shots are also available as well as navigable views of cities, natural landscapes, and more. The most popular panoramic pictures are listed for your convenience. This website has panoramic views of all Seven Wonders of the World, which include the Colosseum in Rome, The Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, The Taj Mahal in India, Machu Picchu in Peru, Christ Redeemer in Rio, and Chichen Itza in Mexico. Are you looking for a site to showcase your own panoramic shots or do you want to learn how to take panoramic shots? 360Cities "how to" section offers tools to create and upload your own panoramic pictures. View the existing pictures for free or use an email address to create a free account to upload your own panoramic pictures. Paid upgrades are available. 360Cities also has an app for iOS devices. View the 360Cities blog linked on the site for more information.
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tag(s): images (263), landforms (39), landmarks (22), virtual field trips (128)

Save time when creating presentations and choosing fonts by using Wordmark.it to preview what your exact words will look like. Simply type/paste in any words, and Wordmark.it scans the fonts on your computers, displaying the words in each and every font style you have. Adjust font size as desired to see changes or change to positive or negative space. This site helps find the perfect font for any use in no time at all! You no longer have to guess whether the capitals will look funny or the specific letters/words might be hard to read. Art teachers can use this to demonstrate design aspects of different fonts. Sign up using email and a password to save words if desired, but this isn't necessary for general use.

Find classroom tested art projects for K-5 and beyond at Art Projects for Kids. There are new posts (and activity ideas) nearly every day. Choose from tags listed on the site to find projects by type such as weaving or watercolor. Find projects by season and topic. Each post includes a description for completing a project, materials needed, and links to printables if required. View the included tags with each item to find suitable grades for each project and similar posts. The projects vary from "crafty" to very open-ended and expressive.
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tag(s): artists (84), crafts (64), drawing (61), holidays (187), seasons (37), symmetry (26)

Enter the engaging virtual world of Whyville filled with math, science, art, and literature activities. Create an avatar and join in constructive educational activities that promote socially responsible behavior. There are many activities to explore, and you can chat with other users. The Zero Gravity Chamber features angles and the principle of Newton's 3rd Law. In the Rocket Design Lab simulate rockets to test parameters such as nozzle size and pay load. The Engine Lab has 3 games that teach about electric charges and ion engines. Citizens must be aware of infectious illnesses and plagues that infect the citizens of Whyville. Join in the hot air balloon race to analyze vector fields to navigate hot air balloons. Go on an art treasure hunt around the world. At the dance studio design and choreograph your own dances. Visit the beach, the climate center, take a swim, or meet your friends at the playground or waterfall. Simulations change every time you enter Whyville. Earn clams, a salary, manage a bank account, get a pet, and read the daily news. Log-in (with email) is required to fully participate in this site. However, most of the site is accessible without registration. Don't miss this award winning website!

tag(s): aircraft (16), animals (294), dance (31), diseases (66), logic (161), money (113), motion (47), puzzles (149), recycling (45), social skills (22), vectors (16)

Join lyrical rhyming adventures of history in poetry! Find poems summarizing famous people or periods from history. Explore the topics in the left sidebar: Ancient History, Middle Ages, British History, American History, Myths & Legends, and Pirates. The American History poems include: The California Gold Rush, The Statue of Liberty, The Moon Landing, The Voyage of the Mayflower, The Boston Tea Party, and a few others. Each poem includes additional facts about the event or people, along with drawings submitted by students. You will also find coloring pages, interviews, jokes, and more. Be aware: this site does include a lot of advertisements. At the time of this review, all advertisements were completely "kid-appropriate." However, it may be wise to advise students not to click on any of the links/pictures.
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tag(s): boston (10), california (17), dinosaurs (43), england (50), gold rush (15), greece (47), landmarks (22), myths and legends (37), olympics (45), romans (52), vikings (10)

Explore this useful catalog of all free e-books available for Kindles through Amazon. It is quite extensive with many categories: Advice & How-to, Biographies & Memoirs, Business & Investing, Children's eBooks, Fantasy, History, Literary Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers, Politics & Current Events, Reference, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Science Fiction, Sports, Teens, Travel, and many others. At the time of this review, there were over 69,000 free eBooks listed on the site.

tag(s): book lists (167), independent reading (81)

Explore and view archives from seven museums in Europe from the comfort of your computer screen! Choose a specific time period, country, or object group to view artifacts. Links to artifacts include an image along with its name, type, country, chronology, time period, and museum location where it is housed. Click on the image thumbnail for a 3D image and links to more in-depth information. Find main characteristics, discovery information, state of the object, and deepenings (a short analysis and description).

tag(s): art history (102), europe (84), germany (28), italy (30), rome (37)