Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This resource contains great review information, test questions, and other materials for several content areas. The materials included for review are a great way to identify the basic material needed for the understanding of Chemistry, Physics, Geometry, Algebra, U.S. and Global History, Earth Science, and the Living Environment.

tag(s): test prep (69)

This website provides a great diagram and overview of the carbon cycle. All labels in the diagram are clickable and informational. This is a great science learning object!

tag(s): carbon (17), carbon dioxide (10), fossil fuels (10), matter (46)

View this interactive video timeline to look at obsolete technologies from the past, including rotary hand mixers, cassette tapes, and other technologies. These short videos share "obsolete" items from the 1860s to 2000s. (Note: if your school blocks YouTube, this site will not be accessible. Ask to have this specific url unblocked).

tag(s): inventors and inventions (80)

This site lets you keep study notes with you anywhere you go! Create flashcards and study even on your mobile phone. Share notes, flashcards, study guides, and quizzes with others for excellent collaboration. Study Blue also provides hints to help students study. Create a folder in "My Backpack." Make flashcards to get started or search flashcards already created by others.

tag(s): flash cards (44)

View The Visual MD site for an unbelievable visual experience about the human body. Learn and understand about health content, and interact for better understanding. View unique 3D resources in a format that educates and informs about health and wellness issues: depression, back pain, heart attack angina, hypertension, kidney disease, asthma, and more. Use these fascinating visuals, produced with real human data from medical scans including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computer tomography (CT) ultrasound, and confocal laser scans. View the body as never seen before, with lifelike computer imaging and enhancement. Find important advice and information on many aspects of health care. Search the interactive library, view videos, or read content.

tag(s): body systems (40), diseases (67), heart (27), human body (93)

Use this (site) project to apply puzzle-solving skills to determine how proteins are folded. Proteins are fascinating, but their structures are difficult to comprehend. Why study the folding of proteins? The folding determines how they function and has implications for human health and how we live with materials and the environment. Bring out thinking processes with this downloadable interactive. Each protein becomes a puzzle. Players manipulate the protein into the form that provides the most efficiency. Researchers are tapping into the potential of the human brain to identify patterns. Understand the formation and breakdown of proteins through game play. Identify the four structures in proteins and their role in the functions and specificity of proteins. Download is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. You need to registerfor the free download.There is an option to "join" for a fee. However, this is necessary only if you wish to comment on the site. As a "real world" connection showing the impact of this "game," see this article about the discoveries about HIV/AIDS that resulted from Fold It.

tag(s): atoms (44), hiv/aids (15), molecules (44)

Use this interactive resource to review the parts of an animal, plant, or bacterial cell. Hover over the areas of the cells to learn the parts and the functions. When finished, follow with an activity to practice what has been learned or take the quiz!
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tag(s): animals (295), bacteria (22), cells (82), plants (146)

Explore your world! Learn about Life! Record observations! This site is based upon the idea that naturalists record observations and that sharing information is a good thing! Click on the Observations tab to view by species or by placemarkers in a Google map. Choose to look by Species or search for a specific Project or Place. For "full access" create a log-in. This requires an email address. Read tips for safely managing email registrations here.

tag(s): animals (295), biodiversity (36), plants (146), species (16)

Zooniverse is one of the largest and most popular citizen science projects. Choose from the feature projects found on this page or click See All Projects to be able to choose from a category. The categories include Arts, Biology, Climate, History, Literature, Medicine, and several others. Click on the category of your choice to go to that project page and read more about the purpose. View interesting information and discoveries that occur when people around the world contribute to a citizen science project. Create a login that can be used for any project shown. Registration requires and email address. Read tips for safely managing email registrations here.
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tag(s): citizen science (27), earth (184), moon (73), Project Based Learning (23), Research (87), space (222), sun (71), weather (160)

Find excellent interactive tutorials of microscope use and microscopic organisms. Choose from tutorials on Microscopic measurement, Predator and prey, and microscopic comparison. Click on portions of the tutorial for an interactive lesson and move throughout the tutorial using the forward and back arrows. Click on teacher resources for for suggestions and laboratory experiences (be sure to check back as many are under construction. The update for this site was done in HTML and it can be accessed on any device with the internet.

tag(s): food chains (19), microorganisms (10), microscopes (10)

MrNussbaum.com was developed with the idea that crucial concepts, themes, ideas, and fact sets taught in the classroom can be enhanced over the internet through interactivity. Furthermore, for teachers to have a reliable k -8 internet site to use in the computer lab or in the classroom, that likely covers one or many themes currently being taught. The Science portion of the site is mainly devoted to information about animals; however, there are also portions on space, biomes, and the periodic table. The animal section is divided into portions by animal such as penguins, birds, sharks, insects, mammals and more. After clicking the link there are several activities matching games, scavenger hunts, anatomy, and other themed activities.
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tag(s): animals (295), biomes (110), insects (69), mammals (22), space (222)

Promote environmental citizenship through this site's "green learning" units. The curriculum ranges from examining how electricity works, understanding the balance of ecosystems, to a high school unit on sustainable futures. Enjoy the interactive wind turbine and carbon calculator. The animation for grades 4 - 7 is engaging, and the video presentations for high school students on sustainability is powerful. Green Learning provides educators with an array of hands-on activities, online learning opportunities, printable materials, assessment tools, and valuable resources such as environmental experts to contact. Each environmental concept taught provides opportunities for real world learning, encourages social action, and advocacy. Teacher friendly planning tools can help meet instructional time constraints, students learning styles, and promote cross-curricular connections. The site is free but requires registration. Membership provides access to additional educational materials and a monthly newsletter. This program comes to us from Canada.

tag(s): climate (84), climate change (99), conservation (102), ecosystems (83), electricity (61), energy (133), environment (252), natural resources (37), OER (43), persuasive writing (58), solar energy (34), sustainability (50)

Find one minute listening exercises on such common activities as babysitting, chickens, and exercise. The listening selections are alphabetized with several selections for each letter of the alphabet. Each listening selection has a multitude of activities you can download (along with the reading text) in Word and pdf formats. Find Cloze paragraphs, fill in the blanks, words to unscramble, and much more. Many activities can also be viewed online. Each selection has two interactive quizzes. Though targeted for the ESL/ELL student, listening is one of the language arts standards, and this is a good way for any classroom teacher to address listening skills.
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tag(s): dance (31), listening (93), reading comprehension (149), vocabulary (238)

This site has been archived but still available and active. At the site you can explore the various activities offered by the San Diego Natural History Museum. In the Canine Corner learn about domestic dogs and their cousins, learn little-known facts about canines, and read the glossary of canine terms. Learn about vision by exploring The Eyes Have It section, learn about dinosaurs in the Dinosaur Dig, and explore living light and bio luminescence in the Lights Alive section of the site. Some of the activities still require Flash, and the video section hasn't been updated. However, there is A LOT to learn from the other topics!

tag(s): animal homes (57), animals (295), dinosaurs (43), light (56)

Discover better perspective on the size of the universe using this interactive. Use the slider at the bottom to move from the atomic, cellular, and human perspective all the way to the size of the galaxy. Units are displayed alongside images. Warning: underneath the interactive, there is a public comment area. You may want to preview this area if allowing students to navigate on their own.

tag(s): atoms (44), cells (82), measurement (122), space (222)

This site, created by the Kennedy Center, offers a wealth of interactive lesson plans for grades K-12 dealing with a variety of topics, all with an "arts" spin. Search by subject, keyword, or grade level (K-4, 5-8, or 9-12). Some examples of topics include Native Americans, Civil War, Shakespeare, myths, melodrama, adjectives, monsters, baseball, and countless others! Be sure to check out the category "Our Best Resources Organized by Subject." After that click on the the top menu for Education and get even more resources. There are many interactive lessons: some with video, audio, or slideshows. The lessons provide an estimate of time required and complete, step-by-step instructions. There are printables included with some of the lessons.
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tag(s): african american (115), baseball (32), civil war (139), comics and cartoons (55), dance (31), folktales (34), greece (47), habitats (92), immigration (68), literature (221), mexico (37), musical instruments (52), myths and legends (37), native americans (109), painting (55), surrealism (2)

Explore science in everyday life to understand the impact of science and technology. Find information for students, educators, and families as well as lesson plans and activities. Lesson plans are standards based and divided into age groupings. View lessons and interactives to make science come alive. The videos even include the grade range! View the family section for great online labs and family activities. This site can make science accessible and interesting even to middle school girls who may begin to shy away from anything scientific.

tag(s): inventors and inventions (80)

This site highlights a simple look at the temperate deciduous forests of the world. This biome experiences summer, winter, fall, and spring. Check out this site to learn more about the animals and plants that live in the biome, where the biome is located, what causes the seasons to change, leaf identification information, and much more about this biome.

This site is also used as a web resource for the TeachersFirst interactive Biomes of the World Unit.

tag(s): biomes (110), climate (84), seasons (37)

This site from the department of ichthyology at the Florida Museum of Natural History offers a wealth of information on all manner of fishes, sharks, and other sea life. In addition to the site's text, there is a large, searchable photo database that will return images of many species. The education section includes information on how fish live and swim, identification keys, and commonly asked "fishy questions." Earth science teachers will definitely want to bookmark this one.

tag(s): fish (18), marine biology (31), oceans (149)

What would happen of the world ran out of oil? Players simulated that reality through this innovative game. Though the activity is officially over, for the thirty-two days of play, over fifteen hundred stories of reaction to a massive decline in available oil and their reactions were recorded. Each story has been archived. Use the Time Machine to go to any of these weeks. Official stories for that week are the headline. Read stories by players in the blocks to the left. Click on a story block to go to the story. Take Gretchen's Quick Tour and experience the activity as one of the participant's did. Be sure to check out the Lesson Plans for Teachers.

tag(s): climate change (99), critical thinking (127), environment (252), oil (22)