Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Project Look Sharp promotes media literacy education and critical thinking skills through the offering of curriculum kits for classrooms in grades K-12; to find the kits click the Free Classroom Materials button. The free kits include teacher guides, handouts, assessments, and correlating digital media. Browse through all available kits, or filter by grade level or Common Core Standard. Each kit is available for download in its entirety or download individual lessons as desired; registration is required. Lesson contents cover a variety of topics including Global Warming, Presidential Campaigns, and Social Justice. Be sure to look through other sections of the site including professional development information and links to handouts from Project Look Sharp's presentations.

tag(s): american revolution (82), climate change (99), critical thinking (127), environment (252), martin luther king (45), media literacy (109), middle east (50), nutrition (140), OER (43), presidents (135), russia (36), social media (48)

Think of Fiskkit as a social media tool for sharing, discussing, and evaluating online articles similar to marking up a paper with a red pen. Copy and paste the URL for a news story into Fiskkit to input into the site. Once available, click on any sentence to rate or tag information as true/false, descriptive, or complimentary. Share the article with others to evaluate then view the graph showing tag distribution. After sharing the article with your class use your account to see student names that read the article, organize comments, and open individual sentences for classroom discussion. At the time of this review, Fiskkit works best in Edge and FireFox browsers.

tag(s): critical thinking (127), journalism (74), media literacy (109), news (228), newspapers (93)

Moment Zero is an immersive experience for viewing seismic activity around the world since 1970. View information in 360 degrees using computers and mobile devices, or in VR with a headset and mobile phone. Use the options on the site to explore the yearly timeline and view annual statistics.

tag(s): earthquakes (46)

Here you will find 5 e-safety SMART cartoons for ages 7 to 11. These videos are all about being SMART online. Click on Teachers & professionals and slide to resources to search by age or topic for other activities. The suggested recommendation from the creators is to implement activities throughout several weeks; however, it is possible to complete as a one-time activity.

tag(s): character education (79), digital citizenship (85), internet safety (114)

Solve interactive math and science puzzles based on current events with Expii Solve. Choose from over 70 sets of questions with topics including the Super Bowl, Star Wars, fashion, holidays, and more. Each topic includes a set of five problems with each question increasing in difficulty. If you need help, use links to tutorials at the bottom of each question. Registration isn't required; however, registering allows you to track progress in completing puzzles.

tag(s): cultures (180), holidays (187), logic (161), problem solving (233)

History Tech is an outstanding blog for history and social studies teachers created by curriculum and technology integration consultant Glenn Wiebe. Wiebe shares resources and lesson ideas with a focus on game-based learning and technology integration. Browse through the blog's feed to view the latest posts, use the search box to search by keyword, or click on commonly used tagged words. To find specific topic content scroll down to the bottom of the home page and use the drop box featuring History Tech Topics. Be sure to sign up with your email address to receive the most recent posts directly to your inbox.

tag(s): back to school (55), branches of government (65), digital storytelling (154), game based learning (205), maps (220), politics (118), primary sources (117), social media (48), teaching strategies (50)

Play this game to solve the world's water crisis through careful management of resources and responses to global events. Before playing, be sure to check out the tutorial to understand the available options. Your mission is to make water available to all regions through a series of decisions based on cost and research. Be sure to check out the text alternative short story to the game sharing a tale of the importance of water within a small community.

tag(s): conservation (102), DAT device agnostic tool (147), game based learning (205), recycling (45), water (102), weather (160)

Use this interactive tool to compare and contrast different plan options for reduction of the federal deficit. Choose from the various plans offered on the site, then select categories to view proposals. Compare up to three plans at one time. Although this interactive compares plans from 2021, the information is still valuable for those interested in understanding the impact of policies on any budget.

tag(s): financial literacy (93), politics (118)

How do we fix Social Security to make it sustainable for future generations? Try your hand at making changes using this interactive calculator. Select from options to adjust benefits and revenues to view long-term modifications to the solvency of the Social Security trust fund.

tag(s): financial literacy (93), politics (118)

Your challenge in this game is to manage the federal budget and keep it on a sustainable course. Choose from a menu of tax and spending options to reduce debt levels over the next 25 years. The real challenge to winning is to manage the budget while maintaining your values and priorities. Scroll down the page to download the game guide, and click the link to start the game.

tag(s): branches of government (65), financial literacy (93), game based learning (205)

The Center for News Literacy provides articles and courses to teach news literacy. Defined as learning critical thinking skills to judge the reliability and credibility of information received, this site serves to help students and educators learn to evaluate materials from any source. Select from the courses offered including Deconstructing a Viral Video and Who Decides What is Newsworthy? The Course Packs include PowerPoint presentations with lesson materials along with final quizzes.

tag(s): internet safety (114), journalism (74), news (228), newspapers (93)

The Student Writing portal of One World Education shares exemplary writing examples from One World Student Ambassadors. Each piece models grade-level writing and includes a reflection experience. Based on the One World Program, articles feature information based on student research of a social justice issue important to them. In addition to the featured student writing, the site also includes a research portal for students categorized by grade levels and issues. Sign up to become a partner and access curriculum materials based on Common Core Standards.

tag(s): persuasive writing (58), sociology (23), writing (325)

This infographic provides background and facts defining bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Scroll through to learn about the different types of cryptocurrencies, their uses, and obtaining and using bitcoin. In addition to the infographic, the article on this page shares additional information supporting the infographic details.

tag(s): financial literacy (93), money (113)

MSN Kids features content and search features geared toward elementary and middle-school aged kids. In addition to news stories around the world of interest to kids, the site also includes crafts and videos that appeal to students. Use the links to different categories including animals, science and tech, and more to narrow down features. One very nice feature for classrooms is that this site does not include any advertising or sponsored content.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), cross cultural understanding (173), search engines (48)

KidCitizen is a series of interactive episodes for students in grades K-5 using primary source documents to explore and learn about civic matters. Also, the KidCitizen Editor lets you customize existing episodes or create game-based activities with primary sources you choose. The Getting Started Guide provides an excellent overview of the online tools and how to get started producing your episodes.

tag(s): american flag (7), communities (35), congress (40), DAT device agnostic tool (147), game based learning (205), national parks (29), symbols (15)

If you use Google Maps you know they offer a street view for locations; Instant Street View saves a step and takes you directly there. Type in any address to browse any location. Some locations don't offer street view, in that instance Instant Street View shares the Google Map view.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): maps (220), virtual field trips (128)

Compare the adjusted amount of money from its value in any year, from 1800-2022, using The Inflation Calculator. Enter the dollar amount, the initial year, and the final year for comparison to view the adjusted amount. For example, enter $100 in the year 1900 and compare to the 2017 value to find that the same item would cost $2988.86 in 2017!
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): 1900s (72), 20th century (62), calculators (36), financial literacy (93)

Case Maker is a collection of 20 civics challenges for middle school students. Share individual challenges with students using the provided Challenge Code. Once students access the challenge, the site offers tools for adding annotations and creating case folders. Once complete, students use information as a reference for other assignments or share their work using the site's presentation mode feature. Use your free Case Maker account to modify text and associated primary sources within challenges and follow student progress. Be sure to watch the introductory videos for teachers and students.

tag(s): black history (133), civil rights (209), constitution (96), democracy (24), elections (82), freedom of speech (14), immigrants (34), immigration (68), inquiry (24), media literacy (109), politics (118), racism (79), Research (87), world war 2 (161)

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! is a weekly podcast from NPR featuring celebrities and audience participation activities based on current news. Other prominent features from the podcast include games like "Bluff the Listener." In this activity, participants hear three stories, two of them fictitious, and try to guess the correct one.

tag(s): journalism (74), listening (93), logic (161), news (228), podcasts (108), problem solving (233)

Discover music from all over the world and from over 100 years back in time! Visit Radiooooo and start listening immediately (no registration required) or download the iOS or Android app. Just select a country (all countries in yellow have music), decade, and mood (from tabs at the bottom) the music will begin. Create a thematice playlist from different countries and decades using "Islands Mode. Create an account to save your favorites, or upload your own favorite music. There are different subscription programs for a cost. This review is for the free version

tag(s): 1900s (72), countries (73), DAT device agnostic tool (147), radio (20), songs (46)