Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, Vocabulary.com has added a themed area about the oceans/maritime studies. Find interactive vocabulary activities using ocean-related (not limited to ocean) vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same 18 theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

tag(s): biomes (110), oceans (149)

Looking for games to review science concepts from a variety of topics? Look no further. Use this free site to access interactives in Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Environmental Science, Forensic Science, Geology, Meteorology, Nature of Science, Oceanography, or Physics. Click on a subject to view a list of games. Click on the teachers section to receive great tips, create your own games, and download study sheets for use in class.
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tag(s): crosswords (19), game based learning (205)

The Story of Stuff Project is named after a 20-minute web cartoon that illustrates how all the "stuff" we use affects our lives and our planet. While the cartoon clearly has a liberal-leaning political agenda, that should not deter you from using it. In fact, asking students to point out its biases would be an important lesson in sorting out perspective in a persuasive argument. The site adds cartoons and movies dealing with other "wasteful" topics fairly often, such as the "cap and trade" plastic beads, microfibers, water issues, energy issue, bottled water, and electronics. The "downloads" tab offers PDF versions of the script, posters and other promotional material, and short teaser video clips of the film.

tag(s): environment (252), sociology (23)

Use this site to view pictures of Florida in 3D. Yes, you do need 3D glasses. Use inexpensive red and blue lens glasses to view these pictures which have been altered to be more accessible to students. Most stereoscopic pictures require special viewer glasses. Follow the directions to be sure you are using the red/blue lenses correctly. View pictures of the cities and towns, landscape, military history, environment, and transportation. Looking for something in particular? Click on "Search Exploring Florida" to find a specific item.

tag(s): florida (12), geology (62)

Looking for ways to link current science events and skills such as reading and writing across the curriculum in your science classroom? Visit this ideal internet location! Created by the people of the New York Times, this lesson plan idea page has all the tools to put together quick, technology, reading and science based lessons in a fraction of the time it would take to pool the resources on your own.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), main idea (8), news (229)

This colorful and informative site provides information about oceans. Specific topics include "How the Ocean Refreshes Itself," "Ocean Animals," "Food from the Ocean," and several others. Many of the topics include interactive presentations. There is also a link to find more "Ocean Links."

tag(s): animals (295), oceans (149)

What is Watch Know Learn? Short for "You Watch, You Know, You Learn" it provides explanations for students. Finding bits of information to help students can be frustrating as resources are disorganized on the web and may be hard to find." Watch Know Learn" is a free site that organizes small video clips to help with the understanding of a variety of topics in subject areas. Search by age (3-18+). You can click and drag the age filter to the youngest and oldest ages to include. Videos are also organized by sequence of topics taught. The site is an ongoing project with input from educators and organizations interested in education of children. Registration is not required to view the videos. Creating and saving videos to the site, as well as commenting, require registration. You can monitor site recent changes and additions using the "Change Log."

tag(s): computers (109), crafts (64), decimals (85), environment (252), ethics (21), fractions (160), holidays (187), Juneteenth (22), scientific method (48), video (266), vocabulary development (94), writing (325)

Who is right when it comes to energy, its creation, and its use? Many of the issues are difficult to understand, and all sides are usually not heard. This site offers a great introductory animated presentation explaining many of the concepts and problems. Students hear the stories about industries, people affected, and the ways that our society contributes to energy problems. After sharing the initial presentation, scroll down the page to read and/or watch more about "Climate Refugees," "Mining the Mountains," "Debating Coal's Future," and several other topics. New topics are added frequently. And at the time of this review, this site was kept very up to date. Articles and resources offer different angles on energy issues. Look for articles that are all about the lives of all people, how energy works, energy issues of today, and the future of energy. The variety of topics at this site is great, as is the material. If you teach science, social studies, geography, or current events, don't miss this site.

tag(s): coal (6), energy (133), fossil fuels (10)

Looking to show math, science, and STEM in real life? Look no further! This site has real world applications in video form. The clips tend to be five minutes or less. Videos are arranged into topic areas such as architecture, sports and many others. Learn about bicycle design, wind sails, recycling, creating an advertising team, and MUCH more. It is a good collection of video clips focused on the real math and science behind jobs that people do in real life.

tag(s): agriculture (49), architecture (75), business (52), environment (252), sports (82), STEM (297), transportation (30)

View data sets to determine trends in data. Enhance critical thinking skills and analysis by choosing "Raw data." See the "Tool Catalog" for access to widgets and data mining tools, or "GeoData" to determine trends, ask questions about these trends, and search for answers. As you teach about data manipulation in math class, use "real world" examples that students will find interesting. A tutorial on using the data is provided. Search the database by search term, file type, or category as well as the state and local level. Either view data or download for later analysis. Be sure to check the Data Policy on the site for citing and using data set information and the other sections including an FAQ section that is very helpful. Looking for data sets that you can't find? Suggest them to Data.gov for consideration.

tag(s): data (151), statistics (121)

This site is filled with study tools to help students learn information in a variety of subject areas. Stacks of topics related to geography, history, math, languages, medical, tests (SAT, ACT, etc.), science and more are linked with collections of learning tools that include virtual study cards, matching games, word search puzzles, and hangman games. There really is something here for nearly all subject areas and grade levels! Students can select the tool that works best for them and work at their own pace until they are satisfied with their progress. If you can't find a stack to fit your needs, you can edit existing lists or create customized study stacks. The site also allows you to print out study cards, or export flash cards to study them via cell phones, PDA, or iPod. Email the stacks to peers or connect with Study Stack through Facebook. Some of the activities require Java. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

tag(s): flash cards (44), greek (47), hebrew (16), latin (23), test prep (69), vocabulary (238)

Do you have trouble finding suitable sites to teach state history for YOUR state? This site includes more than 130 "ready to go" lesson plans organized by state. You can also view the collection by states, social studies standards, U.S. History standards, specific skills, time period, or topic. This resource was pulled together by the National Park service. The specific topics vary from America's Space Program to Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike to Brown v. Board of Education to The Trail of Tears to Pearl Harbor to Lewis and Clark to the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and countless others. Check out what it highlights for your state.

tag(s): cities (17), inventors and inventions (80), landmarks (22), maps (220), states (124)

Not sure what sites exist for your topic? Start here and find sites listed by icon for Art, Encyclopedia, History, Languages, Science, Writing skills, Music, and numerous other topics. Whether you are searching for research information, enrichment, or tutorials - check out this site. Notice that TeachersFirst is among the "faves" for teaching!

tag(s): dictionaries (47), literature (222)

ePals, a global community, offers students the chance to connect with other students around the world (200+ countries). This site is one of the largest worldwide communities for global collaboration. Don't worry about student email accounts as they are no longer needed! Don't worry about the language barrier either, there is a built-in language translation! This content-rich site offers a free "how to" webinar on the Support page on the bottom menu. There are several support videos on YouTube. If you district blocks YouTube they may not be available in you classroom. The program offers teacher to teacher and teacher to student communications, pen pal exchanges, Classroom Collaborative Projects, Spark!Lab Invent It Challenges, and more. In addition, you can click on the Collaborative Projects link to find several ready to use projects (Self Driving Cars, Hamilton, Habitats, Maps, Natural Disasters, Water, and others).

tag(s): black history (133), collaboration (93), communication (129), disasters (37), environment (252), habitats (92), maps (220), natural disasters (18), water (102)

Watch the story of stuff movie, a 20-minute video about where our stuff comes from and the effects of consumption on our society. Play the video from the site or download it to your computer. Other downloads include podcasts and related items. Subscribe to the blog and receive updates and new information. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable.

tag(s): earth (184), earth day (60), environment (252), resources (84)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for the Rainforest. Find interactive vocabulary activities using Rainforest-related vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

tag(s): environment (252)

More a project than a lesson, this site offers a very complete guide to planning a community garden. Though not specifically designed for school settings, the steps and procedures would be a great guide for a class or school interested in developing its own garden. Depending on your local climate, this could be a full-year or summer project.

tag(s): earth day (60)

Understand, investigate, and solve environmental problems related to water. Use "Basic Science" for High School students to investigate through activities using technologies on the website. Use activities divided into sections: Teacher (lesson plans) and Student ("Studying" lessons and "Investigating" lessons.) Complete the "Water Science" water resource management course for undergraduates as a two semester course. Use lake and stream water quality data monitored continually throughout Minnesota and other participating areas. View the data as well as information about the area, its uses, and watershed characteristics. Manipulate data characteristics to customize information needed to study in the "Data" section of the website. Use the "Understanding" section of the site to view reference materials and background information for better understanding of water issues, techniques, and sampling of data or the "Resources" section for tutorials and other references.

tag(s): data (151), water (102)

Brr.. it is cold outside! This site is all about winter weather: arctic, blizzard, freezing, frost. Are you feeling cold yet? Come to this site to find several interactive puzzles, a wordbank of 30+ vocabulary words, discussion questions, an alphalary of winter weather terms, some basic wintry fact, and more. Many of the activities are able to be printed FREE of charge. This site does have some basic advertisements.

tag(s): vocabulary (238), weather (160)