Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

WordSense.eu is part dictionary and part thesaurus, based on Wiktionary information. Type in any word in the search bar to view word origin, definitions, synonyms, and more. This site provides a multitude of information about the words. Click on underlined words within a definition to view their definitions. Our editors note that this is an unabridged dictionary including words not appropriate for school. Discuss consequences of inappropriate use and/or avoiding using this resource with immature students. .

tag(s): dictionaries (47), prefixes (10), root words (10), suffixes (8), thesaurus (22), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94), word study (59)

Just as the name says, Online Voice Recorder allows you to record your voice from your computer and save the file. With no membership required, this is a free and simple recording treasure! Simply push the record button and follow screen prompts to ALLOW the application access to your computer's microphone. Talk as long as desired. Then listen to the recorded playback. Trim and edit the length using easy sliders as desired. Save your finished version in MP3 format using the link.
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tag(s): blended learning (37), communication (129), fluency (26), preK (270), speech (69), spelling (98)

Find a thorough lesson plan guide aligned with the Common Core standards and so much more. Through this guide, middle school students will learn about the U.S. court system and the anatomy of a criminal trial. They will also learn about the rights of the accused, the jury system, and career opportunities. The materials support the book by providing more accurate and state-specific information on the legal process. There are plenty of interactive activities suggested so students are not just passive readers.
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tag(s): careers (156), civil rights (209), courts (20), critical thinking (127), guided reading (33), reading comprehension (149)

Get one scoop of ice cream for each noun and verb correctly identified. There is an ugly monster standing nearby waiting to scoop up the missed answers, in the form of ice cream scoops. If you get ten scoops, you get to play a bonus round. This round consists of moving the ice cream cone under the falling scoops to get as many as possible. You can select three different types of games: all nouns, all verbs, or a mixture of nouns and verbs.
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tag(s): grammar (137), parts of speech (39), verbs (26)

Help your ESL/ELL students with vocabulary using this interactive site! The site offers 34 categories of vocabulary words. Clicking on any category leads to many words in each category, visuals for the words, sounds for the words, matching games, and crosswords. This site was created in the United Kingdom. American English speakers may notice some different pronunciations and even vocabulary words.

tag(s): vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94), word study (59)

Create dice using the templates provided at the Dice Collector's page! Choose from many original choices displayed on the site, such as phases of the moon, the earth, and various versions of numbered dice. Click on any image to view the template full size, then print, fold, and put together.

tag(s): earth (184), moon (73), preK (270), probability (99)

Find full length lesson plans for many subjects at Lesson This! For example, there is Pumpkin Addition and Subtraction (perfect for a fall math lesson). Scroll through the latest posts or browse by learning objectives, tags, materials, or grade level using the boxes on the right side of the home page. Each lesson states objectives, lists materials required (with links to print-ables if needed), and includes complete directions. Many also include pictures of the activity.
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tag(s): christmas (38), colors (63), counting (60), crafts (64), descriptive writing (42), drawing (61), halloween (32), holidays (187), nutrition (140), parts of speech (39), patterns (61), preK (270), recycling (45), symmetry (26), valentines day (11)

Imagine a one-stop site for creating, editing, and distributing your school supply list and wish list to parents and others. That's TeacherLists. Create an account, find your school, and begin a supply list or wish list. Personalize your list with a short welcome statement, if desired. Choose from categories to add items. Categories include most popular items as well as specific items such as paper, pencils, or health and cleaning supplies. Include the quantity for each student, add a short note, and save when complete. Share your final list through email, direct url link, or several social networking links.

tag(s): classroom management (120), preK (270)

Duolingo is a free, online language learning class. Sign up with email. Make a selection from Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, and many others. Earn points on different levels as you work towards mastery. Practice provides both seeing and hearing the words. Your responses require choosing the English translation and also spelling the words in the "new" language. Put your knowledge to work in the immersion section and translate a document or even upload a document of your own. Check the vocabulary you have learned and your progress toward mastery. Track your weekly progress. The discussion section answers individual questions. Duolingo is free for schools. There are free iOS and Android apps for Duolingo.

tag(s): arabic (13), chinese (45), DAT device agnostic tool (147), french (75), game based learning (205), german (49), hebrew (16), italian (31), japanese (47), multilingual (77), OER (43), Online Learning (36), portuguese (22), russian (26), spanish (109)

Create, share, and edit a variety of lists using FlexLists. Give your list a name. Choose from list options such as projects, addresses, to-do lists, and more. Add information manually or import using options provided. Keep lists private or email to others using options such as read only, read/add, or full editing permission. Registration isn't necessary; however, it allows you to easily find and share saved lists.

tag(s): classroom management (120), organizational skills (88)

Create your own character icon (or avatar) for free with Portrait Illustration Maker. Customize your character with all of the options on the site. Select your hairstyle, face line, eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, coloration, as well as other effects and accessories. Click Download to save your completed character as a PNG (or other file format) to use on a website or blog. Click Alignment to select GIF or JPG file format or to add a Word that will appear the top of the image. Images are 96 by 96 pixels (quite small). Use the delete button to start over or to make a new character. Portrait Illustration Maker offers a FREE iOS and Android app for mobile devices.
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tag(s): creativity (86), DAT device agnostic tool (147), emotions (49), faces (5)

Refine your writing with Slick Write's feedback about the flow, style, structure, readability, word frequencies, and repeated phrases in your writing. This program is not just a grammar check. See diagrams showing the flow of your writing and sentence styles. It will highlight and label weak descriptions, too many prepositional phrases, cliches, and weasel words. Under "Configure", Slick Write gives choices for types of feedback for the writing. Give it a try by clicking on "edit" and pasting your text. Click "proofread" to get your results. Click "stats" to learn about overuse of prepositions and passive voice, two common writing faults. Once you see your "weaknesses," it's time to begin the hard part: revising! But at least you have an idea where to focus!
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tag(s): editing (93), proofreading (21), writing (325)

Make quizzes from ready-made quiz show templates or create your own using this free tool. NO membership is required, but you will need to remember the password you add to the quizzes you create so you can return to and edit it. Templates can be edited to suit your purpose. Some of the general topics include most subject areas (history, math, science, social studies, languages, and technology). There is also an area related to sports and games. It is helpful to know some html code to make your quiz look the way you wish it to (boldface, etc.), but there are reminders at the side to help with this option. Note that the quizzes do NOT score your results and are intended to be played orally (Jeopardy style).
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tag(s): quiz (67), quizzes (90)

Create your own cloze quizzes out of any piece of text. Paste the text into the box and select how you want the cloze test made. Select different sentence functions. Choose to have every few words eliminated, or choose your own items to be removed for the cloze. Participants can choose either interactive or text only quizzes. The missing words appear at the top of the quiz. With the interactive quiz, the player types the missing word in the blanks. The site has a lot of flexibility in creating cloze tests. The site will work with world languages as well, but instructors have to choose the every few words option since the site will not recognize, for example, prepositions in another language.

tag(s): quizzes (90), reading comprehension (149), reading strategies (96)

It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. This site from the Associated Press brings together a large collection of photographs related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The photos are copyrighted, and therefore carry a watermark, but they do represent a good cross section of the photos taken by journalists of the events surrounding the assassination.

tag(s): kennedy (20), presidents (135)

Create, collect, organize, and share video collections from YouTube and Vimeo easily with Huzzaz. Build a video library around any topic with just a few clicks. Click and drag the Huzzaz bookmarklet to your browser toolbar. Anytime you see a video, click the bookmarklet to save. Rearrange videos in your collection as desired. Add tags and brief descriptions. Add additional videos as desired. Share complete collections using links for Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and email. If your district blocks YouTube, then you may have to limit your choices to Vimeo.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), movies (54), video (266)

CrowdGrader is a site for submitting and collaboratively grading homework assignments. Log in through any Google Account to view, manage, and create student accounts and assignments. Create guidelines for homework such as individual or group work, submissions, and review deadlines. You can submit homework via attachments or using Google documents. View the review duties for other student assignments in an anonymous fashion assigning a grade and rank based on other submissions reviewed. After completion of all peer reviews, teachers receive all reviews for final grading. Export results in various spreadsheet formats. Once the review phase closes, students receive feedback on their assignments with final grades and class rank.

tag(s): assessment (147), homework (29), rubrics (37)

If you use Dropbox or Box to collect student work, don't miss this site! Use this tool to move files out of Dropbox or Box and into a different or private folder for grading. This is especially useful if you have a "Turn In" folder where students place completed assignments. Use to sort pictures or videos easily and make the organization of Dropbox easy and automatic. Login easily with your Dropbox account. Create "rules" in this tool that are automatically used in your Dropbox account to move your files around to folders you designate. Files and folders are checked against these rules frequently to keep your Dropbox or Box account neat and tidy.

tag(s): images (263), video (266), writing (325)

Populr is an easy to use SINGLE web page creation tool. This tool is intended to create simple, quick pages that still look good. Sign up using your email, Facebook, or Google to begin. Choose from different theme options or begin with a blank page to create your own web page. Edit easily with drop-down boxes for changing colors, fonts, and more. View short video tutorials each step of the way explaining available features. Collaborate with others by enabling the collaboration link. Enable the clone link for others to duplicate your page and create their own version. The free version of the site allows unlimited published pages, video recording, and a 12mb document limit. Note: There are examples from the general public available from the home page. Although none seems inappropriate at this time, you might want to preview before sharing with students.

tag(s): blogs (65), communication (129), portfolios (23), social networking (61)

StoryToolz offers many different tools for authors: story generators, word count meters, a readability analysis, a random conflict generator, a title generator, a cliche buster, and more. Choose any of the topics to begin. Story generators offer suggestions for conflict within a story or half a title. Choose from random title beginnings and endings to generate your title. Don't miss the Readability area: paste up to 5K of text in the box to check the readability of any source. Registration isn't required; however, it offers the opportunity for additional resources within the word count meter section and a larger portion of text for analyzing in the readability section.

tag(s): creative writing (124), readability (5), stories and storytelling (58)