Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Find two downloadable images for 11 by 17 posters about multiple intelligences in comic form. The first poster represents the different types of intelligences, such as musical or linguistic. The second poster breaks down steps to use when working with different types of intelligences. For full information, click the link that leads to the full six page essay about multiple intelligences. Also check out the link at the bottom of the page to "psst! teachers!" to another multiple intelligences comic book.

tag(s): back to school (55), comics and cartoons (55), multiple intelligences (7)

Give your student writers an audience... possibly an international one! Sign up for Quadblogging and be guaranteed that your students will have at least three other classrooms to read and respond to their blogs. We all know that having an audience for our writing makes us better writers. The creator of this program has hard evidence of that. His students (in the UK) were scoring at 9% on the British writing achievement test before Quadblogging. After a school year of using Quadblogging, his students increased their scores to 60%. In subsequent years, these students continued to have their scores grow by two grade levels per school year. There are two short videos on the home page. One video explains the concept of Quadblogging, and the other is the creator speaking at BETT, the world's largest ed tech conference. You will also find the form to fill out to have your class join others in Quadblogging.

tag(s): blogs (65), communication (129), cross cultural understanding (173), writing (324)

PDF Mergy is a tool for combining multiple PDF documents into one file. Select files from your computer or Google Drive account to merge, drag, and drop to reorder, if desired. Click the merge button when ready. When the merge is complete, save the new file to your computer or Google Drive with any name you choose.
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tag(s): classroom management (120)

Compress images to a manageable size easily using Compress Now. Upload any image file up to 9 MB in size, slide the slider to choose the percentage of compression, and view the result. Click download to save to your computer. Although this tool is recommended for all ages, elementary students would not use it, but their teachers can!

tag(s): images (263)

Practice and improve student skills in the K-8 curriculum with MobyMax. Start with pre-testing students and assigning differentiated activities for reading, math, science, writing, grammar and vocabulary. Pre-tests target areas of struggle and assign curriculum based on need. Never again will students have to practice material they have already mastered. The progress tracking throughout is based on Common Core standards. Adjust assigned curriculum on your own if desired by reassigning a pre-test or assigning your own lessons. Register using your email and school information to begin. Add your student list. Once created students have their own individual login to begin placement testing. There is a PRO account that costs money; this review is only for the FREE portion.
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tag(s): addition (129), assessment (147), classroom management (120), differentiation (84), division (98), fluency (26), game based learning (205), multiplication (122), subtraction (110), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93)

Explore this collection of public domain, classic books for children and teenagers from the Library of Congress. They are organized in alphabetical order. There are 51 books for younger children, 6 books for teens, and 6 books for adults. Each has a short summary, a link from which to read the book, and a link to more information about the book. Enjoy these stories online. Although they aren't audio books, they could be very useful with all ages.

tag(s): book lists (167), independent reading (81), literature (221)

Develop your vocabulary and understanding of culture through words. The site offers a series of short videos presented by experts from the University of Nottingham's School of Cultures, Languages, and Area Studies. Each video takes an in-depth look at the story behind many words of the world, including where they came from, what they mean, and how the words have changed over time. Simply click on any word in the visual to view the video. Most videos are less than 5 minutes in length. This site was created in the United Kingdom, so you may notice some slight pronunciation (or spelling) differences from American English. Many of the videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93), word study (59)

Donna Young has created a website full of ideas for home, homeschooling, and classrooms. Home ideas include planning, meal preparation, and simple household tips. In the homeschool area, find information about why to do homeschooling, how to do homeschooling, and resources for homeschooling. There are a variety of resources for the classroom on the subjects of art, English, math, science, handwriting, and history. The math section contains resources for time, graph paper, fact cards in triangle format or regular in all operations, coordinate planes, drawing to scale, and drill pages. Explore the many resources in English, spelling, vocabulary ideas, and dictionary skills, book reviews, and planning. In science, investigate a nature journal, lunar eclipse, topic ideas, science art, and labs. An extensive handwriting section provides many resources for all styles and types of charts, guides, and practices. Presented, too, are art books, drawing, shading, perspective ideas, color, color theory, and themes. You can sign up for updates or take part in the blog.

tag(s): colors (63), drawing (61), flash cards (44), handwriting (15), journals (15), manipulatives (9), moon (73), perspective (14), themes (16), worksheets (69)

Create your own interactive version of any PDF document or text using Active Textbook. Don't let the term "textbook" fool you. This tool can work with fiction and non-fiction or ANY combination. Add an existing document to begin. Use the site's tools to enhance with multimedia, links, notes, bookmarks, and more. Use social networking tools to exchange ideas and questions with other readers. Customizing features allow for private viewing, tags, inclusion into courses, and enabling or disabling comments. Save up to 500 pages or 50MB using the free version of the site.
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tag(s): digital storytelling (154), ebooks (43)

Create your own matching games with Match the Memory. You can also play a ready-made memory game. Create your memory cards using themes provided. Customize cards with text, picture only, or using other options. Easily add images, videos, events, and links to personalize a game. Choose a public or private option for sharing. Registration isn't required; however, it offers the option of editing games at a later date.
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tag(s): puzzles (149)

This site offers extensive resources about learning disabilities. A good place to start is to use the search box and find Learning Disabilities: An overview, to read an article explaining what is (and isn't) considered to be a learning disability, along with what to look for when considering learning disabilities. Search through resources sorted by grade level or by specific topics such as ADHD and autism. Another interesting section discusses assistive technologies available for reading, writing, and listening.
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tag(s): adhd (28), autism (15), dyslexia (11), learning disability (21), preK (270), professional development (385), Special Needs (53)

More Words is a word list generator that allows you to enter characteristics of a word and identifies words with those attributes. For example, when doing a crossword puzzle and only the first two letters are available, insert those letters along with *** for each missing letter. More Words will generate a list of words that meet the given criteria. Another option is to type in letters to find words that can be made from those letters including words formed by adding a new letter to the beginning or end of the letters you entered.
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tag(s): crosswords (19), puzzles (149), word study (59)

Create an X (formerly Twitter) wall and fake tweet quickly and easily by entering minimal information. Enter a (fake) user name, full name of the person you are impersonating, your tweet, and a date to show on the tweet. Your tweet will appear on a wall with an image of that person ready to share through links provided at the bottom of the page. Twister also includes several ideas for consideration when creating an update such as possible hashtags and most important moments to include. Share via social networks or simply COPY the URL of your finished Twister page to share it. There is also an option to save as a PDF for easy printing.

tag(s): creative writing (124), digital storytelling (154), social networking (61)

Rewordify helps you understand what you read. Paste any text or website into the box to rewordify the text into simpler language. Easier to understand words replace difficult text shown with highlighting. Click on the highlighting to view the original, more difficult word(s). View excellent student and teacher demonstrations showing how to use the website. You have the option to choose how Rewordify displays the results using the options in the settings. Several options allow for easy personalization of results.

tag(s): multilingual (77), reading comprehension (149), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93)

Find many ideas for games from categories such as online games, printable games, or behavior charts. Other ideas offered are for outdoor games, classroom games, board games, card games, and many more. Choose an item of interest; then read instructions and print activities if included.
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tag(s): behavior (45), preK (270), printables (36), puzzles (149)

Turn meaningful words into beautiful images in just seconds using Quozio. Paste or type your quote into the quote box or use the site's bookmarklet to highlight text from the web to use as your quote. Enter who said it. Scroll through background images available to use with your quote. When finished, share via Pinterest, Facebook, or email. You can also RIGHT click the image to SAVE image as and download a copy to your computer for printing or use elsewhere. Register on Quozio using your email to save quotes directly on the Quozio site.

tag(s): bulletin boards (15), images (263), quotations (19), writing prompts (61)

Create matching and multiple choice quizzes. Register on the site using email to begin. Choose "manage quizzes" to create your first quiz. Provide a name, description, and begin adding quiz questions and answer options. Save and preview as often as desired until satisfied with the quiz. Quizdini supports HTML, so adding links to outside content within quizzes will make each quiz unique. Share completed quizzes using the URL in your browser bar displaying the finished quiz.

tag(s): quiz (67), quizzes (90)

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)

Diamonds are forever, and so are diamante poems created on this free site. Find a great tool to shape up your poets through the structure of a seven lined diamante poem. Learn about the diamond-shaped poems that use specific types of words for each line. Rhyming isn't needed, but needn't be impeded. Describe a central topic or two opposing topics like night and day. View the examples before creating your poem. Each screen provides an organizer for any poet to complete. Click on the parts of speech for definitions while composing poems. Edit your poem, if needed, before printing, downloading it as a PDF, or sharing through email. Save your draft to continue at a later date. This site is a must during poetry month in April.

tag(s): antonyms (12), firstday (22), parts of speech (39), poetry (193), rhymes (22), synonyms (15)

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)