Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Whichbook is an intuitive way to find books that match students' interests, topic choices, and other elements and serves as a welcome replacement for the traditional way of searching the stacks and card catalogs in the library or browsing in bookstores or on the web. Whichbook starts with the individual reader and what they are looking for. It enables students to input criteria that is not limited to the typical title, author, genre search, but includes characteristics such as funny/sad, easy/demanding, and short/long to find books that they consider to be a "good read." Whichbook finds titles that match your preferences. There are millions of possibilities so if you don't like any of the books offered, change your choices and try again! Public libraries have played a key role in creating the database. It is important to note that all of the books are either fiction or poetry, available in paperback, and published since 1995.

tag(s): independent reading (82)

This comprehensive site is a scholarly edition of Whitman on the web that continues to grow. Contributions include e-text versions of published works, audio recordings, images, reviews and criticisms, biographies, and teaching materials to download. A resource of tools, such as highlighting text from Leaves of Grass based on patterns of words, is accessible right on this site, which allows for powerful text analysis, visualization, and experiencing a wide range of information about Whitman's work. The Walt Whitman Archive is freely distributed by the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities.

tag(s): poetry (196)

Sign up for this site to sing Karaoke through your computer! Be sure to click on the "Free Trial" on the registration page. This will allow you to use 50+ songs FOR FREE! Additional songs are available for a fee. A free demo makes using the song offerings easy. Preview the songs (and site) before introducing them to your class, since some songs may not be fitting for classroom use. The karaoke interaction uses speakers and a computer.

tag(s): songs (46)

Todoist is a simple, task manager. With the free account you will have access to 5 personal projects, one week activity history, integration of a built in calendar and email, and more. Set up free accounts in minutes with email. The intro and support videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): calendars (37), DAT device agnostic tool (146), organizational skills (88)

Serious thinkers who love deep questions and concepts can read responses from the world's great thinkers and philosophers to the question, "What scientific concept would improve everybody's cognitive toolkit?" Both vocabulary and concepts discussed here are very sophisticated, so this is not a site to visit casually. Turn up the neurons to read and reread responses from world thought leaders. Ideally, you will want to have a small group of interested thinkers to figure out, argue, and openly ponder the concepts offered. If you enjoy thinking about thinking, philosophy of science, or pondering the impact of today's technology explosion, this site will give you the opportunity to stop and think -- for a long time. Questions and answers from other years are available by clicking on the header logo for the World Question Center. The 2010 question was "How is the Internet changing the way you think?"

tag(s): critical thinking (135)

For educators looking for some great links and help with Google Earth (as well as other Google products.) Even though this site was developed for a training in-service, find some great screenshots, tutorials, and links to great Google Earth examples. Be sure to check out the navigation list on the left for tutorials of other Google products and technology hints. For more information on Google Earth, find our review here. Also, find more support at Google Earth in the Classroom.

tag(s): earth (183), landforms (39), landmarks (22), maps (225)

Understand basic math and algebra, as well as advanced math topics like calculus and statistics. These free CliffsNotes articles can help when you're doing math homework and taking math tests. Articles begin with Algebra 1 and basic math skills and continue through Statistics and Trigonometry. Each article gives a written overview of the topic along with diagrams and charts. Each also contains a link on how to cite the article. Resources also include glossaries for Pre-Agebra, Geometry, and Statistics. Although the site is set up as a supplement to the familiar Cliff Notes books available as study guides, these materials are free and useful as resources in the math classroom. This site does include some unobtrusive advertisements.

tag(s): statistics (121)

Create your own motivational posters easily and simply. Choose a random picture (one from Flickr or Facebook) or use one already on your computer. Choose colors and other options as well as the type of text to be used. Enter your text and preview the result. Once complete, save to Flickr, your computer, or print. Remember you can use a saved image in PowerPoint shows and on a class wiki, as well as blogs and other sites.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): collages (17), images (265), photography (132), posters (43)

This web site honors the legacy of President John F. Kennedy in recognition of the fifty years that have passed since his inauguration on January 20, 1961, when he first captured the hearts of Americans and memorialized a moment in history with his words, "Ask not what this country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." JFK50 is filled with cutting-edge multimedia that inspires and invites students to explore the themes of public service, civil rights, leadership, and more to discover how relevant they remain to social and political issues today.

tag(s): kennedy (20), presidents (136)

This Web site is an online library of The Internet Shakespeare Editions and more, with a goal to inspire a love of Shakespeare's works in a world-wide audience. Here you will find high standard multimedia materials, including thousands of searchable pages devoted to the politics, society, and history of Shakespeare's world. There are biographical details of his life, as well as one of the Web's largest collections of online texts of his plays, poems, and related resources.

Be aware: at the time of this review, a few of the links were no longer active. What remains is quite worthwhile, however.

tag(s): elizabethan (13), england (50), plays (32), shakespeare (99), sonnets (6)

This site is a wonderful search engine for most of the known digital libraries including Gutenberg, Google Books, Wikibooks, and archive.org. Entering search terms like "children's audio books," for example, leads to a list of links that offer free online reads. Listing other features in your search will bring up the spescifics that you want This can include books in other formats including those that upload to many different players including PDF, TXT, MS Reader, MS Word and ODT, RTF, Palm Reader eBooks, Html, Epub, Kindle, Mobipocket, Isilo, Audio books, Plucker, and more. Besides searching in "only English," you can also select Spanish, French, and/or Portuguese to search for books in those languages.

tag(s): audio books (28), book lists (167), ebooks (45), literature (221), reading lists (77), search engines (48)

Text Mechanic is a collection of free, online, browser-based, text manipulation tools. All tools are simple to use. Basically, click on the tool of your choice, like the Count Characters, Words, and Lines or Remove Lines of Text Containing, copy and paste or type your text into the box, and submit. Results are instantaneous. There is even a tool to change and choose the color of the background, text and border of your web page. The sight is plain vanilla, but that is the beauty of it; there's nothing to hunt for - what you see is what you get.

tag(s): editing (93), grammar (138), spelling (98)

Looking for a great search tool for quantitative information? Use Wolfram Alpha to find responses in a whole new way. Use the power of Wolfram Alpha to get to the heart of computational and mathematical data with corresponding information and explanations. You must be exact in the wording of your query since Wolfram Alpha may not know what to do with your request. Wolfram alpha is peer reviewed vs. user generated and should be considered a valuable resource. To better understand this entirely different approach, watch the "Take the Tour" video available by clicking on "About." Browse the examples to notice the subtleties. To see the vast differences between Wolfram Alpha and Google using Goofram, reviewed here.

tag(s): resources (83), search engines (48)

Homestyler is a free online interior design planner. Members choose a layout plan, add details such as doors, windows, and furnishings, and then decide on color schemes for interior decorating. Designs are viewable in both a 2D and 3D format. This is a free online program that requires no downloading. Registration does require an email address. This site may or may not be fully accessible inside your school filtering. Check to make sure all portions of this site are available when using your school's network. Homestyler does have a retail component that suggests certain name brands for appliances, and building supplies but the 3D designing capability outshines this form of advertising.

tag(s): architecture (84), area (53), design (79), volume (33)

This application for note-taking is extremely simple to use, but performs in a very sophisticated way. There is a very easy text tutorial and FAQ to tell you about such features as creating an outline, accessing the DuckDuckGo search engine or looking up a word on the Merriam-Webster online dictionary without ever leaving your notes. It also connects to definitions from Wikipedia. And, you can automatically send your notes to your Amazon Kindle device. For math and science, the text tutorial will also show you how you can enter equations in your notes using the LaTeX format.

tag(s): note taking (36), organizational skills (88)

Find an extensive list of great inventions on this straightforward site. The "look" is simple, but the information useful. Click each invention to view a definition/description, information on its invention, the inventor, and other related information including links to other topics. Note that ads do appear on these pages. Caution students to avoid them.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): inventors and inventions (82)

This site offers a comprehensive look at Daylight Saving Time. The introduction gives a brief explanation of how Daylight Saving Time was implemented to allow us to receive more benefits of available sunlight. Be sure to check out the link with incidents and anecdotes related to Daylight Saving Time. In addition, there is a map demonstrating the use of Daylight Saving Time across the globe and explanations of the history of the adoption of DST. One interesting feature of the site is the ability to switch from a "normal" page view to "nodes". The nodes view looks like clouds, each one is labeled with a topic and is linked to additional information. There is also a link to SpicyNodes, where you can create your own clouds to be used on web pages, blogs, presentations and more.

tag(s): cultures (209), measurement (123), sun (69), time (91)

Create online sticky type bulletin boards to view from any online device using lino. Click to try it first without even joining. The "Give it a shot!" button has a "How to" canvas has stickies explaining how to use lino. Join and create your own canvases to share stickies, reminders, files, and more. Change sticky colors from the menu in the upper right hand corner or use the easy editing tools that appear when the sticky is selected. Use the icons at the bottom of each sticky note to "peel them off," share, edit, and more. Create a group from your lino page to share and collaborate on canvases. You can also share canvases publicly so anyone with the URL can participate. This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly.

tag(s): bulletin boards (15), collaboration (94), collages (17), creative fluency (5), creativity (87), DAT device agnostic tool (146), gamification (85), note taking (36)

Shmoop has done it again by adding slideshows to their literature, civics, and history sections! With "Picture This," you can add visual interest and engage visual leaeners in your history, civics or literature units. What's more, you can copy and paste the HTML for the slide show onto your own web page. There are slide shows for every unit in civics and history, and for 40 of the literature units. You will know if the literature unit has a slide show by looking in the menu bar at the top for "new photos." View photos of the presidents, The Civil War, Hamlet, and much more.

tag(s): literature (221), slides (43)

Are you looking for some "fresh" ideas to put an end to bullying in your classroom but are not sure where or how to start? Well, you are in the right place. This web site brings attention to No Name-Calling Week: an annual week of realistic educational activities designed to end all types of name-calling. No Name-Calling Week was inspired by the young adult novel, The Misfits, and presents an opportunity to address bullying as an increasingly, ongoing issue. Whether you are a teacher, student, administrator, counselor, or parent, there is an abundance of useful ideas, activities, and materials for elementary, middle, and high schools to promote anti-bullying awareness, and they are all free!

tag(s): bullying (48), character education (81), sports (84), tolerance (8)