Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Type a message and Lalo.li will read it aloud using a voice synthesizer. Adjust message quality using the word gap, speed, amplitude, and pitch icons. Just click on the circle and turn to change the quality. Copy and paste the URL to share your audio message or use links to share via social networking such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). Here is a sample . At the time of this review, the site only worked using Firefox or Chrome.

tag(s): communication (129), text to speech (20)

Bookmark this site for fast help with curricular needs with ESL/ELL students. From maps, to grammar, to writing activities, to reading and vocabulary assists, this site offers whatever you might need. These ESL/ELL teachers have created it all! It offers materials at seven English competency levels for five distinctive types of language learners. You can also share your best materials here.

tag(s): alphabet (53), grammar (137), paragraph writing (15), pronunciation (34), vocabulary development (93), worksheets (69)

Here you will find a plethora of ideas for students to report about the books they've read. Watch your students' appetite for reading soar with this collection of creative book report ideas, complete with instructions. From edible book reports to video projects, there is something to spark everyone's interest and keep them engaged.
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tag(s): book reports (28), critical thinking (128), writing (324)

Create a live Internet radio show -- free -- with Spreaker! This super easy online tool creates podcasts instantly for you to share with your own URL, on Facebook, Google +, Soundcloud, X (formerly Twitter), or add to the Spreaker website. Follow others, or invite others to follow your podcasts. With a click of a button you are creating a live podcast. There is a free version and a more deluxe premium version. This review is for the free version.
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tag(s): communication (129), podcasts (110), radio (20)

Enjoy a cartoon and an opportunity to guess what idiom it represents. Click on one of five buttons for more information including a hint, the answer, the definition, a note on usage, the origin of the idiom, and a sentence using the idiom. The site is in blog format, so for more examples and activities with idioms, viewers just scroll down to see more. There is also a game featuring multiple choice guesses to reinforce usage of the idiom. New idioms are added regularly. SInce this is a blog, there are comments and other social features, such as clicking to "Like" a post. Public interactions appear in comments, so monitor before projecting or sharing.

tag(s): figurative language (18), idioms (31)

Oolone visual search engine searches the web and shows the results as thumbnail images of each webpage. Oolone is ideal for those who are visual learners. (If you often recognize sites by their look rather than their words, this tool will hep you find the site you recall but cannot name.) Although this search engine appears "plain vanilla," its best features aren't obvious until you start using it. Hover over the thumbnails to get an enlarged view of each site without having to leave your search results. This allows you to spend less time on sites that don't fit your needs. Oolone doesn't track you so no ads appear.

tag(s): search engines (48)

This site offers help with curricular needs of ESL/ELL students. From grammar to pronunciation to vocabulary assists, this site offers whatever you might need. Extra exercises are available in the areas ESL/ELL teachers need the most: grammar exercises, vocabulary tests, listening and video clips, idioms and phrasal verbs, and content based practice. Although the site contains a lot of ads, and one small optional section requires payment, it is very easy to use and search. Beginners' exercises include prompts from their first languages of Spanish and French.
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tag(s): grammar (137), listening (93), vocabulary development (93)

Students will have fun while improving their writing and grammar. At the time of this review, noredink's grammatical categories include apostrophes, subject-verb agreement, comma issues, sentence fragments, run-on sentences commonly confused words, phrases and clauses, and a lot more! The program provides differentiated instruction based on the questions students answer right or wrong. Click the "Product" tab on the top menu to read about more features. There are interactive tutorials to help students correct mistakes. Sign up with name, username, email address, gender, school name, and a password.

So, what's fun about learning this type of grammar? noredink asks students to pick their interests from Sports, TV shows, Musicians, and Miscellaneous. They will also be asked if they want them to use your friends from Facebook. When students are practicing or are taking quizzes, the program will use their interests and friends, and generate the questions around their interests and friends. The hope is that the content will be more interesting by including sentences with favorite celebrities, hobbies, TV shows, or even personal friends. Be sure to watch the introductory video. The program works on iPads as well as your regular computer.
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tag(s): assessment (147), capitalization (9), classroom management (120), differentiation (84), grammar (137), homonyms (8), homophones (6), punctuation (25), quiz (67), quizzes (90), sentences (22), Teacher Utilities (198), verbs (26)

Find interactives aimed at Pre-K through elementary. Each activity is labeled with the subject and level. Some games include choices of level of difficulty or skills to practice. Some of the topics include recognizing colors, shapes, numbers, and letters. There are also many keyboarding/typing practice activities, counting, holidays, and more. A few of the games are more entertainment than educational, but searching by level and subject avoids these. Although most games are in English, there is a large component of the site in Spanish (click the flag). American English speakers may notice some slight spelling differences in the British English on this site.
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tag(s): alphabet (53), colors (63), counting (60), holidays (187), keyboarding (28), numbers (120), preK (270)

Word Confusion challenges you to choose the correct word to complete the sentence from the pair of homonyms. There is no log in or password required, so just go to the site and get started. Do you hope for a lot of presents or presence? Do sentences have a clause or claws? There are two levels of difficulty to choose from which provide examples that might even stump the class wizards.
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tag(s): editing (93), homonyms (8), spelling (97), vocabulary (238)

Explore culture through interviews and discussions taped by people from countries around the world. The interviewees vary in age and social economic status. Find cultural snippets by area of the world; each country has many offerings organized by subject. The index also offers the same pages organized by topic. Video pieces are also divided into different grade levels: elementary, middle, and high school. Written text accompanies each video clip so you can read what you are hearing. Some interviews are in English. However, most are in the language of the country and translated into English. There is a disclaimer on the site that reads, "... be aware that these videos reflect actual authentic speech, with all the stops, starts, and hesitations that come with everyday conversation. We have not corrected grammatical errors, and the videos sometimes show highly colloquial language, local slang, and region-specific speech patterns."

tag(s): cultures (180), interviews (17), journalism (74), video (266)

Flake Pad is a very simple little website that lets you create geometric snowflakes using basic shapes and a grid. To make the flake, choose a shape and click a spot on the grid. You can add as many or as few shapes as you like to your flake. View the completed flake off the grid for a screen shot then include it in other projects or print using the print button on the site.

tag(s): creativity (86), geometric shapes (134), snow (17), symmetry (26)

Create interactive online activities quickly and easily with LearnClick's Create a Gap. Submit any text you'd like to learn and mark the text you want deleted for a fill-in-the-blank type of activity. Easily create quizzes or tests for individualized students or your entire class. Create a free account with your email. Follow the simple steps to create tests in minutes with varying options for response style choices; blank boxes, generated drop downs, or drag and drop. Search the quiz bank to save time. The free version allows you to make up to five quizzes, which are published on your public page. Your public page allows a direct link to your quizzes.

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

Surface Languages is free site to learn basic survival words and phrases on a variety of topics in 37 different languages. Learn phrases in Afrikaans, Slovak, Arabic, Spanish, Bosnian, Swahili, Bulgarian, Swedish, Catalan, Turkish, Chinese, Ukrainian, Croatian, Urdu, Czech, Welsh, Danish, Yiddish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Latin, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, and Russian. Phrases are organized into topics so use is simple. In addition to reading and hearing the words and phrases pronounced, the site has the capability of creating flash cards for each lesson. You choose yes or no to indicate if the card has the correct meaning. It also offers multiple choice items to test listening skills for the language and translating from English to the target language.
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tag(s): arabic (13), chinese (45), cultures (180), french (75), german (49), greek (47), hebrew (16), italian (31), latin (23), phrases (6), portuguese (22), russian (26), spanish (109)

Blog your way into the latest social technology using edublogs. Use the free service to set up a blog as a student, teacher, or campus. This education friendly tool avoids some of the "public interaction" that can offer inappropriate content. Upgrade to more advanced features, to include more options. The additional information on blogging makes this site very valuable even if you already have a blogging platform. Find a plethora of advice, tutorials, PDFs, and lesson plans for blogging. This site is a great reference site for all who are beginning to use blogs, or even look for more varied and effective ways to blog with students, or even other classes. Compare this tool to other free blogging tools mentioned in TeachersFirst's Blog Basics for the Classroom . 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.
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tag(s): blogs (65), communication (129), writing (324)

Quiz Factor offers quizzes that are not about your typical "education" topics. There are both popular and specialist subjects. Some topic examples are: Animals and Nature, Cinema and Actors, Fashion and Design, History and Politics, Religion and Traditions, Science, Sports and Games, Technology and Manufacturing, and many more. At Quiz Factor you can climb the Leaderboards and win prizes. There are three types of quizzes: The Ladder, Time Trials, and True/False. You can also make your own quizzes. (At the time of this review, this feature was "coming soon.") This site is from the UK, and some questions in the General Knowledge section test facts you would know if you've been to the UK.

tag(s): animals (294), cultures (180), design (79), fashion (12), quiz (67), quizzes (90), radio (20), religions (95), sports (82), substitutes (25)

Master the Spanish language with Wordplay! Join this free adaptive activity challenging a student, class, or even school. The software analyzes each response to every question and adjusts to create the perfect practice for each individual. A Mastery Meter shows progress during sessions. Reviews develop long-term retention for each word. Earn points for immediate mastery and long-term retention. Teacher privileges allow monitoring of points, content, and long-term retention information for each student.

tag(s): spanish (109)

Download a free song each month including the audio file, sheet music, MP3 recording, and accompanying activities from Children's Music by Nancy. Also available on the site are monthly archives since 2006. Many songs include links to similar songs available on the site. Search by categories such as Science, Language, Holidays or alphabetically. Simple instructions for downloading resources are included on the site along with directions for making your own CD with the songs.

tag(s): holidays (187), preK (270), songs (46)

Reading Bear is a systematic program that teaches beginning vocabulary and concepts while introducing phonics patterns. The Getting Started video gives an overview of the program as it explains the software, videos, and tips for using the system. Choose from any phonics sounds or start from the beginning of the program. Then choose from different video or slideshow tutorials (such as sound it out quickly, let me sound it out, or audio and silent sentences). As sounds are pronounced, the corresponding letter is highlighted. Quizzes are available at the end of each section. Choose from different settings to adjust font, letter color, or order of presentation. At the time of this review, 16 presentations are available. The goal of the site is to create a total of 50 presentations. So check back often. Some of the video clips are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): alphabet (53), phonics (51), preK (270)

Check out these free interactive literacy games for the emergent learner. Practicing basic skills is an entertaining experience at ICT Games. The skills include: spelling patterns, phoneme patterns, phonics, blending sounds, high frequency words, beginning science vocabulary, using rhyming to read new and unfamiliar words, and reading for understanding. It also has interactive dictionaries for the beginner through upper elementary learner. There is no registration required. Note that the site is from England, so there are minor spelling and terminology differences from U.S. English in a few games. Preview the specific game to be sure.
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tag(s): dictionaries (48), literacy (121), preK (270), reading comprehension (149), rhymes (22), science of reading (34), spelling (97)