Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Use Sway to create interactive presentations across all devices. Drag and drop content from your device, social networks, and the web directly onto your Sway canvas. Log in using your Microsoft account to begin or create a new account using your email and a password. Add content to your storyline using links to add text, images, and media. Change the look of your Sway using the Design tool to change the color palette, layout, and fonts. When finished, click the Share button for options to share to Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, URL, or copy the embed code. Sway will work on any device with a modern Internet browser and an Internet connection. They also have an iOS app. The introduction video and tutorials are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable. Note: "New video and audio uploads will be discontinued June 10, 2024. We recommend that you embed video and audio files." There is a link to instructions after that statement.

tag(s): communication (129), digital storytelling (154), Microsoft (80), multimedia (53), slides (43), visualizations (11)

Create an interactive timeline; scroll down the page to browse through the Gallery to find lesson plans, templates, and Sutori's library of ready-made timelines. The Sutori timelines in the library are the creation of Sutori's team of historians and teachers and are Common Core Standards aligned. When creating a free timeline, it can include images, text, and collaboration. Sign up with your email and get a link to start with a walk-through tutorial to help set up classes, students, and timelines. Students will need the class code. There is a part of the site that has timelines and lessons bundled for a fee. This review is for the free part of this tool. Sutori will work on any device with a modern web browser and an Internet connection.
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tag(s): american revolution (82), civil war (139), immigration (68), photosynthesis (21), timelines (56), womens suffrage (52), world war 1 (77)

Everyone loves a good joke or riddle, and you do not need any bells and whistles to get one across. At this site find ten categories and over 300 jokes and riddles all free to use. Enjoy the jokes sequentially, choose a category, or take your chances with a random pick. All jokes and riddles are suitable for all age groups.

tag(s): humor (15), multilingual (77), riddles (15)

Instantly grammar check any piece of writing using GrammarCheck's editor. Simply copy/paste your text into this website, and receive instant feedback. Click on the color coded information and find style suggestions, spelling errors, and grammar suggestions. There is a premium option with more features.
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tag(s): editing (93), proofreading (21), writing (324)

Join Tripp and his brother Ping on a mission around the globe. Register for this site and view exciting travel videos designed to teach English! The videos clarify difficult words. You can also see the city where you are traveling. After the short videos, answer questions about characters and words in the video. Listening activities include rehearing the text of the video and choosing the correct response. One activity demonstrates how underlined words are linked to a picture dictionary; the explanations for the words come orally. Although the changes to the next page are a bit slow, the game format motivates you to want to go on and find out what the next task is. The few free lessons on the site make it fun and useful.

tag(s): listening (93), multilingual (77), virtual field trips (129)

Here is an excellent site for finding images for non-commercial use that will have the proper citation downloaded with it. Find a photo you want to use. Click the download link under the picture. The downloaded image will have the appropriate attribution information with it. Note: right clicking on the photo will not produce the attribution information. Our editors found all photos to be "class appropriate." However, it is always best to use caution with image searching. Provide students with clear guidelines and expectations.

tag(s): images (263), photography (131), search engines (48)

Story Share is the perfect solution for finding relevant and readable content for older students unable to read above the elementary level. Digital content provides interesting material that doesn't condescend to teen readers. Use the drop-down menu tab for Explore at the top of the page to find Education and the eLibrary and filter the correct reading and interest levels. Login is required to read books, and it allows you to add books to a reading list and to bookmark the stopping point while reading books. Be sure to check out the The Blog to find books on current topics and ideas for reading nooks, etc.

tag(s): book lists (167), differentiation (84), digital storytelling (154), ebooks (43), multilingual (77), reading comprehension (149)

This site offers an easy way for teachers to encourage students to do extensive reading. It contains quizzes for thousands of commonly read Penguin graded readers, and also a classroom management system. M-Reader also offers many classics rewritten for lower reading levels as well as the original higher reading level. After a simple institutional registration, teachers can select the books they want students to read outside of class, set up a classroom, and show student progress. Teachers do not have to make quizzes. It automatically displays grades and records quizzes. Each student, even ones reading the same books, receive different quizzes. Books are available at up to eight different levels so students can begin at a level comprehensible to them and go up. Once a student completes a book, a quiz is provided. If the student is successful on the quiz, they receive a book cover in their file. Students can see the progress of other students in the class and compare themselves to other readers. Check with your administration about the feasibility of setting up an institutional registration. Unlike other popular "read it and take a quiz" programs, it is FREE!

tag(s): guided reading (33), reading comprehension (149)

Pinup is a web-based canvas for creating and storing sticky notes. Create a new canvas by clicking anywhere on the blank canvas. You can also click and drag your mouse to create a new note from anywhere on the board. Click the plus sign to add a new text pin, and the image symbol below it to add images or a document. Use the menu across the top of the sticky to change the background color, duplicate the pin, move it to another canvas or turn it into a checklist. You can also drag and drop images directly from your desktop. Personalize stickies by changing the color of sticky notes. Edit the text options using bold and strikethroughs. Change the size of your notes quickly and easily. Once you have created more than one canvas, choose the one you want to be your default canvas when you use Pinup. Any device with a web browser can access and use this organizer! Share your canvas with one click by adding email recipients. Note that collaborators must have email addresses.

tag(s): bulletin boards (15), homework (29), organizational skills (88)

Looking for real-time feed back from your classes? Use tests and quizzes to get immediate feedback with this tool. You can even upload a document to Formative for students to annotate. Enter questions that require a variety of answers including true/false, text answers, or student drawings. It will even mark answers for you! Setup a marking key and view instant data on who is correct. Students can create an account to get access to the materials you create. The site works on all devices and integrates with Google Classroom. Formative is aligned to many standards including Common Core, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and many other common standards. Create a free account. All assignments are organized in the dashboard. Click on New Assignment to begin and choose to start from scratch or upload a document. Choose the type of question and even add content such as text, whiteboard, or YouTube videos. Be sure to set up a key for automatic grading and watch the live results as they come in. Formative is optimized to work on any device with a modern web browser and an Internet connection. Formative now has AI in beta. There are directions for signing up for the AI part of Formative.

tag(s): assessment (147), commoncore (73), personalized learning (10), playlists (8), polls and surveys (49), quizzes (90)

Help Noah learn Spanish with Abuela, Coco, and Pequeno, his Spanish speaking friends. Navigate through interactive games and adventure videos using both Spanish and English. Don't miss the free printables. Find Noah engaged in dialogue saying words in English, a character repeats in Spanish, and Noah repeats the Spanish word. Print-out activities include: coloring a playground by Spanish numbers, learning the names of tools and eating utensils in Spanish, practice Spanish colors, and play Spanish Bingo. Turn on closed captioning to see the Spanish word as it is spoken.

tag(s): cinco de mayo (10), multilingual (77), spanish (109)

PastBook is a wonderful site for creating online photo albums,wall calendars, poster,cards, or photo books. You can even use your Facebook and Instagram photos, etc. into a photobook! Choose "Create" to begin. Add a title, description, and pictures by uploading from your computer or social network accounts. Provide the text to describe images and a date if desired. When ready, choose "Create Your Book/Calendar, etc." to complete the process. View finished products online or download for free in PDF format. Invite others to collaborate on your product through social networking links. Privacy settings allow only those with the URL to view your work. This tool is available on the web and iPhone. Sign-in using your email or FaceBook account. You can invite people via email or SMS.
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tag(s): calendars (37), digital storytelling (154), images (263), photography (131), portfolios (23), posters (43)

Ducksters is a safe, extensive, educational portal for kids. Find a wide choice of content such as interactives, sports, movies, and music. Begin by choosing a category to explore choices. The study category includes extensive information such as world history, many biographies, science explanations, and information on all continents and many countries. Interactive subjects include math times tables, checkers, and guess the country. There is a TON here to explore.
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tag(s): addition (129), african american (116), american revolution (82), animal homes (57), animals (294), artists (84), biographies (94), china (81), civil rights (209), civil war (139), cold war (30), continents (33), countries (73), data (151), division (98), egypt (56), elements (33), energy (133), environment (252), explorers (64), fractions (160), friction (9), geometric shapes (134), greece (47), habitats (92), human body (93), inventors and inventions (80), keyboarding (28), mean (19), median (16), mode (13), multiplication (122), planets (113), presidents (135), puzzles (149), recycling (45), renaissance (38), rome (37), solar system (110), sound (72), sports (82), subtraction (110), sun (71), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

Use this tool to design a comic with dialogue between two characters. Use the pre-drawn backgrounds and characters. Add a title for each scene/page and add dialogue between the two characters. These are quick and easy three page comics. You can create without an account. However, if you want to SAVE, you must register for a free account (email required).

tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), communication (129), summarizing (23)

Hungry for English currently features over 35 YouTube videos. Topics range from basic greetings, colors, and numbers to families, countries, the verb "to be," and more. These videos allow you to see, hear, and practice all the lessons in live format. You can also participate in making more videos by sending in your own pictures. If your disctrict blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
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tag(s): grammar (137), multilingual (77), pronunciation (34), verbs (26), video (266)

Revise your writing using After the Deadline's grammar checker. At this simple demonstration you copy and paste any text or document into the box. Click on "Check Writing" to receive feedback. The site provides color-coded suggestions for revisions in spelling, grammar, or style. If you like After the Deadline, they offer an add-on for the Firefox web browser and an extension for the Google Chrome web browser. There are also plug-ins for self-hosted WordPress blogs and forums.

tag(s): editing (93), proofreading (21), writing (324)

Create random groups quickly with the Group Maker Tool. Click "Create a Group Now" to begin and follow prompts to set up your groups. You will need to provide an email and create a password for your group. Add up to 100 names to your class list. Choose the number of groups to make. You can even choose to make pairs!

tag(s): Teacher Utilities (198)

Acapela uses text-to-speech application to create short videos using your text. Choose from the thumbnails to begin and follow directions to add speech. Some videos also include an option to add an image. Options allow you to choose from several different languages. This is an excellent choice for ESL/ELL learners. When finished, share options allow you to send using email or social networking links. NOTE: Do NOT click on any of the "download" or "play now" links on the side or top of the page. Click directly on the video thumbnails for use. This site contains quite a bit of advertisements and links that lead away from the site. Demonstrate how to use and stay away from these links before allowing students to use on their own.
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tag(s): animation (64), text to speech (20), video (266)

Find scavenger hunts, treasure hunts, webquests, or extend learning using Trackstar. To make a track, think of a descriptive title, and write a description. Select from creating a Resource list, Worksheet, Extended learning, or Demo. Collect up to 15 websites (know the page title and URL) and create annotations or directions. Viewing the track in frames will have the titles of pages in the left menu bar. Click on the title and the text of the page appears in the center. Any links that are on the page in the center will open in a new tab. Search ready-made Tracks to get an idea of how they work. Viewing tracks in Chrome is possible, but this tool does not seem to work with Chrome to create tracks.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), curation (32), gamification (83), webquests (8)