Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

ThatQuiz is an online assessment tool for teachers of all subjects and grade levels. Create an account to gain access to record keeping tools. You can make your own tests using questions within the site. Students do not need to register since additional features are only for teachers. After choosing a category, different options are available within each of the quizzes to increase difficulty and add features. Quizzes can be timed or completed at the students' own pace. There is also an option to create a url for an individual quiz that can be linked to Facebook or X (formerly Twitter) accounts.

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FFFBI (Fin, Fur and Feather Bureau of Investigation) Academy is designed to help upper elementary and middle school kids -- especially those with attention issues -- manage the problems they face with schoolwork, homework, and even managing their binders. Each interactive is designed to teach useful skills and strategies, while continually encouraging you to complete increasingly difficult tasks. To increase interest, the FFFBI Academy uses its humorous spy theme and frequent reinforcements for successful game play. National Geographic has partnered to help produce this series of geography-themed missions. In each, students are introduced to a new country and receive a dossier of documents to help complete a mission. Each dossier contains maps, forensic information, media and wiretap intercepts, background information, and images. Each mission requires students to exercise geography skills and basic problem-solving in six interactive challenges. Each mission follows National Geographic's geography standards. Upon completion, a short Coffee Guy quiz debriefs students about the knowledge they have gained. There is an excellent teacher's section of the site containing a summary of each activities with tips and an approximate time to complete.

tag(s): map skills (63), mysteries (23), problem solving (233)

Learn about the West Virginia legislature in two ways with this site. First, all information can be viewed by following links on the site. Information is presented in several different ways such as short articles, matching games, and through images. The other way which is probably easiest adapted to most classrooms is the pdf version of information on the site. This 23 page booklet includes much more information than on the website, you can learn about the legislative process, branches of government, and view templates for students to use to write their own legislatures. The letter template doesn't have a state name on it so would be appropriate for any elementary age student to use.

tag(s): branches of government (65), states (124)

This site includes activities and fun facts that help students learn about the state of New York. The state facts list includes some interesting items such as the highest mountains and waterfalls, number of miles in the barge canal system, and the longest river in the state. Some items also include links to pictures. The history of New York is divided into two sections - pre and post 1900. Information included is fairly sparse but may be a good starting point for further research. The site includes a crossword puzzle, word search, and word scramble with New York words and information. Be sure to check out the state facts portion of the site to find state symbols and interesting facts.

tag(s): new york (24), rivers (16), states (124)

This well-done site offers teachers, students, and history buffs access to archival photos, documents, letters, video segments, maps, and more,"'''''? capturing the life and history of Nebraska from pre-1500 to the present. Several options are available for exploring content on the site. Choose from the timeline at the top of the page to discover events from pre-1500 through the present. After choosing a time period, you are taken to a new timeline with just that period that includes Nebraska, National, and International events for that period in a stacked timeline making it easy to view timing of all events. There is also a very useful Table of Contents with items listed in chronological order along with the number of teacher activities and/or lessons to use with events listed. Lesson plans and activities are thorough and include grade levels addressed in the lesson, relevant content information, and correlation to Nebraska state standards. All in pdf format for easy downloading and printing. The main page of the site also includes a link to their latest additions. This site is a must see not only for Nebraska teachers, but any teachers of Social Studies.

tag(s): native americans (108), railroads (14), states (124)

Plimoth Plantation (that's the original spelling) is a reconstruction of the Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth. Take a field trip to the Plimoth Plantation just in time for Thanksgiving. From Learn at the top menu, find and slide down to Bring Plimoth Patuxet to Your School and take a virtual field trip to an English village and Wampanoag home site from 1627. Go inside a Wetu, or home, and look. Become a historian and uncover what really happened on the first Thanksgiving. Primary sources give accounts from the Wampanoag traditions to the English home of Pilgrim Mary Allerton. Each student will finish with a printed exhibition panel. Dig into your ancestry to find out if you are a pilgrim. Find actual genealogical profiles. Explore the museum collections of artifacts. Find these resources under the Learn tab at the top menu; slide down to Teachers Tools, and scroll down the page until your find the resources menu on the left. Besure to check out the Digital Resources!
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tag(s): colonial america (95), pilgrims (12), thanksgiving (24)

This site has been created to identify wildlife and environmental issues in Canada. It is a must-see for those looking for information on animals and useful to teachers in any country! The species portion of the site contains information on hundreds of animals divided into categories such as birds, insects, etc. After selecting a category, a list of animals included is shown. After choosing an animal, a fact sheet is provided. Each fact sheet includes a description, habitat information, range, feeding, breeding, resources, and conservation information. All of this information has access to a link for easy printing. Don't miss the neat videos located at "Who Tube." There is also an extensive section for educators with projects, lessons, and curriculum information that can be easily adapted for any classroom need.

tag(s): animal homes (57), animals (294), environment (252), habitats (92)

Play, Learn, and Explore this site to learn all about the state of North Carolina with kid-friendly content. Although the home page is deceptively simple looking, the site is packed with information and activities for students of all ages. The "Learn" portion provides geographic and historic information as well as facts about the government. There is even a dog page with information about the state's first dogs! Choose the "Play" link to find the words to the state song, word games, and coloring books. Unfortunately, a few links are broken on this page leading to historical sites in the state; however, it is worth exploring to view the information, interactives, and activities. Another portion of the site, "Links," provides links to other sites with interesting North Carolina information such as the Department of Agriculture's and Transportation's kids pages, and Museums of History and Art.

tag(s): branches of government (65), north carolina (4), states (124)

Learn about the history and find facts about the state of Missouri with this site just for kids. Located within the games portion are word searches, coloring pages, quizzes, and jigsaw puzzles that help kids learn about the state. Do a connect the dot activity to discover what the state bird is of Missouri. Several activities offer choices of difficulty levels to make offerings accessible to more students. The Missouri History and Fun Facts portion of the site includes an excellent timeline of the state's history, a complete list of state symbols, and information of some of the state's famous citizens. Another in-depth portion of the site contains information about the state government including explanations of the judicial system, legislature, and government officials.
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tag(s): branches of government (65), states (124)

Find out about the most fascinating Montana facts such as the story behind the state's name and how the grizzly bear became the state animal with this website just for kids. This site contains many different sections including agriculture, plants and animals, history, games, and much more. Each section is easy-to-read with bright graphics for visual interest. Be sure to visit the games portion for much more than games! There are many facts here about bears that are native to the state of Montana and an extremely in-depth listing of dinosaur information with an explanation of the rich history of finding dinosaurs in the state. All the activities are now printable.

tag(s): dinosaurs (43), famous people (19), montana (3), states (124)

LETTERBOXING is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming "treasure hunt" style outdoor quest. The letterbox game is a treasure hunt using a compass and directional clues. Directions are simple to follow and would be a great activity for students just learning cardinal directions. Another portion of the site gives information on how to create your own rubber stamps using an art gum eraser with some simple tools or using adhesive foam pads.

tag(s): directions (11), map skills (63), maps (220), mysteries (23)

Find quick language lessons of 2 - 3 minutes each for a wide variety of languages: Portuguese, Japanese, Catalan, Danish, Gaelic, Greek, Irish, Luxembourghish, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Turkish, and more. Each separate language site has a total of ten lessons. All the lessons have audio support. Most language packs cover basic conversational skills including greetings, counting, numbers, and common words and phrases. Although more advanced lessons are available for purchase, the 10 quick lessons are free.

tag(s): greek (47), japanese (47), portuguese (22), russian (26)

If you are looking for information about Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil, Punxsutawney (location itself), and more - check out this website. There are LIVE webcams setup for February 2nd, video clips from previous years, a wealth of historical information, fun facts, photos, geographical information, and more. The reading level is a bit high for younger elementary students, but all levels would enjoy the video clips and photographs.
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tag(s): holidays (187), pennsylvania (6)

This site features five "ready to go" lesson plans related to Groundhog's Day, nearly all include standards, objectives, and even technology options! Lessons designed for grades K-5 include "Where Is Punxsutawney Phil? - A Groundhog Day Tag Game" and "A Shadow of Yourself." Grades K-8 will find the lessons "Find the Hidden Hibernators" and "Graphing Groundhog Predictions." And finally designed for grades 3-12 is "Marmots (Groundhogs) of the World."
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tag(s): animals (294), charts and graphs (171), holidays (187), light (56)

Look up countries, continents, animals and other features to make the world come alive using this interactive site. One of the easiest ways to find maps available is to choose the map link near the top of the site to get a listing of all maps available. You can also scroll down and search by state. Selections include physical and political world maps, maps by continent or region, countries and territories, U.S. states and Canadian provinces, maps of U.S. cities, and thematic world maps. The thematic world map may be particularly useful in some classrooms as it offers interesting statistical information such as public debt, internet users, and many more topics.
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tag(s): continents (33), countries (73), maps (220), states (124), statistics (121)

Use this free site for mind mapping (concept maps) and collaboration. Sign up is easy by using existing Google/OpenID/Facebook logins or creating a new login. Review the simple tutorial after sign up for the basics. The FREE account is only for ONE user. So if you plan to have students use the site, you will have to have each student register individually, or each group create an individual account. Note that free accounts make all your "slates" public for others to collaborate/change.

View the video for a quick introduction on copying, moving, and linking boxes. Use the template panel to drop nodes needed for your new slate into the drop panel. Hovering over the box shows tools for editing text, creating links to other boxes (click and hold on the icon while dragging to another box.) Control the colors, borders, template, etc. in the right navigation pane. Export your slate to a pdf document or create an embed code to place into a wiki or blog.

tag(s): concept mapping (15), mind map (27)

Have a student stumped by homework? Find exercises and extra help in various subject areas in this kid-friendly site. Navigate through the various resources and friendly graphics to areas of the site such as "Sweet Stuff" which features neat interactives, "Needed Knowledge" with great tips, "Book review" to view video book reviews, and "Getting Historical." Watch informative (don't confuse with boring) videos of various math problems whether it be basic math, solving word problems, or even geometry. Find videos for other subjects such as science, language arts, social studies, health, and art. Review information in various subjects by trying age-appropriate interactives.

tag(s): homework (29), tutorials (52)

Global Handwashing Day (GHD) was created by the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing in 2008 to foster and support a global culture of handwashing with soap, shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in every country, and raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap. Their website offers several tools and activities to help students and teachers become involved in supporting this initiative. Younger students will enjoy the interactive "Hand Washing with Soap" game that teaches the importance of washing with soap. Teachers and school nurses can use the "Planners Guide" loaded with facts, activities, and suggestions as a resource for teaching students the importance of hand washing. Many resources are also available in French, Spanish, Japanese, and Arabic.

tag(s): diseases (66)