Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

The U.S. Map Distorted by Population offers a visual look at the size of states based solely on population. Follow the link in the short article to find the actual populations of each state. This simple image provides a good introduction to population vs geographic size of states.
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tag(s): population (51), states (124)

ABC Splash is a large educational website from Australia containing videos, games, and audio clips. Special sections for parents include informational articles, teaching resources, and education news. Choose from primary or secondary level to view offerings sorted into categories or go to games and sort by topic or grade level to find resources. Register on the site to store and save favorite activities for later use. The site was created in the Australia, so some of the pronunciations and spellings may differ from those in American English.

tag(s): addition (129), animals (294), antarctica (30), atmosphere (22), australia (28), cells (82), climate change (99), continents (33), counting (60), decimals (85), division (98), earth (184), earthquakes (46), ecosystems (83), egypt (56), energy (133), environment (252), food chains (19), forces (37), forensics (12), fossil fuels (10), game based learning (205), gold rush (15), human body (93), immigration (68), insects (68), light (56), maps (220), molecules (43), money (113), multiplication (122), nuclear energy (20), nutrition (140), oceans (149), parts of speech (39), percent (59), perimeter (20), place value (34), plants (146), probability (99), rhymes (22), rocks (35), songs (46), sound (72), subtraction (110), time (91), vietnam (38), volcanoes (55), weather (160), whole numbers (9), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

National Geographic offers a rich and extensive site for educators through its Education homepage. Scroll down the page to find resources, reference materials, maps, media, collections, and much more. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find Explorer Classroom. For specific content searches use the search bar to find and filter results by grades, subjects, resource type, and audience.This site is frequently updated. Check back often!

tag(s): animals (294), climate change (99), commoncore (73), earth day (60), ecology (103), energy (133), food chains (19), map skills (63), maps (220), migration (45), multimedia (53), oceans (149), STEM (297), weather (160)

Seterra Online is a challenging educational geography activity with more than 100 different exercises. Learn about countries, capitals, oceans, flags and cities in Africa, Europe, South America, North America, Asia and Australia using outline map exercises! Explore the 50 states of the USA and even the capitals. Choose from quizzes sorted by continent or the entire world. Once the map loads, follow the prompts to click on the correct area of the map. After a few incorrect tries, the right area will flash in red. Correct responses on the first try appear in white, yellow indicates a right answer on the second attempt, and the red areas indicate incorrect responses. When complete, view the percentage correct and time it took to finish the activity.
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tag(s): cities (17), continents (33), countries (73), game based learning (205), maps (220), quizzes (90), states (124)

Expedition Insects is a high-interest, nonfiction free ebook (pdf) for an iPad or any device that can use an Internet browser. Travel the world to investigate six different insects in their natural habitats. Find beautiful illustrations depicting the insect and its habitat. Read about the Blue Morpho butterfly, Asian giant hornet, Malaysian walking leaf, African dung beetle, brown marmorated stink bugs, and fireflies. All have amazing abilities. Each insect has its special tricks for living and thriving in their habitats and an important role in the ecosystem. Also, learn a little about world geography by tracing the route from one continent to the next where they live. Click the Read Here button to get a PDF version of the book. This PDF is full of gorgeous illustrations to complement the information. The iPad version is available on iTunes and is free (not a PDF). It is interactive with clickable links and videos. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): biomes (110), ecosystems (83), guided reading (33), independent reading (81), insects (68)

This PDF file offers a traditional (but reliable) look at Cinco de Mayo, beyond the food and fun! Learn about the historical impact of the holiday and its significance to Mexicans (and folks from other countries, as well). This pdf is set up as a study guide. It includes historical information, curriculum links (history, world cultures, and social studies), vocabulary words, discussion questions, extension activities, map challenges, related literature, and websites for additional information.

tag(s): cinco de mayo (10), mexico (37)

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 (115), 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)

What do you do in a day? Join a worldwide classroom sharing project for students to learn about life in other schools and cultures. This teacher-driven project, begun as a collaboration between schools in Tai Pei and California, collects "unique student-generated global dayta" about students' daily life using a simple, online Google Form. Day + data = DAYTA. The dayta is available for your classroom to use in loads of different math, social studies, and writing activities. Click to add your class using the Contact button. The project encourages you to form collaborations with another school. Click the link to the Idea Guide to find curriculum connections and lesson ideas. The project is adding new classes, so why not join in? Be sure to check out the community area where you can share your successes and questions with other teachers.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), data (151)

Learn about the world with these simple geography interactives. Choose from many different activities about continents, oceans, landforms, capitals, lakes, volcanoes, metropolitan areas, and much more. Choose any activity and click to start. To use the activities are simple. Simply click on the answer to each question. If your answer is incorrect, try again. If it is correct, move on to the next question. Your correct score and number of attempts displays throughout the game. If you choose to give up, all correct responses will display.
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tag(s): atmosphere (22), capitals (16), continents (33), countries (73), deserts (16), earth (184), flags (18), game based learning (205), landforms (39), mountains (10), oceans (149), rivers (16), states (124), volcanoes (55)

Where have you been? Create a color-coded map of the United States or Canada that highlights states that you have visited. Go through the list of states and choose a color for each state. There are four colors to choose from indicating your amount of time spent in that state. Just click on the state and then find your color. Or use the list of states found under the map. Choose an image width and pick the "Create" button to make your personalized image map. Save the map to your computer in png format. Please note: this is part of an individual's travel blog, and posts are not moderated for school use. Be sure to check out content links before sharing or student use. Or better yet, advise students NOT to click on any external links.

tag(s): maps (220), north america (15), states (124)

See spectacular Drone views of many different locations by clicking on a circle or pin on the Google interactive map. The circles will have a number for how many different views of the area are provided. Search for specific cities, select editors' choices, or see the "Latest" drone footage. As with any Google map, there are the usual navigation tools. To see if the area you want to view has footage, scroll through the map. The Drone footage is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): cities (17), countries (73), landforms (39), landmarks (22), news (228), setting (5), video (266)

See the world through children's eyes with this site written and maintained by children and parents as a travel guide for kids. Learn interesting facts and information about many countries. View health tips to keep in mind for safe travel. Each country guide contains extensive information such as population information, geography facts, and maps. Unique segments just for kids highlight food, animals, and attractions that appeal to children.

tag(s): australia (28), canada (24), countries (73), europe (84), flags (18), france (41), germany (28), italy (30), mexico (37), oceans (149)

What comes to mind when you think of the Arctic? For most it is penguins and polar bears. Learn more about the Arctic with this interesting site. Click on various topics such as Polar Plants, Icebergs and Glaciers, Keeping Warm, and more. Click on each topic for short information about the Arctic. Each topic includes Professional Learning, In the Field: Scientists at Work, Science and Literacy (see lesson plans), and Across the Curriculum. Be sure to look at the links below each topic. Share this photo gallery with your students. Be sure to also view the links at the top including the Photo Gallery and Stories for Students.

tag(s): animals (294), arctic (40), climate (84), energy (133), habitats (92), plants (146), tundra (14), water (102)

Can't take a field trip to NYC? Visit the Statue of Liberty virtually! View the virtual tour and photo gallery for Lady Liberty. See the site for specific instructions on how to use this interactive.

tag(s): american revolution (82), art history (102), landmarks (22), virtual field trips (128)

Enjoy playing with photo puzzles using DigiPuzzle. Choose from the selection of world wonders, animals, or jigsaws for kids. Choose a picture option to begin. Scroll down to view puzzle choices such as sudoku, word search, memory, hangman, and others. Get a personalized puzzle for your website, follow the directions on the personal photo page to email the site owner with your photo.

tag(s): animals (294), cities (17), logic (161), problem solving (233), puzzles (149), pyramids (21)

ImageQuiz uses images as a starting point for creating learning quizzes. Choose from quizzes on the site or create your own. Choose from the list of all quizzes, take a random quiz, or pick from popular tags such as math or physics. Create your own quiz easily. Upload any image and draw lines around desired areas. If you wish, add a question for students to answer. View the video tutorials for complete instructions. This site was created in the UK. American English speakers may notice some slight spelling differences.

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

If you could have 100 objects from throughout history, how would you use them in your teaching? The British Museum delves into its collections and provides a rotating group of 100 objects. Each object is categorized by time period, theme, and place. The objects can be searched and grouped accordingly. Each object has extensive supporting information, lesson plan ideas, essential questions, and suggestions for linkages to other objects. A PDF download for each object is available for classroom handouts. Finally, there are links to outside resources for further study. There are also connections to Key Stage (grade level) and Curriculum area that are specific to the British educational system. If you aren't familiar with Key Stages: Stage 1 is K-2, Stage 2 is grades 3-5, Stage 3 is grades 6-8, Stage 4 is grades 9-10, and Stage 5 is grades 11-12. Since this site was created in the UK, American English speakers may notice some slight spelling differences.

tag(s): archeology (28), britain (26), europe (84), great britain (16), history day (39), local history (14), museums (52), oral history (13)

Find over 100,000 unusual and interesting drawings, paintings, photographs and advertisements related to medical and social history through contemporary healthcare and biomedical science. This site is dedicated to the history of health and medicine, and the oldest examples go back two thousand years. Everything is available under Creative Commons licensing. Browse the collection through the galleries or search by keyword. The titles of the galleries are Explore, Favourites, Science, History, Art (for Schools), and Galleries. Under each title, find several categories such as Olympics, Health, World, Pathogens, Cell Division, DNA, Vaccines, Surgery (Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Modern), Aids Posters, Patterns and Texture, and many more. The site was created in the UK, so some of the spellings may differ from those in American English.

tag(s): creative commons (28), images (263), medicine (57), photography (130)

Join a journey to eleven countries and three continents as part of a global STEM learning adventure aligned to Next Gen and Common Core Reading standards. The site navigation itself takes a little "exploration," but the time is well worth it. Learn about locations around the world as you explore science and technology at each stop along the way. Learn about the captain and crew under Flight Briefing. Follow the clickable flight route under Flight Tracker. Take a flight tutorial at Fly with Us (under Flight Briefings). Explore videos on the Blog and under Flight Briefings. Watch the intro video on the home page. Some of the videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.

tag(s): aircraft (16), animals (294), architecture (75), ecosystems (83), endangered species (27), flight (34), oceans (149), STEM (297), volcanoes (55), weather (160)