Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

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)

Type an address into a mapping site and you get a bird's eye view of nearly any address with sometimes startling detail. But what if you could go back in time and get an aerial view of that same address 50 years ago? Or 100 years ago? Historic Aerials provides both aerial photographs and historical topographical maps of most areas of the US (a few remote areas and all of Alaska are not included). Information is continually being added to the database. This is a commercial site focused on selling these images for a fee, but browsing the images is free. Each image does contain a fairly prominent "copyright protected" watermark which is distracting, but does not prevent the images from being useful.
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tag(s): map skills (63), maps (220)

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)

Charles Darwin, in his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, changed the way we look at the natural world. This animated journey takes us on eleven stages of the journey and introduces some of Darwin's most important discoveries. The journey can be viewed as a continuous narrated animation, or can be broken up into the eleven stages of the journey and viewed one stage at a time via an interactive map. Each stage includes readings from Darwin's journal, and a series of images that are accessed by dropping and dragging them to a "magic lantern," a sort of slide projector common during Darwin's time. The journey can be accessed in English, French, or Spanish.

tag(s): animals (294), darwin (13), evolution (89), explorers (64), natural resources (37), oceans (149)

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)

Learn about the states of our nation through maps and charts exploring who we are and how we live. Maps explore financial situations through income, number of millionaires, and home ownership. Other maps display political and religious divisions by state, tax rates, and housing statistics. Some maps delineate topics more suited for adult readers. Click links in each map description to view articles with more in-depth information. Preview specific maps before you share, as some content may not be appropriate for your classroom.
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tag(s): demographics (13), financial literacy (93), maps (220), politics (118), religions (95)

MapFight is a clever tool for comparing the physical area of different countries and states. Use the dropdown boxes to select from countries and states available and then click compare. View an image with the two locations overlaid on each other with a short sentence comparing the sizes in kilometers. If you click on the name of the state or country you will be taken to a Wikipedia entry about the location.
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tag(s): area (53), countries (73), map skills (63), maps (220), states (124)

Remember Pearl Harbor is a lesson plan for teaching about Pearl Harbor using historic articles and social media. The complete lesson includes many ideas for deep student learning such as creating a gallery walk, a Twitter project, and a historic headlines project. Click on highlighted links to get access to all resources included on the site including Common Core Standards. If your district blocks YouTube, some links may not be viewable.
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tag(s): japan (56), pearl harbor (14), roosevelt (15), world war 2 (161)

Time and Date is your one-stop resource for anything concerning time zones, calendars, and weather. View current time for any place in the world, explore time zone maps, and create and print personalized calendars. Explore the short news articles. Calculators and timers offer countdowns to any date. Find the number of days until a chosen date or tell the date in X number of days. Other options allow you to find the weather anywhere in the world, explore sun and moon phases, and browse through upcoming holiday events. There are also many free apps available to specific sections of this site (see the Apps link). There is a LOT here to explore!
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tag(s): calculators (36), calendars (37), DAT device agnostic tool (147), moon (73), sun (71), time (91), time zones (7), weather (160)

What does your zip code tell you about the demographics and lifestyle of your community? Find out with Zip Lookup. Type in any zip code for quick information on the "Tapestry" of your area. View the top three demographic segments of the community such as "Boomburbs" or "Savvy Surbanites." Use the drop-down box for an explanation of each segment. Click on tabs to further narrow down information such as income, age, and population density comparing each zip code to the county, state, and the entire United States.

tag(s): communities (35), demographics (13), population (51)

Earth Null School is a visual compilation of winds plotted at many, many locations around the globe, updated every three hours. In addition, the globe shows ocean surface currents updated every five days and ocean temperatures, updated daily. Click and rotate the globe to view any area in the world. Scroll in and out to zoom in on any location. Choose the word "earth" at the lower left side of the screen to view controls and additional data. Controls allow you to view data from previous days, adjust from air to ocean currents, and add overlays for temperature, humidity, and more.

tag(s): climate (84), oceans (149), temperature (34), weather (160)

Just the facts, ma'am. Knoema's World Data Atlas provides a dizzying array of data about the countries of the world. Sort either by country (from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe), or by topic (agriculture to water). Look at zoomable, color coded maps, and analyze rankings by topic. The interface is simple and direct, so if you are just looking for a statistic, you will find it quickly and easily. If you are looking at masses of authentic data to analyze or compare, you'll find that too. Click to create comparisons among any 2 to 3 countries. There is an introductory video available, hosted on YouTube. If YouTube is blocked at your school, you may need to view this video at home.

tag(s): atlas (5), data (151), infographics (56), map skills (63), maps (220), natural resources (37), resources (83), united nations (6)

We know our own lifetimes are but a tiny hiccup in the long history of the Earth. But what HAS happened since we were born? The BBC will tell you. Simply enter your date of birth (using the day/month/year format) and some other information (you can choose either metric or Imperial/US measurement), and a wonderful series of charts appears! How many times has your heart beat? How old would you be on Venus? How has the Earth changed since you were born? How has humankind changed the Earth since you were born? How many volcanoes have erupted? What's happened to the sea levels? How many endangered species have become extinct? This site is created by the BBC (United Kingdom). American English speakers may notice some slights spelling differences. It is best viewed in Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer 10 and above.
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tag(s): climate change (99), earth (184), earth day (60), earthquakes (46), planets (113), writing prompts (61)

Geography Awareness Week is an annual opportunity for families and schools to engage in educational experiences that draw attention to the importance of place and how we affect and are affected by it. Launched in 1987, this initiative is celebrated during the third week of November. The Awareness Week site offers support through lessons, activities, films, and print materials to spread the word in your community. Each year offers a different theme. Scroll down near the bottom of the home page to find links to free materials, information on local events, and information on how to register your event and receive free supplies to give away!

tag(s): globe (12), map skills (63), maps (220)

Visit the British Library website to search through catalogues, order items for research, view exhibitions and connect to information resources worldwide. Explore the many collections sorted by subject, time period, region, and more. Many collections feature digitized archives of television and radio news and almost 7 million pages from newspapers across the UK and Ireland. Click the "Discover" link to view Online Galleries featuring virtual books, old maps, and ancient manuscripts. This site is created from the UK. If you are an American English speaker, spellings will be slightly different. This museum is to Britain what the Smithsonian is to the U.S.

tag(s): art history (102), britain (26), england (50), great britain (16), maps (220)

Find a large selection of resources for teaching and learning about Asian art at this resource provided by the Asian Art Museum. In the Search box type in Lesson Plans and choose from lessons and activities aligned to Common Core Standards. View almost 300 pieces of art and watch over 400 videos presented in an easy-to-use format. Search by keyword or type of resource (In the Spotlight, Most Popular, or What's New). If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): art history (102), artists (84), asia (116), china (81), chinese new year (5), cross cultural understanding (173), japan (56), korea (21)

Visit the best places in the world through the eyes of random Instagram users via Somewhere. You don't have to be "connected" to Instagram to view the photos. Simply click your space bar to view a new location. Read a short description of the location and view a photo. Click the "read more" button to find more information about the location (provided by Wikipedia). Although very simple in concept and format, these stunning images will have you returning over and over for more! If you desire, you can click directly on the image to view it on Instagram. Be sure to preview since Instagram comments are not moderated! (Many schools may block Instagram, so test before assuming you can access this at school).

tag(s): images (263), photography (130)