Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

EarthEcho International offers a collection of videos, lesson plans, and other materials designed to support high-quality classroom experiences and the exploration and protection of natural resources (scroll to the bottom of the page and find Educator Resources in the right column). Many are correlated to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. Find and choose resources by filtering program offerings, grade levels, and type of activity. Program offerings include topics such as rethinking waste, water quality, energy, marine debris, and much more. Register with your email address for free access to materials.

In addition to teaching materials, follow past EarthEcho expeditions with updates from the field. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.

tag(s): environment (252), oceans (149), recycling (45), water (102)

Find interactive maps examining the results of elections from 1840 through 2008. With US politics increasingly dominated by election year strategizing, a historical look at how Americans have voted in both Presidential and Congressional elections can provide useful context. In a democracy, the power of popular elections to affect the lives of all citizens cannot be understated. In order to understand how changes in population--demography and distribution--have affected popular elections, it's important to see those changes in perspective. On this site, you can look at Presidential elections or Congressional elections, as well as population maps focused on African American and White population changes over the time period. Most of the maps are based on an advancing time line that maps data over time. For Presidential elections, there are also more detailed maps for each separate election.

tag(s): congress (40), elections (82), electoral college (22), maps (220), presidents (135), timelines (56)

National Geographic offers collections of resources aligned to Common Core ELA standards for grades K-12. Begin your search by exploring non-fiction resources grouped by grade range. If you prefer, use a keyword search to find specific content. When searching by grade range groups, scroll through the presentation slide show to view all resources and click links to go directly to the page. Be sure to take some time to find all the collection offers; there is a great deal of content available. Look for Geostories, Article, or Encyclopedic Entry to find reading resources. Don't miss the Common Core Toolkit offering a large variety of lesson plans and media aligned to National Geographic books.
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tag(s): charts and graphs (171), guided reading (33), reading comprehension (149)

Explore interesting history tidbits and background information about world events including topics from Atlantis to Vikings. Scroll through the list of topics and find links to various podcast episodes with archives going back to 2008. Click to play the episodes or download any episode in mp3 format using the download link. Episodes are approximately 30 minutes in length. You can also search for specific topics using the search tool.
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tag(s): archeology (28), black history (133), civil rights (209), civil war (139), cross cultural understanding (173), mental health (48), native americans (108), podcasts (108), religions (95), vikings (10), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

It is hard to believe that World War I began over 100 years ago. Explore "The War to End All Wars" through a series of maps, both contemporary and historical. The collection provides extensive insight into the causes, progress, and impact of World War I. Each map is accompanied by a brief explanation of what it illustrated. Each map can then be opened as an image alone in another tab/window and is then zoomable. Some of the historic maps are static; others have interactive features. The maps are organized into categories: Background, War Breaks Out, Major European Battles, the War Outside Europe, Technology, Allied Victory, and Consequences of the War. There are hyperlinks to further information embedded in the explanatory material with each map.

tag(s): europe (84), map skills (63), maps (220), world war 1 (77)

What if you could plan a trip to Ancient Rome in the year 200? This geospatial model of the Roman World allows you to choose among major Roman empire urban centers and plot the most efficient course of travel. The map takes into consideration the geography and terrain, the season, the weather, the mode of transportation (boat? on foot?) and whether we want to get there quickly or cheaply. An experience like the old "Oregon Trail" software on steroids allows you to experience travel in the Ancient Roman Empire and to understand the pressures and challenges the growing Empire experienced in trying to govern such a large area.

tag(s): maps (220), romans (52), rome (37), transportation (30)

Estuary Education is a great site to dive into learning about estuaries. Explore NOAA's living classrooms and laboratories. Scientists working for NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System produce and/or review the current and cutting edge content on the site. Skim the surface of estuary education on the "About Estuaries" page or use the "Video Gallery" page to dive deeper into your learning of estuaries. The video clips are the next best thing to visiting a real estuary. The Estuaries 101 Curriculum modules for grades 6 through 12 feature hands-on learning, experiments, field work, and data explorations. It deepens students understanding about estuaries and how estuaries affect their daily lives. The resources page provides information and links to different sources outside of the estuaries.gov site that have been carefully reviewed and chosen to expand understanding on a particular topic and deemed to be scientifically accurate. Try the interactives from the link on the student page to test your knowledge or take the quiz! Estuary Education is a great site to connect with the coastal environment.

tag(s): biomes (110), ecology (103), ecosystems (83), marine biology (31)

Visually compare current data about cities all around the world. Choose three cities at a time to access information such as work, movement (including transportation), systems, and people. View the findings of all three cities side by side. After viewing introductory maps and a summary of trends about any specific city, click on specific information you need. The interactive and manipulable maps change as each different theme about the city comes up. You can easily and quickly compare different parts of the population, weather details, transportation facts, historical boundaries, parks, and many other themes. Creators of the site have the goal of adding data about more cities around the world and welcome outside additions to the fact bank.

tag(s): cities (17), data (151), population (51), railroads (14)

Big History Project is a free, online social studies course designed for secondary students tracing from the Big Bang through the history of humanity. This course takes a VERY broad view of the "big picture" to provide greater perspective in how we see history. View course information in 2 sections with 10 units covering a time span of 13.7 billion years. Each unit contains between 20-30 modules including projects, discussion topics, and assessments. All are aligned to Common Core Standards. Other course offerings include Project Based Learning activities, videos, animations, infographics, and much more. A simpler, shorter version of the course for the general public is available under "Not an educator?. Click on "Check out our public course." You will need to sign up for a free account to view this resource.

tag(s): agriculture (49), geologic time (12), industrialization (12), Project Based Learning (23), Research (87), solar system (110)

Free Map Tools provides tools for measuring, marking up, and using overlays with maps. Scroll through to find tools for discovering the radius around any point on a map, calculating the area of the enclosed point on a map, or determining the distance between any two points. Choose any of the tools to begin and follow directions to find results. This site has some clickable advertisements, so be cautious where you click.
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tag(s): area (53), map skills (63), maps (220), measurement (122)

Totally History offers a brief overview on many historical events and topics. Choose from categories including art history, U.S. history, world history, famous history, and the history of technology. Within each topic, find facts and a several paragraph overview of the content.
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tag(s): american revolution (82), art history (102), civil war (139), presidents (135), religions (95), vietnam (38), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

View this interactive Google map to discover where "fraccidents" have occurred and a description of what happened. A "fraccident" is when something goes wrong at a fracking site. Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" is drilling to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas. Fracking is a controversial technology, and this site is one organization's efforts to slow the pace of industrial gas development. So you will notice some bias. Find out if anything like this has happened near you. At the bottom of the page is a video, "Finding Their Way." It is about a Williamsport, PA couple who developed strategies to stop industrial gas development in Rider Park, land consisting of forests, rivers, and fields. The video also gives statistics about how quickly fracking wells were built in Pennsylvania from 2007 - 2010.

tag(s): disasters (37), energy (133), environment (252), geology (62), natural resources (37), oil (22), resources (83)

Find a constantly updated collection of informational articles about the environment of the Great Lakes. Subscribe to receive news of current feature articles. The variety of article topics is sure to catch the interest of almost any reader. The articles have Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike licenses so are free to use and recopy (be sure to attribute!).
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tag(s): animals (294), fish (18), insects (68), plants (146), pollution (52), water (102), watersheds (8), weather (160)

Explore statistics and data about what it takes to be happy in different locations. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you have the best life? Of course, it all depends on what you think contributes to a better life. The OECD presents the opportunity to choose from among 11 indices related to happiness. Rank them in order of importance to you, and then see graphically which countries in the world have the best quality of life based on those considerations. Want to have a high income? Then the United States ranks first in that category. Is the cost and quality of available housing what matters? Norway ranks first in that category. Other indices include Environment, Education, Safety, Work-Life Balance, Health, and Jobs. A slider bar on each index allows you to select your priorities and then watch as the countries realign themselves according to your preferences.

tag(s): communities (35), cross cultural understanding (173), environment (252), politics (118), safety (68)

The National Film Board of Canada documented the economic crisis through short films and photo essays between 2008 and 2010. We hear about economic downturn every day, but it can be easy to forget the human side of hard times. Economic failures are more than statistics on a graph; they are the realities that affect lives. GDP presents these stories in 135 episodes and 53 photo essays. Search the stories by theme--community action, real estate, farming, natural resources--or by using the interactive map. Although the stories are from Canada, their appeal is broader, and they parallel what occurred in many countries.

tag(s): canada (24), media literacy (109), photography (130)

Visit four of the world's poorest slums through this powerful collection of stories, images, and sounds. Following the introduction, choose a city: Caracas, Venezuela, Nairobi, Kenya, Jakarta, Indonesia, or Mumbai, India. Hear each family's story by choosing from images at the top of each page or view the slideshow including images, audio, and facts about the region.

tag(s): africa (148), cross cultural understanding (173), india (32)

This tool is a stunning 3D reconstruction and tour of the Giza pyramids, Sphinx, and other structures. Watch a guided tour both around and inside the structures. This tour also shows structures at various points in history. To view in 3D, the 3D Lifeplayer needs to be installed. Note: This site may take a little time to load.

tag(s): architecture (75), egypt (56), pyramids (21)

Explore the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum site to learn about the effects and aftermath of nuclear war. Click Learn from the top menu, then, look at the menu on the right titled Learn About the A Bomb and Peace. There you will find a link to view images of monuments located in Hiroshima. These monuments were constructed as memorials to those who lost their lives. Visit the Kids Peace Station for activities geared toward younger students. Explore the virtual museum to view exhibits such as damage caused by the atomic bomb blast and recorded testimony of survivors.

tag(s): atomic bomb (8), japan (56), world war 2 (161)

Create highly stylized map images with this tool. This tool is very similar to the Photoshop layers palette and easily creates map layers using data already available in Open Street Map. Create layers using backgrounds, roads, labels, and satellite imagery. Modify the layers' color, opacity, and brightness. Easily highlight or color portions of the map you want to standout. Share the image you create via Pinterest or Tumblr. Share your map image also by a link. Use precision detail with image overlays and layer effects, even creating masks for other layers. The tool can also be used to create a regular map in the colors you want. This site takes some tinkering to figure out but yields colorful and interesting maps.

tag(s): images (263), maps (220)