Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Curriki is a nonprofit organization that encourages teachers and learners' to collaborate in developing quality educational materials in a global community. Click What We Do from the top menu and slide to CurikiStudio, and click Creators to create a free account and find resources like questions, photos/images, multimedia, and more for interactive lesson creation. Next under Solutions is CurrikiGo, where you will publish your lessons, etc. Last on the dropdown list is the CurrikiLibrary, where you can search by subject area, grade level, or resource type (interactive, video, or podcast). For a thorough summary of Curriki click the Explore a CurrikiStudio Activity. Join different groups for a more involved way to explore new areas in online learning, subject area interests, or focus questions. Create collections of your resources to keep private or share with others. This site focuses on providing free access to teachers, schools, students, or parents to many new creative ideas for in-class learning, digital learning, and hybrid or blended learning in a global community. Free membership includes monthly newsletters. Follow Curriki on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), or blogs.
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tag(s): graphic organizers (48), literacy (122), OER (43), operations (72), resources (84), rubrics (37), Teacher Utilities (198)

This site offers a complete lesson plan to use with students prior to beginning a first research project. The lesson takes students through the process of analyzing book titles to determine ones that would be helpful in their research. It then builds on class discussion to enable students to make informed decisions on appropriate research material. One especially useful part of the lesson is the Hints About Print interactive link included in the lesson plan. This would be a wonderful site to use on your interactive whiteboard to lead the class through basics of choosing materials for research. Other useful items on the site are the nonfiction book reviews and nonfiction book evaluation forms that are available in pdf form for easy classroom use. Find all resources and print material by choosing the Resources and Preparation tab near the top of the page.

tag(s): book reports (28), interactive stories (22), Research (87)

Slavery Footprint calculates the number of forced laborers involved in making the products we buy as consumers (such as beans in our coffee). Questions are based on the food you eat, clothes you own, and even the sports you do. There is even the option to add detail about certain commodities to allow the program to make a more precise calculation. The result gives you the exact number of slaves that "work for you" in the supply chains of your consumption. An interesting portion of the site goes into detail about the methodology used for determining the number of slaves "working" for the respondents. The site also provides their definition of a slave: "Anyone who is forced to work without pay, being economically exploited, and unable to walk away." Be sure to share the opening portion of the site, "What? Slaves work for me?" with students for a wonderful explanation of slavery and the purpose of the site. Note: There is one question in the survey about paying for sex. While sexual slave trade is a very real issue in today's world, you may not want your less mature students to encounter this question. Only you know your school community's tolerance for such discussions.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), ecology (103), slavery (79)

Need kid-friendly online news? This safe site, written for kids, by kids, offers news from a younger point-of-view. You can create a class page where you can load a variety of articles, add a book list, a calendar, favorite sites list, add lesson plan instructions, monitor student comments, and more. DOGOnews is kid-friendly, colorful, and flexible. After all, DOGO means young or small in Swahili. You can select articles from a number of categories (Social Studies, Science, World, Current Events, etc.). There is an integrated dictionary for challenging words and maps for geographical context. Some of the articles include short video clips. Students may leave brief comments about each article (no login required). Also, typing the word "video" in the search box will bring up the Video of the Week for the past several weeks. The videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. In addition, find a Book and Movie section with a brief summary for the book or movie, and comments. You don't have to join to read the articles, but you do need to join to create a class page. There are many benefits to creating a class page, and it's all free! Don't want to create a class page? You can also embed articles on your current web page.

tag(s): journalism (74), news (229), reading comprehension (149), sports (82)

Youngzine is news about our climate for the young. Enjoy the different articles, videos, etc. without signing up, or you can sign up to have full access to everything on this safe site, including teacher tools. General subjects include Global Events, Climate Science, Changing Ecosystems, Sustainable Solutions, Policy and Actions, and Special: Water Conservation. Teachers can register their class for free. You can include specific articles and quizzes for each assignment. Comments are moderated to prevent inappropriate classroom content. Besure to check out Climate360 for Weather and Climate Basics, What Actions Can We Take, What are the Solutions, and several others.

tag(s): communities (35), news (229), service projects (17), sustainability (50)

This site features a wonderfully specific pictorial database of "every day" images that define cultures. Images are Creative Commons licensed and can be used by download (three sizes) or direct link. At the time of this review, general topics included German, ESL (American,) French, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, and a few others. Besides offering a photograph (in three sizes) of something specifically Chinese or something only found in Japan, the vocabulary label for the object shown as well as its translation into its language of origin is available and indexed. There is also a detailed guide for teachers offering many wonderful suggestions of how to use CAPL in the classroom. The suggested activities include using images as objects, visual "texts," media illustrations, and narratives as well as ideas for using the images to teach vocabulary and culture. More is added to this site frequently, so be sure to check back!

tag(s): arabic (13), architecture (75), china (81), cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (180), france (41), germany (28), japan (57), russia (36), spanish (109)

This site provides introductory information about transportation in Pennsylvania. You can explore the aviation section to find fun aviation facts such as when the first humans flew in a hot air balloon. More interesting facts can be found at the Maintenance Shed including information about Pennsylvania's first highways and state driver licensing information. The site is a little tricky to navigate, be sure to follow links on the left side of each page in order to locate all information contained here.

tag(s): aircraft (16), railroads (14), transportation (30)

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.

tag(s): africa (148), angles (52), asia (116), cells (82), charts and graphs (171), conversions (37), europe (84), exponents (35), factors (29), fractions (160), french (75), geometric shapes (135), german (49), human body (93), inequalities (25), measurement (122), money (113), north america (15), place value (34), probability (99), quiz (67), quizzes (90), spanish (109), time (91)

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 (109), railroads (14), states (124)

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 (295), environment (252), habitats (92)

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 (295), charts and graphs (171), holidays (187), light (56)

The Official website of Amelia Earhart is an informational website intended to honor the life, the legend, and the career of Amelia Earhart. The most extensive part of the site is the "Biography." Other portions contain her achievements, quotes, and photos. An interesting portion of the site is the News section which has links to recent stories and news articles about Amelia Earhart. Scroll down the "Home" page to preview the movie Amelia, you may want to share this with your class - or not. Preview beforehand.
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tag(s): aviation (40), careers (156), famous people (19), flight (34), women (151)

Looking for review materials for a variety of classes? Use for a wide range of curriculum topics. (A "learning object" is any kind of interactive activity, animation, video, audio file, etc, that can be used for learning.) This site is great for introductory, reinforcement, or review materials. Find most of the relevant topics by using the search bar. Choose from many subjects such as biology, biochemistry, chemistry, math, sociology, world languages, and written communication, among others. Gifted students or those who learn well independently can study Chinese and other topics not easily available in their school using WISC-Onkine.

tag(s): animals (295), business (52), cells (82), chinese (45), grammar (137), grammar review (31), life cycles (21), microscopes (10), plants (146), psychology (65), sentences (22), sociology (23), speech (69)

As teachers, we often look for ways to help students sift through the enormous amount of information on the Internet, and to help them discriminate among those that are reliable and those that are not. The site "Coal Cares" might be a wonderful tool to use in this effort. First, coalcares.org is a spoof, a site purposely written to deceive. Although it looks perfectly legitimate on the surface--professionally created, and full of "facts"--a close reading of it soon reveals that it is designed to make fun of sites which try to put a positive spin on a negative issue.

tag(s): consumers (14), energy (133), environment (252), propaganda (8)

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)