Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Learn more about bioengineering at this interactive site. Choose from an array of science topics from the drop down menu to view frequently asked questions. Click on the Interactive Exploration to view the Bionic Man. Click on the technologies found on the image to find out how bioengineering has changed medicine. Play Who Wants To Be A Bioengineer to test yourself on bioengineering for rehabilitation and treatments in medicine. Find information about careers under the Training and Careers tab. Find Resource Links for the public, teachers and parents, and students. A few of the video clips are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): engineering (129), medicine (57), STEM (297)

Remember playing Spirograph as a kid? Now you can create and play online with Inspirograph! Choose from fixed and rotating gears, and then change the size of the gears. Change the background and pen colors using the toolbar. Click on the + sign to personalize colors. Be sure to view the gallery of saved designs for lots of inspiration when beginning. Click the download icon to save images to your computer.

tag(s): angles (52), critical thinking (127), gifted (66), problem solving (233)

Love Google Doodles, those fun and spontaneous changes to the Google logo? View the gallery of Google Doodles on this site. Click About on the top menu to learn the background of Google Doodle. View the Doodle Archive with the newest Doodle appearing first on the page. Click the information button (i) for each doodle to bring up an information box. Click More Doodle Details to go to the Doodle page or click Search for to learn more about the topic or date. Move from one Doodle to the other by clicking the forward or back arrows on each Doodle page. Click Doodle4Google to view the Google contest. The competition typically takes place during the Fall. Click Classroom Activities for ideas on sparking and nurturing creativity in kids of all ages. Check back to find the next Doodle4Google contest for students.

tag(s): artists (85), creativity (86), drawing (61), gifted (66), STEM (297)

The Annenberg Learner Foundation's goal is to advance excellent teaching in American schools. Annenberg Learner's multimedia resources help teachers increase their expertise in their fields and improve teaching methods in all grade levels in all subjects. There are video resources for all subject areas. Find lesson plans for all subjects by grade level. A variety of interactives accompany lessons or can also stand alone. Follow the monthly updates and blogs for the latest information.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): art history (103), butterflies (13), conversions (37), critical thinking (127), dna (43), earth (184), environment (252), geometric shapes (135), immigrants (34), medieval (32), native americans (109), patterns (61), periodic table (46), renaissance (38), rocks (35), russia (36), south africa (13), spelling (98), statistics (121), volcanoes (55), weather (160)

Quill is an interactive grammar program with over 150 Common Core, grade level aligned, lessons. Sign up to use the program by entering your name, username, password, and (optional) email. Create a class and track progress, assess, and assign what individuals have not mastered. The program has color-coded "heat maps" to track progress easily. This tool individualizes grammar and writing for ALL learning levels. There are exercises revising interesting passages. There are also practice questions that require the writing of complete sentences.

tag(s): assessment (147), capitalization (9), grammar (137), homonyms (8), homophones (6), punctuation (25), sentences (22), verbs (26)

Join BirdSleuth is an inquiry-based science curriculum that engages kids in scientific study. Use real data collection and the scientific process. Study nature and discover the real-world importance of data (entered by students and used by scientists). Search resources by grade level K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each grade level has several categories such as Kits and Curriculum units, Free Downloads, Posters, Cards, Games, & More. Some free lessons and activities are: Citizen Science Bird Quest, Feathered Friends, Investigating Evidence, HomeSchoolers' Guide to Project Feeder Watch, Evolution in Paradise, Using eBird with Groups, Explore Life Cycles Through Nesting Birds, and lots more. Kits are available for purchase.

tag(s): birds (46), citizen science (27), environment (252), scientific method (48)

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 (295), architecture (75), ecosystems (83), endangered species (27), flight (34), oceans (149), STEM (297), volcanoes (55), 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 (84), 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.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): climate change (99), earth (184), earth day (60), earthquakes (46), planets (113), writing prompts (61)

This Mathematics Library is a collaborative, open access library of math textbooks for higher level math. The wiki is constantly updated by university faculty and students to offer an ever-growing resource. Its purpose is to be a supplement to traditional textbooks. Choose the "Mathematics" icon to begin. Choose from several categories such as Algebra or Geometry to continue. Narrow choices within each group to find information by topic. When looking for specific content, use the search bar to find all relevant information. Some content areas contain more information than others.

tag(s): equations (119), probability (99), problem solving (233), statistics (121), STEM (297), wikis (14)

Cartoons for the Classroom offers over 400 one-page downloadable lessons featuring two or three political cartoons related to current events and several questions for discussion that relate to those cartoons. Alternatively, download the cartoons alone along with space to "draw" your own conclusions. Also find an evaluation form for you and your students use. Click "Home" on the top left of the list to go to the home page and "Interactive Lessons - Updated Every Monday" (usually a political comment). A picture is worth a thousand words, and editorial cartoonists have been boiling down the foibles of politicians and public figures throughout history. One needs only to know about Thomas Nast and his cartoons of Boss Tweed during the 19th century to know that cartoons have a deep impact on political discourse.

tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), politics (118), satire (6)

Down the Drain is a free Internet-based collaborative project that has classes around the world share and compare their water consumption. For a detailed explanation, visit the New to the Project link. The project includes a hypothesis, prediction, data collection, and comparing results. The data collection period lasts one week. There is a link for Student Activities. The Teacher Guide link offers an overview of the project, publishing policy information, and extension activities. The project says it is designed for grades 4-8 but can be used in upper grades, as well.

tag(s): environment (252), recycling (46), water (102)

Interactive Graphic Organizers help to gather thoughts, visualize, understand, or organize. Find interactive graphic organizers from categories such as identifying/organizing details, order and sequence, cause and effect, process diagrams, persuasive position support, vocabulary, and many others. The selected organizer will download in PDF format. The features of the form are: interactive form fields, highlighting, adding mark-up, commenting, and saving it all. Find accompanying teaching notes for each organizer by clicking on the link in the paragraph at the top of the page. The teacher guide has detailed lessons and suggested uses.

tag(s): concept mapping (15), graphic organizers (48)

Create music and animation by tapping the keys on your keyboard with Patatap. Choose any letter from A to Z to bring your screen to life with sounds, lasers, and motion. Press the space bar to change everything up including sounds, background colors, animations, and motions. Be careful...creating interesting mixes may become addictive with Patatap! There is an app version, but only the web version is free.

tag(s): animation (65), sounds (43)

Use these interactives to learn up to twenty-one new languages (English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Lithuanian, and more) by choosing from various options that include matching images to a spoken word, filling in the blanks, or multiple choice responses. Audio options are available for non-readers. No registration is required. Registration allows you to save your progress and compete to earn the highest scores in each activity.

tag(s): arabic (13), chinese (45), french (75), german (49), italian (31), multilingual (77), portuguese (22), spanish (109)

Learn what you need to do and know to start using X (formerly Twitter). Sign up to get a X (formerly Twitter) mentor or BE a mentor! Find out what to do before creating an X (formerly Twitter) account, get advice about whom to follow, explore programs to use to help you manage your X (formerly Twitter) account, and read how to keep track of everything. Learn about all the terms needed to be successful using X (formerly Twitter) as a teacher. This site is clean, simple, and very helpful!

tag(s): chat (41), microblogging (14), social networking (61), twitter (13)

Create a customized start page including your favorite websites, RSS feeds, and social networking sites with Start.me. Choose from over 20 widgets such as bookmarks, weather, calculators, or currency converters to personalize content. Drag and drop widgets to any area on your screen. Change backgrounds using images provided or one you upload, or personalize using other options under settings. All saved information is cloud-based, so it is available from any device where you log in to your account. Create multiple pages for different needs such as work, home, hobbies, etc. Add the bookmarklet to your browser to add items easily to your start page at any time. The introduction video is hosted on YouTube. If YouTube is blocked at your school, view the intro video at home to learn more!

tag(s): bookmarks (43)

LitPick is a great place to find preteen and teen literature reviewed by students from all over the world. Discover the latest reads reviewed by students. Students apply to become a reviewer, along with an adult sponsor, and get a free eBook or print book. Choose a book by age or genre. Read within 4-6 weeks and write a 5-10 sentence review summarizing the book, without giving away the ending. Submit and receive feedback before the final review is approved and published. Receive points and badges for well written reviews. Find books listed by genre or age group. Under Educators find an Educators Guide, Quizzes, and Learning Lessons. Adult members of LitPick can participate in the monthly book giveaway contest and newsletter that features student book reviews and special offers. Sign up to receive the latest announcement and promotional giveaways. Start book clubs, or use in classes. LitPick was selected as Best Website for Teaching and Learning by the American Association of School Librarians, and selected for the Gold Award from Mom's Choice and the Association of Independent Authors. LitPick also hosts a video review channel titled BookTube residing on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable; be sure to look at alternatives for sharing the videos on classroom computers.

tag(s): expository writing (31), independent reading (81), literature (221), literature circles (4)

Any.do is an online to-do list to manage daily tasks across all devices. Create your account and start adding things you need to do. Choose from today, tomorrow, upcoming, or someday in the Time View format. Click the folder icon to sort lists into work, personal, or a folder you name. Choices include adding a time for tasks, options for reoccurrence, and an alarm reminder. Download the Any.do app to sync tasks seamlessly across any iOs or Android device and your computer.

tag(s): calendars (37), organizational skills (88)

Easily track time spent on projects without time sheets! Enter your task and click to begin tracking. View the day-by-day breakdown of time spent on the activities. Generate summary, detailed, or weekly reports. Use this tool to create teams and generate team reports. Invite members by email and mark team data as public or private as needed. Use multiple machines in the day? No problem. Time is tracked across multiple devices including Android and iOs.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): classroom management (120), DAT device agnostic tool (147), organizational skills (88), Teacher Utilities (198), time (91)