Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Digg is a social news network similar in some qualities to Facebook and other such social media. You can post stories you find interesting and browse "Top Stories" which are more or less the most popular stories shared by others on the Internet. It is meant to share a snapshot of the most interesting, relevant, quirky, and fun content on the web! Once you sign up, you can start to Digg your own favorites. This site also features "Digg Dialogg" where members submit questions to notable leaders and community members decide on which questions will be asked, and interviews are shared on the site. Be sure to preview items that you wish to share. Noted were a few "violent" warnings at the time of this review, but the other 99% of the shared items were excellent for use in the classroom.

tag(s): debate (42), news (228), social networking (61)

Find fascinating Infographics on a variety of topics: Technology, Environment, Business, Food Facts, Politics, Health Safety, and even Interesting Facts. What are Infographics? A graphic visual representation of information, data, or knowledge.
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tag(s): charts and graphs (171), data (151), graphic design (49), infographics (56)

FORA.tv's claim to fame is as the Web's largest collection of conference and event videos. These videos come from sources such as universities, think tanks, and other intelligent discourses. Videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

Please preview anything before you share it with your students. At the time of this review there was a subcategory "Sex" which may not be appropriate for most classrooms. But always preview! Teachers may want to share ONLY specific video links.
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tag(s): business (52), cultures (180), elections (82), energy (133), environment (252), evolution (89), genetics (80), investing (8), news (228), politics (118), psychology (65), religions (95), sexuality (15), stock market (11), sustainability (50), video (266)

Explore collections of primary documents from US History enhanced with tools for teaching. This site adds the ability to manipulate primary documents to build informative and challenging lessons. While a few of the documents and lessons are available for the casual visitor to the site, you need to register (and it's free!) in order to make full use of the amazing resources here. Once you have registered, you can access all the documents and use the activity builder to create lessons which use primary documents to teach sequencing, mapping, weighing evidence, interpreting data, and seeing the big picture. Please note that you do not HAVE to create anything, you can simply use what is already here. (And they do already have a lot to offer.) You will need to create a project if you want to package an activity that you can use now and again later.

tag(s): american revolution (82), civil war (139), digital storytelling (154), great depression (30), industrial revolution (22), primary sources (117), Teacher Utilities (198), westward expansion (39), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

News and information from top thinkers and doers around the world, screened so that it is condensed to that which is significant, relevant, and applicable, that is Big Think. This website is a phenomenal source for information and news. The philosophy of Big Think is that as we "move to the knowledge era" that you will be able to better function if you know more and understand what you know. This website was awarded one of TIME magazine's best websites of 2011 for news and information. Please screen any articles that you wish to share BEFORE sharing with your students. Some content is NOT appropriate for the classroom. This is not a site you want to send students off to explore on their own.
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tag(s): brain (56), business (52), cross cultural understanding (173), environment (252), news (228), politics (118), psychology (65)

Nobelprize.org is the official website of the Nobel Prize. Here you find information about Alfred Nobel, the prizewinners, interviews, and photos. Videos of interviews of Nobel peace prizewinners, speeches, ceremonies, interviews, banquets, lectures, announcements, award ceremonies, and documentaries fill the gamut of all of the prizewinners. The Nobel prizes awards are in literature, chemistry, medicine, peace, economics, and physics. Under the Education tab at the top find arieties of educational games/activities and lesson plans help explain many of the Nobel Award winners' work. This site clearly explains and illustrates the purpose of the awards, the award winners, and their ideas. Videos give an insider look at each of the winners.

tag(s): creativity (86), literature (221), medicine (57)

This short animated YouTube clip shares specific copyright issues, focusing on reusing previously developed materials available on the Internet by uploading and presenting them on YouTube. It begins with a written quiz on the right side of the page to assess prior knowledge and also to get viewers thinking about copyright issues. It presents the message that uploading copyrighted material onto YouTube can have serious consequences. It also explores the fact that, in addition to written and broadcast media, performances and other public presentations may also be copyrighted. It explains the concept of Fair Use in easy-to-understand terms and examples. It also points out that you may watch for people who misuse material and report any such items so they will be removed from YouTube. The video is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then it may not be viewable.
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tag(s): copyright (44), multimedia (53), plagiarism (34)

This PBS site is a reorganized collection of over 16,000+ public media offerings (including radio and photographs), arranged specifically for preK-12 teachers. You can search by subject (the landing page subject is physical education) and grade level across many subjects. After viewing three offerings, you must join (for free) to continue. Membership includes the option of saving favorites. Use the search box at the top to find correlations to state standards. The site is still in development, so material is being added frequently.

tag(s): alphabet (53), careers (156), dance (31), data (151), decimals (85), diseases (66), fitness (39), human body (93), mark twain (8), multimedia (53), music theory (46), percent (59), probability (99), problem solving (233), psychology (65)

Mind 42 is an easy to use mind mapping (or concept mapping) tool. You create the format and easily add links, notes, to do lists, images, or even a Wikipedia article. Import the result into documents or perhaps a Skype conversation. Bring mind maps/concept maps to a new level!

tag(s): concept mapping (15), mind map (27)

This site offers many songs related to math, social studies, and science concepts. Science concepts include water & pollution, scientific inquiry, changes in matter, and much more. Math concepts range from order of operations to quadratic and exponential functions. After choosing a topic, you can listen to the song online, download the mp3, view lyrics, and possibly view an accompanying video. (Not all topics include the video.) Some topics also include a teacher guide with lesson suggestions. This site does mention that you can create your own videos. However, at the time of this review, that feature was not working.

tag(s): africa (148), area (53), atoms (43), bill of rights (33), branches of government (65), cells (82), civil war (139), constitution (96), elements (33), equations (119), exponents (35), factoring (25), factors (29), functions (52), inquiry (26), integers (21), matter (45), nutrition (140), oceans (149), order of operations (29), quadratics (27), rainforests (18), ratios (47), songs (46), sound (72), volume (33), water (104), world war 2 (161)

The FBI is in the process of digitizing many of its documents and other items; this website is the growing accumulation of what they are offering so far, but updates are continuing. You can search by a specific subject, keyword, or files to view the documents that are available.. Documents include those handwritten, typed, scanned, etc. Some of the categories in the collection include: Administrative Policy Procedures, Anti-War, Bureau Personnel, Civil Rights, Counterterrorism, Foreign Counterintelligence, Fugitives, Gangs Extremist Groups, Gangster Era, Hot Topics, Miscellaneous, Organizations, Organized Crime, Political Figures Events, Popular Culture, Public Corruption, Supreme Court, Unexplained Phenomenon, World War II, Violent Crime, and others.

If a search does not return something immediately, there is a feature which will notify you of the results of your search at a later time. The time range of these documents is quite wide. Both a simple search and an advanced search make it easy to find interesting data. The A to Z index is a fun place to browse for subjects. Many of the documents are in PDF format.

tag(s): 1920s (15), 1930s (20), 1940s (14), branches of government (65), civil rights (209), cross cultural understanding (173), inquiry (26), politics (118), supreme court (27), world war 2 (161)

This interactive graphic organizer helps students develop an outline for one of three types of comparison essays: whole-to-whole, similarities-to-differences, or point-to-point. A link in the introduction to the "Comparison and Contrast Guide" gives students the chance to get definitions and look at examples before they begin working. The tool offers multiple ways to navigate information, including a graphic on the right to move around the map without having to work in a linear fashion. The finished map can be saved, e-mailed, or printed. There are many additional interactives and lesson plans (with standards included!).

tag(s): charts and graphs (171), concept mapping (15), graphic organizers (48)

This site offers a look into New York's little-discussed history with slavery in the United States. New York was the capital of American slavery for more than two centuries. This exhibition spans the period from the 1600s to 1827, when slavery was legally abolished in New York State. After entering the site, visitors enter galleries with slide shows including pictures and written descriptions of events in New York during this time. Many portions in each gallery have further information included by clicking on links, text, and pictures, be sure to "look around" carefully so you don't miss anything. Although the exhibit was originally opened in 2005-2006, the site appears to have been continually maintained. This is definitely worth a look!

tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), 1800s (75), african american (116), civil rights (209), new york (24), slavery (79)

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 (121), OER (43), operations (72), resources (83), 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)

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 (228), reading comprehension (149), sports (82)

Scroll down the page to find the video "100 Most Common Words in English Speaking." These are the little words that make a huge difference to understanding what someone is saying such as be, and, to, with, they, her, and so on. The video focuses on the speakers lower face so student s can pause the video and see facial expressions and tongue placement. The video resides on YouTube so it may not be viewable at your school

tag(s): pronunciation (34), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93), word study (59)

Find a new chart each day, based on real world events in different formats. Some days include more than one graph! The newer charts are shown first. Older charts are available on the site by following the "older" link. Topics vary from world news to sports to economics and more. There is a great variety of topics and chart types. When you click on the chart, a new page opens containing the chart and a description with difficult vocabulary underlined. Click on a word to learn the definition. You can also sign up to receive the daily chart by email.
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tag(s): charts and graphs (171), cultures (180), data (151), financial literacy (94), infographics (56), sociology (23), sports (82)

This site has embedded videos from over 1600 documentaries located all over the internet. These videos are not necessarily "short" clips. Some are longer than 15 minutes. Search the videos via several methods: browse the library, most popular, recent videos, or by categories. The categories vary greatly and include the bullying of those with disabilities, 9/11, aftermath of the Japan Tsunami, import and export of oil, and countless other topics. Each video comes with a short explanation and ratings (out of 10 stars). Viewers can also leave their own rating. Many include suggestions for related videos. Be aware: some of topics may not be suitable for the classroom. Please preview before (or IF) you choose to allow students to peruse on their own. You may want to share only specific videos with the class. It has been noted that this website opens rather slowly at the busy times of the day. But it is WELL worth the wait. Note that videos are recommended for inclusion by the video creators, so there could be very strong bias in documentary presentations. What better way to challenge students to stop and ask, "What is the source of this information and can I trust it fully?"
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tag(s): archeology (28), biographies (94), bullying (48), disabilities (32), psychology (65), senses (20), sexuality (15), tsunamis (15)

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 (294), 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)