Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Plimoth Plantation (that's the original spelling) is a reconstruction of the Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth. Take a field trip to the Plimoth Plantation just in time for Thanksgiving. From Learn at the top menu, find and slide down to Bring Plimoth Patuxet to Your School and take a virtual field trip to an English village and Wampanoag home site from 1627. Go inside a Wetu, or home, and look. Become a historian and uncover what really happened on the first Thanksgiving. Primary sources give accounts from the Wampanoag traditions to the English home of Pilgrim Mary Allerton. Each student will finish with a printed exhibition panel. Dig into your ancestry to find out if you are a pilgrim. Find actual genealogical profiles. Explore the museum collections of artifacts. Find these resources under the Learn tab at the top menu; slide down to Teachers Tools, and scroll down the page until your find the resources menu on the left. Besure to check out the Digital Resources!
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tag(s): colonial america (95), pilgrims (12), thanksgiving (24)

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

This resource contains great review information, test questions, and other materials for several content areas. The materials included for review are a great way to identify the basic material needed for the understanding of Chemistry, Physics, Geometry, Algebra, U.S. and Global History, Earth Science, and the Living Environment.

tag(s): test prep (69)

This blog was created and is maintained by Dickinson College (in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, just north of Gettysburg and the Mason-Dixon Line) for those teaching about the American Civil War era. The site is indexed by theme and category, making it easy to search for information and resources related to topics from slavery to science and technology to religion. Not limited to information about battles, soldiers or generals, the site offers commentary about the culture and social issues of the mid-nineteenth century. There are links to other resources and projects maintained by Dickinson College and others.

tag(s): 1800s (75), civil war (139)

This site, created by the Kennedy Center, offers a wealth of interactive lesson plans for grades K-12 dealing with a variety of topics, all with an "arts" spin. Search by subject, keyword, or grade level (K-4, 5-8, or 9-12). Some examples of topics include Native Americans, Civil War, Shakespeare, myths, melodrama, adjectives, monsters, baseball, and countless others! Be sure to check out the category "Our Best Resources Organized by Subject." After that click on the the top menu for Education and get even more resources. There are many interactive lessons: some with video, audio, or slideshows. The lessons provide an estimate of time required and complete, step-by-step instructions. There are printables included with some of the lessons.
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tag(s): african american (115), baseball (32), civil war (139), comics and cartoons (55), dance (31), folktales (34), greece (47), habitats (92), immigration (68), literature (221), mexico (37), musical instruments (52), myths and legends (37), native americans (108), painting (54), surrealism (2)

This is a site that contains numerous links to lessons and websites on various social studies and world history subjects. There are numerous subjects: Ancient History, American History and American Government, World History, Geography, and others. For each subject there is a For Teachers with lesson plans, links, quizzes, and more.
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tag(s): 1920s (15), africa (148), archeology (28), china (81), civil rights (209), civil war (139), colonial america (95), egypt (56), great depression (30), greece (47), holidays (187), immigration (68), india (32), industrial revolution (22), japan (56), mayans (23), mesopotamia (32), native americans (108), psychology (65), religions (95), renaissance (38), resources (83), rome (37), slavery (79), westward expansion (39)

At this site you will learn about festivals in South America and create charts and essays based on the research. There is a lesson plan complete with discussion questions, links (one of which was not working at the time of this review), vocabulary WITH audio, and more. Classes with international students can draw on them for knowledge and cultural object contribution. A video is available for purchase to add to information about South America, but the lesson plan suggestions will work without it.
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tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), portuguese (22), south america (47), spanish (109)

Find out what happened on any date in history with this informative site. Each event is listed with a short description. Historic events are listed chronologically from oldest to current times. (Some dates are several pages long, be sure to click the "read more" link to continue to newer dates.) Information includes birthdays, discoveries, events, and more. Searches by specific years, months, and famous birthdays. You are able to add events and comments. Note that the general public can also add comments, so preview before projecting in class!
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tag(s): calendars (37), timelines (56)

A comprehensive guide developed by the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Appropriate for teachers/media specialists/librarians - This is an excellent resource guide for any teacher/ librarian planning a unit of folklife. It is a copy of a publication available free from the Library of Congress. There is a wealth of information and addresses for planning purposes. State Folklife Centers are also included in the list of addresses.

tag(s): communities (35)

Suitable for Halloween, Valentine's, or any chocolate-covered holiday, All About Chocolate offers basics about how chocolate is made and an excellent collection of lessons in the "Educator's Resources" area (click at the right). Lessons delve into the South American cultures and environments in which the cacao bean grows. Students can explore chocolate's impact on the economies and environment of these countries, and can also examine chocolate's ancient cultural connections. Sweet!

tag(s): chocolate (4), halloween (32), south america (47)

At this site you will find a wealth of material about the culture of Spanish America. This includes color images, short videos, an interactive timeline, essays (Library), and a glossary. The Spanish American culture thrived from the 16th century to the early 19th century, and ran from California to Chile. This site can be viewed in English or Spanish. There are DVDs offered with primary documents, more images, etc., but these are not free. This review is for the free internet site only.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (180), explorers (64), hispanic (36), resources (83), spanish (109)

Cool Earth is an organization that works to protect the Rainforest from deforestation and prevent climate change. The site is a valuable resource for information about the Rainforest. There is a variety of ways for schools to participate. The site contains valuable information useful for research projects, short videos, galleries full of rainforest imagery, submit questions, and read blog entries written by visitors currently in the Amazon. Cool Earth also explains ways to cut carbon emissions. Scroll to the bottom menu to Learning and Resources to find activities for your classroom. Be aware: this site also includes some items for sale. You may want to advise students to steer clear of these links.

tag(s): carbon (17), climate (84), ecology (103), environment (252), sustainability (50)

The Anne Frank House has been a museum since 1960. The history of the former hiding place where the Frank family and four other Jews lived in secrecy comes alive on this website. Starting with 1940 photographs of the building known as Opekta factory, see and learn how the office space was transformed into the Secret Annex where Anne Frank hid for more than two years until the betrayal and arrest by the Nazis. Find out about the four employees who risked their lives to make the hiding possible. The rooms of the Secret Annex have been preserved in their authentic state and salvaged documents and objects belonging to the eight people in hiding are on display. Three short films are included on the website to place the significance of this personal story in a historical context. See Anne Frank's hiding place in 3D and meet the people that helped those hidden inside. After clicking on the secret bookcase, you will be taken behind the scenes of the house to see how Anne and others lived in the communal room, the front office, the attic and more. View the painstaking ways that were taken to keep them safe, and by looking at the space where Anne ate, slept, and hung her pictures.

tag(s): anne frank (10), holocaust (42), remembrance day (5), women (151), world war 2 (161)

Take a journey through the life of Frank Sadoras. This site has a wonderful collection of photographs and biographical documents that chronicles Frank's life growing up on a farm in Illinois from 1898-1912. By using this site, you and your students will get a view of what life was like growing up on a farm as well as the photographic techniques Frank used to take his photos.

tag(s): agriculture (49), genealogy (8), photography (130), primary sources (117)

This Cinco de Mayo site offers a small but nice collection of recipes, games, activities, language exercises, and crafts to incorporate into a class celebration. At the time of this review, one of the interactive games was not working. There are also links to more information (several of which are out of date). However, the links that are active, offer lots of detailed information. Be aware: this site does include unobtrusive advertisements.

tag(s): cinco de mayo (10), mexico (37)

This site offers a quick 5-question quiz. Test your students' knowledge of Cinco de Mayo with this quiz. Be aware: there are LARGE advertisements at this site (all appropriate, but a bit distracting).

tag(s): cinco de mayo (10), mexico (37)

This site offers great detailed information about Cinco de Mayo. Highlights include "When is Cinco de Mayo?," "What is Cinco de Mayo Celebrated About?,"Why is Cinco de Mayo Celebrated on a Much Larger Scale in the United States?," and many other links and printables. Be aware: this site has not been kept up to date and many of the "extra" links are no longer working, however the information is still useful.

tag(s): cinco de mayo (10), mexico (37)