Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

See an amazingly detailed map of the vegetation found on the Earth. Data for the interactive is collected by a satellite every week so the image is up to date. Use tools to rotate or zoom in/out. Allow a few second for the zoomed in view to fully load and for the image to get "sharp."

tag(s): forests (30), plants (146), producers (6)

Choose from almost 300 courses to take for free at Saylor. Topics range from general education to computer science and professional development. There is a K-12 area that includes Common Core information (for teachers or parents), test prep, and English lessons. Explore a specific area of study to find courses or choose the course list to view all offerings. Some courses include a full textbook and/or a full set of video lectures and are listed on the content matrix. Each course lists learning outcomes, course requirements, and a course overview. Create your own eportfolio to enroll in courses, track progress, download transcripts, and engage with the online community. Pass the final exam of each course to receive a certificate of completion.

tag(s): professional development (385)

The World Digital Library makes it possible to discover, study, and enjoy digitized cultural treasures from around the world. Resources include manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, and architectural drawings. Browse by place, time, topic, type of item, and contributing institution, or use the open-ended search available in many languages. Information included with items includes a description, place of event or item, date, location of the item, and tags for viewing items similar in nature or topic. Move the timeline to view items for specific time periods.

tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), 1800s (75), 1900s (72), 20th century (62), africa (148), asia (116), australia (28), china (81), cross cultural understanding (173), europe (84), images (263), north america (15), south america (47)

Deep Space Sparkle is an out of this world site that provides art lesson plans, student examples, tutorials, tips, and techniques. Are you looking to become art smart? Are your students craving creativity? These ideas are classroom tested and teacher approved. Perfect for art or classroom teachers in grades K-6, this site was developed by an elementary art teacher. Lesson plans are organized by subject, grade, and techniques. Use the search box to find specific lessons. Visit the "Art Basics" section to build your background or review art vocabulary found in the lessons. Go "Inside the Art Room" for information on classroom management, organization, supplies, and how-to videos. The posts are detailed and provide insight with authentic classroom experiences. Don't forget to dig through the "Scrap Box" section of the site for more great art information! Blog posts, book reviews, and art shows are just a few of the items located in the "Scrap Box" section. At the time of this review, there were also a few Common Core and the Arts blog posts. Deep Space Sparkle is free, but offers eBooks and eCourses for purchase. This review was for the FREE portion only. Don't forget to subscribe to the Deep Space Sparkle mailing list to receive updates.
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tag(s): architecture (75), art history (102), artists (84), design (79)

As school district budgets continue to be cut, field trips are more and more difficult. Enter the online panoramic virtual tour. The Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History can now be "visited" using a computer or a handheld device like a smart phone or tablet. Choose to tour several featured areas such as Permanent Exhibits, Current Exhibits, Past Exhibits, Narrated Tours, and a couple of others. Click on a featured exhibit and view a map of the exhibit area. Hover over one of the hotspots to see what is included in that exhibit. Choose to view the Hope Diamond, for example, and access panoramic views of the artifact or the exhibit hall. Follow the arrows to travel through the museum. Maybe a virtual tour of a museum isn't quite as good as the real thing, but you won't have to deal with crowds, noise, and that really tall person who always seems to be standing between you and the exhibit you want to see. Click the Education tab at the top, to find Teaching Resources with 300 options, that includes activities, videos, and science literacy resources for Grades K to 12.

tag(s): museums (52), natural resources (37), virtual field trips (128)

3D Toad offers many images for viewing items in both 3D and 360 degree rotation. The site offers an assortment of categories such as Dissections, Human and Animal Skeletons, Fossils, and an extensive listing of Chemicals. There are also categories not typically associated with a "toad" such as: Yoga, Music, Dental Hygiene, History, Ballet Positions, Computer Networking, Emergency Preparedness, and more! The History link is interesting and includes American 1700-1800 and American Civil War: both packed with artifacts. Choose any image then drag your mouse to view or zoom in and out as desired.
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tag(s): 1700s (36), body systems (40), chemicals (39), civil war (139), coral (11), dance (31), dissection (6), elements (33), fossils (41), rocks (35)

At CommonCore Sheets, find downloadable worksheets correlated to the Common Core curriculum and customizable activities. Choose from worksheets in every subject, including foreign languages. Registration isn't required to select and use worksheets; however, creating an account provides access to the Teacher Panel. Use the Teacher Panel to save sheets, create classes and assignments, monitor grades, and add distance learning assignments.
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tag(s): charts and graphs (171), decimals (85), fractions (160), measurement (122), money (113), negative numbers (13), operations (72), order of operations (29), parts of speech (39), primary sources (117), probability (99), sentences (22), time (91), timelines (56), variables (14)

Journey back 65 million years to discover and learn all about dinosaurs and their time on earth. Choose a section to explore from links provided: Dinos A to Z, Giants of the Jurrasic, Dino Comic and others. Above these categories click Educators in the upper right corner where you'll find lessons for grades K-8 and In-depth Units of Study, not only about dinosaurs, but Pirates, the Circus, Greece, The Health House, Dinosphere (in different grade ranges), Native Americans and the Natural World, Anne Frank, and many others. Be sure to check out the Blog. There is a menu on the left with many topics including dinosaurs.

tag(s): dinosaurs (43), fossils (41)

Listen to famous speeches by influential leaders of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Choose from the list of leaders including Winston Churchill, Richard Nixon, and Martin Luther King, Jr, and many others. View a short biography and background along with links to a famous speech (or speeches) given by that person. Some speeches are audio only, others are YouTube videos. If your district blocks YouTube, videos may not be viewable.
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tag(s): churchill (8), declaration of independence (16), inauguration (10), kennedy (20), martin luther king (45), persuasive writing (58), presidents (135), roosevelt (15)

The Digital Public Library of America is a central portal pulling together the collections of US libraries, archives and museums. These individual collections are available in a single large database. The DPLA does not actually have any collection of its own; rather it provides direct links to individual artifacts that reside in other collections across the US. Artifacts include text, images, video clips, and more. You can search the DPLA using a timeline, using a map, or using a more traditional search box. The timeline feature makes accessing topics such as "civil rights" by decade very helpful. Creating a free account allows you to save searches. The DPLA also "collects" groups of artifacts into exhibitions.

tag(s): 1910s (6), 1920s (15), 1930s (20), 1940s (14), 1950s (8), 1960s (26), 1970s (10), 1980s (7), 20th century (62), data (151), museums (52), primary sources (117), Research (87)

What was life like for a teenager in ancient Rome? Watch the clever portrayal of the life of Lucius Popidius Secundus, a seventeen-year-old living in Rome in 73 AD. Packed full of information about life in ancient Rome, it is hard to believe this video is just short of seven minutes long. Along with the video is a feature called Dig Deeper where you will find explanations and links to more detailed information about ancient Rome. The video is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then it may not be viewable.

tag(s): romans (52), rome (37), video (266)

Be inspired to love American History! Development citizenship and awareness by using this ten-part curriculum of short stories, speeches, and songs. The curriculum consists of three categories. The Meaning of America explores the American character and identity through the "close reading" of classical short stories such as "To Build a Fire" and "Man Without a Country." The American Calendar examines the purpose of the American holiday, proposing the celebrations help to unite us and attach us to our country. Songs for Free Men and Women scrutinizes national songs for meaning and how they emotionally attach us to our nation. All of this curriculum is inquiry based. It also offers suggested discussion questions, study guides, author biographies, and video discussions to model how higher-level-thinking conversations about each text should sound. What So Proudly We Hail uses primary texts, has rigor, is inquiry based, and has many essay topics and writing prompts aligned to the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies. A few of the blog entries include helpful information about the Common Core standards.
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tag(s): democracy (24), guided reading (33), holidays (187), literacy (121), literature (221)

Use this colorful map to locate and read newspapers from around the world. Click on map pins to locate newspapers or search using filters such as languages. Use the key to locate newspapers in each language. Yellow pins indicate English language newspapers, Spanish pink, etc. Don't worry if newspapers are not in a language you need. Choose the links provided to translate into one of many options. When ready, click on a pin to go to the newspaper's home website.

tag(s): arabic (13), cross cultural understanding (173), french (75), german (49), japanese (47), media literacy (109), newspapers (93), portuguese (22), russian (26), spanish (109)

ESL Discussions is a resource of over 600 discussion questions. They could be used in ESL/ELL lessons, speaking practice, debate clubs, and as needed for any speaking activities. Categorized alphabetically, topics include everyday themes such as donuts as well as more controversial topics such as marijuana. Teachers working with K-12 students will want to select the questions rather than sending students to the site since there are also some very sensitive topics. Choose a topic to view two sets of questions to spark conversations: one for student A and another for student B. Choose the link to print questions in either Word or PDF. Although this site has a lot of advertisements, there are some very interesting topics to discuss/share.
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tag(s): debate (42), speaking (26)

Stick Figure Hamlet brings comic visuals and imagery to this classic work of Shakespeare. Each act and scene is represented. Simply start at the beginning to view all cartoons or choose any act or scene desired. This site is sure to motivate and interest even the most reluctant reader!

tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), hamlet (8), literature (221), shakespeare (99)

If it Were My Home compares living conditions of one country to those of another. Allow the site to use your location when accessing the home page. This allows a comparison from your location to others places around the globe. Select a region on the globe to compare. Choose from countries included in that region. View a map comparison. See statistics and comparisons such as oil consumption, economic statistics, and birth rates. Expand comparisons by clicking on the arrow. Scroll down the page to view more information and suggested reading materials about your chosen country. Share comparisons using social media buttons located below the map or email using the link provided.
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tag(s): africa (148), asia (116), australia (28), canada (24), cross cultural understanding (173), diseases (66), europe (84), globe (12), hiv/aids (15), south america (47), statistics (121)

The 360Cities panoramas are a new way to showcase places, businesses, and events from around the world. Looking for a new virtual field trip? 360Cities will have your students spinning in circles with excitement. The pictures are out of this world! View 360 degree panoramic pictures from Mars or under the sea. Travel to snowy mountain tops and many more of the Internet's largest collection of uploaded panoramic images. 360Cities panoramic aerial shots are also available as well as navigable views of cities, natural landscapes, and more. The most popular panoramic pictures are listed for your convenience. This website has panoramic views of all Seven Wonders of the World, which include the Colosseum in Rome, The Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, The Taj Mahal in India, Machu Picchu in Peru, Christ Redeemer in Rio, and Chichen Itza in Mexico. Are you looking for a site to showcase your own panoramic shots or do you want to learn how to take panoramic shots? 360Cities "how to" section offers tools to create and upload your own panoramic pictures. View the existing pictures for free or use an email address to create a free account to upload your own panoramic pictures. Paid upgrades are available. 360Cities also has an app for iOS devices. View the 360Cities blog linked on the site for more information.
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tag(s): images (263), landforms (39), landmarks (22), virtual field trips (128)

Discover American History lessons correlated to Common Core reading and social studies literacy standards, especially those that require close reading and evidence. The goal of these lessons is to use primary resources, background information, and the analytical strategies suggested to meet the Common Core standards. In addition to these outstanding American History lessons, also find free online seminars and secondary sources. The secondary sources, under TeacherServe, include essays on topics in American literature and history.

tag(s): abolition (7), american revolution (82), civil war (139), colonial america (95), colonization (21), democracy (24), native americans (108), primary sources (117), religions (95), slavery (79), women (151)

Join lyrical rhyming adventures of history in poetry! Find poems summarizing famous people or periods from history. Explore the topics in the left sidebar: Ancient History, Middle Ages, British History, American History, Myths & Legends, and Pirates. The American History poems include: The California Gold Rush, The Statue of Liberty, The Moon Landing, The Voyage of the Mayflower, The Boston Tea Party, and a few others. Each poem includes additional facts about the event or people, along with drawings submitted by students. You will also find coloring pages, interviews, jokes, and more. Be aware: this site does include a lot of advertisements. At the time of this review, all advertisements were completely "kid-appropriate." However, it may be wise to advise students not to click on any of the links/pictures.
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tag(s): boston (10), california (17), dinosaurs (43), england (50), gold rush (15), greece (47), landmarks (22), myths and legends (37), olympics (45), romans (52), vikings (10)

Explore this useful catalog of all free e-books available for Kindles through Amazon. It is quite extensive with many categories: Advice & How-to, Biographies & Memoirs, Business & Investing, Children's eBooks, Fantasy, History, Literary Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers, Politics & Current Events, Reference, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Science Fiction, Sports, Teens, Travel, and many others. At the time of this review, there were over 69,000 free eBooks listed on the site.

tag(s): book lists (167), independent reading (81)