Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This site is part of a thirteen-part series of lessons demonstrating how to use Google search to find historical digital publications and scanned newspapers. The short step-by-step instructions include pictures showing how to search the archives for news articles from 1995 and search terms for finding scanned newspaper articles before 1995. This lesson is available online or as a PDF document.

tag(s): journalism (74), primary sources (117), search engines (48), timelines (56)

This 21-minute virtual field trip via video is a wonderful visual and audio way for students to learn about Veterans Day history and why men and women serve--starting with Armistice Day and celebrating the end of World War I and how Armistice Day turned into Veterans Day. There is an explanation of the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day. The video introduces several Veterans, explaining why they served and other reasons for serving in the military. There are also resources for teachers, parents, and students in grades 3 through 8.

tag(s): holidays (187), veterans (27)

Class Companion offers the power of AI (artificial intelligence) to provide assignments and feedback for written tasks. Import assignments using any of three methods - import a project from your device's documents using copy and paste, create a task from scratch, or use an assignment from Class Companion's library. Choose from the essay or short response format. Class Companion analyzes the text and allows teachers to customize options before assigning them to students; options include a selection of rubrics, questions about the piece, and the number of attempts students have to submit a correct response. Students access Class Companion by the provided link shared from your account. As students complete the activities, Class Companion provides feedback on their responses.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (177), assessment (147), differentiation (84), feedback (12), writing (325)

Find an abundance of games and learning activities for kids and teens at this engaging site from the experts that The Smithsonian Institution provides. Scroll through the homepage to find activities divided into several categories, including Art, History, and Culture activities and collections, Science and Nature, Art, History activities and collections, and an Art Meets Science collection. Activities include webcams, interactive ebooks, and simulations. Many of the included materials are in Spanish; some activities require downloading from the AppStore from Google Play.

tag(s): alphabet (53), animals (294), colors (63), countries (73), egypt (56), folktales (34), habitats (92), insects (68), inventors and inventions (80), light (56), makerspace (40), museums (52), musical instruments (52), nutrition (140), oceans (149), plants (146), puzzles (149), seasonal (16), space (222), stars (71), STEM (297), summer (28), water (102), weather (160), webcams (19), women (151)

HistoryMaps provides an extensive collection of historical maps that span a wide range of periods and geographic locations, from ancient civilizations to modern-day nations. Easily navigate and search for specific maps based on various criteria, such as region, period, and theme. The maps are also presented in high resolution, allowing for a detailed examination of each map's cartographic features and historical context. HistoryMaps also provides valuable educational resources, including articles on the history of cartography and tutorials on how to read and interpret historical maps. These resources are a great way to deepen one's understanding of maps' role in shaping history. In addition, information is available in several languages, including Spanish, French, Portuguese, and more.

tag(s): american revolution (82), china (81), civil war (139), explorers (64), japan (56), maps (220), medieval (32), religions (95), russia (36), south america (47), timelines (56), vietnam (38), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

Felt is a free map creator that makes it easy for anyone to create and work with maps. Under the Use Cases tab on the top right, you'll find Education with ideas for teaching with Felt. Easily share your maps with others by sharing a link or embedding them in another tool. Felt's simple toolbar makes it easy to map data or routes and add notes, links, or images. Pinning locations, adding notes, coloring specific areas, clipping out any location to emphasize, and adding layers to your maps allows you to map just about anything you could imagine! You must be at least thirteen years old to create a free account to create maps. This site is currently in a public beta version.

tag(s): map skills (63), maps (220)

At this site, you will find an explanation about Dia de los Muertos - a time of honoring friends and family who have passed and when the holiday occurs. In addition, there are some examples of how it is celebrated and various ideas and examples of activities to help introduce your students to Dia de los Muertos; these include poetry, kite making, classroom displays, a booklist, altars (Ofrenda), banners, a two-minute video clip, and several others. Many of the activities have downloads, but they are not free. This review is for the free parts of this site. Reminder: due to the sensitive nature of this topic, it is best to inform parents and guardians that you will be teaching about this holiday. The video clip resides on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube it may not be viewable in your classroom.

tag(s): aztecs (9), crafts (64), cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (180), fall (10), fall festival (6), hispanic (36), holidays (187), mexico (37)

Georgia Virtual Learning is the online education headquarters for the Georgia Department of Education and offers over 100 virtual courses for middle and high school students. Choose from studies in all core content areas and the fine arts and world languages. An additional option features courses in CTAE/Electives. These offerings include classes in finance, computer science, fitness, and more. After selecting a course to view, use the module to proceed through the contents. Each module includes an introduction featuring essential questions and interactive content and concludes with final assessments and a module test.

tag(s): art history (102), body systems (40), business (52), chinese (45), drawing (61), environment (252), financial literacy (93), french (75), geology (62), japanese (47), latin (23), literature (221), music theory (46), myths and legends (37), narrative (16), novels (34), nutrition (140), oceans (149), OER (43), photography (130), plagiarism (34), poetry (193), psychology (65), robotics (24), romeo & juliet (7), short stories (18), sociology (23), space (222), spanish (109), STEM (297), writers workshop (31)

Open-Ended Social Studies is an Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook designed to foster critical and historical thinking skills through interactive content. Find resources related to the United States and World History in many ways: browse lessons by concept, country, films, travel writing, or search the library of lessons by keyword. The lessons are designed to be used by students and include many hyperlinks, images, and videos that support the included content. In addition to the teaching materials, this site contains a beneficial blog with content that supports the site's philosophy, which is to teach students through a broader world lens.

tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), 1800s (75), 20th century (62), american revolution (82), civil war (139), colonial america (95), colonization (21), gettysburg (15), gettysburg address (12), native americans (108), OER (43), washington (28), westward expansion (39)

The World History Encyclopedia takes encyclopedias to the next level through the addition of media, timelines, teaching materials, and much more. Use the keyword search to find specific information or select the index to find content in alphabetical order or by region or date. Explore interactive maps of prehistoric sites, the Roman Empire, and more. This encyclopedia also shares many downloadable lessons and curated collections. Finally, don't forget to visit the media library to find images, videos, 3D images, and audio recordings.

tag(s): china (81), climate change (99), colonial america (95), egypt (56), explorers (64), greeks (46), japan (56), maps (220), medieval (32), primary sources (117), religions (95), romans (52), slavery (79), vikings (10), women (151)

WisdomMaps uses the power of MindMeister, reviewed here, to provide a collection of over 50 interactive learning map sets. Select any map from the list to open and explore concepts and information related to the activity. Key to the concept of WisdomMaps is the ability for you to view information through exploration of the different ideas and concepts offered. Topics include history and ethical topics from around the world and across different times.

tag(s): american revolution (82), asia (116), central america (20), ethics (21), greece (47), industrial revolution (22), north america (15), religions (95), renaissance (38), romans (52), south america (47)

Studying art to understand history provides a means for understanding the past through visual representations. The Digital History Group shares this list of lessons and assessments that use art to teach about a wide range of world and United States history topics. After creating a free account, select any of the provided links to access downloadable lesson materials and activities. The lessons include teacher and student materials; assessments include a printable assessment, rubric, and links to necessary primary documents.

tag(s): american revolution (82), art history (102), artists (84), assessment (147), china (81), civil rights (209), civil war (139), colonial america (95), comics and cartoons (55), declaration of independence (16), egypt (56), france (41), japan (56), mayans (23), mexico (37), native americans (108), nazis (8), thanksgiving (24), womens suffrage (52)

The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes celebrates the untold stories of heroes worldwide and throughout history by sharing student-created project-based learning activities. First, browse through the shared projects page to find stories about lesser-known heroes of civil rights, wars, or STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). Then, open any project to learn about the featured unsung hero and the storytellers that created the project. In addition to the completed projects, this site shares a project-based learning tool that provides a ten-step tutorial for creating and sharing student projects.

tag(s): american revolution (82), civil rights (209), civil war (139), heroes (24), Project Based Learning (23), STEM (297), vietnam (38), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)