Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Five Myths takes on everyday subjects and challenges widely held beliefs every time. For example, are panda bears really cuddly and gentle? Has technology really changed how we fight wildfires? Each short article is written by a content expert and explores little-known facts to debunk commonly held beliefs.

tag(s): journalism (74), myths and legends (37)

The Great Human Odyssey is a powerful journey into the lives of three different cultures and the lives of nomads. Explore the sea, desert, and tundra as you become the nomad and view life from a first person perspective. Along the way click on icons as they pop-up to provide additional information through videos and photographs.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), deserts (16), oceans (149), tundra (14)

Discover what is trending on Google with the interactive Global Trend Map. Use the drop down box on the right to choose a country and change the visual appearance of the map if desired. The top Google searches for that country appear in a list with the top trend written across the chosen country. Click the Translate button to translate into English. Get the embed code to share this on your website or blog.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), maps (220), news (228)

This engaging YouTube channel offers an excellent variety of videos for AP U.S. and European History and AP Government. Additional offerings include review sessions about South Carolina history. Each video explains different topics in history through lecture. Videos range in length from one minute to over an hour. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
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tag(s): 1700s (36), 1800s (75), 1900s (72), advanced placement (26), american revolution (82), black history (133), colonial america (95), england (50), france (41), germany (28), greece (47), greeks (46), industrial revolution (22), jefferson (19), romans (52), rome (37), russia (36), spain (13), video (266), washington (28), world war 1 (77)

U.S. History for AP Students offers a large choice of resources preparing for History AP exams. Choose from documents, note cards, textbook outlines, president fact sheets, and test taking tips. Use the search bar to find keywords in note cards or browse through cards using provided chronological links. This content will always remain relevant, no matter when the last update to this tool was.

tag(s): advanced placement (26), test prep (69)

Discover how the five major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have spread over the world. Follow this interactive timeline video that highlights the areas of the globe where the religion started, as well as the spread of each religion.
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tag(s): explorers (64), religions (95)

Understand battle tactics from the stone age through modern times with hands-on gameplay with Junior General. Use printables from the site to create paper troops, and then choose from different rules and scenarios to recreate a battle. Be sure to take advantage of the many articles offering tips and advice for using and modifying resources found on the site.

tag(s): battles (18), korea (21), vietnam (38), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

While the US Gulf War may seem more a current event than history, the conflict is now more than 30 years in the past. Public Broadcasting's Frontline presents an overview of the Persian Gulf crisis in 1990, including oral histories, maps, a timeline, and descriptions of the weapons and technology used by US and Allied forces. The site, first launched in 1996, now offers some fresh perspectives in light of current events. At this time the audio is not working, but there are transcripts.
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tag(s): 20th century (62), middle east (50), terrorism (41)

Global Post is a digital news site covering world events. It was the home-base of reporter James Foley who was held prisoner for almost two years by the Islamic State in Syria. Scroll through the home page to find breaking news, latest articles, and editor's picks. Find specific topics and trending news using the menu bar on the site. Preview topics before sharing with students.
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tag(s): journalism (74), newspapers (93)

Bring the world to your classroom with this excellent list of virtual field trips. At the time of this review, there were nearly 40 field trips available! Take a trip to the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, or Rome. Choose any of the titles to visit the home site for the virtual field trip. Some of the titles have several virtual tours listed, i.e. 7 Wonders Panorama. Share any link via social media, email, or by using the code to embed in a website or blog.

tag(s): africa (148), cultures (180), museums (52), rome (37), virtual field trips (128), white house (16)

Come to the Media History Digital Library to find digitized classic media periodicals available from the public domain. All of the collections pertain to the cinema, broadcasting, and sound. Periodicals such as Business Screen, Pictures and Story Magazine, Motion Picture Classics, and Radio Age have at least a five-year spread of content. Over 100 other periodicals are featured. When selecting a periodical, you may choose to read, download, or go directly to the site. Join the blog to discover recent additions, scholarship opportunities, events, and more.

tag(s): art history (102), media literacy (109), multimedia (53)

You are the reporter on Grasswire, a collaborative Internet newsroom! Scroll through to read the most current, most popular stories, or view recent submissions on the right-hand side of the screen. Create an account and sign in to submit your own stories, comment on articles, or up-vote newsworthy items. Since these are user-submitted, take caution in allowing students to explore on their own. Some grammatical errors were noted in a few of the articles. Challenge your students to be the editors and see if they can find any errors.

tag(s): journalism (74), news (228), newspapers (93)

Wimp offers a wide variety of videos with family-friendly content. Browse through the site using a keyword search or choose categories such as popular, life, culture, learning, and more. Choose a video to read a short description and view. Videos are imported from many different locations such as Vimeo, YouTube, and individual websites. Also, view Wimp on your mobile device by clicking on their link that is optimized for mobiles. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable. Although the content is family-friendly, this site contains comments that aren't monitored. If sharing with students, go to the direct link provided with each video for viewing without some of the distractions (and possibly inappropriate comments).
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tag(s): animals (294), musical instruments (52), video (266)

Just the facts and lots of them! The World Bank offers an extensive array of data about the countries of the world. Sort either by country (from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe) or by topic (agriculture to urban development). 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 download data in several formats.

tag(s): agriculture (49), atlas (5), climate change (99), data (151), energy (133), environment (252), infographics (56), map skills (63), maps (220), natural resources (37), resources (83), united nations (6)

Find an answer to your question or great question starters for any conversation here with this free tool! Featured under the Resource tab, you can access articles, books, case studies, lesson plans, Kahoot, videos, downloads, and events. The site caters to students in preschool through grade 12. When signing up for free, you gain access to more content on the site.

tag(s): animals (294), climate change (99), immigration (68), musical instruments (52), racism (79), timelines (56)

There are plenty of simulation interactives for major life events such as pandemics, but what happens in everyday life? NationStates brings to life daily decisions. This multiplayer online interactive features you as the head of your nation to create and shape how you see fit. To get started, create your nation by giving it a name. Customize various aspects, such as the flag, history, and national animal. Then get into the heart of your nation: political, social, and economic issues. These choices determine the initial status of your nation. As you play, these problems will change with your choices. Every day an issue is presented and the choices you make affect the outcome of your nation. Your choices become the national law in your nation. Warning: There is one problem a day, but you can change that to two in your account settings. As you play, various aspects of your nation change and the type of government shifts (maybe even including anarchy). Choose to stay an independent nation or join others to create a region. Participate in the World Assembly (the pretend U.N.). View debates in the forum that actually touch on current events in the game and in real life. One thing to note: If you are not attentive to the issues that come up each day, the game ends quickly. The good news is that it takes very little time to view the issue, act, and see the result. Note: This interactive is loosely based on the novel Jennifer Government by Max Barry.
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tag(s): foreign policy (13), money (113), politics (118), sociology (23)

Looking for videos and resources that peer into Global Issues? Start with this resource! Click the Video Bank to view resources by themes: conflict, power, human rights, social structures, migrations, economic systems, factors of production, or political systems. Also, view the video bank by location in the world. Videos in each theme are up to several minutes in length and are clips of larger videos. Click on the video of choice, to view the video on a larger screen, see the guiding questions, read the background essay and transcript, and find related links. Text can easily be printed using the print function along the bottom. Videos are easily downloaded, with directions for both PC and Mac users. View the country and region map along the left side along with the accompanying lesson plan. Additionally, click on Lesson Plans instead to display the following for each global issue: overview, learning objectives and standards, media components (with links), and materials. Be sure to note the Prep for Teachers along the bottom of each lesson plan.
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tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (180), maps (220)

What is a .kmz file and how do you make one? A .kmz file, when opened, launches Google Earth and the files needed to view specific portions of the globe, map overlays, and other information. There are several ways to create a .kmz file to share with others for specific content to be learned. Thematic Mapping Engine provides you with a very simple way to create Google Earth .kmz files. This tool uses data from the United Nations to create maps of all types of development and environmental data. Follow the instructions in the yellow box along the right side of this tool. Select a statistical indicator category from the dropdown (for example, Life expectancy or population). Then, select a year or range of years, and the manner in which they would like the data displayed in Google Earth. Preview and download the .kmz file. Share this file on your blog, wiki, or web page. Click on and then download the file. Once the file is opened, Google Earth then opens and the data is seen within Google Earth. Note: Google Earth must be installed on student computers. Check with your technology department about the availability of Google Earth in your schools. See more information about Google Earth, reviewed here.

tag(s): climate change (99), diseases (66), earth (184), landmarks (22), news (228), population (51)

edX offers access to many of the best courses offered at top learning institutions - for FREE! Institutions include MIT, Harvard, and Berkley. Classes are available to complete for a Certificate of Achievement or as an audit. Choose from courses with topics in many areas including computers, literature, and humanities. Each course listing offers a short description of the course, details about the university offering the course, estimated time involved, course staff, and available options for taking the course. Start any course at any time. Take the edX Demo course to get a good idea of how courses work and find out about the online learning experience.

tag(s): aeronautics (11), architecture (75), artificial intelligence (177), china (81), circuits (20), civil rights (209), computers (109), electricity (61), engineering (129), environment (252), evolution (89), folktales (34), greeks (46), magnetism (36), medicine (57), nutrition (140), poetry (193), psychology (65), religions (95), shakespeare (99), solar energy (34), speech (69), statistics (121), terrorism (41)

This impressive infographic shows information about Viking or Nordic Mythology. Find short explanations for Yggdrasil, Asgard, Vallaha, Odin, Thor, Freyr, Frigg, Loki, Midgard, Valkyries, and Hel. Click on the infographic to make it smaller or larger.

tag(s): myths and legends (37), vikings (10)