Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Create interactive games, books, and presentations with TinyTap. Choose the Activities link to access resources made by teachers. Sort by category, age, and language. TinyTap allows creators to include drag and drop activities, videos, quizzes, and more - all in one activity. Create groups to assign activities to different students. Most games are free; however, some games by professional authors are not free. Play games and activities on any device; however, creation of games requires you to download the free iPad app. At the time of this review, TinyTap worked well on most browsers (except Safari). The free version is public and comments are permitted. Be sure to preview anything before you share with students.

tag(s): assessment (146), DAT device agnostic tool (146), game based learning (206), quiz (66), quizzes (90), Teacher Utilities (203)

The U.S. is a leader in robotics technology development! Join the yearly celebration by participating in some of the events and activities found at this National Robotics Week site. Use the activities on this site to inspire students to pursue careers in robotics and other STEM-related fields. Download robot trading cards featuring 10 of the most famous robots. Cards include their stats, coaches, and fun facts. Read about the Instuctables contest where you can enter to share your robot projects with the world and even win some cool prizes. Clicking on Bleaker the Rechargeable Dog will take you to comics that include robots. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find a map showing events by state. Once you get the map, scroll down the page and find the Filter Events By State and a list of all events.

tag(s): engineering (137), robotics (26), STEM (304)

Spice up any countdown with this versatile, yet easy to use, countdown timer from Classtools. Options include running multiple timers, adding music or video, and saving a web link to your timer. Choose the Get Started button to begin and follow prompts to choose included music or select your own from any YouTube video. Click the save icon to receive a personalized URL for sharing.

tag(s): classroom management (119), counting (60), time (91)

Collaborate with up to 100 participants from anywhere and at any time with Zoom's free online video conferencing options. Features include screen sharing, scheduled or instant meeting times, and private or group chat. Up to 40 minutes of group meeting time, and unlimited 1:1 meeting time is included with the free meeting plans. Sign up using your email or social network account to begin hosting a meeting. The step by step instructions make it easy to quickly begin video conferencing at your convenience.

tag(s): chat (41), communication (130), DAT device agnostic tool (146), parent conferences (21), video (267)

The Mindset Kit is a large compilation of resources for parents and teachers for teaching and developing growth mindsets. Based on the book, Mindset, by Carol Dweek, these lessons and activities provide tools for developing positive mindsets, in turn, leading to increased academic performance. Choose the section for teachers to find seven lessons for educator teams, or take advantage of ten lessons for parents to learn about growth mindset and how to instill this in students. Other portions contain ideas for specific content areas and mentors.

tag(s): brain (56), learning styles (18), professional development (390), social and emotional learning (106)

Microsoft's OneNote, a downloadable app, keeps all notes, emails, drawings, photographs, and more organized into folders on a page in different sections of a "notebook." Drag copies of files or documents from your computer into OneNote. Share and collaborate with others. Access your OneNote account by signing in to any computer or device.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (146), Microsoft (80), organizational skills (88), Storage (6)

Promote active reading experiences using the ideas found at Great Expectations. This site is for the visually impaired, but you'll find the ideas and advice can apply to any young reader. Use songs, tactile play, and more from the lessons developed for the three children's picture books on this site. The popular books featured areThe Day the Crayons Quit, Dragons Love Tacos, and Pete the Cat- Rocking in My School Shoes, and 5 more titles with engaging activities.

tag(s): adaptations (16), preK (280), reading comprehension (149), stories and storytelling (59)

Create standards-based lessons and rubrics in minutes with ThemeSpark. Incorporate your ready-made materials or use global resources available on the site. The lesson builder includes the ability to add a hook, information to learn, practice, and application activity. When finished, download the lesson in an easy to use format. Be sure to watch the QuickStart Lesson Builder video and read through the FAQ section on the site for full information about creating lessons and using ThemeSpark. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): assessment (146), professional development (390), rubrics (36), Teacher Utilities (203)

Create a personalized sign using the many templates offered on the Sign Generator. Options include personalized cakes, cartoon characters, movie marquees, and much more. Click the thumbnail of the design you want, add your text into the provided lines, and click the link to finish. Your personalized sign appears on a popup image ready to save onto your computer.
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tag(s): graphic design (49), images (265), photography (132), posters (43)

Looking for a simple way to spark meaningful conversations and build a positive classroom culture? The ClassDojo Ideas website offers a collection of engaging, ready-to-use activities and lessons designed to support social-emotional learning, classroom community building, and student well-being. Organized into categories such as mindfulness, empathy, growth mindset, and gratitude, the content features short videos, discussion prompts, and reflection exercises that can be easily integrated into daily classroom routines. Ideal for elementary teachers, these resources encourage students to develop positive behaviors and emotional intelligence in a fun and interactive way.

tag(s): brain (56), emotions (49), empathy (36), learning styles (18), social and emotional learning (106), social skills (22)

eLearning Infographics offers an extensive selection of infographics for educational use. Choose from a variety of topics such as Playing to Learn and The Evolution of Technology in Schools. Each infographic displays a category. Click that link to view others with similar topics. Click on the infographic link to see the full image along with links for sharing on social networks and email, or copy and paste the embed code to embed directly onto your website.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): digital storytelling (155), infographics (57), professional development (390)

The Classroom Freebies Resource Library contains thousands of free materials for grades K-8. Many different kinds of resources are included such as task cards, classroom management charts, coloring sheets, worksheets, and posters. Use the search bar to find specific content or browse using links to grade level content and topics such as the End of the Year and Common Core Freebies. Follow links for directions about downloading materials.

tag(s): back to school (55), book reports (28), classroom management (119), commoncore (73), posters (43), preK (280), substitutes (25), worksheets (70)

Create beautiful visual designs with Adobe Creative Cloud Express (was Adobe Spark). First, follow prompts for creating an account, then select a creation you will work on; those include flyers, banners, posters, business cards, social graphics, advertisements, YouTube thumbnails, and a few others. The canvas where you will create has a right and left menu. Choose a template, text, photos, shapes, backgrounds, and design assets from the left menu. Next, you can select colors, animation, background, resize, or design from the right menu. When complete, share using email or with the social media links provided, or you can download.

tag(s): blogs (67), communication (130), creative writing (125), design (79), digital storytelling (155), microblogging (14), posters (43)

The Blended Learning Implementation Guide is an interactive resource for planning, implementing, and evaluating blended learning in the classroom. The guide takes you through the basics of blended learning with infographics, links to videos, and specific instructions for blended learning instructors. Other topics include suggestions on purchasing devices for use, questions to consider when lecturing, and resources for funding. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. Though some of the videos have a 404 message and some links don't work, the PDF itself still has a lot of information.

tag(s): professional development (390)

Voxer is a combination of instant voice and text messages. You can also text images and your location. Voxer will work with your headset and Bluetooth so you can be hands-free. It is available on the web and all mobile devices. Hear messages live, or listen later. Broadcast messages to an individual or group, or listen and respond to chats in Walkie-Talkie mode and not even be in the app. Voxer allows talk and text across countries, wireless carriers, or data networks at no additional charge. Registration with email is required.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): chat (41), communication (130), DAT device agnostic tool (146), listening (93), microblogging (14), multilingual (78), social media (50), speaking (26), speech (69)

Learn more about the Inuits of the Arctic Circle and their hardy, sled dogs with this video from PBS Learning Media. The video focuses on the adaptations of the dogs to the harsh climate and their ability to work together pulling heavy sleds across the snow and ice. Be sure to check out the teaching tips and correlations to National and Common Core Standards included on the site.

tag(s): alaska (22), animals (293), iditarod (4), video (267)

Iditarod Teacher on the Trail includes posts for the current Teacher on the Trail detailing their journey from selection through participation in the Iditarod. Posts include classroom lessons correlated to Common Core Standards about the Iditarod in all subject areas. Choose links to particular parts of the curriculum to view videos, classroom images, download printables, and complete lessons. This site focuses on each new teacher of the year; be sure to see archives and information from previous years' teachers.

tag(s): alaska (22), iditarod (4)

Create a simple crossword and save it online. Give your crossword a title, see an example of how to set it up, and get started. Once finished create a passcode (write it down to remember it) and click Generate. The next screen will allow you to edit, regenerate, or save. Once saved you can create a Word or PDF document or share using one of many social networks. Be sure to copy the URL and save it with your passcode. There is no registration involved.

tag(s): crosswords (19), vocabulary (241)

The Unite for Literacy Library offers many online books for young readers with audio. Browse through the home page to choose books to read from the library shelves. Narrow down your choices using picture icons for different themes such as animals or families. Select and click a book to read. Click the speaker icon to hear each page. The narration is also available in many languages, from Arabic to Vietnamese.

tag(s): audio books (27), independent reading (81), interactive stories (22), preK (280)

Organize your brain and your life with Workflowy. This tool allows you to take notes, make lists and outlines, and use hashtags to create groups of items. Import lists from other documents directly into Workflowy. Share lists with others using the share button, use options to allow them to edit if desired. Quickly create an account using email and a password to begin. Once you create an account, be sure to take advantage of the many tutorial videos demonstrating Workflowy's features. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable; be sure to look at alternatives for sharing the videos on classroom computers.

tag(s): calendars (37), organizational skills (88)