Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Find hundreds of templates and documents -- for all sorts of needs, not just education -- ready to use at Google Docs (now known as Drive). The best part, the documents are available from any computer with Internet access. This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Important note: To OPEN this link and see the templates, you must have a Google Drive account and be logged in! Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly. No need to create a new document. Simply search for the template you need and modify it to your specifications. Choose from many categories including resumes, presentations, calendars, budgets, and more. Once you find a document to use, preview to view the full document. Viewed documents will then be available under a link called "Templates I've Used." You can also "save a copy" to change it at will. This makes them easy to find in the future. Upload your own documents for use anywhere and anytime.

tag(s): classroom management (120), DAT device agnostic tool (147), organizational skills (88), rubrics (37), spreadsheets (23)

Find or upload sound clips in wav or MP3 format -- with clear information about digital rights -- at Sound Bible. Thousands of files are available for easy download. Use the search bar to locate a specific sound or browse through sound effects or royalty free sounds available on the site. Click the arrow to hear the sound clip, then click on the name to go to the download section. Choose from wav, mp3, or zip file, and click to download. Share your own sounds using the link provided along with a short description of your sound file. The sound file information includes licensing information for the sound. If you search solely in Royalty Free sounds, you are safe to use them, but follow the attribution requirements as explained on the lower portion of the "Royalty Free sounds" page.
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tag(s): listening (93), sound (72), sounds (43)

Find ready-to-go lessons and materials for 1st and 2nd grades to meet many of the Common Core standards. Many of the materials could also be useful with students in grades 3-5. Begin by choosing from topics such as Reading, Math, Classroom Management, or Seasonal. Within each topic find a list of lessons or activities. Look under Classroom Management to find a link to Common Core "I Can" printables, reading logs, and checklists for grades K-5. Choose from different subjects for each checklist along with the option of borderless design or clip art poster. Don't let the juvenile look of this site or the abundance of advertising fool you. There are a lot of wonderful resources to be found with just a little bit of searching!
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tag(s): addition (129), back to school (55), behavior (45), biographies (94), charts and graphs (171), data (151), division (98), elections (82), guided reading (33), literacy (121), magnetism (36), money (113), multiplication (122), narrative (16), organizational skills (88), plants (146), poetry (193), problem solving (233), readers theater (12), reading strategies (96), rocks (35), subtraction (110), time (91), writers workshop (31)

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)

Find and choose from 100's of online coloring pages sorted into categories at The Color. Choose from holiday categories, colors, alphabet, occupations, continents, dinosaurs, nursery rhymes, numbers, and much more. Click on an image to begin coloring. You can color online or print the page to color on paper. Share finished images via email using the link provided. Registration isn't necessary, but if you register you may save finished projects for later viewing.
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tag(s): alphabet (53), animals (294), birds (46), colors (63), continents (33), dinosaurs (43), holidays (187), numbers (120), nursery rhymes (9), planets (113), preK (270), presidents (135), space (222), transportation (30)

National Public Radio's (NPR) Backseat Book Club chose a selection every month in hopes you would read it. Past offerings range from classics like Black Beauty and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to contemporary offerings like The Red Pyramid and the Wimpy Kid series. You might also enjoy interviews of some of these authors. Type in something like "Questions for the Author" in the search bar to find a list of interviews. Certain segments of this site provide audio clips to enjoy. You can also subscribe to one of the many NPR podcasts, a great option for the BYOD classroom or your school library/media center.
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tag(s): authors (107), book lists (167), independent reading (81), literature (221), reading lists (77)

Rock out to nature with Animal Jam! Animal Jam is a virtual-world counterpart to National Geographic Kids magazine. Create a free account after validation from a parent/adult email address. Parent email is required for user validation. Learn about plants and animals while exploring virtual ecosystems. Animal Jam is great for all ages and abilities. Select an animal avatar to navigate through Jamma, a land where the animals are disappearing and the environment needs help. Name your avatar and take on its persona through the many customizable options. Uncover secrets and play games as you visit the land of Jamaa's mountains, caves, and waterways. Read electronic books, build your avatar's den, hang out with friends, and watch National Geographic multimedia clips. Earn gems through playing games and use them to purchase items for your avatar. Use the world map to show all the parts of the world that you visit. Add to your journal to record your travels through Jamaa. Tons of facts and videos are available to explore and fact sheets can be printed. Animal Jam offers many safe chat, privacy, and parental control features to make sure students are safe. Premium options are available for purchase. This review was for the FREE portion only. Follow directions found on the site to download the app or game to your computer. Not available to play directly in browsers due to the discontinuation of flash support.
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tag(s): animal homes (57), animals (294), biomes (110), ecosystems (83), habitats (92), plants (146), social networking (61)

Games to Learn English is a collection of games for ENL/ELL students or any student learning the basics of English and/or reading. Created for students of English language learners, the many activities focus on developing vocabulary, comprehension, grammar, word order, and spelling skills. Choose from interactives such as Fast Hands and Concentration to begin. Each activity includes directions for play and scoring explanations, and most have playing speed options.
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tag(s): game based learning (205), multilingual (77), preK (270), sentences (22), sequencing (17), spelling (97), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93), word study (59)

FindIcons.com is a search tool that helps you find free icons. Type your term in the search bar to view icons in FindIcons database. Choose from several different options to download icons in the file format desired, such as png. Convert to jpg, bmp, or several other file options. Each icon includes licensing information so you can look for icons that are Creative Commons or public domain. Create an account then make user sets of your favorite icons. Access your user sets from anywhere through the FindIcons website. Explore the TAGS button to find search ideas. Be aware: ANY word/term can be searched; some may not be appropriate for the classroom. If you plan to allow young people to use this site independently, be sure to discuss appropriate searching.
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tag(s): images (263)

Choose from many preschool and kindergarten interactives to develop and reinforce basic academic skills. This highly colorful site includes: animals, alphabet, numbers, colors, and shapes. Most activities are very simple. Simply roll the mouse over objects to hear the object name and color, or click on arrows to view flashcards. Play alphabet activities to learn letters. Test your skills with a quick quiz. Choose from an extensive array of activities in the animal portion of the site sorted into categories of look, create, play, learn, find, and count.
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tag(s): alphabet (53), animals (294), colors (63), geometric shapes (134), numbers (120), preK (270)

Quandary is an online simulation in ethical decision-making while building a new colony on the planet Braxos. Face decisions without right or wrong answers but that have implications on you and others in the colony. This activity was created for students ages 8-14. Login is optional to save scores or track and assess student performance or you can play as a guest. The game includes four different episodes with each containing different scenarios for decision-making. View information on the game, extension questions and more within the teachers and parents portions of the site. Find lesson plans, standards mapping (matched to Common Core ELA standards), and printable materials within the teachers section for classroom use. Don't miss the introduction video, under Families, explaining the site!

tag(s): creativity (86), critical thinking (127), ethics (21), game based learning (205), social and emotional learning (102)

Smarter Balanced Consortium provides resources and practice assessments geared toward Common Core standards in English language arts/literacy and Mathematics. Choose the Smarter Balanced Assessments link to view an overview of practice assessments, suggestions for use of the assessments, and discussion of items and task types. Find PDF's including Common Core standards and introductions to the standards under the K-12 Education/Teacher tab. The site is continually developing and working toward the 2014-2015 first school year implementation of the new assessments. Stay connected and informed of new resources by signing up for their email newsletter.

tag(s): commoncore (73), test prep (69)

Are you looking to enhance the visual appeal of your classroom? Download creative and visually appealing posters for free through Flickr from this blog. The teacher who created it shares her own images for you to use. Click on any image in the blog and it will take you directly to the Flickr page. Follow the detailed steps explained in the blog post to create and save the image. There is also a link (with instructions) to create your own posters. The teacher who shared this information would like to hear from those who use her posters. This site accesses Flickr which is blocked by some school web filters.

tag(s): posters (43)

Timer-Tab is an easy to use online alarm clock, timer, and/or stopwatch. Click on any of the functions, set your time, and get started. The alarm clock and countdown move in increments of hours, minutes, and seconds. The countdown and stopwatch also have a pause feature. One especially handy feature is that the time displays on the browser time so you can see it as you navigate other web sites.

tag(s): classroom management (120), counting (60), time (91)

The Florida Center for Reading Research is an excellent source for information and activities for teaching reading. Choose from several topics. The Instructional Materials for Teachers portion of the site contains center activities for grades K-5, skills alignment to Common Core, and an excellent search tool for finding instructional materials on the site. Search by grade level or concept to view materials available. Identify material types such as PDF files or movies by viewing the icon associated with each result. Explore the Instructional Materials portion of the site to find materials to share with parents to help reinforce reading skills and find interventions for use with struggling readers.

tag(s): fluency (26), main idea (8), phonics (51), reading comprehension (149), sentences (22), sight words (23), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93), word study (59)

JumpRope offers an online, standards-based gradebook and lesson building program. You can also include information such as attendance, character, and standards-based performance with just a few easy entries. Manually enter your students' names in JumpRope or upload a spreadsheet of names to begin. Use the tabs on the dashboard to move around to different areas of the site. Write anecdotes on student behavior, assign a category and value, and more. Collaborative features between teachers appear to require a school or district level membership, and there is no information stating it is free. Based on backwards design principles, this planning tool considers learning goals before assessments or learning experiences. Assessments are aligned to one or more chosen standards. Upload as many supporting documents or resources you desire to use throughout the year and beyond.

tag(s): classroom management (120)

Test your Dolch sight word reading speed with this interactive! You can play in a public game with unknown competitors or a private game. To start, select your own kitten color. The site allows competitors on up to 4 computers to play at the same time. You will hear a word from the Dolch sight word reading list. Click on it as quickly as possible. Your kitten will jump to the correct ball of yarn. The faster you respond, the quicker your kitten jumps from ball to ball. This interactive measures each player's reading speed as well as pits them against the other players whose kittens appear on the board. This site is helpful for any beginning readers including ELL/ESL students and learning support students.

tag(s): preK (270), sight words (23)

This American Presidents website contains lesson plans for teaching about each of the US presidents from Barack Obama (with a note that Donald Trump is coming soon) all the way through George Washington. The site uses the informational text about each president to teach, reinforce, and review English language concepts. This resource is directly geared toward ENL/ELL students. However, all users will benefit from materials provided. Choose any president to view a short biography. There are also language lessons such as fill in the blank and writing activities. Choose from links at the top of the page to print the lesson in PDF format, hear the article read in mp3 format, and view additional activities such as flash cards and word jumbles. There is some advertising, but this site is worth a look as a resource for activities and lessons about US presidents.
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tag(s): jefferson (19), kennedy (20), lincoln (66), presidents (135), reading comprehension (149), washington (28)

ESL Reader provides instant reading help for English language learners. Use it to improve reading time and reading skills. Simply copy/paste or type text into the box and click. Each word becomes a link to a dictionary, thesaurus, or other reference including Wikipedia. Numerous dictionaries and references are available. Select the dictionary or other reference work and click. The site also translates the selected text into a variety of languages, but use caution with online translators! They often scramble meaning and syntax.
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tag(s): dictionaries (47), guided reading (33), thesaurus (22), vocabulary development (93)