Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

EasyBib, the automatic bibliography and citation maker, instantly creates and formats citations for your sources in MLA format. Cite websites, books, newspapers, journals, and data bases correctly in seconds. All you have to do is enter your website URL, or the title or ISBN number of the book, journal, etc. in the form. You can copy/paste citations from Easy Bib into a document to create your works cited list. You will need to alphabetize the citations yourself. The paid version offers APA and Chicago/Turabian style and additional features. Pick up the latest tips and tricks in their research guide. Review the writing and citation process in an instant. and review citation rules for various styles using the reference guides.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): citations (33)

Find hundreds of useful charts and diagrams that illustrate philosophy, english, history, science, current events, and more for free, online viewing. You will find PDFs, posters, timelines, etc. Learn about topics such as: Most Famous Paintings, World Leaders Timeline, Muppet Voices Chart, New Seven Wonders, Human Evolution Timeline, and more. General "subjects" include Social Studies Charts, Most Popular Charts, Psychology Charts, Philosophy & Religion Charts, English Charts, Science Charts, and many others! The site is selling charts and downloads, but you can view the site for FREE. Zoom in to see details using the View menu in your web browser or touchpad zooming on Macs.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): art history (102), charts and graphs (171), grammar (137), multiple intelligences (7), myths and legends (37), poetry (193), politics (118), psychology (65), religions (95), solar system (110), space (222), timelines (56)

Danosongs.com provides royalty free music for many different purposes as long as you give credit where it is due: Music by Dan-O at DanoSongs.com. Dan creates music, posts to this blog, and offers it free of charge under a Creative Commons license as long as credit is given. This is a really great trade-off for free music for your presentations, movies, video games, websites, blogs, or even excercise tracks. Possibilities for uses are so broad, you just have to use your imagination to add to this list! There is the option of "buying" the songs for $10 to use without giving credit.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): citations (33), copyright (44), podcasts (108), sound (72), sounds (43)

This short article provides some quick tips for using QR (Quick Response) codes in the classroom. Most ideas are easy to use immediately in a classroom setting. For example, use QR codes to link to exemplars to provide examples of quality work for students or use codes to make learning stations that link to online content. If you are interested in using QR codes in your classroom, this article will help you get started. Be sure to read the comments from others for some additional ideas for using QR codes in the classroom.

tag(s): qr codes (18)

These writing prompts are not as boring as the title sounds. Luke Neff has put together images and prompts that will truly inspire you and make you think. There are 57 pages full of creative, interesting ideas to explore. Click archive in the upper right to see a page of thumbnails of writing prompts by month. This allows you to view more prompts in less time.

tag(s): creative writing (124), expository writing (31), persuasive writing (58), writers workshop (31), writing (325), writing prompts (61)

Watch full episodes of your favorite PBS shows without having to record them. Videos may be searched by show name or by subject. Use the subscribe button to automatically subscribe to the show so you will never miss a new episode again.

tag(s): video (266)

Zilladog is the safe, monitored way of providing email addresses to students. Need a way to provide emails for a pen pal project? Need to help kids work on a group project at home? Are parents asking you for a safe way to offer emails for their children? With Zilladog, a parent or teacher signs up to register a child. Parents enable the buddy list, and the only way a child can receive or send an email is with an approved buddy. Select to have parents copied on all communications. Zilladog has a teacher service, with an administrator function to set up student emails, and kids can only send and receive with approved buddies. The premium paid service offers more features.

tag(s): classroom management (120), digital citizenship (85)

Teaching Kids News is an excellent, visual newspaper for kids grades 2 through 8. Set up in a typical newspaper format, articles contain interesting images and easy to read text. Use curriculum connections included with every article for an instant lesson plan or discussion starter. View by choosing category selections such as news, entertainment, science, politics, and more. One interesting and helpful feature is the use of tags with each article. Choose from clearly labeled tags to find other articles with similar topics. Included on the right side of the site are tags used most often on the entire site. Larger and bolder text indicates most widely used tags. Share articles easily using social media links included to most common sites such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). Read the How to Use This Site page for ideas on how to make the most of this site with students.

tag(s): literacy (122), news (228), newspapers (93)

This tool is a terrific online photo editing and paint app. No account or registration is necessary. Upload a picture or find the URL of a photo from online or Facebook. Re-size, flip, rotate, crop, or alter the exposure, saturation, and contrast. Use additional features such as fix image, smart blur, and reflections. Use even more effects such as a cartoonizer, artistic painting, or wanted photo. You will love the retouch section which features the standard red-eye and blemish fix, along with teeth whitening. Add captions or text to the pictures with a wide selection of fonts. You can also create collages, but you must enable local storage of images on your computer. The Painter section includes standard pen, brush, erase with a sponge, and burn effects to allow for drawings on the pictures. Once completed, download the finished picture to a computer, post on Facebook, share by URL, or upload to Flickr. Here is a sample of adding text to an online image without even creating an account.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): images (263), photography (130)

Find lesson ideas and more for literature and language arts, foreign languages, art and culture, history and social studies at the reworked site that was once part of MarcoPolo. Lesson Plans, Teacher Guides, book articles, data bases, educational gaming, professional development events, sound, film, video resources, and resource website lists all aid teachers and learners. A calendar keeps you up to date with famous dates in history.

tag(s): art history (102), cultures (180), Juneteenth (22), literacy (122)

Search for any place in the world and view images of "what was there" in the past using a Google Maps street view. Find your location on Google Maps, then search through the list of available photographs. View the photo details or view in Google Street View (the little orange man). Photo details include date taken, title, description, and copyright information. Roll over the photo for a magnified view. In Street View, you can fade in and out through the photograph. You can upload photos, too. This tool is also available as an iPhone app.

tag(s): communities (35), images (263), local history (14), maps (220), photography (130)

Learn about the endangered languages of the world. See samples of the languages, research about the language and culture spotlighted, or even record the language. A world map provides an overview of the location and status of each language under examination. The status criteria vary: at risk, endangered, severely endangered, vitality unknown. Each section of the map includes a figure indicating the number of threatened languages in the area. Find other names for the language, number and names of dialects, the number of its speakers alive today, and the location of the language. Information is available for professional linguists about how to prepare a language documentation project and about that field's research methods.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), word study (59)

Explore this huge collection of Youtube videos on various aspects of teaching the English language to international students. Real teachers narrate the videos which include three levels and many subject areas. Included are the normal topics like speaking and pronunciation, grammar, writing, and vocabulary, as well as other helpful topics like test prep, tips, expressions, and slang. Most have a followup quiz to see how well you understand the lesson concepts. The videos are not particularly dynamic, mostly just views of a teacher standing and explaining. Topics include material appropriate for adult learners, such as pregnancy and having a baby. K-12 teachers will wan to select for their students.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): grammar (137), grammar review (31), idioms (30), pronunciation (34), slang (15)

Create your own web page almost instantly with this page editor and publisher. Select a page address and title then start adding content using the site's tools. The format is similar to Word documents. Highlight text to change font, size, and colors. Include images with a URL link or upload to the site. Image descriptions, height, and borders can all be modified. Include your email before publishing your page if you want to be able to edit your pages later; however, it is not necessary.

tag(s): multimedia (53)

Flash to PBS to get a bolt of learning about Nikola Tesla. Discover a compressive view of Tesla from his early years and his coming to America. Follow his accomplishments while harnessing the Niagara. Discover the true mystery about who invented the radio. Trace his inventions and accomplishments. Inside the lab, discover the AC motor, the Tesla coil, radio, remote controls, and improved lightning. Resources include a timeline of electricity and radio, Tesla's patents, and articles about Tesla. Explore discussions from experts about Tesla's life and accomplishments. There are lesson plans for teachers. Some materials are for sale.

tag(s): electricity (61), energy (133), industrial revolution (22), inventors and inventions (80), motion (47), radio (20)

Lingt was developed for world language learners and teachers. You can set up listening and speaking assignments using your voice recordings, MP3 recordings, images, videos, and text. With a free registration, you can sign up 20 students and receive a class URL where your class can record their reactions and/or oral answers to recordings and assignments. You can also save the material you have already made for use later. The free registration allows you to save ten assignments for the class you create. An upgrade does have a cost, but there is plenty of potential here for valuable, free usage. Once you have signed up, you can watch their very informative intro video. This video shows you exactly how to set up your assignments and what your choices are. The Lingt Community allows you to share your assignments and see what others have saved and used there. Students of world languages will be able to hear the real sound of a native speaker. Be sure to check out the "Product" tab to get lots of ideas for using Lingt. Free accounts offer services for 20 students and 10 assignments.

tag(s): listening (93), pronunciation (34), Teacher Utilities (198), vocabulary (238)

This blog shares many creative activities to encourage thinking outside the box. The activities use many easy to find materials. If you want to make a sculpture out of Twinkies, or create a one man band, then this site is for you. Find links to other creative thinking blogs, too. Promote 21st century design thinking and innovation with activities that look like pure "fun." The sidebar include links to many engineering sites and activities to connect creativity as an important aspect of design and science. Don't miss the sidebar tips to parents and teachers, as well.

tag(s): creativity (86), critical thinking (127)

Promote yourself for college or future jobs by creating your own "me portfolio" website. No matter your age or stage in life, in today's world you are what Google shows about you. Take control of your online presence to show your chosen audience what YOU want them to know. You are more than your FaceBook persona or Linked In profile. about.me allows you to create a "hub" with links to your online projects you want visitors to see. Upload a photo, write a short piece about your interests, then link to your online content and social networks. There is also an Assets page where you can download the about.me logo and colors to add to other pages and projects you have on the web so visitors will link back to the hub and discover your other projects. The Terms of Use for About.Me prohibits creating fictitious personas.

tag(s): college (45), communication (129), internet safety (114), portfolios (23), social networking (61)

Type a message and Lalo.li will read it aloud using a voice synthesizer. Adjust message quality using the word gap, speed, amplitude, and pitch icons. Just click on the circle and turn to change the quality. Copy and paste the URL to share your audio message or use links to share via social networking such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). Here is a sample . At the time of this review, the site only worked using Firefox or Chrome.

tag(s): communication (129), text to speech (20)

Interactive.i allows you to make whiteboard drawings and to "paint chat" in an online space you can share with others. Create your own space in three simple steps: choose a font style for chat, name your room, and designate if participants can chat, draw, or both. Once in the room, share the url with all participants. Chat appears below the drawing and not in the drawing itself and does not show when you share or save the final product. Options are available for activities such as a drawing challenge and newspaper. Be aware that the newspaper may offer options such as gay marriage or other topics you may not want to address with your students. Save drawings to your computer or online. Avoid the public gallery where drawings may not be classroom appropriate.

tag(s): drawing (61)