Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Draw A Stickman is a delightful, entertaining site that encourages creativity and fun! This is a mini interactive story that has students reading and following directions, solving mysteries, thinking creatively, and solving problems. Start by selecting an episode, then begin the adventure, you draw a simple stick figure and then bring him or her to life. Your figure is faced with several challenges; you must follow directions and draw several props for your stick figure to use. You will love the hero of the story (the character you created) and the villain (a dragon). Finished stories can be replayed or shared on Facebook or email. There is also an online gallery for students to explore and view others' creations.

tag(s): creative writing (124), digital storytelling (154), directions (11), drawing (61), interactive stories (22)

Math teachers (and others) will enjoy using this site to find literature that corresponds to math topics. What a great way for cross-curricular connections! To find a book, choose from a list of math topics such as angles, percents, regrouping, place value, and many others. A list of books that can be used will be displayed along with a link to purchase the book on Amazon. The concept is simple, yet can be very useful to classroom teachers or parents looking for literature options to connect with math lessons.
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tag(s): addition (129), angles (52), area (53), book lists (167), charts and graphs (171), counting (60), division (98), equations (119), estimation (33), fractions (160), geometric shapes (134), matching (8), measurement (122), negative numbers (13), patterns (61), percent (59), perimeter (20), place value (34), ratios (47), rounding (8), sequences (12), subtraction (110), time (91)

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. Browse the site without registration. Type Edu or education in the search bar, and find two different Education results. Clicking a picture gives a description and the option to Follow or Comment. To create/add to your pinboards, register for free. If you have an account, you can Repin the picture to a pinboard you have titled and created within your account. Click on the image again to visit the original site of the image. Often this is just what you are looking for to learn specific details. You can also search Pinterest for specific items such as Guided Reading, File Folder Activities, or other classroom needs. Pinterest members can "follow" other users and see their new items as they add them to their pinboards. Use Pinterest on any device or computer, and there is a related Facebook app.

tag(s): architecture (76), cooking (32), creativity (86), DAT device agnostic tool (147), fashion (12), guided reading (33), nutrition (140), organizational skills (88), professional development (385), social media (48), social networking (61)

Investigate the world of art history accompanied by two professors at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Smarthistory started as a a blog featuring free audio guides, podcasts, and videos. Later it became an interactive exploration of eras, styles, and artists. Smarthistory has recently merged with KahnAcademy utilizing the same concept: that high quality education should be free and available to all. You can watch Smarthistory videos on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable in class.

tag(s): art history (102), medieval (32), renaissance (38)

Public Domain Pictures is a database of pictures allowed to be used in any way that you see fit. You can also upload pictures to share. The only time to worry about a model or property release is if you choose to use an image for commercial use. Most images are free. Enjoy some time browsing pictures. Please note that a log-in (with an email address) is required to upload your own pictures. You do not need an account to download a picture for free. Be sure not to click on the "Premium Download" button, as this download is for a fee (even with the "free" photos). Scroll down a bit and click on "download picture" to download for free.
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tag(s): graphic design (49), images (263), photography (131)

Make a PDF using the text you enter and a creative layout you choose. Simply type or paste in your text into the large box, choose from one of the three available fonts, font size, and paper size. Then choose a layout for the finished project. Text can be produced as a banner, maze, rebus, spiral, Valentine (heart), or waves. Students will love seeing their work reproduced in a new way! The finished product is generated as a PDF file to be saved and easily printed.
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tag(s): creative writing (124), poetry (193), posters (43), valentines day (11), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93)

Jump into fiction and poetry with fictionteachers.com. Find information about teaching reading, poetry, readers theater, and inviting such authors to visit your classroom. Write a Girls to the Rescue, a mini mystery, or a new fangled fairy tale. Lesson plans have creative ideas to inspire students, teachers, and parents.
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tag(s): poetry (193), readers theater (12)

This site is a wiki that allows ENL/ELL teachers to share helpful websites, games, presentations, and songs with other ENL/ELL instructors. There are PowerPoint presentations, games, templates, tutorials, songs, and more... all ready to go! You don't need to join the wiki to enjoy the games, PowerPoints, etc., but , by joining the workspace, you can comment on materials and methods, and add your own activities. Another benefit of joining is that all members receive notification of changes and new activities added to the wiki, in their email.

tag(s): directions (11), grammar (137), songs (46), vocabulary (238), writing (324)

Enter the world of assisted learning with Word Talk, a free plugin for use with Microsoft Word. This software downloads onto unlimited computers for educational use. A talking dictionary assists with definition and spelling. The ability to turn the words into MP3 format is available. This plugin has won the Microsoft Innovative Teacher Award.

tag(s): dictionaries (48), Microsoft (80), text to speech (20)

Socrative is a smart student response system -- the answer to not having expensive "educational clickers" in your classroom. Socrative works on tablets, smartphones, iPod Touch, laptops, and others. There is an introductory video demonstrating teacher and student logins and how your class will interact in real-time. You can create your own multiple choice, true/false, and short answer questions. You may also choose to use one of their ready-made activities as exit tickets, thoughtful questions, or games. See your students' responses in an Excel file or view online as a Google spreadsheet. Multiple choice questions are automatically corrected.

tag(s): chat (41), DAT device agnostic tool (147), game based learning (205), gamification (83), polls and surveys (49), questioning (36), social networking (61)

News and information from top thinkers and doers around the world, screened so that it is condensed to that which is significant, relevant, and applicable, that is Big Think. This website is a phenomenal source for information and news. The philosophy of Big Think is that as we "move to the knowledge era" that you will be able to better function if you know more and understand what you know. This website was awarded one of TIME magazine's best websites of 2011 for news and information. Please screen any articles that you wish to share BEFORE sharing with your students. Some content is NOT appropriate for the classroom. This is not a site you want to send students off to explore on their own.
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tag(s): brain (56), business (52), cross cultural understanding (173), environment (252), news (228), politics (118), psychology (65)

This site offers more than just worksheets. Choose from over 17,000 worksheets and lesson plans for teaching English, make a word search or word scramble, or generate "double puzzles." Find worksheets by selecting topics including grammar and vocabulary, or use the search feature to find specific topics of interest. This site also includes many ESL essentials including games and ideas for focused lessons.
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tag(s): creative writing (124), descriptive writing (42), grammar review (31), listening (93), multilingual (77), pronunciation (34), reading comprehension (149), speaking (26), Teacher Utilities (198), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93)

This site offers well-organized lessons of English to limited English speakers. There are three levels. After selecting a level, students can choose the theme of each lesson they wish to study. Offerings include vocabulary, grammar, listening comprehension, pronunciation, reading, and other types of practice. Besides complete English lessons, the site offers a word of the day and also lesson plans for teachers that correspond to the lesson themes. At the time of this review, these were only available at the beginning level. The site promises that those at the intermediate and advanced levels will be coming soon.
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tag(s): listening (93), reading comprehension (149), reading strategies (96), speaking (26)

Test any website's readability using The Readability Test Tool. Test readability by URL or direct text input from any source (such as copy/paste of student writing). Simply enter the web address (URL) and get the readability of the site on several scales. You can also check your own webpages by using the "referer" section. You will get a score for the most used readability indicators: Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease and Grade Level, Gunning Fog Score, Coleman Liau Index, and Automated Readability Index (ARI). These tell much more than a simple "grade level." View sentence info such as total characters, number of words, average word length, percentage of short and long sentences, and more. View word usage of types of verbs, conjunctions, and other parts of speech as well as type of words used to begin sentences. Click the link provided to view an explanation of each type of score.
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tag(s): independent reading (81), readability (5), writing (324)

Interested in making a QR code, but think it is too difficult? Use this site for a quick and easy way to make a QR code of web links. Simply enter the url. (Be sure that SmallQR is selected under Advanced options.) Save your QR code as a PNG image file and be sure to read the tips: a.make sure that the image is not printed too small and b. test the QRcode out before using it elsewhere.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), qr codes (18)

Join the writers and readers of obooko, the free site to publish and read eBooks. Readers' Choice Awards of 2011 winner for free eBooks, obooko offers a platform to share your work and read the works of others. Become a reviewer and write comments on other eBooks. As authors, you retain all rights with no charges or contracts. This site is legal and does not infringe on copyright laws. There are numerous categories to choose from: Romance and Women, Crime, Religion, Thriller, Mystery, Teens, and much more! This site is not intended for children under 13. Some of the content may not be appropriate for the classroom. So be sure to preview.
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tag(s): creative writing (124), ebooks (43), mysteries (23), novels (34), poetry (193), religions (95)

Nobelprize.org is the official website of the Nobel Prize. Here you find information about Alfred Nobel, the prizewinners, interviews, and photos. Videos of interviews of Nobel peace prizewinners, speeches, ceremonies, interviews, banquets, lectures, announcements, award ceremonies, and documentaries fill the gamut of all of the prizewinners. The Nobel prizes awards are in literature, chemistry, medicine, peace, economics, and physics. Under the Education tab at the top find arieties of educational games/activities and lesson plans help explain many of the Nobel Award winners' work. This site clearly explains and illustrates the purpose of the awards, the award winners, and their ideas. Videos give an insider look at each of the winners.

tag(s): creativity (86), literature (221), medicine (57)

Space.com is your one stop extraterrestrial resource! Featuring current information and articles about all things out of this world, Space.com is a resource full of images, videos, and interactives. Images here are brilliant and beautiful. Articles are professional and meaningful.
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tag(s): moon (73), nasa (30), space (223), stars (71), sun (71)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for President's Day. Find interactive vocabulary activities using President's Day related vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

tag(s): vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93)

Pearltrees.com is a great place to organize, share, and store websites for current, future, or collaborative use. More than a standard social bookmarking website, Pearltrees allows you to create trees of sites to show relationships or even the order in which to browse websites. It is extremely simple to sign up, free, and easy to use once you have joined. To use it, you can download to your browser extension or bookmarklet, use a bookmarklet, or just use your home spot to paste in websites that you want to add to your own pearl tree. There are "big pearls" that function as folders for multiple strands of Internet pearls. This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly.
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tag(s): bookmarks (43), curation (32), DAT device agnostic tool (147), webquests (8)