Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Get ready to have a good laugh. Come on over to XKCD, a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. Find comics with stick figures featuring mathematical, scientific, and cultural humor. Scroll down the page to find Comics/Enjoy! Dig through the archives to find the perfect one for you! Creative Commons License allows reprinting of the comics. Each comic has an individual URL that can be shared to direct students to that specific comic. Be sure to PREVIEW before you share any comics with your class. Our editors found a few that may be questionable depending on the maturity of your students.
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tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), humor (15)

This extensive collection contains thousands of commonly used academic words from all over the English-speaking world (20 countries in all). The contexts are also included. Learn about word and phrase usage, word frequency, collocations from spoken language and all forms of written discourse: magazines, books, newspapers, and more. Begin by searching for exact words or phrases, wildcards, lemmas, part of speech, or any combinations of these. Results can include surrounding words, synonyms, examples of modern usage, and comparisons of usage from 1900 to the present. Limit your searches in many different ways. Use the simple five-minute guided tour to learn about the many features of this exciting word authority. This collection is four times as large as the related Corpus of American English.

tag(s): vocabulary development (94), word study (59)

This extensive collection contains thousands of commonly used academic words and their contexts. It also includes word and phrase usage, word frequency, collocations from spoken language and all forms of written discourse including magazines, books, newspapers, etc. Begin by searching for exact words or phrases, wildcards, lemmas, part of speech, or any combinations of these. Results can include surrounding words, synonyms, examples of popular usage, or comparisons of usage from 1900 to the present. You can limit searches in many different ways. Use the simple five-minute guided tour to learn about the many features of this exciting word authority.

tag(s): vocabulary development (94), word study (59)

Get organized with Media Fire. Store and sync files, folders, and media (photos, music, video). Access them from any computer or mobile device. Download the program to your computer for times when there is no Internet access. MediaFire Desktop keeps your online and locally stored files safe and in sync. View and edit all files and folders privately or share them to collaborate. Find a comprehensive Getting Started PDF manual on the left side menu. Signing up is as easy as typing in your email. MediaFire claims to be "the only online storage solution to offer unlimited downloads, download resuming, zero wait times and more, all for free."
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tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147)

Call on a different student every time with the Random Name Generator tool. Each class can have up to 100 names. First, type a new group name to check availability. Next, enter a password, display name, and your email address. Either copy and paste the information that comes next or save the email you are sent to retrieve the group and list of names quickly. The Random Name Generator will work with iPads or on any Internet browser.

tag(s): classroom management (120), probability (99)

See spectacular Drone views of many different locations by clicking on a circle or pin on the Google interactive map. The circles will have a number for how many different views of the area are provided. Search for specific cities, select editors' choices, or see the "Latest" drone footage. As with any Google map, there are the usual navigation tools. To see if the area you want to view has footage, scroll through the map. The Drone footage is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): cities (17), countries (73), landforms (39), landmarks (22), news (229), setting (5), video (266)

Discover some of the world's best online courses with Springboard's search engine. Enter what you want to learn into the search bar. Explore the offerings provided or browse by subject, university, or providers. Narrow results down by starting date, teaching method, or credentials. Each entry includes a short description of the course, fees (many are free!), start dates, length of course, and skill level required. Many classes also include reviews from other Springboard's users. Click the "Enroll" link to go directly to the course or save to your wish list after creating a free account. Some of the videos are hosted on YouTube. Most do not require Flash. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): professional development (385), search engines (48)

Give Me Sport is an online magazine offering the most current sports news, opinions, videos, and more. Choose specific sports categories or view articles by what is trending and the latest news. Find more global sports information by choosing to view the UK version instead of the US version of the magazine (use the drop down box at the top of the page). This site contains options for comments on all articles that are not moderated. Be sure to preview comments before sharing with students.
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tag(s): independent reading (81), journalism (74), sports (82)

Protect your email address and reduce spam with Scrim. Scrim converts your email address into a short, safe link for sharing on social media, forums, or any public site. Enter your email and add a unique ending to the Scrim URL to receive your unique code. Copy and paste the code for use on social networking sites, documents, or forums.
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tag(s): internet safety (114)

Are you feeling stressed? Unable to concentrate or complete a task? This tool will generate background sounds to create a positive thinking environment! Choose from a variety of sounds that sooth and relax while promoting creative productivity. These sounds are much better than plain, white noise. Classic sounds for relaxation include thunder, rain, waves, summer night, forest, white noise, and more. Use the slider bar at the top of the page to adjust sound levels as needed.

tag(s): creative writing (124), learning styles (18)

Find thoughtful articles written to explain today's news, especially the stories that are most difficult to understand. The article topics vary widely and include offerings from sports, politics, pop culture, public policy, world affairs, food, business, health, and many other topics. Just as the news may include tough or adult topics, so may Vox. You might want to preview or direct less mature young people to a specific article instead of allowing them to browse the entire site.
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tag(s): news (229)

Read about power and strength in those with disabilities and disease through the short stories at The Mighty. Formed on the premise that our greatest challenges become our greatest opportunities, each short story tells a tale of positive inspiration in facing a challenge. Browse the home page to find the latest articles or use the keyword search to find information on a specific topic. Be sure to browse the Archives, too!

tag(s): disabilities (32), diseases (67)

Revise your writing using After the Deadline's grammar checker. At this simple demonstration you copy and paste any text or document into the box. Click on "Check Writing" to receive feedback. The site provides color-coded suggestions for revisions in spelling, grammar, or style. If you like After the Deadline, they offer an add-on for the Firefox web browser and an extension for the Google Chrome web browser. There are also plug-ins for self-hosted WordPress blogs and forums.

tag(s): editing (93), proofreading (21), writing (325)

Create random groups quickly with the Group Maker Tool. Click "Create a Group Now" to begin and follow prompts to set up your groups. You will need to provide an email and create a password for your group. Add up to 100 names to your class list. Choose the number of groups to make. You can even choose to make pairs!

tag(s): Teacher Utilities (198)

Learn how to touch type or increase your touch typing speed and accuracy with this handy resource! You can practice with NO registration. But if you want to keep track of your progress, registration is suggested. You can sign up with your email or Google or Facebook account. Use the cloud to store your results. This enables use of this tool anywhere, anytime. There is a thorough slide tutorial when first arriving at the site. You can find it again under the Help section. The tutorial explains how the lessons are set up, what you will see on your screen, and what each feature does. You do not have to register to use this site, only to track your progress.
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tag(s): computers (109), keyboarding (28)

Acapela uses text-to-speech application to create short videos using your text. Choose from the thumbnails to begin and follow directions to add speech. Some videos also include an option to add an image. Options allow you to choose from several different languages. This is an excellent choice for ESL/ELL learners. When finished, share options allow you to send using email or social networking links. NOTE: Do NOT click on any of the "download" or "play now" links on the side or top of the page. Click directly on the video thumbnails for use. This site contains quite a bit of advertisements and links that lead away from the site. Demonstrate how to use and stay away from these links before allowing students to use on their own.
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tag(s): animation (64), text to speech (20), video (266)

Get your recycling facts from this source. Find a mountain of information about recycling mountains of stuff! View a variety of articles on this site. Click the menu items under the title Recycling 101 at the top to find 3 simple rules for recycling, the recycling guide for what can and cannot be recycled, recycling myths, and more.
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tag(s): conservation (102), consumers (14), recycling (45), resources (84)

At Getty Collection Images, select from thousands of photos. Explore more than 100 years of photography from Woodrow Wilson to the present. Click the Explore Art tab, and find Teaching Materials and Podcasts both with numerous topics for teaching. For most of this collection, the watermark has been dropped, and the service appends a footer at the bottom of the picture with credit and a link to the licensing page. Creating an account is optional. There is also a video category; however this review is about the images only.
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tag(s): images (263), photography (130)

Want to make sure you are up to speed on all your Common Core resources? The links guide you to resources in math, language arts, writing, reading, science, and technology. Find a short description of the site, and then go directly to the site. There is also quite a bit of professional information about the Common Core standards. Substitute teachers can easily be led to ready to go Common Core sites.

tag(s): commoncore (73)

Enter the polar region and find reproducibles, lessons, and web links about penguins. Informational and narrative book resources with discussion guides include: Mr. Popper's Penguins, Penguin Pete and Pat, Penguins Head to Toe, A Let's Find Out Issue, The Penguin in the Parking Lot, and Get to Know the Stars. Text passages included are: Antarctica Breaking, A Penguin Chick's Life, and Galapagos Islands. Art activities include a show box penguin and a water bottle penguin. Enjoy Arctic Fun in the Sun activities. Science Explorations online learning activities examine animals, adaptations, and the Galapagos Islands. PreK activities are available for art, music, social studies, music and movement.
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tag(s): adaptations (16), animals (294), antarctica (30), arctic (40), OER (43), preK (270)