Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Create and edit professional looking videos in a three-step process using Shotclip. Down the app for your operating system. Use the storytelling guide to choose a template. Template options include My Summer, Halloween Fun, blank templates, and more. Templates provide guidance for scenes or shots to include in your story. Templates also offer suggested length and music for each portion. Upload images, video, audio, add effects, and edit video as desired. When complete, publish and share to receive an email with a link to your video or publish directly to your YouTube account.
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tag(s): digital storytelling (154), images (263), movies (54), video (266)

Visit the Bald Eagle Foundation, in Haines Alaska, dedicated to the preservation of this national symbol. Discover eagle facts and incredible image galleries. Read more about the museum and preserve in Haines, Alaska. Be sure to click Discover on the top menu to find information about the Resident Birds, Natural History Museum, Programs, and the Bald Eagle Festival.
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tag(s): endangered species (27), extinction (3)

This current events site can take you places! Type in the topic you want to read about and view a list of headlines to stories about the topic. Choose one of the headlines to read the story that comes from a variety of news sources. Click on the globe icon on the upper right of the news page to view the world map. This shows the location of where the stories originate. Clicking on the dots on the map also take you to the stories. This tool is available on web browsers, iOS, and Android devices.
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tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147), globe (12), maps (220), news (229), newspapers (93), primary sources (117)

Take me to the Solar System! Choose a planet, (or asteroid, comets, the sun, and more) from the solar system to visit. View information about the planet. Choose from the tabs at the top of the screen for more topics of interest about that specific planet. Click Ask an Alien to submit a question through the online form. You might even see the answer to your question on the site. View planetary statistics in the Planets Table and definitions in the Space A-Z tab. Use the Exploration Timeline to see the history of space exploration.
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tag(s): planets (113), solar system (110), space (222), sun (71)

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)

Enhance STEAM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design, Math) through great ideas found on the this blog. The ideas demonstrate activities for use including instructions and images of students completing activities. View archives for additional lessons. Find art, articles, lessons, or resources under the categories link. Add your email for notification of new posts and updates.

tag(s): blogs (65), STEM (297)

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)

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)

Marvin and Milo demonstrate a simple physics experiment through cartoons, offering a new experiment each month. Try activities from the left menu such as the Sew an Icecube or Spinning Eggs following the easy step by step directions. In addition to the cartoon, each activity includes a list of materials, instructions, and results and explanations. Use the top drop-down menus to view countless topics about physics.

tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), experiments (55), science fairs (20)

What comes to mind when you think of the Arctic? For most it is penguins and polar bears. Learn more about the Arctic with this interesting site. Click on various topics such as Polar Plants, Icebergs and Glaciers, Keeping Warm, and more. Click on each topic for short information about the Arctic. Each topic includes Professional Learning, In the Field: Scientists at Work, Science and Literacy (see lesson plans), and Across the Curriculum. Be sure to look at the links below each topic. Share this photo gallery with your students. Be sure to also view the links at the top including the Photo Gallery and Stories for Students.

tag(s): animals (294), arctic (40), climate (84), energy (133), habitats (92), plants (146), tundra (14), water (102)

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)

What will you find at the various depths of the ocean? Harvey Water Softeners takes you on a deep-sea dive to find out. Simply scroll down through this page to view facts in bubbles beginning at the surface level down to 36,000 feet below the surface at the ocean's deepest point.

tag(s): animal homes (57), animals (294), habitats (92), oceans (149), plants (146), Research (87)

Interested in coding and looking for others who are interested as well? CoderDojo is an open source movement of free coding clubs for young kids that is led by volunteers and found around the World. Activities vary with each "club" but all focus on coding. Click "Organize a Dojo" to become a volunteer organizer. You are then responsible for setting up and maintaining the dojo. Not a coding master? Don't let that discourage you. Organizers are responsible for bringing learners and technical experts together. Students can click "Attend a Dojo" to find a location nearby to join. Volunteers can also find a dojo nearby to offer their services.

tag(s): coding (85), communities (35), computational thinking (40), computers (109), engineering (129), STEM (297)

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)

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)

Find scavenger hunts, treasure hunts, webquests, or extend learning using Trackstar. To make a track, think of a descriptive title, and write a description. Select from creating a Resource list, Worksheet, Extended learning, or Demo. Collect up to 15 websites (know the page title and URL) and create annotations or directions. Viewing the track in frames will have the titles of pages in the left menu bar. Click on the title and the text of the page appears in the center. Any links that are on the page in the center will open in a new tab. Search ready-made Tracks to get an idea of how they work. Viewing tracks in Chrome is possible, but this tool does not seem to work with Chrome to create tracks.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), curation (32), gamification (83), webquests (8)

Create a 3 Circle Venn Diagram with ease! Print out this graphic organizer and provide a title and label the three circles. Decide whether to make a list for each circle first, or start writing directly on the circles. The Venn Diagram allows for generating concepts (ideas, words) and placing them in any of the three circles, or the overlapping area. There is no registration required.

tag(s): graphic organizers (48), venn diagrams (15)