Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

The U.S. Department of State designed this interactive game to help ESL/ELL learners to learn American English. However, many non-ESL/ELL students could greatly benefit (and enjoy) this highly interactive experience and look at U.S. culture. Download Unity Player to begin. Registration is free, but does require an email address. Begin your mission with Trace, a teen back in time from the year 2045. Help Trace return to his regular time by completing several challenges. Trace must follow directions (called objectives) on each screen. He travels to 8 separate locations around the U.S. Learn about entrepreneurship, community activism, empowering women, science and innovation, environmental conservation, and conflict resolution. Travel to Kansas, New Orleans, the Grand Canyon, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Complete 28 practice activities. You will also find 4 multi-player practice challenges, 7 graphic novels for extension activities, and an American English dictionary integration activity. The game is so involved, that you will not even realize that you are also learning English.

tag(s): communities (35), conflict resolution (9), conservation (102), cross cultural understanding (173), women (151)

Find entertaining videos, web lessons, and downloads to support learning about dictionaries, thesaurus, and "How Words Work." Each video includes a short description of content and the skills addressed. Most videos are approximately three minutes long and include links to related web lessons and print downloads. This site was originally created for adult basic literacy students. However, many of these lessons could be useful with younger students learning the basics of vocabulary. Preview the video for appropriateness before sharing with younger students.

tag(s): antonyms (12), dictionaries (48), prefixes (10), reading comprehension (149), root words (10), spelling (97), suffixes (8), synonyms (15), thesaurus (22), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93), word study (59)

The Literacy Design Collaborative supports the development of literacy through a series of templates for use with text when writing. There are also templates for other subjects. Most templates address secondary levels; however, other offerings contain some elementary templates. Template tasks allow you to fill in the blank with learning skills addressed. When completed, you create and produce a high-quality assignment. Three collections are available by choosing the tasks link: the template task collection II, Common Core template tasks, and K-2 template tasks. Use links provided to view instructions and download templates in PDF format. Choose the modules link to view and download complete modules for instruction for English, Science, and Social Studies. Also available at the Literacy Design Collaborative is a series of videos demonstrating changing teacher practice and literacy. Most of the videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): american revolution (82), animals (294), biodiversity (36), canada (24), careers (157), china (81), civil rights (209), cold war (31), ecosystems (83), energy (133), evolution (89), gettysburg (15), gettysburg address (12), india (32), industrial revolution (22), lincoln (67), literacy (121), marine biology (31), photosynthesis (21), poetry (194), pollution (53), professional development (385), shakespeare (99)

See how many meteorites actually strike the Earth. Choose the map or table view. The map view shows bubbles. Hover over a bubble to identify the type of meteorite, size, and whether it was found or seen. Click on the table tab to see the actual numbers used to plot the graph.

tag(s): earth (184), space (220)

Would you like to read about GOOD news for a change? That is exactly what you will get if you subscribe to this news aggregator. At Good.is, read about conservation success stories, educating farmers in remote rural villages to increase their crop yield, creating entrepreneurs who design change, inspiring stories about pets, and so much more. What a refreshing way to start the day! Don't misinterpret that description: you will also be updated on current news stories. The choice is yours. Create a free account, choose topics of interest, and sign up for the daily free newsletter to read what's new (and positive) for those topics. If you find something you are truly passionate about you can follow people, and you can contribute articles.
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tag(s): enrichment (13), news (228), newspapers (93), politics (118), writing prompts (61)

Quick Picture Tools offers 12 tools for editing and enhancing pictures. Choose from embossed text, frames, combining images, add text, blur, and more. Click on the editing tool you desire, then choose from options offered to edit pictures. When finished, click "generate image" to save to your computer. No registration needed!
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tag(s): back to school (55), firstday (22), images (264)

This Tumblr blog from the host/writer of the PBS series of the same name has great science information, pictures, and videos sure to wow and inspire! Entries feature all areas of science with fun and interesting information for smart people of all ages. Some examples of topics include blue whales, proteins, asteroids, auroras, and other "interestingness."

tag(s): animals (294), behavior (45), earth (184), evolution (89), landforms (39), moon (73), polar (10), space (220)

Looking for a way to add challenges to your middle school math curriculum or gifted classes? Try Figure This, a site of math challenges developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Figure This offers a number of challenges in English and Spanish to be used in a classroom or offered to families for math challenges at home. A PowerPoint is included to help increase parent involvement. Learn why most manholes are round, how fast your heart beats, and numerous other interesting topics. At the time of this review, there were 80 "Challenges" to explore. All of high interest and intriguing topics! Although mainly math activity, many border on science topics as well. Each activity offers hints and answers explained in many ways. Finding the answer is rather tricky! Scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the link to Answer. Don't miss the Teachers Corner. It includes all beginning materials; PowerPoints, forms, and ideas you need to begin!

tag(s): critical thinking (128), geometric shapes (134), logic (161), percent (59), probability (99), problem solving (233), statistics (121)

Snapshot Serengeti helps researchers count and locate animals living in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. More than 200 remote camera traps placed in the park capture images. The movements of animals trigger capture of images. View a short tutorial to learn to categorize and identify animals. Identify the type of skin, the pattern of the fur or skin of an animal, and the style of horns (if any) that an animal has. Based on those classifications, Snapshot Serengeti will suggest a few animals that match what you're seeing.

tag(s): animal homes (57), animals (294), classification (22), habitats (92)

Turn any image into a fully functional QR Code in 3 easy steps that take less than one minute. Upload your image or choose one from Visualead's online gallery. Set the desired destination for your QR code. Place the QR code where you choose on the image. Upload your image from your computer file or drag and drop from a folder on your computer. Choose from options for the QR link: choose url, vCard, YouTube video, Facebook, or many other web-based media choices. Drag, resize and place your code anywhere on the image. When finished, click on generate to complete the QR code generation process. Login using Facebook, Google, or email to receive the finished image. Share using the social media links or download to your computer. Here is a (link to an example).

A tip: when creating your QR Code, you will see a link to "generate your image" on the last step. It will give you the options of "try again" or "next." Choose "next" to go to the final step. "Try again doesn't mean that your image wasn't created, it just gives you the option for personalizing the code differently before completing the process.

tag(s): qr codes (19)

Listen to soundscapes recorded all over the world. Find a place of interest on the map, listen to the recording, and read the information about the location. Some locations have a link to a Google Map tour. Upload your own soundscapes using the site or through the iPhone/iPad app.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), listening (93), maps (220), senses (20), sound (72), sounds (43)

Math Monday is a weekly column discussing fun, experiential, and puzzling topics in mathematics. Each article takes a math idea, explains the concept, and uses images (and/or videos) to put the concept into action. Sample topics include hula hoop geometry, large stars, mathematical quilting, and much more. Subscribe to the RSS feed to view new topics each Monday using the link at the top of the page. (Or add the feed to your Flipboard account if you have a tablet.) There is also a very long list of archives to explore and try!

tag(s): colors (63), fractions (160), geometric shapes (134), origami (14), pi (29), puzzles (150)

Learn about all different species of fish in the United States and around the world. This site packs an aquatic animal punch! Explore the Fishopedia to learn facts about different types of fish such as where they live, what type of food they eat, and how to catch them. There are even sections about fishing safely and conserving fish and their native habitats.
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tag(s): animals (294), conservation (102), environment (252), fish (18)

Learn about the recycling process. View Virtual Tour videos about recycling processes including recycling of specific materials. Use the Search bar for lesson plans about recycling. Also, search for Infographics for data and information about use of resources and recycling. Don't miss the family activities for kids (they can be used in the classroom, too) in the middle of the page! The videos reside on YouTube. If your school blocls YouTube, they may not be viewable.

tag(s): earth day (60), energy (133), recycling (45), resources (83)

Kinteractive Learning offers several free and useful teacher tools for use on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use the dartboard selector to randomly choose students from your class. Import your class from a txt file or input names manually. Easily edit your class list with absent students. Once ready, click to spin the dartboard, launch a dart and see what names appear! Open each tool in a new window for a larger viewing area. At the time of this review, the other free tools included a random name generator, scoreboard, and stopwatch. Access to all tools is available after registration with email and a password. Note that other areas of this site are subscription-based.

tag(s): classroom management (120)

Join Jackie, Matt, and Inez in the PBS world of Cyberchase, using the magical powers of math and science to take adventures. The "Motherboard" heads the team against the evils of the universe, Hacker. Visit "Games" to find interactives. There are printables found at the "Activities" link. And finally, watch different episodes (see Video) of Cyberchase to practice various math skills. After the show, find links to the math presented in the show. Examples of content topics include: fractions, geometry, math, weather, money, problem solving, using data, using numbers, science and engineering, pre-algebra, measurement, math and sports, and geometry.

tag(s): data (151), engineering (129), fractions (160), money (113), problem solving (233), sports (82), weather (160)

Find over 50,000 sounds of music, nature sounds, spoken words/poetry and human environments. Click dots on a map to see the location and play the sound. Search by keyword or by category and save to your playlist for future use once you create a free account.

tag(s): cultures (181), multimedia (53), sounds (43)

Find citizen science projects that are available for students. View the video What is Citizen Science? Choose projects for PreK-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, and for college students. Each project has a video, thorough directions, and links for additional resources. Science teachers register and can sign up for email newsletters describing the projects. Example projects include: Budburst, Project Squirrel, Globe At Night, Crowd the Tap, and Land Loss Lookout. Topics range from weather to birds to medicine to sound. Rather than focusing on teaching content, the activities focus on using scientific communities to connect and immerse students in the science.
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tag(s): animals (294), archeology (28), birds (46), citizen science (27), ecology (103), environment (252), geology (62), insects (68), medicine (57), oceans (149), Project Based Learning (23), science fairs (20), scientific method (48), sound (72), space (220), transportation (31), weather (160)

Find great images, links, and articles about the sun and space on this European site. View multimedia videos, high resolution images, animations, and downloads. Find additional resources for further information about space missions. View and read related articles. Find current topics of focus in Astronomy such as recent and impending solar eclipses. The link "For Educators" is full of "ready to go" lesson ideas. There is also a link on the Educators' section to esaKIDS: designed with elementary students in mind. Most of this site is ideal for secondary students; however, parts of the Educators' area could be used with upper elementary students.
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tag(s): earth (184), solar system (107), space (220), sun (70)

Join Ruff Ruffman in the PBS Kids Game show, Fetch. Learn about animal science as you view (and participate) on this educational game show including 5 contestants ages 10-14. "Ruff" hosts the game show, reality style with children contestants, learning about science and also crazy challenges. Topics include (but are not limited to) animals, engineering, deserted islands, dinosaur footprints, hover crafts, mummies, song birds, and more. There are past episodes and games available.

tag(s): animal homes (57), birds (46), dinosaurs (43), diseases (66), literacy (121), machines (17), simple machines (19), vocabulary (238)