Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Bring the Magic Tree House books to life in your classroom with materials created just for educators. Scroll through this site to find activity guides for many Magic Tree House books and graphic novels; some include corresponding activities, such as crossword puzzles and matching games. The Educator's Guides provide grade-level suggestions, lexile level, and cross-curricular classroom connection ideas.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): book lists (167), guided reading (33), literature (221), preK (271)

With the Mentimeter presentation tool, you can create free polls, word clouds, real-time question and answer sessions, and quizzes that provide instant feedback from audiences or classes. All of these can be in person, remote, or hybrid. After joining with your email address, your dashboard will appear. Use the top menu bar to find Featuresand then Q&A click it, and you can watch "How to Create" video (about 5 and a half minutes). Choose from various templates and themes, create a question and a set of answer choices, or participants respond with their words. When finished the slide will provide the URL and ID code for your presentation. Participants choose or enter their answers using a mobile device or their computer. You can generate a QR code quickly for the fastest linking. View results instantly (a plus for interactive presentations or classes). Results can also be embedded on a website. The most popular mobile platforms support Mentimeter. The free membership provides unlimited projects/polls. Each individual poll/project allows 34 Slide types, Q & A, Quick Layouts, and Collaborative workspace.

tag(s): assessment (148), Formative Assessment (74), polls and surveys (49), presentations (23), word clouds (13)

Knovio takes the pain out of PowerPoint presentations by bringing them to life with webcam and audio enhancement. Create a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, upload the file, press record, and present to your audience. If you are camera shy, disable the defaulted webcam to just audio! Share with people you select through the site's private spaces or share to the world via your social network. When sharing through private spaces, you will need your audience's email addresses. Additionally, when your recipients view your presentation, you will receive an email confirmation of when the presentation was viewed. The free plan offers a 3 video limit and 30 minutes of storage.

tag(s): slides (43), video (266)

Learn about and explore the world of dolphins and whales with this educational site. Find out if your school serves "whale-friendly" lunches, make an origami dolphin, or watch a video demonstrating how dolphins get caught in fishing nets. Be sure not to miss the life-size whale animation that provides an up-close perspective on just how large whales are. Lesson plans are available on the site under the Info Box and include PDF lesson plans and worksheets for students. Some activities require flash which is not supported on all web browsers.

tag(s): ecology (103), habitats (92), marine biology (31), whales (11)

Where's George? let's you track the travel of dollar bills through circulation. Enter the serial number on the bill, enter a current zip code, and learn where their bill has been. Choose from two options on the site: find out where a bill has been or enter a current bill to begin tracking from its current location. Finding where a bill has been gives a list of known cities, states, and countries. It also includes travel time, distance, and speed of its journey. Email registration is necessary to follow the travels of a bill and receive notification of current location. One word of caution: it may be wise to enter serial numbers of bills before sharing with the class in case they have been in locations that may need to be screened. Also, be aware this site contains advertisements. At the time of this review, there was a questionable advertisement. Please preview and OPEN, before sharing with your class.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): currency (14)

Plant a question and watch it grow! This is a very easy to use poll creator that can be linked through class websites, blogs, wikis or any other online application. Simply type in a short question then copy the link to your site. All responses show up in the answer box below the question in a word cloud type of format. AnswerGardens can be customized to allow unlimited responses and a password. Although anyone with the link can answer a question, polls can be edited by the owner if any unwanted content is added. So watch carefully!
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): antonyms (12), polls and surveys (49), speech (69), vocabulary (238), word clouds (13)

Are you looking for fellow educators to follow on X (formerly Twitter)? If so, this wiki is a great starting point. Choose from many different categories of educators such as librarians, early childhood, professional development, and much more to begin your search. Each link leads to a list of educators to follow on Twitter along with a short description about themselves, simply click on the X (formerly Twitter) handle to go to X (formerly Twitter) and begin following. Be aware: there is a warning on the top of the main page that the wiki is now "locked down" due to spamming. You are still able to access all the links. You are not able to edit without joining.

tag(s): social networking (61), twitter (13)

The Children's University of Manchester contains excellent mini-lessons and interactive lessons for students on a variety of science, history, literacy, and art topics. Key stage 2 is roughly equivalent to grades 3-6. Topics include The Body and Medicines, Energy and the Environment, Ancient Egypt, The Earth and Beyond, Teeth and Eating, Microorganisms, the Brain and Senses, Talking Textiles, and Words. Choose a topic to learn more about (explained by a professor at the university). Then explore by choosing from activities on the sidebar. Activities include short videos, matching activities, slide shows, and more. Since this site was created in the UK, you may notice some slight spelling and/or pronunciation differences than in American English.

tag(s): body systems (40), brain (56), dental health (14), egypt (56), energy (133), environment (252), human body (93), medicine (57), organisms (15), root words (10), senses (20)

Rustle the Leaf is a collection of online comic strips, videos, and more that teach about the environment starring Rustle the Leaf and his friends. Choose from the comic archive to view all the comic strips or view short e-movies to learn more about environmental protection. Click "Holiday Plug" to go to their collection of YouTube videos. Many lesson plans are included, ranging from Plastic Poisons to Oceans of Trouble, and, of course several others. Don't let the dates bother you, all the plans are relevant; each plan includes detailed objectives, material lists, lesson methods, worksheets, and other activities.

tag(s): earth day (60), environment (252), globe (12), oceans (149), plastics (4), pollution (53)

Though this site is about storyboarding for videos, the storyboard template and concepts can be used for any storytelling (books, comics, short stories, etc.). Try out this tool demonstrating storyboarding concepts. You can build your own storyboard using resources from the free media library. Be sure to watch the introductory video (2 minutes) to understand some of the terminology used on this site. Choose Storyboards by hand from the top menu bar. Follow the directions for reviewing "shot types." Next, scroll down the page to find a script "The Deal" and a "shot list" for beginners. Print the storyboard, and continue following directions. Then, watch the eight and one half minute on digital storyboarding. Your created script that can be embedded, linked, or shared. Be sure to check out the many instruction videos included on the site for tips on creating storyboards. Registration with email is required to share and save storyboards.

tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), digital storytelling (156), images (264)

Explore culture through interviews and discussions taped by people from countries around the world. The interviewees vary in age and social economic status. Find cultural snippets by area of the world; each country has many offerings organized by subject. The index also offers the same pages organized by topic. Video pieces are also divided into different grade levels: elementary, middle, and high school. Written text accompanies each video clip so you can read what you are hearing. Some interviews are in English. However, most are in the language of the country and translated into English. There is a disclaimer on the site that reads, "... be aware that these videos reflect actual authentic speech, with all the stops, starts, and hesitations that come with everyday conversation. We have not corrected grammatical errors, and the videos sometimes show highly colloquial language, local slang, and region-specific speech patterns."

tag(s): cultures (181), interviews (17), journalism (74), video (266)

Use this free site to create a private chat room where you can watch videos with others at multiple locations in real-time. Create a chat room and use the link to send to others. Use the Facebook app to post to Facebook. Watch the video synchronously while making comments in the chat window. Note: Members of the chat can change the video at any time, and it will change for all those in the private room. You can lock this function by going to settings, find this function, and choose between All members or Moderators only. Want to save the chat? Copy and paste to share later or use screenshots (command/shift/4 on a Mac or print screen on PC.) Save your room and go back later to view the chat and watch more videos with your friends. You can monitor the chat the same way you did for changing the video, moderators only. See How to Use Watch2Gether to find which video formats are supported.

tag(s): blended learning (37), chat (41), differentiation (84), Online Learning (36), remote learning (54), social media (48), video (266)

Create gif animations easily from uploaded images using this site. Images can be uploaded from computer files, pulled from Flickr, or pulled from YouTube videos. Choose up to four images, select size and speed, then select the continue button in the right-hand corner of the screen. Images can take up to a few minutes to process before seeing the resulting gif. When the animated gif is created, share using links on the page to many popular social sharing sites or download to your computer.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): animation (64), images (264)

Anki is a flashcard creator with a twist. The program is used everyday, and each response is rated as Easy, Very easy, Good, or Again. Very easy questions won't be shown again for 7 days, Again responses will be shown again during the same session. Choose the number of flashcards to use for each session, time to spend, and number of questions to be offered. Search by topic to find readymade flashcards or create your own. This program needs to be downloaded to your computer following the onsite directions. Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux versions are available.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147), flash cards (44), test prep (69)

This simple (yet fantastic) survey creator uses images for the multiple choices instead of text. Video tutorials on the site demonstrate how to create a survey; however, the process is easy to follow. Click on Create a survey, choose a title, layout, and theme and start filling in your survey questions. Upload a picture for each response, and personalize the survey as desired. Completed surveys can be shared via url, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) or embedded into websites or blogs. Up to 100 responses are allowed using the free version.

tag(s): polls and surveys (49)

Create quick and simple custom jigsaw puzzles. Upload a jpeg image to the site. Choose how many pieces you want and the shape. Jigsaw Planet does the rest. Instantly create a custom interactive puzzle for your students to play! Change the background using tools at the bottom of the puzzle. Puzzles can be saved for your own account, shared with students via a url, or embedded into your classroom website for easy access. This site requires Java.

tag(s): images (264), puzzles (150)

Create interactive online activities quickly and easily with LearnClick's Create a Gap. Submit any text you'd like to learn and mark the text you want deleted for a fill-in-the-blank type of activity. Easily create quizzes or tests for individualized students or your entire class. Create a free account with your email. Follow the simple steps to create tests in minutes with varying options for response style choices; blank boxes, generated drop downs, or drag and drop. Search the quiz bank to save time. The free version allows you to make up to five quizzes, which are published on your public page. Your public page allows a direct link to your quizzes.

tag(s): quiz (67), quizzes (91)

With Liberty and Justice for All is a special exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. The focus is on the American quest for equal rights, with a special emphasis on the Women's Suffrage Movement and the Civil Rights Movement. The site includes a video tour of the exhibit and lesson plans with standards for fourth through twelfth grade levels. The lesson plans presume a visit to the museum, but could be adapted fairly easily for groups who are unable to visit the museum itself.

tag(s): branches of government (65), civil rights (209), constitution (98), freedom of speech (14), womens suffrage (52)

Enjoy perusing this list of Asian American children's books, divided by age groups. The lists include a wide range of selections, from picture books to young adult books and poetry. There is also a list of recommended authors and illustrators. If you are interested in similar book lists, TeachersFirst's CurriConnects found here offers several other curriculum-related, leveled booklists.

tag(s): asia (116), book lists (167), chinese (45), cross cultural understanding (173), hawaii (9), independent reading (81), japanese (47), korea (21), vietnam (38)