Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Keeping Score takes you on a creative historical journey through the composers, conflicts, and culture of some of music's most beloved and classical works. This first-class website contains interactives for composers such as Beethoven, Copeland, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky. You can see pictures and listen to stories about the lives and times of the composers, hear the music, read personal reflections or quotes of the composers, and listen to commentary of other musical professionals. Also included are podcasts of the San Francisco radio show, 13 Days When Music Changed Forever which is about musical revolutions. The education link is full of ideas for incorporating music into any and all subjects. It also has time saving, standards guided lesson plans to be used in all educational settings. Musical education websites do not get cooler than this! This type of site can connect with today's learners by bringing them all the information that they need in a one stop, multimedia package. It is classy, concise, and easy to navigate.

tag(s): composers (14), music theory (46), musical instruments (52), songs (46)

KidRex is an engaging, safe search engine for students that is powered by Google Custom Search and Google SafeSearch technology. In addition to typical filters applied to searches, the site maintains its own database of inappropriate websites and keywords to further reduce the possibility of inappropriate search returns. The search engine is easy to use and similar to a typical Google search. You simply enter the search term and a list of sites is returned. Inappropriate search terms are returned with an "Oops, try again!" message. Before using the site, be sure to click on the Parents link for a quick overview of how the site works.
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tag(s): internet safety (114), search engines (48)

This site offers a look into New York's little-discussed history with slavery in the United States. New York was the capital of American slavery for more than two centuries. This exhibition spans the period from the 1600s to 1827, when slavery was legally abolished in New York State. After entering the site, visitors enter galleries with slide shows including pictures and written descriptions of events in New York during this time. Many portions in each gallery have further information included by clicking on links, text, and pictures, be sure to "look around" carefully so you don't miss anything. Although the exhibit was originally opened in 2005-2006, the site appears to have been continually maintained. This is definitely worth a look!

tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), 1800s (75), african american (115), civil rights (209), new york (24), slavery (79)

You can make your very own comic right now! At Write Comics, you will be able to create your own comics using the figures, backgrounds, animals, aliens, and dialogue bubbles, supplied by Write Comics. This site is extremely easy to use. There is no need to sign up or register. Once you click Finish, you will receive a link. Go to your link and print your comic or upload it to your webpage.

tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), communication (129), digital storytelling (154), summarizing (23)

Find material about the U.S. national symbols, famous Americans, major landmarks, national symbols, and the basics of the US government organization and workings. Although this site is geared towards ESL/ELL students, it could be useful in all classrooms. The site is not high tech. It consists mostly of simple written text. In addition to text, there are slide shows about government topics that include lesson plans, pictures and activities. There is also a link to videos on many of the topics. Links to other themed pages include U.S. holidays, important U.S. politicians, geography, and life/survival skills for ELL/ELL learners.
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tag(s): branches of government (65), holidays (187), states (124)

Curriki is a nonprofit organization that encourages teachers and learners' to collaborate in developing quality educational materials in a global community. Click What We Do from the top menu and slide to CurikiStudio, and click Creators to create a free account and find resources like questions, photos/images, multimedia, and more for interactive lesson creation. Next under Solutions is CurrikiGo, where you will publish your lessons, etc. Last on the dropdown list is the CurrikiLibrary, where you can search by subject area, grade level, or resource type (interactive, video, or podcast). For a thorough summary of Curriki click the Explore a CurrikiStudio Activity. Join different groups for a more involved way to explore new areas in online learning, subject area interests, or focus questions. Create collections of your resources to keep private or share with others. This site focuses on providing free access to teachers, schools, students, or parents to many new creative ideas for in-class learning, digital learning, and hybrid or blended learning in a global community. Free membership includes monthly newsletters. Follow Curriki on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), or blogs.
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tag(s): graphic organizers (48), literacy (122), OER (43), operations (72), resources (84), rubrics (37), Teacher Utilities (198)

The Google Safety Center is a one stop shop for teachers and parents for information about keeping children safe online. The site provides instructions and resources on how to use Google tools to safely access the internet. The site even includes "video tips."

tag(s): computers (109), internet safety (114)

This photo essay shares a wonderful gallery of pictures of farmers harvesting different crops, using various tools, from around the world. You will also want to note the diverse containers storing the harvested items. Nutrition, world languages, or cultures classes can use this site to explore what food and agriculture are like in other cultures.
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tag(s): agriculture (49), cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (180), nutrition (140)

This site offers a complete lesson plan to use with students prior to beginning a first research project. The lesson takes students through the process of analyzing book titles to determine ones that would be helpful in their research. It then builds on class discussion to enable students to make informed decisions on appropriate research material. One especially useful part of the lesson is the Hints About Print interactive link included in the lesson plan. This would be a wonderful site to use on your interactive whiteboard to lead the class through basics of choosing materials for research. Other useful items on the site are the nonfiction book reviews and nonfiction book evaluation forms that are available in pdf form for easy classroom use. Find all resources and print material by choosing the Resources and Preparation tab near the top of the page.

tag(s): book reports (28), interactive stories (22), Research (87)

Create and share surveys easily with this online tool. Simply create an account with your email and password, choose a template, customize with your information, then share the url for respondents to reply.
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tag(s): polls and surveys (49), quiz (67), quizzes (90)

Create your own tests to be taken online and graded instantly and accurately. With a free account, you can save 100 test results a month. ClassMarker allows you to add your own tests to be taken online and graded instantly. ClassMarker will randomize questions and answers, add time limits, and preset test availability dates. You can choose from multiple choice, short answer, essay & more question types.

Registration is not required. You can embed the tests on your own web page. This method is useful for practice tests since test results are only saved when students are registered and logged into ClassMarker. To register students, you create a group, add the student names (use a code for online safety), and create a password for the group. Or students can register themselves using a registration code you give them. You can then transfer users to multiple groups after they are registered if you wish.
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tag(s): quiz (67), quizzes (90), test prep (69)

Flashcard Maker, as the title implies, is an online tool to create flashcards. This site also has a healthy bank of prefabricated flashcards that could easily save time in meeting your needs. The link to "Explore Flashcards" allows you to search for prefabricated cards sorted by subject and topic. You can save as sets of cards with tags and share with friends. You can add images to cards, making them not only more interesting to use, but also more versatile since you can identify and learn more visual things than standard flashcards. You can change the flashcard theme, font size, and viewing order.
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tag(s): flash cards (44), test prep (69)

Use Tineye as a reverse image search engine. Tineye's unique image search engine looks for the same actual image -- not the description. This is a great way to find out where else an image is in use on the Internet. To use this simple and free service: upload or enter the link to an image on the Internet. Tineye will search the Internet to find the same image even if it has been rotated, altered or cropped by using image recognition technology. What a terrific way to discover the origin of an image or find those using it without permission. Note that the maximum upload size is 1 MB. Use this free service without registering. Create an account to use other features such as saving your searches. Registration does require email verification. Download the applet for Firefox or Chrome for ability to instantly use the service. You must have the ability to install browser add-ons to use the add-on version of the tool.
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tag(s): images (263), photography (130), plagiarism (34), search engines (48)

Teachers' Domain is a free digital media service for educational use. All of the material are from public broadcasting and its partners. This site aggregates thousands of media rich resources like lessons, videos, learning games and professional development resources. All resources can be found by subject area. In addition, each subject has sub areas to help you refine your search even more. You are allowed 7 views of material without registering.
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tag(s): professional development (385), resources (84), teaching strategies (50)

This site tells the story of the farm families that produce milk for a large cheese-making enterprise. Select a dot within one of the states on the map (New York, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, or Massachusetts) and read the story of the family who lives at that location. Stories are text only, but they do have clear photographs of each family. You can then select another story by a family in the same state or go back to the original map and select another family's story anywhere. As you roll your mouse over the dot, the name of the family and the community where they live pop up. Ignore the advertising; the site content is worth it.
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tag(s): agriculture (49), myplate (18)

Need kid-friendly online news? This safe site, written for kids, by kids, offers news from a younger point-of-view. You can create a class page where you can load a variety of articles, add a book list, a calendar, favorite sites list, add lesson plan instructions, monitor student comments, and more. DOGOnews is kid-friendly, colorful, and flexible. After all, DOGO means young or small in Swahili. You can select articles from a number of categories (Social Studies, Science, World, Current Events, etc.). There is an integrated dictionary for challenging words and maps for geographical context. Some of the articles include short video clips. Students may leave brief comments about each article (no login required). Also, typing the word "video" in the search box will bring up the Video of the Week for the past several weeks. The videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. In addition, find a Book and Movie section with a brief summary for the book or movie, and comments. You don't have to join to read the articles, but you do need to join to create a class page. There are many benefits to creating a class page, and it's all free! Don't want to create a class page? You can also embed articles on your current web page.

tag(s): journalism (74), news (229), reading comprehension (149), sports (82)

Youngzine is news about our climate for the young. Enjoy the different articles, videos, etc. without signing up, or you can sign up to have full access to everything on this safe site, including teacher tools. General subjects include Global Events, Climate Science, Changing Ecosystems, Sustainable Solutions, Policy and Actions, and Special: Water Conservation. Teachers can register their class for free. You can include specific articles and quizzes for each assignment. Comments are moderated to prevent inappropriate classroom content. Besure to check out Climate360 for Weather and Climate Basics, What Actions Can We Take, What are the Solutions, and several others.

tag(s): communities (35), news (229), service projects (17), sustainability (50)

Jiskha Homework Help is a large collection of resources to help students learn and improve their grades. The homework help forum welcomes posts to their large group of professional experts and teachers who are there to receive questions. A well organized array of articles, links, and other searchable resources on all kinds of school subjects round out this really well thought-out site for students of all ages. Archives are available to find answers to previous questions, simply type in a search term to find questions, articles, and directories related to the search. Other searches can be done by grade level or school subject by choosing links on the left side of the page. Most answers are provided within a couple of days so this site shouldn't be counted on for last-minute homework questions!
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tag(s): homework (29)

This site features a wonderfully specific pictorial database of "every day" images that define cultures. Images are Creative Commons licensed and can be used by download (three sizes) or direct link. At the time of this review, general topics included German, ESL (American,) French, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, and a few others. Besides offering a photograph (in three sizes) of something specifically Chinese or something only found in Japan, the vocabulary label for the object shown as well as its translation into its language of origin is available and indexed. There is also a detailed guide for teachers offering many wonderful suggestions of how to use CAPL in the classroom. The suggested activities include using images as objects, visual "texts," media illustrations, and narratives as well as ideas for using the images to teach vocabulary and culture. More is added to this site frequently, so be sure to check back!

tag(s): arabic (13), architecture (75), china (81), cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (180), france (41), germany (28), japan (56), russia (36), spanish (109)

This site provides introductory information about transportation in Pennsylvania. You can explore the aviation section to find fun aviation facts such as when the first humans flew in a hot air balloon. More interesting facts can be found at the Maintenance Shed including information about Pennsylvania's first highways and state driver licensing information. The site is a little tricky to navigate, be sure to follow links on the left side of each page in order to locate all information contained here.

tag(s): aircraft (16), railroads (14), transportation (30)