Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This collection of free streaming videos, mostly under six minutes, supports school curriculum using material from NBC News, one of the largest news archives in the world. Topics include language arts, humanities and social sciences, and parenting information. The majority of videos feature STEM content. Specific sample topics include: Mysteries of the Brain, Writers Speak to Kids, Science of NFL Football, and many others. All videos include transcripts. Some have lesson plans and/or activities which are available in a side tab in the video window when launched. Most have closed captioning, and a few have a Spanish language option. The majority of NBC Learn, the educational arm of NBC News, is fee-based. This review is for the free material.
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tag(s): brain (56), civil rights (209), news (229), olympics (45), pi (29), sports (82), STEM (297), sustainability (50), video (266)

Read New York Times articles and original content in Spanish with this site. The information ranges from politics, global news, business, technology - even pop culture. Reading this version of the NY Times will be useful in any Spanish language classroom as well as for ENL/ESL students.
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tag(s): journalism (74), multilingual (77), news (229), newspapers (93), spanish (109)

Create a world language learning plan with the Vocabulary Trainer. Use dropdown boxes to select your native language and a language to learn or practice. Other options include different course levels and options such as business vocabulary. Tools in the program allow you to set up a personalized learning plan, including time set aside for learning and days of the week to practice.

tag(s): arabic (13), chinese (45), french (75), german (49), greek (47), hebrew (16), italian (31), japanese (47), multilingual (77), spanish (109)

This site offers over 450 illustrations specifically created to help with English Language Instruction for foreign language speakers. Browse the collection to find drawings demonstrating emotions, common items, medical terms, and much more. Use the keyword search to focus on particular needs. Select images to download, use the size bar to find the desired image size, and then save to your computer.

tag(s): multilingual (77), worksheets (69)

Learn something new every day with Brain Pump videos. Choose from the many topics including game design, history, science, math, technology, nature, business, casual science, and more to view a random video about the topic. Not interested? No problem, click the next video link to watch another on the same subject. Sign up isn't necessary but allows you to "star" videos to find for later viewing. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as Online-Convert, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.
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tag(s): business (52), critical thinking (127), earth (184), financial literacy (93), fish (18), human body (93), marine biology (31), natural resources (37), plants (146), psychology (65), rivers (16), space (222), spanish (109), video (266)

Langscape is an interactive map of almost 7000 languages from around the world. The site offers three main features: an interactive map, a text identification tool, and a language familiarization game. Click on a map location to view a pop-up box with the name or names of languages spoken and location by longitude and latitude. Click on the name of the language to find basic data (underneath the map) about the language and its speakers. Underneath the map, find icons to learn more about the language, choose the music-note to listen to MP3 recordings of the language. The page icon leads to other Internet resources for learning about the language chosen. Be sure to drop down the Discover link at the top of the page to find the K-12 educators guide, a complete guide on how to use the site as well as lessons linked to Social Studies Standards.

tag(s): arabic (13), chinese (45), cultures (180), french (75), german (49), greek (47), hebrew (16), italian (31), landforms (39), latin (23), map skills (63), maps (220), phrases (6), portuguese (22), russian (26), spanish (109)

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)

Use these interactives to learn up to twenty-one new languages (English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Lithuanian, and more) by choosing from various options that include matching images to a spoken word, filling in the blanks, or multiple choice responses. Audio options are available for non-readers. No registration is required. Registration allows you to save your progress and compete to earn the highest scores in each activity.

tag(s): arabic (13), chinese (45), french (75), german (49), italian (31), multilingual (77), portuguese (22), spanish (109)

The Free Dictionary is much more than a dictionary; it also includes a thesaurus, encyclopedias, a literature reference library, and lots more! Browse the home page to find Word of the Day, Article of the Day, In the News, Quotations, Today's Birthday and Holiday, and Hangman. Choose the Spelling Bee to test spelling skills in levels. Your ESL/ELL students can discover and "play" with English words using this site. Browse to find dictionaries for many other languages and specialized needs such as medical and legal dictionaries.

tag(s): dictionaries (47), quotations (19), thesaurus (22), vocabulary development (94), word choice (14)

Are you looking for other educators to follow on X (formerly Twitter)? Check out this lengthy list of educator X (formerly Twitter) handles arranged by subject. The easiest way to view the full document is to click the link located under the heading "A Twitter Win." This link leads to a Google document with headings for all content areas as well as Ed Tech, Counselors, Administrators, and more. Use the scroll bar at the bottom of the document to view all categories. Add your own Twitter handle in the appropriate category for inclusion on this document.
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tag(s): social networking (61), twitter (13)

Pumarosa is a totally bilingual Spanish-English site. The three levels orally teach helpful English words in translation from survival skills at the beginning level to citizenship topics at the highest level. (The Civics section is actually bilingual, basic U.S. social studies!) All words, phrases, and dialogues are available so you can hear (by clicking the little ear icon) and repeat the item as often as desired. Most lessons are based on learning vocabulary and dialogue, and everything is available in both languages simultaneously. After you do the initial lesson, a wide variety of exercises help you practice what you are learning. You can select as few or as many as you feel you need. The spoken Spanish is at a more natural rate than the English, which is a bit slower than normal speech. An additional phonics section explains and pronounces basic sounds in English. The language of instruction is Spanish and the target language to be learned is English. Accompanying workbooks and printed materials are available for a cost but are not necessary for you to learn.

tag(s): american flag (7), branches of government (65), declaration of independence (16), listening (93), spanish (109), vocabulary development (94)

This special dictionary for language learners has several unique features: definitions, examples, and explanations for natural language words and phrases. It also has constant updates as the "cobuilders" (other contributors) add to it. Read the explanation of the site BEFORE you start to search a word. The larger part of this site also includes tools for Translation, Conjugation, Grammar, and Spell Check (install the Reverso toolbar on your computer). In addition to defining the word or phrase, the dictionary also allows you to click on any blue word or phrase in the definition for more definitions, audio, and sometimes video explanations. There is an option to search for the word in video/text news stories. It pulls up short little blurbs of authentic news stories, some accompanied by video (with the blurb being read) or a picture. Pronunciation is available for all words (click the word, then "speak"). The company that created the site is British, but its dictionary entries include comments on both American and British usage. The site is a collaborative site, so anyone can add new entries. In addition to being useful for any English language learner, there are features available in French, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Portuguese. You can even set up your own vocabulary lists if you want to use this site as a personalized learning tool. Although we didn't find anything inappropriate at this site, you will want to preview this site before sharing with students.
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tag(s): arabic (13), chinese (45), dictionaries (47), french (75), german (49), italian (31), russian (26), spanish (109), spelling (98)

Practice and learn basic words and vocabulary in Spanish, French, Italian, Arabic, Portuguese, German, Czech, and Russian. Imendi is a flashcard activity featuring various languages in a drag and drop format. Choose your language to begin. You can choose between a random lesson or select a lesson topic from the dropdown menu on the upper left corner of the page. The upper left is also where you can choose to look at different vocaulary lists or use the "all words" option. Match new language terms to the English word then quickly view results and start over with a new set of cards. These are quick and easy reviews. Use the non-English speaking option to translate from any included language back to English.
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tag(s): arabic (13), french (75), german (49), italian (31), multilingual (77), portuguese (22), russian (26), spanish (109)

Open Yale Courses offers free (non-credit) introductory courses taught by teachers and scholars at Yale University. Open access allows participants to view videos, download transcripts, and receive all related course materials at any time. Choose from courses in topics ranging from English, History, African-American Studies, Languages, and many more. They offer countless topics: Art History, Psychology, various languages and literatures (Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian), Chemistry, American History, and many more.

tag(s): african american (115), american revolution (82), art history (103), atmosphere (22), business (52), civil war (139), ecology (103), ecosystems (83), engineering (129), evolution (89), financial literacy (93), france (41), greece (47), greeks (46), novels (34), poetry (193), psychology (65), religions (95), romans (52), sociology (23), space (222)

Next Vista offers Learning videos for teachers looking for alternatives to YouTube. At the time of this review, they offered over 1,000 videos (most useful for in the classroom). Videos are made by teachers and/or students. Search by three main topics: Light Bulbs, Global View, or Seeing Service. Better yet, use the right sidebar to search by topic: Math, Science, World Languages, History & Culture, Performing Arts, and more.Next Vista offers an extensive collection of career videos to use as a resource for exploring and discovering career opportunities. View videos directly on site or share using the link or embed code provided. Throughout the school year, Next Vista hosts video creation contests for students and teachers. Submit your own videos less than 5 minutes in length using directions provided. They even offer small prizes for winners.

tag(s): africa (148), asia (116), careers (156), computers (109), europe (84), literature (221), musical instruments (52), musical notation (34), north america (15), parts of speech (39), poetry (193), shakespeare (99), south america (47), speech (69), video (266)

Duolingo is a free, online language learning class. Sign up with email. Make a selection from Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, and many others. Earn points on different levels as you work towards mastery. Practice provides both seeing and hearing the words. Your responses require choosing the English translation and also spelling the words in the "new" language. Put your knowledge to work in the immersion section and translate a document or even upload a document of your own. Check the vocabulary you have learned and your progress toward mastery. Track your weekly progress. The discussion section answers individual questions. Duolingo is free for schools. There are free iOS and Android apps for Duolingo.

tag(s): arabic (13), chinese (45), DAT device agnostic tool (147), french (75), game based learning (205), german (49), hebrew (16), italian (31), japanese (47), multilingual (77), OER (43), Online Learning (36), portuguese (22), russian (26), spanish (109)

Create your own cloze quizzes out of any piece of text. Paste the text into the box and select how you want the cloze test made. Select different sentence functions. Choose to have every few words eliminated, or choose your own items to be removed for the cloze. Participants can choose either interactive or text only quizzes. The missing words appear at the top of the quiz. With the interactive quiz, the player types the missing word in the blanks. The site has a lot of flexibility in creating cloze tests. The site will work with world languages as well, but instructors have to choose the every few words option since the site will not recognize, for example, prepositions in another language.

tag(s): quizzes (90), reading comprehension (149), reading strategies (96)

Find a complete listing of places to learn many, many languages, including free apps and websites. Among the languages one can study for free are Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, and Hungarian as well as many others from around the globe. Each language has different offerings available. The language lessons are available in many different formats including Youtube videos, MP3s, feeds, apps, iTunes lessons, text, and websites. Since there is a variety of resources for most languages, pick the one that offers the way you are the most comfortable learning. Although most of these resources were developed with secondary students (or adults) in mind, a few are appropriate for upper elementary grades.
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tag(s): chinese (45), french (75), hebrew (16), italian (31), portuguese (22), russian (26), spanish (109)

Other online calculators don't add up to the diverse collection of calculators Calkoo has to offer. Browse categories including measurement, wage, taxes, stock analysis, mathematics, loans, health, saving, investing, real estate, and more! Calkoo can handle many tasks, including some rather complex calculations. Complete the various fields based on the type of calculation. Some utilize radio buttons and drop down boxes, while others ask for numbers only. Create almost any kind of calculation you need with this easy accessible calculating tool. Language options include English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Russian.
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tag(s): addition (129), area (53), calculators (36), division (98), fractions (160), measurement (122), multiplication (122), percent (59), quadratics (27), subtraction (110), volume (34)

Visit the MFL Ideas Factory blog to find language teaching ideas to use in your classroom. Developed by teachers of world languages, each post is an activity that is context-free so you can adapt to your planning. Tags accompany each activity to make your search more efficient. Sample tags are "Will it take long?" or "Does this require photocopying?" Various search options make it easy to navigate the MFL Ideas Factory. The search box on the right side of the page will search all text in the entire blog. Filter the activities by category in the box on the left side of the page or click on the tag that interests you. Click on "vocabulary" to find all the vocabulary activities posted. Some of the pronunciations and spellings may differ from those in American English because the site administrator resides in the UK.

tag(s): french (75), italian (31), russian (26), spanish (109), vocabulary (238)