Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Never leave your easy chair as you journey beyond the road to faraway places using Google Maps Treks! Choose Gombe National Park, Pyramids of Giza, Angkor Wat, Colorado River, or the polar bears at Churchill. Tour Taj Mahal, Venice, Galapagos Islands, Eiffel Tower, Mt. Fuji, Everest, Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon Basin, and more. Click on the option and then click the open in Maps or Views button. On maps with multiple placemarks, click the placemark to view information about the location, and then click the title to go to the map. Choose from a variety of images taken at various locations found along the bottom. Some images are photospheres and can be manipulated using the sphere icon along the bottom right. Use the arrows in the sphere to rotate the image, giving a panoramic view of the location as you click. Use the familiar Google map tools to zoom in and out. Some Treks offer short videos that are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): cultures (180), environment (252), images (264), maps (220), photography (131), virtual field trips (130)

Vizualize.me creates resumes in a beautiful and compelling infographic format. Create an account to begin editing your resume. Import data from LinkedIn or personalize your information using Vizualize.me's dashboard. Customize your profile, change themes, and modify colors and styles using the dashboard. Share via URL, embed onto your website, or share on social networking sites. Download to your computer for a printable version. The introductory video is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable.
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tag(s): careers (157), infographics (57), portfolios (24)

Zoom In! is a set of digital tools that support social studies teachers in aligning teaching with the Common Core Literacy Standards. In each lesson, students solve a historical problem by analyzing and collecting evidence, organizing research, and creating a rough draft communicating the solution. Create your teacher account to begin. Browse through 10 lessons with topics as diverse as propaganda and Paul Revere, Labor on the World War II Homefront, Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, and music in the Vietnam War. Create a class within each lesson to receive a class code for student access.

tag(s): american revolution (82), civil war (139), constitution (98), immigrants (34), immigration (68), lincoln (67), slavery (79), vietnam (38), westward expansion (39), world war 2 (161)

The Word Counter Tool offers a word and character counter and a typing speed finder. Simply type or paste in your text to see your word and character count. To find your typing speed, press the start button and type for one minute.
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tag(s): editing (93), process writing (37), word choice (14), writing (324)

YouTube EDU features some of the most popular educational videos across YouTube. Explore both elementary and secondary topics. This channel integrates content across 100 colleges and universities and offers access to campus tours, research, and lectures. Scroll through to find videos sorted into many categories such as science, mathematics, arts, languages, and much more. Subscribe to receive updates about new videos added. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): video (266)

Choosing color schemes for web pages, projects, and displays becomes easier with Color Schemer! Click on any color in the color bar at the bottom of the page to view a display of compatible colors along with hex and font color numbers for HTML use. Choose "lighten scheme" or "darken scheme" to adjust and personalize colors as desired.

tag(s): colors (63)

Quickly convert, share, and manage documents with Cometdocs. Upload any file from your computer then choose from options to convert, transfer, share, or host the file. Options or file conversions include to and from PDF, Word, Excel, image, and text formats. Create a free account to receive up to 2 GB in storage, upload files up to 150 MB, perform up to 5 conversions per week. Other options include downloading web and iOS apps for use. Login isn't necessary to do simple file conversions but is required for storage and hosting of files.
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tag(s): worksheets (70)

Find out instantly if the problem you are having opening a web site is YOUR problem or a website that is down. Is It Down Right Now (iidrn.com for short) instantly "pings" a site so you can tell whether the site is down for everyone or just for you (perhaps due to a glitch with your Internet provider). The Internet is never a sure thing, but this tool tells you whether it's just YOU having trouble. Although it sounds geeky, it's easy. Copy/paste or type the URL you are trying to reach into the box at top right, and click "Check." The results tell you how long it takes for the site to respond and how long it has been down (if it is). What a handy tool for ANYONE using the web! What this tool will not tell you is if you are mistyping the URL, so always double check.
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Connect your students with birds, nature, and the environment with the online Audubon Adventures. Find detailed articles, quizzes, and games about hummingbirds, raptors, and sea birds. A naturalist dictionary gives you a leg up on all the environmental lingo. Find activities, assessments, and resources for teachers with accompanying standards. An optional periodical is available for a fee.

tag(s): birds (46), conservation (102), environment (252)

Provide the best literacy program for your students by implementing ideas and assessments from Reading and Writing Resources Project. Find high quality, research-based reading and writing resources developed by a Teachers College, Columbia University and Lucy Caulkins. Assessment information includes running records, the concept of print, letter/sound information, high-frequency words, and independent reading benchmarks. Additional Assessments include Independent Reading Books, Comprehension Proficiency, and Monitor Reading Volume and Stamina with book logs and daily reading examples. Under Book Lists find units of study for teen readers with titles and authors categorized by genre with quality literature suggestions. Many videos depict classes in action discovering Narrative, Informative/Explanatory, and Opinion/Argument writing. One video series shows Danielson's Framework for Teaching evaluations, with classroom teachers being observed using reading/writing workshop. This includes PDF's with the notes and scoring. Find a baseline of excellent student writing sorted by grade level using Readers' Notebook and student writing samples. Nonfiction text sets give examples or resources for you to use in the classroom. Find text examples to use with your students featuring health and consumer science topics.
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tag(s): assessment (148), book lists (167), reading comprehension (149), reading lists (77), science of reading (34), writers workshop (31), writing (324)

Common Core Conversations is your place to find Common Core resources. The Standards, Resources from state education departments, free resources in all subject areas, using tech tools for learning the standards, and a section for parent information provides a great basis for your Common Core needs. Resources include: ENL/ELL, library, careers, family and consumer sciences. Join the online community to join in the conversations.

tag(s): commoncore (73)

The Common Core Standards in every grade level has a standard using text features. Each grade level builds upon the knowledge from the previous grade. Lerner publishers has created a PDF source (chart) for teaching text features to meet Common Core Standards. Each grade level provides features found in social studies and science content area texts. Lerner Sources (charts) are organized by features that help understand the organization of the text, text features for visual aids, and text features that point out important information. An example of each text feature along with the purpose follows. Each is given in a downloadable, color PDF chart.

tag(s): charts and graphs (172), commoncore (73), reading comprehension (149), reading strategies (96)

Use Sway to create interactive presentations across all devices. Drag and drop content from your device, social networks, and the web directly onto your Sway canvas. Log in using your Microsoft account to begin or create a new account using your email and a password. Add content to your storyline using links to add text, images, and media. Change the look of your Sway using the Design tool to change the color palette, layout, and fonts. When finished, click the Share button for options to share to Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, URL, or copy the embed code. Sway will work on any device with a modern Internet browser and an Internet connection. They also have an iOS app. The introduction video and tutorials are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable. Note: "New video and audio uploads will be discontinued June 10, 2024. We recommend that you embed video and audio files." There is a link to instructions after that statement.

tag(s): communication (129), digital storytelling (156), Microsoft (80), multimedia (53), slides (43), visualizations (11)

Create an interactive timeline; scroll down the page to browse through the Gallery to find lesson plans, templates, and Sutori's library of ready-made timelines. The Sutori timelines in the library are the creation of Sutori's team of historians and teachers and are Common Core Standards aligned. When creating a free timeline, it can include images, text, and collaboration. Sign up with your email and get a link to start with a walk-through tutorial to help set up classes, students, and timelines. Students will need the class code. There is a part of the site that has timelines and lessons bundled for a fee. This review is for the free part of this tool. Sutori will work on any device with a modern web browser and an Internet connection.
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tag(s): american revolution (82), civil war (139), immigration (68), photosynthesis (21), timelines (56), womens suffrage (52), world war 1 (78)

Everyone loves a good joke or riddle, and you do not need any bells and whistles to get one across. At this site find ten categories and over 300 jokes and riddles all free to use. Enjoy the jokes sequentially, choose a category, or take your chances with a random pick. All jokes and riddles are suitable for all age groups.

tag(s): humor (15), multilingual (77), riddles (15)

Instantly grammar check any piece of writing using GrammarCheck's editor. Simply copy/paste your text into this website, and receive instant feedback. Click on the color coded information and find style suggestions, spelling errors, and grammar suggestions. There is a premium option with more features.
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tag(s): editing (93), proofreading (21), writing (324)

Visual Writing Prompts provides a considerable choice of creative writing prompts using Flickr images. Each prompt has an unusual image along with basic information such as the Creative Commons Credit and appropriate age groups. In addition, the Prompt Explanation gives added discussion questions. Scroll through the prompts using arrows or by genre, grade, or subject. Each image has an icon to download your favorite prompts. There is really no need to download the prompts unless you want to save them for quick access in the future.

tag(s): creative writing (124), descriptive writing (42), expository writing (31), letter writing (19), persuasive writing (58), poetry (194), writing (324)

Still wrestling with Common Core? Let Shmoop help with math and language arts Common Core resources. Search for any standard or browse through standards links to begin. Links to each standard offer a tab explaining the standard and another tab with aligned resources. Resources may include videos, teaching guides, sample assignments, and more. Not all standards include resources, but most do.
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tag(s): commoncore (73)

edX offers access to many of the best courses offered at top learning institutions - for FREE! Institutions include MIT, Harvard, and Berkley. Classes are available to complete for a Certificate of Achievement or as an audit. Choose from courses with topics in many areas including computers, literature, and humanities. Each course listing offers a short description of the course, details about the university offering the course, estimated time involved, course staff, and available options for taking the course. Start any course at any time. Take the edX Demo course to get a good idea of how courses work and find out about the online learning experience.

tag(s): aeronautics (11), architecture (76), artificial intelligence (182), china (81), circuits (20), civil rights (209), computers (109), electricity (61), engineering (129), environment (252), evolution (89), folktales (34), greeks (46), magnetism (36), medicine (57), nutrition (140), poetry (194), psychology (65), religions (95), shakespeare (99), solar energy (35), speech (69), statistics (121), terrorism (41)

This PDF explains the teaching strategies of Cubing and Think Dots. Cubing is an instructional strategy that asks students to consider a concept from different perspectives. Use ideas from the site to understand how to use cubes to differentiate teaching for various groups of students. Similar to cubes, Think Dots incorporates the idea of students constructing the meaning of concepts through the use of activity cards correlated to the roll of a dice. The PDF starts with an overview of Bloom's Taxonomy and its revision.

tag(s): blooms taxonomy (7), differentiation (84), learning styles (18), professional development (385)