Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

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.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): worksheets (71)

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.
This site includes advertising.

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.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): assessment (146), book lists (167), reading comprehension (150), reading lists (77), science of reading (34), writers workshop (31), writing (325)

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 (171), commoncore (73), reading comprehension (150), 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 (130), digital storytelling (155), Microsoft (79), multimedia (55), slides (43), visualizations (11)

Sutori is an easy-to-use digital storytelling and presentation tool designed for educators and students. It allows users to create visually engaging timelines, lesson plans, and collaborative stories. During the free trial period, teachers can access all premium features, including adding quizzes, polls, embedded videos, and custom colors. After the trial, users can continue creating unlimited presentations but are restricted to adding only text and image elements. All projects created during the trial remain accessible and shareable. A paid subscription is required to regain access to the full suite of creation tools and interactive features.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): american revolution (83), civil war (140), immigration (79), photosynthesis (21), timelines (57), womens suffrage (52), world war 1 (77)

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 (78), 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.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): editing (93), proofreading (21), writing (325)

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 (125), descriptive writing (42), expository writing (31), letter writing (20), persuasive writing (58), poetry (196), writing (325)

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.
This site includes advertising.

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 (12), architecture (84), artificial intelligence (187), china (81), circuits (19), civil rights (217), computers (109), electricity (61), engineering (137), environment (252), evolution (88), folktales (34), greeks (46), magnetism (35), medicine (57), nutrition (139), poetry (196), psychology (65), religions (112), 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 (85), learning styles (17), professional development (392)

Technology Tailgate is a collaborative blog network for teachers to collaborate, share ideas and show ways to incorporate technology into primary classrooms. Specifically designed to meet Common Core Standards through technology, entries offer viewers ideas for infusing technology in everyday lessons. Use the keyword search bar to find specific information, scroll through daily posts, or click on tags for subject-specific posts. Search through archives dating back to 2012 for earlier posts.

tag(s): blogs (67)

WikiWand is a browser add-on to enhance the look and use of Wikipedia. Follow links to add the extension to Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. Once installed, WikiWand adds an easy to use table of contents to the side of the screen, easier to read typography and a handy preview-on-hover feature. Personalize your screen by changing fonts and size of fonts.

tag(s): media literacy (109), writing (325)

Celebrating the Holidays at A Kid's Heart contains online games, puzzles, printable activity pages, mini games to download, screen savers, clip art, coloring pages, gift tags to print, desktop wallpaper, and whole lot more! Build background knowledge about the many holidays people around the world celebrate. Some of the holidays included are birthdays, New Years, Winter, Father's Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday, Valentine's Day, Summer Time, Independence Day, Presidents' Day, Purim, St Patrick's Day, Spring Time, Passover, Mother's Day, Earth Day, Grandparents' Day, Fall Harvest, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Autumn, Christmas, and Hanukkah. Find informative, entertaining activities at this site.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): christmas (38), earth day (61), fall festival (6), hanukkah (12), holidays (194), july 4th (12), martin luther king (46), new years (5), preK (286), rosh hashanah (13), st patricks day (12), valentines day (11), yom kippur (15)

Classmill allows you to create your own online classes by uploading videos, links, files, and images. Create your account to start your own class or explore classes already online. When creating a class choose from privacy options such as invite only for attendees. Add content within modules for each class using tabs to upload or embed information. Once your content is complete, use the "Ready" toggle switch to make it accessible to participants. Use the "Invite" button to invite users using their email address.

tag(s): classroom management (119)

Do you need to choose items in a truly random way? If so, this site is for you! Random.org offers many different categories for receiving randomized information. Choose from the links for random lists, coin flippers, dates, passwords, dice rolls, and much more. Follow directions on each page to set the form and receive results. There is also an app for both Android and iOs devices.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (146), gamification (85), probability (99), resources (83)

Here is an excellent site for finding images for non-commercial use that will have the proper citation downloaded with it. Find a photo you want to use. Click the download link under the picture. The downloaded image will have the appropriate attribution information with it. Note: right clicking on the photo will not produce the attribution information. Our editors found all photos to be "class appropriate." However, it is always best to use caution with image searching. Provide students with clear guidelines and expectations.

tag(s): images (263), photography (131), search engines (48)