Ideas and Resources for Substitutes from TeachersFirst
This collection of ideas and reviewed resources is selected to help both substitute teachers and regular teachers leaving instructions for a substitute. The list includes useful time-fillers for when plans are not a perfect fit as well as teacher-friendly suggestions to make subbing a positive learning experience for all. Be sure to check "In the classroom" suggestions for practical tips and ways to use these offerings.
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Gauth AI STEM Homework Helper - Gauth Math
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (136), equations (120), literature (216), statistics (119), STEM (269), tutorials (55), writing (318)
In the Classroom
Include Gauth with your other math and science support resources for students. Demonstrate how to ask questions and analyze the responses as a learning tool. Be sure to discuss the ethical use of AI tools with students as a learning tool and not a substitute for completing assignments. Encourage students to provide proper attribution when using Gauth. Share Gauth as a flipped learning tool for students to use as they begin to understand new concepts, then ask students to apply that knowledge to problems without using AI resources. Have students demonstrate how to solve problems by creating a video explanation with Free Screen Recorder Online, reviewed here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Magic ToDo - Goblin Tools
Grades
K to 12tag(s): adhd (28), artificial intelligence (136), organizational skills (86), professional development (404), Special Needs (56)
In the Classroom
Use Magic ToDo as a professional tool for creating to-do lists to complete upcoming tasks, such as preparation for parent-teacher conferences, writing long-term lesson plans, preparing for substitutes, and more. Share Magic To-Do with students to create a guide for planning on completing long-term projects. Show students how to use the estimated time feature to help them understand the time required to complete all project steps. To help students stay on track, ask them to create a to-do list for their upcoming project, take a screenshot of their list, and share it with you. Then, ask for weekly screenshots that show each student's progress in completing the project and ask them to use the checkboxes to mark completed items. If students fall behind, have short conferences to determine what is holding them back and provide support as needed. This tool is also helpful for students with special needs or attention disorders to use as a guide for completing required tasks.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Vmaker - Animaker
Grades
K to 12tag(s): Online Learning (42), remote learning (56), tutorials (55), video (260)
In the Classroom
Use this handy screen recording tool in a variety of ways in your classroom. Record tutorials for students to demonstrate how to access and use online sites; create recordings for substitutes to explain how to find and use the software on your computer, or make a how-to demo to find information on your class website to share with students and parents. Help students understand how to use the different features of documents, such as creating a tutorial showing students how to format cells in Excel, adding comments to a Google document, or finding and inserting images in slides. Share this tool with students to use when analyzing websites as part of your ongoing digital safety lessons. Ask them to include a video as part of a larger multimedia presentation. After exporting their video, ask students to include it within a presentation created using Sway, reviewed here, or Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Involve.me - Involve.me
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): assessment (149), calculators (37), polls and surveys (48), quiz (66), quizzes (90)
In the Classroom
Use Involve.me templates and designs in a variety of ways in any classroom. Create short, interactive quizzes for students and receive feedback immediately through an email or within your Involve.me account. For example, modify the Literature Pop Quiz template for any novel or substitute questions about your latest science experiment to assess student understanding. Use the How Well Do You Know History? template to ask questions about important events during your social studies unit. Have students incorporate the survey templates to use as an interactive portion of classroom presentations. Include the inflation calculator during an economics lesson to help students understand the effects of inflation. As students create multimedia projects using resources such as Sway, reviewed here, or Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here, ask them to include a link to a quiz or survey created using Involve.me.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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RecordCast Screen Recorder - PearlMountain Ltd
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Use this handy screen recording tool in a variety of ways in your classroom. Record tutorials for students to demonstrate how to access and use online sites, create recordings for substitutes to explain how to find and use the software on your computer, or make a how-to demo on where to find information on your class website to share with students and parents. Help students understand how to use the different features of documents, such as creating a tutorial showing students how to format cells in Excel, add comments to a Google document, or find and insert images in slides. Share this site with students to use when analyzing websites as part of your ongoing digital safety lessons. Ask them to include a video as part of a larger multimedia presentation. After exporting their video, ask students to include it within a presentation created using Sway, reviewed here, or Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kwanzaa - Sandbox and Co.
Grades
K to 8tag(s): cross cultural understanding (160), holidays (172), kwanzaa (12)
In the Classroom
Introduce your students to Kwanzaa by taking the quiz to see how much they know about Kwanzaa. Then in pairs or small groups, have students research the terms. As students research, substitute paper and pen journals by asking younger students to create a blog using a tool like Penzu, reviewed here, to share what they are learning with fellow students. A great blogging tool for older students is Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph have students click on an icon to upload related images, add YouTube or Vimeo, or Twitter links. Engage older students, by having them create a poster about Kwanzaa using a tool like DesignCap, reviewed here, and then upload the poster to their blog about the terms and what they've learned about this December holiday.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Thematic - Thematic, Inc.
Grades
K to 12tag(s): copyright (46), multimedia (45), sounds (42)
In the Classroom
As you introduce this site to students, it is the perfect opportunity to remind students of the importance of providing proper credit when sharing media online. Share a link to Thematic on your class website for students to use when creating video presentations (with proper credit, of course). Ask students to create a slideshow using Renderforest, reviewed here, or other presentation software as a substitute for a written book report or research paper. For example, as students learn about states of matter ask them to find images on a sharing site like UnSplash, reviewed here, demonstrating the different properties and transformation of matter. Have students add text information to their slides and upload their slide presentation to YouTube as a video including background music found on Thematic. Be sure to have students include a slide with credits for all images and music included in their video. On a professional level, use this site to find background music when sharing images from your classroom with parents.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Adventures of Kara, Winston and the SMART Crew - Childnet International
Grades
2 to 6tag(s): character education (77), digital citizenship (88), internet safety (113)
In the Classroom
Any teacher will benefit from the free materials and activities on this site to teach online safety to students either directly through these materials, or as additional resources to your current online safety materials. As a substitute for links on paper or in a word processing tool, use a bookmarking tool like Symbaloo, reviewed here, to share online resources with students on classroom computers and your class website. Enhance student understanding by challenging students to create digital books teaching online safety using Book Creator, reviewed here. Book Creator includes tools for adding videos, images, and more into books.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Expii Solve - Expii, Inc.
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): cultures (131), holidays (172), logic (163), problem solving (226)
In the Classroom
Be sure to save these puzzles for use throughout the school year. Use these problems as a substitute for your typical homework assignments. Include questions as part of math or science centers. Replace pencil and paper journals or notebooks by having students blog about their learning and understanding using Tumblr, reviewed here. Ask groups of students to work on topics together then share their results with the class. To enhance student learning and understanding, consider instituting a recurring podcast for students to share problems and discuss problem-solving strategies. Use a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Is That a Big Number? - Andrew Elliott
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): measurement (124), number sense (70), numbers (119), ratios (46)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site to use for reference throughout the year. Use it as a 5-10 minute fill-in when you have a little bit of extra time. Get your interactive whiteboard or projector ready and challenge students to provide numbers to use as a comparison or take the numbers quiz together to learn more about numbers. As a substitute to paper and pencil, have students create explainer videos using Typito, reviewed here, to demonstrate the power and size of large numbers. To extend student learning and understanding, challenge students to create a web page using Carrd, reviewed here, to share information learned after researching numbers and statistics found on this site and others.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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For the Teachers - For the Teachers
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): characterization (16), charts and graphs (169), constitution (87), differentiation (88), graphic organizers (50), inferencing (7), mean (19), measurement (124), median (16), mode (13), multiplication (121), patterns (62), place value (34), plot (10), reading comprehension (142), rubrics (35), sequencing (17)
In the Classroom
Be sure to bookmark this site to save as a favorite to find lesson ideas and activities throughout the school year. When planning for a substitute, look through the site to find useful ideas for lessons and planning organizers. There is so much material here to use, consider exploring the site with peers using techniques similar to a book study. Divide the site into sections to discuss at different times of your study. Organize your favorite materials from this site and your other resources using Padlet, reviewed here. Share your Padlet with peers to collaborate and create a useful time for organizing and sharing your favorite teaching materials. Supplement information included on report cards by using a site like Seesaw, reviewed here, to create portfolios for your students to demonstrate progress in reading, math, and other content areas. Include student-created projects based on activities found on For the Teachers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Semantris - Google
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): game based learning (179), logic (163), puzzles (143), vocabulary (237), vocabulary development (87), word study (58)
In the Classroom
Share Semantris with students on classroom computers or devices for use as a quick word association and vocabulary building activity. Challenge students to become more proficient in "beating" Google by earning as many points as possible. For younger students, this site is an excellent way to build vocabulary skills. Have older students take this site a step further and research how machine learning works through this Google activity. Enhance learning by asking them to substitute a traditional report or presentation by making a video explanation tool like Typito, reviewed here, to describe the concept of machine learning. After spending some time practicing this game, take it a step further and extend student learning by having students create their own vocabulary learning game using a tool such as Scratch, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ruff Ruffman - Humble Media Genius - PBS Kids
Grades
1 to 6tag(s): digital citizenship (88), internet safety (113)
In the Classroom
Introduce Ruff Ruffman with a projector or interactive whiteboard, showing students all of the different questions Ruff will answer. Then either view the video shorts and quizzes as a class, or allow students to view the video shorts and take the interactive quizzes at a computer center. As a substitute for paper and pencil, have students use a video response tool like Flock, reviewed here to reflect on their learning and share tips for their peers. To extend student learning, require students to view their peer's reflections and make thoughtful comments. Share the link to your Flock topic on your class website and newsletter.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Stay Safe Online - Stay Safe Online - NCSA
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): digital citizenship (88), internet safety (113)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site or the accompanying pages of Stop.Think.Connect to show students how to navigate the resources. Then, allow pairs or small groups to choose from the tips and advice for further study and exploration. As a substitute for handwritten notes, have students document their learning and understanding by taking notes online with Webnode, reviewed here.. Show your students how to create a multimedia digital story for students' siblings, parents, and peers, by embedding media; this will modify their work into a true digital story. Try using one of these tools (click on the tool name to access the review): PicLits, Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, and Clipchamp.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Substitutes - Ideas and Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): substitutes (26)
In the Classroom
Whether you are a substitute looking for some "filler" ideas or a classroom teacher looking for new sites, check out this list of resources. Share this list on your class website for families to use at home. This list includes resources for young readers and secondary students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Whooo's Reading - Whooo's Reading
Grades
K to 8tag(s): classroom management (122), reading comprehension (142), reading strategies (99)
In the Classroom
Although recommended for students in grades K-8, teachers of younger students should review questions and consider writing ability levels before including them in the program due to the written responses required. Consider using Whooo's Reading as an alternative to Accelerated Reader due to the use of short response answers instead of multiple choice questions. After reading books, substitute paper and pen journals by asking younger students to create a blog using a tool like Penzu, reviewed here, to share a book review with fellow students. Engage older students, or literature circle groups, by having them create a poster for the book using a tool like DesignCap, reviewed here, and then upload the poster to their blog about the book. A great blogging tool for older students is Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph have students click on an icon to upload related images, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or Twitter links. This blog creator requires no registration. For all age students, enhance learning by creating a class book review site using Flip, reviewed here, where students create short video book reviews and can comment on each others reviews.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Free Online Screen Recorder - AceThinker
Grades
K to 12tag(s): communication (138), tutorials (55), video (260)
In the Classroom
Any subject area teacher can use this tool to record instructions for using websites. Share how to solve problems, step by step directions for any project, and much more. Leave a video message for a substitute teacher or even your class! Create a video message for parents about current projects, clips from field trips, and more. Put a link to your recording on your class website for students to view at home. Demonstrate how to use this tool for students with a projector or interactive whiteboard, then have them record questions they have when using websites or online programs.Comments
waoh. I love this.Babalola, IN, Grades: 7 - 12
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A Year of Picture Prompts - New York Times
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): creative writing (121), descriptive writing (40), journals (16), writing prompts (58)
In the Classroom
Save this website to your favorites or link from your class web page. These inspirational ideas are perfect for journals, quick writes, or to develop into a full story or essay. There are plenty of unusual ideas to give even your most reluctant writer or artist an inspirational nudge. ENL/ELL students can be motivated easily with picture prompts. Share these prompts with your gifted students for some "out of the box" writing ideas. Keep these creative ideas in your "emergency" lesson plan folder for substitutes, or for your own spontaneous writing needs. Extend student learning and challenge them to share writing aloud in a podcast format using a site such as Buzzsprout, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Animatron - Dmitry Skavish
Grades
K to 12tag(s): animation (64), movies (51), multimedia (45), slides (42), video (260)
In the Classroom
Challenge older students to create their own Animatrons. Students can use Animatron to share their ideas or to "prototype" an idea. Students can create videos to show math processes, explanations of complex concepts, review new learning, teach others, explain scientific processes, tell stories, or present research. Flip your classroom using Animatron presentations. Use Animatron to create teacher-authored animations for students in ANY grade. Animatron is an excellent way to present new information or ideas for discussion. It is an easy way to prepare information for the class when a substitute is coming. Share Animatron creations on your website or blog for students to review at home. Use an Animatron video on the first day of school to explain class rules or give an exciting introduction to the year ahead. Use Animatron to create movies or presentations for back-to-school night or conference nights to display on your interactive whiteboard or with a projector. Teacher-librarians can ask students to create Animatron book reviews to share kiosk style in the library/media center.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CamStudio - Free Screen Streaming Software - CamStudio
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): video (260)
In the Classroom
Use CamStudio to record instructions for using websites. Share how to perform problems, step by step directions for any project, and much more. Leave a video message for a substitute teacher or even the class! Create a video message to share with parents about current projects, clips from field trips, and more. Share on your class website for students to view at home. Allow students to record a video sharing their favorite websites or tips for solving math problems.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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