Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Thousands of Teacher-reviewed Resources!

Student Knowledge Construction

Student knowledge construction happens when students go beyond just reproducing what they have learned to generate their own ideas and demonstrate understanding of what makes the information unique. There are a range of knowledge construction skills, including inference, analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and evaluation. This week, we are sharing resources you can use in your lessons to encourage student knowledge construction.    

Grades 6-12

Open-Ended Social Studies

Share this open educational resource (OER) textbook designed to foster critical and historical thinking skills through interactive content. Find resources related to the United States and world history and browse lessons and information.

Grades 6-12

Thinkalong

Improve and develop students’ critical thinking skills, debate skills, and media literacy using this site’s provocative questions related to current events and subjects, such as “Should performance-enhancing drugs be allowed in professional sports?”

Grades K-12

TeachersFirst's Media Literacy Resources

Media literacy is a set of skills that helps people analyze, evaluate, and create messages in various media forms. Discover this collection of reviewed resources that includes lesson ideas and activities for teaching media literacy skills.

Grades 6-8

Case Maker

Case Maker is a collection of 20 civics challenges for middle school students. Share individual challenges with students using the provided challenge code. There is also an introductory video teachers can view to learn more about the site.

Grades K-12

Project Look Sharp

Promote media literacy education and critical thinking skills through these curriculum kits. Click Free Classroom Materials to access the free kits, which include teacher guides, handouts, assessments, and correlating digital media.

Grades 6-12

Extreme Event

Extreme Event is a crisis problem-solving game for groups of 12 or more players aged 12 or older. Choose from three scenarios—hurricane, flood, or earthquake. These critical thinking challenges take about one hour to complete.

Grades K-12

TeachersFirst's Critical Thinking Resources

Students use critical thinking skills to observe, experience, communicate, and reflect while reading and learning content. Nurture critical thinking skills in your classroom using the reviewed resources shared in this collection.

Grades 8-12

Ask for Evidence

Find the facts behind product claims. Browse through stories for information on questions such as “Should we be worried about 'dirty' stethoscopes?" or claims about cancer-fighting foods. Click Guides from the top menu to peruse the many topics.

Grades 3-9

Quandary

Try out this online simulation of ethical decision-making. In three different games, students build a new colony on the planet Braxos and face decisions without right or wrong answers, but that have implications for them and others in the colony.

Grades 8-12

Critical Thinking Puzzles

Challenge your mind with this extensive collection of problem-solving puzzles and activities, posted blog-style (answers are not provided!). Some puzzles are geared toward mathematics skills, while others involve the English language or logic.

This Week at TeachersFirst

We invite you to register for our upcoming summer virtual workshops and our summer book club. We’re also sharing a related blog post and kindly request your input on our weekly poll.