Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Find interactive maps examining the results of elections from 1840 through 2008. With US politics increasingly dominated by election year strategizing, a historical look at how Americans have voted in both Presidential and Congressional elections can provide useful context. In a democracy, the power of popular elections to affect the lives of all citizens cannot be understated. In order to understand how changes in population--demography and distribution--have affected popular elections, it's important to see those changes in perspective. On this site, you can look at Presidential elections or Congressional elections, as well as population maps focused on African American and White population changes over the time period. Most of the maps are based on an advancing time line that maps data over time. For Presidential elections, there are also more detailed maps for each separate election.

tag(s): congress (38), elections (82), electoral college (22), maps (207), presidents (133), timelines (55)

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 (44), french (75), german (47), italian (29), multilingual (69), portuguese (22), spanish (106)

Prodigy offers engaging interactives for seven to twelve-year-olds to practice their math! Use the anime-style avatars to travel the world and meet wizards and confront challenges. As math skills improve, your characters earn new spells that can be used only when math proficiencies are strengthened and expanded. The activities will differentiate, assigning and reviewing new math skills. Track your success and get help in areas where you are struggling. Some of the instruction videos (for parents and teachers) are hosted on YouTube. If your school blocks YouTube, you may want to familiarize yourself with this site at home.

tag(s): addition (127), division (97), fractions (158), game based learning (181), number sense (70), numbers (119), subtraction (108)

When it seems the same students always volunteer with answers and help, try the Random Name Picker. Get your entire class involved using this colorful "game-like" tool. This colorful wheel clicks when you spin. It cheers when you land on a name. The site uses HTML5 so it will work on iPads as well as laptops and PCs. There is no registration required. Input the names, (enter each name or word on a different line, copy and paste from a spreadsheet or word document if available), save your lists with a password, and embed the Picker into your blog or website. You can even get a QR code. Choose the typewriter to view a scrambled word letter-by-letter. The fruit machine reveals a choice with a slot machine, choose the button Remove to delete used names/words from the list as you play. For safety, use first names only!

tag(s): classroom management (123), Teacher Utilities (159)

Instantly create a QR code for many purposes using the QR Code Generator at QR Droid Zapper. Choose the tab for the type of code to generate such as a URL, your contact information, a calendar event, or a location. Add information to the required boxes and personalize size and color, if desired. Click to generate your code. Right-click to save the generated QR code to your computer or use the link provided to share through email or social networking. Embed the QR code in a webpage using the embed code provided.

tag(s): gamification (78), qr codes (16)

Use this interactive online ear diagram to examine the workings of how we hear sounds. Click each dot to see that part of the ear and to view the name and read about the function. Click on Anatomy of the Ear from the menu on the right to see a short video of the ear explaining the parts and their functions. There is a transcript for the video beneath it. The video resides on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube it may not be viewable for your classroom

tag(s): human body (94), senses (20)