Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This informative site uses photographs, articles, maps, and videos to recapture the remarkable events of June 6, 1944. Scroll all the way down the page to Learn the History and click D Day Overview to discover the D-Day events beginning with what happened leading up to the storming of the beaches of Normandy. Find background information on some of the important characters of this historic event. From the top of the webpage click Learn, then slide to Teachers & Students where you will find Educational Resources with links to lesson plans and first-hand accounts from Veterans of D-Day. At least one of the videos is presented via YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable.

tag(s): d day (11), veterans (27), world war 2 (161)

Khan Academy, reviewed here, offers an extensive playlist of math and science videos and tutorials on this YouTube channel. Scroll through to view available topics such as calculus, biology, SAT preparation, and much more. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): computers (109), equations (119), financial literacy (93), probability (99), STEM (297), test prep (69), video (266)

Bring the world to your classroom with this excellent list of virtual field trips. At the time of this review, there were nearly 40 field trips available! Take a trip to the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, or Rome. Choose any of the titles to visit the home site for the virtual field trip. Some of the titles have several virtual tours listed, i.e. 7 Wonders Panorama. Share any link via social media, email, or by using the code to embed in a website or blog.

tag(s): africa (148), cultures (180), museums (52), rome (37), virtual field trips (128), white house (16)

Discover New York City's rich historical past with this collection of photographs from the 1870's through the 1970's. View photos placed according to location using Google Maps. Scroll through popular photos or explore the map to find images from around all of New York City.

tag(s): 1900s (72), 20th century (62), images (263), new york (24), photography (130)

The American Civil War was one of the first major conflicts for which we have a photographic record. For the 150th anniversary of the war, photographer David Levene traveled to the sites of 23 iconic Civil War photographs and captured the same view as it exists today. Using a simple slider button, shift watch as the scene transforms from the past to the present. Along with each photograph is a brief narrative, and an audio interview related to the scene with more detail about the changes over the last 150 years. Don't forget to click on the associated article for important background information from Levene about the project and his reflections on what he learned.
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tag(s): battles (18), civil war (139), photography (130)

Commemorate Black History Month with 20 lesson plans and resources covering a variety of topics including racial discrimination, civil rights, and discussions about race in current events. Scroll through the page to view topics and grade level suggestions. Content ranges from a history of discrimination through current events such as debating race through the Trayvon Martin shooting. Some lessons also contain Common Core correlations.

tag(s): black history (133), civil rights (209), cultures (180), martin luther king (45), racism (79), video (266)

Could you pass the U.S. Naturalization Test? Preparing For The Oath offers learning opportunities and a practice test. Practice listening, reading and oral skills as you take the practice test. As you check for correct answers, use the Review This Question link to learn and practice more information. Additional links offer lesson plans and guides for teachers, word lists, and full transcripts of resources.

tag(s): immigration (68)

We are accustomed to hearing the voices of celebrities and important leaders today, but it has been less than 150 years since the invention of sound recording technology. Earliest Voices is an archive of recordings from the earliest years between 1877 and 1927. Hear Booker T. Washington speak about race relations or William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech. Listen to Thomas Edison (who was the inventor of the technology) speak about advances in technology and electricity. Find a short biography and images along with the recordings.

tag(s): biographies (94), inventors and inventions (80), oral history (13), politics (118), sound (72)

What does it mean to go to war? This simple infographic shows the Constitutional process by which the United States declares war, traces the history of each of the U.S. declarations of war, and differentiates among formal declarations, military actions, and Presidential or Congressional authorizations of force.

tag(s): civil war (139), congress (40), constitution (96), presidents (135), war of 1812 (15), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

Take a virtual tour of Mount Vernon, the home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. Beautifully executed, and packed with special features, the tour is billed as the "second best way to visit Mount Vernon," and doesn't disappoint. Click on the three dots with a checkmark in lower right corner to find a menu of places to look. Click the video play button in the middle of the page and watch the tutorial so you don't miss any of the many tips and tricks to get the most out of your virtual tour.

tag(s): 1700s (36), presidents (135), virginia (15), virtual field trips (128)

The Disability History Museum is dedicated to raising awareness about how culture, identity, and law have helped define the lives of those with disabilities. A digital archive of photographs, artifacts, cartoons, and other primary source material offers important context to the discussion. A small collection of lesson plans will assist in helping students talk about and understand their own assumptions and knowledge of what it means to live with disabilities, both historically, and in the present. A collection of digital exhibits is expected to be added in the near future.

tag(s): character education (79), disabilities (32), primary sources (117)

Find an answer to your question or great question starters for any conversation here with this free tool! Featured under the Resource tab, you can access articles, books, case studies, lesson plans, Kahoot, videos, downloads, and events. The site caters to students in preschool through grade 12. When signing up for free, you gain access to more content on the site.

tag(s): animals (294), climate change (99), immigration (68), musical instruments (52), racism (79), timelines (56)

There are plenty of simulation interactives for major life events such as pandemics, but what happens in everyday life? NationStates brings to life daily decisions. This multiplayer online interactive features you as the head of your nation to create and shape how you see fit. To get started, create your nation by giving it a name. Customize various aspects, such as the flag, history, and national animal. Then get into the heart of your nation: political, social, and economic issues. These choices determine the initial status of your nation. As you play, these problems will change with your choices. Every day an issue is presented and the choices you make affect the outcome of your nation. Your choices become the national law in your nation. Warning: There is one problem a day, but you can change that to two in your account settings. As you play, various aspects of your nation change and the type of government shifts (maybe even including anarchy). Choose to stay an independent nation or join others to create a region. Participate in the World Assembly (the pretend U.N.). View debates in the forum that actually touch on current events in the game and in real life. One thing to note: If you are not attentive to the issues that come up each day, the game ends quickly. The good news is that it takes very little time to view the issue, act, and see the result. Note: This interactive is loosely based on the novel Jennifer Government by Max Barry.
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tag(s): foreign policy (13), money (113), politics (118), sociology (23)

Looking for videos and resources that peer into Global Issues? Start with this resource! Click the Video Bank to view resources by themes: conflict, power, human rights, social structures, migrations, economic systems, factors of production, or political systems. Also, view the video bank by location in the world. Videos in each theme are up to several minutes in length and are clips of larger videos. Click on the video of choice, to view the video on a larger screen, see the guiding questions, read the background essay and transcript, and find related links. Text can easily be printed using the print function along the bottom. Videos are easily downloaded, with directions for both PC and Mac users. View the country and region map along the left side along with the accompanying lesson plan. Additionally, click on Lesson Plans instead to display the following for each global issue: overview, learning objectives and standards, media components (with links), and materials. Be sure to note the Prep for Teachers along the bottom of each lesson plan.
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tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (180), maps (220)

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 (96), immigrants (34), immigration (68), lincoln (66), slavery (79), vietnam (38), westward expansion (39), world war 2 (161)

PBS offers this series of lessons aligned to their popular mini-series, The Roosevelts. All lessons include alignment to standards, background information, discussion questions, and evaluation rubrics. Choose from full-length Lesson Plans or Snapshot Lessons containing quick, adaptable activities for classroom use.
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tag(s): 1900s (72), presidents (135), roosevelt (15)

Learn about the early years of air transportation through the jet age using this site from the Smithsonian. Scroll down to read an explanation of the earliest to newest planes, mail carrier uniforms, and documents. Find activities and lesson plans under the Learn tab and click Explore to find stories, collections, and topics that range from Aviation and Early Flight to Spaceflight. Use the left menu to find many more air and space aviation topics.

tag(s): 1920s (15), 20th century (62), aircraft (16), aviation (40), flight (34)

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 (77)

Take a deeper look into the Declaration of Independence and the signers with this unique interactive. The interactive has three main parts: a high-resolution scan of The Declaration of Independence with a full transcription of text, an annotated version of John Trumbull's painting of the signing, and an interactive map plotting the signer's hometowns and giving a mini biography. Use buttons on the site to move between the three portions. Be sure to view the instructions for a complete overview of all of the interactive offers.

tag(s): american revolution (82), declaration of independence (16), franklin (12), jefferson (19)

Discover a large collection of free to use images for presentations, slide shows, reports, and more at Free Tiiu Pix. The creator of this site designed all images available. Go to the image gallery to browse images sorted by categories. The categories range from Architecture, Food, Animals, Insects, Plants and more. Right click to save images or choose optional links for different resolution sizes. In addition to the image gallery, be sure to check out the slide presentation gallery including visually appealing PowerPoint presentations on many topics. From the Clip Art Gallery (with free clip art to use) there is also a link to Learn How to Draw Your Own Clip Art. These are FREE to use. However, be sure to read and understand the Terms of Use! Note: you must be 18 to use this site. So while this is an excellent site for teachers to find resources, this shouldn't be shared with students to use independently.
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tag(s): images (263), photography (130), slides (43)