Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), in partnership with the Khan Academy, offers several tutorials exploring the world of contemporary and modern art. View information in categories such as Printmaking, Behind the scenes at MoMA, and Performance Art. Each section contains several short videos exploring the topic. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): art history (102), artists (84)

Sheppard Software offers hundreds of online learning games for learners in a large variety of subjects. Topics include brain games, seasons, nutrition, and world geography. Search for specific topics or browse categories. Looking for a specific grade level range? Scroll down below the main icons to view recommended sections for different age ranges from preschool to adult. In addition to games, some categories include videos, timelines, and coloring activities. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. Some activities require flash which isn't supported on all browsers.
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tag(s): addition (129), alphabet (53), alphabetical order (8), animal homes (57), animals (294), capitalization (9), capitals (16), cells (82), colors (63), continents (33), counting (60), countries (73), decimals (85), dinosaurs (43), division (98), elements (33), endangered species (27), equations (119), estimation (33), fractions (160), geometric shapes (134), grammar (137), integers (21), landforms (39), life cycles (21), measurement (122), money (113), multiplication (122), number lines (33), number sense (69), numbers (120), oceans (149), order of operations (29), parts of speech (39), patterns (61), periodic table (44), place value (34), puzzles (149), states (124), subtraction (110), time (91), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)

Bring science to life with this free community of Science Workshop ideas. The site may not look exciting, but the activities bring real hands-on learning to science. Browse a few activities to get the idea. After registering, click on the CSW Projects and Activities tab. Search the activities by project type (e.g. projectiles, music, woodshop) or by STEM content. Workshop ideas are either video or downloaded instructions with images. Most use simple, inexpensive materials.

tag(s): engineering (129), gravity (43), inventors and inventions (80), musical instruments (52), plants (146), sound (72), STEM (297)

Next Vista offers Learning videos for teachers looking for alternatives to YouTube. At the time of this review, they offered over 1,000 videos (most useful for in the classroom). Videos are made by teachers and/or students. Search by three main topics: Light Bulbs, Global View, or Seeing Service. Better yet, use the right sidebar to search by topic: Math, Science, World Languages, History & Culture, Performing Arts, and more.Next Vista offers an extensive collection of career videos to use as a resource for exploring and discovering career opportunities. View videos directly on site or share using the link or embed code provided. Throughout the school year, Next Vista hosts video creation contests for students and teachers. Submit your own videos less than 5 minutes in length using directions provided. They even offer small prizes for winners.

tag(s): africa (148), asia (116), careers (156), computers (109), europe (84), literature (221), musical instruments (52), musical notation (34), north america (15), parts of speech (39), poetry (193), shakespeare (99), south america (47), speech (69), video (266)

Create your own character icon (or avatar) for free with Portrait Illustration Maker. Customize your character with all of the options on the site. Select your hairstyle, face line, eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, coloration, as well as other effects and accessories. Click Download to save your completed character as a PNG (or other file format) to use on a website or blog. Click Alignment to select GIF or JPG file format or to add a Word that will appear the top of the image. Images are 96 by 96 pixels (quite small). Use the delete button to start over or to make a new character. Portrait Illustration Maker offers a FREE iOS and Android app for mobile devices.
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tag(s): creativity (86), DAT device agnostic tool (147), emotions (49), faces (5)

Find engaging, challenging units to begin your Common Core journey. Intel Education Units are complete and include assessment tools. Search by grade level or subject. Find the basics for planning units. Also find sequencing maps, sequencing activities, classification charts, and prioritizing listings. Instructional Strategies include activating prior knowledge, graphic organizers, cooperative learning, and questioning strategies.

tag(s): literacy (122)

Watch full length documentaries online for free. Find your favorites through daily suggestions, browsing the top 100, or searching categories: 9/11, activism, art, aviation, business, comedy, crime, disaster, drugs, economics, environmental, food/drink, health, media, medicine, music, nature, performing arts, philosophy, political, religion, science, social, sport, strange, technology, travel, and many more. Look at film festivals and films featured in each. If you do not find what you are looking for, submit your request. A link to Amazon brings you to DVD's. Some are free, and others are for sale.
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tag(s): video (266)

Turn meaningful words into beautiful images in just seconds using Quozio. Paste or type your quote into the quote box or use the site's bookmarklet to highlight text from the web to use as your quote. Enter who said it. Scroll through background images available to use with your quote. When finished, share via Pinterest, Facebook, or email. You can also RIGHT click the image to SAVE image as and download a copy to your computer for printing or use elsewhere. Register on Quozio using your email to save quotes directly on the Quozio site.

tag(s): bulletin boards (15), images (263), quotations (19), writing prompts (61)

Twiddla is an online meeting space and collaboration tool that is like having a whiteboard skin placed over any website or image so you can draw and more. Discover options available in the practice area named the Sandbox. Choose options for collaboration such as a url, uploaded image or document, or collaborate together on a blank screen. Use the Invite button to share the collaboration url via email or copy/paste. Take a snapshot of your session at any time and export as an image. Pro Accounts offer additional features, such as screen captures and password protection. Receive these services free as an educator, find the directions in the FAQ.
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tag(s): design (79), editing (93), iwb (31), note taking (36)

View visual guidelines for proper email etiquette. We all need to develop e-mail writing skills for an academic setting with classmates, teachers, administrators, and members of the community in the 21st century. Download the PDF visual guidelines to guide you and your students on the manners and responsibilities associated with communicating through email. Be sure to provide credit to the author in your classroom, website, or blog if you post the PDF.

tag(s): digital citizenship (85), writing (325)

The World Digital Library makes it possible to discover, study, and enjoy digitized cultural treasures from around the world. Resources include manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, and architectural drawings. Browse by place, time, topic, type of item, and contributing institution, or use the open-ended search available in many languages. Information included with items includes a description, place of event or item, date, location of the item, and tags for viewing items similar in nature or topic. Move the timeline to view items for specific time periods.

tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), 1800s (75), 1900s (72), 20th century (62), africa (148), asia (116), australia (28), china (81), cross cultural understanding (173), europe (84), images (263), north america (15), south america (47)

Skype as a Learning Call is a PDF loaded with information on using Skype calls in your classroom. Different pages include information such as what to do before, during, and after a call for both you and your students. Also included are student handouts to record information from calls. Be sure to check this out as an excellent resource for getting the most of your Skype learning experiences!

tag(s): skype (2), webcams (19)

Inspire yourself and your students with Windows to the Universe Motivational Quotes. Although a rather simple site in appearance, there is a lot of "good stuff" here. Add creativity, encouragement, and an atmosphere of excellence to your classroom and your life.
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tag(s): firstday (22), quotations (19)

The Digital Public Library of America is a central portal pulling together the collections of US libraries, archives and museums. These individual collections are available in a single large database. The DPLA does not actually have any collection of its own; rather it provides direct links to individual artifacts that reside in other collections across the US. Artifacts include text, images, video clips, and more. You can search the DPLA using a timeline, using a map, or using a more traditional search box. The timeline feature makes accessing topics such as "civil rights" by decade very helpful. Creating a free account allows you to save searches. The DPLA also "collects" groups of artifacts into exhibitions.

tag(s): 1910s (6), 1920s (15), 1930s (20), 1940s (14), 1950s (8), 1960s (26), 1970s (10), 1980s (7), 20th century (62), data (151), museums (52), primary sources (117), Research (87)

U.S. History Images is a large site of Public Domain images beginning with Native Americans up to the Civil War. Choose from categories offered to locate images within the different choices. For specific searches, use the search bar or site map to locate content. Be sure to view the Terms of Use for understanding of proper use of images.
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tag(s): 1800s (75), american revolution (82), civil war (139), colonial america (95), colonization (21), emancipation proclamation (13), images (263), industrial revolution (22), industrialization (12), lincoln (66), native americans (108), pioneers (9), states (124), transportation (30), washington (28)

Forge connections between the arts and other subjects through resources at Education Closet. Choose the lessons link to find many lessons for grades K-12. Each lesson preview contains a short description, information about classroom and fine arts content. Many also correlate to Common Core standards. You can search for lessons by grade levels (K-3, 4-8, or 9-12). Choose a lesson for a more complete description. Click to download the complete lesson in PDF format. Each lesson contains a list of materials, complete directions, assessments, and suggestions for extending the lesson.
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tag(s): american revolution (82), bullying (48), charts and graphs (171), civil war (139), dance (31), descriptive writing (42), energy (133), immigration (68), main idea (8), narrative (16), patterns (61), photography (130), poetry (193), ratios (47)

The 360Cities panoramas are a new way to showcase places, businesses, and events from around the world. Looking for a new virtual field trip? 360Cities will have your students spinning in circles with excitement. The pictures are out of this world! View 360 degree panoramic pictures from Mars or under the sea. Travel to snowy mountain tops and many more of the Internet's largest collection of uploaded panoramic images. 360Cities panoramic aerial shots are also available as well as navigable views of cities, natural landscapes, and more. The most popular panoramic pictures are listed for your convenience. This website has panoramic views of all Seven Wonders of the World, which include the Colosseum in Rome, The Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, The Taj Mahal in India, Machu Picchu in Peru, Christ Redeemer in Rio, and Chichen Itza in Mexico. Are you looking for a site to showcase your own panoramic shots or do you want to learn how to take panoramic shots? 360Cities "how to" section offers tools to create and upload your own panoramic pictures. View the existing pictures for free or use an email address to create a free account to upload your own panoramic pictures. Paid upgrades are available. 360Cities also has an app for iOS devices. View the 360Cities blog linked on the site for more information.
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tag(s): images (263), landforms (39), landmarks (22), virtual field trips (128)

Save time when creating presentations and choosing fonts by using Wordmark.it to preview what your exact words will look like. Simply type/paste in any words, and Wordmark.it scans the fonts on your computers, displaying the words in each and every font style you have. Adjust font size as desired to see changes or change to positive or negative space. This site helps find the perfect font for any use in no time at all! You no longer have to guess whether the capitals will look funny or the specific letters/words might be hard to read. Art teachers can use this to demonstrate design aspects of different fonts. Sign up using email and a password to save words if desired, but this isn't necessary for general use.

Enter the engaging virtual world of Whyville filled with math, science, art, and literature activities. Create an avatar and join in constructive educational activities that promote socially responsible behavior. There are many activities to explore, and you can chat with other users. The Zero Gravity Chamber features angles and the principle of Newton's 3rd Law. In the Rocket Design Lab simulate rockets to test parameters such as nozzle size and pay load. The Engine Lab has 3 games that teach about electric charges and ion engines. Citizens must be aware of infectious illnesses and plagues that infect the citizens of Whyville. Join in the hot air balloon race to analyze vector fields to navigate hot air balloons. Go on an art treasure hunt around the world. At the dance studio design and choreograph your own dances. Visit the beach, the climate center, take a swim, or meet your friends at the playground or waterfall. Simulations change every time you enter Whyville. Earn clams, a salary, manage a bank account, get a pet, and read the daily news. Log-in (with email) is required to fully participate in this site. However, most of the site is accessible without registration. Don't miss this award winning website!

tag(s): aircraft (16), animals (294), dance (31), diseases (66), logic (161), money (113), motion (47), puzzles (149), recycling (45), social skills (22), vectors (16)