Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Create authentic-looking magazine covers sure to attract double-takes. Simply upload a photo to create your cover. If you do not need to SAVE the photo for online access later, you do not even need to join the site. Covers you create can be downloaded as completed images or sent via email and other sharing tools (Facebook, etc). Photos can be uploaded from your files, Flickr, your website, or other photosharing sites. Fill in your desired text for the titles and sub-titles and choose colors for them. It's that simple. Click 'Create' at the bottom and you have a magazine cover that will leave others in awe. For more creative ideas using Big Huge Labs, go to the top of the page and click on Big Huge Labs Blog or Forum. Big Huge Labs offers MANY similar tools, such as Mapmaker, reviewed here. Of course, this site offers advanced options for a fee or with free registration, but neither is necessary.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): bulletin boards (15), collages (17), firstday (22), flickr (2), images (263), posters (43)

"This web site is dedicated to those individuals who see the world in different ways." Find activities, printables, and interactive games to help students with exceptionalities; learn about basics, master organization, and deal with interpersonal challenges on this site. Many of the resources are useful for "regular ed" as well as special ed. Although the site includes items for sale, there are many lesson plans and interactives offered for free. See the Disabilities menu for quick explanations of various disabilities: OCD, Asperger's, Autism, PDD, Learning disabilities, and more. The Games menu offers interactives to help students learn position words (in/out/left/right, etc), facial expressions, emotions, time, first-then-next sequencing, synonyms/antonyms, and more. Check out the safety songs with animated illustrations (turn up your speakers!). The Get Organized menu has some terrific offerings, including an interactive Emotions Color Wheel.

tag(s): aspergers (7), autism (15), emotions (49), empathy (34), safety (68), Special Needs (53)

This International Kids Club site has activities, books, and crafts to help students understand each other around the world. Information links include lots of material on world clocks, religions, customs, organizations, and art. Specific links include "I" Kids, "I" Share, "I" Shop, "I" Learn, "I" Craft, and "I" Play. One fun part is finding out how speakers of different languages think animals sound. What is "meow" in an Asian language, for example? Sound files give examples of the sounds of many languages, as well. Some of the links are slow to open at times, so you may want to open them before you are ready to use them in class.

tag(s): flags (18), maps (220), tolerance (8)

Explore the science of fear with this fun and interesting site. Click on "Explore Fear Online." View "Fear and the Brain" to understand how the brain responds to fear. Learn animal responses in "Fear in the Wild." Other links include "Fear and the Media," "The Fun Side of Fear," and "Dealing with Fear." Each link includes several more specific topics. There is also a Parent's Guide with some of the topics.

tag(s): brain (56), emotions (49), halloween (32), psychology (65), stress (7)

This comprehensive directory lists thousands of summer learning opportunities for kids of all ages. Day and overnight camp choices include those focusing on sports, special needs, family, self-improvement, arts, adventure, and academics. They also offer Online camps. The site also includes advice for parents about selecting, paying, and packing for summer camp.

tag(s): seasonal (16), summer (28)

Need a PowerPoint? Check this site first to find one on a topic you need from the vast array available. The free PowerPoints and interactive activities are easily downloaded. To find the FREE PowerPoint presentations, click on the FREE Presentations in PowerPoint Format link found directly under the red train. There are literally hundreds of topics (over 1,200 at the time of this review). Topics are listed in alphabetical order. There are so many topics: Plagiarism, Integers, Interjections, IQ Tests, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Graphic Organizers, Graphs, Gold Rush, the Bible, Economics, Amelia Earhart (and many other heroes), Descriptive Writing, Coral Reefs, Civil Rights Movement, Autism, Ancient Civilizations, Presidents, Louisiana Purchase, Money, Music Instruments, How to Write an Outline, Rosa Parks, Resumes, Terrorism, Vietnam War, and many MANY others. Primary teachers will appreciate simple activities on Dolch words and other sight vocabulary! Pages are arranged in topics such as "Plants and Animals," "World History," "Biology, Chemistry, and Physics," and "Problem Solving." There are many professional topics on exceptionalities, as well. Each page includes a vast array of subtopics. Other links on the page include "Greta's Game Station" and "Hannah's Help" which offers information on researching.

tag(s): 20th century (62), adhd (28), back to school (55), electricity (61), flight (34), inventors and inventions (80), literature (221), parts of speech (39), polar (10), politics (118), speech (69), states (124), war of 1812 (15), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

Explore the Humane Society Career page to learn all about animal protection issues like puppy mills, fighting animal cruelty, the fur trade, factory farms, pet homelessness, cosmetics animal testing, and other sensitive topics and what you can do to stop these tragedies. If you don't see your topic on this main page, type it in the search bar. This site features a FREE online webinar, printable PDF pages on HOT topics, and a podcast section cleverly titled Humane Voices. Other resouces interesting for teachers and students are from Nose to Tail, which has 5 lesson plans, a Farm Disaster Kit, and the Puppy Mills issue has a terrivic resource "7 ways to stop them." There is also an abundance of information in the category for animals, from alligators to zebras, including why they are important to our environment. Be sure to investigate the blog for current issues.

tag(s): animals (294), careers (156), service projects (17)

This Canadian site provides a week's worth of lessons to teach your students about bullying. It doesn't matter when your particular school highlights this important topic, you can use these valuable lessons and tools any time of the year. Please be aware that the statistics at this site are Canadian, however; the USA stats can be found via the internet with ease. Click on the left hand menu on each day of the week for a healthy stash of activities to use. From surveys to books to school-wide activity suggestions, be sure to save this site in your favorites. Music, videos, and more also await you at the Resources link.

QuickTime, Flash, and Adobe Acrobat are required for music and videos. You can get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

tag(s): bullying (48), cyberbullying (40)

This site offers free publications about teaching, literacy, reading instruction, child development, math, and school safety. The offerings include materials for all levels (brochures, posters, videotapes, newsletters, and more). The intended audiences include students, teachers, parents, and administrators. Many publications and also site information come in Spanish and English.

tag(s): literacy (122)

Find out all you can about Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang on Snoopy.com. This site provides a variety of great comic strips that can be applied to many classroom lessons. The site also provides an Author Spotlight on Charles Schulz. There is also a link for fun and games with printable pages, puzzles, word problems, and other "fun" stuff. Some of the activities require Shockwave. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

tag(s): comics and cartoons (55)

Your students will create comics in minutes using this Comic Creator site. No log-in is required. Just type in the prompted information, such as the name of comic character, author, caption, and of course, the dialog that goes into the speech bubble. The 'creator' chooses the number of panels, type of characters, style of speech bubble, and various props. Two actions are needed: clicking and dragging the items to go into the comic strip, and typing dialog into the bubbles. Then, presto....a genuine comic appears, ready for printing. The tool DOES support accent marks pasted from Word. (Unfortunately, there is no way to save your comic masterpieces.)

tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), sequencing (17), summarizing (23)

This site is a discussion-opener on safe use of the "social web." Some of the tools included are social networking sites, virtual worlds, chat, cell phones, video-sharing, and more. There are tips and advice for just about any medium kids and adults use today, as well as discussion forums where parents can ask questions and share information. Each article and advice section can be emailed at the click of a mouse. You can also download and share printable version (site creators do ask that you not modify them and that you simply tell them if you do download and share). While some posts may not represent your point of view, the important thing is to open dialog.

tag(s): internet safety (114), safety (68), social networking (61)

Start the first day of school or a new marking period with a getting-to-know-you activity from this great, searchable collection. The activities are designed for all ages, so some will not work well with very young ones (such as writing things on slips of paper). The site is easy to navigate and sorts ideas by group size and activity level for easy retrieval. There are also activity suggestions for distance and remote learning. You are invited to submit your own ideas. Since the site is designed for general use, not for schools, some ideas may be impractical in a classroom setting but could be easily adapted. Substitutes - check out some of these icebreakers, the kids will love them....and you!

tag(s): back to school (55), firstday (22), newbies (11), remote learning (54), substitutes (25)

This site provides a wealth of information for teachers, administrators and others that work with children. Guidelines are provides to help students deal with bereavement and other losses that affect the school and/or community.

tag(s): parents (57)

Though titled for administrators, this article is a must-read for all education professionals interested in making their schools safe and secure. There are ideas for planning, communication, parent information, and general security that should be automatic in every school.

tag(s): safety (68), school violence (10)

When you bill yourself as the world's leading website on Learning Disabilities and ADHD, you'd better prove it. LD OnLine does that and more. LD OnLine provides in-depth professional and parent articles, expert advice columns, forums, and disability/differences resources for parents and educators within this easily-navigated site. Many of those articles offer strategies to help deal with the disabilities. The site also includes a convenient yellow pages directory for those who need further professional advice.

tag(s): adhd (28), dyslexia (11), learning disability (21), Special Needs (53)

This site provides the alarming news on obesity. The interesting topics include a comparison of obesity from 1970 to 2000, a "help" page, a body image page, information about eating disorders, quizzes, interactive videos, information about what obesity means and more. though some of the activities and the video require FLASH there is still plenty to learn and discuss at this site.

tag(s): eating disorders (6), obesity (8)

This site offers information about the devastating facts of domestic abuse. There is a 12-minute video (requires FLASH), real-life stories by students who have experienced domestic abuse, an interactive quiz and a vast array of information on the subject of domestic abuse. Remember this site was created in the UK, so some of the language may be new to your students. You may need to discuss the noticeable differences. The interactives and video require Flash; however, there is a lot to learn and discuss at this site that doesn't require Flash.

tag(s): bullying (48), parents (57)