Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Digital Citizenship offers a large number of resources for teaching digital citizenship for students of all ages, teachers, and parents. Scroll down the page to find categories for Online safety, Healthy online habits, Teaching and learning, and more to begin. Each section includes articles and resources for learning responsible digital citizenship. The site was created in Australia. American English speakers may notice some slight differences in spellings and pronunciations. The videos reside on sites other than Digital Citizenship. Some are on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): cyberbullying (40), digital citizenship (85), internet safety (114)

TeachThought stretches teachers to think beyond the norm, and try new exciting ideas such as learning in a digital world, flipped classrooms, project based learning, and simulations. A few examples of the articles include: 10 Team Building Games that Promote Critical Thinking, 25 Reading Strategies That Work In Every Content Area, 55 Free Apps For iPads, 249 Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs for Critical Thinking, 14 Brilliant Bloom's Taxonomy Posters For Teachers, and 20 Things You Can Do in 10 Minutes For A Smoother Running Classroom. Join in the conversation, add your opinion, or ask a question. Sign up for TeachThought's newsletter.
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tag(s): blooms taxonomy (7), classroom management (120), critical thinking (127), flipped learning (9), professional development (385), reading strategies (96)

Create interactive fiction (choose your own adventure) type stories, poems, games, and interactive art with Twine. You can either download the software to your computer or click on "use in your browser" next to the download button. Scroll down the page to start with The Twine Reference Guide under Learn with Twine. Twine helps you stay organized with little Post-It type squares with arrows to connect each section to one or more other sections. See how to do this by watching this short (15 min) YouTube video, here. Drag and drop the squares on the page, and they will stay connected. There are a few templates to choose from, and you can upload images. For those who are adept at programming, click on the Twine Story Formats and see the other quality, development resources Twine offers. Work is saved in a variety of ways; read about it in the Twine Cookbook or watch the YouTube video above. On YouTube you can watch several video tutorials. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): coding (85), computers (109), creative writing (124), game based learning (205), interactive stories (22), writing (325)

Find out instantly if the problem you are having opening a web site is YOUR problem or a website that is down. Is It Down Right Now (iidrn.com for short) instantly "pings" a site so you can tell whether the site is down for everyone or just for you (perhaps due to a glitch with your Internet provider). The Internet is never a sure thing, but this tool tells you whether it's just YOU having trouble. Although it sounds geeky, it's easy. Copy/paste or type the URL you are trying to reach into the box at top right, and click "Check." The results tell you how long it takes for the site to respond and how long it has been down (if it is). What a handy tool for ANYONE using the web! What this tool will not tell you is if you are mistyping the URL, so always double check.
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Find over 300 free ebooks, lectures, and notes in the areas of biology, business, computer science, math, and physics. Find many other subjects and topics in the right menu titled Latest Resources and Most Popular. Some of those have a fee. Subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up with the latest resources.
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tag(s): ebooks (43)

Common Core Conversations is your place to find Common Core resources. The Standards, Resources from state education departments, free resources in all subject areas, using tech tools for learning the standards, and a section for parent information provides a great basis for your Common Core needs. Resources include: ENL/ELL, library, careers, family and consumer sciences. Join the online community to join in the conversations.

tag(s): commoncore (73)

BotLogic is an online activity that teaches programming and code. Enter by clicking play. First go through the short tutorial. Choose the player link to begin playing without a code. Select your age to begin at the proper level. Each level offers a tutorial with directions for play. BotLogic shows the window of code as you create your line of icon instructions. As an extra challenge, try to use as few instructions as possible to earn rewards.

tag(s): animation (64), coding (85), computational thinking (40), computers (109), logic (161), problem solving (233), STEM (297)

edX offers access to many of the best courses offered at top learning institutions - for FREE! Institutions include MIT, Harvard, and Berkley. Classes are available to complete for a Certificate of Achievement or as an audit. Choose from courses with topics in many areas including computers, literature, and humanities. Each course listing offers a short description of the course, details about the university offering the course, estimated time involved, course staff, and available options for taking the course. Start any course at any time. Take the edX Demo course to get a good idea of how courses work and find out about the online learning experience.

tag(s): aeronautics (11), architecture (75), artificial intelligence (177), china (81), circuits (20), civil rights (209), computers (109), electricity (61), engineering (129), environment (252), evolution (89), folktales (34), greeks (46), magnetism (36), medicine (57), nutrition (140), poetry (193), psychology (65), religions (95), shakespeare (99), solar energy (34), speech (69), statistics (121), terrorism (41)

This site is the perfect example of false information that you can find on the Internet! Learn all about the endangered tree octopus and efforts to keep them from extinction at this very realistic "fake" site. Read all about the characteristics of the tree octopus including habitat, reproduction, and why it has become endangered. View some of the activities such as a trick or treat box to collect candy to hang in trees for the octopus. Peruse pictures of rare sightings of the octopus. The falsehoods shown on the site, such as the inclusion of other hoax species and organizations (mixed with links to pages about real species and organizations) are sure to give you a chuckle!
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tag(s): creative writing (124), evaluating sources (29), internet safety (114), literacy (122), media literacy (109), satire (6)

Take the "Google Yourself" Challenge to find out what others may learn about you by searching the Internet. This infographic provides information on personal online sharing such as the number of people with phone numbers, birth dates, photos, and other information readily available online. Take the challenge and search for your name on Google to find what personal information you have online. Find what others with your name may have online and may get confused with you. Learn also who may be looking you up on search engines and why this is important to know.
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tag(s): digital citizenship (85), infographics (56), internet safety (114)

US Digital Literacy is a comprehensive informational site to help better deliver digital literacy information to students. Help to prepare your students to understand and use information in multiple formats from a broad range of sources. Students need to be able to read, and interpret media, reproduce data and images, evaluate, and apply new knowledge from digital environments. Learn how to use the tools, promote responsible digital citizenship, while providing a framework to access, analyze, and create new information. Under Digital Toolkits find information about digital citizens, web 2.0, augmented reality, social bookmarks, wikis, images and creative commons, keyboarding practice, and mobile learning communities. For your own use, find professional learning networks, adaptive learning systems, learning management systems, project based learning, and STEM and STEAM. The Twenty-first- Century Skills section gives background in the Common Core, core subjects, learning and innovative skills, information and media literacy, and life and career skills. Instructional Strategies provide information for classroom management, activating strategies, vocabulary strategies, cognitive growth strategies, organizing strategies, summarizing strategies, and assessment types. Information regarding thoughtful technology leadership includes videos to promote conversations and challenges for your school website. Each section includes interesting and informative videos. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): augmented reality (9), digital citizenship (85), literacy (122), professional development (385)

Protect your email address and reduce spam with Scrim. Scrim converts your email address into a short, safe link for sharing on social media, forums, or any public site. Enter your email and add a unique ending to the Scrim URL to receive your unique code. Copy and paste the code for use on social networking sites, documents, or forums.
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tag(s): internet safety (114)

Learn how to touch type or increase your touch typing speed and accuracy with this handy resource! You can practice with NO registration. But if you want to keep track of your progress, registration is suggested. You can sign up with your email or Google or Facebook account. Use the cloud to store your results. This enables use of this tool anywhere, anytime. There is a thorough slide tutorial when first arriving at the site. You can find it again under the Help section. The tutorial explains how the lessons are set up, what you will see on your screen, and what each feature does. You do not have to register to use this site, only to track your progress.
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tag(s): computers (109), keyboarding (28)

Want to make sure you are up to speed on all your Common Core resources? The links guide you to resources in math, language arts, writing, reading, science, and technology. Find a short description of the site, and then go directly to the site. There is also quite a bit of professional information about the Common Core standards. Substitute teachers can easily be led to ready to go Common Core sites.

tag(s): commoncore (73)

Here is your one stop for FREE training on Microsoft Word and Excel, Typing challenges, and activities in several subjects. There are activities for typing, math, spelling, and life skills geared toward elementary and middle school students. The menu at the left provides links to all activities except Excel. Find those at the top of the page. If you find an activity you like, easily share using links on each activity via email or social networks. Some of the video clips are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): grammar (137), keyboarding (28), Microsoft (80), operations (72), parts of speech (39), spelling (98), spreadsheets (23), vocabulary (238)

This site offers over 10,000 lessons aligned with the Common Core and the Next Generation Science Standards. The lessons were created by 130 Master Teachers. You can browse resources without registering. Click the blue "Browse" button to get started. Choose along the top from Common Core Math, Common Core ELA, or Next Generation Science. Lessons are arranged by grade level or Math, Language, and Science subjects. However, if you want to create your own resources, registration is required. After registering, create a class and then create a unit for that class. Finally, create a lesson for that unit, fill in an objective, select a state standard, and estimate the total time on task. Upload files (or drag and drop) to assign them to the lesson or keep them "unassigned" for later use. Additionally, simply add other members' files to your own curriculum. Search for files by keyword, age-level, and type of format. Click on a result to see every lesson plan using that file.

tag(s): commoncore (73), professional development (385), Teacher Utilities (198)

Algodoo is a 2D-simulation software to create simulation scenes using simple drawing tools like boxes, circles, polygons, gears, brushes, planes, ropes and chains. Interact with objects using click and drag or tilt and shake. Add physics to any simulation using fluids, springs, hinges, motors, thrusters, light rays, tracers, optics and lenses. Explore and play with gravity, friction, restitution, refraction, and attraction within each scene. Begin by downloading to your Windows or Mac computer following instructions on the site. Algodoo is also available as an iPad app. To make the most of all the site features, be sure to visit the Learn It link for a three-session tutorial to help understand the software. Videos on this site are hosted by YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.

tag(s): friction (9), geometric shapes (134), gravity (43)

Code.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to computer science education and increasing participation by young women and students from underrepresented groups. It offers free, standards-aligned curricula for K-12 students, including courses like Computer Science Fundamentals for elementary students, CS Discoveries for middle school, and CS Principles for high school. The platform provides interactive tools such as App Lab, Game Lab, and Dance Party to make coding engaging and accessible. Educators can access comprehensive teaching resources, including lesson plans, videos, and assessments, as well as professional development opportunities like self-paced and facilitator-led workshops. Code.org also hosts the annual Hour of Code event to promote global participation in computer science.

tag(s): coding (85), computational thinking (40), computers (109), critical thinking (127), problem solving (233), STEM (297), women (151)

We all know about endangered plants and animals, but what about endangered sounds? The Museum of Endangered Sounds offers a collection of sounds unfamiliar to many young people. Click on any thumbnail to hear sounds such as the ka-ching of a cash register, dialing a rotary phone, the sound of dial-up Internet, or the click and winding of a film camera. Although the collection is quite small, it is worth a visit for a trip back to the past! Warning: the clip with TV Snow features a provocative photo. You may want to avoid that example with an immature audience.

tag(s): 1960s (26), 1970s (10), 1980s (7), inventors and inventions (80), sounds (43)

Celebrate 25+ years of the World Wide Web with this retrospective in interactive form. Scroll through to read about the first ideas and learn about the explosive growth and important events throughout the years. Choose auto-play to watch the timeline unfold or scroll at your own pace. As you progress through the story, watch for links to web stories. Viewers of the site share their personal memories each step along the way. Hover your mouse over the right side of your screen to link to the entire report in PDF format.

tag(s): computers (109), internet safety (114), inventors and inventions (80)