Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

The University of Virginia has collected the 19th century ads for runaway and captured slaves and indentured servants covering the period between 1736 and 1803 into a digital archive. This searchable data base reveals a rich archive of information about daily life in Virginia, including geographic detail, the habits, appearance, clothing, and behavior of slaves and indentured servants, and general cultural attitudes of times regarding slavery. The site also offers commentary and resources helpful in understanding the database.

tag(s): primary sources (117), slavery (79), virginia (15)

Does it sometimes seem as though students come to class with their minds already made up about so many complex subjects? You Decide is a site that guides students through a reasoned approach to making decisions about timely topics. Because this site is designed for the general public, not just for an educational setting, not all the questions will be relevant for students, however, there are plenty of engaging debates. Each question asks students to take a stand first, and then consider relevant information that may influence their opinions. Some of the topics at this time of this review included: Green Jobs, College Costs, Government Spending, Underwater Mortgages, Own or Rent, Spend or Save, and several others. There is a discussion forum and then a series of links to further information presented for each topic.

tag(s): politics (118)

Get to know the new $100 bill through this resource provided by the Department of Treasury. There is an interactive video quiz and an applet to design your own bill. The video quiz can also be seen with captions. In addition, there is a link to materials that can be downloaded for classroom use.

tag(s): currency (14)

This census site is huge! It will help you teach your students what they count and why! This site is for grades K-12. "Statistics - Census in Schools" has so many resources they can't all be given justice here. There are four tabs at the top for Activities, Resources, Standards, and About. scroll down the page to find Classroom Activities by subject; however the Activities tab includes grade levels and Home and Distance Learning. The Resources tab has Games, Maps, Fun Facts, Videos, Warm-up Activities, and more. There are a plethora of links to other sources on each page.

tag(s): census (13), statistics (121)

Students will enjoy comparing their knowledge with students around the country and the world through the interactive quizzes on this site. Six subject categories are offered (math, civics, history, geography, science, and economics)at 3 different grade levels (4th, 8th, and 12th). You can also choose 5, 10, 15, or 20 questions. Upon completion of quizzes, scores are shown along with all correct answers. Questions are provided from Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Civic Education Study (CivEd) and National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) - all are institutes which are involved in assessing student achievement and performance. The questions are higher level, and many include diagrams and other visual aids.

tag(s): quiz (67), quizzes (90)

Build students' sense of historical context year by year. Help them to realize that Gershwin did not write during the Vietnam War and that World War II preceded the Beatles. This site gives an overview of any year students click on from 1900 to the present, including cultural events, national and world news, politics, sports, prize winners, movie releases, deaths, and --for more recent years -- links to news focusing on other topics such as science and people. It provides an interesting summary of any particular year; most students find it interesting to check the year of their birth and those of their family members. Many highlighted keywords link to the Infoplease encyclopedia and other reference sources.

tag(s): 20th century (62), news (228), politics (118), sports (82)

The Story of Stuff Project is named after a 20-minute web cartoon that illustrates how all the "stuff" we use affects our lives and our planet. While the cartoon clearly has a liberal-leaning political agenda, that should not deter you from using it. In fact, asking students to point out its biases would be an important lesson in sorting out perspective in a persuasive argument. The site adds cartoons and movies dealing with other "wasteful" topics fairly often, such as the "cap and trade" plastic beads, microfibers, water issues, energy issue, bottled water, and electronics. The "downloads" tab offers PDF versions of the script, posters and other promotional material, and short teaser video clips of the film.

tag(s): environment (252), sociology (23)

Help teens understand practical money skills using the interactive game of Financial Football. Teaching Modules include Fundamental Institutions, Budgeting, Debt, Identity Theft, and more. Complete PDF teaching information is available for each module. Play online or download the game and get fired up for financial well-being, complete with theme music! The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): financial literacy (93), money (113), sports (82)

This site has a number of current magazines available online including Forbes, Scientific American, Men's Health, and countless others, organized by category. Many could be used for educational purposes (see the Science & Learning section, for example). Other general topics include Arts, Business, Computers, News, Sports, and more. Besides regular magazines, there are a number of columns and blogs by famous people. A few magazines, such as Forbes and Scientific American, display feature article titles when you click on their names, but most open to the magazine home page in a new window.

tag(s): blogs (65), news (228), newspapers (93)

Use this database to find teacher created sheets that follow movies shown in the classroom. Provide a change of pace for your students by using different questioning to challenge them. Be sure to preview, as this collection is only as good as the materials submitted. Check with your administration on rules for using "home videos" as they can be a violation of licensing or deemed inappropriate. Even though videos appear here, they may not be educationally appropriate. Be sure to check out the notices at the start of any "entertainment" video to be sure of legality. Keep in mind that these worksheets should not replace good interactive and thought provoking activities. Be sure to use other means to involve students in thought and action beyond the worksheets themselves. Find worksheets in either PDF or Word formats.

tag(s): business (52), climate (84), geology (62), movies (54)

Global Issues are on the minds of students and are applicable in a variety of different classes. Use this site to find articles (frequently updated) on and related topics. Pages can be printed or emailed/bookmarked to another who is interested. Use an RSS feed to stay up to date on changes to the site. Though many of the articles are written by the site owner, the articles have extensive facts, graphs, links, and charts.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (180), news (228)

This collection of PDF lesson plans centers around 3 main topics: how we get our food, what the Fair Trade movement is doing for farmers and eaters, and what co-ops are. The complete curriculum is downloadable and printable, and the daily lessons at this site offer support and extra activities. One lesson, translated for Spanish teachers, offers students an activity so they can understand "What's Fair?" One of the most exciting parts of the website is a collection of videos of Dominican children talking in Spanish about cocoa production! The lesson plans include a variety of activities for students and include projects in math, writing, civics, research, geography, art, music, and international culture.

tag(s): air (101)

View data sets to determine trends in data. Enhance critical thinking skills and analysis by choosing "Raw data." See the "Tool Catalog" for access to widgets and data mining tools, or "GeoData" to determine trends, ask questions about these trends, and search for answers. As you teach about data manipulation in math class, use "real world" examples that students will find interesting. A tutorial on using the data is provided. Search the database by search term, file type, or category as well as the state and local level. Either view data or download for later analysis. Be sure to check the Data Policy on the site for citing and using data set information and the other sections including an FAQ section that is very helpful. Looking for data sets that you can't find? Suggest them to Data.gov for consideration.

tag(s): data (151), statistics (121)

This site presents current news stories from multiple perspectives, featuring videos and commentary from the world's top newspapers. All the video news clips offer a complete transcript (click on "transcript" just below the video window). General topics covered include the U.S., the world, the environment, culture, technology, economy, and politics. Students can see short news clips, make comments blog style, and read news articles from newspapers around the world. Anyone can view the material, but you must register to be able to make comments. Check your school policies about accessing/sharing student email on school computers. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.

tag(s): news (228), newspapers (93)

If you are a politics geek, this site will occupy you for hours! "Real Clear Politics" is a collection of video clips, editorials, blog postings, and news stories on current politics. The site strives to capture both the left and the right, and "everything in between" and carries the full range from Limbaugh to Olbermann; from the Wall Street Journal to the Nation. If you and your students don't have time to catch all the evening commentary programs, read half a dozen papers, and search the blogsphere for facts and opinion (and who does?) this site might be a great place to start each day. Stories are categorized by date and by topic and there is a link to video content.

tag(s): politics (118)

A website connected to an episode of Frontline, this site looks at the 2008-2009 collapse of several large "superbanks," and how the bank failures were connected to the general economic downturn. Many PBS shows' sites are built around the concept of having students "watch the show and discuss"; these require teachers to buy or find a copy of episode. However, this site includes access to the full episode on 60 Minutes, which can be viewed as a whole or in sections. The Readings + Links page is very comprehensive and would give students who are researching national or global economics many good sources. Finally, there is analysis, set up in Q&A format that stands alone, and could be used if you don't want to use class time to view the video episode.

tag(s): banks (8), financial literacy (93), money (113), recession (2)

This ambitious site has something for anyone who teaches American history. In fact, if you love history, be prepared to completely lose track of time as you explore the site. Discover American History through images, exhibits, primary sources, and more with The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Click Education on the top menu where there are special programs and exhibits for teachers and students. A large collection of primary sources complements many studies in social studies-- and literacy. As a member, save all of your favorites and make lists for each area of study. The multimedia tab reveals documentaries, videos and virtual field trips. History Now publishes monthly newsletters.As a teacher or student, you can have free access to the website.The site may be useful to students working on research for History Day projects.

tag(s): 1600s (20), african american (115), american revolution (82), black history (133), civil rights (209), civil war (139), colonization (21), foreign policy (13), great depression (30), history day (39), immigration (68), industrial revolution (22), migration (45), native americans (108), primary sources (117), westward expansion (39), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

Watch the story of stuff movie, a 20-minute video about where our stuff comes from and the effects of consumption on our society. Play the video from the site or download it to your computer. Other downloads include podcasts and related items. Subscribe to the blog and receive updates and new information. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable.

tag(s): earth (184), earth day (60), environment (252), resources (83)

Ever wonder what it would be like to have open access to lectures at Harvard? Stanford? MIT? Academic Earth gives you that access in a limited fashion. This site contains thousands of video lectures by some of the most well-regarded professors at several of the top universities in the US. You can sort the lectures by subject, by lecturer, by university, or by "playlist." The playlists sort lectures from various topics and multiple professors into thematic groups. Within individual subjects, there are individual lectures and courses--collections of lectures by the same professor on a general subject. Watch a lecture on "The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877," or "The American Novel since 1945," or "Linear Algebra." The topic possibilities go on and on.

tag(s): college (45)