Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This extensive collection contains thousands of commonly used academic words and their contexts. It also includes word and phrase usage, word frequency, collocations from spoken language and all forms of written discourse including magazines, books, newspapers, etc. Begin by searching for exact words or phrases, wildcards, lemmas, part of speech, or any combinations of these. Results can include surrounding words, synonyms, examples of popular usage, or comparisons of usage from 1900 to the present. You can limit searches in many different ways. Use the simple five-minute guided tour to learn about the many features of this exciting word authority.

tag(s): vocabulary development (93), word study (59)

Get organized with Media Fire. Store and sync files, folders, and media (photos, music, video). Access them from any computer or mobile device. Download the program to your computer for times when there is no Internet access. MediaFire Desktop keeps your online and locally stored files safe and in sync. View and edit all files and folders privately or share them to collaborate. Find a comprehensive Getting Started PDF manual on the left side menu. Signing up is as easy as typing in your email. MediaFire claims to be "the only online storage solution to offer unlimited downloads, download resuming, zero wait times and more, all for free."
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tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147)

Call on a different student every time with the Random Name Generator tool. Each class can have up to 100 names. First, type a new group name to check availability. Next, enter a password, display name, and your email address. Either copy and paste the information that comes next or save the email you are sent to retrieve the group and list of names quickly. The Random Name Generator will work with iPads or on any Internet browser.

tag(s): classroom management (120), probability (99)

Explore science through fascinating articles in this episodic monthly magazine. Although you can subscribe for a fee, you can also check out past and current issues online for free. As they describe themselves, "We deliver big-picture science by reporting on a single monthly topic from multiple perspectives." The combined perspectives include, "the sciences, culture and philosophy into a single story told by the world's leading thinkers and writers." Each Thursday the site publishes a new "chapter" of that month's thematic issue. Past issue themes include Creativity, Illusions, Genius, Big Bangs, and more. Expect to be fascinated by the many angles. You will want to talk and share about what you learn!
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tag(s): careers (156), expository writing (31), scientists (67), writing prompts (61)

See spectacular Drone views of many different locations by clicking on a circle or pin on the Google interactive map. The circles will have a number for how many different views of the area are provided. Search for specific cities, select editors' choices, or see the "Latest" drone footage. As with any Google map, there are the usual navigation tools. To see if the area you want to view has footage, scroll through the map. The Drone footage is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): cities (17), countries (73), landforms (39), landmarks (22), news (228), setting (5), video (266)

Find simple descriptions of the main Roman gods, goddesses, and monsters. Learn the origins of the names of the months and weekdays. Find activities for designing a Roman mosaic and two board games the Romans played.

tag(s): myths and legends (37), romans (52)

Discover some of the world's best online courses with Springboard's search engine. Enter what you want to learn into the search bar. Explore the offerings provided or browse by subject, university, or providers. Narrow results down by starting date, teaching method, or credentials. Each entry includes a short description of the course, fees (many are free!), start dates, length of course, and skill level required. Many classes also include reviews from other Springboard's users. Click the "Enroll" link to go directly to the course or save to your wish list after creating a free account. Some of the videos are hosted on YouTube. Most do not require Flash. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): professional development (385), search engines (48)

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)

Are you feeling stressed? Unable to concentrate or complete a task? This tool will generate background sounds to create a positive thinking environment! Choose from a variety of sounds that sooth and relax while promoting creative productivity. These sounds are much better than plain, white noise. Classic sounds for relaxation include thunder, rain, waves, summer night, forest, white noise, and more. Use the slider bar at the top of the page to adjust sound levels as needed.

tag(s): creative writing (124), learning styles (18)

Read about power and strength in those with disabilities and disease through the short stories at The Mighty. Formed on the premise that our greatest challenges become our greatest opportunities, each short story tells a tale of positive inspiration in facing a challenge. Browse the home page to find the latest articles or use the keyword search to find information on a specific topic. Be sure to browse the Archives, too!

tag(s): disabilities (32), diseases (66)

Revise your writing using After the Deadline's grammar checker. At this simple demonstration you copy and paste any text or document into the box. Click on "Check Writing" to receive feedback. The site provides color-coded suggestions for revisions in spelling, grammar, or style. If you like After the Deadline, they offer an add-on for the Firefox web browser and an extension for the Google Chrome web browser. There are also plug-ins for self-hosted WordPress blogs and forums.

tag(s): editing (93), proofreading (21), writing (324)

Create random groups quickly with the Group Maker Tool. Click "Create a Group Now" to begin and follow prompts to set up your groups. You will need to provide an email and create a password for your group. Add up to 100 names to your class list. Choose the number of groups to make. You can even choose to make pairs!

tag(s): Teacher Utilities (198)

Learn English 232 offers up to date video lessons on current English slang, phrasal verbs, and common phrases. Each video is under 5 minutes to provide quick information for English Language Learners. WARNING: this site does include some mature content (slang). PREVIEW before sharing with the class.
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tag(s): idioms (31), slang (16), vocabulary development (93)

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)

At Getty Collection Images, select from thousands of photos. Explore more than 100 years of photography from Woodrow Wilson to the present. Click the Explore Art tab, and find Teaching Materials and Podcasts both with numerous topics for teaching. For most of this collection, the watermark has been dropped, and the service appends a footer at the bottom of the picture with credit and a link to the licensing page. Creating an account is optional. There is also a video category; however this review is about the images only.
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tag(s): images (263), photography (131)

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)

Find scavenger hunts, treasure hunts, webquests, or extend learning using Trackstar. To make a track, think of a descriptive title, and write a description. Select from creating a Resource list, Worksheet, Extended learning, or Demo. Collect up to 15 websites (know the page title and URL) and create annotations or directions. Viewing the track in frames will have the titles of pages in the left menu bar. Click on the title and the text of the page appears in the center. Any links that are on the page in the center will open in a new tab. Search ready-made Tracks to get an idea of how they work. Viewing tracks in Chrome is possible, but this tool does not seem to work with Chrome to create tracks.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), curation (32), gamification (83), webquests (8)

Create a 3 Circle Venn Diagram with ease! Print out this graphic organizer and provide a title and label the three circles. Decide whether to make a list for each circle first, or start writing directly on the circles. The Venn Diagram allows for generating concepts (ideas, words) and placing them in any of the three circles, or the overlapping area. There is no registration required.

tag(s): graphic organizers (48), venn diagrams (15)

The Texas Performance Standards Project (TPSP) is a resource for providing differentiated instruction to gifted/talented (G/T) students. It is also a resource for providing enrichment for any and all students. The site includes materials for grade levels K-12 sorted by grade bands. Each band through 10th grade provides two or more interdisciplinary units including guided instruction as well as opportunity for independent research. The high school (or exit level) band provides for independent study under the guidance of a mentor who is an expert in the student's area of study. All materials are aligned to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards.

tag(s): differentiation (84), gifted (66)

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)