Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Other online calculators don't add up to the diverse collection of calculators Calkoo has to offer. Browse categories including measurement, wage, taxes, stock analysis, mathematics, loans, health, saving, investing, real estate, and more! Calkoo can handle many tasks, including some rather complex calculations. Complete the various fields based on the type of calculation. Some utilize radio buttons and drop down boxes, while others ask for numbers only. Create almost any kind of calculation you need with this easy accessible calculating tool. Language options include English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Russian.
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tag(s): addition (129), area (53), calculators (36), division (98), fractions (160), measurement (122), multiplication (122), percent (59), quadratics (27), subtraction (110), volume (33)

Give your student writers an audience... possibly an international one! Sign up for Quadblogging and be guaranteed that your students will have at least three other classrooms to read and respond to their blogs. We all know that having an audience for our writing makes us better writers. The creator of this program has hard evidence of that. His students (in the UK) were scoring at 9% on the British writing achievement test before Quadblogging. After a school year of using Quadblogging, his students increased their scores to 60%. In subsequent years, these students continued to have their scores grow by two grade levels per school year. There are two short videos on the home page. One video explains the concept of Quadblogging, and the other is the creator speaking at BETT, the world's largest ed tech conference. You will also find the form to fill out to have your class join others in Quadblogging.

tag(s): blogs (65), communication (129), cross cultural understanding (173), writing (325)

Practice and improve student skills in the K-8 curriculum with MobyMax. Start with pre-testing students and assigning differentiated activities for reading, math, science, writing, grammar and vocabulary. Pre-tests target areas of struggle and assign curriculum based on need. Never again will students have to practice material they have already mastered. The progress tracking throughout is based on Common Core standards. Adjust assigned curriculum on your own if desired by reassigning a pre-test or assigning your own lessons. Register using your email and school information to begin. Add your student list. Once created students have their own individual login to begin placement testing. There is a PRO account that costs money; this review is only for the FREE portion.
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tag(s): addition (129), assessment (147), classroom management (120), differentiation (84), division (98), fluency (26), game based learning (205), multiplication (122), subtraction (110), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)

Rewordify helps you understand what you read. Paste any text or website into the box to rewordify the text into simpler language. Easier to understand words replace difficult text shown with highlighting. Click on the highlighting to view the original, more difficult word(s). View excellent student and teacher demonstrations showing how to use the website. You have the option to choose how Rewordify displays the results using the options in the settings. Several options allow for easy personalization of results.

tag(s): multilingual (77), reading comprehension (149), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)

Spelling Bees allows up to four players to practice spelling by building a beehive with correctly spelled words. Begin by using the site-generated user name or typing your own; then join a game or create your own. Use private game settings to create a private game with a password so only known users will join. When a game is full, play begins. Listen to each word and click or type letters to spell the word. After spelling the word correctly, the game continues until time runs out. At the end of the game, view your position in the finished game along with percentage correct and correct spelling for any missed words.

tag(s): spelling (98)

Create many educational multimedia activities in one place using Educaplay. Create interactive maps, riddles, slide shows, fill in the blanks, crossword puzzles, word search puzzles, jumbled word, jumbled sentence, dictation, or create a collection of several of these based on a theme. Registration is required. Your results will be consistent and professional looking. Also, browse and use activities and collections others have created. Download and print the activities or complete them online by embedding them on your website or sharing the URL. Results can be registered in your learning management system (online grade book). Though originally a Flash program, Educaplay converted to HTML5 and should work on any computer.

tag(s): crosswords (19), multimedia (53), puzzles (149), quizzes (90), slides (43), word study (59), worksheets (69)

Find a colorful, creative Infographic for just about any topic on this sharing site. Use one of the forty-plus categories or type your keyword in a search box. There are so many cool Infographics at this site that you won't have to create one of your own. But if you do, you can upload it and have it displayed on Infographics Only. What is an Infographic? Learn more about Infographics here. Be sure to take time to preview the Infographics on this site as some may not be suitable for young people. It would be best to link directly to the Infographic you want to share.
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tag(s): charts and graphs (171), data (151), graphic design (49), infographics (56)

Do you wish you had enough time in your schedule for one-on-one personalized writing conferences with your students or writers you know? Kaizena (previously 121Writing) can make that dream a reality. Kaizena allows you to give feedback on writing via an audio recording. Writers often have difficulty reading the margin notes from teachers or other readers, or they need more explanation. An audio recording of the feedback provides a personalized experience to enhance the writing process. Kaizena works best by synching with your Google Drive account. There is an option at the bottom of the page to sign up by sending in your name and email address. However, this can take a while, so plan ahead! Sign in with your Google account to watch a helpful video and learn how to connect to your Google Drive account or school Google Apps account.

Start by highlighting a text selection, hit record, and provide your feedback. Writers will be able to listen to your feedback and revise or edit their writing as though you were face to face. Tag your highlighted text with keywords that can be tracked in a mastery-based rubric. You could tag conventional errors, mistakes, or selections that are amazing. Verbal feedback can be played on an iPad so students can listen in the best learning environment to meet their needs. Writers will progress as you enhance the writing process with explicit audio feedback. Kaizena can enhance feedback for written work for any school subject or even outside of school. With the free Kaizena you can create up to 5 lessons.

tag(s): communication (129), editing (93), process writing (37), writing (325)

Newsela offers four leveled news articles at five reading levels for teachers to choose from. The articles will be available for four weeks; Newsela Lite is free for any teacher to access four pre-selected news articles, select and lock reading levels for students, see alignment to state standards, schedule assignments and set due dates, access students' quiz scores, and respond to students' writing prompt submissions and annotations. Many of these features were on the "premium" account until the 2023-2024 school year.

Incase you're wondering - Newsela features current events stories tailor-made for classroom use. Click "Products" on the top menu and slide down to browse content in subject areas (social studies, science, etc.). Stories are student-friendly and can be accessed in different formats by reading level. Use Newsela to differentiate nonfiction reading. Newspaper writers rewrite a story four times for a total of five Lexile levels per story. All articles have embedded Common Core-aligned quizzes that conform to the reading levels for checking comprehension, customizable assignments, writing prompts, and annotations. An account is required to use Newsela, both for teachers and for students, but students sign up using a teacher or parent-provided code rather than an email address. Click the Resources tab at the top to find guides and short webinars. Teachers can create classes and assign reading-level specific articles to individual students or download printable PDF copies of the article in any of its reading-level versions. There is no outside advertising.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147), differentiation (84), guided reading (33), independent reading (81), news (228), reading comprehension (149), remote learning (54)

Games to Learn English is a collection of games for ENL/ELL students or any student learning the basics of English and/or reading. Created for students of English language learners, the many activities focus on developing vocabulary, comprehension, grammar, word order, and spelling skills. Choose from interactives such as Fast Hands and Concentration to begin. Each activity includes directions for play and scoring explanations, and most have playing speed options.
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tag(s): game based learning (205), multilingual (77), preK (270), sentences (22), sequencing (17), spelling (98), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94), word study (59)

FindIcons.com is a search tool that helps you find free icons. Type your term in the search bar to view icons in FindIcons database. Choose from several different options to download icons in the file format desired, such as png. Convert to jpg, bmp, or several other file options. Each icon includes licensing information so you can look for icons that are Creative Commons or public domain. Create an account then make user sets of your favorite icons. Access your user sets from anywhere through the FindIcons website. Explore the TAGS button to find search ideas. Be aware: ANY word/term can be searched; some may not be appropriate for the classroom. If you plan to allow young people to use this site independently, be sure to discuss appropriate searching.
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tag(s): images (263)

Test your Dolch sight word reading speed with this interactive! You can play in a public game with unknown competitors or a private game. To start, select your own kitten color. The site allows competitors on up to 4 computers to play at the same time. You will hear a word from the Dolch sight word reading list. Click on it as quickly as possible. Your kitten will jump to the correct ball of yarn. The faster you respond, the quicker your kitten jumps from ball to ball. This interactive measures each player's reading speed as well as pits them against the other players whose kittens appear on the board. This site is helpful for any beginning readers including ELL/ESL students and learning support students.

tag(s): preK (270), sight words (23)

This American Presidents website contains lesson plans for teaching about each of the US presidents from Barack Obama (with a note that Donald Trump is coming soon) all the way through George Washington. The site uses the informational text about each president to teach, reinforce, and review English language concepts. This resource is directly geared toward ENL/ELL students. However, all users will benefit from materials provided. Choose any president to view a short biography. There are also language lessons such as fill in the blank and writing activities. Choose from links at the top of the page to print the lesson in PDF format, hear the article read in mp3 format, and view additional activities such as flash cards and word jumbles. There is some advertising, but this site is worth a look as a resource for activities and lessons about US presidents.
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tag(s): jefferson (19), kennedy (20), lincoln (66), presidents (135), reading comprehension (149), washington (28)

ESL Reader provides instant reading help for English language learners. Use it to improve reading time and reading skills. Simply copy/paste or type text into the box and click. Each word becomes a link to a dictionary, thesaurus, or other reference including Wikipedia. Numerous dictionaries and references are available. Select the dictionary or other reference work and click. The site also translates the selected text into a variety of languages, but use caution with online translators! They often scramble meaning and syntax.
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tag(s): dictionaries (47), guided reading (33), thesaurus (22), vocabulary development (94)

Finish words on coconuts before the coconuts get to the ground! A rocket holds vowels missing from one of four coconut words that are falling down the screen. Move the rocket with the left and right arrows so the rocket is under the correct coconut to finish spelling the word. Three levels of difficulty and three coconut falling speeds make this game adaptable for a variety of learning levels. When the activity finishes, the coconut falling rate appears as well as the accuracy rate. A graph on the following page shows the number of hits and misses in all the games. Printing the graph for future reference and a sense of accomplishment is easy! Try to advance to the next level with each new game.

tag(s): spelling (98), vowels (6)

QuizBean is an online quiz generator that does not require registration. Create "this or that" (sorting) quizzes that involve two options easily and quickly. Begin with a title then add quiz answer options. These will be the same two answers for every question. Write the question in the next screen. Add as many additional questions as desired. When completed, save and share via your unique QuizBean URL or send via email, Facebook, or X (formerly Twitter). Responses receive a correct or incorrect notification. A running total of responses displays on the right side of the screen. Although this site is recommended for all grades, with elementary students the teacher should create the QuizBean for students (with their input). The home page features titles of quizzes created by current users (general public). Check the site before sharing it with students. Displayed on the front page are the most recent quizzes For example, at the time of this review, there were quizzes about beer preference.

tag(s): quiz (67), quizzes (90), test prep (69)

This comprehensive English program offers complete ESL/ELL instruction on seven levels. The units/lessons are color-coded. The focus of the lessons is mostly on grammar. Blue for example focuses on "be," prepositions, this/that/these/those, and many other topics. You must be able to read and write English to successfully benefit from this website. Each color/level has more than 20 lessons, quizzes, tests, dialogues, and reading. Many of the lessons have an audio clip or a video (or a Voki) to illustrate the level. Answers are provided for the quizzes. Extras include a pronouncing dictionary (found under Vocabulary), extra video lessons, extra information on pronunciation, and extras in each level. The levels also contain reviews and checklists. Many of the videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): dictionaries (47), grammar (137), grammar review (31), listening (93), pronunciation (34)

Practice singular and plural verbs at Verb Viper. A viper sits, ready to eat the oncoming verbs. Four different types of verb review are included: "to be," "to have," present tense, past tense, and past participle. You can also adjust the speeds at which the verbs appear. View your results at the end of the interactive.

tag(s): grammar (137), grammar review (31), verbs (26)

Find many useful grammar lessons with practice exercises for ESL/ELL students at this site created and maintained by English teachers. The lessons are well organized and illustrated, with some in video format. The video lessons include grammar and comprehension questions (and answers). A newly added search feature allows you to look for exactly the lesson and subject you need. At the bottom of the page, there are links to related lessons. You also can print out entire lessons in PDF form. The opening page shares a "New Lesson" feature and links to other practical lessons. Some of the lesson topics include grammar mistakes, future tense, revision & comprehension, stative verbs, prepositions, plurals, party conversation, job interview information, and many more. Also featured on the "Ask Us" page are questions other teachers might have. If your district blocks YouTube, some of the video clips may not be viewable. Caution: at least one of the YouTube videos on the homepage was blocked due to copyright issues at the time of this review. Note that spellings are British, but this would only affect the usefulness of a few lessons for U.S. teachers and students.

tag(s): grammar (137), idioms (30), reading comprehension (149), verbs (26)

Every child loves the popular Clifford books by Norman Birdwell. Explore the adventure stories and watch episodes from the television series. In addition, choose from games, videos, and printable activities with the Clifford theme.

tag(s): colors (63), matching (8), preK (270)