Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Join PBS kids and Calliou, the curious preschooler, from the book series by Christine L'Heureuxz and illustrator Helene Desputeaux. Calliou explores the world while using his imagination on many different adventures. Activities, printables, videos, and a new app for your mobile device all feature Calliou and his curiosity. The activities feature school readiness skills involving spatial awareness, memory, puzzles, matching letters, and following musical melodies. Advertisements are only for Calliou products.
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tag(s): matching (8), preK (270), puzzles (149), video (266)

Enjoy language arts interactives suited for elementary students through adult learners at Vocabulary Web Games. Elementary activities offer review of grammar and punctuation concepts. Activities include Magical Capitals, Comma Chameleon, Adjective Adventure, and more. More advanced (secondary+) activities include practice SAT and GRE prep vocabulary, medical vocabulary, and computer vocabulary using a flash card format. Play word games such as word scramble and hangman by using the other interactive games on this site.
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tag(s): capitalization (9), grammar (137), parts of speech (39), puzzles (149), test prep (69), verbs (26), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)

Find a great source for all your energy information at Energy Kids! Discover energy sources, forms of energy (renewable and non-renewable), electricity, hydrogen, and recent statistics on energy use. There are games and activities to help reinforce the concepts presented. Detailed lesson plans, science fair experiments, field trip information, and more help you provide a more comprehensive unit. Don't miss the history of energy timeline with all the famous people. There is even a link "For Teachers" where you can find lesson plans from K to secondary.

tag(s): conservation (102), energy (133), natural resources (37)

ESL Game World is the place to go for interactives, PowerPoint activities and templates, printable board games, ESL/ELL games for kids and adults, grammar games, vocabulary challenges, and reading activities. Some of the featured activities include Snakes and Ladders, Hangman, and Wheel of Fortune games/templates. Some spelling appears to be different from Standard American English. Check to be sure. Avoid the online store section to stay with free activities.
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tag(s): grammar (137), grammar review (31), verbs (26), vocabulary (238)

Find free, scalable vector images created by a community of designers whose goal is to create a universal global language of symbols that everyone can understand. Vector files are images that do not Snappa, reviewed herehange or become fuzzy when you resize them. Communicating visually is powerful and easy using symbols like these. Move beyond language and cultural barriers in learning and communicating by using these symbols. You must set up a free account to actually download. Note: Many programs cannot use the file format (SVG) but some programs, such as Adobe Illustrator, can. Don't have a program to open the image? Download the image, then upload to the Media Converter (reviewed here) to convert the image. No need to open the file- just convert! Note that the use of these vector images is FREE if the artist(s) attribution is easily viewable and accessible (linked back to the artist's page on the Noun Project site). Many images are in the public domain with no attribution required. Ethical use would still give credit. If you do not want to attribute each time it is used, icons can be purchased for unlimited use instead. Be patient. This site is often SLOW to open and offers slow downloads because of the larger image files.
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tag(s): digital storytelling (154), graphic design (49), images (263), infographics (56), stories and storytelling (58)

Find entertaining videos, web lessons, and downloads to support learning about dictionaries, thesaurus, and "How Words Work." Each video includes a short description of content and the skills addressed. Most videos are approximately three minutes long and include links to related web lessons and print downloads. This site was originally created for adult basic literacy students. However, many of these lessons could be useful with younger students learning the basics of vocabulary. Preview the video for appropriateness before sharing with younger students.

tag(s): antonyms (12), dictionaries (47), prefixes (10), reading comprehension (149), root words (10), spelling (98), suffixes (8), synonyms (15), thesaurus (22), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94), word study (59)

Simple English News is a site that has very short articles about items from all over the world. It also features English in 30-Seconds videos on news topics and language oddities like slang and idioms. In addition, there are quizzes, participatory polls, written and oral interviews, recipes, and many other selections. This is not a site for breaking or controversial news. Besides appealing to ESL/ELL students, this site would work well with resource classes. Please remember to preview anything you wish to share, to be sure the content is appropriate for your classroom. Some of the videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): grammar (137), news (228), video (266)

Join Curious George in his adventures with the Man in the Yellow Hat. Enjoy the antics of Curious George through online games, printables, and videos. Games feature matching, numbers, sounds, categorizing, shapes, Spanish, movement/dance, and animal sounds. Earn stickers with successful completion of each game. In the teacher section, there are 16 "ready to go" activities. Each activity includes a description, topic, and tips!

tag(s): animals (294), dance (31), geometric shapes (134), matching (8), numbers (120), preK (270)

Join four year old Daniel Tiger, Mom Tiger, Dad Tiger, and Tigey in games, videos, and printables. Topics explore socio-emotional themes: sadness, anger, and bedtime anxieties. There are also activities about doctor visits, music, exploring around the house, daily health routines, riding the trolley through the neighborhood and more. The collection of videos has many different segments from the television series. Don't miss the printables.

tag(s): dental health (14), difficult conversations (57), disabilities (32), emotions (49), preK (270), social and emotional learning (102)

Not sure what to read next? Enter a book title you have enjoyed and view a generated list of similar titles. With a free registration, you can save a list of favorite books. When you view the list of similar books, you will notice a tab to click which leads to the listings on Amazon.com. Although a commercial site, there is a summary of the books and often, a few pages are available to preview the internal contents to see if you may like a book.
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tag(s): book lists (167), reading lists (77)

Practice your multiplication skills using this comprehensive site including games, tips, tricks, free worksheets, quizzes, flash cards, and bingo cards. There are also addition and subtraction activities. Discover a multiplication table that has a picture with a story for every multiplication fact. Listen to a story about every fact. Beginning (or struggling) learners will benefit from the plethora of multiplication activities that will interest, intrigue, and motivate the varied style of learners in your classroom.
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tag(s): multiplication (122), operations (72)

Join Ruff Ruffman in the PBS Kids Game show, Fetch. Learn about animal science as you view (and participate) on this educational game show including 5 contestants ages 10-14. "Ruff" hosts the game show, reality style with children contestants, learning about science and also crazy challenges. Topics include (but are not limited to) animals, engineering, deserted islands, dinosaur footprints, hover crafts, mummies, song birds, and more. There are past episodes and games available.

tag(s): animal homes (57), birds (46), dinosaurs (43), diseases (66), literacy (122), machines (17), simple machines (19), vocabulary (238)

Join Martha (the dog) from the book and animated children's series, Martha Speaks. This interactive website focuses on vocabulary and word usage. The site includes interactives, printables, videos, and "Martha's Stories" for students to explore. Make newspapers, dog tags, vocabulary word pictures, and more. Vocabulary introduced are not necessarily sight words, yet specialized content area words. Apply and learn new vocabulary in a wide variety of interactive ways. Some game features require Shockwave and/or a webcam. Don't worry. It does not keep your picture.

tag(s): literacy (122), preK (270), rhymes (22), sight words (23), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)

Digital Learning Day is an annual February event spotlighting successful instructional practice and effective use of technology around the country. Choose the "About DLDay" option to find out more about the goals of Digital Learning Day, begin with a detailed description listing the characteristics of digital learning. View exemplary models, showcases, lesson portals, and more using links provided. Sign up as a participant for Digital Learning Day then plan your own classroom activity, provide a presentation to parents, or choose from other ideas offered on the site. Explore the Participate portion of the site to find digital tools, online resources, graphics, lesson plans and more. Sign up isn't required; however, it does allow you to receive emails with updates and learning ideas throughout the year. The digital learning content demonstrations are conducted in four areas: math, science, language arts, and civics/social studies; critical areas, such as working with ELL or special education students, will be woven into the lessons.

tag(s): digital citizenship (85), digital storytelling (154), modeling (8), preK (270)

TV411 En Espanol offers lessons covering several math, social studies, and science topics, all in Spanish. All lessons are offered in video and slide format beginning with an introduction to the activity. Some videos have questions for students to answer and receive feedback. Choose a topic to view videos offered along with a short description. Each video includes links to related web lessons (slide format) and some offer related print downloads.

tag(s): bacteria (22), heat (14), nutrition (140), photosynthesis (21), spanish (109), water (102)

Preschool students will delight in the company of the Sesame Street characters at this long-time favorite site. Extend the fun from the television series, Sesame Street to fit into an individualized, interactive learning time. Dance, sing, clap, and play along with Big Bird, Grover, Elmo, and all of the characters to help develop and sharpen phonemic awareness and phonics skills. A variety of formats allow for many learning styles. Interaction with family members is encouraged and necessary in many of the activities given. There are games, videos, printables, ecards, and a family treasure hunt. A section for parent and teacher information gives ways to help students learn. A television show schedule is included. Experience hours of fun while learning.
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tag(s): alphabet (53), numbers (120)

Textivate is a simple web tool to automatically generate a range of online activities based on any text you enter (up to 500 words). Type or paste a chunk of text into the text box on the Textivate front page and click on the "Textivate Now" button to see the available exercises that can be generated from that text. Choose from various activities based on the amount of text used such as drag and drop, sorting, or fill in the gaps. View an example on evaporation located here. Register on the site for further options such as uploading text, embedding your textivate onto a website, or share via hyperlink.

tag(s): grammar review (31), process writing (37), sequencing (17), summarizing (23), word study (59)

iFakeText is a tool to create fake screenshots of a series of iPhone text messages. Write a name, then choose an operator and write text in the provided box. Click the link "Create your Screenshot" to view the picture. Have the operator READ the text message (great for non-readers). Take a screenshot or share via different social networking platforms or via a link.
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tag(s): creative writing (124), text to speech (20), writing prompts (61)

Discover a huge collection of interactive illustrations to help explain complex concepts in science, technology, art, math, and a range of other topics. Use these activities to create interactive visualizations. There are thousands of Mathematica Demonstrations. A demonstration is a Mathematica notebook that takes advantage of Mathematica's manipulate command. Use the manipulate command to create sliders or buttons or check boxes to change the values of parameters in the displays in the demonstration. The result is you control the animation. View demonstrations on topics ranging from odd and even numbers to odd and even functions, fractions to fractals, and from linear functions to linear algebra and linear programming. In addition to mathematical topics, there are demonstrations illustrating the time in different cities around the world, global demographic information, the solar system, and art and music concepts. You need to download the Wolfram CDF player to use and interact with the demonstrations.
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tag(s): addition (129), animals (294), architecture (75), computers (109), division (98), fractions (160), geometric shapes (134), gravity (43), logic (161), maps (220), money (113), multiples (15), multiplication (122), plants (146), psychology (65), statistics (121), subtraction (110), weather (160)

ReadWorks provides a free, research-based, and Common Core-aligned reading comprehension curriculum. Click Explore Content from the top menu to search through hundreds of lesson plans organized by grade level, topic, or titles. Register to download materials and save lessons to your folder. (A valid email and password is required). Be sure to start with the Teacher Guide to see all the many features ReadWorks offers about using and teaching the provided lessons and differentiation. For a quick start, click Explore Content then select options from the left menu: Text Options - Reading Passages, Aritcle a Day, and Paired Text, Curriculum Support, Grade, Topic, Text Types - Nonfiction, Fiction, or Poetry, and Lexile. There are thousands of reading passages along with question sets to support learning activities for grades K-12. Each selection contains the text with audio, a vocabulary link, and a questions set. In the left margin, you will find related resources such as standards and related materials. Teachers can create classes to assign reading and track assessments (which are automatically graded). After signing up with email, click on Admin from the top menu and create a class. Students join the class by using a code and their Google account. No Google account? No problem. Create a roster and provide the class code to students. Easily create assignments for the whole class, or individuals as a way to differentiate. This is a perfect tool to use for remote (or distance) teaching and learning!

tag(s): characterization (19), context clues (5), figurative language (17), guided reading (33), main idea (8), parts of speech (39), plot (15), point of view (8), reading comprehension (149), reading strategies (96), sequencing (17), Teacher Utilities (198), themes (16), vocabulary (238)