Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Although this magazine is designed for Canadian teachers, articles of interest include topics that speak to international concerns, including articles about museums and art openings in other countries, science events, using technology in the classroom, disabilities, international charities and much more. Issues other than the current are archived in pdf format. The magazine also addresses current events issues from the states that affect Canadian thought and education. With part of the magazine offerings in French, this magazine could be a useful language tool, too.
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tag(s): canada (24), french (75), museums (52)

Read the Words is a site that allows students to submit almost any text material and HEAR it read aloud. The languages offered include English, Spanish, and French. You can select the speed at which the text will be read and use a wide variety of formats including Microsoft Word, PDF, a website URL, anything copied and pasted, or from RSS feeds. Likewise, students can listen to the oral text online, download it to the desktop or MP3 players, post readings online in several forms, and even create podcasts with the selected material. Users can even modify the reading avatar's appearance by selecting from those available, both male and female. Beware: inappropriate words will not be filtered, and anything typed is pronounced. There is a limited free version (only 50 recordings can be saved and more extensive paid versions with more options and recordings.
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tag(s): listening (93), podcasts (108), text to speech (20)

Type characters and accents in any foreign language simply by clicking them on screen using TypeIt. Especially handy for those of us who do not know the keyboard shortcuts (or ASCI codes) for accents and unlauts, this handy tool lets you compose in a text box, then simply copy/paste the text into your "destination." Now you can write text to include in the many online tools reviewed by the TeachersFirst Edge and include the accurate accents and diacritical markings vitally important to language learning. Simply keep TypeIt open in one tab and your tool of choice open in another. Prepare the text in TypeIt and copy/paste to text boxes in any tool or even in PowerPoint, Word, or interactive whiteboard software. Type It is easier to use than "insert character" in most word processing programs, as well!

tag(s): french (75), german (49), spanish (109), spelling (98)

Soft Schools provides interactive quizzes and games for math, language arts, science, holidays, phonics, French, social studies, and more. Worksheets categorized under grade and subject level make this a great teacher resource.
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tag(s): calculators (36), grammar (137), quiz (67), quizzes (90)

Try these interactives, available in a variety of subjects: Geography, History, Language, Literature, Movies, Music, Religion, Science, and others. Sporcle tests memorized knowledge against a timer. Accessing the comments below can lead to spoilers that reveal answers. Become stumped during a game? Click on "Give up" to end the game and reveal the rest of the answers. Teachers should preview and provide the DIRECT link to the games or section (such as geography) they wish students to use. The "popular" listings and some advertising on this site may include questionable content for classrooms. . These games would be great study tools for students, both in and out of the classroom!

tag(s): elements (34), literature (221), maps (220), phonics (51), presidents (135), vowels (6)

Need to translate words or phrases into another language? Use this free and easy to use site for translations in various languages (Spanish, Chinese, Turkish, Russian, Romanian, Portuguese, Polish, Korean, Japanese, Italian, Hindi, German, and French). View dictionaries that exist between languages, hear audio of the translations, take quizzes, or try language games. Students can play language activities such as hangman, scrambled words, memorize, or match it, as well. Customize each game by clicking "change" next to the "settings." Choose different languages, ease of play, and categories of words.

tag(s): chinese (45), italian (31), japan (57), japanese (47), korea (21), portuguese (22), russia (36), russian (26)

Use Over the Top to explore life as a World War I soldier in the trenches. This interactive adventure is in the form of a story. An introduction page sets the stage for the site as well as providing helpful hints and an overview. Click "Begin Your Adventure" to start. For connections with slower speeds, click on "Low Graphics Version" for a faster alternative. Enter a first name, last name, friend's name, and city to begin. Check your school policies on whether student names may be displayed online and what information is permitted (perhaps initials are suggested), then enforce that policy with your students. The pop up shows an animated cartoon, written narrative below, and audio that reads the narrative. The scene can be replayed for any information missed. Audio can be adjusted in the upper right hand corner and the narratives can also be displayed in French. Turn to the next frame using the arrow to the right. Go back to the previous screen with the left arrow. Click on words that are underlined as they are live links that bring up definition boxes for understanding of key vocabulary terms. At points in the story, students can choose one or more options for more detailed stories. Students and buddy names as well as the name of the town appear throughout the story.

tag(s): europe (84), world war 1 (77)

This site offers FREE audio episodes teaching numerous languages: Irish, Italian, Polish, Danish, Russian, Greek, French, and countless others! Featured shows have titles like "Coffee Break Spanish" and "One Minute French." Some of the programs require students to subscribe using a simple form, but most do not require any registration. They can then search the entire lesson content or just search by language. Focus languages include Spanish, French, German, Italian, English, and many other languages, primarily European, though Mandarin and Japanese podcasts are also available. Students will love being able to load the lessons on their Ipods, mobile phones, and computers! The "Guided Tour" section of the page allows students and teachers to learn how to use the site and focus on whatever their particular aims for study are. This site now has very short Podcasts to help you learn a language.

tag(s): german (49), italian (31), japan (57), japanese (47), podcasts (108)

This series of free translating dictionaries allows students to search to/from English in these languages: French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and German. Once a definition comes up in English, there are links to other dictionary pages where the word appears in a sentence. You can click on the audio button to hear the word spoken in both languages. This feature is only available in more commonly used words There are also immediate clicks to other languages, so a student could check the same word in Spanish and French very easily. In addition to the translation dictionaries, there are also "English Dictionaries" (non-interactive) available in Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Czech, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic (coming soon). Many of the foreign language dictionaries will increase in volume as the site developers add more vocabulary. Be aware: this site does include minor advertisements. There is a link to Language Forums. It is probably best to advise students to stay away from the forums.

tag(s): chinese (45), dictionaries (47), italian (31), japan (57), japanese (47), korea (21), portuguese (22), russia (36), russian (26)

Here you will find advice, lists, and links for helping students to practice pronunciation in English through minimal pairs. An example of a minimal pair is "alive and arrive," You'll also find ideas for teaching mouth positioning.

tag(s): pronunciation (34)

This website provides numerous teacher-created PowerPoints. Some of the presentations are excellent, while others are just mediocre. The range of topics goes from astronomy, to history, to French and much, much more! There is something good here for every classroom. You MUST have PowerPoint software (not free) to be able to download and edit the shows.

This site doesn't have a lot of depth, but there are examples of French Christmas traditions and how they have evolved over the last few hundred years. The presentation is extremely easy to navigate. C'est aussi en Francais!

tag(s): christmas (38)

As part of their extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more, MyVocabulary.com has added a themed area for French vocab. Find interactive vocabulary activities using French vocabulary words. You will also find printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

tag(s): french (75), vocabulary (238)