Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This lesson plan from PBS NewsHour Classroom introduces students to the art and knowledge of the ancient Mayan civilization. Through video transcripts, discussions, and hands-on activities, students will explore how Mayan art reflects their understanding of astronomy, mathematics, and daily life. The lesson includes critical thinking prompts and extension activities to help students make connections between ancient and modern cultures. With its engaging and interdisciplinary approach, this resource is perfect for bringing history, art, and science together in the classroom!

tag(s): mayans (23), mexico (37)

Discover the Maya Empire with PBS LearningMedia! This educational resource provides an engaging introduction to the Mayan Empire, perfect for upper elementary and middle school students. Through a short, informative video, students will explore the achievements of the Mayan civilization in architecture, astronomy, and writing. The resource includes discussion questions and activities to reinforce learning and encourage critical thinking. With its high-quality, standards-aligned content, this tool is a great way to bring history to life in the classroom!

tag(s): mayans (23), mexico (37)

Visit the items shared in this group by BookWidget users to find and use several different SDG-related activities. After registering for a BookWidgets account, you can use all the items for free. Resources include an invention timeline, quizzes, flashcards, and more. Click on any link to view the resource. Share activities using one of the options to share items with students, including links to send activities to Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams.

tag(s): climate change (99), cross cultural understanding (173), energy (133), flash cards (44), nutrition (140), sustainability (50), timelines (56), women (151)

Geography.com is an engaging educational resource that helps teachers bring geography to life in the classroom. The site offers interactive maps, quizzes, articles, and videos covering physical geography, human geography, climate, and world cultures. It provides student-friendly explanations, real-world examples, and multimedia content to support lessons on global issues, ecosystems, and geographic concepts. With its interactive approach, Geography.com is a valuable tool for fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and spatial awareness in students of all grade levels.

tag(s): climate (84), critical thinking (127), cultures (180), ecosystems (83), maps (220), multimedia (53)

Facing History & Ourselves Indigenous Rights and Controversy over Hawaii's Maunakea Telescope offers a free lesson on why the Native Hawaiians opposed its construction. The lesson gives a historical context for understanding the protests against constructing the Thirty Meter Telescope on Maunakea. The site includes two activities, a handout, articles, and videos. The lesson itself is adaptable and can be shared on Google Classroom.

tag(s): hawaii (9), native americans (109), telescopes (11)

The Google Indoor Maps platform is a valuable resource for educators and students exploring spatial awareness, geography, and technology integration. It offers detailed indoor maps for airports, museums, shopping malls, and universities, providing floor plans and navigation tools. Teachers can use it to help students understand mapping technology, analyze layouts of complex buildings, or plan field trips. This tool also emphasizes the real-world applications of geography and technology, fostering digital literacy and practical problem-solving skills.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147), digital literacy (6), map skills (63), maps (220), problem solving (233), virtual field trips (128)

Explore this valuable tool for educators; it offers curated collections of primary sources, historical documents, and research materials across a wide range of subjects. These guides help teachers incorporate authentic historical artifacts, government records, and literary works into their lessons, enhancing students' critical thinking and research skills. With ready-to-use teaching resources, topic guides, and bibliographies, this site supports interdisciplinary learning and provides rich content for inquiry-based projects in history, literature, civics, and more.

tag(s): african american (115), architecture (75), black history (133), branches of government (65), civil rights (209), civil war (139), conservation (102), energy (133), engineering (129), environment (252), foreign policy (13), hispanic (36), industrialization (12), jews (33), latin (23), literature (221), middle east (50), native americans (109), nutrition (140), photography (130), politics (118), population (51), religions (95), Research (87), sports (82), statistics (121), Teacher Utilities (198), women (151), womenchangemaker (37), womens suffrage (52)

NPR (National Public Radio) is a valuable resource for educators, offering high-quality news, podcasts, and articles on current events, culture, science, and history. The site features engaging audio stories, in-depth journalism, and educational content that can enhance classroom discussions and critical thinking skills. Teachers can use NPR's stories to connect lessons to real-world events, introduce students to diverse perspectives, and encourage media literacy. Additionally, NPR's student-friendly resources, such as NPR Ed and Student Podcast Challenge, provide interactive and project-based learning opportunities.

tag(s): civil rights (209), cultures (180), journalism (74), news (229), podcasts (108), scientists (67), space (222)

Step back in time and explore the wonders of Ancient Egypt with CrashCourse! This engaging and visually appealing video is perfect for teachers and students alike, offering a fast-paced, expertly crafted journey through one of the world's most fascinating civilizations. From the pyramids and pharaohs to mummies and hieroglyphs, this resource simplifies complex history into bite-sized, entertaining lessons. Whether you're sparking curiosity in the classroom or enriching your own understanding, this course is your gateway to bringing Ancient Egypt to life.
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tag(s): cultures (180), egypt (56), pyramids (21)

Step into the wonders of ancient Egypt without leaving your classroom with the Smithsonian's Egypt Virtual Tour! This interactive resource takes students on a captivating journey through Egypt's most iconic landmarks, including the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Sphinx, and the temples of Luxor and Karnak. The tour brings history to life with stunning visuals and detailed descriptions, offering insights into ancient Egyptian architecture, culture, and daily life. Perfect for upper elementary through high school students, this virtual experience makes learning immersive and exciting, fostering curiosity and a deeper connection to one of the world's greatest civilizations.

tag(s): asia (116), egypt (56), rivers (16), virtual field trips (128)

Try this interactive escape activity to test your students' knowledge of flags worldwide. Click start to begin your tour of countries, making four stops to identify the nationality of the flags. Question types include multiple choice, true/false, and drag-and-drop identifications. Personalize the content of this escape activity by creating a copy of the template and editing text, images, and animated features. Share the escape room with your students using the URL link, embed code, or social media links.

tag(s): continents (33), countries (73), digital escapes (15), flags (18), mysteries (23)

The Penn Museum's Roman World website offers an interactive and educational resource for teachers exploring Ancient Rome with their students. It provides engaging content on Roman history, culture, and daily life through artifacts, maps, and virtual exhibits. The website includes sections on Roman government, engineering, art, and religion, supported by detailed descriptions and visuals. Teachers can use this resource to enhance lessons by showcasing actual artifacts and encouraging critical discussions about their significance. The site's interactive elements and accessible format make it an excellent tool for bringing the Roman world to life in the classroom.

tag(s): italy (30), romans (52), rome (37)

The website African and Middle Eastern Jewish Studies: Research Guides from the Library of Congress provides a detailed overview of the Library's resources related to the history, culture, and experiences of Jewish communities in Africa and the Middle East. It includes access to primary and secondary sources such as books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, and digital collections. The guide is organized by themes such as regional histories, diasporic movements, and cultural contributions, making it an excellent resource for educators and students exploring the intersection of Jewish, African, and Middle Eastern studies.

tag(s): africa (148), jews (33), middle east (50), religions (95)

The Global Food and Nutrition Security Dashboard shares the latest information concerning the severity of the food crisis, emergent risks, and measures to support and strengthen agri-food systems globally. The interactive map includes searchable data by country, current alerts, actions, and emerging risks. Explore the country profiles to find additional in-depth details of individual nations' food security profiles. Further information available includes resources detailing food security indicators, research, financing, and more.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), inequalities (25), maps (220), nutrition (140), STEM (297), sustainability (50)

Google Arts and Culture combines the magic of AI with Google Maps to create an audio tour of cultural landmarks worldwide. After launching the experiment, you can click any pin on the map to begin the tour or select from options that include landmarks, nature, archaeology, and cultural institutions. After choosing a pin, the map opens in street view, and the AI-generated audio commentary begins. Use the arrow to move the panoramic image around, take a snapshot, generate a new commentary, or choose the blue button to record a question and receive an audio response.

tag(s): archeology (28), artificial intelligence (177), deserts (16), forests (30), landmarks (22), maps (220), museums (52), virtual field trips (128)

The Harappa website offers a rich collection of educational videos that delve into topics related to the Indus Valley Civilization and ancient history. Many videos are in-depth, lasting 45 minutes or more, making them ideal for detailed learning or research. The platform is a valuable resource for educators, students, and history enthusiasts looking to explore ancient civilizations through a multimedia lens. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): asia (116), cultures (180), india (32)

The History.com article The Earliest Human Civilizations explores the emergence of some of the world's first civilizations, including Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley, and Ancient China. It highlights key features of these societies, such as agriculture, urbanization, written language, and organized government, which marked the transition from nomadic to settled lifestyles. This resource provides educators with an overview of foundational civilizations that shaped human history, making it ideal for lessons in world history or social studies. Teachers can use this content to introduce students to the characteristics of early civilizations, foster discussions about their similarities and differences, and connect ancient achievements to modern society.

tag(s): china (81), egypt (56), india (32), mesopotamia (32)

HungerMap Live uses publicly available data to examine food security worldwide. Upon accessing the map, viewers immediately see a circle highlighting the current number of countries with very high levels of hunger. Further exploration shows the number of conflict and climate alerts. The dropdown boxes on the map allow you to navigate to specific countries and PDF reports. You can click any circle on the map to visit that area and access in-depth data, including food security and nutrition statistics.

tag(s): climate (84), climate change (99), cross cultural understanding (173), environment (252), maps (220), nutrition (140), STEM (297), sustainability (50)

The History.com article 6 Civilizations That Mysteriously Collapsed examines the sudden and often unexplained declines of six ancient civilizations: the Maya, Indus Valley, Ancestral Puebloans, Cahokia, Easter Island, and Greenland's Norse settlements. The article explores contributing factors such as drought, deforestation, resource depletion, social upheaval, and climate change, providing insights into how these societies thrived before facing challenges that led to their downfall. This resource is ideal for educators teaching history, geography, or anthropology, as it encourages students to analyze the interplay between human activity and environmental factors. Teachers can use it to promote critical thinking through discussions, research projects, or comparative studies on the rise and fall of civilizations throughout history.

tag(s): india (32), mayans (23), mexico (37), native americans (109), vikings (10)