Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This site offers rich geographical information visually: through photographs. Students select a continent to investigate. (Note: all continents except Antarctica are included.) After viewing pictures of one country on that continent, they can click for a more in-depth examination and more pictures, listen to the native language of that area, click on another country to make a comparison, and take a quiz on that information. They can also select certain categories to learn more about transportation, education, religion, people, etc.

tag(s): climate (84), continents (33), countries (73)

Reading literature with complex characters worthy of analysis and individual profiles? Do your students need practice creating their own polished "profiles"? This tool creates professional looking profiles of students or for a character in a book, historical figure, animal, or scientific object/concept. Amazingly, you may choose to set up a profile for nonliving creatures or even abstract concepts. You simply type in the requested information into the boxes, and immediately, you have a perfect profile layout, ready for photocopy publishing. (Saving your profiles is not an option, so all must be printed immediately.) This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

tag(s): literature (222)

This site contains several templates for familiar TV games useful for teacher (or student) created review. The activities include Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and others. Most of the games are done in PowerPoint. Depending on the version of PowerPoint you have, the formatting may be slightly off once you input your words, questions, or answers. Original games created by a teacher complete the offerings. Our editors note that the sound files included with some templates may be copyrighted material, and TeachersFirst does not condone the use of this content without the permission of the copyright holder(s). Most templates are "clean" of such potential problems. This website requires PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat. Download both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

tag(s): air (102)

Students are always fascinated by the mysteries of the past, and wondering how those in ancient history managed feats of construction that would be difficult even today. Perhaps nothing sparks student interest more than the phrase, "no one knows". This site seeks to explore several "mysterious places" in the world--places whose origins or purposes are lost to antiquity. Currently, the featured locations include Easter Island, Stonehenge, Chichen Itza, and the Maya. Each section contains stunning photography, and a variety of resources on the history and mystery of the site. A section entitled "educator link" promises lesson plans and other teachers' resources, but is not finished. The site offers great potential, some of which has already been realized.

tag(s): africa (148), mayans (23), mysteries (23)

From PBS, this site is associated with the series "Building Big." Unlike many sites that relate to a TV program, however, this site contains a number of excellent "stand-alone" features that can be integrated into more general lessons, and do not require students to have seen the series. The site is generally organized around five types of super sized engineering projects: bridges, domes, skyscrapers, tunnels, and dams. There are lesson plans tied to national standards, a neat searchable database of structures, some career-development content related to engineering, and information about the related television series. The highlights of this site are the flash-enabled interactive labs. They are outstanding. Illustrating basic principles of physics and engineering, students can experiment with building materials and see the impact of their choices on virtual buildings. Some activities at this site require Flash; however there is a lot to learn from the features that don't require Flash.

tag(s): bridges (11), engineering (129)

Never again wonder where to find a newspaper. This site accesses thousands of newspapers with just a simple sign-in from the drop down information search page. There are newspapers included from South East Asia, Central America, Middle East, and nearly every country throughout the world. There are some minor advertisements at this website.

tag(s): africa (148), asia (116), central america (20), middle east (50), news (229), newspapers (93)

Lead your students on an exploration of the art of Ancient Egypt! The Metropolitan Museum of Art has created a treasure trove of lesson plans and activities built around their stellar Egyptian collection. The educational resources integrate Egyptian art into language arts, social studies, math, science, and visual and performing arts. This would be a terrific launch point for a gifted enrichment unit. Dig into the Resources area to get an overview of the printable worksheets, bibliographies, maps, and online features. Be sure to click on the Curriculum Connection area for specific lesson plans and activities for your students.

tag(s): egypt (56)

Art and world history come alive through this dazzling collection of the Yale University Art Gallery. The collections span time and continents: African art, American painting, sculpture and decorative arts, ancient art, art of the ancient Americans, Asian art, coins and medals, and early European, modern, and contemporary art. Each collection is easily viewed in a via individual picture format with detailed descriptions, which combine art and history. Scroll to the bottom of each collection to find a video about the collection. The video times vary from three minutes to over an hour. The "Kids and Families" section of the website has stories, activities, coloring books, and online jigsaw puzzles that could also be used in the classroom. The website includes resources for K12 educators has information for professional development and after-school programs and classes.

tag(s): art history (103), artists (85), coins (6), painting (55), photography (130), sculpture (18)

Africa Focus offers a wealth of digital images and sound recordings from contemporary Africa. This collection from the University of Wisconsin contains more than 3000 slides, 500 photographs, and 50 hours of sounds from 45 different countries. Click Search the Collection to see image categories which include artisans, buildings and structures, cities and towns, education, landscape, religion, and women. Sound recordings include drums, greetings, rites and ceremonies, songs, and signing. The site is easily searched by keyword or by subject heading.

tag(s): africa (148), air (102), architecture (75), black history (133)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City offers this site. View World Maps, Timelines, Thematic Essays, and more. Click on the "Works of Art" link to search by time period, geographical region, or thematic category. Time periods include 8000 BC to the present. Thematic categories include African, Renaissance, Colonial, Medieval, Modern, and more. The timeline features nearly every continent and many categories of art.

tag(s): art history (103), medieval (32), renaissance (38)

This Wikipedia-type dictionary includes more than 33,000 biographies on men and women from ancient times to today. Search by birth or death dates, professions, achievements, name or other keywords. Anyone can register to edit or add to a biography. If you do recommend this site as a source for research, be sure to have the discussion about its unknown authorship and usefulness as a general information tool but not as a "scholarly" resource.

tag(s): critical thinking (127)

Choose from Vocabulary or Picture Vocabulary for many topics. There are currently 36 languages to choose from. (From matching games to picture recognition to translation practice, the site offers fairly sophisticated word practice. A flag-country matching game is of general interest to all students, not just language learners. There are many advantages in using this site for ESL or ELL students. The main advantage is the capability to choose a different language for questions and answers, thus assuring specific understanding of specific words with the definitions in their first language.

tag(s): capitals (16), flags (18), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)

This website provides easy-to-access information about numerous countries. The information focuses on what would interest travelers to each country: the main cities, sites of interest, geographical features, food, shopping, family activities, and books. There are approximately 40 countries included (such as Austria, Finland, Hong Kong, Israel, Canada, Cuba, Chile, Bali, Kenya, and numerous others). The highlight of this website is the wonderful annotated list of books about each country.

tag(s): countries (73)

Rome Reborn is, as its title implies, a digital representation of Rome on June 21, 320 AD. Currently, several views and videos are available. The clips look like a cross between a "Google Earth" fly-in and the backdrop for a video game. While they have the potential to give students a "you are there" vision of ancient Rome,

tag(s): latin (23), rome (37)

Leonardo da Vinci is one of history's greatest geniuses. This site looks at Leonardo's work in ways that highlight how comprehensive and interdisciplinary his impact has been. Of course, you can examine his individual works of art, but this site is organized along threads, which you can access through a traditional menu or through an interactive web. Follow Leonardo's influence in math, through his inventions, in his understanding of the human body or his examination of the natural world. There is an abundance of information to learn on this site, however, there are also some just-plain-fun flash-enabled games to play like making the Mona Lisa smile broadly by correctly answering questions about her, practice mirror writing, or see if you can power his glider across a ravine.

tag(s): renaissance (38)

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted to documentation of African-American life in the United States. Explore the virtual museum through collections, exhibitions, stories, and more. Search collections by topic, era, or name to view artifacts including photographs, maps, and much more.

tag(s): africa (148), african american (115), black history (133), cultures (180)

Posted by the New Hampshire Concord Monitor Newspaper in the Classroom program, this website offers many interactive ideas that students can use either with a physical newspaper in front of them, with an online news service such as CNN, or with online editions of newspapers that you find here. The examples used all refer to the New Hampshire newspaper, but are easily adaptable to whatever topic you want the students to deal with. This site includes such varied activities as creating a database and writing recipes. It covers every section of a newspaper. Students could create their own classroom newspaper using some of these activities or simply create journalistic articles based on whatever topic you are currently teaching. This is adaptable to almost any grade level and subject area.

tag(s): local history (14), news (229), newspapers (93)

This new travel blog site is intended for travelers to document their trips to locations worldwide. The site is in "beta," which means that they are still working out kinks and adding features. Although it would be nice to think that teachers can use the site for their own travels, it is far more likely that you will use it to share "real world" experiences from places around the world to make the maps and textbook images come to life. You can search Blogabond by geographic location using the world map (click Maps) to find markers indicating blog posts ( little speech bubble icon) and pictures (little camera icon) from worldwide locations.

tag(s): cities (17), continents (33), countries (73), maps (220)

Wow, this website is amazing! Exploring Africa brings Africa into your classroom through numerous interdisciplinary lessons. There are 20 modules (within 4 general units of study). The general units include "Why Study Africa," "Studying Africa Through the Social Studies," "Studying Africa Through the Humanities," "Regional Perspectives," and "Country Case Studies." Each module contains a teacher version that includes objectives, focus questions, activities, background information, and more. These teaching and learning activities all follow the "5 E's" format: Engage, Explore, Explain, Expand, and Evaluate. The website also provides links for specific country information and current events.

tag(s): africa (148), diversity (40)

This website provides a colorful interactive map of Africa. You are able to click on any country in Africa to learn more about that particular country. The website includes basic geographical information (capital cities, landforms, elevations, exact locations, etc.) along with other general information. The reading level is too high for younger students, so they will need an adult reader. Some of the links provide authentic music from the country, information about accommodations available, and tourist attractions.

tag(s): africa (148)