Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Do you need a checklist for students to use before submitting multimedia projects? This site provides a printable list (pdf) that covers several areas such as mechanics, documentation, and quality of content. Check off each item on the list, multiply the weight, and come up with the total points.

tag(s): assessment (147), multimedia (53), rubrics (37)

Find two downloadable images for 11 by 17 posters about multiple intelligences in comic form. The first poster represents the different types of intelligences, such as musical or linguistic. The second poster breaks down steps to use when working with different types of intelligences. For full information, click the link that leads to the full six page essay about multiple intelligences. Also check out the link at the bottom of the page to "psst! teachers!" to another multiple intelligences comic book.

tag(s): back to school (55), comics and cartoons (55), multiple intelligences (7)

Mural for Education offers flexible tools for virtual collaboration and communication. Think of it as a virtual whiteboard workspace that includes sticky notes, shapes, and connectors to create diagrams and mind maps, drawing tools, images, and more. Use Mural to create breakout rooms for group work or prepare and share study guides and classroom calendars. Apply for a free account as a student or for a classroom account. Start collaborating by following the prompts provided by Mural to begin designing your workspace using templates or from a blank board. Use the dashboard to add text, icons, images, and more. Facilitators also have options for adding contributors, setting a work timer, and setting parameters for the session chat.

tag(s): collaboration (93), graphic organizers (48), iwb (31), Online Learning (36), remote learning (54)

Murf.ai is an AI-driven website offering realistic text-to-speech voiceovers in over 20 languages. You can choose from a library of voices to create professional-quality audio for podcasts, videos, presentations, and more. The site features tools for voice cloning, editing, dubbing, and integration with applications like Google Slides and Canva.

tag(s): creative writing (124), descriptive writing (42), digital storytelling (154), text to speech (20)

View this interactive video timeline to look at obsolete technologies from the past, including rotary hand mixers, cassette tapes, and other technologies. These short videos share "obsolete" items from the 1860s to 2000s. (Note: if your school blocks YouTube, this site will not be accessible. Ask to have this specific url unblocked).

tag(s): inventors and inventions (80)

Create crossword puzzles or word searches, or browse through the variety of free options available on My Crossword Maker. Complete the crosswords online or use the provided links to print or save as a PDF. Browse to find crosswords by grade level, subject, holidays, and more.
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tag(s): addition (129), african american (116), american revolution (82), civil war (139), cold war (30), colonial america (95), colonization (21), crosswords (19), cultures (180), darwin (13), division (98), fractions (160), french (75), grammar (137), holidays (187), latin (23), literature (221), martin luther king (45), multiplication (122), musical instruments (52), poetry (193), presidents (135), puzzles (149), religions (95), shakespeare (99), spanish (109), spelling (97), sports (82), states (124), subtraction (110), vocabulary (238), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161), writing (324)

The PDF lesson plan from Carnegie Mellon University introduces students to copyright issues, defines new terms, emphasizes illegal actions that could occur when using information from the Internet, and provides guidance on safe practices for searching and using information online. It includes learning objectives and materials for teachers to use with students.

tag(s): copyright (44), internet safety (114), plagiarism (34)

Create a polished, professional live chat on your blog or class site with this FREE tool. Create a "How Can I Help You?" message to pop-up as parents and students visit the page. When in an active chat, visitors receive a pop-up asking if they wish to join the chat. This tool runs on every platform and mobile device. Be sure to check out the demo tab to understand how to use the tool in your website. Add the HTML code into your site to add the chat box and features. Use this tool to analyze site traffic so you can identify what is most used by students and parents.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): chat (41), communication (129), DAT device agnostic tool (147)

Find many ready to go, subject specific, Common Core aligned projects free for your use. Developed by the Buck Institute for Education, who are THE experts for project based learning, the PBLU projects are designed to save you time in the project based learning process. However, each project is flexible enough to customize it to your needs. Sign up for their newsletter to stay updated about new project development. You can even suggest a project for them to create through the Community Wish List.

tag(s): problem solving (233), Project Based Learning (23), Research (87), STEM (298)

My Study Life is a web-based and mobile app for a student to manage classes, tasks, and assignments. Features include tracking tasks, adding exam dates, managing classes, and notification reminders of upcoming events. Enroll through email, Facebook, or Google. Once enrolled, add course schedules to set up a schedule. After entering courses, add tasks with due dates or exam dates. All tasks and information displays on the homepage along with approaching due dates. My Study Life shows both tasks completed and unfinished.

tag(s): classroom management (120), DAT device agnostic tool (147), Learning Management Systems (20), organizational skills (88)

Customize and share personalized Wordles based upon the popular word game, Wordle, reviewed here using Make a Custom Wordle. Enter a word of any length (unlike the original word for five-letter words only) to generate a shareable link for your word. Make a Custom Wordle also offers the option to create words in several languages, including Spanish, French, Hindi, and German. Share the link with students using email, classroom management system, or class website. When complete, copy the URL to share by pasting it into an email or your blog or classroom website.

tag(s): game based learning (205), sight words (23), spelling (97), vocabulary (238)

MyHeritage Deep Nostalgia Photos animates images in photographs that bring still photos to life. These very realistic photographs use artificial intelligence to apply predetermined motions to facial features that provide an animated experience not possible with still photos. Upload your photo and follow the directions to create an account and save your image. Free accounts include a limited number of uploads.

tag(s): animation (64), artificial intelligence (178), images (263)

myHomework is a digital student planner to track homework, assignments, tests, and more. This site uses a visually appealing calendar display to add classes and homework. Enter class information including start and end times, classroom number, teacher information, and notes. Add individual homework assignments or upload a syllabus to input multiple assignments. If your school uses Teachers.io, reviewed here, this app fully integrates with that platform to offer class information, notes, and more across both platforms.

tag(s): calendars (37), DAT device agnostic tool (147), homework (29), organizational skills (88), Teacher Utilities (198)

Randomly select a name for any activity with Name Picker Ninja. Add your list of names, and Go! Highlight and delete the list of names given with the tool, and replace them with your names. Click Go! The Name Picker Ninja will scroll through the list and stop on a random name. Delete that name and continue. Alternatively, if you want to keep all names active, click Go! again.

tag(s): classroom management (120), gamification (83), preK (270)

Never mispronounce a name again, thanks to the help of NameCoach! Record names using your own computer or any other device. Add phonetic spelling or pronunciation tips. You can listen to the names as often as you wish. Create your account to make lists for Back to School, award ceremonies, graduations, and much more. After creating your name page, share a link with peers through email or as a link on your class webpage or blog. Share the link in your substitute plans, too! Create a master list with sublists for use in different departments, classes, or for individual events.

tag(s): classroom management (120), pronunciation (34), substitutes (25)

Napkin AI uses artificial intelligence to generate visuals based on your text or generate text with AI. Copy and paste any text into the chat box, then click to create timelines, infographics, flow charts, and more. Choose from the provided images, then edit if desired by changing color, font, and other options. Save your finished visual as a URL link, PDF, PNG image file, or SVG. Share using the URL link to allow others to view or edit your project.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (178), data (151), infographics (56), problem solving (233), timelines (56), visualizations (11)

Nappy provides stunning, high-resolution photographs of black and brown people for free download and use for personal and commercial purposes. Although the Creative Commons license allows the use without attribution, it is always encouraged to provide photo credits when possible. Registration isn't required; browse the site to find images, then download by choosing one of the three image size options. Create a free account to save favorites and create personalized collections of photographs.

tag(s): creative commons (28), diversity (40), images (263), photography (131)

Narakeet offers text-to-speech creation with options for choices of over 500 realistic-sounding voices. Registration is not required; upload your script to begin. Choices include the design of text-to-speech audio or video from a PowerPoint presentation. After making your selection, take advantage of the available choices to select a language and voice. Then, either upload a file, copy and paste text when creating an audio file, or upload your PowerPoint presentation to create a video. When finished, download the converted file to your device. Free accounts offer you up to twenty projects with maximum uploaded file sizes of up to 10MB. Other restrictions apply to free accounts; this information is available on the pricing page.

tag(s): chinese (45), conversions (37), german (49), greek (47), italian (31), japanese (47), multilingual (77), portuguese (22), russian (26), spanish (109), text to speech (20), video (266)

Watch mathematics in action through videos of six seconds or less created using the Vine app. View the title along with the short videos demonstrating equations, patterns, factoring, and more. Some contain links to blog posts with additional ideas and information about the concept.

tag(s): equations (119), factors (29), geometric shapes (134), patterns (61), video (266)

NCTM helps set instructional standards and provide teaching resources for teachers of mathematics at all levels. NCTM's site includes a publications catalog, news releases, and other information services.

tag(s): professional development (385)