Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Scroll down the page to find the video "100 Most Common Words in English Speaking." These are the little words that make a huge difference to understanding what someone is saying such as be, and, to, with, they, her, and so on. The video focuses on the speakers lower face so student s can pause the video and see facial expressions and tongue placement. The video resides on YouTube so it may not be viewable at your school

tag(s): pronunciation (34), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93), word study (59)

At 4teachers.org find resources to help infuse and develop your classroom technology with online tools and resources for teachers and students. Discover ways to integrate technology with teacher success stories, technology assessment, resources in Spanish, and technology use policies and safety. Educator's resources include: explore assessment, technology planning, special needs, assistive technology, grant resources, and bilingual tutorials.

You will also find links to make your own rubrics (or adapt others), adapt or create problem-based checklists, find Webquests or Thinkquests, find tools for students to write persuasively, and you can view online lessons or create your own. Those are just a few of the resources you'll find at 4teachers.org. Enjoy 4teachers video channel to see tutorials and educational videos. You might also consider joining in a weekly teacher blog on structured topics and see the featured site of the week.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): note taking (36), persuasive writing (58), rubrics (37), spanish (109)

This site offers practice in secondary mathematics topics using fun activities such as games, and Math With the Movies, and a cool activity called "MathCaching." "MathCaching" uses the internet to find hidden boxes to reveal clues to the games. Your success at "MathCaching" is dependent upon your skills at solving mathematical problems. Answers to caching activities can only be retrieved through email - teachers must email the site administrator from an educational email address, parents need to register on the site then email the administrators. Explanations for all activities are available onsite. Junior Math Resources has a section with free samples for teacher use. The printables and multimedia materials covers sixth grade math through Pre Algebra with the intent of to energize students' mathematical experiences. And, there is much more to explore!

tag(s): logic (161), problem solving (233), puzzles (149)

ThatQuiz is an online assessment tool for teachers of all subjects and grade levels. Create an account to gain access to record keeping tools. You can make your own tests using questions within the site. Students do not need to register since additional features are only for teachers. After choosing a category, different options are available within each of the quizzes to increase difficulty and add features. Quizzes can be timed or completed at the students' own pace. There is also an option to create a url for an individual quiz that can be linked to Facebook or X (formerly Twitter) accounts.

tag(s): africa (148), angles (52), asia (116), cells (82), charts and graphs (171), conversions (37), europe (84), exponents (35), factors (29), fractions (160), french (75), geometric shapes (134), german (49), human body (93), inequalities (25), measurement (122), money (113), north america (15), place value (34), probability (99), quiz (67), quizzes (90), spanish (109), time (91)

Find inspiring, age-appropriate, real-life stories, videos, and projects to share with children and teens. The site hopes to help these students take positive actions and become the best people they can be. Stories offer great examples of values like courage, determination, honesty, humility, kindness, responsibility, and tolerance. The stories range from incredible kids inspiring other kids, to amazing animals demonstrating admirable qualities, to the invention of inspirational social causes. Stories are searchable in several ways - by values, topics, age range, and format. Formats include articles, podcasts, reference, and videos. Under Educators investigate the lesson plans categorized by grade levels. You can also sign up for the site's newsletter including updates and new article information.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): behavior (45), bullying (48), character education (79), disabilities (32), diversity (40), identity (29), school violence (10), service projects (17), tolerance (8)

Hate to waste paper? Use this free resource to print web pages without wasted white space, ads, or extra pages. Enter the URL (web address) of the website you wish to print, rearrange the elements, and print! To rearrange, edit the items on the left navigation bar. Choose to show or hide the background, images, or margins. Change the font or font size. Save your changes as a pdf for later viewing. Create an account for more features such as "change sets" which allow your formatting options to be applied to other pages from the same website and clips. Use the clips or pieces from various web pages to create a simple page that houses them all. Add the bookmarklet to your browser by simply dragging it to your toolbar. Be sure to check out the demo and videos.

tag(s): conservation (102)

This interactive was intended for woodworkers but works very well in Geometry class. The activity works by showing you a series of geometric figures that need to be adjusted a bit to make them correct. A square highlights the point that needs to be moved or adjusted. Use the mouse to drag the blue square or arrowhead where you feel it is 'right.' Once you let go of the mouse, the computer evaluates your move, so don't let up on the mouse button until you are sure. The 'correct' geometry is also shown in green, so you can see where you went wrong. You will be see each challenge three times. The table to the right shows your score ach time. You can compare your score to the last 500 players or to your last best score.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): angles (52), geometric shapes (134), puzzles (149)

This site offers free book making activities -- the old fashioned way with paper and art supplies. Of particular interest is the project titled Making Books around the World in which students can make slat books, palm leaf books, accordion books, "papyrus" scrolls, and cloth books of many types. Tips for teachers make the book making projects accessible. Book plans are also available in Spanish.

tag(s): artists (84), book reports (28), creative writing (124)

This excellent site consists of ideas for projects to use in Math fairs; however, there are many other uses for the ideas presented on this site. Titles and subjects such as Juice Box Geometry, Play-Doh Math, and more, are intriguing and sure to capture students' interest. Topics include geometry, estimation, measurement, and probability. Each project contains detailed directions including background knowledge required, materials, and variations to try. General grade level suggestions are also provided (for grades 1-10.) One activity includes a video to help understand the directions. Perhaps most interesting is the section at the end of each project that is composed of links to careers in mathematics that tie-in to the activities.

tag(s): estimation (33), experiments (55), probability (99)

CyberWise provides tools for parents, educators, and kids to help them understand and use new media tools safely at home and in the classroom. The site provides an extensive collection of videos and resources that explain current media tools and ways to use them. Guides include X (formerly Twitter), Google+, Pinterest, Blogger, Prezi, Glogster, Facebook, Snapchat, Vine, and many others. Enter any tool name into the search box to see if there is a guide. Find information about media literacy, digital citizenship, cyberbullying, sexting, and more. The CyberCivics blog has the latest issues, trends, and tools to keep you an informed digital citizen. Sign up for the free newsletter and subscribe to the blog to stay current with information included on the site. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): cyberbullying (40), digital citizenship (85), internet safety (114), media literacy (109), tutorials (52)

Looking to take bits of notes from a variety of web pages? Use Memonic to take notes or clip any web content. Easily take it with you wherever you go and share it with others (or the entire world.) Using Memonic allows much more efficient printing. The free plan allows up to 100 notes and 3 groups.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), curation (32), note taking (36)

Create a podcast using audio and videos clips featuring NASA scientists! Follow the steps to create the podcast, including writing a production script, downloading clips, recording your narrations, and editing. Use a digital recorder, camcorder, or your computer to record the audio. Download a brochure or bookmark to remember the links for creating the DIY Podcast. Click on the links along the right side of the page for great resources such as the DIY Podcast Blog for some great ideas. Several examples along the side include creating a fitness podcast, lab safety, Newton's Laws, Rocket Science, and Solar Arrays.

tag(s): podcasts (108), scientists (67), space (222)

Find a new chart each day, based on real world events in different formats. Some days include more than one graph! The newer charts are shown first. Older charts are available on the site by following the "older" link. Topics vary from world news to sports to economics and more. There is a great variety of topics and chart types. When you click on the chart, a new page opens containing the chart and a description with difficult vocabulary underlined. Click on a word to learn the definition. You can also sign up to receive the daily chart by email.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): charts and graphs (171), cultures (180), data (151), financial literacy (93), infographics (56), sociology (23), sports (82)

Vi Hart's math videos have become very popular. They have even been featured on various cable shows. She also includes her X (formerly Twitter) information, so you can follow her. In the link, "Math Doodling," are several videos on doodling in the math classroom sure to entertain Math teachers and students alike. Titles include Stop-Motion Silly Band Fight, Sick Number Games, Snakes + Graphs, Stars, Binary Trees, and others. Be sure to also check out the link to Mathematical Food which contains demonstrations of slicing apples into Platonic Solids, slicing a cubic apple to find a regular hexagon, and how to arrange candy corn into Sierpinski's Triangle. Another wonderful resource is the link on balloons. Directions for making tetrahedrons, icosahedrons, and other shapes are all included. If you like Vi Harts Vimeo site, check out her blog here.

tag(s): geometric shapes (134), humor (15)

The IRS designed this site for students to build an understanding about the U.S. tax system, why people have to pay taxes, where the tax money goes, and more. It includes virtual tours, tutorials, simulations, and activities. There is a companion site for Teachers here.

tag(s): financial literacy (93), money (113)

This site features five "ready to go" lesson plans related to Groundhog's Day, nearly all include standards, objectives, and even technology options! Lessons designed for grades K-5 include "Where Is Punxsutawney Phil? - A Groundhog Day Tag Game" and "A Shadow of Yourself." Grades K-8 will find the lessons "Find the Hidden Hibernators" and "Graphing Groundhog Predictions." And finally designed for grades 3-12 is "Marmots (Groundhogs) of the World."
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): animals (294), charts and graphs (171), holidays (187), light (56)

This site offers tutorials, videos, publications, and more for users of GeoGebra (free downloadable software reviewed here). Links on the site include math modules with ready-to-use problems categorized by subject - Measurement, Algebra 1 & 2, and Calculus. Holiday and fun activities are also included. Be sure to check out the TeacherTube and YouTube videos with many explanations and tutorials of GeoGebra lessons and activities. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): angles (52), geometric shapes (134), holidays (187), measurement (122)

This site contains 38 weeks of Geometry lessons provided in several formats to be easily used with interactive whiteboards. Dan Meyer is well known for his mathematics teaching methods and much of the material is hands-on, problem-based activities appropriate for any classroom. Lessons are in slide format and can be downloaded in Keynote (Mac) or PowerPoint (Windows). In addition, each week's lessons can be downloaded as a PDF. Each lesson contains slide notes for the teacher and weekly handouts are available for use. Textbook assignments reference Discovering Geometry; however, these materials can be used with any textbook or materials. Each week's lessons are also tagged making it easy to find other similar content within the site.

tag(s): angles (52), functions (52), geometric shapes (134), patterns (61), problem solving (233), test prep (69), tutorials (52)

Looking for review materials for a variety of classes? Use for a wide range of curriculum topics. (A "learning object" is any kind of interactive activity, animation, video, audio file, etc, that can be used for learning.) This site is great for introductory, reinforcement, or review materials. Find most of the relevant topics by using the search bar. Choose from many subjects such as biology, biochemistry, chemistry, math, sociology, world languages, and written communication, among others. Gifted students or those who learn well independently can study Chinese and other topics not easily available in their school using WISC-Onkine.

tag(s): animals (294), business (52), cells (82), chinese (45), grammar (137), grammar review (31), life cycles (21), microscopes (10), plants (146), psychology (65), sentences (22), sociology (23), speech (69)