Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Oh h1 is an addicting and challenging interactive for problem solving and logic. Choose from four different grid sizes to play. Click on squares to make them red or blue. The goal is to never have more than 2 squares of the same color in a row, and to have equal numbers of colors in all rows and columns. The rules are explained as you play. Increase difficulty by increasing the number of grids and completing in the shortest elapsed time.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (146), game based learning (206), logic (160), problem solving (234), puzzles (149)

Numeracy Tasks offers a large selection of open-ended problems for grades K-12. Choose from titles sorted by grade level (K-3, 4-6, 7-9, or 10-12). Each task is listed individually. Click to download the Word document including instructions and any necessary materials. Although this site is rather "plain vanilla," there are some very engaging topics: Cell Phone Plans, Nine Hole Golf Course, Building a Garden, Trip to the Waterslides, and many more.

tag(s): number sense (68), problem solving (234)

Discover "random, interesting, amazing facts, quizzes, and trivia" at Mental Floss. This magazine-style offering features new posts daily on topics from science, history, culture, and more. For example, read about 6 Articles of Clothing That Caused Riots! Access the archives via the ALSO ON MENTAL FLOSS links near the bottom of the page for even more offerings. Any reader is guaranteed to learn something new and come away wanting to learn more. Find answers to imponderables or odd thoughts. Sections include Innovations, Words, Lists, and Quizzes with subareas for history, science, pop culture, etc. Click Videos to visit Mental Floss's YouTube channel or related videos. Articles are quick tidbits that invite you to share and learn. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): animals (293), famous people (28), grammar (138), quizzes (90), trivia (18)

Do what Simon Says at this virtual game similar to the old favorite! Follow the pattern of lights and sounds and repeat back to Simon. Start with one sound/light. Simon plays that and adds another. Repeat back, and Simon adds one more every time. Earn a point for each time you repeat back the sequence correctly. Continue for as long as you can remember. This is the online version of the handheld game, Simon.

tag(s): game based learning (206), patterns (61), preK (291), puzzles (149)

Teampedia is a comprehensive and collaborative resource for finding icebreakers, team building, and leadership activities. Browse through almost 100 categories on this wiki. Find trust activities, getting to know you, and online/remote team building. Explore activities based on the group size involved. If you have a great activity and don't see it, add it to Teampedia by following the steps provided. Each game or activity includes a list of materials needed, number of players, time required, and directions for play. Some directions for strategy games also include strategy options.

tag(s): back to school (55), creativity (87), firstday (22), problem solving (234)

Ducksters is a safe, extensive, educational portal for kids. Find a wide choice of content such as interactives, sports, movies, and music. Begin by choosing a category to explore choices. The study category includes extensive information such as world history, many biographies, science explanations, and information on all continents and many countries. Interactive subjects include math times tables, checkers, and guess the country. There is a TON here to explore.
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tag(s): addition (127), african american (121), american revolution (83), animal homes (57), animals (293), artists (87), biographies (94), china (83), civil rights (219), civil war (142), cold war (31), continents (33), countries (73), data (150), division (96), egypt (59), elements (33), energy (133), environment (251), explorers (64), fractions (159), friction (9), geometric shapes (133), greece (47), habitats (93), human body (91), inventors and inventions (81), keyboarding (28), mean (19), median (16), mode (13), multiplication (120), planets (113), presidents (136), puzzles (149), recycling (45), renaissance (38), rome (37), solar system (108), sound (71), sports (85), subtraction (108), sun (69), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (163)

Get ready to have a good laugh. Come on over to XKCD, a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. Find comics with stick figures featuring mathematical, scientific, and cultural humor. Scroll down the page to find Comics/Enjoy! Dig through the archives to find the perfect one for you! Creative Commons License allows reprinting of the comics. Each comic has an individual URL that can be shared to direct students to that specific comic. Be sure to PREVIEW before you share any comics with your class. Our editors found a few that may be questionable depending on the maturity of your students.
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tag(s): comics and cartoons (56), humor (15)

Math Puzzles offers a large selection of puzzles with mathematical connections. Scroll through the page to find puzzles using geometric shapes, crosswords, number squares, and more. Choose any puzzle to view directions and begin to play.
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tag(s): crosswords (19), logic (160), problem solving (234)

Explore science through fascinating articles in this episodic monthly magazine. Although you can subscribe for a fee, you can also check out past and current issues online for free. As they describe themselves, "We deliver big-picture science by reporting on a single monthly topic from multiple perspectives." The combined perspectives include, "the sciences, culture and philosophy into a single story told by the world's leading thinkers and writers." Each Thursday the site publishes a new "chapter" of that month's thematic issue. Past issue themes include Creativity, Illusions, Genius, Big Bangs, and more. Expect to be fascinated by the many angles. You will want to talk and share about what you learn!
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tag(s): careers (183), expository writing (31), scientists (71), writing prompts (60)

Kodable teaches coding to young children through programming logic, sequence, loops, functions, and debugging. Create one free class account for an unlimited number of students with twelve weeks of lessons. Find lessons with programming curriculum, explanations of key concepts, and Common Core alignment. You can play without an account; however, results are not saved.
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tag(s): coding (87), computational thinking (41), computers (109), DAT device agnostic tool (146), engineering (137), logic (160), problem solving (234), STEM (312)

Remember playing Spirograph as a kid? Now you can create and play online with Inspirograph! Choose from fixed and rotating gears, and then change the size of the gears. Change the background and pen colors using the toolbar. Click on the + sign to personalize colors. Be sure to view the gallery of saved designs for lots of inspiration when beginning. Click the download icon to save images to your computer.

tag(s): angles (51), critical thinking (137), gifted (66), problem solving (234)

Enjoy playing with photo puzzles using DigiPuzzle. Choose from the selection of world wonders, animals, or jigsaws for kids. Choose a picture option to begin. Scroll down to view puzzle choices such as sudoku, word search, memory, hangman, and others. Get a personalized puzzle for your website, follow the directions on the personal photo page to email the site owner with your photo.

tag(s): animals (293), cities (17), logic (160), problem solving (234), puzzles (149), pyramids (24)

The Annenberg Learner Foundation's goal is to advance excellent teaching in American schools. Annenberg Learner's multimedia resources help teachers increase their expertise in their fields and improve teaching methods in all grade levels in all subjects. There are video resources for all subject areas. Find lesson plans for all subjects by grade level. A variety of interactives accompany lessons or can also stand alone. Follow the monthly updates and blogs for the latest information.
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tag(s): art history (108), butterflies (13), conversions (37), critical thinking (137), dna (43), earth (182), environment (251), geometric shapes (133), immigrants (48), medieval (33), native americans (116), patterns (61), periodic table (43), renaissance (38), rocks (34), russia (34), south africa (13), spelling (98), statistics (121), volcanoes (55), weather (160)

This fabulous UK site offers many resources for math practice and instruction. Choose the Videos and Worksheets section to find a large list of topics sorted alphabetically including instructional videos and practice questions. Many also include corresponding textbook exercises. Choose 5-a-day to find another large selection of printables for daily review, choose from three different levels for each date. (U.S. users will need to "translate" the 5-a-day letter equivalents to find approximate grade levels; count backwards from grade 12 being "A.") Conundrums for each day of the year provide short, daily brainteasers ready to print and use. Don't miss the Great Maths Bakeoff, a terrific idea for Pi Day! This site was created in the UK. American English speakers will notice slight spelling differences and use of English currency. There is also mention of Key Stages 3, 4, and 5. In America, these stages equate to Ages 11-14 (Stage 3), Ages 14-16 (Stage 4), and Ages 16-18 (Stage 5). Some of the videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): addition (127), angles (51), charts and graphs (169), coordinates (15), decimals (85), division (96), equations (119), estimation (33), fractions (159), geometric shapes (133), inequalities (25), mean (19), measurement (123), median (16), mode (13), multiplication (120), probability (99), problem solving (234), pythagorean theorem (19), quadratics (27), sequences (12), square roots (15), subtraction (108), time (91), transformations (11), volume (33)

Mathsticks has a large variety of math learning resources in the form of games, activities, and interactive materials. Explore the site by choosing grade level, themes, categories, or keyword search in the search bar. Each item includes a short description of the activity along with suggestions for modification and added teaching suggestions. Registration is required to download activities in PDF format and was a little cumbersome to complete; however, the many free resources available with standard registration make it worth the work. The site was created in the UK, so some of the pronunciations and spellings (and currency) may differ from those in American English. Note: Our editors found occasional typos in descriptions of activities. The activities themselves warrant ignoring these small mistakes.
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tag(s): addition (127), division (96), fractions (159), money (113), multiplication (120), numbers (121), percent (59), place value (33), preK (291), probability (99), problem solving (234), puzzles (149), roman numerals (7), subtraction (108), time (91)

Find many resources for using pattern blocks at this site. Choose from many different pattern block templates sorted by categories such as holidays, vehicles, and alphabet. Click any template to view the PDF for instant printing. When printing, do NOT "scale to fit page." Be sure to print at 100% or the actual size. The site is designed for use with standard pattern block pieces. However, if you don't have any, no worries! Select the Printable Blocks link for many print-and-cut options to use.

tag(s): geometric shapes (133), manipulatives (9), patterns (61), problem solving (234)

Form Time Ideas offers a constantly changing selection of daily quick activities in many subjects. (For American teachers, "form time" is roughly equivalent to "homeroom" time.) Choose the Home Page to view a mix of topics such as Brainteasers, In the News Today, and Word of the Day. Select links to choose activities for only specific topics such as literacy, numeracy, or news. Easily print any page using the link in the top right corner of each section. If finished early, refresh the page for a new set of activities! You can also click on the button under each question to only refresh that particular question/statement. The site was created in the UK, so some of the pronunciations and spellings may differ from those in American English. This is a perfect site for you to leave for your substitute for early finishers!

tag(s): grammar review (31), literacy (122), news (226), numbers (121), riddles (15), substitutes (25), vocabulary (241)

Learn about the Stock Market and the world of finances without spending a cent with Wall Street Survivor. Create a free account to access free courses and stock market simulations. Once registered, join stock market leagues. Set up your own practice portfolio for a no-risk option to dabble in stock trading and buying. Play against friends using your own settings and options for trading and selling. In addition to investing options, be sure to check out the large library of articles and tutorials teaching how the stock market works. Not all courses are free, but several basic introductory finance courses offer free lessons in an easy to understand format. If your district blocks YouTube, videos may not be viewable.
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tag(s): business (54), financial literacy (95), money (113)

Dandy Candies provides open-ended practice and exploration with problem solving and measurement skills, grouped into three "Acts." View a short animated video exploring different options for packaging candy. Then solve four questions about the best way to pack candy. Act Three offers solutions along with a link to all packaging options. Click on the Prologue to view links to standards. Be sure to click on Teacher Notes to view more information on the different steps.

tag(s): area (53), measurement (123), perimeter (20), problem solving (234), volume (33)

The Free Dictionary is much more than a dictionary; it also includes a thesaurus, encyclopedias, a literature reference library, and lots more! Browse the home page to find Word of the Day, Article of the Day, In the News, Quotations, Today's Birthday and Holiday, and Hangman. Choose the Spelling Bee to test spelling skills in levels. Your ESL/ELL students can discover and "play" with English words using this site. Browse to find dictionaries for many other languages and specialized needs such as medical and legal dictionaries.

tag(s): dictionaries (47), quotations (18), thesaurus (22), vocabulary development (96), word choice (14)