Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Does giving a presentation make you nervous? Perhaps you envy those who make presenting look easy? This infographic packed with tips and advice provides solutions to everyday concerns about speaking in public. Scroll through to find common problems and how to address them. Other information includes planning, preparation, and delivery tips for getting the most out of any presentation.
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tag(s): infographics (57), speaking (26), speeches (23)

Classroom Strategies contains a vast library of resources for teaching reading skills. Choose from six different literacy strategies to find instructions on using the strategy, templates, examples, children's books to teach the strategy, and much more. The interactive chart also includes information on when and how to use each strategy. Many strategies include a video showing how to use these ideas in the classroom. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable. This site is a must-have for any reading teacher!

tag(s): fluency (30), persuasive writing (58), phonics (52), reading comprehension (152), reading strategies (98), writing (322)

Childnet International (was Know IT All Resources) provides Internet safety resources and information for parents and teachers. Support information includes presentations for primary and secondary teachers, leaflets for parents, and toolkits including lessons and activities for teaching online safety.

tag(s): cyberbullying (44), internet safety (116)

Mapping the Road to College is an interactive tool for exploring college information based on 5th through 9th grade Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) scores and compared to median ACT scores used for admission. Use the provided tools to select the date of last MAP testing, score range for reading and math, and state. The interactive map displays college profiles including on-track MAP scores, popular majors, and admission information. Click on different colleges to view their profiles and additional economic information.

tag(s): careers (183), college (44)

Formilla is a live chat widget add-on for your website. Compatible with all formats, Formilla is customizable for different languages and appearance. Free accounts include access to one website, one chat agent, and up to 30 chats/emails.
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tag(s): chat (41), communication (130), multilingual (78)

The purpose of this blog and the accompanying podcast and videos is to support "a vibrant, encouraging, stimulating community of teachers, supporting each other toward excellence." General education, resource, and ESL/ELL teachers will find plenty of subjects of interest. Choose from broad topics including instruction, classroom management, or technology for ideas in honing your craft through topics of interest to any teacher. Dig deeper to find leadership ideas and hot topics. Check further down the page to browse and find information on specific subjects and grade levels.

tag(s): classroom management (118), learning styles (17), multilingual (78), parent conferences (21), parents (54), professional development (395)

Casa Notes is your time-saving friend when sending notes home for typical school reasons such as field trips, conferences, and student performance. This site includes 12 templates for you to customize some of the content, the color scheme, and add an image. Choose preview to view any template and see what information can be changed; click the circle button, and the red continue button at the bottom of the list to begin customizing your letter. Follow each step to change colors and add information. When complete, print from your browser.

tag(s): communication (130), field trips (7), homework (28), parents (54), Teacher Utilities (201)

Credo Reference is an extensive online research collection containing almost 900 online dictionaries, reference tools, and encyclopedias. Begin by entering your library card number and pin. Continue with a keyword search or by subject. Use the drop-down box to narrow search terms to include images, topic, books, or mind maps. Choose the advanced search option to limit searches to meet your defined inclusions.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), search engines (47)

This interesting infographic takes viewers back to the first technology used in schools. Begin with Horn-Books from 1650, through slate and chalkboards introduced in 1890, and on through to 2010 with the introduction of iPads in classrooms.
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tag(s): infographics (57), STEM (312)

Coaching Boys Into Men is a prevention program for athletic coaches to teach young men healthy relationship skills and that violence doesn't equal strength. Tools include several downloads such as posters and step by step lessons to integrate into weekly training sessions. Be sure to click Tools on the top menu to find several "kits" for coaches.

tag(s): bullying (48), character education (82), difficult conversations (57), mental health (50), mentoring (6), school violence (10), social and emotional learning (110), social skills (23), sports (85)

This 5 minute YouTube video provides a simple explanation of autism created for parents and teachers to share with students. Simple animations demonstrate how the brains of autistic persons receive information differently. The video also offers simple tips for supporting those with autism. The video is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then it may not be viewable.

tag(s): autism (16), brain (56), disabilities (32), Special Needs (52)

Be Internet Awesome is a series of resources from Google to teach digital safety. Resources include Interland, reviewed here, an online interactive that offers participants the opportunity to practice skills to combat phishers, hackers, and cyber bullies. The free curriculum, available for download, is best suited for grades 3-5; however, it is easily adaptable to other grade levels. Click the Educator tab on the top menu bar and find a teacher curriculum, ready to teach Google Slides, an Internet safety poster, certificates and badges for students, plus a lot more. All features of this site align to ISTE Standards.

tag(s): cyberbullying (44), digital citizenship (93), game based learning (208), internet safety (116), OER (43)

Turn uncomfortable, sensitive topic discussions in your classroom into a learning tool for developing critical thinking skills with NewseumEd's guidelines for helping you and your students discuss issues respectfully. Topics like racial tensions, politics, and religion can become a classroom learning tool to teach the art of dialogue and to increase respectful public speaking, confidence, engagement, and listening skills. Read and use the four guidelines: confidence in your content, respectfulness of your participants, asking questions, and encouraging debate, and be the best the facilitator you can be. You must be a registered NewseumEd member to access this resource; however, membership is free.

tag(s): character education (82), debate (42), difficult conversations (57), listening (92), speaking (26)

The Flipped Learning Global Initiative is an international collaboration of educators and researchers committed to flipped learning. This site offers online webinars along with archives of previous webinars for professional development. Be sure to check out the Flipped Learning Technology Selection located in the Training section to enroll in a free one-hour course outlining the mistakes to avoid with flipped learning. The community portion of the site includes a forum for interacting with educators from around the world to discuss flipped learning. The archived webinars reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): learning styles (17), professional development (395)

The Microsoft Educator Community has transformed into Microsoft Learn with all new, in-demand educator training and professional development. Find Product guides for Teams for education, Immersive Reader, Reading Progress, Flip, Minecraft: Education Edition, and more. Be sure to browse the Educator programs and access the Highlighted instructor materials. Of course, there is a blog, a help center, a training and events calendar, and just about anything else you may need. You can find all of this by scrolling down the page or using the dropdown menus at the top. Microsoft Learn also has Learn TV accessed from the top menu. Learn TV has a variety of shows, such as Mixed Reality Dev Days, where you can learn to create mixed reality and metaverse experiences; other titles include Hello World, Ask the Expert, Code Stories, The Internet of Things Show, and several others. Microsoft has partnered with Flip, reviewed here, to provide virtual field trips and live events, find them in the Discovery area of Flip. A list of additional training sessions and virtual events provided by Microsoft are located here. Follow directions to link your Educator Community account with the new Microsoft Learn program, so you don't lose your achievements and transcripts, or you can create a new account.

tag(s): collaboration (94), Microsoft (79), preK (291), professional development (395), social networking (61), STEM (312), virtual field trips (132)

CK-12 Common Core Math Standards provides an extensive collection of math content for grades six and higher. Use the browser to find lessons and activities for concepts and correlated standards. Most of the lessons have a short explanatory video. Create an account to save and assign to your classes, add to your library, or share to groups. CK-12 also offers the option of setting up a Flexbook Textbook with your personalized content. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): commoncore (73), equations (118), geometric shapes (132), probability (98), professional development (395), ratios (47), statistics (120)

Infographic Portal offers an extensive collection of infographics sub-divided into several categories. In addition to viewing infographics on the site, under Infographic Designers, see design tips, and then submit original designs for inclusion on the site. Choose categories from topics listed at the top of the website with an orange background. Infographics in the education section include titles such as Verb Grammar Rules: Your Complete Handbook and A Typical School Week Around the World. Be sure to review the site before sharing with students, some images may not be suitable for all ages or school-appropriate.

tag(s): digital storytelling (156), infographics (57), professional development (395)

Common Core Lesson Plans offers three easy to use templates for designing professional looking lesson plans with language correlated to Common Core Standards. Begin by choosing the content from Math, Science, or English links. Click the link to start creating your lesson plan. Use the template to add lesson planning information within the template. When finished, print or save as a PDF or Word document. Create a free account to save finished products directly on FormSwift. You must provide the actual standards for your lesson plan.

tag(s): classroom management (118), commoncore (73), professional development (395)

KQED offers several free, self-paced courses for expanding media literacy skills. Topics for the classroom include Making to Inspire Learning, Analyzing Media Messages, Making Audio to Inspire Learning, and several more. Choose any course description to view what is included in the modules and lessons in addition to the length of time to complete. All courses include interaction with an online community to share and learn together.

tag(s): media literacy (113), professional development (395)

Discover ideas for new, captivating literature to include in your classroom! Each blog entry focuses on a recently published book. In addition to a summary of the book, entries discuss several different teaching methods incorporating the book along with extensive lists of links to additional information and similar books. In addition to the blog entries, use links to find book lists by topic as well as classroom and curricular ideas. This blog is a must-read for teachers of all subject areas and is free! This blog is a sister to The School Library Journal which costs for a subscription.
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tag(s): blogs (73), book lists (168), literacy (122), literature (221), preK (291), reading lists (77)