Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

The 100th day of school is creeping up on us, and to celebrate it in style, check out this list of 100 ideas - covering nearly all subject areas - for celebrating the event! This list includes many links to outside sites, all were appropriate (at the time of this review) and two were no longer active. Some of the outside sites require Flash.

tag(s): 100thday (8), counting (66), writing (308)

This creative site offers "how-to" videos on a WIDE variety of topics. Anyone can view the videos, but you must be a member (free) to comment on them, grade them, or submit your own "how-to" video. Topics vary; some are appropriate for the classroom, others are definitely NOT appropriate. Some of the general issues that may be useful in the middle school or high school classroom include: alcohol, autos, motorcycles, and planes, business and money, computers and programming, diet and health, education (which features a variety of science experiments and more), film and theater, language (English, Chinese, Hungarian, Russian, Finnish, sign language, Polish, and countless others), music and instruments, travel, and several other topics. Within each of these general topics, there are thousands of specific "how-to" videos.

Membership is free and has many perks. You can comment and/or grade the video clips or even submit your own video. Registration does require some personal information: a username, password, email address, and date of birth. ALL USERS MUST BE OVER 13 YEARS OF AGE! Check with your administrator about allowing the students to register for this site using fictitious names. You may wish to set up a class registration instead of entering accurate data into the registration site. Another option is to create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to make a Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that explains how to set up Gmail subaccounts for any online membership service. Warning: not all videos are suitable for the classroom. Be sure to preview what you wish to share. If you choose to allow your older students to navigate this site on their own (for research or a class project), be sure to set boundaries on which videos they can watch, define consequences for going elsewhere, and WATCH CAREFULLY! Some videos explain "how to" do things that are unsafe or inappropriate for school-age audiences. Wonder How To does include unobtrusive advertisements.
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tag(s): aircraft (25), business (50), money (113), russian (25), sign language (16)

This tool allows you to create an interactive family tree. Once you are registered, you can easily create a family tree. You are able to include family member's birth-dates, death-dates, email addresses, pictures, video clips, and more. This site also has the capacity to create timelines for births, deaths, weddings, divorces, education, occupation, and other important events and information.

tag(s): family (53), genetics (82), immigration (85), migration (45)

Use this simple and free tool to create a video recording of your screen to upload and share on a teacher web page, wiki, blog, etc. This is an easy way to create a tutorial from your own computer screen. When you visit sites that have tutorials on how to use their software, you are looking at a screencast. Use this site to communicate specific directions on how to use different applications in and out of the classroom. Audio is not necessary for the screencasts but may be beneficial, depending upon the tutorial. Free features include: 5 video quizzes, 15-minute recording limit, full video editor, and automated captions.
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tag(s): communication (122), tutorials (50)

Printable paper rulers offers various types of rulers ranging from inches to centimeters, metric measurement, meter sticks, various amounts of tick marks, and even large print. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

tag(s): measurement (127)

This site allows you to create and customize online quizzes. Once registered, create quizzes using the shared templates or make your own from scratch. Current templates for educators include quizzes in several subjects, including geography, math, and language arts. This site also consists of an extensive database of ready-made questions to use. Customize your quizzes by adding images, changing backgrounds, and more. Use the preview feature to review your quiz before sharing. Share quizzes with a link, use the embed code to embed onto a website, print, or share with social media links.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): quiz (62)

This site shows carbon dioxide emissions across the U.S. One graph shows the differences in CO2 emissions in different seasons. Another has a list and graph of the top emitting counties across the U.S. A YouTube video liked from the site explains the project, discusses its parameters and results, and displays maps of the U.S. which show different types of noxious sources on a very close-up scale. Vulcan project scientists plan to do similar mapping for Mexico and Canada. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

tag(s): charts and graphs (190), pollution (55)

View outstanding and remarkable pictures taken from the Hubble Space Telescope. Click on "Information Center" for information about the gallery, the project, frequently asked questions, and other astronomy resources. View the "Image Gallery" by category (Galaxies, Nebulae, Star Fields and Globular clusters, or Solar System Objects,) an index view, or a gallery view. The "Pan and Zoom Gallery" uses Flash to provide controls to navigate the image as well as zoom in and out. View pictures in the "Black and White Gallery" as well as beautiful "Hubble Art." Click on any image in the "Black and white Gallery" to view the image, learn about the image, and choose picture formats. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

tag(s): solar system (124), space (248)

Join a citizen science project! Younger students especially are fascinated by ladybugs. This fabulous site is a great resource for learning how to collect ladybugs, photograph them, identify the different species, and report your findings. Pictures are uploaded to the site and information is compiled by Cornell to understand more about the decline in ladybug species. Visit other pages for information on "Ladybugs Found," and "Legends, Lore, Facts, and More." Other activities include a "Discover Life Ladybug page," "Insect Conservation Biology," "Cool Bug Stuff," and "Sweepnet Safari" among others. Links to other Cornell projects include "Cornell Lab of Ornithology," "Firefly Watch," "Project BudBurst," and "The Great Sunflower Project." Some of the activities at this site require Flash which is no longer supported by most browsers. However, there is loads of inormation to learn from that doesn't require Flash.

tag(s): citizen science (43), insects (63)

Use this comprehensive site to learn about the planets of the solar system as well as other objects. Use the "Stargazing" tab to view" "Moon Phases" and "Sunrise and Sunset Calculator." Under the "Explore" tab find resources such as "Lesson Plans," and "Classroom Activities," There are lessons from K-12. In the "Media Hub" section, you will find a wealth of information and pictures about the Sun, inner planets, outer planets, and minor bodies. Some of the classroom activities require Adobe Reader.

tag(s): moon (87), planets (123), solar system (124), space (248)

Learn about alternative technologies such as "Advanced Vehicles and Fuels," Basic Sciences," "Biomass," "Buildings," "Energy Analysis," "Geothermal," "Hydrogen and Fuel Cells," "Solar," and "Wind." Use the site for some great background information on alternative technologies as well as links to other information. View publications in Adobe pdf that can be downloaded for additional information. Adobe Acrobat is available at the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

tag(s): ecology (118), energy (139), environment (253)

You can be as adventurous or not as you wish! This safe, free site lets students and teachers show off their talents by sharing their appropriate videos to be viewed all over America. With a simple registration, you can upload your classroom video, which then goes into a "holding" area. That video then awaits approval by the website's moderator before becoming available. Because of the layering of approval, this site poses no security concerns to students or schools. Not only can teachers and students upload videos, but administrators may also want to post welcome or informational videos to be viewed by parents and students. You may also wish to share some of these videos with your class. Teachers will find videos suitable for classroom instruction (and lesson plans). Use the search box at the top of the webpage to look for topics that relate to your current units of study. Searching the site and simply viewing the videos does not require any registration or log-in. There is a link to SchoolTube Games , as well.

Your busy life needs a manager. Now you have one: RememberTheMilk.com (also known as RTM). Don't worry about missing a date; any or all of these applications or programs will send you a reminder. Set up a free account in minutes. Secondary students will embrace this tool to remind them of tests, assignments, or sporting events. List-making has made it to a whole new level.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (129), organizational skills (90), time (94)

Are you looking for a new way to get your students excited about science? This neat site is based on the PBS show, Design Squad, but you can easily incorporate the activities and clips from the site without watching the show. There is a full educators guide available (see the Parents and Educator link) with ten engineering and inventive activities. The site also includes video clips, building activities, and interactive (educational) "games." Some of the building activities include "Watercraft," "Hidden Alarm," "Dance Pad Mania," and others. This resource also features "real life" challenges that students (or classes) are able to get involved with.

tag(s): engineering (141), inventors and inventions (88), sound (74)

Use this terrific online tool for your students to create posters or short reports in a poster format. Create lessons, worksheets, or class pages and instantly publish them online using this free Web Poster Wizard. The teacher sets up an account (for free), and follows simple directions so students can upload images and write about their project or pictures. The site even includes management tools so you can keep separate classes of students and see their work by class.

Plan to spend some time reading through the directions and trying out this tool before you assign it to students. Teachers and students must register and login each time they use this tool. Students can share the URL for their posters with grandparents or parents to show off their good work!

Students will need to know how to locate and upload a file for an image (such as a digital picture) to place it in their poster. If you allow them to use images from the web, the tool asks them to give information on their image source, as well (hooray for ethical use of the Internet!). If you use digital pictures of students, be SURE that you do NOT use full names on the site. You should get parent permission for uploading any student images, even if anonymous.
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tag(s): posters (44)

Remember the periodic table? You know that there is something to its organization, and many students either love or hate the elements. No matter what their thoughts, use the Periodic Videos to dispense information or create excitement. Every element in the periodic table has a video which provides background information, ties in to new discoveries or application to everyday life, and can contain an experiment for better understanding. At first glance, each video is narrated by an Einstein-type scientist, but upon further watching, quite an impressive bit of knowledge is displayed. Videos are continuously updated to provide new information and bigger and better experiments. A list of most watched and recommended is available below the table. Videos are hosted on You Tube. Is You Tube blocked at your school? No problem! Click on the link that shows the videos hosted on a different server. Click on Features to view special videos on groups of elements. A subscription link at the bottom can be used to be informed of video and site changes.

tag(s): elements (32), periodic table (49)