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Oil Spill Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 12
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about oil spills and the short and long term impact on the environment caused...more
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about oil spills and the short and long term impact on the environment caused by these environmental disasters. As students read and see images of animals, be aware that younger students may have more questions than they can explain.
tag(s): disasters (35), environment (249), oil (20), oil spill (14)
In the Classroom
Use these resources together with your class to help students find ways they can contribute to a greater good after such a devastating event spreads across the news. Extend the opportunity to teach about persuasive writing (letters to legislators or the editor), careers in environmental science, and more.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Common Core State Standards - Common Core State Standards Initiative Team
Grades
K to 12
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The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a nationwide effort led by the National Governor's Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to establish a common set...more
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The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a nationwide effort led by the National Governor's Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to establish a common set of educational standards which aligns benchmarks and expectations across state lines. This system builds on what states are already doing by providing an opportunity to share experiences, best practices, and lessons, while maintaining high expectations that insure the quality of education across America to enable our students to maintain a competitive edge in the global economy.
Visit this website to find out exactly what the national K-12 standards are for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science and technology, as well as mathematics, and to find out if your state is one many states (at the time of this review) that have already committed to adopt the Common Core State Standards. Watch videos and the recorded webinar, and read about the key points and rigorous curriculum standards, including the content and skills related to the use of media and technology for critical analysis and production.
Visit this website to find out exactly what the national K-12 standards are for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science and technology, as well as mathematics, and to find out if your state is one many states (at the time of this review) that have already committed to adopt the Common Core State Standards. Watch videos and the recorded webinar, and read about the key points and rigorous curriculum standards, including the content and skills related to the use of media and technology for critical analysis and production.
tag(s): commoncore (62)
In the Classroom
Take a look at exemplars and sample performance tasks and students' writing to consider how you can integrate these ideas into your own planning to prepare students for the growing challenges of today's world. You can also sign up to receive updates via email. For more information about the Common Core and implementing it in your classes, see TeachersFirst's Common Core: The Fuss Over Non-Fiction, a Q/A article for elementary teachers, and TeachersFirst's resources tagged Common Core for many helpful sites.
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September 11 Teacher Awards - Tribute World Trade Center Organization
Grades
K to 12
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This site is dated but has good ideas to commemorate and teach about 9/11.
Are you looking for ways to inspire meaningful discussions of September 11th and to help make sense ...more
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This site is dated but has good ideas to commemorate and teach about 9/11.
Are you looking for ways to inspire meaningful discussions of September 11th and to help make sense of this tragedy? The Tribute World Trade Center Visitor Center of New York City presents awards to honor teachers who have created exemplary educational projects for students to express and sustain the memory of September 11th. Using the menu bar on the far right, this site shares their projects from the globe and involving all aspects of the arts and humanities, including history, language arts, visual, media and performing arts. Although this site is mainly designed for grades 5-12, there are some activities for younger elementary students found in the "Resources for Your Classroom" section of the site.
In the Classroom
Use these award-winning ideas to commemorate September 11 in a lesson to demonstrate unity or build worldwide understanding. Use the concepts as a springboard to a collaborative project. Ideas vary from sending chains of origami cranes as a wish for peace, composing and singing a song for unity with an online tool such as Zeemaps, writing letters to local politicians, creating poems and transforming them into digital videos or multimedia presentations using Adobe Express for Education, or taking responsibility for the environment while creating a sense of community by planting gardens. Choose from many ways to inspire students to recognize the importance of September 11 and to involve them in working together to become a more tolerant society. You might be so amazed with the results that you will want to submit your students' projects to be considered for next year's Tribute Center September 11th Teacher Awards. The annual award ceremony takes place on February 26, to commemorate the 1993 first attack on the World Trade Center.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wikimedia Commons - Wkimedia Foundation
Grades
K to 12
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Wikimedia Commons is a huge database of free media files (images, sound, and video clips) available in a wide range of languages. You can both access and contribute files. Using ...more
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Wikimedia Commons is a huge database of free media files (images, sound, and video clips) available in a wide range of languages. You can both access and contribute files. Using the same technology as Wikipedia, you can edit, upload, and embed media files into any Wikimedia project. Every media file comes with a description, the author's name, and complete licensing details. Search for videos, images, or sound media by keyword, content categories, nature, science, or society. This is an amazing resource for searching for multimedia content.
tag(s): creative commons (28)
In the Classroom
Address the needs of the visual learner and include media files as part of the research process. Wikipedia Commons offers students a way to understand content through images, audio, and video. Give students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge by narrating a slideshow of images from Wikimedia Commons or creating multimedia presentations on a site such as Lucidpress. These free media files will also help ENL/ESL teachers explain concepts and key vocabulary. This site is a valuable resource for imagery useful for creating presentations, lectures, digital stories, reports, or for inclusion on a class website. Students learning a foreign language may benefit from using Wikipedia Commons to learn more about the culture and lifestyle of the country whose language they are studying.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Alaska Oil Spill Lesson Bank - PWSRCAC
Grades
K to 12
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Prince William Sound Regional Citizen's Advisory Council provides a free curriculum that is geared toward teaching about oil and oil spills. While this curriculum is about Alaska's...more
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Prince William Sound Regional Citizen's Advisory Council provides a free curriculum that is geared toward teaching about oil and oil spills. While this curriculum is about Alaska's Exxon Valdez oil spill, the information would be very helpful in teaching about other oil spills in recent news. It would be a great place to help develop lessons where students compare and contrast two spills, their magnitude and their effects on the environment. Scroll to the bottom of the page to locate the lessons under Exxon Valdez Spill.
tag(s): disasters (35), environment (249), oil (20), oil spill (14)
In the Classroom
Use the whole curriculum in environmental science classes or pick and choose pieces that you want to incorporate into your curriculum. Have students research and understand about oil spills in general using this tool, and then have students enhance their learning by comparing and contrasting the Exxon spill to the BP spill in 2010. Have students create Venn Diagrams using a tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare these two spills or other oil spills.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Powering Our Future - SRP
Grades
4 to 12
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Find great information and material about renewable energy using one of these three modules. Choose the appropriate module for your grade level or interest and view the lesson plans,...more
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Find great information and material about renewable energy using one of these three modules. Choose the appropriate module for your grade level or interest and view the lesson plans, activities, and resources. Be sure to read the Teacher Intro and Teacher Background for these modules to view important information.
In the Classroom
Use these lessons as is or supplemented with other materials you may have in your classroom. Use the activities to learn about the renewable resources and understand the science behind them. Use the suggested lab activities such as testing photovoltaic cells. Use the review activities to check student understanding. Combine these resources with an overall energy audit of your school and suggestions for saving district resources.
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Calculator Soup - Edward Furey and Southborough Website Design
Grades
K to 12
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Calculator Soup collects all sorts of online calculators in one free site. Calculators range from basic to complicated and have specific functions like conversion, time, finance, and...more
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Calculator Soup collects all sorts of online calculators in one free site. Calculators range from basic to complicated and have specific functions like conversion, time, finance, and chemistry. A great tool for students who do not have specific calculators or forget them.
tag(s): calculators (38)
In the Classroom
Find exactly the calculator you need for students to operate on the interactive whiteboard or at computers. As an enrichment project, have students select a calculator and design problems to use it. Students can share their problems with classmates and be exposed to various types of math problems and calculators. Challenge students to create a video to "advertise" a certain calculator and share using a site such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Oil Spill Lesson Plans and Resources - NOAA
Grades
3 to 12
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Learn about the impact of oil spills. Use these lessons and information to compare the impact of spills past and present. The site provides details about cleaning up oil spills, ...more
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Learn about the impact of oil spills. Use these lessons and information to compare the impact of spills past and present. The site provides details about cleaning up oil spills, as well as the science of oil dispersal, how to clean animals, and more.
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and classroom activities on this site! Be sure to save this site as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval later on. Students can select different aspects of oil spill cleanup and mitigation and play the role of experts in a mock blog post playing their role. Use Blogger, reviewed here or Straw.Page, reviewed here for your students blogging tool. Have students continue their role play by commenting on each other's posts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Building Schoolwide Literacy With Free Web 2.0 Tools: A Grade by Grade Elementary Model - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 8
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The Source for Learning offers this model for elementary (or middle) schools to build skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening systematically in a schoolwide model including...more
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The Source for Learning offers this model for elementary (or middle) schools to build skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening systematically in a schoolwide model including students, teachers, and parents. The free Web 2.0 tools suggested here are by no means the only tools that might work. These exemplary tools were chosen by the TeachersFirst Editors for ease of use and versatility in classroom and home use and could easily be implemented at grade levels other than those suggested here. As students and teachers master a new tool at each grade level, they develop rich literacy skills and vital technology skills, all in the context of reading, writing, speaking and listening across the curriculum.
In the Classroom
Explore the tools and project suggestions by grade for your individual use as a teacher or work together with others in your school to build literacy across all subjects and grades by systematically adopting and repeatedly using a fixed collection of tools so students master the tool skills as an aside to reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Try the practical suggestions for implementing this model in your school or grade level team.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Web Resizer - webresizer.com
Grades
2 to 12
1 Favorites
1 Comments
This site is quick, easy, requires no registration, and FREE. Upload your image to this site in order to create a smaller file size for use on other sites and ...more
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This site is quick, easy, requires no registration, and FREE. Upload your image to this site in order to create a smaller file size for use on other sites and applications as well as adding effects such as corner rounding, rotating, tinting, changing contrast/brightness, or adding borders/edges. Upload an image up to 5 MB to alter easily with this site. Web resizer automatically reduces the file size to create an optimized image. Be sure to click "apply changes" once you have finished making selections. Click "start over" to remove previous changes. Download the image easily in a JPEG format.
tag(s): images (271), noregistration (74)
In the Classroom
Provide the link to this site for students to use in altering and resizing images for use in presentations and online applications. Be sure students understand the file size needed for the various sites that are used in class.Comments
Use this all the time. Easy to use and SO helpful. You can use online, don't have to download.Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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Safe Share TV - SafeShare.TV
Grades
K to 12
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This site allows you to safely share YouTube videos and crop the parts that you do not want from the video. The process is simple. Find a YouTube video that ...more
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This site allows you to safely share YouTube videos and crop the parts that you do not want from the video. The process is simple. Find a YouTube video that you would like to share with your students. Paste the link for the video into safe share TV, click to edit, and copy the link of your trimmed YouTube video. It can be pasted into powerpoint, webpages, social networking sites, and anything else you can think of! A safe and easy way to bring media into your class for free.
tag(s): noregistration (74), safety (63)
In the Classroom
Use this to put videos into your teaching presentations. Or, to help students create presentations without the typical YouTube distractions. Have students edit clips to include only the information that is relevant to their project. Or, add clips to your class webpage or wiki as part of homework assignments or discussions. You could even use a clip as a writing prompt.
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Goofram - goofram.com
Grades
K to 12
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Looking for the most from your search? Use Goofram to find the best of both Google and Wolfram alpha all in one place. View top Google searches using Safesearch as ...more
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Looking for the most from your search? Use Goofram to find the best of both Google and Wolfram alpha all in one place. View top Google searches using Safesearch as well as Wolfram alpha (which include definitions and abundant resources.)
tag(s): resources (80), search engines (42)
In the Classroom
This site is very simple to use. Simply type in the term you are searching and click "search."This site is as safe as any other search engine. Just be sure students are aware of the consequences of misusing the search engine.
Use Goofram the next time that you use search in your classes. Discuss the difference between each side of the screen where both parts appear. What is the advantage of Wolfram Alpha vs. Google? Use this site as you discuss how to search and use materials on the web. Practice showing different searches and aspects of the searches that are useful. Challenge students to use these sites for individual research projects.
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WordArt - WordArt.com
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This site takes any quotation or poem and creates a "word cloud" (graphical display) of the words in a passage of text. Paste in any passage or the URL for ...more
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This site takes any quotation or poem and creates a "word cloud" (graphical display) of the words in a passage of text. Paste in any passage or the URL for any blog entry or web page (including newspapers online) to create a word cloud of the text. Enhance basic word clouds by using this site to create clouds in various shapes, use mouse rollover options, use font effects, and more. Elevate your word clouds into an art form. Once registered, change your password by clicking the profile tab and entering your new password. Before creating a word cloud, agree to the terms that include only using appropriate content. Copy and paste a series of words or use the URL of a page where the words can be found. Choose a shape such as a heart, cloud, or geometric pattern. Choose a font and other options, then click "Build the Cloud." Preview your cloud before saving. WordArt.com is free for personal and non-commercial use. However, you can only download Standard Quality (SQ) images for free.
tag(s): images (271), vocabulary (252), word choice (12), word clouds (12)
In the Classroom
You must be able to copy and paste text or provide a URL to a page of text as well as determine parameters of more advanced word clouds. Alternately, these word clouds can be kept very simple. After creating the word cloud, be sure to save the image (or use a screen capture) to share with others. Another idea, use the url of the cloud or embed into a place to share such as blog, wiki, or site. This is a terrific visual tool to share on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Help students develop creative fluency by creating their own WordArt and ideas from scratch. Paste in a passage or URL for a political speech to visualize the politician's "message." Analyze advertising propaganda by visualizing the language used in TV or print ads. Create WordArt of historical texts of inauguration speeches as time capsules of the issues of the day. Use this site as a way to help students see and memorize text, especially visual learners. Use it also when writing poetry or reading passages of great literature to "see" themes and motifs of repeated words and images. Have students paste in their own writing to spot repeated (and monotonous) language when teaching lessons on word choice. Students will be surprised to see what words appear to be dominant. ESL and ELL students will eagerly use this site since word order will no longer be a problem for them. Have students work in groups to create word posters of vocabulary words with related meanings, such as different ways to say "walk" or "said" and decorate your classroom with these visual reminders of the richness of language. Collect thoughts about the class subject at the beginning of the year and then again at the end of the year to determine changes in thoughts about the subject matter.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Study Skills Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help students learn their most effective study strategies. The collection includes specific study tools, reading...more
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help students learn their most effective study strategies. The collection includes specific study tools, reading strategies, review ideas, and notetaking methods that students and teachers can try as lessons in themselves or --even better-- as they go about the regular curriculum. Whether you want to use a graphic organizer, create your own electronic flash cards, or simply learn how to approach a test, there is a resource to help. Learning Support teachers and teachers of gifted will also want to share these alternate ways for students to organize and retain concepts, vocabulary, and more.
In the Classroom
Make learning how to learn part of your class routine at any grade level and in any subject. Feature one or more new study strategy each month and share this entire list as a link from your class web page for students and parents to access both in and out of school.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Learn and Think about Robots - Rich Hooper
Grades
3 to 9
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"Danger, Will Robinson!" When I hear robots that is what I think about. Move your students' perception of robots being portrayed in TV and movies to one where the realization ...more
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"Danger, Will Robinson!" When I hear robots that is what I think about. Move your students' perception of robots being portrayed in TV and movies to one where the realization of their use in all facets of life prevails. Choose from a variety of topics such as Entertainment, Research, Military, and more to view pictures and read about the various robots and their jobs. Consult the glossary to understand the words used on the site.
tag(s): space (251)
In the Classroom
Allow groups of students to read about a specific type or application of robot. Create a class discussion over these uses to determine why robots are better at some tasks and why they would be chosen. Assign a task where students will choose a chore that a robot should replace for them, their family, or somewhere in society. What characteristics would the robot have? What needs to be considered in the design of it? Write a story about life in the future and the role that robots would play. Design a sketch and description of a robot and then create an ad that would be used to publicize its work and usefulness. Research various areas of the work forces (such as medicine) to determine how robots have been used both in the past and the present. Create a class wiki on robots for students to share their findings and opinions. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Voice of America - Broadcasting Board of Governors
Grades
4 to 12
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Concerned about quality news? Voice of America's policy is to be a reliable and authoritative source of news. It claims accurate, objective, and comprehensive news reporting. It represents...more
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Concerned about quality news? Voice of America's policy is to be a reliable and authoritative source of news. It claims accurate, objective, and comprehensive news reporting. It represents all of America without more focus on some segments than others, providing balance in the news. Find the most recent and pressing news stories along the top. Search news stories divided by categories such as US, Africa, Asia, Americas, Europe, Middle East, Economy, Education, Arts and Entertainment, Health, Environment, and more. View interactive resources such as a You Tube channel, podcasts, webcasts, and newsletters.
tag(s): news (223)
In the Classroom
View news stories and compare them to similar stories in different news media. Discuss the differences and similarities of these stories and use a Venn diagram to portray. Try using the tool "Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram" (reviewed here).Discuss the focus of each article and reasons for the focus. Answer what the reporter is trying to convince and possible bias in various stories. Create an essay, letter, or blog post outlining viewpoints and linking these various sources for greater understanding of issues and how they are represented in the media. Have students share their letters or essays on a podcast using a tool such as (reviewed here).
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SciGirls - Twin Cities Public Television, Inc.
Grades
4 to 10
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Are you looking for a way to motivate girls to pursue science? SciGirls is the spot on the web for you! SciGirls, created by PBS, has all of the archived ...more
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Are you looking for a way to motivate girls to pursue science? SciGirls is the spot on the web for you! SciGirls, created by PBS, has all of the archived episodes of this show online. More than this, some projects can be done and a place to add your very own project. The format for the projects is similar to a simplified lab report. The audio directions and onscreen instructions offer easy access to all areas of the site.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Add this site to your class wiki or website. Assign students to view a specific episode and start an online class discussion. Encourage students, especially girls to try experiments. Perhaps, have students design their own projects and post their instructions as part of a laboratory activity in class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tux Paint - Bill Kendrick
Grades
K to 6
1 Favorites
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Are school budget cuts cramping your style? Then look at this award winning, FREE drawing application! Tux Paint is an "open source" drawing software for young students (preK - grade...more
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Are school budget cuts cramping your style? Then look at this award winning, FREE drawing application! Tux Paint is an "open source" drawing software for young students (preK - grade 6) and is available to the public at no cost. If you are familiar with Kid Pix, you will feel right at home with Tux Paint. The design is straightforward, and easy to navigate. The center of the screen serves as a large canvas with drawing tools on either side. Beneath the screen is a color palette. A cute penguin cartoon character directs students through the program and provides helpful tips. Some of the features include a large, kid friendly mouse pointer, brushes, stamps, sounds, erasers, letters, numbers, "magic effects," and an undo/redo option. Save artwork directly onto a slide finder page without having to create a file name.
The installation is quick and easy even for older computers. First, download the application itself, and then the stamp collection. The number of stamps and the variety of images is amazing! Feel free to install Tux Paint on as many computers as you wish. Tux Paint will work on a variety of operating platforms such as Windows, OS X 10.3, and Linux. The "Tux Paint Configuration" tool is a separate file found on the "Tux Paint" download page. Having the controls in a different location makes it difficult for students to adjust the settings. Simply open the Tux Paint Configuration file and a main control panel will come up. From here, the supervising adult can control the screen size, sound, mouse, print settings, and save functions. Adjust the settings and simplify the program for younger children. Choose from approximately 80 different languages to run Tux Paint.
tag(s): creativity (90), drawing (57), painting (49), preK (323)
In the Classroom
Introduce this fabulous site on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students take turns trying the program. Include a link to Tux Paint on your class website and encourage families to download Tux Paint onto their family computer. Elementary teachers will enjoy all the options Tux Paint provides for image making. Classroom teachers can have students draw a response to a class glyph, illustrate stories, label scientific images, write and illustrate word problems or create self-portraits. You will need headphones or speakers for the audio portions of this site. Dazzle parents at Open House or Back to School Night with a viewing of the slide show presentation or looping animation of student work. Save student work as a JPG and export images into a multimedia presentation with narration using Visme AI Presentation Maker, reviewed here. Ask older students to design and submit new stamps to Tux Paint. Explain to them the premise behind Open Source software and how to participate in collaborative software development. Tux Paint is also a great way to teach young students how to control a mouse, type, drag, and cut or paste imagery. Stuck for lesson ideas on how to use Tux Paint, just ask the students!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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openverse - Word Press - Creative Commons
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Find digital images that are available for use without violating copyright. This search tool finds images licensed under Creative Commons. While most major search engines offer advanced...more
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Find digital images that are available for use without violating copyright. This search tool finds images licensed under Creative Commons. While most major search engines offer advanced features to filter content by copyright status, the CC search website makes it easy and convenient. Be sure to READ the information about verifying licensing. The results provide extensive options that can be legally (and ethically) used in wikis, blogs, reports, and more, as long as you provide the attribution information. What a fabulous tool for students to use for interactive or traditional projects!
tag(s): copyright (41), creative commons (28), images (271)
In the Classroom
Teaching students to understand and respect the copyright of digital information can be complicated and overwhelming. The first step in helping students understand digital copyright is to have them explore the terms of use and copyright for a variety of information. Create a scavenger hunt for students to find the terms of service and/or copyright for common websites. Once they realize that not all information is "free" for them to use, introduce the Creative Commons website and the symbols used to describe how the content is licensed. Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to demonstrate how to search using the CC search site. Perform searches that yield results that show several different types of licenses. Discuss each type using scenarios of how users can and cannot use information. As an extension activity for this site, students can create their own work and publish it using a Creative Commons license. The work can be as simple as using a digital picture or as complex as creating a derivative artwork, such as a collage or a "photoshopped" image. It can be published on a commercial site, such as Flickr, or on your school webpage. Make sure to follow any school guidelines before publishing student work. Perhaps you can create a class wiki of annotated creative images created by students with explanations of where they found the "parts" and how they created the original works from these parts. What an excellent model to share with future students, as well. Teachers will also appreciate being able to find images you can freely use on class web pages and in online project samples, etc. (with attribution).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Head Magnet
Grades
3 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
HeadMagnet is a new twist on flashcards. You can create flashcards for any subject that you wish or use cards already available on the site. Once the cards are made, ...more
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HeadMagnet is a new twist on flashcards. You can create flashcards for any subject that you wish or use cards already available on the site. Once the cards are made, there are different study modes to choose - slide show, self-test and normal (type in responses). Study sessions can even be timed. After completing the study session HeadMagnet predicts which items will need more study time, enabling you to spend more time on material that hasn't been learned yet. Study lists can be shared with others, and you can search for already created materials. After completion of a study session, you can access statistics that show your overall memory of the material. You need to register to create your own materials, but all items are free. Registration requires and email address. Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own 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 tells how to set up Gmail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.
tag(s): flash cards (47)
In the Classroom
Create flashcards for any subject to review material being learned in class. Use this as a review for vocabulary before tests. As a pre-assessment, create a study list to use on the interactive whiteboard or projector to find out what students already know. Provide this link on your class website for students to use to create flashcards both in and out of your classroom. Learning support teachers may want to show students how to create their own cards. The process of creating the will actually reinforce skills, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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