Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Looking for an easy to use free jeopardy game? Look no further than this site. Download the application for free or create the activity to be played online. View and try activities already created online. If you like your project you can save it to a folder on your computer. There is a short video in the "How To" section that will walk you through the process of making, saving, and playing a Flash Jeopardy game. Those of you who have used the PowerPoint Jeopardy will find this flash version much less time consuming to create and to recreate new Jeopardy games.
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tag(s): grammar review (33), matching (8)

Explore a wealth of images, research, and information about human origins in this visually rich site from the National Museum of Natural History. View "Human Evolution Evidence," "Human Evolution Research," and "Human Characteristics," as well as other resources. Don't miss the 3D views of fossils. It's even better than an actual museum visit, since you can move and rotate the objects yourself.

tag(s): evolution (86), fossils (44)

Write your own original books, add images and artwork as illustrations, and read your published books in an interactive, online form. There is no fee for the online publication and sharing. This is the ultimate in "digital storytelling." Take advantage of the free apps that make Bookemon even easier to use with any device! Use Bookemon Reader to READ books you created in Bookemon or Bookemon edCenter (available for both iOS and Android). BookPress for iOS devices only allows you to CREATE books from scratch, including using photos from your iPad/iPhone. InstaPress (for iOS only) offers options to create books from documents, PDFs, etc., for sharing on mobile devices as e-books. http://www.bookemon.com/book_Here is an example of a book created by the TeachersFirst Edge editors. Once you set up a free membership on this site, students (or teachers) can choose to create from scratch or use the provided templates. You can also create a book starter of your own as an example, so students can follow the prompts you have created. The book creator allows you to upload your own images and to create books from a Word document or PowerPoint file you have already made. EdCenter users can collaborate on books. After you save and publish the work, share the URL so people can read the entire book online, either among an audience of "just my friends" or publicly. They also offer the embed code to place your books on a class or school web page, wiki, or blog. The easiest option is to copy the address of the new window displaying the interactive book. There is an option to have the book printed for a fee, but this is not required. You can also read books created by others (if they make them public). Use the fully public option to create learning materials for classes that can be accessed year to year for at-home review or reading practice.

This site requires a simple registration. Teachers can set up an edCenter for their school or class in accordance with school policies. See more detailed suggestions "In the Classroom" below and in our sample book! Newer mobile device options include iPads and more for viewing your books.
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tag(s): creative writing (123), digital storytelling (166), writing (309)

This VERY simple tool lets you or your students make simple, folded small booklets that fit in a pocket. You choose what will appear on each page: from blank space to lines to calendars or checklists. Then print the single sheet (and run copies!) for a student "organizer" useful for homework assignments, long-term project deadlines, checklists, even student-made study guides. Students use the booklets the old fashioned way: by WRITING in them; but the clever, customizable format lets you teach organizational skills in a way that works.

See a sample PocketMod checklist, notes, and calendar booklet (with a separate page of folding directions) and one made from a PDF of the Pennsylvania Science and Technology Standards, converted using the free downloadable software.
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tag(s): organizational skills (90)

Scirus is basically a science search engine. It only scans science only information The searches happen quickly and can be limited using the menu on the left of the screen.

tag(s): resources (80), search engines (42)

This online magazine site offers current science articles that are categorized by subjects such as: space, animals, health, environment, technology, culture, history, video, and strange science. Use caution and preview the weird science before releasing this to students. The articles are fairly easy to read, and some are quite entertaining.
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tag(s): animals (274), environment (253), news (223)

Are you looking to collect and analyze class data easily? Choose from 16 different ways to view data. Decide the items you wish to count (the free plan allows up to 100 different things to be counted.) Also determine the category the items can be placed into (use up to 10 different categories in the free account.) Add a statement panel to your display panel to add notes and make comments about the data. Be sure to click the How To at the bottom of the home page to learn how to use the Daytum site.
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tag(s): charts and graphs (196), data (212), infographics (70), statistics (129), visualizations (15)

Looking for an excellent astronomy resource? Sloan Digital Sky Survey or SkyServer offers a wide-ranging telescope view and digital images. View stunning images or click, sit back, and enjoy the scrolling sky view. It really is out of this world. With tools such as navigate which allows you to zoom, and quick look which allows you to easily find specific objects in outer space, this is a time efficient site for the astronomically inclined. However, this site is more than just look and see. There are hands-on projects here, too.

tag(s): images (267), space (248), telescopes (13)

Preceden is a free service that allows you to create timelines with multi-layers for overlapping events. The different layers are visually interesting and allow you to easily see the sequence of events in several different ways. You can input your own time increments such as by day, week, month, year, decade, etc. In addition, you can create your own labels for events. You need to create a FREE account to make a timeline. Timelines can be embedded on your blog, shared by URL, or download as a PDF.

tag(s): timelines (60)

EZSchool is an educational portal that contains EZ worksheets, interactives, online study tools, and tutorials. Although this site is "busy" with clutter from some related advertisements, it is easy to navigate by grade level, subject, or more specific topics such as grammar, writing, and vocabulary for English, or word problems, geometry, and algebra for math, biology and chemistry for science, as well as Spanish, Japanese, and Hindi language activities. There are also SAT/PSAT practice questions with detailed answers. All materials are free to use, print, and distribute for use in the classroom or at home. The website is frequently updated with new activities. Weekly updates to the site are offered on the home page.
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tag(s): grammar (139), japan (62), japanese (53), spanish (112), substitutes (25), vocabulary (251), writing (309)

Learn all about the ocean and what is in it. View pictures, videos and other material collected from the Smithsonian Institution as well as other sources. Click on the water drop "Find Your Blue" to find how we all impact the oceans from anywhere we live and work. Read about Ocean Life and Ecosystems, view Timelines of various ocean animals, and learn about Ocean Science. Be sure to read the Ocean and You to understand impacts on the oceans and its relationship with every living thing on the Earth. Find lesson plans and activities as well as other resources by clicking on the For Educators tab.

tag(s): ecosystems (105), food chains (24), oceans (142), pollution (55)

Dropbox is a cloud-based file storage and collaboration platform that allows teachers and students to save, organize, and share documents, photos, videos, and other files across devices. It is especially useful for classroom workflows, enabling easy sharing of assignments, collaborative group work, and access to materials both at home and at school. Dropbox operates on a freemium model, meaning educators can get started with a free Basic plan that includes about 2 GB of storage, file syncing, and sharing tools, with optional paid upgrades for additional space and advanced features.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (129), Storage (7), writing (309)

The goal of this community is to improve education in all schools from elementary level through university level. The site offers many resources for teachers of all levels for improving critical thinking skills. Teachers may want to start at the Where to Begin section of the site then choose the appropriate grade level for his/her needs. This will lead to many links of resources such as lessons, a glossary of critical thinking terms, and articles to improve teaching of critical thinking. Some grade levels also include strategies and suggestions for students.

tag(s): critical thinking (179), enrichment (12), logic (166), teaching strategies (68)

Create charts and graphs easily and instantly using this site. Choose the type of chart and enter your information or data. You can change the type of chart after entering data simply by clicking the chart type! Be sure to enter the maximum values and information for setting up the chart, including grid information and backgrounds. Click on the question mark bubbles for more information about each field. As you enter the data and change the parameters, view a thumbnail of the chart along the right. Click on the small thumbnail view of the char at the right to see it larger. You can copy the chart URL, embed it, or right click on it to save it.
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tag(s): charts and graphs (196)

At this site you will find tons of printable experiments with both teacher information and student hand out sheets. You'll find different worksheets for middle school and high school. There are also separate areas for teacher labs and worksheets, and another for student tutorials.

tag(s): chemicals (36), equations (132), experiments (65), tutorials (50)