Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Follow two curious mice, August and Pearl, as they explore the artwork in over one hundred museums worldwide. Their easy-to-understand observations and conversations provide a unique and playful perspective. After launching the activity, choose to explore by art or museum view. Replay conversations and toggle on subtitles if desired. After listening to the conversation, return to choose a new selection or choose the link to explore other art available in the museum.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (177), artists (85), museums (52)

The YouTube Kids platform provides teachers a safe, engaging tool to incorporate kid-friendly video content into the classroom. The site offers a simplified and safer experience for children exploring videos, with customizable parental controls and personalized student profiles. There is also a free app available. Teachers can tailor content to specific age groups (4 and under, 5-8, or 9-12), ensuring that videos align with students' developmental levels. The platform also allows educators to share relevant content directly with students, manage screen time, and block inappropriate videos when necessary. With its smaller, curated content library and protections like automated filters and human reviews, YouTube Kids offers a secure way to enrich lessons with videos while fostering responsible media consumption habits in students.
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tag(s): enrichment (13), internet safety (114), personalized learning (10), playlists (8), video (266)

Geography.com is an engaging educational resource that helps teachers bring geography to life in the classroom. The site offers interactive maps, quizzes, articles, and videos covering physical geography, human geography, climate, and world cultures. It provides student-friendly explanations, real-world examples, and multimedia content to support lessons on global issues, ecosystems, and geographic concepts. With its interactive approach, Geography.com is a valuable tool for fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and spatial awareness in students of all grade levels.

tag(s): climate (84), critical thinking (127), cultures (180), ecosystems (83), maps (220), multimedia (53)

The Nature Conservatory is a free website that offers lesson plans on the following three topics: Protect Ocean, Land, and Freshwater, Provide Food and Water, and Tackle Climate Change for ages 5 through 11. Each of these topics has 1-5 lessons. Each lesson comes with a teacher's guide that includes an essential question, lesson overview, materials and resources, videos, vocabulary, handouts, and an evaluation. Lessons are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core.

tag(s): climate change (99), environment (252), oceans (149), sustainability (50)

Mayan Masks gives a brief overview of the importance and value of masks in the Mayan civilization. It also briefly describes the different types of masks that the Mayans created. Finally, it challenges you to design your mask.

tag(s): crafts (64), mayans (23), mexico (37), south america (47)

Maya Archaeologist is a free website that shares information on the making of jewelry and music in the Mayan civilization. The site includes videos on jade and musical instruments. Additionally, it gives step-by-step directions on how to make the Mayan death mask, headdress, and whistle.

tag(s): art history (103), mayans (23), south america (47)

The Getty Center's Artful Women shares lessons of women artists who overcame a male-dominated discipline. On the right side, "For the Classroom" links directly to lesson plans on the themes of adornment, women as artists, and women's roles in the family. Each lesson has a time estimate, overview, objectives, materials, steps, assessment, and extensions. The lessons are aligned with the California State Content Standards for visual arts, English, History, and Common Core Standards.

tag(s): women (151), womenchangemaker (37)

The Google Indoor Maps platform is a valuable resource for educators and students exploring spatial awareness, geography, and technology integration. It offers detailed indoor maps for airports, museums, shopping malls, and universities, providing floor plans and navigation tools. Teachers can use it to help students understand mapping technology, analyze layouts of complex buildings, or plan field trips. This tool also emphasizes the real-world applications of geography and technology, fostering digital literacy and practical problem-solving skills.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147), digital literacy (6), map skills (63), maps (220), problem solving (233), virtual field trips (128)

Genially's Escape Room Game Templates provide educators with interactive and customizable digital escape room experiences. These templates allow teachers to create engaging, gamified learning activities where students solve puzzles, answer questions, and unlock clues to progress. The platform supports multimedia elements such as images, animations, and clickable objects, making lessons more immersive. Teachers can use these escape rooms for review sessions, team-building exercises, or subject-specific challenges across various grade levels.

tag(s): digital escapes (15), game based learning (205), gamification (83), puzzles (149)

Explore this valuable tool for educators; it offers curated collections of primary sources, historical documents, and research materials across a wide range of subjects. These guides help teachers incorporate authentic historical artifacts, government records, and literary works into their lessons, enhancing students' critical thinking and research skills. With ready-to-use teaching resources, topic guides, and bibliographies, this site supports interdisciplinary learning and provides rich content for inquiry-based projects in history, literature, civics, and more.

tag(s): african american (115), architecture (75), black history (133), branches of government (65), civil rights (209), civil war (139), conservation (102), energy (133), engineering (129), environment (252), foreign policy (13), hispanic (36), industrialization (12), jews (33), latin (23), literature (221), middle east (50), native americans (109), nutrition (140), photography (130), politics (118), population (51), religions (95), Research (87), sports (82), statistics (121), Teacher Utilities (198), women (151), womenchangemaker (37), womens suffrage (52)

NPR (National Public Radio) is a valuable resource for educators, offering high-quality news, podcasts, and articles on current events, culture, science, and history. The site features engaging audio stories, in-depth journalism, and educational content that can enhance classroom discussions and critical thinking skills. Teachers can use NPR's stories to connect lessons to real-world events, introduce students to diverse perspectives, and encourage media literacy. Additionally, NPR's student-friendly resources, such as NPR Ed and Student Podcast Challenge, provide interactive and project-based learning opportunities.

tag(s): civil rights (209), cultures (180), journalism (74), news (229), podcasts (108), scientists (67), space (222)

Britannica's main website is a comprehensive and reliable resource for teachers seeking accurate, well-researched information across a wide range of subjects. It offers encyclopedia articles, biographies, timelines, images, videos, and primary sources, making it a valuable tool for classroom instruction and student research. The site includes Britannica School, which provides leveled content for different grade levels, and Britannica Kids, designed for younger learners. With its fact-checked, up-to-date content, Britannica helps educators enhance lessons, support inquiry-based learning, and promote critical thinking skills.

tag(s): biographies (94), primary sources (117), Research (87), resources (84), timelines (56)

The Smithsonian Science Education Center's Glider Guide is an interactive application designed for Earth and Space Science students. It allows viewers to virtually soar above five real-world terrains in the United States, observing eleven distinct land and water features such as mountains, plains, lakes, oceans, and mesas. The app offers first-person and top-down views, enhancing spatial understanding of these features. After each flight, students can assess their knowledge through in-game evaluations. Accessible via desktop and laptop browsers, Glider Guide is also available for tablets and smartphones through the Amazon Apps & Games Store, Apple App Store, or Google Play Store.

tag(s): landforms (39), simulations (19)

The Do Now Activity Generator uses AI to create five-minute activities that engage students of any grade or content area. After selecting to start, enter the learning objective and grade level to generate activities. The Do Now generator provides students with questions based on a possible scenario. Make changes and find additional ideas by selecting the Request Change button and providing details on changes.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (177), assessment (147), classroom management (120), Formative Assessment (74), questioning (36), Teacher Utilities (198), teaching strategies (50), thinking skills (17)

Bring Ancient Egypt to life with the power of the Nile! The Ducksters Ancient Egypt Geography page is a fantastic resource for teachers looking to explore how the Nile River shaped Egyptian civilization. This site provides clear, student-friendly explanations of the river's role in farming, trade, transportation, and daily life. With engaging facts, maps, and key vocabulary, it's perfect for sparking discussions, enhancing lessons, and helping students understand why the Nile was truly the lifeline of Ancient Egypt.
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tag(s): africa (148), asia (116), egypt (56), map skills (63), maps (220)

Discover the fascinating world of Roman childhood on History for Kids! This engaging webpage offers a glimpse into children's daily lives in Ancient Rome, exploring their education, games, clothing, and family roles. From learning Latin to playing knucklebones, the site paints a vivid picture of how young Romans balanced duty and play in their society. It's a fantastic resource for sparking curiosity about history in students of all ages!
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tag(s): italy (30), roman numerals (7), romans (52), rome (37)

"Mr. Donn's Ancient Rome: Geography Lesson Plans" offers educators a variety of free resources to teach students about the geography of Ancient Rome. It includes engaging lesson plans, activities, and handouts to explore Rome's location, terrain, climate, and its impact on Roman civilization. The materials cater to different learning levels and feature interactive approaches such as map exercises and discussions on how geography influenced Rome's expansion, economy, and culture. This site is valuable for integrating hands-on and visual learning into history or social studies classes.

tag(s): italy (30), map skills (63), maps (220), romans (52), rome (37)

The YouTube video "Ancient Rome for Kids: Learn All About the History of Roman Empire for Kids" provides an engaging overview of the city's transformation from a small village to a vast empire. It highlights key aspects of Roman history, including the founding of Rome, the shift from a republic to an empire, and the rise of influential figures like Julius Caesar and Augustus. The video also explores the social structure, cultural practices, religion, and entertainment, such as gladiator battles. Additionally, it covers the decline of the Roman Empire and its lasting influence on the modern world, offering insights into Roman law, governance, and contributions to Western civilization. It's recommended to check if YouTube is accessible on school networks if you are planning to use this resource in the classroom.
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tag(s): italy (30), julius caesar (11), religions (95), romans (52), rome (37)

The Ancient Rome Map Activity resource is a downloadable PDF designed to help students explore the geography of Ancient Rome and its impact on the development of Roman civilization. This activity includes a detailed map for students to label key locations, such as the Tiber River, the Alps, and important cities like Rome and Carthage. It also features guiding questions that encourage critical thinking about how geography influenced Roman trade, military expansion, and cultural exchange.

tag(s): italy (30), map skills (63), maps (220), romans (52), rome (37)

The "Ancient Rome Games" page on Mr. Donn's website provides interactive games and activities designed to engage students while learning about Ancient Rome. The games include quizzes, matching activities, and role-playing scenarios that cover topics such as Roman history, mythology, government, and daily life. These activities are ideal for upper elementary and middle school students, offering a fun way to reinforce lessons, review content, or explore Roman culture in an interactive format. This resource is perfect for adding variety and gamification to history or social studies classrooms.
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tag(s): game based learning (205), italy (30), roman numerals (7), romans (52), rome (37)