Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Create your own interactive version of any PDF document or text using Active Textbook. Don't let the term "textbook" fool you. This tool can work with fiction and non-fiction or ANY combination. Add an existing document to begin. Use the site's tools to enhance with multimedia, links, notes, bookmarks, and more. Use social networking tools to exchange ideas and questions with other readers. Customizing features allow for private viewing, tags, inclusion into courses, and enabling or disabling comments. Save up to 500 pages or 50MB using the free version of the site.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): digital storytelling (154), ebooks (43)

Ultimate Titanic is a site put together by teachers and historians dedicated to giving a clear understanding of the people and the events related to RMS Titanic. The site contains hours of footage from survivors, animations, and documentaries as well as hundreds of photographs and documents to explore. Use the categories listed at the top of the page to find and narrow information to view. Choose from options such as the ship, the tragedy, or news. Within the education section are links to teaching ideas, a timeline, and several documentaries. The site has a few occasional typos but is still worthwhile. (Give bonus points to students who find a typo!) Some of the video clips are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): 1910s (6), 20th century (62), disasters (37)

Create your own matching games with Match the Memory. You can also play a ready-made memory game. Create your memory cards using themes provided. Customize cards with text, picture only, or using other options. Easily add images, videos, events, and links to personalize a game. Choose a public or private option for sharing. Registration isn't required; however, it offers the option of editing games at a later date.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): puzzles (149)

This site offers extensive resources about learning disabilities. A good place to start is to use the search box and find Learning Disabilities: An overview, to read an article explaining what is (and isn't) considered to be a learning disability, along with what to look for when considering learning disabilities. Search through resources sorted by grade level or by specific topics such as ADHD and autism. Another interesting section discusses assistive technologies available for reading, writing, and listening.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): adhd (28), autism (15), dyslexia (11), learning disability (21), preK (270), professional development (385), Special Needs (53)

More Words is a word list generator that allows you to enter characteristics of a word and identifies words with those attributes. For example, when doing a crossword puzzle and only the first two letters are available, insert those letters along with *** for each missing letter. More Words will generate a list of words that meet the given criteria. Another option is to type in letters to find words that can be made from those letters including words formed by adding a new letter to the beginning or end of the letters you entered.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): crosswords (19), puzzles (149), word study (59)

Rewordify helps you understand what you read. Paste any text or website into the box to rewordify the text into simpler language. Easier to understand words replace difficult text shown with highlighting. Click on the highlighting to view the original, more difficult word(s). View excellent student and teacher demonstrations showing how to use the website. You have the option to choose how Rewordify displays the results using the options in the settings. Several options allow for easy personalization of results.

tag(s): multilingual (77), reading comprehension (149), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93)

Find many ideas for games from categories such as online games, printable games, or behavior charts. Other ideas offered are for outdoor games, classroom games, board games, card games, and many more. Choose an item of interest; then read instructions and print activities if included.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): behavior (45), preK (270), printables (36), puzzles (149)

Turn meaningful words into beautiful images in just seconds using Quozio. Paste or type your quote into the quote box or use the site's bookmarklet to highlight text from the web to use as your quote. Enter who said it. Scroll through background images available to use with your quote. When finished, share via Pinterest, Facebook, or email. You can also RIGHT click the image to SAVE image as and download a copy to your computer for printing or use elsewhere. Register on Quozio using your email to save quotes directly on the Quozio site.

tag(s): bulletin boards (15), images (263), quotations (19), writing prompts (61)

Create matching and multiple choice quizzes. Register on the site using email to begin. Choose "manage quizzes" to create your first quiz. Provide a name, description, and begin adding quiz questions and answer options. Save and preview as often as desired until satisfied with the quiz. Quizdini supports HTML, so adding links to outside content within quizzes will make each quiz unique. Share completed quizzes using the URL in your browser bar displaying the finished quiz.

tag(s): quiz (67), quizzes (90)

Spelling Bees allows up to four players to practice spelling by building a beehive with correctly spelled words. Begin by using the site-generated user name or typing your own; then join a game or create your own. Use private game settings to create a private game with a password so only known users will join. When a game is full, play begins. Listen to each word and click or type letters to spell the word. After spelling the word correctly, the game continues until time runs out. At the end of the game, view your position in the finished game along with percentage correct and correct spelling for any missed words.

tag(s): spelling (97)

Twiddla is an online meeting space and collaboration tool that is like having a whiteboard skin placed over any website or image so you can draw and more. Discover options available in the practice area named the Sandbox. Choose options for collaboration such as a url, uploaded image or document, or collaborate together on a blank screen. Use the Invite button to share the collaboration url via email or copy/paste. Take a snapshot of your session at any time and export as an image. Pro Accounts offer additional features, such as screen captures and password protection. Receive these services free as an educator, find the directions in the FAQ.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): design (79), editing (93), iwb (31), note taking (36)

Diamonds are forever, and so are diamante poems created on this free site. Find a great tool to shape up your poets through the structure of a seven lined diamante poem. Learn about the diamond-shaped poems that use specific types of words for each line. Rhyming isn't needed, but needn't be impeded. Describe a central topic or two opposing topics like night and day. View the examples before creating your poem. Each screen provides an organizer for any poet to complete. Click on the parts of speech for definitions while composing poems. Edit your poem, if needed, before printing, downloading it as a PDF, or sharing through email. Save your draft to continue at a later date. This site is a must during poetry month in April.

tag(s): antonyms (12), firstday (22), parts of speech (39), poetry (193), rhymes (22), synonyms (15)

PreKinders offers printables and teaching ideas for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers. Explore the learning areas to find quick and easy activities for literacy, math, and more. Choose from themes such as fairy tales and families. Search through the many printables in all subject areas as well as classroom management checklists, assessments, and posters.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): alphabet (53), alphabetical order (8), back to school (55), classroom management (120), colors (63), counting (60), magnetism (36), musical instruments (52), numbers (120), nursery rhymes (9), preK (270), songs (46), sounds (43), weather (160)

Find "ready to use" lessons, thematic units, classroom management ideas, and much more at this one-stop resource for elementary teachers. Explore the reproducibles section to find templates for science observation, an excellent Problems with Dice activity, and an Internet usage survey. After choosing a reproducible, be sure to look on the right side of the page for other reproducibles not listed on the main page. The Innovative Classroom also contains an extensive list of center activity ideas, class certificates, and bulletin board suggestions. Be prepared to spend a lot of time here finding and saving ideas!
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): bulletin boards (15), classroom management (120), counting (60), density (17), fractions (160), gettysburg address (12), heat (14), holidays (187), human body (93), map skills (63), martin luther king (45), olympics (45), painting (54), place value (34)

Use Google Keep to save notes directly to your Google Drive account. This tool requires that you have a Google account. Unlike some similar services, such as Evernote, reviewed here, notes kept in Google Keep are saved to your Google Drive account. Use Google Keep for notes, voice notes, lists, and photos. Access these on any web enabled mobile device. Keep works best with Chrome browsers (there is an extension for Chrome, also) and Android phones, but our editors had no issues using other browsers as well. Google Keep can also be also used with any school's Google Apps account. Keep is colorful, which is part of the design. Be sure to use the colors as an organizational tool. Keep has a low learning curve and is very simple to use. The quick note feature is invaluable: just type your notes in the text box without logging in or switching screens. To leave a voice note, tap the microphone icon and speak. Archive items easily when you are done. Though Keep is a more generic, basic tool, its value is in its simplicity and ease of use.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147), note taking (36), organizational skills (88)

Captivate and challenge students while maintaining quiet times in your classroom with Bouncy Balls! Turn on the microphone to capture sound; the quieter your environment is, the more settled the balls remain. If there is more noise, the balls start flying and jumping around the screen. In addition to bouncy balls, choose from bubbles, eyeballs, and smiley face icons. There is also a full screen option. Our editors had some trouble trying to figure out HOW to enable the microphones. Here are some tips that we learned. If you are using Firefox or Chrome, you must allow pop-ups. You should get a message in the narrow band below the address bar asking you to "Allow Microphone" for this site. At the time of this review, this site was not working properly on the Safari browser. Even so, this is still one site you will want to explore and "have a ball." Unfortunately, this site does not work on mobile devices.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): classroom management (120), preK (270), sound (72), Teacher Utilities (197)

Need a way to get a quick understanding of Common Core or explain the basics to parents? Be prepared with this all in one site. Find explanatory videos, documents, and more.

tag(s): commoncore (73)

Share your screen instantly and easily to any device with a browser using ScreenLeap. Choose Start Now to begin and follow simple start-up directions. Once connected, send the link via email or text or provide the access code to anyone else to begin sharing. Choices include sharing the entire screen or just what is within the box. Directions include options for just audio sharing. Free account access offers up to 2 hours of screen sharing time per day.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): editing (93), homework (29), parent conferences (21)

Create many educational multimedia activities in one place using Educaplay. Create interactive maps, riddles, slide shows, fill in the blanks, crossword puzzles, word search puzzles, jumbled word, jumbled sentence, dictation, or create a collection of several of these based on a theme. Registration is required. Your results will be consistent and professional looking. Also, browse and use activities and collections others have created. Download and print the activities or complete them online by embedding them on your website or sharing the URL. Results can be registered in your learning management system (online grade book). Though originally a Flash program, Educaplay converted to HTML5 and should work on any computer.

tag(s): crosswords (19), multimedia (53), puzzles (149), quizzes (90), slides (43), word study (59), worksheets (69)

View visual guidelines for proper email etiquette. We all need to develop e-mail writing skills for an academic setting with classmates, teachers, administrators, and members of the community in the 21st century. Download the PDF visual guidelines to guide you and your students on the manners and responsibilities associated with communicating through email. Be sure to provide credit to the author in your classroom, website, or blog if you post the PDF.

tag(s): digital citizenship (85), writing (324)