Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Focus on the key elements of writing a story with Story Map. Fill out and print graphic organizers for characters, setting, conflict, and resolution. Each organizer has prompts for what to write. Returning to an organizer to edit is possible. Print your Story Map, since it is not saved.

tag(s): digital storytelling (154), graphic organizers (48), writing (324)

Become part of a global celebration of creativity, courage, and collaboration on International Dot Day. Formed in response to The Dot written by Peter H. Reynolds, this day is set aside to rekindle and inspire the power of creativity in all of us. Register (sign up) for the free International Dot Day Virtual Event on Monday, Sept. 16 at 10am ET. Scroll down the page and click Resources to find Connect with Other Classrooms, a free downloadable Classroom Guide, and the Dot Song. Explore the site to find many posters, badges, pictures of Dot Day in action, and more. Don't forget to follow International Dot Day on Instatgram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) to stay in touch with all of the latest updates from around the world. Sign up to become a member of the Dot Day Community and celebrate with others around the world each September! Some of the videos are on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.

tag(s): creativity (86), cross cultural understanding (173), literature (221)

Use Word Mover to assemble found poems from word tiles. Use word banks, existing famous works, or create your own word tiles. Experiment with word placement, size, font, color options, and twelve backgrounds. Register with a username and save to your device or computer, send as email, or print. Click on the Instructions in the top menu, or find an introductory video (and plenty of lesson ideas below that) here. Word Mover will work on any device that uses a web browser and Flash. There is also an app for both iPads and Android devices.

tag(s): creative writing (124), creativity (86), DAT device agnostic tool (147), grammar (137), poetry (193), sentences (22), writing (324)

Do you need a checklist for students to use before submitting multimedia projects? This site provides a printable list (pdf) that covers several areas such as mechanics, documentation, and quality of content. Check off each item on the list, multiply the weight, and come up with the total points.

tag(s): assessment (147), multimedia (53), rubrics (37)

GoConqr (formerly ExamTime) is a crowdsourcing site for uploading and sharing class notes, flashcards, quizzes, and more. Free membership offers you access to 3 subjects and 20 public resources. Sign up using your email account to begin using GoConqr's features. Be sure to watch the video tutorials for creating resources for your personal page. Use the search feature to find and access resources already designed and shared on the site. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.

tag(s): classroom management (120), flash cards (44), homework (29), mind map (27), quizzes (90), social networking (61), test prep (69)

Build interactive, map-based stories without coding skills using the Odyssey open source library. Click Create Story to begin and follow the prompts to choose a template for slides, scrolling, or an animated story template. Add story content, images, links, and more within the "sandbox." When finished, publish directly to GetHub, download, or share as iFrame to embed directly into your blog or website.

tag(s): digital storytelling (154), gamification (83), images (263), interactive stories (22), maps (220)

Explore and discover quotes for any occasion at The Quote Garden. Search through this extensive collection of quotes by topic, holiday, or special occasion. Links for each topic directs you to a list of quotations with author credits.
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tag(s): bulletin boards (15), quotations (19)

Search and share animated GIF files with Giphy. Search using keywords or browse by categories, authors, or stickers. Create a free account to save your favorites. Easily share or embed GIF's using the codes provided.

tag(s): animation (64), images (263), photography (130)

Create an interactive categorization activity with The Vortex. Give the activity a title and begin adding categories. Add items in up to four different categories. When finished, drag and drop items as quickly as possible into the correct bin. Use the provided links to share the activity, embed into a blog or web page, or print it. Use password protection if desired to limit access. Click the question mark on the bottom right toolbar, and scroll down that page to find many templates for inspiration or use.
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tag(s): game based learning (205), quiz (67), quizzes (90)

Design professional looking front pages for a newspaper with this tool. Simply fill in the pertinent information (headline, date, place, and more) and an image. Share via URL, Twitter, or download to your computer. Be sure to view the several samples available, and click on the little question mark at the end of the title to see ideas for use of this tool. No registration is necessary.

tag(s): digital storytelling (154), images (263), newspapers (93)

Conduct virtual conferences with up to 1,000 people at one time with Free Conference Call. Instantly share your screen during online calls for participant viewing or use the active speaker mode. Other features allow for recording and sharing meetings when finished. After creating an account, follow instructions for inviting participants and setting up the conference call. This tool works on any device with a modern web browser and Internet access, or download the free iOS or Android app.

tag(s): blended learning (37), chat (41), communication (129), DAT device agnostic tool (147), parent conferences (21), parents (57), remote learning (54)

The 180 Days Challenge is based on the PBS series 180 Days: Hartsville documentary. Take the challenge as a teacher, administrator, or parent to answer problem-based scenarios related to education. After completion, view results that provide insight into your education style and how it relates to the current educational climate. In addition to the challenge questions, this site includes several video excerpts from the series featuring events such as conferences and a discussion of generational poverty. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.

tag(s): classroom management (120), professional development (385)

Looking to identify a wild bird? Visit the Merlin site to download the Merlin ID app for any phone or device. When using a mobile device, the Merlin app asks a series of five questions starting with when and where, followed by choosing a basic body type and other questions. View the generated list of possibilities to find your bird and identify it! Merlin is capable of recognizing 400 of the most commonly encountered birds in the US and Canada. When you choose the bird, data is recorded with Merlin. Read more about your identified bird and listen to its bird song. The Merlin bird identifier is designed for beginning and intermediate bird watchers. Note: When using Merlin on the web upload a photo of the bird, and then follow the prompts to place "pointers" on the bird image. The web version cannot be used to identify a bird and is different from The Merlin ID app.

tag(s): birds (46), DAT device agnostic tool (147), ecosystems (83), habitats (92)

This resource is an excellent online activity to learn Python through coding challenges. Choose a challenge and solve the problem to move onto another challenge. Complete each of the tasks to gain points and move to the next area. Designed for beginners and experts students will have to stick with it to be able to move past the beginning as the backstory is lost moving from one action assignment to another. The story can be the one item that makes this site different from other coding challenges. After most of the challenges, the solutions are shown. Create an account or log in through Google or Facebook.

tag(s): coding (85), critical thinking (127), problem solving (233)

Learn the basic steps for creating a grading rubric with this informative site. Find out why you need rubrics and the six basic steps for designing a rubric for any project. Most of the steps also include links to examples and templates for different situations such as discussions, presentations, and other types of projects.

tag(s): assessment (147), professional development (385), rubrics (37)

Oakland Schools provides an extensive collection of Common Core aligned resources for all grade levels. Read through the information on the main page for how to use the site to browse and search features. Items include unit calendars, curriculum maps, and standards alignment in all subjects and for grades K-12. Be sure to check out the Reference pull-down for many resources to use in teaching and planning using Common Core Standards.

tag(s): commoncore (73), professional development (385)

Learn how to engage students through digital learning, integrate technology into any curriculum, and effectively use digital resources in the classroom with these free, online courses. Multimedia contents include animated eLearning tutorials and interactive learning exercises. Begin any of the self-paced courses anytime and complete them at your own pace.

tag(s): professional development (385)

Organize and annotate videos and files with Acclaim. Acclaim's step-by-step process and prompts makes creating courses, sharing course information, creating folders within courses, and adding videos or files almost effortless. The free registration is referred to as a demo. Register with email and create a course, a Course URL will be given. No need to copy it at this time. Clicking on the setting symbol on any course (and even folders) will give you the URL again. Students will need an email to join and access your courses and folders. Folders and courses can be made public or private. When prompted, upload files (including videos you created) from Dropbox, Google Drive, your computer, and others. Do this by "choosing" from a list, or using the "drag and drop" method. Add videos, your own recorded on a webcam, or from Vimeo or YouTube by pasting in their URL. Teachers and students can annotate videos at certain points with comments and questions. These comments and questions will receive a time stamp. If you organize your videos and documents within a course with folders, once students have registered with their email, you will need to go into the folder settings and give them access. Acclaim is 100% web based, and it is mobile friendly for all devices.
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tag(s): teaching strategies (50), video (266)

Enjoy and challenge creativity and problem-solving skills in a world of wonder. Once you sign up for The Wonderment, a social platform for kids, choose a bot or secret identity. Given a choice to follow many different paths, kids determine the subject of interest. The paths are real-world problems from around the globe. View a video, story, or idea. Design a response using text, photos, or a video. Join a chat to allow comments or ask questions to make global connections. After each posting, special points are added to make the bot design more elaborate. A personal Wondermeter rises with each response. Through donations, this non-profit brings technology to children around the world. A call for adults to serve as mentors to respond to each child challenges adults to join in the fun and make the world a better place. Register with email. Children under 13 need parent or teacher approval to participate. Click How it Works from the upper right menu to watch the short videos to explaining paths, projects, communities, and generally how The Wonderment works.

tag(s): communication (129), cross cultural understanding (173), enrichment (13), gifted (66), listening (93), Problem Based Learning (12), problem solving (233), social media (48), social networking (61), social skills (22), speaking (26), sustainability (50)

The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) offers an evaluation tool to assess the use of technology to enhance learning for K-12 students. This rubric evaluates the level of technology integration along with characteristics of a learning environment. Click on a content subject in any of the evaluation tool boxes to view a video of an example lesson in a classroom demonstrating different levels of technology integration. As a complement to the evaluation tool, view resources found within the rubric sorted by grade level, type of digital tool, and resources by choosing links at the top of the page.

tag(s): rubrics (37)