February 16, 2020

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Featured EDTECH Resources Reviewed by TeachersFirst

Thousands of Teacher-reviewed Resources!

Discover the World of Geography

Geography offers us the opportunity to teach location, culture, map skills, and more. Take your students on travels around the globe with this first group of featured resources.

Grades 5-12

Earth Voyager

Take your class on a mission around the earth through visualizations and storytelling brought together in a Google Earth collaboration with PBS, National Geographic, and others. Find activity guides and lessons related to landforms, explorers, and more.

Grades 4-12

The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks

Join the National Park Rangers on an amazing journey via 360-degree videos. Visit six different park locations. Each park adventure includes a short introduction before virtually exploring the area.

Grades 6-12

American Panorama

Explore history with these interactive maps that demonstrate changes in the United States since the 1800's. Current topics include Canals, Renewing Inequality: Family Displacements through Urban Renewal, Electing the House of Representatives, and others.

Grades 4-8

Kids World Travel Guide

This site is written and maintained by kids and parents as a travel guide for kids. Learn interesting facts and information about various countries and people such as geography facts, cultures, customs, foods, animals, attractions, and more.

Civics for Students

Civics is the study of the duties and rights of citizenship. Use these tools to educate students about the responsibilities of citizenship at the local, state, national, and global levels. 

Grades 6-8

My Case Maker

Delve into the world of civics with 20 pre-made civics challenges. Students read the challenge, review related primary sources, and make their case using evidence. Students can take annotated notes and create case folders to organize their thoughts.

Grades 8-12

Rock the Vote

Leverage this site filled with voter information such as how to register, where to vote, and election information to enhance your lessons on voting. Additionally, it includes links to contact information for local and national elected officials.

Grades 6-12

Newseum ED

Help students connect civics, history, and more using primary sources and artifacts, interactive tools, and worksheets. These are searchable by type, topic, and time-period. Sample topics include Decoding Elections, First Amendment, and several more.

Immerse Your Class in History

Students remember experiences better than just reading the facts. Take students back in time with videos, interactives, literature, and other activities. 

Grades 8-12

Hip Hughes History

Enrich your social studies curriculum with this huge collection of videos. Categories include World History, US History Explained, The Constitution Explained, Current Events, History Quickies, and more. The videos are designed for secondary students.

Grades 2-8

Our Story in History

As you teach about US history, find videos, interactives, literature, and activities on this engaging site. Topics range from An American Story in Dance and Music to Coming to America and others. Use the activities tab to search by time period or topic.

Grades 5-12

Dates that Matter

Why does today matter in history? History is a fabric woven of many events, and Dates That Matter helps students see the full tapestry. This engaging activity goes beyond the event and talks about why it matters and how it is connected to the present.

This Week at TeachersFirst

You're invited to join us for professional learning this week. Stop by our OK2Ask® virtual workshop (Tuesday 2/18), Twitter Chat (Thursday 2/20), and Infusing Technology blog for info about tools for teaching social studies, fostering Design Thinking, and using maps in the classroom. And, be sure your vote is counted in this week's poll about social studies!


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OK2Ask Virtual Workshop

3 Cool Tools for Social Studies

Join us on Tuesday, Feb. 18th at 7 pm ET, to learn about three tools for teaching social studies. Learn how to use simulations and primary sources to convey difficult material in a way that’s interesting and accessible.

Save your seat to explore free tools for the social studies classroom »


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#OK2Ask Twitter Chat

Develop Design Thinking Using Digital Tools

Use the hashtag #OK2Ask to participate in this Thursday's Twitter chat (Feb. 20th at 8 pm ET). We'll review the components of design thinking and share resources and digital tools that can help manage the design process in the classroom.

Chat about the role of design thinking in education »


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Infusing Technology Blog

Maps, Maps, and More Maps!

Geography is an integral part of any social studies curriculum. This article shares ways to find and use maps in the classroom, websites that offer unique ways to explore and learn about maps, and tools for creating maps.

Make learning about maps and geography interactive and meaningful »


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Have your vote counted

Weekly Poll

Our weekly poll asks a tough question: What area of social studies do you think is the more important for students to learn?

Participate in this week's poll »

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TeachersFirst is a collection of curated, classroom-ready content and ideas — including teacher-authored reviews of thousands of web resources. Built-in guidance from seasoned professionals makes effective classroom technology use trouble-free. TeachersFirst is made available free to K12 teachers by The Source for Learning, Inc., a nonprofit that has been providing educational resources for more than 40 years.