Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Choosing the best AI chatbot can be daunting. Poe helps out by making chat and generating content accessible using various AI-powered tools. Use Poe to interact with popular chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude, and others in one location. In addition, you can easily interact with custom chatbots or create your custom chatbot with a simple prompt. Create your free account to begin, then use the settings to set a default bot. Free plans offer 3000 points daily, sufficient for participating in several conversations, creating images, and more.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (181), chat (41), DAT device agnostic tool (147)

Teaching with videos engages and excites students, but finding the right video takes time. TEACHFLIX is a curated collection of videos shared by classroom teachers to put to immediate use in class. Begin by browsing by grade level or content area. If browsing by grade level, open up your choice to view all videos or narrow your selection by specific topics. No registration is required; however, sign up with your email to receive the Teaching with TEACHFLIX ebook to download, which includes suggestions and activities to use with videos. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): coding (85), computational thinking (40), computers (109), digital citizenship (85), engineering (129), problem solving (233), social and emotional learning (103), STEM (298), video (266), virtual field trips (129)

Felt is a free map creator that makes it easy for anyone to create and work with maps. Under the Use Cases tab on the top right, you'll find Education with ideas for teaching with Felt. Easily share your maps with others by sharing a link or embedding them in another tool. Felt's simple toolbar makes it easy to map data or routes and add notes, links, or images. Pinning locations, adding notes, coloring specific areas, clipping out any location to emphasize, and adding layers to your maps allows you to map just about anything you could imagine! You must be at least thirteen years old to create a free account to create maps. This site is currently in a public beta version.

tag(s): map skills (63), maps (220)

Trello organizes your projects into boards. It tells you what's being worked on, who's working on what, and where something is in a process. Updates are shown in real time, so refreshing the site isn't necessary. The two main items used on boards are cards and lists. Cards are tasks; create a card for each task and drag it to the list. Attachments such as videos, due dates, user notes, and more can be attached to cards. Then pull each card into a list and place in any order necessary to complete the tasks. You can be identified with an @symbol and receive instant notifications.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147), graphic organizers (48), organizational skills (88)

The Unite for Literacy Library offers many online books for young readers with audio. Browse through the home page to choose books to read from the library shelves. Narrow down your choices using picture icons for different themes such as animals or families. Select and click a book to read. Click the speaker icon to hear each page. The narration is also available in many languages, from Arabic to Vietnamese.

tag(s): audio books (26), independent reading (81), interactive stories (22), preK (270)

Sign up for a free account and you're on your way to creating a diagram (concept map, graphic organizer) to represent words, ideas, or tasks to aid in studying, organizing, or problem solving. Link documents to a wise map and share or embed diagrams with other maps.

tag(s): concept mapping (15), graphic organizers (48), mind map (27)

Help students comprehend the deeper significance of Veterans Day beyond parades and flag-waving with the educational programs recommended by the Wounded Warrior Project. Complete the free registration to access materials for Honor Their Courage!, an educational service program that teaches students about the history and sacrifices of the military while participating in a fundraising activity. Register to participate in either the K-5 or 6-12 program. In addition to Honor Their Courage!, the site shares several ideas for crafts, activities, and ideas to turn education into action.

tag(s): heroes (24), stories and storytelling (58), veterans (27)

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) Learning Resources website offers numerous educational materials for teachers and students focused on wildlife conservation and biodiversity. It provides interactive activities, lesson plans, and multimedia resources to engage students of all ages in understanding animal behavior, ecosystems, and conservation efforts. Teachers can incorporate these materials into science and environmental studies with resources aligned to curriculum standards. Additionally, the site includes virtual tours, live cams, and activities that help bring the world of zoology into the classroom, making it an excellent tool for hands-on and visual learning. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): biodiversity (36), conservation (102), food chains (19), habitats (92), pollution (53), zoology (18)

The collection of over fifty interactive math activities was organized by a math specialist (former 5th grade teacher). Some topics are for primary grades (such as the count aloud and sequence activities). Other topics are more complex (such as factorization and equations). Specific topics include base 10, counting, sequence, ordinals, odd and even numbers, place value, addition, equations, subtraction, integers, number line, Venn diagrams, algebra, factorization, cuisennaire rods, and others. What a fabulous resource for any elementary math class.

tag(s): counting (60), equations (119), factors (29), integers (21), numbers (120), place value (34), preK (270)

Black History Month features events and resources provided by the Library of Congress. Begin by visiting the "Read More" link in the introductory paragraph to find information about the site along with several additional Black History Month Resources. The featured activity is a lesson plan that explores the role of artists and artwork in the Civil Rights movement. In addition, the lesson activities feature many primary source documents for use as the basis for learning activities. Further down the page are Black History Month event highlights. Finally, follow the links on the events to register or view activities throughout the month, including photo research of African-Americans in the Military and A House Built by Slaves: African-American Visitors to the Lincoln White House.

tag(s): african american (116), black history (133), civil rights (209), lincoln (66), underground railroad (15), white house (16)

Open-Ended Social Studies is an Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook designed to foster critical and historical thinking skills through interactive content. Find resources related to the United States and World History in many ways: browse lessons by concept, country, films, travel writing, or search the library of lessons by keyword. The lessons are designed to be used by students and include many hyperlinks, images, and videos that support the included content. In addition to the teaching materials, this site contains a beneficial blog with content that supports the site's philosophy, which is to teach students through a broader world lens.

tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), 1800s (75), 20th century (62), american revolution (82), civil war (139), colonial america (95), colonization (21), gettysburg (15), gettysburg address (12), native americans (109), OER (43), washington (28), westward expansion (39)

Facing History & Ourselves offers a free lesson on the Equal Rights Amendment. The lesson is divided into two parts: What is the Equal Rights Amendment, and Why Did it Fail to Pass in 1982? The lessons include a CBS video, speeches, and additional resources. The site includes suggested ways to implement the lesson, including the 3Ys thinking routine and big paper discussion technique. If you register for a free account, the link can be saved to your favorites.

tag(s): civil rights (209), women (151), womens suffrage (52)

This article shares information on a kindergarten class's use of iPads to research and create digital books based on their exploration of the rain forest. Follow the learning process beginning with the research anchor chart and discussion of the different methods students used to demonstrate learning. As a culminating project, students use Book Creator, reviewed here, to create and share digital books based upon their research of rain forest animals.

tag(s): descriptive writing (42), preK (270), Research (87), writers workshop (31)

Visit this site to view live proceedings of the United States House of Representatives as legislators discuss and vote on legislative topics. Adjust the video portion of the site to fit the entire screen for better viewing. Additional settings offer options for adjusting the video quality, viewing captions, and a link to view the floor schedule.

tag(s): branches of government (65), house of representatives (8), politics (118)

FluentKey turns videos into interactive learning activities to teach world language learners (including American Sign Language). This site's videos engage learners through the addition of captions, quizzes, and games embedded into videos. Take advantage of the large library of videos found on the site, or upload your own videos from YouTube, Facebook, or your computer. After creating your account, add class information and student lists, then assign videos and add quizzes and other interactive content. Students access your assignment using the code created; as students complete each assignment, view responses and class averages to each question on your classroom dashboard. In addition to assigning content to individual students, FluentKey Live is an interactive game for classrooms. Share a video from the site on your interactive whiteboard and ask students to participate on their own devices.

tag(s): chinese (45), DAT device agnostic tool (147), french (75), german (49), multilingual (77), sign language (10), spanish (109), Teacher Utilities (200)

LanguageTool is a spelling and language checker for English, French, and more than 20 other languages. Copy and paste your text to check for spelling and grammatical errors. Use the drop-down boxes to change language preferences. LanguageTool also offers browser add-ons for downloading on Chrome and Firefox, and add-ons for Google Docs, LibreOffice, and OpenOffice.

tag(s): editing (93), french (75), german (49), grammar (137), portuguese (22), spanish (109), spelling (97), writing (324)

This online interactive 100 chart is more than just a static chart. You can click and drag counters onto the chart to display patterns, multiples, odd and even numbers, and much more. Color code patterns with counters to use in demonstrating math concepts.
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tag(s): 100thday (9), multiplication (122), number sense (69)

This large variety of drawings and photographs is a great resource for K-12 students and teachers. Either choose from drawings or photographs related to science, social studies, math, and language arts. These images will support classroom instruction, presentations, multimedia projects, websites, or reports. Useful tags will help you search for images. Educational use of Edpic images is free of charge.

tag(s): animals (294), digital storytelling (155)

Eduaide uses generative AI (artificial intelligence) to generate, refine, and personalize instructional materials. Follow each step to select a subject and grade, choose the resource type, and add topics or standards for the activity. Eduaide provides a broad range of resource options, including unit plans, engagement activities, assessments, and more. Also offered is a teaching assistant that generates ideas for report card comments, class announcements, and more. Eduaide's Assessment Builder creates assessments based on your objectives or standards and offers a variety of choices to include in the evaluation. When complete, add the assessment to your workspace and copy it to a Google Doc or Word document. Sign up for a free account with your Google account or email.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (181), assessment (148), Formative Assessment (74), rubrics (38), Teacher Utilities (200)

View live webcams from around the world to see animals in a variety of settings. Over 60 webcams share the day-to-day activities of many different animals such as polar bears, owls, flying foxes, and many more. Select any webcam to view the images in full-screen. Scroll down the page to find an information box about the webcam's location and highlighted activities. Additional information shares local weather, a location map, and information about the site hosting the webcam. Registration isn't required to view the webcams; however, it allows you to save favorites and take snapshots of the screens to save on your device. The webcams are hosted through YouTube, be sure to check that your school's filters don't block them before attempting to use it with students.
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tag(s): africa (148), animals (294), birds (46), fish (18), habitats (92), oceans (149), webcams (19)

Choose from over 100,000 ready-made templates for use with many different programs, including Word, Google Docs, Adobe, WordPress, and more at Free Templates. Register using your email to begin viewing and downloading templates to personalize. Select options by file format or type of publication desired. Use the keyword search to find specific content; for example, use Education & Free to find a variety of templates (over 1,000) for use in educational settings, including flyers, brochures, and posters. Select the file to download, then choose the free option. This option requires that users give credit to the source of the template and provides wording to copy and paste onto digital sites or print copies.
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tag(s): graphic design (49), graphic organizers (48), posters (43)

Langscape is an interactive map of almost 7000 languages from around the world. The site offers three main features: an interactive map, a text identification tool, and a language familiarization game. Click on a map location to view a pop-up box with the name or names of languages spoken and location by longitude and latitude. Click on the name of the language to find basic data (underneath the map) about the language and its speakers. Underneath the map, find icons to learn more about the language, choose the music-note to listen to MP3 recordings of the language. The page icon leads to other Internet resources for learning about the language chosen. Be sure to drop down the Discover link at the top of the page to find the K-12 educators guide, a complete guide on how to use the site as well as lessons linked to Social Studies Standards.

tag(s): arabic (13), chinese (45), cultures (180), french (75), german (49), greek (47), hebrew (16), italian (31), landforms (39), latin (23), map skills (63), maps (220), phrases (6), portuguese (22), russian (26), spanish (109)

Mural for Education offers flexible tools for virtual collaboration and communication. Think of it as a virtual whiteboard workspace that includes sticky notes, shapes, and connectors to create diagrams and mind maps, drawing tools, images, and more. Use Mural to create breakout rooms for group work or prepare and share study guides and classroom calendars. Apply for a free account as a student or for a classroom account. Start collaborating by following the prompts provided by Mural to begin designing your workspace using templates or from a blank board. Use the dashboard to add text, icons, images, and more. Facilitators also have options for adding contributors, setting a work timer, and setting parameters for the session chat.

tag(s): collaboration (93), graphic organizers (48), iwb (31), Online Learning (36), remote learning (54)