Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This site takes a look at African art and the use of fractals within the art. Ron Eglash is a cultural mathematician studying how cultures and mathematics intersect. Each segment of the written portion of the site contains a short explanation along with diagrams. Also included are interactive applets allowing for exploration of the Koch curve and fractal dimensions. Be sure to check out the other links on the page that explore African art, religions, and futures.

tag(s): africa (137), architecture (64), cross cultural understanding (157), cultures (132), religions (75)

ABCya.com, created by a web developer turned computer teacher, provides educational games, videos, and activities for elementary students. Nearly every subject is included. Simply click on your grade level (K-5) and find what is available under language arts, math, and other subjects. Specific topics range from basic typing activities to creating word clouds to grammar games (at all levels) and so much more. The interactives are teacher approved and offer colorful and attention grabbing ways for learning. Opportunities for sharing on Facebook, tweeting, and sharing on social bookmarking sites are incorporated. This is a MUST SEE site for elementary teachers looking for some great practice sites for basic skills!

tag(s): alphabet (51), decimals (84), drawing (59), fractions (159), game based learning (171), geometric shapes (136), keyboarding (28), latitude (10), literacy (110), longitude (9), number sense (70), numbers (119), operations (72), preK (255)

Join YouTube and the Guggenheim Museum in recognizing a biennial review of the best online videos from around the world. As a form of modern and contemporary art, celebrate free access every day for your virtual field trip from a Webby award-winning nominee site for 2011. A panel of 20-25 experts chooses from a selection of over 23,000 videos submitted. Explore art, music, movement, poetry, and prose on this creative video site. The option of subscribing to recent uploads is available at no charge. Click "continue" to see thumbnails of all available winners. If your district blocks YouTube, then this site may not be viewable. Not all comments posted are appropriate and videos should be previewed before viewing in the classroom setting.

tag(s): computers (106), video (258)

Extend your writing workshop beyond your classroom walls with this site! This website includes explanations and practice for writing techniques in upper elementary classrooms. Another section contains areas to post your own story or continue with a story in progress. The content reinforces and expands upon the 6+1 Trait Writing Model used in many elementary writing programs. Users are able to make comments. So you may want to preview before you share with students.

tag(s): characterization (16), main idea (8), writing (315), writing prompts (58)

Use this engaging mashup of Google Street View and Google Maps to hop around the globe by randomly teleporting into a continent. Use as a spontaneous way to learn about other areas and review how to determine longitude and latitude of a location. Choose a continent to visit and click "Teleport." View the street view in the large screen and the Google Map location in the smaller one. This site gives a "taste" of the area, not a wide variety of photos.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): continents (32), countries (69), map skills (56), maps (207)

Promote environmental citizenship through this site's "green learning" units. The curriculum ranges from examining how electricity works, understanding the balance of ecosystems, to a high school unit on sustainable futures. Enjoy the interactive wind turbine and carbon calculator. The animation for grades 4 - 7 is engaging, and the video presentations for high school students on sustainability is powerful. Green Learning provides educators with an array of hands-on activities, online learning opportunities, printable materials, assessment tools, and valuable resources such as environmental experts to contact. Each environmental concept taught provides opportunities for real world learning, encourages social action, and advocacy. Teacher friendly planning tools can help meet instructional time constraints, students learning styles, and promote cross-curricular connections. The site is free but requires registration. Membership provides access to additional educational materials and a monthly newsletter. This program comes to us from Canada.

tag(s): climate (80), climate change (87), conservation (83), ecosystems (73), electricity (60), energy (130), environment (240), natural resources (37), OER (43), persuasive writing (55), solar energy (34), sustainability (44)