Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Contribute to ongoing historical research by submitting your own 500-word (or so) "episodes" to the History Engine. Each episode is designed to analyze and examine a particular event or small story, using primary sources and supporting research. The study of history is an ever-evolving process of continuing research and collaboration. While younger students may see history as something that has already been discovered, settled, written down and agreed upon, more advanced learners recognize that history is really much more interpretive and contextual.

The site is designed for use by college professors in designing research projects for individual students or student groups, but there is nothing here that would prevent advanced high school students from using the site or its materials as the basis for a research project. As the site is designed, instructors are to register prior to assigning research so that students can use an authorization code when submitting their research. If you decide to use the resources without submitting student work to the site, no registration is required. It should be noted that the terms of submission make the work the property of the University of Richmond; be sure that's consistent with your goals before you decide to submit.
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tag(s): advanced placement (26), history day (40), local history (14)

Use this site to view animated videos about medical disorders and interventions. Browse categories such as Allergy and Immunology, Cancer, Fitness, Neurology, and more. Browse topics in the categories to learn about specific disorders, interventions, and treatments, and other helpful information. Find a description beneath each video.
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tag(s): brain (54), diseases (66), fitness (38), medicine (55)

Floor Planner is an online floor planning tool that allows you to create a room or entire home. It includes many common household items to use in floor plan and allows you to change the dimensions of objects. Note that you do not need an account to create a plan, but you do need one to save.
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tag(s): architecture (64), design (82), measurement (126)

This blog, created by Jason Dyer, is all about teaching mathematics. There is discussions of interesting aspects of math, lessons, video clips, puzzles, and other activities. The site includes a search bar to use when looking for specific topics such as fractions or algebra. Be sure to check out the links to puzzles to find many different logic puzzles for classroom use. Subscribe to the blog using your RSS feed such as Google Reader to keep track of ongoing posts. Don't miss the links on the site to the Annotated Blogroll to find other math blogs of interest.

tag(s): logic (164), puzzles (143)

Learn about and explore the world of dolphins and whales with this educational site. Find out if your school serves "whale-friendly" lunches, make an origami dolphin, or watch a video demonstrating how dolphins get caught in fishing nets. Be sure not to miss the life-size whale animation that provides an up-close perspective on just how large whales are. Lesson plans are available on the site under the Info Box and include PDF lesson plans and worksheets for students. Some activities require flash which is not supported on all web browsers.

tag(s): ecology (100), habitats (87), marine biology (25), whales (11)

Explore, learn, and have some fun at this engaging site create by the National Film Board of Canada. The site is divided into seven different sections, each offering activities based on themes such as seasons, story telling, and experiments. Learn more about the site by following the tutorial on the Cuckoo section. Learn about the seasons as you explore Ludovic's area. Dog Run teaches about pet ownership and dogs in general. Be sure to check out the Fun Stuff section that contains a wonderful story boarding activity as well as several "create a character" options for storytelling fun! Account registration isn't required to use the site; however, creating an account allows you to save and access activities at a later time.

tag(s): digital storytelling (142), interactive stories (21), preK (255), puzzles (143), seasons (36), stories and storytelling (40)

Grand Challenges for Engineering shares information on several engineering problems that are just waiting for 21st century solutions. Engineering challenge information is presented and followed by a moderated response forum. Anyone may submit ideas, and no registration is required. Share your name and location on the planet, and your comments may be featured in the forum. There are video clips, interactives, ready to go activities, and more. Information about world needs and next steps towards solutions are available. These topics can be controversial, so preview before you share with the class.

tag(s): carbon (15), critical thinking (112), engineering (119), mars (26), medicine (55), nuclear energy (19), problem solving (226), scientific method (47), STEM (264)