Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Teach Dear America offers a large array of resources to learn and understand about life and times in Colonial America. Begin with a short overview of the time period including a timeline and information about the home and school life of Colonial children. Explore the large collection of downloadables including maps, timelines, sheet music, artist prints, and more. Choose from a large selection of student activities such as quizzes, arts and crafts, and recipes. The Books and Authors links include suggestions for reading material to include with any Colonial America unit.

tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), colonial america (95)

The Presidential Library of Harry S. Truman offers an extensive archive of resources to help us understand the idealogical foundations of the Cold War era. The Cold War shaped much of the history of the second half of the twentieth century, particularly in the Western world. Included are a chronology of the era, photographs, oral histories (text based), profiles of important figures, primary documents, and lesson plans. The lesson plans were developed by a group of teachers who attended a summer institute at the Truman Library and can be downloaded as either Word documents or PowerPoint presentations. The documents can be viewed online or downloaded in a printable format.

tag(s): cold war (30), europe (75), primary sources (115), russia (33)

The DAP (Developing and Assessing Products) Tool is a set of rubrics developed to assess student products at varying levels of expertise. The intent of the DAP Tool is to differentiate while taking the ceiling off higher level and creative thinking skills (perfect for gifted learners). There are four components for all products: content, presentation, creativity, and reflection. The tool offers rubrics at three performance levels. Especially appropriate for removing a "ceiling" for gifted students is the inclusion of an expert or "professional" performance level rating. This rating acknowledges work that one would expect from a professional in the content area. The criteria for each level increase in sophisticated. Level 1 would be for younger students or those with less expertise. Level 3 might be for high school and/or your most gifted students-- at any grade level. There are fourteen different product rubrics and a blank rubric at each level. The blank rubric suggests descriptions for all but the presentation component. Some of the products are PowerPoint, poster, pamphlet, diorama, service learning, monologue, model, and more. Download the rubrics in PDF format.

tag(s): critical thinking (112), differentiation (84), essays (20), interviews (14), posters (47), rubrics (33), service projects (17), speech (66), writing (315)

Webnode is a free and easy website or blog builder. Create an account. Choose from hundreds of template design options, including personal blogs (scroll to the bottom menu and select "Make your own website or blog." Add many site features: photo galleries, polls, forums, social features, and much more. Webnode saves changes as you make them, so information is stored in real time. Possible uses are only limited by your imagination!
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): blogs (66), communication (136), social networking (68)

Budget and plan for prom with 10 easy questions using this "prom planning" site. It's never too early to start saving! Begin with information on how long there is until prom, money you will have, and more. Include projected expenses for a dress, transportation, tickets, food, and more. When complete, the planner will let you know if you are on track to have enough money for your dream prom!

tag(s): financial literacy (92)