Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Digital Learning Day is an annual February event spotlighting successful instructional practice and effective use of technology around the country. Choose the "About DLDay" option to find out more about the goals of Digital Learning Day, begin with a detailed description listing the characteristics of digital learning. View exemplary models, showcases, lesson portals, and more using links provided. Sign up as a participant for Digital Learning Day then plan your own classroom activity, provide a presentation to parents, or choose from other ideas offered on the site. Explore the Participate portion of the site to find digital tools, online resources, graphics, lesson plans and more. Sign up isn't required; however, it does allow you to receive emails with updates and learning ideas throughout the year. The digital learning content demonstrations are conducted in four areas: math, science, language arts, and civics/social studies; critical areas, such as working with ELL or special education students, will be woven into the lessons.

tag(s): digital citizenship (71), digital storytelling (128), modeling (8), preK (242)

Media4Math offers math resources including videos, tutorials, and more. Choose the tutorial tab to find many tutorials perfect for interactive whiteboard use on topics such as algebra tiles, solving equations, and linear functions. Choose the PowerPoint tab to download PowerPoints for Algebra Jeopardy, slope/function, and quadratic functions. Watch video tutorials for the TI-Nspire Clickpad and Touchpad at the Nspire tab. This site is worth a look for anyone teaching upper-level mathematics. Registration is required (with email) for some of the features. Also, be aware some of the videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): angles (59), charts and graphs (174), equations (135), functions (60), geometric shapes (144), polynomials (24), quadratics (27), statistics (117)

Learn the conventional classroom portion of CPR training. This course can be used as an online awareness level course or as part of a community based certification program. (This would require a licensed teacher and hands on materials such as a CPR mannequin.) Schools can register students and staff and manage/view course progress through the dashboard. Most students can complete the course within an hour.

tag(s): body systems (40), heart (30)

Find maps for use at all grade levels. There are lessons plans, objectives, extension activities and more supporting the use of historic map documents. Information at the K-2 level supports information acquisition skills while higher grades address history, geography, and social studies concepts. Instructions for Teachers gives an overview of the site including standards addressed and information on how to display and print supplied images. The map index presents themes such as "Exploration and Encounter" and "The Historical Geography of Transportation." Each theme contains several lessons, all include a printable map and lessons categorized by grade levels from K-12. Many themes also include curator's notes with supplemental images and resources.

tag(s): colonial america (94), explorers (63), map skills (58), maps (225), transportation (35)

MIT + K12 is an excellent site where MIT students create videos and teach science concepts to K-12 students. Though the daily operations (outreach program) is gone, the videos are still freely available. MIT + K12 was created to be used as an avenue for current engineering, science, and math students. The goal is to change the perception of these roles for young students and encourage development in STEM skills. Choose videos sorted by topic or grade level. If you sort by grade levels, be aware there aren't as many choices for the younger grades. Do a keyword search for specific terms. Each video includes the assignment (question addressed in the video), the MIT's student's proposal for the video, and the short video explanation. Don't see what you need? Create an educator account and pose an assignment for a MIT student to address in a video lesson. The videos are mainly shared on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): bacteria (22), colors (61), energy (159), engineering (110), glaciers (15), nuclear energy (21), planets (123), plants (147), reproduction (7), scientific method (59), STEM (215), transportation (35)

Join Martha (the dog) from the book and animated children's series, Martha Speaks. This interactive website focuses on vocabulary and word usage. The site includes interactives, printables, videos, and "Martha's Stories" for students to explore. Make newspapers, dog tags, vocabulary word pictures, and more. Vocabulary introduced are not necessarily sight words, yet specialized content area words. Apply and learn new vocabulary in a wide variety of interactive ways. Some game features require Shockwave and/or a webcam. Don't worry. It does not keep your picture.

tag(s): literacy (84), preK (242), rhymes (23), sight words (18), vocabulary (243), vocabulary development (89)

Findery lets you place notes and images on a virtual map that others can see (if you make it public.) Type in a location to go anywhere in the world. Google map technology shows that location along with any notes that exist there. Add your own notes and images after registering on the site. Use the regular search bar for other searches of places such as Great Wall and countless other locations. Since the general public can add notes to locations, previewing is a good idea!

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (167), earth (189), map skills (58), maps (225), virtual field trips (69)