Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Experience the true story of a deadly avalanche and its aftermath through this 2013 Pulitzer Prize winning multimedia feature article. Rich with metaphors and imagery interwoven with the narrative, the online article includes interactive maps, videos, and photographs. Discover the science behind avalanches in this exquisite example of informational text and narrative. The article sidebars share related slideshows and more. The story is long but well worth the time to fully experience.
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tag(s): descriptive writing (41), disasters (42), journalism (63), snow (21)

Use this free tool to easily build and test circuits in your browser! Those without thorough understanding about circuitry can start with pre-made "Quick Start" circuits. The on screen build box has basic circuitry elements available to create quick circuits. Copy and paste circuit parts from other circuits (including those found in the online community) to your circuit. Share your circuit with others by URL. This tool is easy to use. There is a Getting Started video to help with the functions of the tool. Click simulate to test the circuit. Create an account to save your circuits to Your Workbench. At the time of this review, CircuitLab was supported on Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. The site notes that some users have reported success with Opera and Apple Safari. Be sure to test this site in your browser before you plan to share it.

tag(s): circuits (23), electricity (96)

The 360Cities panoramas are a new way to showcase places, businesses, and events from around the world. Looking for a new virtual field trip? 360Cities will have your students spinning in circles with excitement. The pictures are out of this world! View 360 degree panoramic pictures from Mars or under the sea. Travel to snowy mountain tops and many more of the Internet's largest collection of uploaded panoramic images. 360Cities panoramic aerial shots are also available as well as navigable views of cities, natural landscapes, and more. The most popular panoramic pictures are listed for your convenience. This website has panoramic views of all Seven Wonders of the World, which include the Colosseum in Rome, The Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, The Taj Mahal in India, Machu Picchu in Peru, Christ Redeemer in Rio, and Chichen Itza in Mexico. Are you looking for a site to showcase your own panoramic shots or do you want to learn how to take panoramic shots? 360Cities "how to" section offers tools to create and upload your own panoramic pictures. View the existing pictures for free or use an email address to create a free account to upload your own panoramic pictures. Paid upgrades are available. 360Cities also has an app for iOS devices. View the 360Cities blog linked on the site for more information.
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tag(s): images (269), landforms (47), landmarks (24), virtual field trips (56)

Smarty Games offers educational games for pre-kindergarten and elementary students on a variety of topics. Topics include math, reading, coloring, dress-up, and puzzles. Some specific topics include counting, time, money, mazes, sudoku, and several others. Choose a topic to begin. Choose your specific activity within that topic (most have varied levels for differentiation). Each option includes a short description of the game and content included. Some options-- such as the dot to dot games --offer the option of printing.

tag(s): addition (224), alphabet (83), colors (77), counting (110), digital storytelling (143), division (157), fractions (231), money (185), multiplication (210), parts of speech (70), preK (282), puzzles (203), subtraction (186), sudoku (16), time (138)

Save time when creating presentations and choosing fonts by using Wordmark.it to preview what your exact words will look like. Simply type/paste in any words, and Wordmark.it scans the fonts on your computers, displaying the words in each and every font style you have. Adjust font size as desired to see changes or change to positive or negative space. This site helps find the perfect font for any use in no time at all! You no longer have to guess whether the capitals will look funny or the specific letters/words might be hard to read. Art teachers can use this to demonstrate design aspects of different fonts. Sign up using email and a password to save words if desired, but this isn't necessary for general use.

Find classroom tested art projects for K-5 and beyond at Art Projects for Kids. There are new posts (and activity ideas) nearly every day. Choose from tags listed on the site to find projects by type such as weaving or watercolor. Find projects by season and topic. Each post includes a description for completing a project, materials needed, and links to printables if required. View the included tags with each item to find suitable grades for each project and similar posts. The projects vary from "crafty" to very open-ended and expressive.
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tag(s): artists (80), crafts (41), drawing (73), holidays (140), seasons (35), symmetry (49)

UtellStory is a multimedia storytelling and sharing community. Easily create and share stories with audio, image, video, and words. Create an account using email information or login with Facebook to begin. Upload slide(s) from your computer, create a text slide, or insert YouTube or Vimeo video links. Free accounts may make up to 24 slides. Arrange slides in your preferred order after upload. Add background audio or change background style. Record your own audio for each slide or choose from existing mp3 files on your computer. Insert when finished. Audio in the free version is up to 30 seconds per slide. Preview and make changes as desired. Save to your account and return if not finished. When complete, choose from publish as a story or publish as a topic. Publish as a topic allows others to share and add to the story. Share your story using your custom URL, embed into your website or blog using the code provided, or share using social media buttons provided. This site could be used with all ages. However, with younger students, an adult would need to offer a lot of support. At the time of this review, all of the stories on the homepage were "kid-appropriate." However, be sure to preview before you share! The educator tools for managing student registrations are not free.

tag(s): digital storytelling (143), images (269), multimedia (50), slides (53)

Szoter is an online tool for annotating images stored on your computer or screenshots from your computer. Use this site directly on the web or download the Adobe Air version that runs on your desktop. Launch then choose from options to annotate such as load local image, capture camera image, make screenshot, or load image url. After your image loads, choose from editing options such as scaling image, drawing tools such as lines, arrows, and circles, and add text. When finished, save to your computer or publish and share to Twitter, Facebook, or copy the url provided.

tag(s): digital storytelling (143), images (269)

Wanted: The Asian long-horned beetle. This insidious beetle is wreaking havoc on trees across America. The US Department of Agriculture is looking for science-minded sleuths to snoop around local flora to see if they can spot these bugs. If you are up to the challenge, be sure to report the beetles' whereabouts via the Report It link. View a map of sightings and read resources to understand why the Asian long-horned beetle is considered an invasive species. View photos depicting the telltale signs of infestation -- visible exit holes in the tree bark, a receding canopy starting at the top of the tree, and vertical fissures in the bark are just a few indications that a tree has been infiltrated. The site includes vital information about both the Asian longhorn and emerald ash borer.

tag(s): ecosystems (90), habitats (112), species (29)

Discover American History lessons correlated to Common Core reading and social studies literacy standards, especially those that require close reading and evidence. The goal of these lessons is to use primary resources, background information, and the analytical strategies suggested to meet the Common Core standards. In addition to these outstanding American History lessons, also find free online seminars and secondary sources. The secondary sources, under TeacherServe, include essays on topics in American literature and history.

tag(s): abolition (7), american revolution (89), civil war (148), colonial america (108), colonization (16), democracy (16), native americans (82), primary sources (98), slavery (67), women (101)