Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Skyenimals is a website just for kids to learn about real and make-believe animals. Skyenimals are mixed up and imaginary animals created by kids. Explore and choose different animals to find related pictures, games, puzzles, and more. Choose the activities link to find coloring pages as well as online and printable activities.
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tag(s): animals (271), creativity (90)

Capture your audience's attention with audio messages from Clash. Type in your message of up to 140 characters and let Clash work its magic. Clash uses audio content from music, movies, and TV. It creates a unique message that is sure to capture anyone's interest. Edit individual words using options from different sources. When finished, choose the Save/Share button and share using the URL or social networking options. Clash seem to work best on Microsoft's Edge. Clash will work on any device with a modern web browser and an internet connection.

tag(s): communication (134), speech (67), text to speech (17)

Find, organize, edit, and share your photos from one place with Google Photos. Automatically upload pictures from any device to one storage platform. Use keywords to locate any uploaded image. Use the editing tools to create animated GIF's from images or combine related images and videos into a movie with a matching soundtrack. Google Photos allows you to upload photos from any mobile device and provides free unlimited storage for photos up to 16 megapixels or videos up to 1080 HD.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (139), images (260), Storage (6), video (252)

Take a virtual tour of Mount Vernon, the home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. Beautifully executed, and packed with special features, the tour is billed as the "second best way to visit Mount Vernon," and doesn't disappoint. Click on the three dots with a checkmark in lower right corner to find a menu of places to look. Click the video play button in the middle of the page and watch the tutorial so you don't miss any of the many tips and tricks to get the most out of your virtual tour.

tag(s): 1700s (36), presidents (117), virginia (13), virtual field trips (78)

The Disability History Museum is dedicated to raising awareness about how culture, identity, and law have helped define the lives of those with disabilities. A digital archive of photographs, artifacts, cartoons, and other primary source material offers important context to the discussion. A small collection of lesson plans will assist in helping students talk about and understand their own assumptions and knowledge of what it means to live with disabilities, both historically, and in the present. A collection of digital exhibits is expected to be added in the near future.

tag(s): character education (74), disabilities (29), primary sources (106)

Bloomz is a tool that has more than six free features that teachers need to communicate with their classroom community: share photos, schedule conferences, send reminders, and more. These features are all in one place. So don't use one program to share photos, one to send reminders, one to share calendar updates, and another to schedule volunteers and conferences. Just use Bloomz and do all of the work from the same site. Once you have signed up with your email, watch the introduction video and view the demo class to see how easy Bloomz is to use. This tool works with all mobile devices and computers. Be sure to check out Bloomz' Privacy Polixy to read about their FERPA and COPPA compliance.

tag(s): calendars (40), communication (134), DAT device agnostic tool (139), images (260), parent conferences (21), parents (59), Teacher Utilities (135)

Looking for a quiz tool that is better than all the rest? Quizizz is a free tool. It works on any device: web browser, iOS, Android and Chrome apps. You can access hundreds of ready-made learning quizzes or create your own. Join as a teacher, pick a quiz, and use the code for a virtual room to give to your students. Alternatively, you can create your own quiz on Quizizz, even importing questions from excel/CSV files with just a click of a button. Students use the code to enter and submit a nickname, code name, or numerical name (students do not have to register). Quizziz now has to be marked as trusted by an administrator to be able to use it with your Google Classroom account, even if you have been using it. With Google Classroom students can join by signing in with their Google Account; just one click. Even better, if you assign a Quizizz through Google Classroom, all your data gets updated in your Classroom dashboard. You will get notifications when students complete assignments, and their responses and grades show. Teachers can choose to make their quiz public or private. Embed images with your questions. Check or uncheck the settings including music. You can even duplicate an existing quiz to save into My Quizizz. A created Quizizz can have randomized or non-randomized questions.

Don't miss the memes that are displayed when students answer a question; these are sure to be a hit with students. You can also customize your Quizizz by creating your own Memes. Use images of the school mascot, students pets, or favorite game characters to create a set of ten or more memes. Click the My Memes from the top menu, then the plus symbol. You are now ready to start. Be sure to Click "Start Game" after students have entered the code. Send the game link to students (or other teachers to use with their classes) by email, website, or social media. Set time limits of 30 seconds to 5 minutes for students to answer each question. This allows more time for more complex questions. Students earn points for speed and accuracy. Unlike other sites, both teacher and students can see the questions, answers, and the leader board throughout the quiz. Most other tools require the teacher to project the answers and leader board on a whiteboard. The leader board can be turned OFF in this tool as well. And, what is the best part of this tool? Two separate classes can play together using this tool. Quizziz works on any web enabled device including smartphones and tablets, and has an iOS app.

You can now email student reports to parents (even send the student reports to multiple/all parents at once), the main navigation bar has moved from the top to the left, and there is a search bar that you can access on all pages, and now you can search both your quizzes and your reports. Quizizz is now available in Spanish and will soon be adding other languages. Don't miss their new Jungle theme with music, backgrounds, and GIFs... oh my!

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (139), game based learning (173), gamification (74), polls and surveys (46), quiz (67), quizzes (89), spanish (102)

Find an answer to your question or great question starters for any conversation here with this free tool! Scroll through a few questions on the home page and click Find Out More to get to the answer. Enter your search terms or question into the search box (I want to find out about...) Scroll down further in the page to view specific topics such as Animals and Nature, Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life, History, Music, Art, and Literature, Math, and more! Scroll down further to find information by category: Quizzes, Videos, Fun Facts, Teachers and Parents. Create an account to save information in My Stuff. This tool has an option to sign up for a Teacher account, and coming soon will be the option for a Parent account.

tag(s): addition (126), animals (271), dinosaurs (37), division (97), earth (178), literature (217), multiplication (120), musical notation (35), plants (140), space (209), subtraction (108), writing (308)

Access commonly taught themes for classic literature and discussion questions for that theme. Plus there are Text Sets perfect for social studies teachers! Choose a Lexile'''''® grade level for reading and download the text in PDF format or read online. Each text has a menu across the top offering Paired Texts, Related Media, a Teachers Guide, and a Parent Guide. Accompanying the text are critical thinking questions, an Assessment, and some have Guided Reading Mode. Choose the size of the font, listen to the Read Aloud (and pause it), translate to Spanish, and Highlight. Track student progress. You can search by Book, Genre, Grade Level, Literary Device, Text Set, Theme, and Spanish Texts. All of this for free! What else could one want? Well, you can also request a text, and they will negotiate with the copyright holders to have that text on their site. Take a look at their blog, too! You'll find lots of suggestions and thoughtful reflections for using nonfiction texts with your students.

tag(s): critical thinking (108), differentiation (79), literature (217), reading comprehension (135), spanish (102), substitutes (27), Teacher Utilities (135), themes (11)