TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Nov 11, 2018

Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive

 

Less
More

For the Teachers - For the Teachers

Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites 0  Comments
  
For the Teachers contains an incredible number of lesson ideas, differentiation tips, instructional strategies, and much more for all teachers. Search for specific content using the...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

For the Teachers contains an incredible number of lesson ideas, differentiation tips, instructional strategies, and much more for all teachers. Search for specific content using the keyword search or scroll down the home page to find some of the site's most popular content. There is a great deal of useful content on the site to explore, of note is the Reading Skills for Big Kids and Differentiation links. The Reading Skills for Big Kids includes skill-based lesson plans for use with the many included leveled articles. The Differentiation portion of the site provides specific ideas and tools to differentiate content, assessment, and lesson activities and materials.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): characterization (16), charts and graphs (168), constitution (86), differentiation (83), graphic organizers (48), inferencing (7), mean (19), measurement (125), median (16), mode (13), multiplication (122), patterns (63), place value (34), plot (7), reading comprehension (142), rubrics (33), sequencing (17)

In the Classroom

Be sure to bookmark this site to save as a favorite to find lesson ideas and activities throughout the school year. When planning for a substitute, look through the site to find useful ideas for lessons and planning organizers. There is so much material here to use, consider exploring the site with peers using techniques similar to a book study. Divide the site into sections to discuss at different times of your study. Organize your favorite materials from this site and your other resources using Padlet, reviewed here. Share your Padlet with peers to collaborate and create a useful time for organizing and sharing your favorite teaching materials. Supplement information included on report cards by using a site like Seesaw, reviewed here, to create portfolios for your students to demonstrate progress in reading, math, and other content areas. Include student-created projects based on activities found on For the Teachers.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

ytCropper - 10 Best Design

Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites 0  Comments
  
Do you want to share just a portion of a YouTube video? ytCropper is your solution, no registration required. Enter the URL of the video and select Crop! to begin. ...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

Do you want to share just a portion of a YouTube video? ytCropper is your solution, no registration required. Enter the URL of the video and select Crop! to begin. Use the handles on the timeline bar to adjust your video stop and start times then select Crop! again. When finished, ytCropper provides a direct link to your shortened video along with an embed code for use in websites or blogs.

tag(s): conversions (36), movies (51), video (256)

In the Classroom

Use ytCropper to highlight specific information from YouTube videos for student use. After creating a shortened clip, encourage students to predict what comes next or use the segment before showing the entire video. Flip your classroom and ask students to use ytCropper to share important information from videos or highlight portions that need further clarification. Using shorter video segments offers many opportunities to use video clips within other online tools. For example, have students enhance their learning by uploading an image related to their science research and add annotations. Use Google Drawings, reviewed here, to include shortened video clips, images, and text to describe the stages of plant growth, introduce a political figure, or provide background for a novel. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here. Google Drawings presents a variety of levels for technology use depending on teacher requirements for the project, or even student ability; it allows for adding narration, videos, text and links to help explain what certain parts of the topic are about. Ask students to include shorter clips within multimedia projects created using a tool like Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here, to redefine classroom technology use and their learning and understanding.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

STEAM Art Lessons - Tricia Fuglestad

Grades
K to 8
3 Favorites 0  Comments
  
Do you need inspiration for art and technology-rich STEAM lessons? Take a look at the many ideas on this site created by art teacher Tricia Fuglestad. Lesson topics include ideas ...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

Do you need inspiration for art and technology-rich STEAM lessons? Take a look at the many ideas on this site created by art teacher Tricia Fuglestad. Lesson topics include ideas based on famous works of art like Edvard Munch's The Scream and Gilbert Stuart's George Washington portrait. Each lesson consists of a link to the blog post describing the lesson; many of these also include a video overview of the activity. Several ideas are also offered for Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat. Editor's Note: Some links in the lessons go to a paid site to purchase lesson materials such as PowerPoints. The free lesson ideas and suggestions on this site are sufficient for creating and teaching these ideas without buying anything additional.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): black history (121), coding (87), creativity (92), digital storytelling (142), dr seuss (6), drawing (60), environment (238), graphic design (50), great depression (28), literacy (106), nutrition (134), photography (131), poetry (188), problem solving (225), qr codes (17), read across america (3), STEM (259), stories and storytelling (40), symmetry (27)

In the Classroom

If you feel that you are strong in the arts but not technology (or the other way around), find a teaching partner that complements your strength and work together to teach lessons from this site. Use ideas from here in your classroom makerspace. Use Wakelet, reviewed here, to add notes and questions as you prepare to teach lessons from this blog. Wakelet offers the ability to collaborate and share with others through the addition of written and audio notes to any web page. Use lesson activities found on this site as a replacement for traditional research projects, book reports, or written reports. Have students use a blogging tool like edublog, reviewed here, to share images and videos of their work from start to finish and to reflect upon learning. Have older students extend learning through the use of Symbaloo Learning Paths, reviewed here. Ask them to research and find additional information on the topic of your lesson and create a learning path for other students to complete. For younger students, create a Symbaloo Learning Path for students to complete as a center activity to complement your STEAM learning activities.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

POV For Educators - American Documentary, Inc. PBS (KQED)

Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites 0  Comments
   
POV documentaries, presented by PBS, offers these standards-aligned free lesson plans, discussion guides, and reading lists for over 200 online film clips from the documentaries. Deepen...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

POV documentaries, presented by PBS, offers these standards-aligned free lesson plans, discussion guides, and reading lists for over 200 online film clips from the documentaries. Deepen student's media analysis skills by using the first themed lesson plan for Media Literacy. Find other Lesson Plan Themes categorized by subjects, The lesson plans can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF file. This link is for the POV archived documentaries. There is a link at the top of the page for their new POV site.

tag(s): black history (121), cultures (132), disabilities (29), elections (80), politics (113), veterans (20), video (256), women (136)

In the Classroom

Bookmark and look at POV first for any of the listed themes that come up throughout the school year. The lesson plans also have extension activities, many for inquiry or research. Show these to students and have them choose one to extend their learning. If your students need an introduction or review of research skills you may want to parallel the POV lesson with R4S: Research for Success, reviewed here. As you work through the lesson, ask students to keep a journal about what they are learning and questions they still have. Subtitute paper and pen journals for a digital journal using a tool like Penzu, reviewed here; with Penzu you can add images or your own artwork as illustrations. As a culmination activity enhance student's understanding by having them put together an interactive infographic about their learning for you and their peers using Infogram, reviewed here.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

Graphic Organizer Resources - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites 0  Comments
This collection of reviewed resources includes tools for creating graphic organizers and many suggestions for ways to use them in teaching almost any subject or grade. Be sure to read...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

This collection of reviewed resources includes tools for creating graphic organizers and many suggestions for ways to use them in teaching almost any subject or grade. Be sure to read the "In the Classroom" suggestions for examples of ways to use graphic organizers as part of a lesson or unit.

tag(s): graphic organizers (48), mind map (25), venn diagrams (15)

In the Classroom

Whether you call them concept maps, mind maps, KWLs, or graphic organizers, these visual diagrams show relationships between concepts and provide a powerful tool for learning and connecting new ideas. Use graphic organizers to help your visual learners build reading comprehension. Find something for all grade levels in this collection.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

Substitutes - Ideas and Resources - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites 0  Comments
Peruse this collection of ideas and reviewed resources selected to help both substitute teachers and regular teachers leaving instructions for a substitute. The list includes useful...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

Peruse this collection of ideas and reviewed resources selected to help both substitute teachers and regular teachers leaving instructions for a substitute. The list includes useful time-fillers for when plans are not a perfect fit as well as teacher-friendly suggestions to make subbing a positive learning experience for all.

tag(s): substitutes (27)

In the Classroom

Whether you are a substitute looking for some "filler" ideas or a classroom teacher looking for new sites, check out this list of resources. Share this list on your class website for families to use at home. This list includes resources for young readers and secondary students.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

Mentoring Resources - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 12
0 Favorites 0  Comments
This collection from TeachersFirst features resources to help teachers mentor students. Find tools to use with all grade levels. Here you will find tools to help students prepare for...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

This collection from TeachersFirst features resources to help teachers mentor students. Find tools to use with all grade levels. Here you will find tools to help students prepare for college or a future career, anti-violence tools, ways to empower girls, character building, and more. Use these tools to coach, lead, teach, and mentor in your classroom and beyond.

tag(s): bullying (49), mentoring (5), social and emotional learning (80)

In the Classroom

Share sites with the entire class or find specific tools that are useful for individual students in your class. This is a great list to share with parents at the beginning of the year, and list on your class website!

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

Twitter Chat Archives - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites 0  Comments
View and explore this collection of all of the TeachersFirst archived Twitter chats. Topics range from flexible seating to music resources to personalized learning, virtual collaboration,...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

View and explore this collection of all of the TeachersFirst archived Twitter chats. Topics range from flexible seating to music resources to personalized learning, virtual collaboration, and more. New archives are added frequently, so check back often.

tag(s): PLN (6), professional development (388)

In the Classroom

Explore the Twitter chat archives for ideas to add to your professional learning. Learn about new tools for your classroom and new educational trends.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

Digital Citizenship Resources - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites 0  Comments
This editor's choice curated list of reviewed resources focuses on digital citizenship. Explore topics such as: protecting your digital footprint, protecting your identity, "netiquette,"...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

This editor's choice curated list of reviewed resources focuses on digital citizenship. Explore topics such as: protecting your digital footprint, protecting your identity, "netiquette," and much more. Find varying levels of information for different age groups and materials to help parents cooperate in educating their children about digital citizenship.

tag(s): digital citizenship (83), internet safety (112)

In the Classroom

Use this entire collection or simply select the best ones for YOUR students to continually model good digital citizenship. Share the links with parents and among your colleagues so you can promote positive action instead of fear about the Internet.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

Class Responder - Teacher Created Resources

Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites 0  Comments
  
Interact with students in real-time with Class Responder. Assign lessons, create quizzes and activities, then view student responses on any device. Create your account with email, then...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

Interact with students in real-time with Class Responder. Assign lessons, create quizzes and activities, then view student responses on any device. Create your account with email, then follow prompts to add students, create groups, and choose response options. Class Responder activities are for grades 1-6, however, you can create your own for older students. Activities offered on the site include correlation to state and national standards. This is a terrific tool for differentiation and keeping abreast of how special needs students are understanding an assignment.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): classroom management (128), DAT device agnostic tool (143), polls and surveys (46), substitutes (27), Teacher Utilities (146)

In the Classroom

Be sure to click the "Help" link at the bottom of a page or the upper right corner of any page for information about using and setting up Class Responder. Use Class Responder in a 1:1 classroom, then have students provide feedback in real-time to demonstrate understanding. Use as an exit slip, to identify material that needs to be retaught, or to locate specific students that need remediation. Class Responder is perfect for use in flipped or blended learning classrooms to share videos and ask questions before students come to class. Create several activities to save just in case you need an extra lesson on short notice, need to have a substitute, or to use as an at-home lesson for snow days.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

Online Tools and Timesavers Editor's Choice Resources - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 12
4 Favorites 0  Comments
This collection of Editors' Choice FREE, reviewed resources was selected to help teachers and students save time using handy online tools that get the job done and make your classroom...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

This collection of Editors' Choice FREE, reviewed resources was selected to help teachers and students save time using handy online tools that get the job done and make your classroom run smoothly. Find tools for organizing and communicating, managing your classroom, do-it-yourself creating, sharing links, useful utilities, saving paper, and much more. For a more extensive collection, see our full listing of online tools.

tag(s): classroom management (128)

In the Classroom

Mark this one in your favorites as a sanity saver. You may not remember the name of each handy timesaver, but having the collection close "at hand" will help you find them easily. Use your free TeachersFirst membership to rate them or mark individual favorite tools and share them with your students on your public page.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

NameCoach - Praveen Shanbhag

Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites 0  Comments
 
Never mispronounce a name again, thanks to the help of NameCoach! Record names using your own computer or any other device. Add phonetic spelling or pronunciation tips. You can listen...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

Never mispronounce a name again, thanks to the help of NameCoach! Record names using your own computer or any other device. Add phonetic spelling or pronunciation tips. You can listen to the names as often as you wish. Create your account to make lists for Back to School, award ceremonies, graduations, and much more. After creating your name page, share a link with peers through email or as a link on your class webpage or blog. Share the link in your substitute plans, too! Create a master list with sublists for use in different departments, classes, or for individual events.

tag(s): classroom management (128), pronunciation (33), substitutes (27)

In the Classroom

Create a master list of student names in your school or class using NameCoach. Provide a subset for different activities such as award ceremonies, after-school programs, or for student tutors. Share with your school's ENL/ELL teacher as an authentic way to learn and practice unfamiliar names. Provide this list (and URL) to any substitute coming to your classroom. Use it in world language classes to help students learn pronunciation of new names.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

Help! I lost my library/media specialist - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 5
0 Favorites 0  Comments
 
Help I lost my library/media specialist offers read-along and activity ideas written by an experienced elementary library/media specialist for schools where budget cuts have...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

Help I lost my library/media specialist offers read-along and activity ideas written by an experienced elementary library/media specialist for schools where budget cuts have forced the elimination of the library/media specialist. Although nothing can replace the specialized knowledge of a teacher-librarian, you have students whose elementary years are passing quickly. Find new features about once a month, suggestions that classroom teachers or parent volunteers can offer as positive experiences in the school library/media center throughout the elementary grades. Planned features will include both professional articles on promoting reading and activities to do directly with students.

tag(s): book lists (159), independent reading (85), literacy (106), reading lists (80)

In the Classroom

Mark this one in your favorites as you plan for classroom or library read-along and information literacy lessons. Share the ideas with parent volunteers and other teachers within your school as you struggle to "do more with less." Use the "share" widget to send great ideas to fellow teachers or afterschool program coordinators, as well. Share the URL for the current read-along list on your class web page so parents can do read-alongs at home, too. Need help finding the books you want from this list in your school library? Use the ISBNs to search for them on interlibrary loan from a local public library.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close

Less
More

Bulletin Board Hang Ups - TeachersFirst

Grades
2 to 12
17 Favorites 0  Comments
TeachersFirst provides this collection of printable quotations, ready for your classroom or bulletin board. Inspire, engage, or challenge your students to think with quotes from famous...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

TeachersFirst provides this collection of printable quotations, ready for your classroom or bulletin board. Inspire, engage, or challenge your students to think with quotes from famous leaders, sports figures, thinkers, and writers.

tag(s): bulletin boards (14), quotations (20)

In the Classroom

They look great printed on brightly colored paper! As an opening day activity, challenge small groups of students to interpret the quote hanging closest to them and predict how it may be important in your course this year. For younger students, ask them to write a paraphrase or to illustrate the quote. Be sure to change the quotes periodically and give a prize to the first student who notices. Or give a pop-quiz during the last week of school, asking students to recall as many of the year's quotes as they can (working in small groups will probably help). If you have classroom blogs, ask students to choose and reflect on a specific quote and its relevance to your class throughout the past year.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close