Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Enter the world of Ultimate Camp Resources and find a myriad of songs, games, and more to use at home, at camp, or in a classroom. Download and print all skits, songs, games or just the one you're interested in. Some of the songs even have videos!

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Teampedia is a comprehensive and collaborative resource for finding icebreakers, team building, and leadership activities. Browse through almost 100 categories on this wiki. Find trust activities, getting to know you, and online/remote team building. Explore activities based on the group size involved. If you have a great activity and don't see it, add it to Teampedia by following the steps provided. Each game or activity includes a list of materials needed, number of players, time required, and directions for play. Some directions for strategy games also include strategy options.

tag(s): back to school (63), creativity (91), firstday (22), problem solving (226)

Chatzy offers no-frills, easy to use private chat rooms with no sign-up required! Fill out the simple start-up form with your name, chat title, message, and participant's emails. Participants instantly receive an email with your message and a direct link to the room. Room administrator options include allowing or turning off emoticons, images, and videos. The Save/Print options allow administrators to keep a record of any conversations. There is a setting to use Chatzy on mobile devices with smaller screens, as well. Note: Some school networks block all chat tools, so check in advance whether you can access it if you plan to use this tool at school.

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Give yourself a brain break using the interactive classroom resources at GoNoodle. These activities promote health, fitness, and mindfulness and are based on cutting edge research. These engaging games and activities provide short bursts of movement leading to improved focus and energy within the classroom. Sign-up using your Google account, or create an account with your email. Signing-up with Google, allows you to sign-in with your Google Classroom account. If you have multiple groups of students (or classes) start by naming your class(es), since each class will show progression on this tool. Choose from Topics, Activities and Routines, Channels, Skills and Knowledge, or New on GoNoodle (directions for registering and other features). Each title has multiple sub-categories. Some options are for paid memberships only. None of the games takes longer than five minutes. While most of these are physical tasks, a few are mental/logic activities. Time required for the activity is shown with each option. Registration does require an email address. If your district blocks YouTube, some activities may not be viewable.

tag(s): classroom management (128), fitness (38), logic (164), preK (256)

Find drama instruction including lessons, games, and strategies. Choose the Games link to find a game of the week as well as many other activities for icebreakers, improvisation, storytelling, and more. Explore many different dramatic strategies through brief descriptions, videos, and downloadable templates. Choose from several primary drama lessons including one on anti-bullying. There are also history-related "dramas" such as World War II Evacuees to bring historical events to life. A new addition to the site is Making Drama Out of a Crisis - teaching drama online or socially distanced. The site was created in the UK, so some of the pronunciations and spellings may differ from those in American English.
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This site contains how-to videos for kids. Topics include science, paper airplanes, cooking, origami, cartooning, puppets, music, dance, math, and holidays. A summary next to the activity title gives the appropriate level, the number of views, and a starred evaluation of the demonstration. Craft ideas and demos finish up the educational portion of the offerings. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

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Here is a useful blog created by a high school teacher who saw the value of "Brain Breaks" in his own classroom. Many of the activities could be used with older elementary and middle school students. The blog contains postings from several teachers. Each posting consists of a write-up of the activity as well as a video of the actual activity. The link provides practical uses and allows you to add your own as well. Breaks are archived so you can look at previous months. You can also download them. There are some great "breaks" at this site. Substitutes- take a look at a few of these brain breaks to use with students during your day. They're quick and you'll become the favorite sub to have!

tag(s): back to school (63)

Start the first day of school or a new marking period with a getting-to-know-you activity from this great, searchable collection. The activities are designed for all ages, so some will not work well with very young ones (such as writing things on slips of paper). The site is easy to navigate and sorts ideas by group size and activity level for easy retrieval. There are also activity suggestions for distance and remote learning. You are also invited to submit your own ideas. Since the site is designed for general use, not for schools, some ideas may be impractical in a classroom setting but could be easily adapted. Substitutes - cgeck out some of these icebreakers, the kids will love them....and you!

tag(s): back to school (63), firstday (22), newbies (14), remote learning (61), substitutes (27)