TeachersFirst's MakerSpace
Other TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections

This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about the MakerSpace movement and mindset. Engage your students, challenge their minds, teach cooperative learning, and more. There is no right or wrong way to do a MakerSpace. Use the tools provided to find digital options to use in your MakerSpace area.
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Coding In the Classroom Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): coding (76), computational thinking (32), computers (107), critical thinking (113), design (87), problem solving (277), STEM (215)
In the Classroom
Explore these resources for use with after-school computer clubs or as an excellent tool when recruiting skilled parent volunteers. Turn the intimidating content of computer programming into an exciting learning adventure for all with these helpful sites!You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Kodu Game Lab - Microsoft Research
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): coding (76), game based learning (159), gamification (78), Microsoft (49)
In the Classroom
Have students work in teams to design and develop content demonstrating an understanding of lessons in any subject area. Begin sharing Kodu with your computer experts who are interested in programming. Allow them to be the leaders in sharing how to use and personalize the program. Use Kodu as part of an after-school computer club. Be sure to take advantage of the resources section of Kodu for tips and tutorials on using the program.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Little Kids Rock - Jam Zone
Grades
K to 12tag(s): music theory (43), musical instruments (48), musical notation (39)
In the Classroom
Be sure to check out the Teacher Zone and its free lesson plans and resources. This site is perfect for differentiation in the music classroom. Allow students to choose an instrument and learn at their own pace and level. Share a link on your classroom website for students to practice at home. Take advantage of the vocal lessons to learn about songwriting. After watching videos, have students write a song to summarize a novel, share information on climate change, or sing about an event in history. You may wish to take that a bit further and challenge students to record the song using a tool such as UJAM, reviewed here, where you simply record your voice (even talking and not singing!). UJAM is free and synchronizes your voice and its speed to a variety of different background music options.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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MakerBot in Education - MakerBot Industries, LLC
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): crafts (40), creativity (102), drawing (71), modeling (8), robotics (23)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for materials and information about 3D printing. Take advantage of the downloadable materials when trying to find funding for a 3D printer. Once you receive your 3D printer, find many ideas and downloads at Sketchfab, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Musink - Musink
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): creativity (102), musical notation (39), Teacher Utilities (100)
In the Classroom
Demonstrate the art of composition while using Musink on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Share Musink with students and encourage them to create their own music. In Destination Imagination or Odyssey of the Mind, use your scores to showcase talent. In honoring multiple intelligences, highlight the students' with musical talent. While reading historical fiction novels, have students compose a song typical of that period with the commonly used instruments and style. Offer in after school clubs for music, guitar, or band.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Full Steam Ahead - Brunel's ss Great Britain
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1800s (57), DAT device agnostic tool (169), engineering (128), STEM (215)
In the Classroom
Share Full Steam Ahead with students as part of any STEM lesson on engineering or sink and float. After using the interactive several times, have students create a simple infographic sharing their ship-building observations using Easel.ly, reviewed here. The original ship was launched in 1843, have students compare the structure to other ships of the time or as a contrast to modern ships.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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KidsThinkDesign - Kids Design Collaborative
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animation (64), architecture (78), design (87), fashion (9), graphic design (43)
In the Classroom
Share KidsThinkDesign with your school's art teacher as an excellent addition to art lessons or for ideas to use as a collaborative project. Share with students as part of career exploration activities to help them learn about the different areas of design and also try some designs on their own. After creating a design, have students upload a photo they have taken and add voice bubbles to explain what they learned using a tool such as Phrase.it, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Instructables - Project Based Engineering for Kids - Autodesk, Inc.
Grades
K to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): engineering (128), makerspace (31), Problem Based Learning (7)
In the Classroom
Bring out the "inner engineer" in each of your students! During physical science units, visit this collection to get directions for students to build simple models to supplement content. You might want to visit the accompanying site How to Teach Project Based Engineering to Kids before getting started. Students can work in small groups to create a project. Different groups can demonstrate different laws of physics. Add this to your class website as a do-at-home project to encourage exploration at home. During language arts when focusing on using concise, clear, language, listen to the directions and use as a model. Enhance learning by having students write the scripts for creating other models using Google Docs or Microsoft Word. Using these online documents affords many benefits, including the ability to add comments, highlight information, and add links to online information. Extend learning by having students create a multimedia presentation featuring the directions and construction of the student model using Thinglink, reviewed here. With Thinglink students can annotate, narrate, and add related links to an image. In gifted and talented classes or pull out programs, consider for a beginning of a deeper understanding of the concepts. Move forward with virtual field trips to see the "real" machines at work. Find ideas for after school clubs, camps, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Virtual Musical Instruments - Virtual Musical Instruments
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): music theory (43), musical instruments (48)
In the Classroom
Virtual Musical Instruments opens up the world of music into many other subjects. In music class, discover the different instruments, sounds, and rhythms the virtual instruments can produce. Allow your students to make their own compositions. Challenge them to determine a way to give the directions for their composition to another person so that they can repeat the original piece. In language arts class, discuss mood in literature. Determine the instruments used, the rhythms, and sounds needed to make that effect. During Readers' Theater, add a musical score for more excitement and engagement with further analysis of the text. Have students create a musical composition that tells a story. Now, play that musical story for the class, and turn it into a writing prompt. Use musical sounds and beats to illustrate the concepts of literature and the use of plot. Determine a melody for each character. Write to explain why each character has that musical composition. Math class brings the study of fractions with types of notes: whole note, half note, quarter note, and eighth notes. Let students create a musical sentence that represents them and write to explain why. Use whatever recording option is most practical in your classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kotobana - Kotobana
Grades
K to 12tag(s): design (87), firstday (22), graphic design (43), symmetry (44)
In the Classroom
Demonstrate radial symmetry in an art or math class using this tool. As you teach letter shapes in kindergartens, try making a design to help your students see the shape in this colorful format. If you teach about fonts in an art or graphic design class, this tool can spark discussion about the design elements of letter forms. An idea for elementary or middle school teachers: Have students create "flowers" of their own names (or shortened nicknames) as a getting to know you activity during the first week of school. Post the design screenshot images on your class web page or print them to put in the hallway.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Circuit World - Cleo.net
Grades
4 to 11tag(s): circuits (19), electricity (87)
In the Classroom
Use this tool using an interactive whiteboard, projector, or individual computers. If your class is BYOD, this is a great tool for students to explore on their own. Allow students opportunity to play with this tool and determine the function of the various components. This would be a good introductory activity prior to a unit on electricity. Continue play as students learn more about the parts of an electrical circuit.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tinkercad - Circuits - Autodesk
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): circuits (19), electricity (87), makerspace (31)
In the Classroom
This site is a great addition to any classroom lesson or unit on electricity or circuits. Try the activities as a class on your interactive whiteboard or projector, explaining what the symbols mean. Have students complete activities on their own using classroom computers. Take screenshots of your digital different schematics they have created. Have students create an online presentation on electricity and circuits using using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge presentation tools. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Visme, Adobe Spark For Education, Kizoa, and My Simpleshow.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Spatulatta: Cooking 4 Kids Online - Spatulatta LLC.
Grades
2 to 8In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource during your unit on nutrition or in your FCS Foods class. Share the link on your teacher web page for access in and out of class. Encourage students to share the recipes at home and offer a class contest for the best healthy snack recipe. The prize: the class will submit the winning choice to the web site! If your PTO/PTA sponsors after school clubs, this site could be the core content for a great one.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Rube Goldberg Site - Rube Goldberg, Inc.
Grades
4 to 8tag(s): puzzles (193)
In the Classroom
Review the invention pictures included on this site on a projector or whiteboard as an activator activity for an inventions unit. Have students draw or design their own machine for performing a similar every-day task.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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