TeachersFirst's Reference Materials

 A collection of reference materials is an invaluable asset for students at all educational levels. Reference materials are helpful to all students, especially our multilingual learners. These materials serve as foundational tools for research, fact-checking, and expanding knowledge across various disciplines. Digital reference tools have revolutionized access to information, offering features like full-text search, multimedia content, translation, and other accessibility features. By leveraging these diverse reference materials, students can enhance their research skills, verify information accuracy, and develop a deeper understanding of their subjects, ultimately fostering academic success and lifelong learning habits.

Other TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections

Teachers Guide

 

0-20 of 25    Next

25 Results | sort by:

Less
More

Smithsonian Institution - Smithsonian

Grades
K to 12
  
The Smithsonian Institution website is a valuable resource for educators, offering access to a vast collection of digital exhibitions, lesson plans, and interactive learning tools....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

The Smithsonian Institution website is a valuable resource for educators, offering access to a vast collection of digital exhibitions, lesson plans, and interactive learning tools. Teachers can explore history, science, art, and culture topics through virtual tours, online activities, and curated educational materials from Smithsonian museums, research centers, and libraries. The site includes resources for all grade levels, including printable worksheets, videos, and inquiry-based lesson plans designed to engage students in critical thinking and discovery. It is an excellent tool for supplementing classroom instruction with high-quality, museum-based learning experiences. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): aircraft (17), critical thinking (128), inquiry (26), museums (53), space (220), virtual field trips (130)

In the Classroom

Explore historical innovations on the National Air and Space Museum or Smithsonian Science Education Center websites and challenge students to design and build a model inspired by a historical invention (ex., a Wright brothers' airplane or a Mars rover). Three-dimensional models can be created online using CoSpaces, reviewed here or Tinkercad, reviewed here. Have students explore a Smithsonian virtual exhibit, such as the National Museum of Natural History, and provide a scavenger hunt list with key artifacts, asking students to find and describe their significance. Select a primary source or artifact from the Smithsonian Learning Lab or a digital collection and have students analyze the object. Students can present their findings in an infographic using Canva Infographic Creator, reviewed here or make a mini-documentary using Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here.
Less
More

NASA - NASA

Grades
K to 12
   
NASA's official website is a rich educational resource for teachers, offering a vast collection of space-related content, lesson plans, videos, and interactive activities. Educators...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

NASA's official website is a rich educational resource for teachers, offering a vast collection of space-related content, lesson plans, videos, and interactive activities. Educators can access STEM-focused classroom materials, student challenges, and real-time NASA mission updates to engage students in space exploration and scientific discovery. The site includes sections on astronomy, engineering, Earth science, and robotics, with resources tailored for different grade levels. Teachers can also find virtual field trips, citizen science projects, and career insights to inspire students interested in space and technology. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): moon (73), planets (113), solar system (107), space (220), stars (70), STEM (298)

In the Classroom

Challenge students to create a simple paper model of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to explore aerodynamics and engineering. Have students create their models with a digital tool using CoSpaces, reviewed here or Tinkercad, reviewed here. They can also use these tools to design a sustainable Moon base using NASA guidelines after researching lunar environments. They can present their designs as a digital model or poster. Students can apply math skills to real-world NASA space missions, calculating rocket trajectories, planetary distances, and astronaut survival needs. Students can also take a virtual tour of the ISS, exploring astronaut life and experiments conducted in space.
Less
More

Science For A Changing World - USGS

Grades
K to 12
   
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) website is a valuable resource for teachers seeking reliable, science-based information on geography, geology, natural hazards, ecosystems, water resources,...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

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) website is a valuable resource for teachers seeking reliable, science-based information on geography, geology, natural hazards, ecosystems, water resources, and climate change. It provides interactive maps, real-time data, lesson plans, videos, and research articles that help students explore earthquakes, volcanoes, and landforms. The site also offers educational resources aligned with STEM learning, making it an excellent tool for engaging students in earth and environmental sciences through real-world data and scientific inquiry.

tag(s): climate change (100), earthquakes (46), ecosystems (83), geology (62), landforms (39), map skills (63), maps (220), natural disasters (18), STEM (298), volcanoes (55)

In the Classroom

Students can explore USGS topographic maps and identify major landforms. Have them use clay or papier-mache to create 3D models of mountains, valleys, or river systems. Use USGS Water Science School to learn about watersheds, groundwater, and precipitation and have students create a mini water cycle model using plastic containers, water, and a heat source. The water cycle can be built on Scratch, reviewed here or Tinkercad, reviewed here to incorporate technology in the classroom. Assign students a natural disaster (earthquake, flood, landslide, volcano) and use USGS hazard data to have students develop an emergency plan for a specific city or region.
Less
More

National Archives - The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Grades
3 to 6
  
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) website is valuable for teachers seeking primary sources, historical documents, and government records to enhance their...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

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) website is valuable for teachers seeking primary sources, historical documents, and government records to enhance their lessons. It provides access to a vast collection of materials, including the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, as well as photographs, letters, and military records. Teachers can use NARA's educational resources, lesson plans, and digital exhibits to bring history to life in the classroom. The site also includes interactive tools, such as DocsTeach, which allows students to analyze and engage with historical documents meaningfully. If your district blocks YouTube, then the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): bill of rights (34), constitution (98), declaration of independence (16), photography (131)

In the Classroom

Use DocsTeach to select a primary source related to your lesson (Declaration of Independence, Emancipation Proclamation, letters from historical figures) and have students answer questions about who wrote the document, why it was created, and how it relates to today's world. Show students a virtual tour or video from the National Archives YouTube Channel and take notes using Webnotes, reviewed here or TurboNote, reviewed here for a class discussion afterwards. Select a historical photograph, letter, or document from DocsTeach or archives.gov and provide students with limited context. In groups, students can play detective by analyzing clues (dates, signatures, language, historical events) to figure out the document's purpose and significance.
Less
More

WorldCat - OCLC, Inc.

Grades
K to 12
 
WorldCat is a global library catalog that allows teachers to search for books, articles, and other educational resources available in libraries worldwide. By entering a title, author,...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

WorldCat is a global library catalog that allows teachers to search for books, articles, and other educational resources available in libraries worldwide. By entering a title, author, or keyword, educators can locate materials in nearby libraries, access digital resources, and discover new teaching materials. WorldCat is beneficial for finding hard-to-access texts, historical documents, and academic research. Teachers can use it to expand their classroom library, recommend reading materials to students, or enhance lesson plans with diverse sources.

tag(s): authors (107), book lists (167), digital reading (17), Research (88), resources (83), Teacher Utilities (200)

In the Classroom

Have students search for a specific book, author, or topic related to your curriculum using WorldCat. Ask them to find the closest library with the book and compare availability across locations. Choose a novel or historical text related to your class and find different editions or translations on WorldCat. Have the class compare publication dates, cover designs, and publishers, then discuss how these factors might affect interpretation. Provide students with a historical event or literary movement and have them use WorldCat to locate a primary source (ex., original speeches, diaries, first editions) and present their source, explaining its historical significance and how it connects to modern perspectives.
Less
More

Geography - American Association of Geographers and Esri

Grades
3 to 12
 
Geography.com is an engaging educational resource that helps teachers bring geography to life in the classroom. The site offers interactive maps, quizzes, articles, and videos covering...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

Geography.com is an engaging educational resource that helps teachers bring geography to life in the classroom. The site offers interactive maps, quizzes, articles, and videos covering physical geography, human geography, climate, and world cultures. It provides student-friendly explanations, real-world examples, and multimedia content to support lessons on global issues, ecosystems, and geographic concepts. With its interactive approach, Geography.com is a valuable tool for fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and spatial awareness in students of all grade levels.

tag(s): climate (84), critical thinking (128), cultures (181), ecosystems (83), maps (220), multimedia (53)

In the Classroom

Have students explore Geography.com to find answers to questions about landforms, climates, and world regions. Create a bingo-style worksheet with prompts like "Find a fact about the Amazon Rainforest" or "Identify a country with multiple time zones". Using interactive maps from Geography.com, students choose a continent or country to study, and create an illustrated map that includes physical features, climate zones, and key cultural landmarks. Students can present their maps and explain how geography affects life in that region. Each student picks a country or city and writes five geography-based clues about it. Clues should include landforms, climate, population, or cultural features found on Geography.com.
Less
More

Library of Congress Research Guides - Library of Congress

Grades
4 to 12
Explore this valuable tool for educators; it offers curated collections of primary sources, historical documents, and research materials across a wide range of subjects. These guides...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

Explore this valuable tool for educators; it offers curated collections of primary sources, historical documents, and research materials across a wide range of subjects. These guides help teachers incorporate authentic historical artifacts, government records, and literary works into their lessons, enhancing students' critical thinking and research skills. With ready-to-use teaching resources, topic guides, and bibliographies, this site supports interdisciplinary learning and provides rich content for inquiry-based projects in history, literature, civics, and more.

tag(s): african american (116), architecture (76), black history (133), branches of government (65), civil rights (209), civil war (139), conservation (102), energy (133), engineering (129), environment (252), foreign policy (13), hispanic (36), industrialization (12), jews (33), latin (23), literature (221), middle east (50), native americans (109), nutrition (140), photography (131), politics (118), population (51), religions (95), Research (88), sports (82), statistics (121), Teacher Utilities (200), women (151), womenchangemaker (37), womens suffrage (52)

In the Classroom

Assign students to explore a Library of Congress guide on a historical event (ex., Civil Rights Movement, World War II) and have them read and summarize a firsthand account or diary (or blog) entry. Students can then write a journal entry or letter from someone who lived through the event. Try a simple blogging tool like Telegra.ph reviewed here. Choose a literature-focused research guide related to a classic novel or author (such as To Kill a Mockingbird or The Great Gatsby) and have students create a timeline using Time Graphics Timeline Maker, reviewed here or a newspaper front page using a template from Canva Infographic Creator, reviewed here.
Less
More

NPR- Breaking News, Analysis, Music, Arts, and Podcasts - NPR

Grades
K to 12
 
NPR (National Public Radio) is a valuable resource for educators, offering high-quality news, podcasts, and articles on current events, culture, science, and history. The site features...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

NPR (National Public Radio) is a valuable resource for educators, offering high-quality news, podcasts, and articles on current events, culture, science, and history. The site features engaging audio stories, in-depth journalism, and educational content that can enhance classroom discussions and critical thinking skills. Teachers can use NPR's stories to connect lessons to real-world events, introduce students to diverse perspectives, and encourage media literacy. Additionally, NPR's student-friendly resources, such as NPR Ed and Student Podcast Challenge, provide interactive and project-based learning opportunities.

tag(s): civil rights (209), cultures (181), journalism (74), news (228), podcasts (111), scientists (67), space (220)

In the Classroom

Have students listen to NPR's Student Podcast Challenge winners for inspiration and assign them to create a short podcast episode on a topic related to your curriculum. Use free tools like NPR's podcast resources or Buzzsprout, reviewed hereto guide their scriptwriting and recording process. Choose an NPR article and a similar report from another news source and have students analyze the tone, word choice, and sources used. Use NPR's science and history archives to explore a key discovery or event. Have students present their findings through a timeline project using Timeline Infographic Templates, reviewed here or Turbo Timeline Generator, reviewed here.
Less
More

Encyclopedia Britannica - Encyclopedia Britannica

Grades
K to 12
 
Britannica's main website is a comprehensive and reliable resource for teachers seeking accurate, well-researched information across a wide range of subjects. It offers encyclopedia...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

Britannica's main website is a comprehensive and reliable resource for teachers seeking accurate, well-researched information across a wide range of subjects. It offers encyclopedia articles, biographies, timelines, images, videos, and primary sources, making it a valuable tool for classroom instruction and student research. The site includes Britannica School, which provides leveled content for different grade levels, and Britannica Kids, designed for younger learners. With its fact-checked, up-to-date content, Britannica helps educators enhance lessons, support inquiry-based learning, and promote critical thinking skills.

tag(s): biographies (94), primary sources (119), Research (88), resources (83), timelines (56)

In the Classroom

Assign students a historical figure from Britannica's biography section and hold a "Meet the Influencers" day, where students dress up and present as their historical figure. Students pick a topic, use Britannica to research key details and gather images or videos. They create a short video (2-5 minutes) using Adobe Express Video Maker reviewed here or moovly reviewed hereexplaining their topic, incorporating facts from Britannica. Students develop their own research question use Britannica's resources to find answers and create a one-page infographic summarizing their findings using Canva Infographic Creator, < a href="/single.cfm?id=17570">reviewed here.
Less
More

Connected Papers - ConnectedPapers.com

Grades
K to 12
Connected Papers generates visual graphs of connected and similar papers based on your search queries. Begin with a search for a topic or use the name of a paper to ...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

Connected Papers generates visual graphs of connected and similar papers based on your search queries. Begin with a search for a topic or use the name of a paper to find academic research papers, select a title that fits your criteria, and then select a paper to build your graph. Create a graph with links to scholarly papers relating to your topic and clickable links to view the documents. Free accounts allow members to create five monthly graphs.

tag(s): professional development (385), Research (88)

In the Classroom

Share this site with high school students to find academic papers related to their current research projects or use this tool as a professional aid to research current teaching practices. If citing research found when using Connecting Papers, use MyBib, reviewed here to create citations in many different formats.
Less
More

ZeroGPT - ZeroGPT

Grades
4 to 12
ZeroGPT offers a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including a plagiarism checker, chat, summarizer, spell checker, citation generator, and more. Select a tool from the left...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

ZeroGPT offers a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including a plagiarism checker, chat, summarizer, spell checker, citation generator, and more. Select a tool from the left side of the chat box, then type in text, upload a document, or paste text to begin. Registration isn't required but allows you to save and access your history. Free plans include up to 15,000 characters in AI detection, 1,500 in the AI Summarizer, 300 words in the paraphraser, and 1,000 prompts in ZeroChat-4.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (182), citations (33), editing (93), plagiarism (34), summarizing (23), writing (324)

In the Classroom

Use ZeroGPT for several purposes, including checking student work for AI-written content with the AI detector tool. However, caution should be exercised, as not all information provided by AI tools is accurate. The AI checker gives you a percentage likelihood that the content is either written by AI or a human. This site should be used as part of a qualified educator's overall evaluation of work and not as a sole means of evaluation. If students use AI to create writing projects, images, or media, teach them to use the citation generator to provide credit for using AI in their work.
Less
More

Almanack - Almanack.ai

Grades
K to 12
 
Almanack uses AI (artificial intelligence) to generate lesson plans and materials for educators. Create an account to begin using Almanack and access your account dashboard. Select...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

Almanack uses AI (artificial intelligence) to generate lesson plans and materials for educators. Create an account to begin using Almanack and access your account dashboard. Select the Resources link to choose from options to create a resource. Options include assessments, group activities, slide decks, and additional activities. After selecting one of the tools, follow the prompts to add course information, learning objectives, and outcomes. Export materials created by Almanack to Google Docs, PowerPoint, or Google Slides and edit as needed, depending on the type of tool made. Use the Courses link to develop lessons and units using Almanack's suggestions or add information manually.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (182), assessment (148), presentations (23), Teacher Utilities (200), worksheets (70)

In the Classroom

Use Almanack to quickly create classroom slide presentations, worksheets, and learning activities. Quickly create materials to differentiate instruction using the same topic but adjusting for different grade levels to meet students' abilities. A straightforward way to learn how to use Almanack is by beginning with the resources section. For example, start with video recommendations to find YouTube videos to include with your lessons. Being as specific as possible with requests will lead to the best suggestions that meet your needs.
Less
More

MyBib - MyBib.com

Grades
6 to 12
MyBib is a bibliography and citation generator that offers many different citation styles. Use this simple tool to create and save citations for various resources, including websites,...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

MyBib is a bibliography and citation generator that offers many different citation styles. Use this simple tool to create and save citations for various resources, including websites, PDFs, and ISBN. Begin by selecting the type of resource from the options bar or drag a PDF onto the site. Follow the prompts that may ask for additional information. When finished, select the download option to copy and add to a document, choose from other options to print, add to Google Drive, and more. Creating an account is optional; however, it allows you to save your citations for future use. MyBib also offers a Chrome extension that creates citations directly from websites.

tag(s): citations (33), expository writing (31), persuasive writing (58), plagiarism (34), Research (88)

In the Classroom

Include this tool on all classroom computers and as a link on your class website for student use. This bibliography tool helps students properly format their Works Cited pages. Use this tool to help keep your students (or even yourself) organized! Make sure you teach plagiarism lessons about paraphrasing and proper citation of sources, so students use this tool properly! Take the drudgery out of writing formal papers by emphasizing thinking over mechanics. Whether teaching beginning research or seniors in high school, introduce them to MyBib. For younger students, seeing all the formatting and citing done correctly from the beginning makes sense, whether it is the body of the writing or the bibliography. With either age group, give lessons about each part of a paper or letter. Demonstrate on an interactive whiteboard (or with a projector) and think out loud as a group to pull together ideas, sources, quotes, and more to support an argument and build a paper. You can use it, too, when you write for your graduate program. Since you can choose from virtually any formatting style, you do not have to worry about memorizing punctuation and double-checking the format.
Less
More

Country Flag Pictures - FlagPictures

Grades
3 to 12
Flag Pictures shares information about country, military, marine, and military flags and their story. Explore flags by topic or use the search bar to find specific flags. Country results...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

Flag Pictures shares information about country, military, marine, and military flags and their story. Explore flags by topic or use the search bar to find specific flags. Country results include several data points, including population, capital, and more. Download any image using the provided link.

tag(s): countries (73), flags (18)

In the Classroom

Bookmark this site to use as a quick reference and resource for information about any country. Share results on your interactive whiteboard with students. Engage students in learning by using flag images from this site using Whiteboared.chat, reviewed here. Create and share a Whiteboard.chat with students and add the flag image. Ask students to add sticky notes to the board, sharing information they already know and questions they want to find out. As students learn more about countries and their flags, create digital books sharing their learning using Book Creator, reviewed here, that include student text, upload images, and videos.
Less
More

openverse - Creative Commons

Grades
5 to 12
openverse is a search tool to find free images that are available under public domain and Creative Commons licenses. At the time of this review, in Beta, is an Audio ...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

openverse is a search tool to find free images that are available under public domain and Creative Commons licenses. At the time of this review, in Beta, is an Audio search. Type your search term in the search bar to begin browsing. Narrow your options by using the available filters, including image type, file type, source, image ratio, and image size. Each image includes HTML attribution information to copy and paste onto your web page.

tag(s): copyright (44), creative commons (28), images (264), photography (131), search engines (48)

In the Classroom

Use this image search in a variety of ways for classroom use. Ask students to find images of cells, animals, geographic formations, etc. to use with class projects and presentations. Be sure to remind students to use the attribution link along with the photo, especially when publishing on the web. Keep this site as a reference link on your class web page for any time students are creating wikis, blogs, or electronic projects where they need images. They can find just the right picture with CC licensing, and you should require them to include the citation provided! Be sure that students understand the rules for sharing appropriate and inappropriate images and copyright concerns.
Less
More

National Park Service - National Park Service

Grades
5 to 12
   
Celebrate and learn about America's national parks through the home page of the National Park Service. This site provides comprehensive information on planning a park visit, exploring...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

Celebrate and learn about America's national parks through the home page of the National Park Service. This site provides comprehensive information on planning a park visit, exploring nature, and getting involved as a volunteer. Choose from a variety of lesson plans sortable by subject, grade level, and Common Core Standards. Find the lessons by clicking on the site menu, then slide over to Learn & Explore, slide down to Educators, choose your topic. Most lessons will have a download button to print lessons using the link to the PDF file. The National Park Service also offers several resources to loan to classrooms such as traveling trunks. Although traveling trunks ship for free; you pay for return shipping.

tag(s): animal homes (57), animals (294), habitats (92), national parks (29)

In the Classroom

Bookmark and save this site to use with a wide variety of language arts, science, and social studies activities. Take advantage of the free lesson plans to include with your classroom activities. Include the section for kids with your other bookmarks on classroom computers for students to explore during science centers or during free reading time as a non-fiction selection. Share images from the media gallery with students as you study biomes, states, or historic areas of the United States. As students learn about different parks around the country, ask them to modify their technology use to create infographics using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, to share facts and information. Transform student technology use even further by asking students to use Google My Maps, reviewed here, to create a virtual field trip to a national park or across different biomes found in the United States. Include this site with your history lessons then ask students to use Google My Maps, reviewed here, to create an animated map telling the story of historic events including text, images, historical maps, and more.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
Less
More

Dictionary.com - Dictionary.com, LLC

Grades
4 to 12
Dictionary.com provides much more information than a typical dictionary. Browse the page to find the Word of the Day, grammar tips, and word trends. Use the menu tabs at 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

Dictionary.com provides much more information than a typical dictionary. Browse the page to find the Word of the Day, grammar tips, and word trends. Use the menu tabs at the top of the page to play games, find the meaning of Emojis, Slang, Acronyms, and more. Creating an account isn't necessary; however, it allows you to save words as favorites.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147), dictionaries (48), game based learning (205), thesaurus (22), word choice (14)

In the Classroom

Use this online dictionary instead of printed dictionaries and thesauruses in the classroom. Be sure to share a link to this site on your class website. Display the word of the day on your interactive whiteboard as a lesson starter during writing or language arts lessons. Ask students to include featured words during writing activities using Google Documents, then highlight each time the word is used. Take it a "tech" step further and have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. Dive even deeper and have students or groups of students create daily video presentations featuring their choice for word of the day (or week) using a tool like Powtoon, reviewed here. Share their videos on a site such as TeacherTube, reviewed here.
Less
More

Space, NASA Information and News - Tech Media Network

Grades
3 to 12
 
Space.com is your one stop extraterrestrial resource! Featuring current information and articles about all things out of this world, Space.com is a resource full of images, videos,...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

Space.com is your one stop extraterrestrial resource! Featuring current information and articles about all things out of this world, Space.com is a resource full of images, videos, and interactives. Images here are brilliant and beautiful. Articles are professional and meaningful.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): moon (73), nasa (28), space (220), stars (70), sun (70)

In the Classroom

Share the videos and activities on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Try using this website as a resource in art class to have students find a picture and recreate it though their own interpretation. Have students in a language arts class choose a photograph and create a story about how it came to be as a creative writing exercise. Have students in science class use it as a research resource for adding great images to their presentations. Or assign a particular article that relates to an astronomy class, have the whole class read it as homework, and then have them post reactions on a class wiki page. Not familiar with wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.
Less
More

World Sites Atlas - sitesatlas.com

Grades
3 to 12
Look up countries, continents, animals and other features to make the world come alive using this interactive site. One of the easiest ways to find maps available is to choose ...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

Look up countries, continents, animals and other features to make the world come alive using this interactive site. One of the easiest ways to find maps available is to choose the map link near the top of the site to get a listing of all maps available. You can also scroll down and search by state. Selections include physical and political world maps, maps by continent or region, countries and territories, U.S. states and Canadian provinces, maps of U.S. cities, and thematic world maps. The thematic world map may be particularly useful in some classrooms as it offers interesting statistical information such as public debt, internet users, and many more topics.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): continents (33), countries (73), maps (220), states (124), statistics (121)

In the Classroom

Share this site with your students on your interactive whiteboard or projector, and then allow them to explore on their own on classroom computers. Create a scavenger hunt for students to find information included on maps located on the site. Have students find interesting facts, then prepare a scavenger hunt for other students.
Less
More

Khan Academy - Sal Khan

Grades
4 to 12
 
There are plenty of helpful sites to learn content. What makes this so special? Created by an uncle wanting to help his nieces learn material, Khan Academy has grown into ...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

There are plenty of helpful sites to learn content. What makes this so special? Created by an uncle wanting to help his nieces learn material, Khan Academy has grown into a Creative Commons attributed site for helping all students. What information is available? Maybe one should ask: What are you looking for? View a vast array of videos on many topics: SAT prep, Algebra, Geometry, Chemistry, Biology, History, Trigonometry, Calculus, Economics, Brain Teasers, Banking and Money, Statistics, Finance, Physics, and more....Whew! The only problem? The videos are hosted on You Tube. If your district blocks You Tube, then they may not be viewable. Ed note: An alternative is to access Khan Academy through iTunes U FREE downloads, assuming you can load and access iTunes!

tag(s): atoms (43), cells (82), energy (133), functions (52), homework (29), matter (45), molecules (43), photosynthesis (21), respiration (11), structures (18)

In the Classroom

Share the site with your students in order to access at home for homework help. List this link on your class website. If you are unable to view this site on student computers but You Tube is unblocked for teachers, consider using a projector or interactive whiteboard to show to the whole class. Use your google account to log in once you click on the exercises link. From there, find access to exercises that students can complete that are related to each video. Encourage students to share links to specific videos they find helpful on a "Video Reviews" (yes, that is a pun) page of your class wiki. For a very real challenge, have students create their own simple review videos in the Khan Academy style using FlexClip, reviewed here. FlexClip is designed to allow you to create short animated or explainer videos to share on YouTube and other social media sites, then, upload to SchoolTube, TeacherTube, or YouTube, whichever works best in your school. Embed them on your class wiki for a year-to-year student-made study guide!
0-20 of 25    Next