Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

PBS LearningMedia's New York portal offers a curated collection of educational resources focused on the electrician profession, suitable for K-12 learning. This collection includes engaging videos that introduce students to the roles and responsibilities of electricians, highlighting the skills and knowledge required in the field. Resources such as "The Electrician: I Can Be What?!" and "Electrician: Job Pop!" provide insights into the daily tasks and career pathways of electricians, making them valuable tools for career exploration and STEM education. Teachers can utilize these materials to enhance lessons on electricity, circuits, and vocational studies, fostering students' understanding of the electrical trade and its significance in various industries.

tag(s): careers (179), electricity (61), STEM (304)

PBS LearningMedia's Dancer and Dance Jobs collection features an assortment of resources, including videos, audio, documents, lesson plans, webpages, and collections for grades kindergarten through twelfth. There are over one hundred resources available to search. Videos are available on designing swimming prosthetics for a dancer, a dancer's career path, Irish jig dancers, Native American dancers, and more. Lesson plans contain a summary, time allotted, learning objectives, preparation, procedure, and standards. Filters are available to sort by grade level, subject, resource type, length of video/audio, language, accessibility, and additional features. Everything in the collection can be shared via Google Classroom, a link to students, and social sharing. Lessons can also be built upon once you log into the site.

tag(s): careers (179), dance (33)

Explore this collection about culinary jobs featuring a variety of resources, including videos, audio, documents, lesson plans, webpages, and collections for grades kindergarten through twelfth. There are thousands of resources available to search. Videos are available on future jobs, culinary chefs, culinary instructors, math at a restaurant, and more. Lesson plans contain a summary, time allotted, learning objectives, preparation, procedure, and standards. Filters are available to sort by grade level, subject, resource type, length of video/audio, language, accessibility, and additional features. Everything in the collection can be shared via Google Classroom, a link to students, and social sharing. Lessons can also be built upon once you log into the site.

tag(s): careers (179), cooking (33)

PBS offers this Business Careers collection, which features various resources, including videos, audio, documents, lesson plans, webpages, and collections for kindergarten through twelfth grade. There are thousands of resources available to search. Videos on business management, e-business, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, and more are available. There are lesson plans on finding your career path, the oil boom's effect, the economics of yesterday and today, and more. Lesson plans contain a summary, time allotted, learning objectives, preparation, procedure, and standards. Filters are available to sort by grade level, subject, resource type, length of video/audio, language, accessibility, and additional features. Everything in the collection can be shared via Google Classroom, a link for students, and social sharing. Lessons can also be built upon once you log into the site.

tag(s): business (53), careers (179)

Discover this Automotive collection provides a wide range of resources for grades K-12, including videos, audio clips, documents, lesson plans, webpages, and curated collections. With over a thousand materials to explore, topics cover areas such as automotive technology instruction, the history of cars, NASCAR, and careers in transportation. Each lesson plan includes a summary, estimated time, learning objectives, preparation guidelines, step-by-step procedures, and alignment to standards. Resources can be easily filtered by grade level, subject, type, media length, language, accessibility, and additional features. Materials are easily shareable via Google Classroom, direct student links, and social media, and registered users have the option to modify and expand upon existing lessons.

tag(s): careers (179)

View this Aviation collection, which offers various resources for grades K-12, including videos, audio clips, documents, lesson plans, webpages, and curated collections. With over a thousand resources available, topics range from helicopter pilots and aviation careers to how bees have influenced flight. Lesson plans highlight figures like Amelia Earhart and explore the science of things that fly, each featuring a summary, time requirements, learning objectives, preparation steps, procedures, and standards alignment. You can filter resources by grade level, subject, resource type, media length, language, accessibility options, and more. Materials can be easily shared through Google Classroom, direct links, or social media, and logged-in users can customize and build upon existing lessons.

tag(s): aviation (41), careers (179)

PBS LearningMedia's Architecture collection offers a wide range of resources for grades K-12, including videos, audio clips, documents, lesson plans, webpages, and curated collections. Topics cover architectural styles, famous landmarks, geometric and organic shapes, careers in architecture, Black history, and more. Lesson plans feature clear summaries, time requirements, learning objectives, preparation steps, procedures, and alignment with standards. Educators can easily filter materials by grade level, subject, resource type, media length, language, accessibility options, and other features. Resources can be shared through Google Classroom, direct links, or social media, and registered users can customize and build upon existing lessons.

tag(s): architecture (84), careers (179)

Twinkl Home Educators' "Time Explorers Lesson One--The Ancient Maya" is a forty-four-minute YouTube video. The video explores who the Ancient Mayans were, what their beliefs were, and how they lived. It is recommended that you have an atlas and a copy of the Activity Sheet Maya Map, which you will find in the planning pack linked below the video. If your district blocks YouTube, then the video may not be viewable.
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tag(s): central america (26), mayans (32), mexico (46)

The History of Maya Civilization for Kids page on Bedtime History offers an engaging, narrative-style introduction to the ancient Maya civilization, tailored for young learners. Through vivid storytelling, it covers key aspects such as the Maya's agricultural practices, city structures, trade routes, religious beliefs, and notable cities like Tulum and Chichen Itza. If your district blocks YouTube, then the video may not be viewable.

tag(s): architecture (84), central america (26), mayans (32), mexico (46)

Discover this collection of high-quality, downloadable maps related to ancient Maya civilization. The site includes maps of important cities, regions, and trade routes, as well as depictions of the Maya world at different points in history. These resources are designed to support classroom lessons, research projects, and student exploration of Maya geography and culture. The maps are detailed yet easy to understand, making them a valuable visual aid for enhancing history and social studies instruction at multiple grade levels.

tag(s): central america (26), mayans (32), mexico (46)

Digital Maps of the Ancient World: The History of the Maya is a free website that shares an overview of the Ancient Mayan civilization. The site highlights the Mayan culture's rise, accomplishments, religion, and decline.

tag(s): central america (26), mayans (32), mexico (46)

View this interactive exploration of 15 significant ancient Maya cities, spanning from Chichen Itza in Mexico to Copan in Honduras. Each site features detailed descriptions highlighting architectural marvels, cultural practices, and historical significance, providing students with a comprehensive understanding of the Maya civilization's complexity and achievements. This resource is ideal for educators seeking to enrich lessons on ancient civilizations, geography, or archaeology, allowing students to virtually explore the Maya world and engage with its rich heritage.

tag(s): central america (26), mayans (32), mexico (46)

The Getty Museum's Art & Language Arts curriculum offers free, high-quality resources that integrate visual art with reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities. Designed especially for elementary classrooms, the lessons encourage students to closely observe artworks, build descriptive language skills, and express themselves creatively. With ready-to-use plans, discussion prompts, and interdisciplinary project ideas, this site helps teachers make strong connections between literacy and the visual arts while fostering critical thinking and imagination. All materials are easy to access and align well with English Language Arts and Visual Arts standards.

tag(s): art history (106)

The Getty Museum's Art & Architecture curriculum offers a rich collection of free resources designed to help teachers introduce students to key concepts in art history, architecture, and design. Through hands-on lessons, students explore how artists and architects use elements like form, function, and materials to shape the world around us. The site provides detailed lesson plans, discussion prompts, and activities that connect visual arts with history, math, and science standards. These resources encourage critical thinking, creativity, and deeper appreciation of art and built environments.

tag(s): architecture (84), art history (106), critical thinking (135)

Milo is a vibrant animated series on PBS KIDS that introduces preschoolers to a wide range of careers through imaginative role-play. The show follows Milo, a curious 5-year-old cat, and his best friends Lofty the giraffe and Lark the bird as they explore various professions by trying on different uniforms and stepping into new roles. Each 11-minute episode focuses on a specific job--such as firefighter, doctor, astronaut, or chef--and emphasizes teamwork, problem-solving, and perseverance.

tag(s): careers (179), communities (39), preK (277)

"Jamming on the Job" by PBSKids contains episodes on various careers. Career episodes include park ranger, costume designer, marine scientist, video game designer, language instructor, robotics engineer, and more. Episodes are eighteen to twenty-four minutes long. Each episode also has an activity page that could be a word search, coloring by code, matching, a maze, and more. Activity pages come in both English and Spanish.

tag(s): careers (179), engineering (137), robotics (26), scientists (68)

"I Can Be What?" gives a sneak peek into the world of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) careers. Careers highlighted include diesel mechanic, helicopter pilot, wildlife technician, chocolatier, athletic trainer, and more. Each career contains a video explaining it and additional information. Some of the additional information includes links to jobs, related careers, and discussion questions.

tag(s): careers (179), engineering (137)

With this poem generation tool, you can generate poems in several styles from a prompt. Add your prompt, choose a style, and select the poem's length, and voila, your poem appears! Download your poem as a docx document, copy the text, or download it to your device. As you select a poem style, scroll down the page to learn about the style. For example, choose Haiku to read a description of Haiku poetry, information on how Haikus differ from English poems, and FAQs about the origin of Haiku poetry.
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tag(s): artificial intelligence (185), digital storytelling (155), poetry (195)

Illuminate transforms content into podcast-style audio discussions. Begin by searching for a topic or adding a website URL, and select an audio style for the discussion. Illuminate shares website options to include in the output when using the topic option. Members can add more than one link to each discussion. Audio style options include casual, formal, guided, and free-form; descriptions for each style are included as you select a style. Click generate to create your audio; this takes about thirty seconds to complete. Members can play the audio for up to thirty days without saving it, or save it to their library to use at any time, or share it with others using the provided link.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (185), podcasts (112), Teacher Utilities (202)

Padlet TA is a helpful assistant for creating many educational work documents without requiring registration for most tasks. Options include lesson planning, worksheet creation, text-leveling tools, and more. After choosing a tool, complete the form that asks for information like grade level, topic, and additional context. Add a file, content from Google Drive, a link, or a YouTube video. Adding content from Google Drive requires logging in to a Padlet account. After adding information, click the bright yellow/green bubble next to the form to generate content. When finished, copy the text to a document, export it to Google Docs or PDF, or use the share link to share the URL of a view-only version of your prompt and output.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (185), assessment (146), images (264), qr codes (19), quizzes (90), rubrics (36), Teacher Utilities (202), worksheets (70)