Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This tool is a stunning 3D reconstruction and tour of the Giza pyramids, Sphinx, and other structures. Watch a guided tour both around and inside the structures. This tour also shows structures at various points in history. To view in 3D, the 3D Lifeplayer needs to be installed. Note: This site may take a little time to load.

tag(s): architecture (83), egypt (59), pyramids (24)

Visme is an online visual-communication and design platform that helps users create presentations, infographics, charts and graphs, documents, social media graphics, videos, animations, printables, and other interactive projects. Users can begin with a template or create a project from scratch, then customize it with a drag-and-drop editor, text, images, icons, data visualizations, audio, video, animations, and uploaded files. Visme also supports interactive features such as clickable links, pop-ups, hover effects, and hotspots, making it useful for creating engaging presentations and digital learning materials. The platform includes a large template and asset library, along with tutorials and help resources for users who are new to visual design. Teachers and students can upload their own images, audio, and video files and can share finished projects through a live link, embed code, or selected download formats. Collaboration tools are available for shared projects, although some sharing, privacy, download, storage, and team features depend on the account plan. Visme also includes AI tools, including an AI Designer and AI Presentation Maker that can generate editable presentations, documents, and other designs from a written prompt. The free Basic plan allows users to create unlimited projects and explore core templates and editing tools, but it has limited assets, sharing, downloads, and advanced features. Free accounts receive a limited number of AI credits each month, while paid plans provide expanded storage, downloads, premium assets, collaboration options, and additional AI credits.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): animation (62), artificial intelligence (315), charts and graphs (180), images (268), infographics (71), multimedia (62), presentations (33)

Download the Jumpshare tool for sharing and viewing files easily. Create an account with your name, email, and password to begin. Drag and drop files to share. Use the link to browse and find files on your computer. Jumpshare supports 200 file types including images, videos, and documents. Once uploaded, use links to share documents via email or social networking options. In addition to the file sharing you can now create screenshot capture and screen recordings (making your screenshot into a video. Free accounts include storage of up to 2 GB and a limit of 100 MB on individual files.

tag(s): collaboration (116)

The Historical Marker Database is an illustrated and searchable website for finding and viewing historical road markers. Information includes photographs, marker locations, and more. Search and browse the site in several ways. Find markers near your location, enter a keyword in the search bar, or choose from category options. Most entries include a short description, map location of the marker, the transcription, and links to other nearby markers. This site is rather text-heavy. It is full of great information. There is also a link to a free Google Field Trip app that uses these markers.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): 20th century (169), american revolution (92), anthropology (9), california (18), civil rights (220), civil war (136), disasters (35), explorers (65), heroes (23), hispanic (54), immigration (85), labor day (6), mexico (67), native americans (128), natural disasters (21), natural resources (33), texas (7), vietnam (41), war of 1812 (14), world war 1 (86), world war 2 (168)

Explore the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum site to learn about the effects and aftermath of nuclear war. Click Learn from the top menu, then, look at the menu on the right titled Learn About the A Bomb and Peace. There you will find a link to view images of monuments located in Hiroshima. These monuments were constructed as memorials to those who lost their lives. Visit the Kids Peace Station for activities geared toward younger students. Explore the virtual museum to view exhibits such as damage caused by the atomic bomb blast and recorded testimony of survivors.

tag(s): 1940s (70), 20th century (169), atomic bomb (7), japan (62), world war 2 (168)

Between 1909 and 1930, photographer Edward Curtis set out to document the life and culture of the North American Indians, and this site shares his work. Like so many of his time, he viewed Native Americans as a "primitive" race of people whose customs were a source of curiosity. As westward expansion began to destroy the culture of indigenous people, Curtis wanted to record, through photographs and narratives, what he believed was a savage and mysterious world before it disappeared. While Curtis' work represented the popular viewpoint of his time, today we recognize that it is, at best, the impressions of someone who neither understood nor particularly valued what he was recording. This digital reproduction of the entire project needs to be carefully previewed and introduced so that we don't perpetuate this way of viewing Native American life. In fact, some of the images of the ceremonial life were never intended to be seen by "outsiders," and their use today is controversial. The site does a good job of setting the context for the use of Curtis's work and helps establish respectful boundaries.

tag(s): difficult conversations (52), native americans (128)

An artist sees the world and then tries to communicate that vision through their work. The Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester presents 17 works of art that illustrate the artists' views of America. Each piece is indexed by theme, such as Meeting America's People or Telling America's Stories, and is accompanied by a rich set of resources, including lesson plans, classroom activities, and a printable image that can be duplicated. There are works from as early as the 18th century to the present. An interactive timeline helps pinpoint pieces according to the dates they were created.

tag(s): art history (104), artists (99)

Cars are more than a way to get from point A to point B, and Hans Tangerud, a Norwegian car enthusiast, recognizes American's love of cars in this historic collection of sales brochures. Cars, particularly in the United States, represent an important part of the culture. Their design, their advertising, their features all communicate something about what matters to the people who bought them. Tangerud has scanned images of American Car advertising and brochures back as far as the 1920s up through the present. A very deep resource, there are well over 100 brochures here, part of a larger site that focuses on his obsession with cars, particularly those from the US.

tag(s): 1950s (33), 20th century (169), advertising (23), history day (38), transportation (31)

Discover blog ideas galore from the "friendly writers" at Wordpress, especially these ideas for connecting your blog with other bloggers via special events, such as "blog hops." A blog hop is simply a response to the same prompt during a fixed time frame, with links to the other bloggers' responses so you can "hop" to read the many takes on the topic from the original post or prompt. Share writing around a common theme, image, quote, or topic by checking out the offerings compiled here. Note that this collection is intended for the general blogging public (not schools), so some topics may not be school-appropriate. On the other hand, making contact with "real world" people blogging about how they write, do photography, stay fit, and more. Click on the link to the updated list of blogging events to find inspiration and connection, sorted by general areas of interest. Don't miss the detailed information about how to Start and/or Participate in a Blog Hop.

tag(s): blogs (78), writing prompts (55)

This interactive social bookmarking and collaboration tool does so much more than any ordinary bookmarking tool. It is a research curation tool, knowledge-sharing community, website annotation tool, and social information network all rolled into one "cloud" package. To get started, check out the About link. You will find information and videos on the uses of Diigo. Set up an account, being sure to click the FREE education edition upgrade. This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly. At this time Diigo is experiencing issues with the "Top 10 Tags" from the menu on the left.

This tool can be used as a basic bookmarking tool, simply allowing YOU to save, sort, and access your own bookmarks from ANY computer or mobile device (once you are logged in). You have the choice whether your bookmarks are public or private. You can gradually ease into more advanced and interactive features: highlight parts of sites and save or share those annotations, add sticky notes to parts of websites, pictures, screen-shots, documents, audio, and more. Do group collaborative research. Organize your bookmarks by tags. Unlike sorting bookmarks into file folders, adding tags permits you to put multiple tags or "labels" on one site. The same site you tag for book reports could also be tagged for biographies, for example. Additional Diigo features include groups (a way to share and exchange bookmarks with a certain group of Diigo users), messaging, and search features. You can search all the public bookmarks made by others and discover other people with similar interests, already bookmarked and ready for you to mark as your own. There are many groups you can join, such as those with a specific teaching interest or hobby. See "Tools" for many helpful options, including bookmarklets to make bookmarking instant on multiple devices. Bookmarklets drag directly to the toolbars on your computer and are well worth it. It goes beyond simple bookmarking and adds options like highlight, capture, send, read later, comment, search bar and Diigo message options. You decide your own level of use and desired tools to be shown on the bar. If choosing not to install the toolbar, then there is an applet called Diigolet that will be used in its place. It is not as strong a tool as the toolbar, but will work well if the toolbar installation is not possible. Check our sample group. You can also install a widget on your blog (or class web page) that will show your bookmarks there.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): bookmarks (34), collaboration (116), curation (25), DAT device agnostic tool (129), forum (2), organizational skills (90), social networking (56)

The Presidential Library of Harry S. Truman offers an extensive archive of resources to help us understand the idealogical foundations of the Cold War era. The Cold War shaped much of the history of the second half of the twentieth century, particularly in the Western world. Included are a chronology of the era, photographs, oral histories (text based), profiles of important figures, primary documents, and lesson plans. The lesson plans were developed by a group of teachers who attended a summer institute at the Truman Library and can be downloaded as either Word documents or PowerPoint presentations. The documents can be viewed online or downloaded in a printable format.

tag(s): 1940s (70), 1950s (33), 20th century (169), cold war (39), europe (83), primary sources (133), russia (33)

Webnode is a free and easy website or blog builder. Create an account. Choose from hundreds of template design options, including personal blogs (scroll to the bottom menu and select "Make your own website or blog." Add many site features: photo galleries, polls, forums, social features, and much more. Webnode saves changes as you make them, so information is stored in real time. Possible uses are only limited by your imagination!
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): blogs (78), communication (122), social networking (56)

Discover classroom-tested techniques for building autonomy in the classroom with tips learned by a National Board Certified teacher of engineering and algebra. Each piece of advice offers specific information on why and how specific components contribute toward building student success. Within the article, find references that also offer suggestions on how to build student autonomy within the classroom. Click the X to get to the article and away from the many advertisements.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): professional development (319)

Screencastify is a screen capture/screencast software created for use ONLY with Chrome browsers. It even runs on Chromebooks. Choose the "Free" link to add the extension to your Chrome browser. Screencastify lets users record their desktop, browser tab, and/or webcam. In addition, users can edit videos from their browser and YouTube and translate and add voice-overs in over ninety languages. Screencastify can also add interactive questions to YouTube videos. Find the application icon on your browser toolbar and click Record to capture presentations, tutorials, and more easily. Be sure to ALLOW Screencastify access to your microphone to enable voice recordings. Once your recording is complete, please return to the Screencastify icon on your browser to name the recording, download it to your computer, save it to Google Drive, or upload it to YouTube.

tag(s): tutorials (50)

Learn about theater and theater arts in this site about the French-language theater in Canada and beyond. Explore over one hundred and fifty headings divided into six sections, a reading list, and a games section. Investigate theater genres or the history of the theater from Ancient Greece through Theater after World War II until now. Read about major playwrights such as Sophocles, William Shakespeare, Moliere, and many more. Find information on famous directors, great designers, major actors, and theater architecture. Get down to basics by investigating the various aspects of a theater production, specialized vocabulary, and a description of the tasks and trades involved. There are also links and information about professional training for those interested in a theater career. For extra fun, read the site IN French by clicking the link top right.

tag(s): acting (16), architecture (83), design (76), plays (31), producers (6), shakespeare (98)

Here is Today offers a visual look at time. Click Okay+ to the next step in time - from today to this month. Click again to go to the year, then keep moving through the eras of geologic time until the creation of the universe, millions of years ago. Each step includes an arrow pointing to this day in relation to the rest of the timeline.

tag(s): 20th century (169), calendars (35), earth (195), geologic time (12), timelines (60)

Published monthly, The Seminole Tribune of Florida is the official newspaper of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Current issues and archives are available via PDF download. Click on the appropriate tab at the top, or scroll to the bottom menu. The cultural information includes art, basketry, beadwork, housing, clans, language, legends, green corn dance, food and recipes, and clothing. Read an explanation about the current government within the tribe. Florida Seminole Tourism offers information for events and places to visit. Note: You do not need to subscribe to use this site. Simply click to view Current Issue or Archives. Scroll to to the very bottom to find the link for the Archives.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): civil rights (220), cross cultural understanding (177), cultures (290), myths and legends (44), native americans (128)

The DAP (Developing and Assessing Products) Tool is a set of rubrics developed to assess student products at varying levels of expertise. The intent of the DAP Tool is to differentiate while taking the ceiling off higher level and creative thinking skills (perfect for gifted learners). There are four components for all products: content, presentation, creativity, and reflection. The tool offers rubrics at three performance levels. Especially appropriate for removing a "ceiling" for gifted students is the inclusion of an expert or "professional" performance level rating. This rating acknowledges work that one would expect from a professional in the content area. The criteria for each level increase in sophisticated. Level 1 would be for younger students or those with less expertise. Level 3 might be for high school and/or your most gifted students-- at any grade level. There are fourteen different product rubrics and a blank rubric at each level. The blank rubric suggests descriptions for all but the presentation component. Some of the products are PowerPoint, poster, pamphlet, diorama, service learning, monologue, model, and more. Download the rubrics in PDF format.

tag(s): critical thinking (180), differentiation (97), essays (18), interviews (17), posters (44), rubrics (38), service projects (17), speech (66), writing (308)