TeachersFirst: Resources for K-12 Teachers

Explore Butterflies! Grades 2 - 9

What can you do with butterflies? At this site you can test your "Butterfly Smarts" by choosing a level and answering questions to earn a butterfly badge. Correct answers are shown after you miss your only chance. Build a "Butterfly Habitat," by adding host plants, nectar plants, and landscaping to your field. You have a period of time to attract as many moths and butterflies as you can. You are limited in the amount of plants and may have to remove some in order to add another. Changes in butterfly and moth numbers are in real time in order to understand the ecosystem relationships. Information at the end reviews the butterflies attracted and recommendations for the future. Use the "Field" observation to identify the parts and uses of the Monarch butterfly. Learn about butterflies and "Climate Change" by answering questions and clicking on tabs to show the difference in temperatures over the years and in the projected future. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page. NOTE: The site takes TIME to load, even on a fast connection. Be patient!

IN THE CLASSROOM: While discussing ecosystems or insects, use this site to either introduce or reinforce information learned in class. Use the "Butterfly Habitat" to introduce ecosystem topics and help students understand the interactivity between plants and animals as well as population density issues. Have students work in groups to attract butterflies and identify factors and plants that attract the most. Follow up with research about native butterflies as well as plants they are attracted to. If a plot of land is available in the school or community, have students plan and build a butterfly habitat. Observe and count the butterfly visitors as an additional science project. Be sure to use digital pictures as part of your documentation. Perhaps create a wiki about your butterfly project.

Peace Corps Challenge Grades 4 - 12

This site helps students make the global connections that we are all human and must help each other. The challenge is to help the people in the tiny village of Wanzuzu. Narina (your Peace Corps guide) will lead students throughout the many challenges of this website. Students meet up with the mayor to discuss the water contamination (and ways to fix the problem). Many natives meet up with students along the way to offer help and tips. Students learn about the overall health and health care by visiting the clinic. Many other points of interest are visited during the journey. The site includes eight detailed lesson plans with standards, video clips, online stories and games, and much more to enhance the lessons. Teachers, click on the Teachers link on the main page to access all of the lesson information. The actual activity opens in a new window, so you can easily go back to the lesson plans at any time throughout the journey. This site requires Flash and Adobe Acrobat. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Use the ready-to-go lesson plans to take your students on this life-changing journey to Wanzuzu. The interactive tour and activities would work well on an interactive whiteboard or projector. However, if individual computers are available, have students work with a "Peace Corps Partner" to navigate the site together. The lesson plans and activities can be used in language arts classes, social studies, geography, health, and science class. Use this site to help students think globally not just locally.

Dance With Snook Grades 0 - 2

Get your groove on at this site with Snook (from the PBS show, Big Big World). Start by choosing your music from the numbers at the top, and then Snook will start to dance. Your challenge is to get "Bob" to imitate Snook's dance moves. You can also create a dance from your own combination of moves. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Use this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector in your music class or even during your morning routine. Have students dance along with Snook as they guess the correct answers. This is a great movement activity for rainy days stuck in the classroom. You can also use it to practice following directions.

Lit2Go Grades 0 - 12

Now you can listen to classics and poems through the generosity of this sites creators. Download story files to your mp3 player or listen to the files on your computer. Dont want to just listen to the classics and other stories? Then, view the text on a webpage or in a printable pdf. Easily browse the site by author or title to locate literature. You are also able to search by reading level; the levels are broken down by month (ranging from 0.0 - 12.0). Stories and poems are added frequently to this site, so check back often. This site requires Windows Media Player or Quicktime and Adobe Acrobat. You can get them from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Print out up to 25 pdf copies of stories and poems if you do not have print versions. Make your own books and leave blank sections to be illustrated for aiding comprehension. If you have iTunes installed on your computer, you can download many of the selections directly into your iTunes library. Use individual laptops for reading the stories online or as a download. Make sure your sight-impaired students know about this helpful site. Special ed teachers and ESL//ELL teachers will love the availability of audio files and text together.

American Literature of the Southwest Grades 10 - 12

This is the syllabus and unit outline of a course taught at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK. It has pertinent links to materials to be used and includes such authors as Twain and Cather through Cormac McCarthy. There is a Humanities approach to the course as it includes philosophy and art as well as literature. Because of the links included, the material is easily adaptable to your needs.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Since each section contains some information and then links to further study as well as a list of additional readings, it is a good unit to divide among a class for a culminating panel discussion. Studying the American Southwest through politics, art and literature combines studies in a way that makes it come alive for students. Some ideas include writing and performing skits based on the material, writing character sketches of either real persons or fictional ones who lived through this time, a talk show with guests from the time period including Twain and McCarthy, etc. You could even create a fictional blog with posts (and comments)from the various literary figures.

What Do You Like? Grades 7 - 12

This site explores careers for high school students. Students can click on one of twelve choices based on "What Do You Like." Some of the choices include Law, Helping People, Managing Money, Science, Reading, and Building and Fixing Things. Once students click on what they like, they are guided to another page that lists specific jobs in that area (each area provides about 5-6 job descriptions). Students can click on the specific job to learn about necessary preparation, pay, job availability, and possible futures. There is very thorough information about each career. Also included are links to jobs that share some of the same qualities and general links for further research. Teachers, dont miss the Teachers Guide link.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Share this website with students as they plan for life after high school. Put this link on your teacher web page for families to use as well. This is definitely a link that guidance counselors should save in their favorites, along with any other teacher helping students make post-high school decisions. More advanced ESL and ELL students will enjoy learning about culture in the U.S. by looking at job descriptions here.

Earthquake Grades 6 - 12

This site is an interactive computer program designed to introduce the concepts of how an earthquake epicenter is located and how the Richter magnitude of an earthquake is determined. Choose "Demonstration" for background information. View the demonstrations of "Travel Time" and "Epi and Mag" to learn more about earthquakes and how to use the tools. By using the demonstrations, students create data that is graphed and can be analyzed. Problems are presented to the students to determine the epicenter of a specific event. If you wish to not use the demonstration, click on the animations to learn about "SP lag time" and "Latitude and Longitude." Instructors can also register for free on the site and students can take an exam when completed with the activity. Exams will be graded and results reported to the teacher. Click "Instructions" to walk through the registration and use. This site requires Java and Flash. Click the "System Requirements" button to test these programs on your computer before proceeding. If you need Java or Flash, you can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Use the data to determine epicenter as well as the magnitude of an event. Use data from other sources to determine the same. Use this demo on your interactive whiteboard or projector after discussing specific information about earthquakes and part of a final project. Use the simulations to learn more about how scientists determine where earthquakes start.

Classroom Book Talks Grades 3 - 8

Classroom Book Talks is a collaborative wiki -- open to classes all over the world -- where students can share their likes and dislikes on various genres of literature through interactive book talks. They can add their own interpretation of a book by presenting it in book talk format on this wiki. Students can also comment on other book talks presented by various students in remote locations. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Make sure to address the simple rules, located on the homepage, with students prior to assigning projects. Based on the fact that this is a collaborative project and other children from around the world contribute to it, students must be open to varying opinions and works of art. Have students complete book talks individually or in small groups and then submit presentations for assessment. Check out the classrooms that used this as a medium for a summer reading program! Students could conduct book talks over holiday breaks or while on educational trips, as well. Allow for students to discuss books among each other as homework assignments. Have parents read and view their child's work and comment on it. Do not forget to obtain permission prior to submitting student work on-line. This site uses a wiki tool as its foundation. To learn more about wikis and find logistical tips, see the text to showTeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.