Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

The Academic Word Finder identifies academic vocabulary (tier 2) words found in any text. Register using email to create an account before beginning. Copy and paste any text you want to analyze, (the site recommends starting with two to three paragraphs) and select your grade level. The Word Finder identifies the vocabulary found in the text and provides additional context with grade range, part of speech, meaning, and an example sentence. Email or print the results using links found on the site. Each entry is automatically saved to your Achieve the Core account for future reference.

Yellkey makes it easy to share a long URL with fewer characters for a short time. Copy the long URL into the address bar and choose a time - from 5 minutes to 24 hours and click "generate yellkey." Share this new, shortened address with others to quickly share any web address.

This safe and straightforward site creates unique passwords within your given parameters. Choose the length of your desired password and use the checked boxes to include or exclude letters, characters, or numbers. Additional options allow you to select the number of numeric characters or symbols to add. After making your selections, click "Generate" to create your password. Additional information on the site explains why it is important to use strong passwords along with specific content on how a strong password looks.

Study Jams offers engaging instruction and review activities in both math and science. Some sample science topics include plants, human body, the solar system, weather, matter, and more. Math topics include numbers (place value, number lines, estimation), algebra, addition/subtraction, problem solving, and others. Don't miss the "Jams" sure to excite your students to learn new skills in a musical and entertaining manner. Key vocabulary is presented along with a short video explanation of each topic. In addition to the video, there is an option to test your own ability. Each topic can also be printed to use in the classroom and there is a link to related "jams."

Thrively is a free tool that gives strengths and interests assessments in an engaging and entertaining way. Based on twenty-three factors and developed for children, you receive a profile that is personal, positive, and celebrates each child's core strengths and unique talents. Children, teachers, and parents all have a dashboard displaying activities and videos selected specifically for the child's strengths and interests. Explore a comprehensive activity index with over 120,000 activities and hundreds of videos designed to inspire. The videos feature interesting ideas, leaders, and a range of insights into careers and opportunities that are a good fit for the child's unique strengths. The Activity Boards are a way to discover and research the activities and collect them all in one place. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
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Track learning in real-time with Quizalize. Student answers are color-coded on the teacher dashboard for ease in identifying who needs more help. Create scrambled word or multiple choice questions, and each question can have a custom timer. View reports for each student's progress and learning gaps. Create a quiz or select one from Quizalize's growing library. Quizzes can be "gamified" by showing the teacher dashboard as a leaderboard to see progress against other users. Quizalize works on any device with a browser and Internet connection. Sign up with an email and password. Create a quiz, assign it to classes, get a code, give it to students, and let the fun begin! The free account provides 3 classes and 5 activities.

At the start of the school year for 2023-2024, Newsela made some significant changes for their FREE or LITE version of the program! Now they offer four leveled news articles at five reading levels for teachers to choose from. The articles will be available for four weeks; Newsela Lite is free for any teacher to access four pre-selected news articles, select and lock reading levels for students, see alignment to state standards, schedule assignments and set due dates, access students' quiz scores, and respond to students' writing prompt submissions and annotations. Many of these features were on the "premium" account until the 2023-2024 school year.

Incase you're wondering - Newsela features current events stories tailor-made for classroom use. Click "Products" on the top menu and slide down to browse content in subject areas (social studies, science, etc.). Stories are student-friendly and can be accessed in different formats by reading level. Use Newsela to differentiate nonfiction reading. Newspaper writers rewrite a story four times for a total of five Lexile levels per story. All articles have embedded Common Core-aligned quizzes that conform to the reading levels for checking comprehension, customizable assignments, writing prompts, and annotations. An account is required to use Newsela, both for teachers and for students, but students sign up using a teacher or parent-provided code rather than an email address. Click the Resources tab at the top to find guides and short webinars. Teachers can create classes and assign reading-level specific articles to individual students or download printable PDF copies of the article in any of its reading-level versions. There is no outside advertising.

Differentiating activities for all learners has become easier with this tool. Use this free Bloom's Taxonomy tool, created by an educator, to develop great objectives for differentiated instruction. Move through developing your goal on this site by choosing a level of Bloom's Taxonomy and a thinking skill. Then move on to your content, resources, finished product expected, and what kind of grouping you want. These are all tabs at the top of the page. Watch the sentence at the top of the screen change as you create your objective.