TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of May 12, 2024
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
Gez.la Virtual Trips - gez.la
Grades
2 to 12
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Gez.la uses open-source resources to share over 150 virtual trips around the world. Take a virtual trip to visit museums, historical places, zoos, and more from your computer. Use the...more
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Gez.la uses open-source resources to share over 150 virtual trips around the world. Take a virtual trip to visit museums, historical places, zoos, and more from your computer. Use the placemarks on the map to select a location, or use the filters to choose by type of tour or location. Choose your tour from the list for a short description of the content, then select the link to go to the virtual tour.
tag(s): virtual field trips (79)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of this site to visit places where time, money, and mileage inhibit your dreams of bringing your students into wondrous worlds. Find ways to visit where your class has never gone before. Small groups or individual students can focus on one of the tours and use it as a starting point for additional research. ENL/ESL learners will appreciate the visual tours. Reach all types of learners through a class visit. Use these virtual reality tours as a class anticipatory guide, center activity, home connection, or extra credit. Challenge your gifted students to guide their own learning. Extend learning and challenge students to create their own virtual tours using Google My Maps, reviewed here. Google My Maps includes tools for you to add routes, images, videos, and more to create virtual field trips anywhere in the world.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Grades
7 to 12
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Learn about the Holocaust through the digital resources offered by the Holocaust Museum. Start with an introduction to the Holocaust containing key facts, articles, and a media gallery...more
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Learn about the Holocaust through the digital resources offered by the Holocaust Museum. Start with an introduction to the Holocaust containing key facts, articles, and a media gallery featuring a variety of Holocaust-related topics. Explore the many free resources for educators to teach about the Holocaust. These resources are found on the Learn About tab and contain lesson plans, guidelines for teaching the Holocaust, poster sets, podcasts, a virtual field trip, and more. Explore the Museum's collections to view documents, artifacts, and discover the first-hand stories of those that survived the Holocaust.
tag(s): europe (75), germany (25), holocaust (41), virtual field trips (79), world war 2 (149)
In the Classroom
Use these free materials as the starting point for any lessons on the Holocaust. Go on a virtual field trip of the museum to engage students' interest in the causes and outcomes of the Holocaust. Be sure to help students understand the personal toll of the Holocaust by visiting the "Who Were the Victims?" portion of the site. Organize your lessons using ActivelyLearn, reviewed here. Add articles, videos, and documents into an ActivelyLearn lesson to guide students through the learning process. Easily differentiate materials based on student interests and abilities within your ActivelyLearn unit. As a culminating project, and to enhance student learning, ask students to share what they learned using Odyssey, reviewed here. Ask students to create a story map for individuals involved with the Holocaust, or to tell the story of events leading up to the Holocaust.
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Google Arts and Culture - Google
Grades
6 to 12
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This unique collaboration between Google and many of the world's most respected art museums enables viewers to discover the museum's thousand of artworks in extraordinary detail. All...more
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This unique collaboration between Google and many of the world's most respected art museums enables viewers to discover the museum's thousand of artworks in extraordinary detail. All content pertaining to individual artworks was provided by the museums. Visit over 2,000 museums without leaving home through the lens of Google Arts & Culture's presentations. Explore the studios of famous artists, take tours of historical cities through virtual trips, or use the search bar to find the categories for "selfie" (then take a selfie to find a piece of art that looks like you). Use the menu (the three lines at the top-left of your screen) to choose from the different collections, themes, and experiments. Collections include resources to learn about art, music, and drama through many different options. Other choices include searches by artists, historical events, and art movements. You won't want to leave the profusion of engaging content at this site!
tag(s): art history (86), artists (77), museums (44), virtual field trips (79)
In the Classroom
Share this site with students and allow them time to explore on their own. Encourage students to find and share interesting art and activities with their peers. Use Padlet, reviewed here, as a collaborative tool for students to share items from this site. Ask them to include a link to a favorite portion, then add a comment on why they found it interesting. Include information from Arts & Culture when studying historical events to provide interest and perspective on that period. Have students use a map storytelling tool such as Google My Maps, reviewed here, to add information found on this site and others to tell the story of art around the world throughout history.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Americans - Smithsonian Institution
Grades
6 to 12
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Take a virtual field trip to the National Museum of the American Indian Americans exhibit that features the American Indian identity since before the birth of the United States. Click...more
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Take a virtual field trip to the National Museum of the American Indian Americans exhibit that features the American Indian identity since before the birth of the United States. Click on gallery images to read and learn more about the artifacts shared including coins, dolls, posters, and much more. Additional links take viewers to videos and displays telling the story of Thanksgiving, Queen of America (Pocahontas), The Removal Act, and The Indians Win.
tag(s): battles (18), native americans (91), thanksgiving (24), westward expansion (38)
In the Classroom
Replace some of your current written Native America resources with the genuine artifacts and stories available for viewing on this site. Introduce the site to students on your interactive whiteboard to demonstrate the different features available and how to find them. After students have time to explore, create groups to do in-depth research within the four different featured areas. Create a Padlet, reviewed here, with four columns for students to share web and video resources found during their research. Instead of written or oral presentations, ask student groups to create quizzes for their classmates using a quiz-creation tool like Baamboozle, reviewed here. Baamboozle is a quick and easy resource for creating and sharing quizzes for teams of two. As a final project, transform student learning by using Book Creator, reviewed here, to create class books sharing information about Native Americans. Book Creator is a digital book creation site offering the ability to add images, text, video, and more. Be sure to share student-created books on your class website or blog after publication.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Smithsonian X 3D - Smithsonian Institution
Grades
6 to 12
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Tour some of the Smithsonian Museum's most treasured objects through 3D models and scientific missions. Through the use of 3D digitization techniques, the museum is rapidly adding content...more
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Tour some of the Smithsonian Museum's most treasured objects through 3D models and scientific missions. Through the use of 3D digitization techniques, the museum is rapidly adding content and collections to this site telling never-known stories about the museum's treasures. Use the site's search features to find models; some also include tours with additional information. Choose videos to learn how curators on the 3D team captured and shared information. Select the educators' portion of the site to download an ebook interdisciplinary learning experience combining technology and history in the study of Abraham Lincoln. For help in using this site, click About to find EducatorTools, How to Use the 3D Viewer, and Videos. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos on this site may not be viewable.
tag(s): coral (10), dinosaurs (39), electricity (60), fossils (39), jamestown (7), lincoln (60), magnetism (36), museums (44), presidents (121), space (213), STEM (266), virtual field trips (79)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of these many resources to take a virtual visit with your class to the Smithsonian Museum. View artifacts and tours together on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector then allow students to explore on their own. After viewing a tour, ask students to research a topic further. Instead of a written report have students create an online quiz for fellow students using a quiz tool like Knowt, reviewed here. Use a video response tool like Flip, reviewed here, for student collaboration and sharing of research. Extend learning by asking students to create their own virtual field trip using Google Earth, reviewed here. Have students add articles, images, and videos to locations featured on their virtual trip.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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BLVRD - Art. Virtually. Anywhere. - Robert Hamwee and Elizabeth L Reede
Grades
8 to 12
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BLVRD offers virtual field trips and access to the world's best-known art collections and cultural sites. View this site on any platform. For a virtual reality experience BLVRD is hardware...more
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BLVRD offers virtual field trips and access to the world's best-known art collections and cultural sites. View this site on any platform. For a virtual reality experience BLVRD is hardware agnostic (you can read about this under the FAQs). Select from the different museum and cultural topic options to begin your experience. Created in Great Britain, most content on this site features archives from British museums although there are a couple of American museums featured. Find curriculum ideas, timelines, and additional resources at the Educate link located on the top of the page.
tag(s): art history (86), artists (77), england (50), great britain (16), museums (44), virtual field trips (79)
In the Classroom
Engage students by taking a "window walk" as you explore the large variety of art found on this site. Use a tool such as WordClouds, reviewed here to create and share word maps with features of art found in the different museums. Use this site to begin your exploration of different time periods in British history. Enhance learning by having students create an animated timeline including images and videos to share art from around the world during the same time frame or to demonstrate British art throughout the years. Use a timeline tool such as Time Graphics Timeline Maker, reviewed here that allows you to create interactive timelines.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Memory Palace - Nate DiMeo
Grades
6 to 12
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The Memory Palace is a storytelling podcast created by an Artist in Residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Choose any episode to listen online to a real-life story, and ...more
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The Memory Palace is a storytelling podcast created by an Artist in Residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Choose any episode to listen online to a real-life story, and view some notes about the podcast. There are hundreds of captivating stories, one being Elmer McCurdy Rides Again and Again; he's "an outlaw sent to his maker at barely past 30 but not to his grave..." Use tags to find episodes with similar content. Find other stories categorized by Favorites, History, Places, and Topics. Optionally, subscribe using iTunes or an RSS reader and automatically receive new episodes.
tag(s): 1800s (72), 1900s (73), art history (86), artists (77), digital storytelling (142), listening (68), museums (44), new york (22), podcasts (74), presidents (121)
In the Classroom
You may want to consider choosing the link Where Do I Start? to begin your journey with this podcast. This section contains the author's personal favorites. Listen to weekly podcasts together in class to stimulate discussion and interest in art and history topics and the art of storytelling. Assign the weekly podcast as listening homework. Some of the comments may suggest songs and other stories that are similar. After you've invetigated those, share them with your students. Have students create a series of questions to ask each other about issues discussed on the podcast. Have cooperative learning groups create podcasts demonstrating their understanding of one of the concepts. Use a site such as Buzzsprout, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Walters Art Museum - The Walters Art Museum
Grades
K to 12
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The Walters Art Museum opened in 1934 in Maryland. This site has information about the museum, its founders, the long history, and more. Take a deeper dive by looking at ...more
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The Walters Art Museum opened in 1934 in Maryland. This site has information about the museum, its founders, the long history, and more. Take a deeper dive by looking at exhibits and the pieces of art found there.
Use this link to find the PreK-12 Educators page. Scroll down the page to find resources to support your classroom. You will also find Art Lessons for Integrating the Arts to teach cross-curricular lessons in any of the core subject areas. Use the Search bar to find the Teacher Resource Kits with integration lessons for ancient civilizations such as China or Islam. Also, there are quite a few lesson plans that include different topics such as Ancient Storytelling, Egyptian Symbols, Coat of Arms, Warhol Stained Glass, The Nutcracker, Mapping the Past - Mapping the Present, and many more.
tag(s): art history (86), artists (77), museums (44)
In the Classroom
Find printable lesson plans to create cross-curricular lessons. The lesson plans include objectives, multiple activities, examples, and a wrap-up. Students can then use the site to find other pieces of art that demonstrate or support the same concept.Connect middle and high school students to the museum through one of the prescheduled video conference calls to learn about specific topics. Be sure to prepare students for the conference call, and encourage students to participate with comments and questions to enhance the learning experience. After the conference, have students navigate through the pieces of art on the site that relate to the topic from the video conference. Enhance student learning by posing questions on Flip, reviewed here, for students to answer and comment on each other's answers.
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Social Studies Virtual Field Trips - CSISD Tech
Grades
4 to 12
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Bring the world to your classroom with this excellent list of virtual field trips. At the time of this review, there were nearly 40 field trips available! Take a trip ...more
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Bring the world to your classroom with this excellent list of virtual field trips. At the time of this review, there were nearly 40 field trips available! Take a trip to the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, or Rome. Choose any of the titles to visit the home site for the virtual field trip. Some of the titles have several virtual tours listed, i.e. 7 Wonders Panorama. Share any link via social media, email, or by using the code to embed in a website or blog.
tag(s): africa (137), cultures (132), museums (44), rome (21), virtual field trips (79), white house (15)
In the Classroom
Immerse your students in your studies with a close-up in-depth look through virtual field trips. Visit places where time, money, and mileage inhibit your dreams for bringing your students into wondrous worlds. Find ways to visit where your class has never gone before. Find ways to motivate your most reluctant learners. For history teachers who teach ancient Rome, the history of the Islamic religion, ancient China, or just about any other historical topic, this would be a real treat for students. Help them recognize that these cultures were once real people, with skills, and goals. World languages teachers will be able to introduce different cultures from a new perspective. Small groups or individual students can focus on one of the tours. ENL/ESL learners will appreciate the visit. Reach all types of learners through a class visit. Use field trips as a whole class anticipatory guide, a center activity, a home connection, or even as extra credit. Challenge your gifted students to be guides to their own learning. Make your class go global!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teacher Resources for the Baltimore Museum of Art - Baltimore Museum of Art
Grades
1 to 12
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The Baltimore Museum of Art offers resources for educators to support classroom curriculum and enhance student learning across disciplines. Museum featured artwork provides the content...more
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The Baltimore Museum of Art offers resources for educators to support classroom curriculum and enhance student learning across disciplines. Museum featured artwork provides the content for detailed lessons. Click the menu on the left, then slide down and click Learn to find Art to Go, Teacher Guides, Family Activities, and more. Sign up for Art to Go monthly email that contains a printable full-color image of an artwork at the Baltimore Museum of Art. A brief commentary focuses on teaching ideas, while the challenge project invites students to try this idea and bring it into their own style. There is a plethora of ideas and lessons on this site.
tag(s): art history (86), artists (77), museums (44)
In the Classroom
Have you been trying to incorporate different sources into your social studies content? Use the content areas found in this collection. In gifted classrooms, use these activities for choice enrichment activities to deepen content knowledge. Use the artwork to inspire a narrative or informative writing prompt. Art classes have immediate lesson plans. Use it as a quick lesson in case of a sub. When going on a trip to your local museum, begin by investigating the content found in the Baltimore Museum of Art. Assign students the opportunity to uncover the mystery of artwork in your own museum to increase interest and motivation during your visit. Students then work on a multimedia project, find one for them to use here, of what they discovered and present it to the class. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Express for Education, Animatron, Renderforest, and Google Slides.
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Hiroshima Peace Museum - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Grades
8 to 12
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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 ...more
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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): atomic bomb (9), japan (56), world war 2 (149)
In the Classroom
Take your class on a digital field trip to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to get a first-hand look at the effects of an atomic bomb. Display on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Provide students time to explore on their own. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a survivor of the bomb. Have students create interactive timelines using Preceden, reviewed here, for events leading up to the bombing and following. Be sure to include a look at the museum during your World War II unit. This site would also provide good research material for a class debate about nuclear weapons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National Museum of Natural History Virtual Tours - Smithsonian Institution
Grades
6 to 12
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As school district budgets continue to be cut, field trips are more and more difficult. Enter the online panoramic virtual tour. The Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History...more
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As school district budgets continue to be cut, field trips are more and more difficult. Enter the online panoramic virtual tour. The Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History can now be "visited" using a computer or a handheld device like a smart phone or tablet. Choose to tour several featured areas such as Permanent Exhibits, Current Exhibits, Past Exhibits, Narrated Tours, and a couple of others. Click on a featured exhibit and view a map of the exhibit area. Hover over one of the hotspots to see what is included in that exhibit. Choose to view the Hope Diamond, for example, and access panoramic views of the artifact or the exhibit hall. Follow the arrows to travel through the museum. Maybe a virtual tour of a museum isn't quite as good as the real thing, but you won't have to deal with crowds, noise, and that really tall person who always seems to be standing between you and the exhibit you want to see. Click the Education tab at the top, to find Teaching Resources with 300 options, that includes activities, videos, and science literacy resources for Grades K to 12.
tag(s): museums (44), natural resources (37), virtual field trips (79)
In the Classroom
Perfect for use on an interactive whiteboard (or projector), the virtual tour can allow students access to exhibits and artifacts they may never be able to visit in person. If you have access to tablets or have a BYOD policy, students can explore exhibits or areas individually. If you are fortunate enough to be planning an actual field trip to the Museum of Natural History, this site is a great way to prepare for the trip.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Michael C. Carlos Museum
Grades
7 to 12
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Begin your investigation of the Carlos Museum by clicking Learn from the top menu and sliding down to Teacher Resources. There, you will find Artful Stories with lesson plans; ...more
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Begin your investigation of the Carlos Museum by clicking Learn from the top menu and sliding down to Teacher Resources. There, you will find Artful Stories with lesson plans; the stories are on video for you and your students to enjoy. You will also find an Odessey Online lesson for South Asia, which has many interactives or videos. Scrolling down the page, you will discover SmARTy Packs, some of which the museum made available online during the pandemic; most are still functional and have hands-on activities. Elsewhere on the site are images from the museum's collections, emphasizing the art of several ancient cultures worldwide. Using this link, Carlos Museum virtual resources find Making an Impression Virtual Tour and The Avatars of Vishnu, both are virtual tours.
tag(s): asia (69), egypt (47), greece (27), museums (44), rome (21)
In the Classroom
Introduce the class to the areas to explore on your whiteboard or with a projector. Allow small groups to choose which resource they would like to learn more about, with a culminating activity of creating a multimedia presentation using a tool like Genially, reviewed here where students have a choice of presentation formats.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston
Grades
5 to 12
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By clicking Art and then Past Exhibitions, this site provides an excellent introduction on how to experience contemporary art which could help prepare any family or class for any contemporary...more
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By clicking Art and then Past Exhibitions, this site provides an excellent introduction on how to experience contemporary art which could help prepare any family or class for any contemporary art field trip, wherever you are. There are also online exhibits formatted to feel as though you are walking through the actual museum! The valuable art links included within this site are user-friendly.
tag(s): art history (86), artists (77), museums (44)
In the Classroom
Share this site with students and allow them time to explore on their own. Ask them to find artwork that interests them as a starting point for a period of time or as a starting point to research more of the artist's work. Have students share their work in an online book using Book Creator, reviewed here and include images, film, audio and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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