Explore ten dynamic videos all related to the winter Olympics. This site, updated in 2014, was created in partnership by NBC Learn, NBC Sports, and the National Science Foundation. View the free videos and explore the engineering, science, technology, and math behind many of your favorite Olympic events. Topics vary from Science of Snow to Physics of Figure Skating to Olympic Movement and Robotic Design. Most videos are 5-6 minutes in length.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use these video clips to bring the Olympics alive in your science or math classes. Great for current events and STEM lessons, these clips are quick and simple - yet full of information. Share the clips on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Or better yet, challenge cooperative learning groups to view one of the videos and create a project to share with the class demonstrating the science (or math) concepts highlighted in the video. For quick projects, create electronic graphics of important words using a tool such as Typogenerator (reviewed here) or Wordle (reviewed here).

This tool is cool little tidbits of knowledge. The subtitle is "Boldly Exploring Life's Little Mysteries." Zidbits include facts such as "What is the hardest language to learn?" "Do trees die from old age?" or "What is the most lethal poison?" Find facts for history, science, health, entertainment, and news on this site as well as fun facts. This site doesn't provide just a quick tidbit, but also gives background information and additional details.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This resource is useful to hook your students at the beginning of your lessons or simply to get them reading non-fiction text. Use these as hooks to get your students thinking about content that will be introduced in the lesson. Students can find a Zidbit they are interested in. Poll students about possible answers and then report the actual answer and content needed in order to understand and explain it. Learn a new Zidbit yourself every week. If you teach public speaking skills, have students use these stories as inspiration or "hooks" for informational speeches, as well.

Use this tool to find the calories and nutrient content in a large variety of foods. Search among popular brands or chains or search from categories of foods. This site features a search bar for easily finding the nutrient information. Nutrition facts include carbohydrates including fiber, fats (saturated and trans,) and proteins. Choose to compare foods to find the differences in nutrients. Beside the nutrient information, learn how many minutes of various exercises are needed to burn off those calories. Use the box on the site to determine the calorie requirements for your height, weight, and age.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use this site in any health, nutrition, Family and Consumer Science, or biology class when discussing biomolecules and needed nutrients. Place this link on your site or bookmark on a class computer for easy reference. When discussing the food pyramid, or nutrients needed by the body, have students keep a 3 day food diary to compare with the food pyramid. This is also a great site to share as students make New Year's resolutions about eating healthy!

Find Fisher-Price's online learning games for young children. Play games that include popular characters such as Thomas the Train or Fisher-Price Little People. Choose from different learning activities such as colors, shapes, ABC's, and more. Sort games to find activities appropriate by age range, characters, or type of content. Follow other links to find coloring pages, short videos, and craft ideas.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This activity would work well for individual or pairs of students in a lab or on laptops. Be sure to visit the craft ideas section to find ideas for number cards, letter puzzles, clocks, and much more! Share this site in your class website or newsletter for parent use at home. This is a great site to use to help preschoolers prepare for kindergarten.

This site demonstrates how important it is to keep hands clean before different activities. The video of a chef explaining the importance of hand washing precedes several activities. After each activity (no interaction here), you select the steps to hand washing.

In the Classroom

Use this in kindergarten to show students the importance of washing hands after using the restroom or before eating. Keep your classroom healthy this flu season by making hygiene a theme of the week. This would also be good to have on a computer at a center as a reminder to primary grade students. ESL/ELL students will enjoy learning the limited vocabulary that comes with the hand washing steps.

In the Classroom

Use these resources to plan a special lesson or unit within your curriculum during the Olympics. Share articles for practice with informational text. Include the Olympics in study of world cultures, lessons on health and fitness, or discussions about personal goal setting and persistence. Share the link on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class for enrichment or individual projects.

Follow the official website of the Olympic movement to stay up to date on the latest on the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. Read news articles, watch videos, or view photos of latest events. Short articles offer information about Sochi such as information on the city and the sports venues, the election naming Sochi as the host site for the Olympics, and information about other candidate cities. Choose links at the bottom of the page to explore similar information for other Olympic host cities both past and future.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Bookmark and share this site with students to stay current on Olympic news and information. Have students explore the site on their own then choose an article to share with the class. Create a newspaper about the Olympics using a site such as Zinepal (reviewed here). Click to "Start with a blank e-Book." Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Easel.ly, reviewed here or Venngage reviewed here.

Welcome to the official home of the 2014 Olympic Winter and Paralympic Games. Explore the site to learn about Olympic events, the culture of Sochi, and view schedules for all events. Choose the mascots link to learn more about the Olympic mascots and their place within the Olympic games. Some portions of the site may appear in Russian, choose the link at the top of the page to view in English.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Bookmark this site to use as a resource during the Olympic games to find information on scheduled events and venues. Share the Paralympics portion of the site as part of your unit on disabilities. Have students create timelines of the Olympic Games (with music, photos, videos, and more) using Capzles (reviewed here). Have students use facts from this site to make Bingo cards, or board games for small groups to enjoy. Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on values on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Ask your students to visit the site and create a multimedia presentation about teamwork. Have students make a mash-up using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge Tools reviewed here. Have students use Fakebook (reviewed here) to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about any of the Olympic athletes past or present.

Take a closer look at the blood flowing in your body with this interesting interactive. Click on each of the cells to learn a little more about the types of cells and their functions. Choose from several options at the bottom of the page to get more information. Yukky Bits provides information on some of the yuckier aspects of blood. Find out how much blood you have and all about different blood types by choosing other links.

In the Classroom

Share this site on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) and explore together as a class during a unit on body systems or the circulatory system. Use an online flashcard maker, like Flashcard Stash (reviewed here). Use terms provided to help students remember different types of cells and their functions. Before viewing the site have students brainstorm or collect ideas on what they know about blood on a collaborative bulletin board like Scrumblr, reviewed here (quick start- no membership required!)

If you are looking for a general informational site about the 2014 Olympics, this is the site for you! Learn about the sports (alpine skiing, curling, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, and more), view video clips, watch a countdown (with days, hours, minutes and seconds), and more. Read and follow the information on athletes to watch as the games begin.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This is a great site to use for research about the 2014 Olympics. Share the video clips on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have individual students view different video clips and then write about what they learned on your class Olympic Wiki. Not comfortable with wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.

Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives is a resource for educators, parents, and after school programs to support students in attaining healthy lifestyles. View all of the information in the packets. There are packets for Grades K-3 and for Grades 3-6. Packets include instructional activities, planning resources tied to National Curriculum Standards, tools for parents, and additional materials such as activity cards and posters. Download most information and materials in easy to manage PDF format.

In the Classroom

Download materials for use during nutrition and health units. Use posters available on the site as inspiration for students to create their own posters, Have students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here.

This read-aloud from TeachersFirst provides some resources and suggestions of books and activities on the theme of Foods and Nutrition. The content areas can provide rich opportunities to integrate the CCSS English Language Arts standards as we teach science, health, and social studies. With the current focus on childhood obesity, the popularity of school gardens and farm-to-school initiatives, and the campaign to "eat local," the connection to food-related books is compelling. This installment in our Help! I lost my library/media specialist! series of ideas for implementing Common Core really gives you "food for thought."

In the Classroom

When teaching science, social studies, or health content about nutrition, foods, plants, or farms, consider pairing fictional books along with informational texts to maximize the potential of every unit of study. This read-aloud is a good starting point. What a perfect way to integrate healthy eating, whether during the holiday season or spring garden planting!

Visit this incredible site to bring students of all ages into a positive relationship with food by connecting it with nature and culture. Discover a sustainable food curriculum that includes Farm to School ideas and much more. This project shares a food curriculum for schools around the world to put into practice. Search and explore inspiring ideas, programs that work, and voices of the movement. Add your own story or classroom to the project to share with others around the world.

In the Classroom

Use the search feature to find lessons by grade, topic, or even season. View videos available on The Edible Schoolyard to learn how to begin a classroom or school garden. Show the videos to parents to help and participate. If your school doesn't have an area for planting a garden, be creative! Plant a small garden in a wagon to roll in and out each day! Create a class wiki and update your garden's growth through pictures and words each week. Not comfortable with wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.

Use this tool to find the calories and nutrient content of a large variety of foods found in the popular chains. Search a variety of restaurant names or search categories of foods from the chains. This site features a search bar for finding the nutrient information of the food easily. Nutrition facts include carbohydrates, fiber, fats (saturated, cholesterol, and trans fat), proteins, and sodium.

In the Classroom

Use this tool in Health, Family and Consumer Science, or a Biology classroom. Make it part of a healthy eating/anti-obesity campaign in your school. Bookmark this site or place a link on your class web site. Use to compare various chain restaurant offerings and compare the accumulated total to MyPlate guidelines. Learn more about the MyPlate guidelines (here). Have students create a food infographic comparing two favorite fast food meals using a tool such as VennGage, reviewed here.

In the Classroom

Begin your curriculum planning here. After reviewing exemplary units, use as they are, or modify to fit the needs of your students, content, or even resources adding your own personal touch. They will inspire you to dig deeper and go further with Common Core! Be sure to bookmark this site (or save in your favorites) as your go to resource for Common Core.

Other online calculators don't add up to the diverse collection of calculators Calkoo has to offer. Browse categories including measurement, wage, taxes, stock analysis, mathematics, loans, health, saving, investing, real estate, and more! Calkoo can handle many tasks, including some rather complex calculations. Complete the various fields based on the type of calculation. Some utilize radio buttons and drop down boxes, while others ask for numbers only. Create almost any kind of calculation you need with this easy accessible calculating tool. Language options include English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Russian.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Calkoo is a great free tool to replace expensive graphing calculators that many students may not have. Calkoo works well on computers, mobile devices, and interactive whiteboards. Use this site during a unit on careers, economics, or financial literacy. Include it as part of a measurement unit. Share during Family and Consumer Science units to explore the cost of living and have students put together a mythical "budget" for living in their chosen career. Have students send you on a vacation and include calculations for the currency converter, fuel cost calculator, sales tax for souvenirs, and more! This is a great site to support many experiments in science. Calculate acceleration, velocity, and time, or use the mathematics category to complete problems. Use this tool in social studies class for quickly calculating years or months from important timelines or when figuring out geographical distances. In English or L.A. classes, quickly figure out the life span of authors or how long ago a story took place. In health or science classes, use the BMI calculator or get other accurate measurements. Visit Calkoo and select a calculator to meet your needs! Include this site on your class web page for students and parents to access as a reference. The various languages make this tool very useful for ESL/ELL students.

Connect with students and scientists all over the world conducting science using GLOBE. GLOBE Scientists post their thoughts, comments, and philosophies about science topics that are sure to meet your curricular needs. Reading the blog entries is open to everyone (no registration). You must register with an email address at the bottom of the page for this free site to share comments and discuss the topics. Anonymous comments are not allowed, and moderators approve all posts before showing on the blog. This is a great science collaboration location!

In the Classroom

Have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as Wordle (reviewed here), Tagxedo (reviewed here), or WordItOut (reviewed here). Use this great site for your students to interact with students and scientists all over the world. Have your students keep a journal of their interaction on the site. Post questions from class discussions and labs for GLOBE Scientists to answer. Teach digital citizenship skills (commenting etiquette) and blogging basics to your students. The text portions are challenging, so you should pair weaker readers with a partner as they research on this site. Include this site on your class web page for students and parents to access as a reference. Watch the website to see if your students' comments generate further discussion, and to read new topics as they develop. Encourage gifted students interested in science to participate in this community as a chance to learn above their grade level.

Science NetLinks has a large variety of activities, podcasts, videos, and interactives about a variety of science topics. Search by subject or topic. View the latest Science Updates, Today in Science (Astronomy Day, Earth Day, etc.), Afterschool Resources, learn about the Project Budburst app which makes Citizen Scientists out of students, and more. Find recent lessons and view a slideshow of really great resources. Use the Tool tab of the site to find great science tools. View Collections of resources and lessons. Be sure to visit the site office to see different resources and lessons showcased.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This entire site is a great "go to" place for podcasts, interactives, activities, and more about a vast variety of science topics! Use ideas here for great lessons. Find content that students will no doubt be interested in! Be sure to place this link on your website or class computer for easy access by students. Use many of these topics for students to identify science current events.

Serving Up MyPlate is a collection of classroom materials for elementary and middle school teachers that integrates nutrition education into Math, Science, English Language Arts, and Health. The site includes Teacher Guides, songs, posters, parent handouts, games, and graphics for school meals. Choose from three different teacher guides based on grade levels to view or download in PDF format. Guides include lessons correlated to Common Core standards and include student handouts. Elementary schools participating in the National School Lunch Program or other Child Nutrition program may order free copies of several items including posters, curriculum, CDs, and handouts using the order form available on the site.

In the Classroom

Download the teacher's guide to use for lessons with any nutrition lessons. Print posters available on the site for use in your school's cafeteria. After participating in lessons and viewing provided posters, have students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here.

Find lesson plans at the Pulitzer Center for grades 3-12 that identify global issues and ways to address them. Topics include subjects such as International Adoptions: Ethics and Effects and America's Responsibility for the Welfare and Safety of Chinese Workers and many other intriguing topics. Each lesson plan includes big ideas, essential questions, Common Core standards, vocabulary, assessments, and additional resources. Bring lessons to life through journalist visits (in larger cities) or Skype visits (using the request a class visit option on the site).

In the Classroom

Use the lesson plans on the site as a resource for discussing and debating global issues. If there is no time to complete a full unit, explore resources from each topic for ideas to use in your classroom. For example, try the ideas on interviewing individuals who migrated to the United States offered in the "How Did I Become the Person That I Am" unit. Share this site with students interested in journalism careers as a resource for learning more about the profession and some of its members.