On April 25, 1901, New York became the first state to require license plates. Design your own license plate and driver's license to use when you play. Print them when you are finished.

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John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath was published April 14, 1939. Learn more about the Great American Dust Bowl, when farmland was destroyed through misguided practices, famine set in, and dust storms drove people to desperation, as depicted in the novel.

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Happy Numbers

Carefully scaffolded lessons build a strong math foundation

Pros: Scaffolding creates seamless connections from concrete models to the abstract.

Cons: Scores for growth and progress are shown, but it's missing student responses that could aid in identifying misconceptions.

Bottom Line: Depth of concepts covered and expertly paced lessons are sure to develop mathematical thinkers.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

On April 9, 1959, National Aeronautics and Space Administration introduced America's first seven astronauts. Learn about these men, all part of the Mercury Project, and the timeline the group followed from pilots to seasoned space travellers.

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Cesar Chavez was born March 30, 1927. Learn about Chavez, the Mexican American labor activist and leader of the United Farm Workers. During the 20th century, he was a leading voice for migrant farm workers.

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Readorium

Science and reading come together in aging but effective platform

Pros: Varied activities and adaptive instruction help students comprehend scientific texts.

Cons: Parts of the platform are showing their age, and it can get repetitive; there's a big focus on earning (and spending) money and tokens.

Bottom Line: There's not much out there that focuses specifically on reading science texts, so if your students can get past the dated design this could be a handy tool to turn to.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

On March 27, 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake struck Alaska's Prince William Sound region. Liquefaction in and around Anchorage tore the land apart; it was the second largest quake ever recorded by seismometers. This animation shows the underlying causes and tells how research contributed to confirmation of early theories of plate tectonics.

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Floop

Collaborative feedback platform helps teachers target, students respond and revise

Pros: Streamlines the process of giving targeted feedback to students and lets them collaborate to improve learning outcomes.

Cons: Teachers can't respond to student comments when using the peer review feature, so correcting misinformation may be a challenge.

Bottom Line: Time-saving tool allows teachers to gain valuable insights into student learning while providing more personalized feedback and scaffolded supports.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

On March 20, 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was published. Understand the experiences of novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe that led her to write the novel and impact it had on the abolitionist movement and the Civil War.

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On March 9, 1868, President Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial began in the US Senate. The trial was political in nature, calling out Johnson's violation of the Tenure of Office Act, lenient policies toward Reconstruction and vetoes of civil rights related acts.

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Vibrant videos and lessons get students thinking about science.

Pros: Each video is paired with high-quality lesson materials.

Cons: Some lessons miss opportunities to let students drive the investigation.

Bottom Line: NGSS-aligned science lessons include videos, experiments, and quizzes.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

On February 27, 1936, Shirley Temple, aged 7, received a contract from 20th Century Fox paying $50,000 per film. This guide offers a history of child film star Shirley Temple's career with audio and video.

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Ansel Adams, famous for his black and white nature photography, was born February 29, 1902.  Check out more information about his timeline, images and books.

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Win the White House

Presidential campaign game turns students into electoral strategists

Pros: Get students to explore real-life political issues and the election process. There's tons of in-game help as well as extension resources.

Cons: The student goes first in each round, gaining an unfair advantage. It's unclear what the effects of some choices are, like running mate and home state.

Bottom Line: This game gives students a valuable perspective on the nuts and bolts of political campaigns, and the tough choices they must make.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

BBC iReporter

Spot real stories, dodge fake news in cheeky media literacy sim

Pros: Gameplay is silly and fun, and it takes critical thinking and media literacy savvy to succeed.

Cons: Students probably won't want to play it more than once, and teachers will have to come up with context-setting and reflection activities on their own.

Bottom Line: A refreshingly modern way for students to explore how to filter and interpret info and media during breaking news events.

[PBS Announces Free Media Literacy Micro-Credentials for PreK-12 Educators]

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Rosa Parks was born February 4, 1913. This article explores Rosa Park's famous act of civil disobedience -- refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger. Her subsequent arrest sparked a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system and the 1956 Supreme Court decision banning segregation on public transportation.

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GameSalad

[50 Sites & Apps for K-12 Education Games]

Great interface, flexible publishing options make game-making a snap

Pros: Empowers kids with the ability to custom-create games; amazing online support.

Cons: Full features (including publishing student-created apps) require a pricey subscription fee.

Bottom Line: Engaging interface and tutorials will empower budding game designers, but the price tag could be a deal-breaker for tight school budgets.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, was born January 29, 1737. Read about the rhetorical touches Thomas Paine employed in this pamphlet which galvanized colonial thought about breaking away from Mother England.

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Georgetown University was established January 23, 1789. Check out the etchings, lithographs and woodcuts featured in the virtual exhibition from Georgetown University's collection.

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Comprehensive note keeper offers loads of organizational features

Pros: Students can organize notes and filter searches by folder, color, and tags; syncs easily with the creator’s web clipper and screencasting tools.

Cons: Things can get cluttered easily if students don’t maintain good organizational habits.

Bottom Line: Customized notes sync across devices to enhance productivity and promote a paperless classroom.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

January 17, 1929: Edwin Hubble publishes the paper that first showed that the universe is expanding. The Hubble Space Telescope has helped formulate our knowledge of the universe. The telescope will soon be retired and replaced by a newer, more powerful telescope. 

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Lalilo

K-2 literacy program offers comprehensive, adaptive activities

Pros: Focused design. Great skills coverage. Offers student-driven, adaptive learning with at-a-glance data.

Cons: Activities could use text instructions and better modeling. More support videos would help. No placement test (yet).

Bottom Line: An easy-to-recommend tool thanks to its broad coverage of key skills and nice balance of student-driven and teacher-differentiated learning.

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App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Learn about the "art theft of the century," the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa, in this exploration of the crime, the investigation of the suspects, and the return of the masterpiece to the Louvre.

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12/31 is the day to say goodbye to 2019. Why? Discover the importance of time and the calendar, and how they each bring order to life. Understand the passage of time, how to keep time, time zones, and more.

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Celebrate Roots Day 12/23 by following featured stories of Americans with different backgrounds who wanted to know more about their ancestors' journeys to America.  Each used immigration and genealogy records to complete their family histories. 

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Pros: Fun and exciting projects illustrate exactly how machine learning is being applied in the real world.

Cons: Setup takes some time and patience.

Bottom Line: It takes a topic that would be difficult to teach in any practical way and makes it accessible for the classroom.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

On December 21 (Crossword Puzzle Day) check out these 53 themed puzzles. Test your knowledge on themes and word knowledge. Challenge yourself to do all 53 puzzles for each level. Have a great time puzzling!

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What better way to acknowledge Violin Day (12/13) than to access the collection of stringed musical instruments housed at the Library of Congress? The photographs, construction details, recordings, articles, and related resources will be music to your ears.

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Modern, minimalist fake news game has players be the bad guys

Pros: Supports multiple languages and the minimalist design makes it very easy to follow.

Cons: The emphasis on how Twitter might not be relatable to students; choices tend to lead to similar outcomes.

Bottom Line: Quick, fun, and to-the-point, this game gets at the social mechanics behind viral falsehoods.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

The 5th of December is recognized as the day we celebrate the repeal of the 18th Amendment. The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion questions. Topics discussed in this unit include the following: Becoming Modern: America in the 1920s: Wets & Drys. Includes news items on Prohibition, political cartoons, art work, and newsreels of the day.

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Square dancing has been part of American culture since the colonial settlers blended their varied traditions together. Celebrate the dancing in squares on Square Dance Day (11/29). Check out history, historic photos, and an audio track of "Gents Go Center."

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The 18th is National Adoption Day. Learn all about adoption with Adoption.com. The focus here is on adoption, including information about adopting a child, putting your child up for adoption, choosing a family, reunion of child and birth parent, and much more.

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DataClassroom

Statistical analysis for science classrooms made easy

Pros: Helps students visualize what certain statistical tools can tell us about data.

Cons: Most of the actual calculations and data analysis is done for the students.

Bottom Line: Perform a t-test or chi-square analysis using your own data or provided data sets.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Students can make a difference in their communities by joining 6 million other young people trying to change the world for the better. As part of Do Something, they can home in on their interests, use the resources available, and share their expertise to create positive change. 

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Roblox

Popular game development platform has classroom potential

Pros: Roblox gives students a platform to share their games with a real audience.

Cons: With millions of users worldwide, it’s impossible to control the people and content students will encounter on Roblox.

Bottom Line: Teens who love gaming can learn to be developers, too, with Roblox's tools and hosting service.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Celebrate Aviation History Month this November with this online exhibit featuring the Wright Brothers. Experience the discovery of flight through three different interactive experiments. The first has an engineering focus helping understand the forces of flight, the second is a gallery of original artifacts related to the history of flight, and the third is a wonderful collection of songs that were inspired by flight. This resource helps illustrate the Wright Brothers' story and their impact on culture of the day.

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CodeMonkey

Puzzler's use of real code fills niche in crowded learn-to-code genre

Pros: Charming art mixed with serious programming challenges and a gradual learning curve.

Cons: Advanced students may find challenges move too slowly, and struggling students may need more than the included hints.

Bottom Line: A great intro to coding, with solid teacher support, gets students using real programming languages and digging into some meatier concepts than other early coding tools.

Read more here.

By Common Sense Education

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

Are you ready for Carve a Pumpkin Day (otherwise known as Halloween) on 10/31? Check out some ways to upgrade your pumpkin carving game. Master carvers share tips on how to bring your pumpkin to the next level this Halloween.

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Comic Life

Creative tool for visual storytelling through comics

Pros: Offers a creative outlet to demonstrate concepts in all content areas.

Cons: Lacks some features for classroom use; kids may spend too much time playing with the program and not completing a project.

Bottom Line: Comic Life helps students apply their understanding with a creative approach, but guidelines are needed to ensure success.

Read more 

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

 IXL

Immediate feedback and breadth a major plus, despite emphasis on drills

Pros: Tool helps students develop confidence and clearly track progress.
Cons: Drilling limits opportunities for kids to apply skills in real-world ways
Bottom Line: Students can improve targeted skills with tons of practice modules and visually appealing tasks.

Read more here.

By Common Sense Education

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

The 12th of October is Old Farmers Day.  This Interactive decision-making game lets you be a farmer. What crops should you grow? Which animals should you raise? Can you make a profit?

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micro:bit

Code games or fun displays with mini piece of hardware

Pros: Ability to learn block coding, JavaScript, or Python; can be used with Scratch and Arduino.

Cons: Connecting via Bluetooth is challenging; must download the program to the device each time.

Bottom Line: This versatile tool for learning how to program with blocks or text is a nice fit for STEM classes and clubs.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Celebrate World Egg Day on October 11th by visiting the Incredible Edible Egg Eggcyclopedia. Learn about  egg candling, one of the tasks of the egg grader. This Eggcyclopedia is a searchable dictionary for all things having to do with eggs.

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NBC Learn

Vast video site offers current, historical content

Pros: The archive is truly impressive. Teachers can create playlists or download videos. Integrates with Google Classroom.

Cons: Can't re-arrange videos in a playlist. Learning activities aren't integrated with viewing.

Bottom Line: This is a great source for video-based news, thanks to the huge archive, current events coverage, and teacher-friendly extra links to Newsela articles.

Read more 

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Celebrate Mad Hatter Day (9/6) by visiting the classic Alice in Wonderland tale. This beautiful online edition of the Lewis Carroll classic is written in large text for easy legibility, and includes illustrations from eleven different versions of the story. 

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Formative

Superb real-time assessment tool a fit for BYOD, 1-to-1 

Pros: Flexible features make creating simple or detailed assessments a snap, and the ability to see student responses in real time helps teachers meet students where they are.

Cons: Assignments are tailored to individual use and lack opportunities for peer collaboration.

Bottom Line: Cleverly designed for teachers, Formative offers a flexible and attractive solution for gathering a variety of student response types and offering individualized feedback.

Read more here.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Peter Rabbit, Peter Cottontail, Bugs Bunny, and Thumper are all famous—but fictional—rabbits. Since September 23rd is international rabbit day, let’s study “real rabbits” with this in-depth resource about rabbits, their behavior, appearance, reproduction, and classification.

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Google Classroom

Simplify communication, collaboration, and document sharing

Pros: Easy-to-learn interface; integrates with lots of apps and websites; seamlessly share, collect, and grade G Suite documents.

Cons: Integration with student information services is still in development; no standards-based grading options.

Bottom Line: Google Classroom is a great way to manage and organize learning, though teachers who need more features may need to look elsewhere.

[Add Fun to Classroom Communications with Today's Top Pick]

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

Read more here.

By Common Sense Education

Khan Academy

Missions boost learning with balance of focus and freedom to explore

Pros: Mastery-focused missions set the pace for each student individually while continuous assessment gives teachers valuable real-time data.

Cons: Video instruction may be too fast-paced for some learners; a fair amount of instruction is only delivered via text with few illustrations.

Bottom Line: A solid resource for math and science instruction as well as foundational knowledge in a number of other high school subjects.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Art of Problem Solving

Variety of math content supports struggling and advanced learners

Pros: Presents information in multiple ways; courses are organized specifically by grade level.

Cons: The forums are a bit hard to navigate; continued use of the program could get a bit pricy over time.

Bottom Line: Separate sections for younger and older students help to teach kids at all levels, from foundational skills up to Math Olympiad training.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education