Teachers are lifelong students. They are constantly learning and encouraging others to love learning, and they are continuously growing, adapting, and striving to be better teachers. While teaching conferences and professional development are typical and common parts of a teacher’s life, educators are usually looking for more. Teaching today is getting more and more difficult also, as students are harder to engage and there are far more distractions that teachers face in the classroom. This just means that every ounce of assistance teachers can get, they will take. They embrace professional development and educational resources day in and day out so they can improve their teaching methods and help their students more effectively. There are platforms like Teach To One, helping teachers make education more interesting and engaging for the students. We’ve narrowed down a list of some of the best and most helpful developmental resources available to educators today, and we firmly believe that every single one of these resources has something to offer every teacher.
Education World
Education World offers teachers a large number of valuable resources, including lesson plans and planning assistance, technology tips and integration, professional development resources, and much more. There are printable templates for classroom decorations and resources, and there are entire sections devoted to new teachers, back to school time, early childhood resources, and more. Education World also has a number of resources for administrators, from news relevant to school administrations to leadership resources and more. The lesson plan resources are broken down into worksheets, tools and templates, 5-minute lessons, icebreakers, and more. The technology resources section of Education World consists of technology news and information about technology in the classroom, an article library, games related to science, math, and reading, and links to web quests and website reviews. There is even a lesson library where teachers can explore older lesson plans by subject and read articles related to lesson planning and teacher preparation.
Teachers Pay Teachers
Here you’ll find an endless supply of ready-to-use resources that are available for free or at a low price. These were all created by teachers and this website is simply a platform to share with other teachers. This site has worksheets, printables, assessments, flashcards, games, graphic organizers, lesson plans, math centers, outlines, presentations, professional documents, study guides, web quests, and so much more. You can search or browse by resource type, price, grade level, or school subject. Prices range from free to more than $10, but there are sale items occasionally and you typically receive everything you purchase in a digital bundle immediately. Teachers Pay Teachers has an entire section of professional development resources, including entire binder setups, bulletin board ideas and templates, teaching challenges and recommendations, and so much more.
Discovery Education
This resource seeks to take students’ learning from inside the classroom to the world beyond the school walls. It encourages teachers to “reimagine learning” and engage students by igniting their curiosity. Discovery Education offers teachers supplementary resources, access to a community of educators to collaborate with, and easy-to-implement professional development tools. This company provides digital curriculum resources that are used all over the United States and they have created what they call “tech” books for a variety of subjects and also offer multimedia content, STEM challenges, and more. Their professional development community offers subject-based resources as well as leadership and digital literacy resources to push educators to better engage students and make standards-based instruction more effective and interesting.
EduTopia
Edutopia focuses on increasing knowledge of what works in education and offering resources and tools to apply those insights within the classroom. This website is incredibly comprehensive and offers not only access to a website and blog full of information, but it also provides a community within which to share, learn, and grow. Edutopia has a versatile range of topics covered in their resources, but their most common subject areas include comprehensive assessment, project-based learning, social and emotional learning, technology integration, professional development, and educational leadership. New teachers have a section entirely devoted to them, and there are a number of other resources related to classroom management, differentiated instruction, student engagement, and teaching strategies.
BookWidgets
The main part of this website is a digital lesson creation tool designed to help you plan the best lessons possible for your students. The main goal behind this website is to minimize prep and planning time for teachers, as well as reduce paperwork. It’s an easy-to-use platform with simple technological integration and interactive learning experiences for students and teachers alike. Additionally, the BookWidgets blog is full of helpful resources as well, including articles on relevant topics such as developmental resources, project-based learning tools, student motivation, in-class app usage, and more.
Joy of Professional Learning
This website was started with the goal of shifting from professional development to professional learning. The founders acknowledge that teachers are lifelong learners and should be treated as such, and they’ve begun a revolution of changing the methods of education for themselves that can then be applied with students in a classroom. The joy of Professional Learning has books, products, and other materials accessible to teachers to advance their professional learning and to expand their knowledge on a number of topics applicable to educators.
Scholastic for Teachers
Most teachers have already heard of this developmental resource, but it’s good enough to remind them about it. It is a common go-to source for educators, particularly those in elementary schools, for educational resources, solutions, and tools. With its primary focus on reading and literacy, Scholastic for Teachers provides a lesson and unit plans, teaching guides, vocabulary lists, book lists and discussion guides, teacher and classroom magazines, educational videos, student activities, and more. There is also a teaching blog with informational articles on a variety of topics that will help teachers with professional development, in-class activities, and more.
Embrace Resources and Professional Development to Grow as a Teacher
As an educator, you know how important it is to be constantly learning and always striving to improve your teaching. Whether you’re focusing on professional development, classroom management, new teaching methods, or integrating technology into more engaging lessons, you’ll be on the right track with any one of these valuable resources.
