6 Classroom Management Tips: 
http://www.nea.org/tools/51721.htm

Classroom Management with Discipline Plans: Surveys and discussion boards.  Includes lots of hints from classroom teachers
http://www.proteacher.com/030000.shtml

11 Techniques for Better Classroom Discipline: 
http://www.honorlevel.com/x47.xml

Classroom Management:  Strategies From Teachers Helping Teachers Several ideas for effective classroom management.
http://www.theteachersguide.com/ClassManagement.htm

Creating a Climate for Learning: Effective Classroom Management: Learn how to stop nagging and start teaching. Included: Twelve teacher-tested tips for behavior management
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr155.shtml

 

I belive in setting a welcoming, organized, and positive classroom – some of this can be achieved by your classroom set up.  The link below gives a few examples that you can do.
http://www.nea.org/tools/17573.htm

Tips to show you care and build that positive environment.
http://www.nea.org/tools/15765.htm

Below are some great sites to give you ideas for lessons:

http://www.free.ed.gov/

http://www.thinkfinity.org/

www.more.mel.org

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/index.cfm

http://teachers.net/lessons/

PBS Teaching Resource Center: This site for K-12 teachers is an environment where new teachers can feel safe asking questions, using free tools and printing lesson and activity plans for class assignments.

How to build relationships with students and why it is important.
http://www.nea.org/tools/29469.htm

Great article on positive student-teacher relations. 
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/105124/chapters/Developing_Positive_Teacher-Student_Relations.aspx

Relationships are the key to classroom management.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept03/vol61/num01/The-Key-to-Classroom-Management.aspx

Strategies, lessons and ideas to teacher character in your classroom.
http://charactercounts.org/resources/index.html

Time management in the classroom.
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/time-management

Time saving tips.
http://www.educationoasis.com/resources/Articles/time_saving_tips.htm

Great Classroom Ideas.
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/classroom-management/new-teacher/48352.html

Having students engaged in your class is extremely important!  Not only to help them understand material better, but for classroom management.  Below are some ideas to help you as you always keep in mind student engagement in your lesson planning.

A-Z for Student Engagement  http://www.angelamaiers.com/2008/04/engagement-alph.html

How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class http://www.edutopia.org/classroom-student-participation-tips

 Student Engagement Resource Roundup  http://www.edutopia.org/student-engagement-resources

 

I love incorporating technology in my class and finding new ideas!  Below are some great blog sites that can help you with ways you can use technology in your classroom:

http://www.ilearntechnology.com/
http://web20classroom.blogspot.com/ – my favorite!
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ – awesome!
http://teacherbootcamp.edublogs.org/

1.    Poll Everywhere
An inexpensive and quick alternative for clicker response systems. Create your first poll in 30 seconds without having to sign up. Your students simply text their answer to a predetermined number and, voila! Poll Everywhere is free if your class size is less than 40 students.

2.    Animoto
Use Animoto to easily create presentations and videos with your own images and music, or choose from a library of stock files. Teachers can apply for a free Animoto Plus account.

3.    Edmodo
Edmodo is a social network that you set up for your class. It looks like, feels like and smells like Facebook; however, it employs many safety precautions that keep students on task. Students cannot have private chats with each other, invite anyone to the class group or make private posts. It’s great because you can use it as a resource to answer questions and stay connected with your students outside of school.

4.    Edublogs
With Edublogs, you can create and manage your own teacher blog as well as student blogs. You can customize designs and include videos, images and podcasts. Best of all, it’s safe and secure.

5.    Wikispaces  
With a free option for K-12 teachers, Wikispaces is a great tool for making custom webpages that your students can edit together. You can manage privacy settings, create student accounts without email addresses, embed media and even customize the design of your Wiki pages.

6.    Photobucket
Photobucket is a popular website that can be used to store and share your images and videos for free. It’s a handy tool for transferring files between your home and work computer.

7.    Gizmoz
Animate a picture of yourself with Gizmoz’s avatar creation studio. Your students will get a kick out of it!

8.    Screencast
Screencast is another media storage website. With a free account, you get 2GB of storage and 2GB of bandwidth a month. You keep the rights to everything you upload and you can determine the privacy settings for each file. From there, Screencast makes it easy to share and embed your media. Screencast also works seamlessly with TechSmith’s screen recording Camtasia software.

9.    Celly  
Celly is a free group text messaging program for schools with no user limit. It’s easy to start a group chat and create a class poll using text messages. Curators filter the messages before they are sent to the group. This keeps students on-topic and deters cyberbullying.

10.    VoiceThread
VoiceThread’s group conversations are stored and shared in one place, from anywhere in the world. It allows you to create multimedia slideshows with images, videos and documents. Others can view the slides and then leave text, audio or video comments.

11.    Twitter   Many teachers create a class Twitter account and use it as a way for students to contact them with questions about homework, due dates, and exams. It’s a quick alternative to writing out an entire email and most students have Twitter apps on their phones.

12.    Dropbox 
Dropbox isn’t specific to teachers, but it’s a very handy tool. I’ve spoken with many teachers who use it with their students to share documents, turn in homework, etc. If you haven’t already given Dropbox a try, I’m telling you, it’s worthwhile. It’ll make your life so much easier.

13.    Flickr
Like Photobucket, Flickr is another free image hosting service that allows you to access your files from any computer with an internet connection.

14.    WordPress 
WordPress is a blogging platform that allows you a lot of versatility in the kind of content you can offer. Create a class blog where you post links to helpful readings and give updates on assignments. It’s free to sign up and start a blog.

15.    Prezi 
Prezi is a really neat cloud-based presentation program that allows you to zoom in and out. If you don’t mind your slides being public, you can sign up for a free account with 100MB of storage.

16.    Google Docs
Create, share and collaboratively edit documents using a Google account. Google Docs is especially useful for group projects where students are working together on an assignment. Ask your students to provide you with access to their Google Doc while they’re working on it so that you can give them real-time feedback on their progress.

17.    Google Earth
Google Earth is a nifty tool that is being used by educators around the world. It puts the planet’s geographic information at your fingertips and can be utilized in a variety of educational activities. There’s even a helpful Google Earth for Educators Community where you can go for new ideas or to share some of your own.

18.    YouTube
With millions of YouTube videos, there’s bound to be something that’s relatable to your lesson. There are step-by-step tutorials, news clips, editorials, short documentaries and more. Recently, YouTube launched an education-specific version of the website called YouTube for Teachers.

19.    Google Calendar
Google Calendar is great for planning lessons, exams and keeping track of assignment due dates. It’s fast, intuitive, and only requires a Google account. It also has the ability to sync with some smart phones.

20.    Evernote
Evernote is cool because it is available across several platforms like Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad. It allows you to take notes that are accessible from any of the computers, phones or tablets that you use.

21.    Vimeo 
Vimeo is kind of like YouTube in that it is a place for you to easily upload any kind of video you create—even high definition. A free account gives you access to 500MB worth of storage each week that you can use for a variety of things like customizing your website or blog.

22.    IMDb
Use IMDb, the internet movie database, to see if there are any movies that are relevant to the topic you’re teaching. If you find one, you can also check the rating to make sure it’s appropriate for your classroom.

23.    Teaching Channel
This website is a little bit like YouTube because you can watch streaming videos. However, it’s very different because each video shares teaching ideas and methods that can be implemented in a classroom.

24.    Testmoz
Use Testmoz to automatically generate free online tests using four different question types. You and your students don’t need to register, and you can build a fully functional test in about a minute.
25.    WeVideo    WeVideo is an online video editing program that you can use collaboratively with others. It is easy to add effects, music and narration to a personal or group project. WeVideo also takes the hassle out of sharing by providing options for popular social media sites.

26.    Screencast-O-Matic 
Screencast-O-Matic is an online screen recorder with a one-click recording feature. You can use it from your browser on either a Windows or Mac computer. You can video up to 15 minutes in length for free.

27.    Quizlet
As one of the largest and most popular flashcard creation websites around, Quizlet allows students and teachers to customize their own “sets” of flashcards. You can manage access to the flashcards you create and share them with your students.

28.    Dipity
With Dipity, you can find, create and embed interactive timelines. The best part is that you can add photos to customize the look of each timeline. This website is especially useful for providing your students with a visual representation of a sequence of events. It’s great for history and English teachers.

29.    Yugma
Yugma instantly shares your desktop with a single student for free. Use it for providing extra afterschool help to struggling students.

30.    Fold3
This website is an online collection of historical military records. There are millions of images and documents that can be searched and annotated with additional information. Everything is categorized by war which makes it easy to fit into a history lesson plan.

31.    Gliffy
Gliffy is one of my favorite web 2.0 tools. You can use it to create attractive and professional graphic organizers like Venn diagrams and flow charts. Unfortunately, to receive full access to their services, you have to pay for it. However, you can sign up for a free 30 day trial.

32.    Iconfinder 
For the tech-savvy teachers out there, Iconfinder is a cool place to download free icons for your customized website or blog. Some of the icons can even be used on worksheets and in PowerPoint presentations.

33.    SlideShare
SlideShare is one of the most popular ways to upload and share PowerPoint presentations and other documents. Again, this is a great tool for transferring documents between your home and school computer without having to carry around a flash drive.

34.    Quora
Although not specific to teachers, Quora is basically a wealth of the world’s information. The gist of it is that if you have a question, say about a topic in your homework, you log in and post it. There, people who follow that topic will answer. I’ve met teachers who give the website out for high-level classes like physics and chemistry. It’s a great way for students to get a nudge in the right direction on a project or difficult assignment.

35.    Penzu
Penzu is home to what is probably the most realistic imitation of lined paper on the internet. This nifty online journal is accessible from any computer with the internet, so it’s great for writing prompts and class notes.

36.    Make Beliefs Comix 
Create your own comic strip for free. You can write in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Latin. After you’re done creating, you can print your customized comic or email it to yourself.

37.    Forvo
Forvo is the world’s largest pronunciation dictionary. It’s very valuable for foreign language teachers because you can look up any word and hear it pronounced by an authentic native speaker.

38.    Dictionary.com  
Use Dictionary.com as a quick reference for words that your students don’t know. Often times it’s a lot faster than whipping out a conventional dictionary because you can simply type the word into the search engine.

39.    Wallwisher
Wallwisher is basically an online message board where you post “Sticky Notes.” You can make one for yourself to help you remember important events and dates, or create one for your class. You can even choose to approve each sticky note before it is created so that you can monitor what’s being said.

40.    Google Talk 

An instant messaging program that only requires a Google account. The nice part about it is that many students are likely to have a Google account so they can always reach you when they have questions about homework.

41.    Google Sites  
Google Sites is a free and easy way to create and share webpages and wikis.

42.    Gmail
Gmail is one of the most versatile free email programs out there. It’s really easy to use and you can access it from any computer with an internet connection. Most smartphones also have an app that allows you to check your email while you’re on the go. This is really great if you give your students your email address.

43.    TeacherTube
TeacherTube is exactly what it sounds like—YouTube for teachers. A colleague of mine introduced me to TeacherTube last year and it’s been a favorite ever since. The design of the website is getting a little outdated (it’s reminiscent of past versions of YouTube), but there are many educational videos to choose from. Plus, students love it because a) they’re watching videos, and b) it reminds them of where they find clips of ceiling cat.

44.    Dabbleboard
Dabbleboard is an online whiteboard drawing interface that allows you to collaborate and share your work with an unlimited number of users.

45.    Podomatic
Create and upload your own podcast or find a variety of free podcasts on Podomatic.

46.    Diigo
Use Diigo to highlight text and images on webpages that you’ve found and then access them at a later date from your Diigo account. You can also create sticky notes if you need to write additional comments. When you return to the website, all of the annotations you made are still there.

47.    Zamzar 
Another one of my favorite websites, Zamzar is a free online file conversion service. It’s super easy to use and all you have to do is upload your file and enter in an email for the converted file to be sent to.

48.    Scribd  
Scribd is a web 2.0 document sharing site where you can upload, store and embed various types of files. It’s another popular option for moving files between your home and school computer.

49.    BibMe 
BibMe might be the easiest way to create a works cited page. You can search for a book, article, website or film and it automatically generates the information for you. You can also enter in the information yourself if you have it on hand.

50.    MediaFire  
MediaFire is a free file and image hosting website. It is nice because you can upload and download your documents from any computer with an internet connection and only you have access to them.

51.    Google Bookmarks  
Keep track of websites that you’ve visited and add searchable notes to them.

52.    Create-a-Graph 
Use Create-a-Graph to make attractive graphs for free. Choose from bar, line, area, pie and simple XY coordinate graphs.

53.    Remember the Milk
Remember the Milk is a free online to-do list and task manager. It’s cool because you can use it from a number of different platforms including Gmail, Twitter, iPad, iPhone, Android, and more.

54.    ClassMarker 
ClassMarker is an online quiz and test creation website. As an educator, you get 100 free tests taken (and graded!) per month.

56.    Meebo Messenger
In my opinon, Meebo Messenger is the best instant messaging application there is. You don’t have to download any kind of software—all you have to do is sign up for an account. With Meebo, you can chat with students on different instant messaging platforms without having to download or use that specific platform yourself.

57.    Blabberize
Blabberize is a fun web 2.0 tool that allows you to upload a picture (of a person or animal), select its mouth, and make it talk by adding an audio file. Like Gizmoz, your students are sure to get a kick out of it!

58.    Primary Pad
PrimaryPad is an online word processor that allows students and teachers to work together in real-time.

59.    EasyBib
Use EasyBib to automatically generate works cited and bibliography information for academic papers using MLA, APA and Chicago/Turabian citation styles. Easybib is a student favorite.

60.    Crocodoc
Crocodoc is very useful for reviewing and marking up student papers and assignments. You can upload and display documents in your browser without Flash or any plugins and then use the Crocodoc tools to write comments, edit and highlight.

61.    Sharendipity 
Customize, create and share your own educational games with Sharendipity. You don’t need any programming skills to get started. Just choose one of several game templates or start from scratch.

62.    TypeIt
TypeIt is handy for foreign language teachers and students. Use it to easily type accents and diacritics online without a language-specific keyboard. TypeIt is nice because you can move back and forth between Microsoft Word with cut and paste.

63.    TubeChop  
If you want to show a YouTube video in class that isn’t entirely appropriate or relevant, use Tubechop to cut out all of the excess and only keep what you want to show.

64.    Mindomo
Mindomo is another online mind mapping tool. It’s neat because you can collaborate in real-time with others and share/embed what you’ve created. You get three free mind maps.

65.    4shared
Enjoy 10GB of free file storage at 4shared. Since everything is stored in the cloud, you can access it from any computer with an internet connection.

66.    bitly
If you tend to provide your students with a lot of links to online readings, activities, etc., you should look into using bitly’s link shortening service so you aren’t sending your kids super long URLs. You can even track how many times each link has been clicked to get an idea of how many students actually followed your instructions.

67.    Creative Commons Search
Easily find images and files that can be freely used for worksheets, presentations and more with the Creative Commons Search. Every once and a while you’ll come across something that isn’t licensed for use; however, the majority of results can be shared and edited.

68.    Certificate Street 
Formerly MyAwardMaker, Certificate Street is a great place to find awards for your students. Select the award template you want from the list of categories. Then download it, fill it out and print! Premium templates without a watermark are available for a small fee.

69.    youconvertit 
youconvertit is a good online conversion website that allows you to convert and send files up to 100MB. You also enjoy 200MB of free storage.

70.    AuthorSTREAM  AuthorSTREAM is another one of many websites that allow you to upload a PowerPoint presentation and access it from any computer with an internet connection. It’s nice because you can select the privacy settings you want for your PowerPoint. 

71.    Block Posters 
Upload a large image to Block Posters and create any size wall poster you want for free! This website is great for decorating your classroom if you’ve got high-quality digital photographs or art files.

72.    Screenr 
Screenr is one of the best instant screencast tools available. It’s free and you can record on your PC or Mac, play it anywhere—even on your iPhone—and there’s nothing to download (as long as you have JAVA installed on your computer).

73.    SurveyMonkey
Create and publish your own online survey or quiz in minutes. You can make 10-question surveys with 100 respondents for free. It’s super easy to use and you don’t have to download anything.

74.    Tricider 
Tricider is great for online brainstorming and voting and can be used to gather feedback from your students on class projects and awards. You can even embed and share your topic which makes it easy to get responses.

75.    Tagxedo
Tagxedo is an awesome word cloud creation tool. You can turn customized text, websites, blogs, twitter accounts and more into stunning designs based on the frequency of words found in the medium. There are numerous designs and color schemes to choose from that can be saved to your computer or shared.

76.    dotSUB
dotSUB is especially useful for foreign language teachers. Use it to watch videos with subtitles in the target language, or upload your own video and create your own subtitles.

77.    Khan Academy
With over 2,600 videos ranging from arithmetic to history, Khan Academy is a great tool for reviewing a subject that you’ve already taught. Also, the website is just beginning to post practice exercises for additional reinforcement.

78.    SchoolTube
SchoolTube is a moderated video sharing website for K-12 students and teachers. Find videos on everything from anime to zoology. The design of the website is more modern than TeacherTube, which a lot of students appreciate.

79.    Wikipedia
While some argue that Wikipedia isn’t the most academic place to go for information, it’s a fantastic reference for quick facts and getting on the right track. A lot of teachers have their students use it as a foundation for a project and ask them to use other sources when citing material.

80.    Appolicious  
If you have a BYOD (bring your own device) policy at your school, you can use Appolicious to find a mobile app that fits your lesson plans. It gives you a description of each app, how much it costs, a screenshot and user reviews. There’s even a section that is specific to education so you don’t have to browse through irrelevant apps.

81.    Engrade
Engrade has thousands of members who utilize its free grade book, messaging, homework calendar, quizzes, attendance tracker and more. It’s one of my favorite web 2.0 tools.

82.    Cramberry 
Use Cramberry to create, study and share your flashcards online. You can download the Cramberry app on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to access your flashcards on-the-go. It’s nice because it analyzes your progress and shows you cards that you need to focus on.

83.    Writeboard
Writeboard allows you to create sharable, web-based text documents that let you save and view every version of your content. It can be used as an individual or collaboratively which makes it perfect for group assignments.

84.    Teacher Planet  
Teacher Planet has hundreds of downloadable templates for lesson plans, rubrics and more.

85.    Convert pdf to word
This nifty website allows you to turn static PDF pages into editable Microsoft Word documents.

86.    Online Stopwatch Online Stopwatch is a web-based stopwatch that is easy to display on an interactive whiteboard and can count up or down. Use it for timed exams, essays, and standardized tests.

87.    Hootsuite
If you use social media to communicate with your students about homework assignment due dates, projects, etc., then you should give Hootsuite a try. Use it to schedule message reminders ahead of time so that you don’t risk forgetting, too.

88.    Microsoft Worldwide Telescope
Microsoft Worldwide Telescope allows your computer to act as a virtual telescope by bringing together images from the most advanced telescopes around the world. It’s great for science teachers who are doing a lesson on Astronomy, or even English and History teachers who are discussing ancient Greek and Roman gods.

89.    Poll Daddy
With a free account, you can create online surveys and quizzes with up to 10 questions. However, you only get 200 responses a month, so it’s not something you can use every day. Your students can respond via your website, email, Facebook, iPad and Twitter. Also, the free account comes with some basic reports so that you can quickly see how well your class understands the topic.

90.    Zoomerang
Use Zoomerang to create an unlimited number of online surveys and polls that can be answered via email, Facebook, Twitter or your website. Quizzes with up to 10 questions and 100 responses are free.

91.    Disapainted
Animate basic web-based paint drawings with Disapainted. It’s a cool way to give life to a simple concept and, since it’s online, it’s even easier to project onto your interactive whiteboard.

92.    Grammarly
Share Grammarly with your students because it’s a user friendly way to improve a paper. Simply copy and paste text into the box and click “check text.” Within 30 seconds, it provides a detailed analysis that includes 150 different grammar rules, plagiarism, word choice and more. The only downside is that Grammarly is a premium service; however, you can sign up for a free sevenday trial.

93.    Live Binders
Live Binders is a cool online storage and organization tool. You can use it to create tabs for your important documents.

94.    Cueprompter
A lot of students have a hard time giving class presentations, but Cueprompter helps to relieve some of the nerves. Copy and paste your script into the box and it displays just like a real teleprompter. Plus, it’s free to use.

95.    Twiddla
Twiddla is a web-conferencing service that is great for helping students out after school. You can mark up graphics and websites, use it to brainstorm and more. It even has a few other nifty features that are free, including voice chat.

96.    YouSendIt
YouSendIt is an online service that allows you to upload and send large files via email. Use it to send documents to colleagues.

97.    Socrative
This web 2.0 tool uses cell phones and/or laptops to gather feedback from students. You can post as many questions as you’d like, which is nice if you have several classes.

98.    Memplai
Create videos in collaboration with your social network. The online video editing tools are useful if you don’t already have video editing software on your computer.

99.    Wordle
Create beautiful word clouds from text that you provide. Like Tagxedo, it gives prominence to words that appear most frequently. You can save, print and share your creation.

MORE!

• Glogster
  Great way to share posters and images you’ve made with friends
• Edmodo
  Social learning environment and one of the best ways to teach with tech
• Bubbl.us 
  Free application to brainstorm online
• Twitter
  The micro blogging service that many love or hate.
• WordPress
  Content publishing system. It’s gone way beyond just blogging.
• Prezi 
  Innovative way to share presentations without PowerPoint
• Wallwisher
  An online notice board maker (or bulletin board if you choose)
• Animoto
  Make beautiful videos from images in a snap
• Blabberize
  Make your images talk…that’s right.
• Weebly
  Create your own website or blog, very easy to use
• Flickr
  Popular photo-sharing site now lets you print
• Slideshare
  Don’t waste your presentation after it’s over, share it with millions!
• Audioboo
  Easily record and share audio
• VoiceThread
• GoogleDocs
  The top real-time document creating and editing cloud-based system
• GoogleSites
  Make your own website while knowing nothing about websites!
• Diigo
  Popular social bookmarking site
• GoogleEarth
  View anywhere in the world anytime
• Wordle
  Create a beautiful aggregation of any amount of text
• Wikis
  Crowdsourcing at its finest. Like Wikipedia, Wikispaces is very helpful
• Wix
  Easily make your own flash-based website
• Ning
  Despite a new cost-based membership program, Ning allows you to have your own social network
• Primarypad
  Web-based word processor
• Spicy Nodes
  Innovative way to organize your web visits
• Delicious
  One of the top social bookmarking sites on the web
• Myebook
  Virtually publish your book and sell it
• Voki
  Get your own avatar and even have it talk with your voice
• DoInk
  Create animations using this simple website
• Warning Sign Generator
  Make your own caution and warning signs in a flash!
• Scratch
  Create and share stories, games, art, etc.
• Kerpoof
  Cool way to make a movie, card, picture, and share it all
• Tagxedo
  Like Wordle but a step farther as text can be used to build bigger images
• SmartKiddies
  Creative math and other educational problems to help everyone learn
• Bitstrips
  Make and share your own comic strips with thousands of others

• Popplet
  An easy way to share visual ideas
• Storyjumper
  Easy way to create your own stories for kids and bring them to life
• Aviary Myna
  Make your own music or remix just about anything else
• TimeToast
  Fantastic timeline visualization tool to understand history
• GoAnimate for schools
  State of the art animation tools for schools
• PBWorks
  Thousands of educational wikis and workspaces (build your own!)
• Schoology
  Learning management, online education tools, and much more
• Google Timeline
  A unique way to view the news
• Online-Convert
  Convert anything to anything (audio, video, text, etc.)
• ReadWriteThink
  Tons of classroom resources and PD goodies
• Storybird
  Build your own stories (with images) and share them with others
• Word Magnets
  Phonics reinforcement and sentence building exercise
• Museum Box
  Innovative way to understand history
• Atmosphir
  A build-your-own video game
• Empressr
  Rich media presentation tool
• Zoho
  A great alternative to Google Apps
• EasyBib
  The free automatic bibliography and citation maker
• ToonDooSpaces
  Easily publish custom comic strips

Read the insights of both first year and experienced teachers in these blogs.

New Teacher Assistance: Are you a new teacher? Do you need a little help? This blog can give you some ideas and advice on developing as a teacher.

Advice for Student Teachers: Take some advice from a recent student teacher on how to make the most of the experience in this article.

Learning is Messy: Brian Crosby has nearly 30 years of teaching experience under his belt, and he knows it isn’t always easy. But he’ll show you how he got through the tough times and give you plenty of motivation to do the same.

Teaching With Passion: Advice for Young Educators: Jonathan Kozol has years of experience working with and teaching in inner city schools, and here he provides new teachers with some advice on getting started in teaching with enthusiasm.

Student Teaching Advice: A variety of veteran and new teachers have posted their advice for student teachers on this blog.

Teachers Count: TeachersCount is a national non-profit dedicated to raising the status of the teaching profession and providing free resources to teachers.

If Bees are Few: Technological advice, teaching aides, and lesson ideas from one blogger to the rest of America’s educators.

Suite 101 New Teacher Support – great resource for all kinds of topics

101 Ways to Cope with Teaching Stress

Teachers have one of the most stressful jobs, despite their long vacations. Besides being responsible for large groups of hormonal or destructive students all day, teachers also have to abide by strict government and school district guidelines, attend after-hours workshops and meetings, call parents, submit lesson plans early on, worry about school security and put up with loads of homework thanks to grading, grant writing and certification renewal classes. To help teachers cope with all of this stress, we’ve compiled a list of over 100 different ways you can relax and get centered, whether you’re in the middle of a lecture or already home and trying to forget about your hectic day.

Health Habits

Staying in good health greatly affects your stress levels and helps you cope with anxiety and long days.

1. Stop smoking: That little buzz you get from a cigarette may calm you down temporarily, but the nicotine that’s blowing into your system will actually make you jumpy and over alert. In the long run, that’s not good news for your stress levels.
2. Minimize your caffeine: Teachers may thrive on coffee breaks, but consider cutting back to just a couple of cups a day. Even better would be to substitute at least one cup of coffee or soda for green tea. The tea can boost your immune system and contains less caffeine than coffee.
3. Eat breakfast: Eating a good breakfast not only boosts your metabolism, it also keeps you focused so that you’re more productive throughout the entire day.
4. Snack right: It’s easy to grab whatever snacks are in the vending machines or school cafeteria, but it’s also important to eat right while you’re at school. Physically, a diet of fatty, greasy foods will make you feel weighted down, bloated and tired, while your emotional state may be at risk too if you feel guilty about wrecking your diet.
5. Set realistic goals: As a teacher, it’s easy to get caught up in saving your at-risk students from failure or sponsoring every club each semester. Set realistic goals for yourself and you’ll be able to find a less stressful balance.
6. Visit the guidance counselor: If your school’s counselor isn’t a mental health professional, he or she may still be able to refer you to a local psychologist. Even if you aren’t suffering from depression, talking things out with an unbiased medical professional is therapeutic.
7. Cut back on worrying: Worrying takes up too much time and energy; plus, it makes you even more stressed about things that aren’t in your control.
8. Open up the windows: When it’s nice outside, open up the windows to give you and your students a rejuvenating breath of fresh air. Sunlight will also improve your mood, so even if your windows don’t open, crack open the blinds.
9. Aromatherapy: You can use this recipe for aromatherapy bath salts at home or at school. Just one whiff will help you feel relaxed and back in control.
10. Practice anger management: Even teachers with the purist of hearts sometimes can’t wait to send their students home for the day. Practice these anger management tips to prevent yourself from totally losing it.

Goodies for your Desk

Keep a stash of healthy snacks, photos, and even stickers in your desk when you need to indulge between classes and remind yourself what you’re working for.

11. Chocolate: Sneak a little piece of chocolate once or twice a day to give your brain a boost of endorphins and indulge your sweet side. Dark chocolate is supposedly the best.
12. Stickers: Stickers are just for the kids, right? Keep your own sticker sheet or rewards card and give yourself a sticker every time you handle a crisis in the classroom or finish the week on a good note.
13. Favorite tools: Your supplies drawer for the students can have a mish mash of pens, crayons, scissors and notecards, but save the best for yourself in your locked drawer. Even something as simple as getting to write cards with your favorite colorful pens can make you feel better.
14. Healthy snacks: Pack a survival kit full of healthy snacks before you leave for school each day, and you can munch and crunch away without feeling guilty. Many of these foods like almonds, baby carrots and tuna will also help your focus.
15. Lunch menus for take-out: Some days you just need to treat yourself for lunch. Keep a stack of nearby restaurants that deliver healthy take-out meals and indulge yourself between the bells.
16. Vacation calendar: Whether you’ve just highlighted all your vacation days on the school district calendar or you actually have a countdown to your next trip, sneak a peak at a vacation calendar to give yourself motivation.
17. Goal presents: If tales of the greater good aren’t getting you through a really tough time, remind yourself of the practical reasons why you’re sticking with your job. Keep a picture from a catalog of the new shoes you’ll buy with your next paycheck, or the new TV you’re saving up for.
18. Photos: Put pictures up of your friends, family and pets to make you feel close to your personal life even when you’re at work.
19. An organization system: A cluttered desk will make you feel stressed as you frantically look for lost papers, contact information and your stash of dark chocolates.
20. Stress ball: Don’t underestimate the power of a stress ball. These days, they come in all kinds of funny shapes and characters, and a quick squeeze now and then can help you calm down.

Mottoes and Mantras

Stay motivated by reciting these mantras and reading these inspirational teacher quotes every morning.

21. Recite a spiritual passage or motto: Many mental health and stress experts encourage individuals suffering from stress to pursue a spiritual path that makes sense to them. Common messages from different spiritual leaders include compassion, inner peace, and “a notion of caring for themselves,” according to Dr. Edward T. Creagan, a Mayo Clinic oncologist.
22. Meditate: Take a minute or two to meditate at your desk or even at the dry erase board when students are pushing you to your limit.
23. One thing at a time: Try to only tackle one task at a time, and you’ll work down your to-do list much more efficiently.
24. Summertime, Summertime, Sum Sum Summertime: This classic oldies song will have you counting down the days until summer vacation and picturing yourself on the beach or by the pool, away from students and lesson plans.
25. “Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.”: Gail Godwin’s quote may make you feel less guilty when you suddenly feel unprepared.
26. “What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.”: This quote from Karl Menninger can help you through irritating state tests and other required lessons that make you feel like you’re wasting your time.
27. “The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.”: Toss out your dreary textbooks and get creative with each new unit.
28. “It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference. “: The next time someone makes you feel guilty for not earning as much money as them, remember this quote from Tom Brokaw.
29. “He who opens a school door, closes a prison.”: Victor Hugo’s quote is especially relevant for teachers of at-risk students and those who feel frustrated when trying to inspire stubborn kids.
30. Inspirational quotes for teachers: Check out this list for even more inspirational quotes just for teachers.

Organization Tools

Staying organized will also beat back stress, as you’ll be able to meet deadlines, remember projects and field trips, and have more time for yourself.

31. Google Calendar: Set up events and schedules for lesson plan submission dates, in-service workshops and more by using Google Calendar.
32. ubernote: This cute tool lets you dump lists, contact information, event plans, special project ideas, field trip materials and more into several different notepads that keep you organized and on track.
33. Notesake: This tool is great for teachers who are pursuing a higher degree, going to workshops or earning more credit hours for their certification. You can take notes faster and organize your notes so that you’ll be able to find them once you want to plan a lesson.
34. eFax: Keep your runs to the teachers’ lounge to a minimum by using eFax, which lets you send out permission reports, progress reports and anything else you need signed over the Internet.
35. Backpack: This very popular tool lets you “centralize and share information” with other teachers in your department. You can maintain a department calendar, share pages and a to-do list.
36. Toodledo: Toodledo sends reminders to your mobile phone so you never forget a task.
37. Project Stat.us: Keep your principal and supervisors updated with new project information or your certification process with this collaboration tool that lets you organize your progress online.
38. Evernote: Use this beta tool to capture images and websites on your computer or your mobile phone. You can then organize your notes and presentations for class wherever you are.
39. Tools and Templates: If you don’t have time to design your own certificates, game tools, or work sheets, pull from this list of tools and templates for teachers.
40. Google for Educators: Here you’ll find some of the best available Google tools and apps just for teachers.

Inspirational Podcasts and Sites

Visit these websites for teacher support and ideas for managing unruly classrooms and parents.

41. Teachers at Risk: Dealing with Stress: Read these posts to learn better ways to deal with stress.
42. Thoughts on Teaching: Commiserate with this teacher who blogs about classroom management, department meetings and more.
43. Teacherscreech: Here, you’ll find “rants and musings about dyslexia, learning disabilities and other challenges.”
44. Poem of the Day: While English teachers can use this site as a teaching tool for students, it’s also a good way to start the day, just for yourself.
45. Teacher Lingo: Find teacher blogs, lesson plans and more on this teacher community online.
46. Hip Teacher: Check out the daily adventures and discouragements of this “hip” teacher.
47. Pro-Teacher Community: Get teaching ideas or teaching support here.
48. It’s Not All Flowers and Sausages: Read this blog “for teachers who rock and are frustrated by the day to day drama that gets in the way of our interactions with children. Don’t get me wrong,” she writes, “I love my job, but sometimes a girl has gotta vent…”
49. Teachers.net: Access chatboards, project ideas, a calendar and more on this site.
50. New Teacher Support: The UNC – Chapel Hill School of Education lists several tips and reality checks for new teachers here.

Getting the Support You Need

Reach out to other teachers, your friends and family, and even your principal to get the support you need and feel less stressed about your decisions.

51. Get to know the parents: Whether it’s a simple note home, a parent-teacher conference or a phone call, let the parents of your students know you care. Building up a relationship with them will also help you understand your student’s behavior and performance in class.
52. Rely on family: Rely on family members for support when you’re really stressed: they’ll keep you grounded and will help you prioritize your needs as well as your job’s responsibilities.
53. Let trustworthy students help: If you’re swamped with grading, decorating the bulletin board or running errands to different teachers’ rooms, ask a trustworthy student or two to help alleviate your burden.
54. Get to know your principal: In large schools, it can be hard for new teachers to get to know the principal, but this tip will help you feel like you’ve got someone behind your back in case something happens with students, parents or other teachers.
55. Use e-mail to connect during the day: Many schools have e-mail networks just for administration and teachers. Use this system to your advantage by staying connected with other teachers so you don’t feel so lonely or isolated in your room.
56. Make the most of in-services: They take up extra time, but in-services and workshops can also help you get ahead with lesson plans and organization.
57. Happy hour with other teachers: After school, kick back with your teacher friends and head to happy hour. You can rant about students and commiserate about standardized test prep.
58. Ask for help: If you need help juggling all of your duties, don’t feel like it’s shameful to ask. Everyone needs an assistant now and then.
59. Use substitutes: When you’re sick or just need a day to catch up, call in a sub to take over the daily grind while you rest up or finish some grading.
60. Go online: There a number of teacher blogs and forums online that will help you find support in your community, offer advice for dealing with stress, and inspire you to keep going.

Tiny Tricks

These tiny little tricks, from hanging out with non-teacher friends to taking deep breaths, will help you de-stress all week long.

61. Pursue your own hobbies: Stay grounded by pursuing your own hobbies outside of school, like horseback riding, running, blogging, or painting.
62. Buy one frivolous things a week: Whether it’s a funky pair of socks, a new CD or some new perfume or cologne, buying something just to indulge yourself will keep your spirits up.
63. Spend time outside: Walk to school once a week, take your dog to the park or do some grading on your patio to give your brain and your emotional well-being a boost.
64. Pursue your own work in your field: Set aside a little time to organize an experiment, write an article for a professional journal or give a talk at a conference to give yourself even more career and intellectual satisfaction.
65. Read a book just for you: The next time you pick out a book, don’t do it because you think it might be a good read for your students. Pick something out just for you as a way to unwind.
66. Prioritize: Learning how to prioritize is a proven way to lower stress levels, get more tasks accomplished, and have extra time for yourself.
67. Have weekly dinners with non-teacher friends: Get together with your non-teacher friends so that you’re not always talking about school and students.
68. Sneak in a sick day: Even if you aren’t really sick, give yourself a personal day to stay home from school, go to the beach, catch up on errands, or get a manicure.
69. Plan a vacation: Even if it’s just a weekend getaway, planning a vacation will give you something to look forward to and give you a chance to unwind.
70. Breathe: Deep breaths can make you feel more relaxed and focused in seconds.

When You Go Home

Teachers have homework too, but when you go home, it’s important to unwind and focus on yourself. Follow these tips for de-stressing at home.

71. Only do the extras: As a teacher, you know it’s pretty much impossible not to bring your work home with you, but if you can, limit your homework toprojects that allow you to get ahead, not catch up. You’ll feel less rushed and more pleased with yourself doing this kind of work, even if you’re at home.
72. Time for yourself: Between the grocery store, last minute study guides and exam preps, and spending time with your family, make sure you carve out a little time just for you, even if it’s just to read a book before bed, watch the evening news or paint your nails.
73. Have other interests: Besides teaching, find something new to talk about with your family, like gardening, movies or even mindless celebrity gossip.
74. Don’t check your school e-mail: When you get home, try not to check your school e-mail. Unless you’re waiting on an important message, the e-mails you receive will just cause you unnecessary stress for problems that won’t be able to be solved right then anyway.
75. Pamper yourself: Take a bath, shop online, make dessert or give yourself a facial to feel good about yourself and forget about school work.
76. Do something constructive: When you get home, the only thing on your mind is probably to plop down on the couch and watch TV. Doing something constructive, though, will keep you energized and promote personal growth. You can start an art project, tutor a friend or work on a home improvement project.
77. Keep the rest of your life organized: If you’re super organized and always on the ball at school but your home is a mess and you never see your friends, you need to work on striking a balance. Clutter in any part of your life will make you feel stressed all the time.
78. Go out: Your life needs to be about more than just home and school. Try to get out at least once a week on a school night to meet friends for a drink, head to a coffee shop, take a night class or go out dancing.
79. Read: getting into a good book to get away
80. Volunteer: On the weekends or after school join a volunteer program to meet new people, forget about your school life and keep your struggles in perspective.

Diet, Exercise and Sleep

Having a regular routine for diet, exercise and sleeping is important to managing your stress levels.

81. Yoga: Besides the relaxing but effective exercise moves, yoga also promotes a calming quality of life.
82. Dance lessons: Spice up your exercise routine by burning stress and calories with a dance lesson or a night at a salsa club.
83. Go to bed early: If you’re totally exhausted, don’t stay up to watch late night TV. Just cuddle up and go to bed early to catch up on sleep.
84. Keep a regular schedule: A regular sleeping schedule lets your body get the most out of sleep, helps you fall asleep faster, and wake up on time more easily.
85. Don’t overindulge on the weekends: It’s a good idea to catch up on your rest on the weekends, but don’t sleep so much that you get behind in your chores or social activities: that will just lead to even more stress.
86. Kickboxing: This aggressive exercise is great for when you need to release a lot of stress and frustration.
87. Avoid sleep disrupting foods: Heavy, rich foods and some spicy foods disrupt your sleep patterns, so don’t indulge in these treats right before bed.
88. Don’t work in bed: While it may seem like a comfy solution to annoying homework, avoid working in bed. This may make it harder for you to fall asleep or associate your bed with unpleasant emotions.
89. Eat fish: Fish is known to be “a stressbuster” food that also helps your brain focus.
90. Vitamin C: Vitamin C is boosts your immune system and lowers stress levels.
91. Red wine: Red wine can help you unwind and relax after a stressful day, and when drunk in moderation, it can also deliver health benefits like good antioxidants.

Improving Your Game

While some of these tips may cause you to work longer hours, they will help you become a more qualified teacher and give you a stronger sense of your professional achievement, making you feel less overwhelmed and more confident in your position. By sponsoring a club or getting your students involved in a big project, you can also find the time to realize your own dreams and pursue your own hobbies.

92. Don’t resist change: Resisting new technology trends and teaching styles will just make you feel left behind and disconnected. Implement new tools, blogs, and multimedia presentations to connect with your new generation of students and younger teachers.
93. Go to teacher conventions: Be on the cutting edge of your field and education by going to teacher conventions and connecting with other educators.
94. Apply for grants: Even if you don’t get it, you will at least have the satisfaction that you had enough drive to complete a grant writing project.
95. Be proactive: Be proactive about your students and your career, by looking for extra responsibility, applying for a promotion, and researching exciting new projects.
96. Get your students involved in a cause: From starting a local recycling project to linking up with students from another country, you can toss out ideas to your students that also appeal to your own interests.
97. Go back to school: Earn a higher degree or renew your certification by taking night classes or going to summer school.
98. Sponsor a club: If your school doesn’t offer a club that is interesting to you, offer to start one and be the sponsor. It doesn’t even have to be related to academics: you could share your talent for cooking, sewing, building models or web design.

Staying Stress-Free Everyday

You’ll undoubtedly have tough days dealing with students, parents and even other teachers, but these last tips will help keep you centered.

99. Laugh: Laugh along with your students or share a joke of the day to keep the mood in your classroom light.
100. Listen to music: In the car and between classes, turn on the radio or play your favorite CD to escape for a while.
101. Remember that there’s always tomorrow: No matter how bad your day was, remember that when you get home, you can just go to sleep and wake up with a fresh start.

List by Britney Wilkins http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/101-ways-to-cope-with-teaching-stress/

100+ Ways to Score Freebies For Your Classroom

Teachers spend out-of-pocket money each year for their classes and this can really add up. To help reduce those costs and enhance your classroom, take advantage of the following ways to get free stuff. From audio books to activity kits to free software, you will find something in this list that you can use with your students.

Books

The following books are all available for free. Some are interactive online books, others are audio downloads you can use in the classroom, and they range from titles for the youngest child to high school age.

1. Reading A-Z. Download and print several free books that include leveled readers, readers in Spanish and French, and books that focus on phonics, vocabulary, and fluency.
2. LearningPage.com E-Books. Sign up for a free membership in order to download these free books.
3. Audio Stories 4 Kids. Download from MP3 files of many audio books for children. Titles include Alice in Wonderland, The House at Pooh Corner, and Madeline.
4. The Cinnamon Bear. This story is an old radio series from the 1930?s and you can download both the music and PDF files to use in your classroom. On this site, you can also download free audio files of Christmas on the Moon.
5. Book Adventure. This reading motivation program sponsored by Sylvan Learning is free for students to use in grades K-8 and teachers can receive a free Book Adventures Teachers Guide to help guide them in using the program in the classroom.
6. Children’s Storybooks Online. Find full-color story books for young readers to books for older children all available to read online and all for free.
7. Lookybook. With a click of a mouse button, you can flip through the pages of these high quality and frequently gorgeous children’s books.
8. Fairrosa Cyber Library of Children’s Literature. Classics such as Little Women and Peter Pan reside next to fairy tales and poems on this resource full of children’s literature.
9. Storyline Online. The Screen Actors Guild has compiled several children’s books at this innovative site. Click on a book and the actor will introduce the book and begin reading it. Along with the narration, the video streams the pages of the book and the accompanying text.
10. Stonrynory. These free audio books are targeted at children and include both classics as well as new stories.
11. Free Classic Audio Books. Available in MP3 or m4b for iPods, get classics from Mark Twain, L. Frank Baum, Herman Melville, and more.
12. Adam Smith Academy. Download classic stories such as An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and The Tell-Tale Heart onto your iPod or iPhone. They are currently developing DVD packs for middle and high school as well.
13. PaperBackSwap. If you’ve got some old books you would like to exchange for different titles, you can join this free group to help facilitate trading books with others.

Music

Find new music and songs or some old favorites from these free resources.

14. Songs4Teachers.com. Browse through the list on the left to find over 125 free songs available to use.
15. Songs for Teaching. Sign up for their newsletter and get a free song download with every issue.
16. UK Magic. Download words and music for traditional songs from the UK.
17. Land of Nursery Rhymes. Find many of the classics here and download the music and words to use with your students.
18. KIDiddles. Get songs and music from this site. Sign up for their free newsletter and receive free downloadable songs with every issue.

Printable Worksheets

There is no reason to have stale printables for your students with so many free resources available on the Internet. Browse through these sites to find fun activities for your students.

19. Worksheets4Teachers. Create your own worksheets or download one already made. Printable certificates are also available.
20. abcteach. Get over 5000 free printable pages and worksheets from this site.
21. SoftSchools.com. With a focus on math and grammar, you can find worksheets for Pre-K through middle school.
22. SchoolExpress. With over 11,000 worksheets, you are sure to find something among these games and activities.
23. Math-Drills.com. Get free math worksheets organized by both themes and operations.
24. FREE Printables for Teachers. Find spelling challenges, anagrams, and more among these free printables.
25. MES-English.com. Get free flashcards and worksheets for students in K-6th grade.
26. Free Printables. Organized by category, you can find lots of printables to use in your classroom.
27. tlsbooks.com. Worksheets, flash cards, and even a summer writing journal are available for download at this site.
28. Busy Teacher’s Cafe. Free worksheets, file folder games, graphic organizers and more are available.
29. Math is Fun. Get worksheets for your math students at this site.
30. Education Creations. Sign up for free weekly worksheets or browse through the samples of worksheets for K through 6th grade. There is an option for a paid subscription, but you can get plenty of freebies without subscribing.
31. RHL School. The worksheets offered at this site claim to be truly unique. Give them a try and see what you think.
32. Super Teacher Worksheets. Get worksheets for spelling and math for grades 1-4. Also, sign up for their monthly contest when they give away free goodies for the classroom.

Other Printables

From dominoes to motivational forms to sticker sheets, these printables will bring fun to yourclassroom and your lessons.

33. Let’s Build!. Use Curious George in this lesson plan complete with free posters and more. Even sign up for a free visit from an engineer to your classroom.
34. SparkleBox. Find certificates, signs, labels, bingo games, welcome packs, and more at this fun site.
35. TimesaversforTeachers.com. Get tons of free forms such as tracking sheets, incident report forms, math symbols, and more.
36. Tools for Educators. These printables can be turned into dominoes, dice, board games, and bingo. Worksheets are also available.
37. Printable Certificates. This incredibly easy to use tool lets you create certificates to celebrate your students’ accomplishments.
38. A Kid’s Heart. Get photos, games, clip art and more from this site.
39. Stickers and Charts. Select from over 200 sticker sheets and over 75 sticker charts for free.
40. Instant Display. Download files to print lots of free posters. They also offer a few other downloads such as labels, flash cards, and displays.
41. Story It. Download story starters, print nursery rhymes, Aesop’s fables, and classic children’s poetry.
42. ClassroomProducts.com. Download free Word files to print motivational forms to use in your classroom.
43. Donna Young Homeschool Weekly Lesson Planners. Browse through the various lesson plan styles, then download these free files to custom-create a lesson planner for you.
44. Printable Graphic Organizers. Choose from selections such as Venn diagram, fishbone organizer, and more and download the file to use as much as you want.

Printables for Specific Groups

These free resources offer printables for children on the autism spectrum, ESL learners, preschoolers, and more.

45. TinSnips. The worksheets on this site are specifically geared to teaching children on the autism spectrum. Some are free and others are available for a fee.
46. Lanternfish. Aimed at ESL teachers, but also a good resource for anyone teaching the language arts, you will find plenty of printable worksheets.
47. ESL Teacher Resource. Handouts and quizzes are available here for ESL teachers.
48. English Banana. Get quizzes, games, and worksheets for your ESL students at this site.
49. Agenda Web. This site brings together free worksheets, exercises, songs, and more from all across the Internet for the ESL teacher.
50. ESL Printables. ESL teachers share printables on this site. In order to download, you have to also share some of your own worksheets, lesson plans, activities, or the like.
51. Preschool Free Printables–blurtit. Find links to tons of places with free printables for your preschoolers.
52. Under5s. Activities, games, crafts, songs, and more are available for download and geared specifically for preschool students.
53. Teaching Heart Back to School Printables. The free printables at this site are designed to be used by first year teachers just starting out in their careers.
54. MathAbacus.com. If you are teaching your students to do math with an abacus, you will love getting these free activity sheets and pages from the text (available for purchase).

Activity Kits and Programs

For a little more intense focus on a topic, get one of these free activity kits or free programs to aid in student learning.

55. Harcourt: Free for Teachers. Get activity kits for your classroom with themes ranging from national poetry month to pirates to Mother Goose.
56. Carl’s Corner. This site offers readers that have accompanying pocket chart pictures and sentences and homework sheets. In addition to the readers, there are also worksheets and more available for free. Free CDs are hopefully in the works.
57. Free SAT Exam School. Find practice tests, flash cards, study guides, articles, and more for teachers and students.
58. Supercharged Science. Get a free activity book, newsletters, videos, and more for your science students simply by signing up with this site.
59. Mineral Information Institute. Receive free downloads of science activity packets with a focus on natural resources for K-12. The packets are free to download or you can purchase accompanying posters (about $2 each).
60. Intel Education: Design and Discovery. Intel offers this free program aimed at teaching 11-15 year olds about engineering through design in this hands-on resource.
61. International Paper Life of the Forest. Receive a free packet including 10 full-color posters, 10 teaching guides, and one 16-page booklet to help you teach your students about forest stewardship.
62. Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Find free lessons and modules for teaching about climate and environmental research.
63. Science and Our Food Supply. This free curriculum kit offered by National Science Teachers Association is available to middle or high school teachers to help students learn about food safety.

Software

Software and be an expensive accessory for your classroom, so take advantage of all these free programs.

64. Nvu. Download this free software to help you create a beautiful website for your class. It’s easy to use and doesn’t require any experience with web design.
65. SmartDraw. This free software helps you create awards and certificates for your students.
66. Discovery Educational Software. Most of the software at this site is for a fee, but they do offer a few free titles such as the Deal or No Deal game to help learn money and a program to help with learning addition.
67. EclipseCrossword.com. Create your own crossword puzzles with this free software for use with Microsoft Windows.
68. Giveaway of the Day. This site gives away free software downloads that would normally cost something each day. The free download is available for 24 hours only. Subscribe to their RSS feed so you can get notifications of what software is available each day.
69. Mazemaker Plus. Create mazes for your students with this software. You can even use pictures from your hard drive as templates for mazes.
70. Sheppard Software. Download free software for math, science, and history games designed for use in schools, homeschool, and tutoring environments.
71. Owl & Mouse. Get free software for reading, interactive maps, and medieval history.
72. SofoTex. Download all sorts of educational software from this site. It appears most of it is designed for older students.
73. Educational free software. With a heavy emphasis on math programs, there are also plenty of other software programs available here including interactive dictionaries.
74. NONAGS Educational Software. The software available at this site is designed for older students and offers a nice variety of titles from typing to solar system creation to scientific calculators.
75. CNET Home Software. Find educational software among the other products marketed for home use. These titles include language learning, interactive flashcards, and more.
76. OnScreen DNA Lite. Download this free software to help teach your students about the structure of DNA.
77. Globalmania. This free software promises that students will master world geography in seven months. It’s a $12.95 value that the company is offering free of charge.

Typing and Handwriting Resources

Whether your students are just learning to write or are sharpening their keyboarding skills, these resources will help them polish their ability to get their thoughts down on paper.

78. Kid’s Typing Skills. Download this free software to help your students improve their typing skills and speed.
79. Bruce’s Typing Tutor. For both beginners and advanced typists, this software also offers a game to practice typing skills.
80. FreeTypingGame.net. Get free typing games, typing lessons, and typing tests at this site that strives to teach touch typing to students.
81. Typing Tutor. Scroll down below the for-cost touch typing software packets to find games and practices to download for free.
82. Handwriting for Kids. Find worksheets and more to help your students practice their handwriting.
83. Handwriting Worksheets. Create your own handwriting worksheets here. Choose between basic print, D’Nealian, and cursive.

A Potpourri of Free Goodies

These freebies range from clipart to PowerPoint lesson plans to poster. For a little bit of everything, check out these free items for your classroom.

84. Teacherfreebies.com. Sign up with your email address to receive loads of free items like books, DVDs, and classroom posters.
85. Pure Clipart. With over 10,000 pieces of clipart and links to other free clipart sites, you are bound to find the images you want.
86. Free clipart. Visit this site and browse through the huge number of categories to find the clipart you want.
87. Gamequarium. Get free educational videos and games from this site.
88. A Kid’s Photo. You can get free photos without infringing on any copyrights. These are free and available for teachers and students to use, but you might want to check the Terms of Use anyway.
89. Periodic Table of the Elements. Download this PDF file of a full-color periodic table and laminate it for a free teaching tool in your science class.
90. Powerbacks. Choose from lots of free PowerPoint templates you can download to pick up the pep in your presentations.
91. World of Teaching. Find PowerPoint lesson plans in all subjects K-12. You can also submit your own PowerPoint presentations that have worked well for you and your students.
92. PrimaryGames. Let your students play free educational computer games here. They also offer some for download that can be played offline, but they are only free for a trial, and then you must pay to continue playing.
93. izzit.org. Sign up for free educational DVDs, appropriate for grades 4-12, and you can get a new free one every year you teach.
94. BillyBear4Kids.com. Download games, clipart, storybooks, and more from this site. It appears everything is free, but they do request donations.
95. Teacher Website. Set up your own class website with this free service.
96. Partnerships for Endangered Species Recovery Poster. Get this free poster in either a PDF format or by contacting regional U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices.
97. NotebookingPages.com. Learn about notebooking and get free notebooking pages from this site.

Opportunities

From signing up for free teacher sampler kits to connecting with donors to complete your wish list, these opportunities will help you get free stuff in your classroom.

98. iLoveSchools.com. Create a wish list of what you want in your classroom and let this service do the rest for you. They match donors with teachers to provide the things teachers need free of charge.
99. Dissection Alternatives. Find out how your school can take advantage of free, animal-friendly dissection alternatives from this site.
100. Enter contests. Of course this requires a bit of luck, but if you enter enough contests, you may find you are getting a few freebies along the way.
101. Sites for Teachers. This site provides a list of hundreds of teacher websites ranked by popularity and updated every hour. Many of these websites offer freebies.
102. Learning Magazine. By signing up to receive this magazine (paid subscription is required), you will receive videos, free samples, teacher’s guides, and more.
103. Dover Publications. Sign up for the Dover Teachers Sampler with Dover Books and receive free book samples, puzzles, projects, and more each week.

List taken from http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/100-ways-to-score-freebies-for-your-classroom/

104.  www.award-certificates.com – free printable certificates with an option to add a school logo or photos of the students.

105.  www.kindergartenworksheets4kids.com – free printable kindergarten worksheets and activities to make learning fun.

106.  www.wordsearch4kids.com – free printable word searches for kids.

107.  www.rewardcharts4kids.com – hundreds of free teacher resources including behavior charts to deal with various issues in the classroom.

108.  www.freeprintablecalendars4u.com – free printable class schedules and calendars  with many different designs. You can add a class photo to the calendars and print them for free.

Thank you Nicole for the links!

 Conference Resources:  Using Google Forms in Practical and Exciting Ways

Handouts:
Google Forms presentation handout
How to use flubaroo

Link to forms to use:

Self-grading quiz form

Flubaroo Quiz form

 

Teacher Leadership / School Improvement Presentation

Link for TEACHER LEADERSHIP POWERPOINT  /  TEACHER LEADERSHIP – LITERACY POWERPOINT

Link for WEEKLY FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE

Link for LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Link for OTTAWA WRITING RUBRIC

 

Presentation: Routines and Relationships as Classroom Management Tools
PowerPoint

 

Online timer:

http://www.online-stopwatch.com/countdown-timer/

 

Group Makers:

http://www.classtools.net/

http://superteachertools.com/

 

Cooperative Group Roles

 

Article on Transitions:

http://education.odu.edu/esse/docs/transitions.pdf