the ultimate teacher resource guide

A Comprehensive Guide to Teaching Resources for All Grades and Subjects

Introduction

Being a teacher requires constant planning and preparation to deliver the best instruction to students. While some curriculum is provided by schools, teachers often want to present information in new and different ways, supplement their lessons, or easily create customized quizzes or tests. No matter what subject you teach — English, math, science, history, or something else — this guide is home to resources that will make your difficult job a little bit easier. With links to more than 40 sites covering eight academic subjects, this guide is a terrific asset to teachers of all grades and subjects looking for free lesson plans, activities, games, handouts, slideshows, tests, and quizzes.

General Teacher Resources

No one gets into teaching because it’s easy – because, as any teacher knows, it’s a hard job. But that’s not to say we can’t try to make it a bit less difficult. And that’s the goal of the following general teacher resources. Check them out for lesson plan help, worksheets, and opportunities to learn from, and share with, other teachers.

Open Educational Resources Commons

Search an extensive collection of teaching resources covering major academic subjects for every learning level, from preschool to adult education.

Elementary Teacher Resources

Veteran Teacher Kelly Mikesell presents a wide variety of resources for elementary school teachers. Find curriculum help, lesson plans, and a whole lot more – including a teacher humor section and some great teacher podcast suggestions.

The Teacher’s Corner

This site offers dozens of lesson plans – for subjects ranging from art to writing – calendars of seasonal events of note, worksheets, teacher tips and more. Most of the resources on The Teacher’s Corner are geared for grades K-6.

Teaching Channel

Come here for teacher resources for grades pre-K-12. This site, which is committed to facilitating sharing and collaboration among teachers, offers tons of helpful videos, lesson ideas, news, and a Q&A section, among many other resources.

Curriki

On a mission to “eliminate the education divide,” this site supports teachers with a wide range of education resources, including videos, homework resources, curriculum materials, and more for social studies, math, and many other subjects.

Edutopia

This site is packed with K-12 education resources. Find articles and videos about classroom teaching, specific subjects, social and emotional learning, and much more.

Busy Teacher

Any busy teacher will appreciate this site, which is bursting with more than 17,000 (and counting) free, printable worksheets. No registration required. Just select a worksheet and go.

English/Language Arts Resources

Check out this collection of English/language arts resources that will help you put together great grade-level appropriate lesson plans for areas like spelling, vocabulary, phonics, literature, writing, and grammar.

ReadWriteThink

Partnered with the International Literacy Association and the National Council of Teachers of English, ReadWriteThink offers hundreds of standards-based lesson plans created by a diverse group of educators with a strong understanding of, and passion for, literacy.

Better Lesson

This site is partnered with the National Education Association to provide teachers with a “living, breathing body of knowledge” that will aid with instruction. Find over 7,000 English/language arts lessons designed by master teachers.

Teacher.org

This is not a resource with thousands or even hundreds of English/language arts resources, but this budding website has huge promise – definitely a site to bookmark. While its lesson plan section continues to grow, the high-quality lessons that are available are worth checking out. Best of all, these lessons are created by real teachers – tested and approved for classroom use!

TeacherVision

Discover how to help students have fun and learn at the same time with dozens of online language arts games organized by grade level. Find games for students in grades K-12.

History Resources

History is an important reflection of the patterns and critical events that have ultimately shaped the reality we live in today. Unfortunately, crafting fresh, interesting, and relevant history lessons that excite and engage students is time intensive and often impractical for the busy educator. Below, discover helpful sites for new and different takes on teaching history.

Smithsonian Source

Lesson plans, thematic videos, and primary sources — this website has all you need to teach American history! This site was created with the help of teachers who researched at the Smithsonian and other UShistory organizations to create valuable lessons for this subject area.

Stanford History Education Group

Currently housing 73 high-quality lessons and growing, the “Reading Like a Historian” body of curriculum helps students engage in historical inquiry in the areas of United States and world history. Lessons focus on a central question from history and offer primary documents to investigate the question. Lessons are tailored to meet students’different learning styles. Create a free account to download lessons.

EdTechTeacher

This resource is for K-12 history and social studies teachers who want to incorporate technology into their lessons. Find technology-based lessons, student activities, inquiry-based projects, educational games, and quizzes here.

Mr. Donn’s Pages

Curated by teacher Don Dunn, this site offers complete units for topics in ancient, world, and US history for students in grades 5-8. All resources are free and were developed by Dunn or other contributors.

The New York Times Learning Network

Visit this site to find detailed standards-based social studies lesson plans and quizzes focused on articles from thisiconic publication.

Math Resources

When teaching math, it’s important to use as many different resources as possible to address the different learning styles of your students. Browse the links below to find games, fun activities, and worksheet and test generators that will help you keep your math instruction fresh and relevant.

Math Blaster

A collection of worksheets, activities, and games for improving students’ math knowledge and skills. The resources on this site are most appropriate for K-6 students.

Utah Education Network

Written by Utah educators, the detailed mathematics lesson plans on this site are useful for grades K-5 and 6-12. While the plans are aligned with the educational standards for Utah schools, they are based on concepts taught in math classrooms across the nation.

Math Bits

In the mood to have fun during middle or high school math class? Check out this resource for links to PowerPoint math-based bingo activities, jeopardy-style games, and fun activities with slideshows. All activities are touch-screen compatible.

Superkids Math Worksheet Creator

Avoid the stress involved in finding the right math drill worksheet to help your students practice and perfect the skill you are currently studying. Use this handy math worksheet creator to customize a worksheet with the type and number of problems you want.

Free Math Test

This site features free customizable worksheets and an online test generator for fundamental and elementary math as well as pre-algebra.

Science Resources

Go beyond your school’s science textbook and use lesson plans that will catch the attention of the most reluctant learner. In addition, find instructions for science experiments in the links below that don’t take much time or preparation but have the potential to leave a lasting impression on your students.

American Chemical Society

This site provides guided, inquiry-based lesson plans on basic chemistry. Find links to plans for elementary, middle,and high school students, as well as college-age students.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Check out this well-curated resource for high-quality lessons and pintables that address climate, atmosphere, marine life, oceans, and freshwater sources.

Science Bob

Find experiments, videos, science fair ideas and links to dozens of helpful science websites on this dynamic website.

Bitesize Physics

Find dozens of easy and fun physics-based experiments to do with your students. No difficult preparation required! The site also offers video clips and learner guides.

Middle School Science Blog

Discover a nice selection of chemistry, earth science, and life science lesson plans and resources by Liz Larosa for grades five to eight.

Science Kids

This website is full of science experiments, games, facts, quizzes, projects, lessons, images, and videos for elementary school students. It even has a section with fun stuff like weird science links, science jokes, and brain benders.

Citizenship Resources

While the principles of good citizenship start at home, teachers often find themselves educating children in this area, in one form or another, throughout their academic journeys. From teaching kindergartners how to be a good neighbor to giving older students tips for practicing good digital citizenship, find what you need below.

Teaching Good Citizenship’s Five Themes

Education World provides this helpful lesson with an explanation of the five citizenship themes. Find links to related, but different, activities for students in grades K-6.

Teach UNICEF

This site offers curriculum units, videos, worksheets, and activities focused on global citizenship for grades 3 to 12.

iCivics

iCivics aims to reimagine civic education. The site, founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, offers free lesson plans, games, and informative resources designed to engage students in meaningful civic learning.

Digital Citizenship Curriculum

Access Common Sense Education’s lesson plans and tools (for all grades) for teaching students to take ownership of their digital lives.

Foreign Language Resources

Whether you are searching for a resource to better teach a foreign language class or you require resources for students who are struggling to learn English, check out the links to find what you need.

IE Languages

Discover a collection of free English as a Second Language (ESL) lesson plans, materials, and worksheets that you can download to help teach English to your foreign language students.

TeAchnology

Various lessons related to world languages are available on this site. Lessons are designed for elementary school students and older.

Spanish 4 Teachers

Check out this vast collection of slideshows, worksheets, activities, lessons, and much more for Spanish language teachers.

French Teacher.net

Over 40 ready-to-go PowerPoint presentations can help you teach your French classes. Topics range from Paris monuments to buying clothes.

Learning Games for Kids

These online learning games are perfect skill builders for students learning a foreign language.

Art Resources

Whether you are teaching preschool students how to finger paint or instructing an undergraduate art class, you can find excellent lesson plans and resources here. Discover sites that offer well-organized plans and stunning pictures of world-famous art.

Incredible Art Department Lesson Plans

This website has served teachers and students since 1994. Here you can find art lesson plans organized by grade level, subject, medium, artist, art period, or integration. Lessons span from kindergarten to theundergraduate level.

KinderArt

This site boasts that it makes teaching art easier, and it does! Find an extensive collection of high-quality lessons for tots to teenagers.

Art History Teaching Resources

Plenty of lesson plans and resources for teaching art history can be found here. This resource is most appropriate for secondary-level students and above.

National Gallery of Art

Are you looking to fulfill curriculum standards related to the visual arts? If so, this site is just what you need. It offersthematic, grade-specific lesson plans that focus on single works of art.

Google Arts and Culture

Explore artists, mediums, art movements, objects, time, and color. This site contains high-quality pictures that can help you supplement your lessons.

Music Resources

From music’s cultural aspect to its more technical form, teaching music is an important part of fine arts education for students. Browse the links below to find the perfect lesson or activity for your class.