I found all of these useful for different occasions. All of them contain strategies anyone can directly use in the classroom. I only refer to free resources I have used.
Teaching Philosophy
Mr. Rogers’s Simple Set of Rules for Talking To Kids - Everyone wants to be respected. Nobody wants to waste their time. Participation looks different for everyone.
Cognitive Load Theory - why maintaining firm, consistent routines & expectations leverages our evolutionary need to feel safe, and focuses engagement on what matters
Universal Design for Learning Principles - multiple ways/modes of access, expression, and engagement
Design Thinking iDEO & Project-Based Learning
Everyone is learning how to be themselves. Slow down.
Everyone is smart and works hard. Distinguish yourself with compassion and wisdom.
Mistakes are evidence you are learning.
Skills: Data Analysis & Reasoning
Concord Education’s Graph Literacy - fill in some gaps through interactive practice
15-Second Stories - movement videos shown at 1x, 0.5x (students complete table & graph), 1x with graph (students check)
Fundamentals of Data Visualization (Clause O. Wilke) - O’Reilly sourcebook OER
Our World in Data - large aggregates of international data
Colorado School of Mines Virtual Labs- online data simulations for engineering, life sciences, biomedicine, physics, math, social & behavioral sciences
Skills: Nature of Science (Inquiry, Literacy, Explaining)
Exploratorium Science Snacks! – low-cost phenomena-centered activities
Reading to Learn in Science – use for adapting readings, worksheets, reviews
Learning Design Group (Lawrence Hall of Science) - sets of lesson plans for teaching scientific principles, evidence, inference, reasoning skills, etc. all using real world examples
ENSI/SENSI Indiana - superb lessons on the nature of science, evidence, inference, as well as intensive inquiry-driven activities about evolution; some of my favorites for low-stakes collaborative thinking
TeachEngineering - excellent resource for anyone wanting problem-solving or design thinking starters & projects
Forensic Files: Views of the Body - week-long lesson plan with many extension possibilities
CRAAP test examples - evaluating misinformation in online sources
Classroom ‘Management’
Mr. Pinsky’s Participation “Quiz“ – Used with a projector, an easy way to give qualitative and/or quantitative feedback. Check out the settings to change the number of groups, etc.
Mistaken Goals Chart - behavioral messaging & empowering responses
Flippity - leveraging GSuite for a huge array of classroom needs (seating, flashcards, etc.)
Martin, R.A. (1989) Humor and the Mastery of Living, Journal of Children in Contemporary Society, 20:1-2, 135-154, DOI: 10.1300/J274v20n01_10 (Summary: nonhostile, self-accepting, realistic humor, and laughter may represent a healthy, broad-spectrum coping strategy; e.g. Introverts, own it! There’s a reason Oscar the Grouch appears in Sesame Street.)
General Teaching
The Lighter Side of TEFL - fun activities that reinforce vocabulary or teach specific skills (word games, crossword puzzles, idioms, limericks, jokes, riddles, puzzle stories, shaggy dog stories, and folk wisdom)
Large Group Games - 10 to 30 people
CommonSense.org (great resource for SEL, digital citizenship, online safety, and other important lessons; often multilingual and incorporates family/guardian conversations)
Comparison of online formative assessment formats
Lesson Plan: Learning to Look Without Judgment – developed by educator for grades 4-6
Academic Language Tools for Students by Jeff Zwiers
Science Reading Sources
Science Journal for Kids - peer-reviewed science research articles adapted for students, approved by scientists
Newsela - current event-based themed texts; sorted
ReadWorks - incl. differentiated versions, audio, and week-long themes
Ars Technica - news from a technical perspective (science, gaming, technology, gadgets, etc.)
General Science Resources
Learn.Genetics your first stop for teaching & learning about evolution, genetics, etc. (labs, videos, articles, activities, printouts)
Cornell Lab of Ornithology YouTube Playlist and Birds-of-Paradise Project (Cornell) for evolution (videos, activities, examples)
Illinois Science Teacher’s Association Storylining Working Group - inquiry-driven units that are data-intensive and engaging, include NGSS-aligned assessments (GDrive link)
Integrating Science Practices into Assessment Tasks (PDF) tool
Student Prompts for Integrating Crosscutting Concepts Into Assessment & Instruction
Turner’s Graph of the Week multi-year collection of graphs that engage students
Understanding Science 101 from Berkeley multimodality resources for experiential and model learning of Nature of Science
The Wonder of Science - great resources, inquiry-driven (incl. storyline planning examples)
Visual Dictionary of Science - Smithsonian
Biology Corner for simplified, editable worksheets
HHMI BioInteractive (everything DNA & evolution; lesson plans, videos, data analysis worksheets, etc.)
Anatomy & Physiology course – slides, notes, worksheets, even labs; great starting point
Infographics in the Classroom (California Academy of Sciences) - multi-activity toolkit analyzing graphs