Combining learning with fun can be a difficult thing to do. So we’ve gathered the top 10 teacher bloggers that have mastered the art of marrying the two to give students the best experience in the classroom.
TEACHER TOOL KIT
Ross McGill is an award-winning deputy head teacher working in North London. Teacher Toolkit is one of the most influential educational blogs in the United Kingdom, and for good reason. His blog is professional and easy to use with steady updates, posting up to 10 quality blog posts a week.
Each blog post takes less than 5 minutes to read and covers topics from back to school, teaching abroad, dealing with parents, and how to write an education book. Some of our favourite parts of Ross’s page are his 5-minute lesson plans, his podcast, which has 54 episodes bursting with useful information, and finally, of course his blog, which he has over 1000 posts on. If there is one thing on his website you should read, it is probably his Back To School Dos and Dont’s blog post, it has so many helpful nuggets of information! Ross’s page is one you have to check out, every teacher is sure to find something meaningful and useful in the Teacher Toolkit.
MADLY LEARNING
Patti is a grades 4-5 teacher in Ontario, Canada. She is an accomplished woman having earned her Specialist Qualifications in Reading and English as a Second Language while running her own blog, podcast (Teaching With Inquiry), and Facebook Live seminars. She writes about how she integrates different types of technology into her classroom, as well as tips and tricks for teachers on how to manage a busy classroom. If you’re looking for a detailed long term lesson plan, Patti has resources keep you on track and take away some of the stresses of curriculum planning.
RUNDE’S ROOM
Jen is a grade 4/5 teacher and is passionate about maintaining a fun and safe learning environment. Jen creates engaging, innovative, and fun literacy, math, and arts activities and resources that you can gain access to through her blog. She also includes instructions on how to use her resources in your classroom, and how you can modify them to fit individual student’s needs. For all the parents out there, Jen’s blog also features a section on fun activities, games, and organizational tools to use at home that she has developed while raising three daughters.
WHAT THE TEACHER WANTS
What the Teacher Wants is run by Rachelle and Natalie, close friends, teachers in Utah, and sorority sisters.They share teaching ideas for the K-6th grade classrooms focused on math and language arts. They believe that learning should be engaging and fun for the students and teachers! They feature many quality fun classroom resources right on their website, as well as many fun, colourful printable graphics that can be used for lessons or classroom decoration. Not to mention there’s also some great holiday inspired activities!
INSPIRED ELEMENTARY
Erin is an elementary school teacher who has been creating curriculum full-time for the past six years. She has an inspired goal for her blog of getting kids kids excited about learning, and ensuring that they can build a lifelong love for learning. Her can-do attitude and fun blog content makes for wonderful reading material and great classroom inspiration. Be sure to check out her page for many low-prep, free learning activities to help out the busy teacher.
IGNITE. INCITE. INSPIRE.
Neil Finney is a grade 7 & 8 teacher in Ontario, Canada. His goal as a blogger is to help other educators rethink the way they use educational technology in the classroom to teach students and push curriculums towards a blended learning approach. He shares an abundance of entertaining and informative links and videos and has written some quality pieces of work. Because his blog has seen such success, he has gone one step further and published a book under the same name, “Ignite. Incite. Inspire” – Examining 21st Century Issues in Education.
COMPREHENSION CONNECTION
Carla is a recently retired, former reading specialist and literacy coach with 27 years of classroom experience. With 27 years of experience, Carla knows what is best when it comes to ELA teaching resources. On her blog site, you can find a variety of stuff ranging from book companion materials, partner plays for fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary and you can even schedule workshops where Carla herself will bestow her wisdom upon you. On top of all the wonderful education-related resources she has, she also has tips on how to start and design your very own blog (if you’ve thought about it, do it!!). The contents of her blog are diverse and well thought out, making her blog a must read for any educator.
IDEAS BY JIVEY
Jivey has taught grades 1 through 4 with 7 years of experience in leading ELA, SS professional development, as well as 10 years of classroom experience. She has earned her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education, a Master of Education degree with a Reading Endorsement, and a Specialist degree in Teacher Leadership. Her blog will teach you how to integrate content and subjects to maximize your efficiency. Her beautiful blog paired with her positive attitude makes for a captive reader experience. Jiveys blog is perfect for all you lifelong learners out there who are always finding new ways to grow and learn.
THE HAPPY TEACHER
Liz has taught Kindergarten, 1st grade, and has been an Instructional Specialist for K-2 math/reading. She shares a variety of classroom management tools, organization tips, as well as games, activities, printables, and worksheets. She also features educational articles about family, lifestyle, and fun activities used to engage students. This makes Liz’s blog the perfect place for educators looking to spruce up their lesson planning or parents looking for fun educational activities to use at home. Her mission is to make the lives of teachers easier by sharing and creating high quality resources for every type of classroom dynamic.
BRIGHT CONCEPTS 4 TEACHERS
Jamie is a second grade teacher in Southern California. She has been teaching for 18 years and has earned her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Jamie designs lessons and activities to teach common core standards in language arts, math and classroom management. On top of running her successful blog, she runs her own Teachers Pay Teachers page, and is the Elementary Coordinator at her school. Jamie’s fun, easy to read blogs are a great place to look for classroom inspiration regarding a wide range of topics. It’s a place where any educator can find useful, meaningful content.
LINDSAY ANN LEARNING
Lindsay has been a high school English Language Arts teacher for 13 years and now considered herself to be the digital Mary Poppins, connecting teachers with non-traditional teaching resources that make education fresh and exciting. She holds her Master’s degree and National Board Teaching Certification. Lindsay’s blog is full of fun engaging resources for teachers as well as creative ways that teachers of all skill levels can integrate 21st century teaching methods into their classrooms. Lindsay’s elegant blog with hard hitting personal touches makes her posts easy to read and relate to. If your feeling stuck or unsure and need some clarity, Linday’s blog is the best place to pull inspiration.
To go to any of these blog pages, there is a hyperlink in the bold and underlined name of the blog that you should be able to click to visit the page. If that doesn’t work for you, here is a list of links for all the blogs in order. Enjoy!
Teacher Toolkit: https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/
Madly Learning: https://www.madlylearning.com/
Runde’s Room: https://www.rundesroom.com/
What the Teacher Wants: https://www.whattheteacherwantsblog.com/
Inspired Elementary: https://www.inspiredelementary.com/
Ignite. Incite. Inspire: https://neilfinney.blogspot.ca/
Comprehension Connection: https://www.comprehensionconnection.net/
Ideas by Jivey: https://www.ideasbyjivey.com/
The Happy Teacher: https://www.thehappyteacher.co/
Bright Concepts 4 Teachers: https://www.brightconcepts4teachers.com/
Lindsay Ann Learning: https://lindsayannlearning.com/blog/