Are you looking for some really creative and talented Teacher Authors to follow? I did my research and spent a lot of time looking at the various sites out there created by teachers.
Updated August 1, 2015. I’m not sure how I could have been so shortsighted but I forget to include someone who exemplifies Teacher Blogging Excellence and I’m sure is the role model for many teachers out there. I’m of course talking about Laura Candler from lauracandler.com.
My criteria for choosing the five sites below included:
- Quality blog content which provides real value for their reader
- Actively involved in their Blog and/or Facebook account
- Lots of interaction with their followers on multiple platforms
- Lots of useable content easily available on their site. This included freebies and other actionable content right at your fingertips
- Presence on a variety of social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
The following is the best of the best. Furthermore, I’ve met a few of these wonderful bloggers and they are also great people.
Teaching Resources by Laura Candler
550,000 fans on Facebook, 125,000 followers on Pinterest
File Cabinet full of freebies – http://www.lauracandler.com/filecabinet/index.php
Literacy, Mat, Science, Health, Social Studies, and more
Donors Choose – DonorsChoose (www.donorschoose.org) is a nonprofit organization that helps public school teachers in the United States obtain funding for their classroom projects. She has created a community called Caring Classrooms which is dedicated to raising money for donorschoose – http://www.donorschoose.org/caringclassrooms
Book reviews
How to see the content you want on Facebook – http://corkboardconnections.blogspot.ca/2015/07/facebook-tip.html
Lovin Lit by Erin Brewer Cobb – Middle School Literature
The tagline on her site is “I love sharing teaching ideas and resources on my blog.” I met Erin in Las Vegas and she like many other sellers on TpT, a really down-to-earth kind of person who as her tagline suggests, really wants to help. I’ve reached out to her on multiple occasions and she has always responded quickly and with substance. She has a well maintained blog and Facebook page where she offers a slew of freebies and even young adult book reviews (http://imlovinlit.blogspot.ca/p/mg-and-ya-book-reviews.html). She treats her followers well and she has lots to offer. Check her out.
Website – http://imlovinlit.blogspot.ca/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/imlovinlit
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/erinleanne44/im-lovin-lit/
Kesler Science by Chris Kesler – Middle School Science
Chris is the guy you want to talk to if you are interested in anything to do with Science Interactive Notebooks as he’s kind of the guru of the subject. If you want more information about Interactive Notebooks, see the link below. We share a love for science and I can honestly say that I spent a little too much time on his Facebook page looking around at all the interesting stuff he had posted. Some TpT’ers I’ve seen stick to posting and writing about their products, Chris provides value for your time. Lastly I owe Chris a lot because really gave me a kick in the ass when it came to getting my house (brand) in order. His talk has inspired me to pursue projects both inside as well as outside TpT. If you want to hear more about what he has to say I suggest you visit the sites below as well as download his free ebook Chris Kesler’s “25 Things I Wish I Had Known as a New Teachers pay Teachers Seller” which can be found here: http://tptschool.com/free-teachers-pay-teachers-ebook
Website – http://www.keslerscience.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/keslerscience
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/chrisjkesler/
Twitter – @iamkesler
Interactive Notebooks – http://www.keslerscience.com/top-5-reasons-that-your-class-should-be-using-interactive-notebooks/
One Stop Teacher Shop by Kristin – Elementary Teacher
Wow what a website Kristin runs. This post is about Teachers who are Bloggers and Kristin has created one of the most well laid out websites I’ve seen. It’s certainly the best site I came across while doing research for this post. It’s clean, clear and provides a lot of value in the form of freebies and useful teacher tidbits. Check her out and with 11,000 people following her on Facebook, you know she must be providing some excellent value there as well.
Website – www.onestopteachershop.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/1StopTeacherShop
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/riveralk/
Twitter – @OneStopTeacher
Teaching With A Mountain View by Mary – Elementary 
I took Mary’s workshop while in Las Vegas and like my experience with the majority of the other presenters, I learned a lot about creating a brand that excels in the current marketplace. Mary’s website is easy to navigate and provides a lot of real value in the form of freebies and general teaching tips. One such post that was only recently put up is called the back to school survival guide and whether you are reading this post now (it’s back to school season) or some other time, if you are a teacher you will be able to appreciate the words of wisdom she delivers. You can find that particular post here: http://www.teachingwithamountainview.com/2015/07/back-to-school-survival-building.html. As with the other teacher bloggers I’ve mentioned, Mary also maintains an excellent Facebook which is worth having a look at. Lots of entertaining stuff there.
Website – http://www.teachingwithamountainview.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/teachingwithamountainview
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/3rdgradeinco/
Minds in Bloom by Rachel Lynette
Minds in Bloom is a one-stop teacher resource centre. There is tons of value here in the form of resources, teaching strategies and quality content. She provides a constant stream of relevant blog posts both by herself and by others which keeps the information current and flowing at a good clip. Furthermore, Rachel is very active on the social media scene with accounts on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter where she does very similar work. Lastly, there’s a new social media platform on the scene called Pericope which if you haven’t tried out is really great. Rachael has jumped on board and does regular, live broadcasts. Worth checking out.
Website – http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/mindsinbloom
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/reallyrachel/
Twitter and Periscope: @RachelLynette
You might also be interested in my “8 Simple Ways to Improve How You Use Technology In Your Classroom”.
Thanks for reading and don’t forget to share.
Fergy
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