George Lucas Educational Foundation
Teaching Strategies

13 Free Teacher Downloads for Back to School

All of Edutopia’s downloadable and printable back-to-school resources are collected here for easy classroom reference.

August 1, 2014 Updated August 1, 2016

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Become a Transformational Teacher

What Does Transformational Teaching Look Like?: Download this tip list with details on six steps to transformational teaching. Read more about these strategies in the associated post: "4 Big Things Transformational Teachers Do."

Plan Inspiring Lessons

9 Ways to Plan Transformational Lessons: Download this poster with nine great lesson-planning tips. Read more about these planning strategies in the associated post: "9 Ways to Plan Transformational Lessons: Planning the Best Curriculum Unit Ever."

Unit Plan: Download this unit-planning checklist for step-by-step guidance on tweaking or overhauling the big elements of a unit plan. Read more about these strategies in the associated post: "Planning the Best Curriculum Unit Ever."

Sponge Activities: Sometimes even well-planned lessons fail. Download this list of sponge activities to help you cope with the unexpected and re-engage your students. Learn more about how to put rough days in perspective and recalibrate in the associated post: "Academic Sponge Activities."

Implement Assessment Strategies

53 Ways to Check for Understanding: Download a big, printable list of assessment strategies. Read more about these strategies in the associated post: "Dipsticks: Efficient Ways to Check for Understanding."

Formative Assessment Rubric for Social and Emotional Learning: Using this SEL progression chart, track student progress on SEL skills. Read more about how to measure and evaluate students' SEL development in "Building SEL Skills Through Formative Assessment."

Student Feedback Survey: Use a short survey to help students provide feedback on their classes. This survey is based on one used at Trinidad Garza Early College High School in Dallas, Texas. Learn more by reading "Student Surveys: Using Student Voice to Improve Teaching and Learning."

Redesign Your Classroom Space

7 Learning Zones Every Classroom Must Have! Download a printable graphic with information about creating seven different learning zones. Read more about the benefits of creating classroom learning zones in the associated post: "7 Learning Zones Every Classroom Must Have."

Establish a Positive Community

How to Remember Names: Download a tip sheet with seven useful tips for remembering students’ names. Read more about these memory strategies in the associated post: "What Did You Call Me? -- How to Remember Students’ Names."

Self-Assessment Questions for Social & Emotional Development: Download this list of questions to support student self-assessment of social and emotional learning. Read more and find related downloads in the associated post: "Self-Assessment Inspires Learning."

Support Diverse Learners

Tips for Helping all Learners Succeed: Download a printable reference that includes guidance on reaching and supporting diverse learners. Read more about these tips in the associated post: "Helping Diverse Learners Succeed."

Strategies to Support English-Language Learners: Download a classroom tip sheet on supporting English-language learners. Read more about these strategies in the associated post: "Strategies and Resources for Supporting English-Language Learners."

6 Hand Signals That Bring Learning to Life: Download a guide to six useful hand signals that students can use to provide instant peer feedback and communicate about their moment-to-moment reasoning. Learn more by reading "6 Hand Signals That Bring Learning to Life."

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George Lucas Educational Foundation

Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.
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