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Online teacher sources have become increasingly common. More sites to assist teachers

have begun to pop up online. Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) is the first example of many. TPT

allows educators from different grade levels to share their work with others. TPT was created in

2006 and since then has accumulated over 5 million pieces of content for teaching (Teachers Pay

Teachers). This site allows teachers to be able to view content that they might not have thought

of before. TPT offers free content as well as the ones you must pay for. TPT offers their content

based on what teachers think it is worth. Usually, the more items involved in the lessons, the

higher the price.

I chose Teachers Pay Teachers because it has a wide variety of content on the website. I

used it when I was teaching during my internship. Through TPT, I was able to find the best

lesson for the Rome Unit: the trial of Julius Caesar. I downloaded the content that was available

for the lesson and adjusted it for what I taught the students. Through the content I found on the

website, I was able to give students roles such as prosecutor, plaintiff, and the jury. The students

absolutely loved it and I did not have to pay anything for it! TPT is a great resource website for

teachers to use because its interface is simple and easy to use. Schools can purchase a school

access account for their teachers, which would allow teachers access to TPT and get help with

their own lesson plans. It also offers a wide range of grade levels and contents, whether it is

general education to special education.

BetterLesson began in 2008 by teachers to support other teachers. BetterLesson’s views

on education is to help teachers help their students. BetterLesson believes that equity is one of

the most important things that teachers can experience in the workplace and provide for their

students in the classroom. BetterLesson has over 1.4 million members and over 1 million lesson
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plans available for teachers to use (BetterLesson). They offer high quality lesson plans written by

some of the best teachers around the United States.

Looking at the lesson plans on BetterLesson, they are carefully designed for student

learning. Working at Myrtle Beach Middle School, I use the Student Will Be Able To (SWBAT)

statement in my personal lesson plans. The lesson plans on BetterLesson use SWBAT to show

what students should be able to do or explain at the end of the lesson. The lesson plans walk

teachers through the entire lesson and usually include pictures as examples. The lesson plans

always include a warmup or introductory activity, the main lesson body, and an ending activity

or an exit ticket. BetterLesson also includes professional development for teachers who want to

update their teaching standards and methods. This will allow progressive education to take place

in future classrooms. BetterLesson offers lesson plans for math, ELA, science, and even blended

learning. One downside to this site, however, is that they do not have any social studies lessons.

Education World has been providing teachers, administrators, and other school

professionals with education content for free since 1996 (Education World). Education World

has received many awards and recognitions for their dedication to education from noticeable

names such as USA Today and Encyclopedia Britannica. The site is updated daily, and more

content is constantly being added. Education World offers news articles with new events in

education. They have a bit of everything which includes lesson plans, worksheets, printable

activities, reviews of educational apps, and even professional development.

I chose Education World due to the amount of lessons they have included on their

website. Like BetterLesson, their lessons are divided into different content areas. Unlike

BetterLesson, however, Education World has a multitude of subjects, including social studies.

Once clicking on a content, there is a list of different topics with active links to the appropriate
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lesson plans. The interface of the website is considerably basic, but the content in the lesson

plans must be adjusted for each class for it to be personalized.

One of the lesson plans that interested me was found on Education World. The content is

about the lead up to the American Revolution. The lesson for students is to write a breakup letter

from the American Colonies to King George. The lesson plan gives a prompt telling the teacher

what to say and when to allow student replies and responses. The teacher reads a faux break up

letter that will excite students and the teacher reveals that it was to King George from the 13

colonies. The teacher then explains how the assignment will work for students, which is for them

to write a breakup letter on behalf of what they have learned.

I believe the lesson would be effective because students would be showing what they

have learned about the 13 colonies and King George’s reign over them. I believe the students

would also be extremely interested in this assignment because they would be put into the shoes

of the colonists during the events leading up to the American Revolution. One way I could

integrate technology would be to utilize Google Slides. The lesson plan would remain the same,

except for the part where they write the letter. To make letter writing easier for students, I would

have them break down parts of the letter into slides. They would write a small blurb for the

reason of that slide and add any graphics that are appropriate for that reason. Once the slides are

turned in, we can go through them, and students can react to seeing varied reasons.

The instructional model that would go best with this lesson plan would be the ADDIE

model. Students would first analyze the problem between King George and the colonies. Then,

they would design their breakup letter. Next, they would develop their Google Slides reasoning

and give information. After that, they would implement their knowledge onto the slides and

formulate their responses. Finally, they would evaluate their projects as a whole group.
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Resource Links

Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/

BetterLesson: https://betterlesson.com/

Education World: https://www.educationworld.com/

Lesson Plan: https://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/American-Revolution-Writing-a-

Breakup-Letter-to-King-George
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References

Education world: Connecting educators to what works. Education World | Connecting educators

to what works. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2022, from https://www.educationworld.com/

Professional Learning, connected. BetterLesson. (2022, July 8). Retrieved July 15, 2022, from

https://betterlesson.com/

Teaching Resources & Lesson Plans. Teachers pay teachers. Retrieved July 14, 2022, from

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/