
Part of being an effective educator is to grow professionally. The world of education is ever-changing, which means we must learn new methods, strategies, and skills.
Art curriculum is generally open-ended, which can be both liberating and overwhelming. When adapting art units/lessons for various grade levels, I always make adjustments to suit the needs of my students. I typically make my own presentations, handouts, visual resources, and create art examples for students to use as a guide for their work. Fortunately, there are many resources out there to spark ideas, and some teachers are kind enough to share their lesson plans and presentations.
Below, I've compiled lists of websites and downloadable documents. These are resources that I have sought out or created, and they are categorized alphabetically by different topics. Some links were shared by visitors to my website. I plan to keep this section updated as necessary.
Art Education
Anti-Racist Art Teachers: Working towards removing biases, stereotypes, and false narratives in art education.
NAEA: National Art Education Association
National Gallery of Art NGAkids Art Zone
The Art of Education: Ridiculously Relevant Professional Development for Art Teachers
Youth Art Month Daily Drawing Challenge: PDF version
General Education
Ducksters: educational site with various categories and games
Edmodo: collaborative educational site that uses a similar format as social networks
QR Code Generator
Crafts & Games
Color Method Matching Game: match colors on the color wheel
Fashion Activities: Shout out to Alex for this list of free instructions, patterns, and tutorials!
Kids' Guide to Scrapbooking: Shout out to Samantha and Paige for this guide and additional scrapbooking links!
Trycolors Matching Game: Match colors by mixing different amounts of colors together
Image, Music, and Recording
Free Music Archive: interactive library of legal audio downloads
Screencast-O-Matic: screen recording service (great for tutorials!)
View Pure: Watch YouTube videos without commercials
Vocaroo: voice recording service
Presentation and Assessment Tools
Animoto: video slideshows
Kahoot: game-based learning
Linoit: interactive digital sticky-note canvas (similar to Padlet)
Nearpod: interactive presentation and assessment tool; ability to import existing PowerPoint presentations
Padlet: interactive digital bulletin board
PowToon: animated videos and presentations
Wellness Education
Action for Happiness: articles, calendars, and toolkits for schools
Growth Mindset Poster: PDF version, from Apperson
Random Acts of Kindness: lesson plans and kindness prompts
Social and Emotional (SEL) Competencies: PDF version, from CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning)
Teacher Toolkit for Establishing a Culturally Proficient Classroom: Word Document, from Loyola University
The Three R's of Mindfulness in Education: PDF version, by Daniel Rechtschaffen
The Tree of Contemplative Practices: JPG version, from CMind
(The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society)