What are the best online tools for teachers to use for lesson planning?
All-in-One Planning Platforms
Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams for Education are free for schools and let you create assignments, share resources, and communicate with students. They integrate with other tools like Google Docs and OneNote.
Planboard by Chalk is a free lesson planning tool that helps you organize lessons by day, week, or unit. It includes standards alignment and can be accessed on mobile devices.
Common Curriculum is another free option that allows you to create and share lesson plans, with customizable templates and a drag-and-drop interface.
Resource Sharing and Organization
Teachers Pay Teachers is a marketplace where educators buy and sell lesson plans and activities. It has many free resources, but quality varies, so read reviews.
Pinterest and Twitter (now X) are informal places to find lesson ideas, but they lack organizational features. For structured curation, use Wakelet or Symbaloo to collect links and resources.
Cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox helps keep files synced across devices. Combine with a naming convention and folders for easy retrieval.
- Google Classroom – free with Google Workspace for Education
- Microsoft Teams for Education – free with Microsoft 365
- Planboard – free lesson planning with standards
- Common Curriculum – free with customizable templates
- Teachers Pay Teachers – marketplace with free and paid resources
- Wakelet – curate and share resource collections
Common mistakes
- Relying solely on one tool; combining a planner with a cloud storage system is more effective.
- Ignoring data privacy when using third-party tools; check if the tool signs a student privacy pledge.
- Spending too much time searching for the perfect tool instead of using a simple one consistently.