📚 Free digital content for class tomorrow

Check out all of our gifts to you during Reader Appreciation Week! Just click here for our virtual gift basket for you. (Click the link and then click the yellow gift box to open it. Then click all of the goodies!)

Here are two things you’ll find in your basket:

🎁Super Duper Shapegrams Set 

Our friend Tony Vincent has shared this Super Duper Shapegrams set JUST for Ditch That Textbook subscribers! 

Shapegrams are digital art lessons and activities designed to develop graphic art abilities, increase technology skills, and cultivate a growth mindset.They are grab-and-go activities. Just give students a copy of a Shapegrams document in Google Slides or Google Drawings, and Tony takes care of the rest!

What’s inside the Super Duper Shapegrams set: 

• 🎨6 Engaging Shapegrams Lessons are included in this set. If you get a Shapegrams membership, you get access to all 60+ lessons. It includes a picture for students to recreate, space for drawing, video tutorials, drawing hints, and side activities. 

• ⚡12 Fun Zippers are included, too. Zippers are designed to be quick, fun, and engaging activities that help students practice their digital art skills in a short amount of time. They are a great way to encourage creativity and exploration in a fast-paced setting. If you get a Shapegrams membership, you get access to a growing library of 40+ Zipper challenges

Note: A Shapegrams membership is only $35 a year per teacher. Membership gets you access to all Shapegrams Lessons, Zippers, and posters.

🎁 Unlock Your Creativity with Book Creator Premium!

📚 Get a 3-month premium subscription and enjoy unlimited libraries, animated emojis, real-time collaboration, and 100+ graphic organizer and lesson planner templates!

Grab the Book Creator promo code in our virtual gift basket for you. You’ll use the same process as purchasing a subscription … but you’ll “pay” with your promo code. (And you won’t need a credit card to do it.)

How to redeem your promo code:

• Visit BookCreator.com and sign up for a free account. 

• Click on the avatar in the top right of the toolbar. 

• Click on the Upgrade plan link. Add the promotion code (you'll find it in your gift basket).

• Fill out your name and billing address on the right hand side, then click the blue Subscribe button. (NOTE: credit card details are not required when entering a promo code 🎉)

🔗 Need help activating the promo code? Visit this article for a step-by-step guide.

💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

🆓 Free digital content for your class!

Open educational resources (OERs) are a great option for adding unique experiences to the lessons you already teach.

These resources include:

• individual reading selections

• videos

• PowerPoint presentations

• interactive digital experiences

• pre-made or customizable digital "textbooks" (if we can even call them that)

Oh, and that word “open.” That also means that it’s almost all completely free. Most paid options are only premium upgrades from free resources that are already very rich.

Here are five of our favorite places to find free digital content.

PBS Learning Media

PBS has created and shared tons of media rich, engaging, digital lessons for a wide range of grade levels and subject areas. You can view all of the interactive lessons here and search by subject area or grade level. Also check out this interactive lesson for teachers that walks you through how to use these resources with your students.

Google Arts & Culture

Google Arts and Culture is a massive collection of videos and images of cultural artifacts from over 2,000 museums around the world. You can explore places around the world and gather vetted resources for lessons and activities for your classroom.

Learn more: 10 things you didn’t know you could do with Google Arts and Culture

The Achievery

Developed by AT&T in collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery, The Achievery is a treasure trove of educational activities and lesson plans cleverly paired with captivating video clips from popular movies and TV shows like Aquaman, LEGO Batman, Young Sheldon and more.

Learn more: 35+ engaging lessons you can use in class tomorrow

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a not-for-profit organization providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere. All of the site’s resources are available to anyone- student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, or an adult returning to the classroom after 20 years.

Newsela

Newsela is the best way for students to master nonfiction in any subject. Each Newsela text is offered at multiple tiers, for every student, no matter their level. Students can study the same content and learn at their own pace—while teachers save time and headaches. It’s the definition of working smarter.

🔗 Get more: 20+ sources of FREE digital content for your class

👋 How we can help

There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:

1. Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.

2. Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.

3. Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!