Back to School Apps for Lesson Planning

“Does the TEKS Resource System have an app?” asked a classroom teacher in one of my sessions. “I want to pull up my lessons.” The question got me thinking. After some fruitless searches in the Google Play store, I failed to find an app. But I did find a few, no-cost apps that teachers may want as they head back to school. Care to see what they are?

App #1: Effective Instructional Strategies

Looking for a collection of research-based instructional strategies? While you may look no further than John Hattie’s list of effective strategies, where’s the app? If you’re wondering, you may disappointed to discover there is no an app. Until now.

Thanks to the magic of Glide, a website that lets you turn a Google Sheet into an app, it’s pretty easy to make your own. The resulting product works on any device, not only your smartphone. With that in mind, I’ve created a Hattie effective instructional strategies app.

The  Strategies That Work  app includes a short list of effective instructional strategies. As a technology director, I wish I had known about John Hattie before now. They are a real eye-opener when it comes to popular technology-focused strategies.

While Hattie says that “Everything works” with the 250+ instructional strategies we use, not everything accelerates student growth. Want an illustrated, quick reference on your device with links to video and more info? This app will get you started. What’s more, I’ll be adding more instructional strategies at least once a month. Want to help me? Make contact via Twitter @mguhlin.

Get the Strategies That Work app

App #2: TEKS

Are you a Texas educator? You may want to have quick access to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Any teacher worth their salt will soon have these memorized (well, if they write lesson plans). But if your brain isn’t cooperating, why not load the TEKS app onto your phone? You can find the TEKS in detail for any content area. Give it a try.

Get the TEKS app

App #3: Lead4ward

The Lead4ward folks have a lot of fantastic resources for schools. As a classroom teacher, I love their app’s “quickchecks.” These provide a wealth of activities such as one-question quizzes, seven little words, etc.

The list of quick checks is a searchable collection of assessments. You can tap on the assessment and get instructions on how to use it in the classroom.

What a handy aid! And there’s even more included in the app. Why not check it out?

Get the Lead4ward app for iOS|Android

These three apps make it easy to engage in lesson planning. You can find instructional strategies that align to the TEKS and assess learning. Give them a try.