Summer is here, and as we all know, that doesn’t mean we stop working. Summer is the time of year when we can catch up on what’s new, and really soak it up. We read our professional development books (perhaps by the pool), watch strategic videos on YouTube (and maybe squeeze in a cute cat video) and share materials and ideas with our coworkers (over lunch, maybe a glass of wine?). Finally, we can breathe, which can seem like a nearly impossible task between September and June.

Put Google away for the day. We understand the importance every minute of summer has to offer. To help save a few for you, here is a roundup of professional development and idea creation resources for educators.

Summer Professional Development Resources for Teachers

Free professional development resources for teachers: STEM Friday STEM Friday

Every Friday, STEM Friday publishes 2-5 short posts highlighting STEM themed books. The titles tend to be new, high-quality, and fascinating. The posts often include ideas of how to use the titles in the classroom and links to related content that help the books come to life.

Free professional development resources for teachers: readwritethink ReadWriteThink @RWTnow

ReadWriteThink is the mecca of resources for literacy engagement— hands-on activities, lesson plans, units, parent involvement, and technology organized by grade, type, theme or content area. Find full lesson plans, complete with teacher reviews (a great first stop when vetting a resource), or spend an hour…or two…or three perusing the possibilities for the new school year.

Free professional development resources for teachers: classtools Classtool.net @classtools

Looking for a range of edtech project and game ideas? Classtool.net offers some fun resources, one of which allows students to create fake Facebook pages for fictional/historic characters (these are not linked to actual social media sites). What an entertaining way to bridge social media and character study!

Free professional development resources for teachers: nea today NEA (National Educators Association) @NEAToday

Whether you are looking to keep up with the latest education news in topics like ESSA, education grants, special events or tools, strategies, classroom management ideas and lessons plans, the National Educators Association needs to be on your summer list. NEA is the largest professional employee organization with members at every level in education, and they offer a ton of great resources.

Free professional development resources for teachers: mindshift MindShift @MindShiftKQED

As a collaboration between KQED and NPR, you know MindShift is packed with great insights. This resource shares stories from teachers, tips on growth mindset and the latest from experts in the field. If you’re looking for innovative teaching strategies or learning games, MindShift is a must check out.

Free professional development resources for teachers: burkins and yaris Burkins & Yaris @BurkinsandYaris

With a focus on 21st Century Literacy, the Burkins & Yaris’ blog has a lot of good tips for promoting literacy. They also have a resource section on their website chock-full of ideas. The team focuses on creating practical lessons to meet the changing demands of education structures with an emphasis on creating joyful classrooms.

Free professional development resources for teachers: Choice Literacy Choice Literacy @ChoiceLiteracy

Choice Literacy has over 60 teachers and school leaders which contribute to the site. The site is a great multimedia resource for literacy leaders and includes articles, videos and professional development guides. One great feature is the PD2Go which features a video, a guide and a transcript for each level based ‘workshop.’ Note: Includes both free and paid for access content.

Free professional development resources for teachers: Teacher Learning Sessions Teacher Learning Sessions @teacherpodcasts

Working on spending less time inside this summer? No worries, Teacher Learning Sessions features podcasts for teachers. (Professional development by the pool maybe?) Hosts include Penny Kittle and Jennifer Serravallo. You can look forward to answers to questions teachers send in, conversations with industry experts or suggestions for recommended reading!

Free professional development resources for teachers: two writing teachers Two Writing Teachers

Two Writing Teachers is the 2015 Edublog Best Group Blog recipient. Content from the blog is sourced from a variety of teachers and on-going writers. There’s a new blog post every day, so it is a great addition to your cup of coffee reading time. The site’s goal is to bring teachers together to share insights, ideas, successes and even failures- bringing educators outside of their four walls.

Free professional development resources for teachers: teachertube TeacherTube @teachertube

Careful with this one, it doesn’t take much to get lost in the excitement of creating a playlist of all the things you’ll learn (and teach)! True to the name, TeacherTube, is a great stop when looking for help to teach a new subject, an old skill or to simply vet a video to share with students. The cherry on the sundae? Students and parents can own learning too with sections of the site dedicated to them.

Free professional development resources for teachers: Teacher Resources Booksource Teacher Resources @TheBooksource

Created by teachers across the country, these web-based education guides offer qualitative and quantitative text analysis showing how books and collections align to skills and standards. They also contain digital links to support resource based learning. Booksource Teacher Resources support over 13,000 titles and are easy to incorporate into any lesson. The goal is to make it easy to integrate trade books, saving you valuable time.