10 Reasons Why You Should Get a Teacher Instagram


1. It's the new pinterest
Everyone knows Pinterest is a teacher's best friend right? I think at one point it was, but now it's Instagram. Why? On Pinterest you might come across what you are looking for accidentally, but then again, maybe not. That's because Pinterest is a search engine. You have to have the idea first and then look for it. Instagram is a feed, so you are inspired through your scrolling rather than your searching.

2. It's like a mini PD
I know I am one of those weirdos who lives for PD in the summer. That's because I am always looking for ways to improve my craft as a teacher. On Instagram, I am able to follow Master Teachers and I constantly learn from what they post and their live videos or stories. Just the other day I ended up chatting with one of the teachers I was watching because she shared some fabulous language she uses with her students in her classroom. I immediately opened up my planner and wrote it down!

And that brings me to #3
3. You can watch live videos & stories
How often are you looking for teachery ideas/advice/etc. on pinterest and you end up having to read a whole long blog post (not that that's awful, I mean come on, you're on a pretty great blog right now!) or it links to a TPT product? Sometimes, I just want to hear someone share their advice and ideas rather than read a long post about it. There are seriously brilliant teachers all over Instagram creating full length live how-tos. Have a question for them? Ask and it will be answered.

And that brings me to #4
4. There's instant messaging
You can send direct messages to other instagrammers. Love an idea in your feed? Message that teacher and tell them how much you love it or how you'll use it in your classroom. Have questions about how to implement something? Message that teacher with your questions. Found a fellow fourth grade teacher? Message them and make a new friend!

5. You can save inspiration
See something you love in your feed (um, of course you do!). You can save it later and you can even organize your saves. Check it out:

1. You're scrolling through your feed and you see something you love like this How to Tell a Story game. Click the little flag and you have it saved! 2. When you want to see all of the brilliant ideas you've saved, go to your profile and tap that same icon. 3. Bam! Now you have access to all of the awesome ideas you have saved! 4. Or you can organize them like I have here. 

5. You can connect with similar teachers
Searching hashtags allows you to find similar teachers to connect with. Curious what other fourth grade teachers are doing? Search #iteach4th or #iteachfourth! This is especially helpful if you are switching grades and need some inspiration for your new grade level.

6. You can connect with different teachers
I can't even begin to tell you how awesome it is to learn from other grade levels. I have seen so many brilliant ideas from primary teachers and secondary teachers that I follow. We all offer different perspectives due to our different experiences, but we are all teachers and in it for the kids.

7. It's a supportive community
Teachers need a supportive community. I am going to say it again because it's that important. TEACHERS NEED A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY. Some days teaching can be the most frustrating thing ever, we have all been there. The amount of encouragement and positive vibes I have received from this community already is indescribable. We realize that we are all fighting the good fight and want nothing more than to see each other succeed. This is a place to find your #teachertribe!

 8. As for feedback and you'll get it!
Do you have an idea that you want to run by some other like-minded teachers before you try it in your room? Post it on your feed or your story and you will certainly receive responses.

 9. You have access to classrooms across the country (and world)
Teaching can be so isolating. You are "stuck" in your room all day with your kids and your ideas. This is a simple way to virtually break down those walls and peer into other classrooms.

10. You can get free stuff!
There are constantly giveaways of Target gift cards, TPT gift cards, cute school supplies, etc. I know there's not a teacher out there who doesn't love free stuff?

Sold? Be sure to reach out so I can help you join this community. My instagram handle is @txteachermama!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Have You Read Teal?

Image
I am always looking for new back to school read alouds. In the past I have read Chrysanthemum , A Bad Case of Stripes , and Pout Pout Fish Goes to School , among others. This year especially I have been looking because I am about to have a "new" batch of kids, many of whom I taught two years ago in 2nd grade. Honestly, I have probably been too worried about this for too long until I found the book Teal  by Renee Galvin. This book is about a beautiful, confident teal crayon. He knows his worth and is generally a happy guy until it comes time to clean up. As all of the crayons go back to their labeled boxes, he feels alone. He's not quite blue and not quite green so he doesn't know where he belongs. After much thought and hard work, he finds a solution to bring all of his crayon friends together! I absolutely love this book for a number of reasons: 1. It's so relatable. After all,  everyone  has felt left out at one point in their life, even if they ge...
Read more

Start Your Year with Kahoot

Image
A few years ago, I was introduced to Kahoot during a staff training. If you have never used it before, it's a free website where you can make different quizzes and games that your class or group of teachers can interact with on their laptops, iPads, or phones. Since learning about it, I have used it with second graders to create end of unit, group review quizzes. This summer though, I have been thinking about what a fun tool it would be at the beginning of the year. My disclaimer is this: I haven't actually tried  any of these ideas, because they are just that, ideas. So here they are and if you take any of them and run with them please  let me know how it goes for you! 1. Two Truths and a Lie Have all of your students write down two true facts and one "alternative fact" about him or herself on the first day of school. After school or on your planning plug them all into a Kahoot quiz. Have your students guess the "lies" by taking the quiz in gro...
Read more

Confessions From A Messy Teacher

Image
I am not organized. Nope, not at all. I try to be and I try to be perceived that way, but it's just not who I am. As a child I would let me room get crazy messy and then have an itch late at night to clean and reorganize it all. And I would. And then a few days later you would never  know because it would be a mess again. In graduate school I spent a huge chunk of my winter break creating an elaborate, organized binder for my lesson plans. That lasted a week. I was quickly back to my mess of a self and a desk. During my first three years of teaching, I worked really hard at the beginning of the year to create a comfortable, inviting and safe place for my students. It was beautiful, bright and full of books. This is something I will continue to do every year of my teaching career. That beautiful, organized space, however doesn't stay organized. Inevitably, my desk turns into a disaster and supplies and papers get stuffed everywhere in an effort to quickly mask the m...
Read more