Steal Like a Teacher: Where to find quick teaching ideas

We teachers are the BEST at stealing things.

And I don’t mean that in a criminal, nefarious way.

I think Austin Kleon explains it best in his book, Steal Like an Artist …

Every artist gets asked the question, “Where do you get your ideas?” The honest artist answers, “I steal them.” 

How does an artist look at the world? First, you figure out what’s worth stealing, then you move on to the next thing. That’s about all there is to it.

I mean, it only makes sense. We teachers are notoriously short on time. (When you plan your bathroom breaks in advance, it’s a good sign that you’re time-strapped.)

Here’s another thing about us teachers. We’re also super generous. We share ideas with fellow educators, students … really anyone who can benefit.

That means there’s a lot of good stuff out there, but it isn’t perfect for exactly what we need to do.

So, what do we do?

We steal.* Then we remix, reuse and repurpose. We assign it to our students.

Then we move on to the next thing.

Want to get better at this essential skill — something that helps you get more done AND serve your students?

In this post you’ll learn …

• How to find good material you can use in class
• How to steal it (copy, remix, adjust, and assign)
• How to cut WAY down on flashcard sets and review games you create
• How to find pre-written lessons in popular apps
• How to find “copy, adjust, and assign” lessons to use right away

Know of more resources? Please share them in the comments below.  Because, you know … we’re generous … and we like to enable other teachers’ stealing habits! 

*Note: Please always give credit to the original creator. We absolutely do not mean for anyone to steal other educator’s ideas and pass them off as their own. Take, borrow, steal and remix as you like, and is allowed by CC and/or the creator, but give a shout out to the original creator when you share or present.