Let’s talk about free resources for teachers – specifically primary school teachers!
We love helping teachers here at Rainbow Sky HQ – because we have been in your shoes. We know how busy it can get as the school year flies by.
We wanted to put together a place you could come back to throughout the year to find helpful free resources that you can print and use with your students in the classroom. So give this post a bookmark, share it with a friend and let’s get into it.
Free Resources for Teachers for Every Month of the Year Starts Now:
January
Class Names Find-a Word
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
This free resource for teacher is also a great way for students to get to know each other’s names (and how to spell them). Use this activity to start developing a class community from Day 1.
We love this activity for an icebreaker and it is probably something your students have never done before!
“A wonderful beginning of the year activity!” Jaime ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
February
Place Value Mats
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
These are the perfect go-to for all your place value lessons. They are a resource you will use over and over (we know they are on high rotation in our classrooms).
March
Friends to Ten Spinner Game
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
This is a fun and simple hands-on game that will help your students build their number bond fluency. We love using games like this in Maths Groups or as Fast Finisher games.
“My students were highly engaged in this activity and it really helped with their number fact fluency and recall of friends of 10.” Elise ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Flip it multiplication Game
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
This one is for the teachers that have older students – times tables are always a sticky point for them. Use this game as a fun way to build their fluency and become multiplication masters.
“I just love how students practice their facts with this engaging activity! Thanks for the simple, yet creative idea” Carol ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
April
ANZAC Day Word Search
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
It is important to teach our students about how to commemorate ANZAC Day. This word search is a great complementary resource to use for fast finishers or as an additional activity to support your lesson.
“Fabulous activity option for ANZAC Day! Thank you!” Olivia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
May
Number of the Day
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
Number of the Day is the perfect warmup, group task, last minute lesson, assessment or homework activity. Students can all be working on a different number simultaneously (hello differentiation) and it never gets boring.
“My students loved this resource. It was easy for them to understand and also helped me to understand their level of knowledge regarding place value” Kate ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
We love to use Number of the Day in loads of creative ways. Get more ideas of how you can use it here.
June
Growth Mindset in Action cards
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
Research proves that applying a Growth Mindset leads to success. The aim of this resource is to help students identify when they are using a growth mindset in the learning process and to encourage it further.
“A fabulous way to promote a Growth Mindset in the classroom! I had a number of students at the beginning of the year who loved to say ‘I can’t’. I found incorporating this resource into the classroom helped to change their overall outlook on how they learned and approached each task.” Michelle H ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
July
Making $1 Hands on Activity
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
This is a hands-on, differentiated activity to develop a fluency in money combinations that make one dollar. It helps students recognise that 100 cents make $1, which will, in turn, assist with counting and ordering larger collections of money.
This is a great warmup activity or Math station to use all year round.m
“Great for hands on learning and visualising money” Leah ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
August
How to be a Bucket Filler
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
This lesson is ideal to use throughout the year as a friendship activity and/or to promote kindness in your classroom. An easy social and emotional lesson that ALL students will benefit from.
“GREAT! Sometimes students don’t knowhow to start a warm comment to others. Love the sentence starters.” Cindy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“The students love the colourful display. I have it hanging behind my desk. We have buckets framing the bulletin board that the kids can put their kindness slips into. It hangs as a constant reminder. I love it!” Debra ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
September
Roald Dahl Day Activities
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
Celebrate Roald Dahl’s birthday in September with these 4 FREE activities related to his popular books: The BFG, Charlie and Chocolate Factory, Matilda and The Twits. His stories are so imaginative and engaging and these activities are the perfect way to engage your students with his imagination.
These resources are not limited to Roald Dahl Day (13th September). Activities could also complement:
- Book / Novel studies
- Student independent reading
- An author research project
- Book Week / World Book Day
“So much fun for my class. Engaging activities that they enjoyed” Danielle ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
October
Halloween Number of the Day
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
This Halloween themed Number of the Day template is a fun way to engage your students in practicing number sense skills during October. Use as a Maths rotation task, quick revision, assessment, or lesson warm up.
History of Halloween Reading Task
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
Teaching students that reading for a purpose and also for enjoyment is important. This task integrates both these concepts. Dedicate a week of reading groups to this reading passage, and research task which will guarantee to spark enthusiasm and curiosity about learning a little bit of spooky history.
November
Kind Flyers – Promote World Kindness Day
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
This is such a fun way to start to spread kindness around your school. There is also a blank template for students to create their own flyers to add to the kindness campaign. It is the perfect addition to any lessons in kindness, especially on World Kindness Day (Nov 13th).
“My 2nd – 5th graders in ESL loved taking a strip of kindness every day. I loved that it was realistic and involved the students. It was interactive enough for students to be engaged.” Lisa ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
We have Christmas themed ones too!
December
Kindness Kris Kringle
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
This resource is for students to explore the idea of being kind and completing random acts of kindness, especially leading up to the Christmas season. It focuses on showing kindness and recognising kindness in others.
“I have used this resource for several years. We build our kindness tree in the hallway for all to see with the goal of growing our tree as big as we can during the month of December. The trick is that there is only one way to earn a piece of the tree. Someone else must have noticed you showing kindness and report it to me without you knowing. At the end of each day, kids that were caught being kind were rewarded with a piece to colour which would get added to our hallway kindness tree! I will definitely do this activity again and again!” Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Creative Thinking Christmas prompts
Why we love this free resource for teachers:
These activities are ideal for literacy group rotations, fast finishers or just a little fun in the lead up to Christmas. They get students thinking creatively and are super engaging. We like to introduce all 3 tasks and then allow students to choose what they would like to work on to promote student choice in the classroom.
There you go, 12 Months of free resources for teachers. Don’t forget to bookmark this page so you can come back and the months pass by and also share it with a friend so they can grab all the goodness of these freebies for their class too!
Rainbows ahead,
Alisha and Ashleigh
PS Did you know we have a podcast especially for teachers? Listen to Rainbow Skies for New Teachers here.
What to read next:
7 Books that Celebrate Harmony
Are you Making this Teacher Mistake?
