I first heard about Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) many years ago. I was quite intrigued to find a site where I could download classroom lessons and activities for free or a low cost, especially as a new teacher back then. As my teaching years passed, I realized I could also sell my own lessons and activities and help pay for activities I purchase through TPT; it was a win-win.

The Gist

• I purchase activities from TPT I just wouldn’t have time to create myself (ie. project-based units).
• I use TPT activities when I’m switching to a new grade level to help me fill in curriculum gaps.
• I sell lessons I’ve created and used successfully in my own classroom to make a few extra bucks here and there.

When I purchase lessons or activities from TPT, it’s because I’m trying to save myself some time and not “reinvent the wheel,” and also enrich the curriculum I’m teaching in my classroom. I primarily select project-based units that I wouldn’t have time to create myself. This has been extremely helpful since I’ve switched grade levels and teaching positions a few times over the past few years. The projects I purchase are created by teachers that have been teaching a particular unit for years and have honed their project over the years; a process I haven’t been able to do since I’ve switched positions and grade levels so frequently.

I frequently “wish list” projects throughout the school year to make sure I’m not purchasing an activity on a whim or because I think it looks cute. Instead, I go back multiple times to make sure I really would use it in my classroom. Once I’ve realized I could definitely use it, I purchase it. If I REALLY like it, I often purchase additional activities and lessons from the same seller since I know first-hand the quality of their lessons.

Having switched from a resource teacher to a kindergarten teacher to a 4th grade teacher, I’ve used TPT to fill in curriculum and lesson gaps. I was really fortunate when I switched to kinder a few years ago that a previous kinder teacher left me many of her activities. However, I found that with a new reading curriculum implemented that year, I needed specific items I couldn’t find on TPT. So, I created them myself, such as sight word worksheets that matched our sight word list and that were easy enough for the kids to complete for morning work without me having to explain the worksheet every day. I also created center activities that matched the skills of my students and that were easy for them to complete independently.

Now in fourth grade, I find that I like using projects for units of study. I don’t have the time or grade level knowledge just yet to create them myself. TPT has allowed me to fill in the gaps. I’m sure I’ll be creating my own lessons and activities soon enough, but for now, TPT suffices. I’m also finding that lessons I created when I was a resource teacher have worked for my 4th grade students when I’m teaching a specific skill, such as main idea or drawing inferences. I know a lesson is good when I can use it throughout the years in different classroom settings. The income I make each month may be modest, but it helps offset some of the cost for activities I purchase.