Pinterest Tips & Tricks for teachers of all types. Learn how to use Pinterest to discover and save ideas for lesson plans, classroom management and activities, and professional development.

1. Pinterest Tips & Tricks for Teachers
Pinterest is a planning and discovery tool that can be used for all types of interests. On
Pinterest you can pin (or bookmark) articles, blog posts, videos, and web pages that you
want to get back to later. As you Pin, you’ll come across other teachers whose boards you
can follow to get inspiration.
Teachers represent a growing community, as they save and discover ideas for the
classroom, lesson plans, classroom décor, and creative activities for students. According to
an annual survey by Edutopia, Pinterest is in the top five of professional development
websites for teachers.
You can also use Pinterest to engage older students on projects and research, give access to
parents by showing them activities happening in the classroom so they can keep the
lessons and conversations going at home, and collaborate with colleagues. Teachers of all
types, and of every grade, subject and focus area can find ideas and inspiration on Pinterest
and save and organize the information along the way.
There’s something for everyone! More than 500,000 education-related ideas are Pinned
every day, so you can find countless ideas on Pinterest to save to your own boards, or you
can Pin items from around the web on blogs and sites, with the Pin It button.

2. Getting started
- Check out www.pinterest.com/teachers to get an idea of the types of education-
related content you can find on Pinterest, and to see how other teachers are
organizing their boards.
- Create boards with titles that make sense for your classroom or area of focus, such
as “Kindergarten,” “5th grade science”, “High school math”, “Summer school reading”,
“literary analysis”, “President’s Day lessons”, etc.
- Search for topics on Pinterest that may be of interest to you. To save ideas to your
own board, simply hit Pin and assign to the relevant board.
- Follow the boards of teachers who are Pinning interesting ideas, or “Follow All” to
stay updated on everything that person pins. Updates will appear in your home feed.
- Get some inspiration by browsing the Education category.
- Add the Pin It button to your browser so you can save ideas you find around the
web, on education blogs and websites.
Search for any type of keyword
Tips for teachers
1. Install the Pinterest iPhone or Android mobile app to grab ideas on the go. It’s also
a convenient way to access your boards when out shopping for materials.
2. Find a pin you want to share with a colleague? Click “Send” after clicking on the pin,
to share privately.
3. Working on a plan or project you want to keep private? You can have up to 6 secret
boards.
4. Engage older students in projects using Pinterest. One idea is to have them create
a board that represents where they want to be in ten years. Browse the science and
nature, technology, and art categories. Or create a reading list board of books you’ll
cover in the year, map places using Place Pins, or save interesting articles and videos
that apply to lesson plans, current events, or specific topics. Students can

3. collaborate on and Pin design work that inspires them, curate mood boards for
projects, and share their work.
5. Take a stroll through history by creating boards around specific eras or days in
history. See the Today in History – 1960s board, by the National Air and Space
Museum, or the World War One and Cold War Simulation Lesson Plan boards, by
David, a teacher in Iowa. And, get some inspiration from the top history Pins of 2013.
6. Take a virtual field trip. Let your kids travel the world through the web when you
find creative online field trips on Pinterest, or build your own through Place Pin map
boards (for example, travel to South Africa, Australia, New England, Hong Kong,
India, or the world!). Browse more Place Pin boards here.

4. 7. Visit museums such as the American Museum of Natural History, Getty Museum,
LACMA, and The Smithsonian.
8. Encourage high school students to create a map of colleges to tour, and search for
colleges on Pinterest to get an idea of their culture (see: Tour #UMich, Boston
College, St. Mary’s College Library, Arizona State University, and Colorado State
University)
9. Create a group board for your team or department. After you create the board, click
“edit board” and invite your team of teachers to Pin. Share resources, websites,
lessons, and ideas all in one place. Make notes in the description like “Great idea for
organizing the piles of books in our pod.” See examples: 2nd Grade Team , Middle
School Maestros, and High School Science.
10. Search for education websites and technologies, or search for all of the Pins from a
specific source (such as a blog or organization). Just edit the URL and add /source
and the website: http://pinterest.com/source/NameOfWebsite.com/. For example,
you can search for content pinned from Scholastic by going to:
http://pinterest.com/source/scholastic.com/
11. Collect professional development ideas. For example, create a technology board,
or and Education Blogs board, and pin your favorite sites, YouTube videos,
SlideShare presentations, and infographics to keep track and reference later.
Pinning allows you to leave notes in the description and access the board from any
computer—making it more convenient than bookmarking.
12. Tired of spending your money on classroom supplies? Create a classroom wish list
board and fill it with donation ideas. Describe the item in the pin description and
share with parents who are interested in donating.
13. Give your classroom a makeover. The Teachers on Pinterest Classroom Decor
board is a great place to get inspired and start your search.
14. Go digital to cut down on filing cabinet space. Scan original copies and take
pictures of student work examples. Upload your favorites and share them with your

5. colleagues on Pinterest. (See this pin to give you a little inspiration.) You can also
find tons of printables that you can save and reference later.
More tips from second grade teacher Meghan Zachman here.
Resources
- Pinterest Blog post – Say Hello to ‘Teachers on Pinterest’!
- pinterest.com/teachers - Teachers on Pinterest hub
- Pinterest for teachers – infographics and tips
- Top Education and classroom Pins of 2013
- Thousands of Pins from Edutopia
- Edutopia Five-Minute Film Festival: Pinterest for Teaching and Learning
- Edudemic: The Teacher’s Guide To Pinterest
- Teach Hub: Pinterest: Unexpected Ways Schools Can Tap Into the Power of Pinning
- Secondary Solutions: 15+ Pinterest Boards Teachers Should Be Following #edchat
- 37 Ways Teachers Can Use Pinterest In The Classroom
- 12 Great Pinterest Boards for Middle School Teachers
- Top Secondary Teachers to Follow on Pinterest
- Gates Foundation: Pinterest: Why I’m a Fan