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Teacher CenterFree resources (license checked)
Free, high-quality materials, sorted by what the license lets you do.
General information, not legal advice. Your district's evaluation plan, its Code of Conduct and your union contract decide the details for you. When something matters for your job, ask your building union representative and your district (principal, human resources or the special education / ENL office). Facts here were checked Nov 7, 2026 from the official sources listed at the bottom.
How to read this list
- Commercially usable: the license allows any use, including commercial, if you follow it (usually: credit the source). Safe for Goal100 materials when credited.
- Classroom only (non-commercial): free for your own teaching; not for selling or for a paid product.
- Read and link: free to read and share the link; copyrighted, so don't copy the text into your own materials.
Licenses change. Each license below was checked on the source's own page on Nov 7, 2026. Check again before reusing.
1. Commercially usable (credit required)
| Resource | What | License (checked Nov 7, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Illustrative Mathematics 6-8 Math | Full grade 6-8 math curriculum with lessons, practice and family pages | CC BY 4.0. The Illustrative Mathematics name and logo are not covered; some images keep their own licenses. |
| OpenSciEd Middle School | Phenomenon-based middle school science units | Middle school units: CC BY 4.0. Elementary and high school: CC BY-NC (not commercial). |
| PhET simulations (historical collection) | Interactive science and math simulations | Versions published before March 29, 2026: CC BY 4.0, commercial use allowed with credit; using the PhET brand for promotion needs a separate license. Newer versions: check PhET's licensing page. |
| Smithsonian Open Access | Millions of images and 3D models | CC0 for items marked Open Access: any use, no permission needed. |
| IES / What Works Clearinghouse practice guides | Research summaries for teachers | Work of the U.S. Department of Education (a U.S. government work). |
Goal100 note: the Goal100 project keeps OpenSciEd and PhET as reference only (a project decision), even though the licenses above allow more.
2. Free for your classroom (non-commercial)
| Resource | What | License (checked Nov 7, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| EngageNY Math archive · ELA archive | The former EngageNY curriculum modules, now hosted on nysed.gov | CC BY-NC-SA. NYSED stopped supporting EngageNY.org in March 2022 and moved the files to an archive. |
| OpenStax | Free textbooks (mostly college and AP level) | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 per OpenStax's licensing page (we also checked two book prefaces). Not commercially usable. |
3. Read and link (official guidance and research)
| Resource | Use it for |
|---|---|
| NYS Next Generation Math standards · implementation timeline | Exact standard codes and wording |
| NYS Teaching Standards | What evaluation is built on |
| NYSED approved rubric list | Finding your rubric's publisher |
| CR-S Education Framework | Culturally responsive-sustaining practice |
| NYSED SEL · CASEL | SEL benchmarks and competencies |
| CAST UDL Guidelines | Planning for every learner |
| Rosenshine, Principles of Instruction | Explicit instruction in 10 principles |
| Dunlosky et al. summary (APS) | Which study strategies work |
| NYSED Integrated ENL resources | ENL co-teaching |
| NYSED special education continuum Q&A | ICT rules |
Sources
- Illustrative Mathematics 6-8 Math, license notice (Kendall Hunt site) (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- OpenSciEd: What does it mean that these units are licensed as CC-BY-4.0? (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- PhET: Agreement for the historical collection of HTML simulations (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- Smithsonian: Smithsonian releases 2.8 million free images (Open Access, CC0) (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- IES What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide: Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning (Pashler et al., 2007, PDF) (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- NYSED: EngageNY Mathematics Curriculum Files Archive (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- NYSED: EngageNY ELA Curriculum Files Archive (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- OpenStax: Licensing information for OpenStax textbooks (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- NYSED: NYS Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- NYSED: Next Generation Learning Standards roadmap and implementation timeline (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- CAST: Universal Design for Learning Guidelines (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of Instruction. American Educator, Spring 2012 (AFT, PDF) (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- Association for Psychological Science: Which study strategies make the grade? (Dunlosky et al., 2013) (checked Nov 7, 2026)
Teacher Center · written for New York State teachers · last checked Nov 7, 2026. Robert Frost Middle School and Deer Park UFSD do not publish every local procedure online, so always confirm local steps with your building.