Teacher Testimonials:

Read What Other Teachers Are Saying
About Unique Teaching Resources

Thank You To The Teachers Who
Have Taken Their Valuable Time To Share
A Comment About Unique Teaching Resources:

On my Thank You page, you will find the link to download these free student awards immediately. So, if you want to help me out by contributing to this Teacher Testimonials page, and get two free color certificates for your students, please fill out the Teacher Testimonial form at the bottom of this page. I appreciate that you are willing to take your valuable time to share your thoughts and views with me.

The feedback that I receive on these forms is very helpful, and it helps me to make decisions on which types of resources are the most popular and in demand. I am not able to publish all of these teacher testimonials on my website, but the comments that I receive from each teacher help me a lot in planning and selecting my next projects.

Name: Monica
Subject/Grade: Instructional Coach - Middle School Level
From: Colorado, United States
Date: February 2010
Comment: Thank you so much for your website, and for providing free resources (when so many sites are asking for $).

You saved the day for a young bilingual 7th grader who is struggling to read. He looked at me and said, "If people would have just let me practice at my speed, I could get better at this", which broke my heart. His teachers have been looking for answers, but their prescriptive programs weren't working. When we handed our young man Fry's 1000 instant words on flashcards (THANKS! to your website), and he realized he would be able to read 65%+ of his textbooks once he had them mastered, his motivation was electric.

Again, I can't thank you enough for having the flashcards ready to use and download. If I (we) had needed to create them, it could have been several days or weeks before he had them in his hands. I am an instructional coach at several schools and have access to hundreds of teacher email accounts. As soon as I finish this note, they'll all be getting an email from me with your link.

Thank you again for your marvelous website and caring about teachers and kids.

Name: Rhean
Subject/Grade: 5th Grade
From: New Jersey, United States
Date: February 2010
Comment: I have used your holiday writing ideas and love them. My students are actively engaged in the writing process and their final draft looks terrific on your stationary.

I have also used your book projects. I am currently using the suitcase book project with the book "Walk Two Moons." The students are loving this project. I personally love all your holiday powerpoints and games. The students enjoy grading their own sheet. Thank you so much for offering your hard work to us!

Name: Rita
Subject/Grade: 5th-7th Grade
From: Maharashtra, India
Date: January 2010
Comment: You have a wonderful website. I have been looking for such a site for a long time. Thanks for being there for all of us teachers!

Name: Lisa
Subject/Grade: 4th Grade
From: Conneticut, United States
Date: December 2009
Comment: Hi Heidi! I LOVE your website and am incredibly impressed by your materials, particularly your book reports. You truly must be an outstanding teacher and I'd love to be a student in your classrooms. I have been making my own teaching materials similar to yours for a few years now and know the amount of time that it takes to get everything 'just right.' I received your newsletter and was excited to see your Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book report template, as it is exactly the type of thing I would want to use with my students. I already purchased your SNOW acrostic poems snowglobes and your game board book reports, and was quite pleased with their quality. I am eager to see if you have a project template for Dahl's Matilda (my next read aloud book with my class) that will be available for purchase soon. I can see through browsing the photos on your site that you have a lot of adorable projects that previous classes have done with other Dahl books besides Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so I've got my fingers crossed that I can save myself hours of time trying to create my own for a change. Please let me know whenever you have a chance if anything for this book will be available on your site. Thanks so much!

Name: Tammy
Subject/Grade: 5th Grade Reading
From: Ohio, United States
Date: December 2009
Comment: I have enjoyed the resources on your site and have been able to apply them to multiple levels. I love the writing rubrics and packets. The banners save sooooo much time! I am able to publish students' work and create a quick bulletin board! Thank you for the low prices, as well. Keep 'em coming - I look forward to your monthly newsletters. Have a great holiday:)

Name: Sue
Subject/Grade: 5th Grade
From: Michigan, United States
Date: November 2009
Comment: I absolutely love your creative work. You have some awesome activities that are very fun for the students and for the teacher.

Name: Cynthia
Subject/Grade: 3rd Grade
From: Illinois, United States
Date: November 2009
Comment: I wanted to let you know that you and your website have inspired me soooo very much. I too am often looking for unique ways for students to share the joys of literature. Thank you for sharing your ideas!

Name: Sherry
Subject/Grade: Early Intervention Teacher- Reading and Math (Grades 3-5)
From: Georgia, United States
Date: November 2009
Comment: I look forward to trying your Powerpoint presentation on my new classroom projector!! Your designs are colorful and engaging!!! Thanks so much .. keep 'em coming!!

Name: Linda
Subject/Grade: 3rd Grade
From: Illinois, United States
Date: November 2009
Comment: Heidi, I have recently found your site and I LOVE IT! You are truly talented.

Name: Susan
Subject/Grade: 3rd Grade
From: Michigan, United States
Date: November 2009
Comment: Your book report templates are awesome. Thank you for having such a great resource for teachers to inspire students to read and check their comprehension.

Name: Inez
Subject/Grade: 3rd Grade
From: Texas, United States
Date: November 2009
Comment: I love your resources! Keep the book reports coming! They are really good and I want to buy more.

Name: Uneaka
Subject/Grade: 3rd Grade
From: Bermuda
Date: November 2009
Comment: Wow!!! What a great website. Teachers are some of the most creative and giving people. It is great to see how others use different resources to help our students learn. I can't wait to receive the next newsletter. Thank you...Thank you.

Name: Temesa
Subject/Grade: Gifted and Talented K-5
From: Texas, United States
Date: November 2009
Comment: Simply stated, I LOVE YOUR BOOK REPORT SETS!!!!!!! I'm interested in purchasing them ALL!!!! Please keep me informed when they become available. I've been looking for something like this for quite some time. Please contact me.

Name: Nicole
Subject/Grade: 3rd Grade
From: Florida, United States
Date: November 2009
Comment: I have been teaching the Exceeds Reading Group for most of my teaching career, and I am always looking for new ideas for enriching projects. I LOVE your stuff! You are very talented! Thanks for the great stuff!

Name: Tina
Subject/Grade: 2nd Grade
From: Nevada, United States
Date: October 2009
Comment: A fellow teacher informed me of your web site and I just can't say enough good things about it. I would like to thank you for taking the time to put such wonderful information together to help make us all great teachers. Thank you for all you do!!!

Name: Linda
Subject/Grade: 1st Grade
From: Saudi Arabia
Date: October 2009
Comment: I just want to thank you for a wonderful web site... I love the things that you post for us to download and your class looks amazing and fun. Thank you for sharing all of your creative ideas with us!

Name: Jennie
Subject/Grade: 2nd Grade
Date: October 2009
Comment: OMG- I LOVE LOVE your website and resources. I have an art background too, so I can be very critical. I left your website wanting MORE..... Thank you SOOO much for posting all of your resources and ideas. They are incredibly creative and enticing for teachers and kids! Thank you so much.

Name: Jill
Subject/Grade: 7th Language Arts & 7th Reading
From: Oklahoma, United States
Date: September 2009
Comment: Dear Ms. McDonald, Our school is starting a 25 book campaign, and all I could think about was how am I going to keep my students motivated to read that many books? I have created a mountain bulletin board with the theme "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." I intend to welcome my students with the song and introduce our new adventure with enthusiasm. The problem was what kind of incentive chart would I use to monitor their progress? So of course, I began the internet search. Your website was one of the first ones to catch my eye. Wow, the resources, and free! There's got to be a catch! There's not! You can't believe how much I appreciate your website. I am so excited to see what you add next. I love all the projects your students have accomplished. I look forward to using your resources as the year goes on. Thank you so much!

Here is an example of how I may respond to a comment, question, or request that a teacher sends me.

I read Jill's letter (directly above) and I thought that her idea was great! I designed a custom five page banner for her bulletin board display. Then, I thought about what kind of bulletin board I would design for this theme.

I thought that I would make a large mountain, display my title banner on it, and then use incentive charts to put my students' stickers on. I thought that a sticker chart template that was shaped like a flag would be a good idea, and the students' flags could be moved up the mountain as they progressed with their reading goals. I designed a black and white template for her to choose from, as well as 7 different color flag sticker charts.

If I use a teacher's idea to create a new resource, I send that teacher a free copy of the resource that I designed and give them credit for their idea on Unique Teaching Resources.

I will not have time to do this with every idea that I receive, but you never know, I just may choose yours! Below are some small examples of the resources that I created for Jill. She is a Grade 7 Language Arts and Reading teacher in Oklahamo, US. Thanks for your great idea Jill!

These resources will soon be available on my Sticker and Incentive Chart page.

Here is Jill's kind response:

Dear Ms. McDonald, Thank you for taking the time to help me with my idea! I love your banner and templates! I will definitely use them. I will take a picture of what I created as our bulletin board, and then another with your creations. I appreciate you taking the time to do all of this for me. I can’t believe how much you helped me. It’s hard to be a teacher in a middle school. I had forgotten that there are people out there who are willing to help and share ideas. Hate to say it, but it doesn’t happen very often at our school. I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Sincerely, Jill

Name: Chanie
Subject/Grade: 4th Grade
Date: September 2009
Comment: I just had to tell you that you are an INSPIRATION! Every student should be lucky enough to have at least one teacher like you in his/her lifetime. WOW. WOW. WOW. I am completely speechless at the ideas on this site.

Name: Denise
Subject/Grade: 3rd Grade
From: Colorado, United States
Date: August 2009
Comment: Heidi, You have some absolutely wonderful and engaging ideas for book projects, etc. I am new to teaching 3rd grade this year and I would love to use some of your book project resources. Where would I find the templates for projects such as the Cheeseburger Project, the Birthday Cake Project and some of the others? Thank you so much for sharing your ideas. I am sure your students leave your class with a strong love for reading.

Name: Taylor
Subject/Grade: 5th Grade
From: United States
Date: July 2009
Comment: Your resources are truly tantastic - that may be why everyone has found them so fast! Take you time putting things up...you should enjoy your summer vacation! :o) I look forward to your newsletters and updates!! All the best with your website! You are truly a resource to some of us who will be teaching 5th grade reading for the first time. Stay encouraged.

Name: Lisa
Subject/Grade: First and Second Grade Composite Class
From: Australia
Date: June 2009
Comment: I've just stumbled onto your website tonight and love it! You have had some amazing adventures. The resources you've created are just fantastic. I can't believe those silly publishers didn't jump at the chance to sign you up. I live and teach in Australia, though I'm American too. I did my teacher training here in Australia and just stayed. I totally know what you mean about being overseas from your family! Anyways, I just wanted to get in touch and say a quick G'day!

Name: Rana
Subject/Grade: Kindergarten
From: Singapore
Date: June 2009
Comment: Hi, and Kudos, you are doing a great job. I have been teaching for 11 years of my life, but have not seen work like yours before. God bless you for doing a great job.

Name: Sandy
Subject/Grade: K-8 Librarian
From: United States
Date: June 2009
Comment: I love your site. I'm looking to create displays for books & authors inside the library. I found your site while Googling images of displays. I have downloaded the samples that you have and can't wait to pass them off to the other teachers I work with. I hope you continue to add the ideas you mentioned, they seem like a perfect addition to our graphic organizers that we introduced last year school-wide. Keep up the great work, I will check back later.

Name: Noorulain
Subject/Grade: Grade 3
From: Canada
Date: June 2009
Comment: You have fantastic teaching resources and great teaching ideas. I loved your website and have bookmarked it!

Name: Adrienne
Subject/Grade: ESL and Music
From: South Africa
Date: May 2009
Comment: I just absolutely love, love your website! I can't get enough & will be using your teaching resources with my students. Keep going and I can't wait to see your new materials. Could you add a section on report card comments for teachers to use when preparing student report cards please? Thanks!

Name: Leigh Ann
Subject/Grade: 4th Grade
From: United States
Date: May 2009
Comment: I am really excited by your site. I'm already planning for next school year -- we just ended 3 days ago. I will be checking your site regularly for all of your fantastic book report ideas.

Name: Penny
Subject/Grade: Grade 3
From: United States
Date: April 2009
Comment: I LOVE all of your resources, especially the book reports. When will your book report templates be available? They all look fabulous, especially the cheeseburger and game board book reports.

Name: Mayet
Subject/Grade: Grade 3
From: Philippines
Date: April 2009
Comment: Hello Heidi! This is the first time I came across your website and it is absolutely awesome! I too love decorating my classroom and it really is a great joy going over your website. Congratulations for coming up with your great ideas about the things you do as a teacher. I'm more inspired now to make my teaching as enjoyable as possible with the help of your ideas. I've bookmarked your website for easy access to the latest updates you'll post. More power to you, Heidi!

I hope to see you back here at Unique Teaching Resources! Heidi