The purpose of the lesson is to introduce students to what causes wind and how it can be measured. Students will create a wind gauge and collect data on "wind speed". Detailed instructions are included as well as examples of the lesson...

In this lesson plan, learners prepare their design plans for building their own toy vehicle from local manufacturers' discards. They start to conceptualize what may help the vehicle roll straight and far as they discuss ideas with...

Water on Earth comes in many different forms. Learners will collaborate as a team to locate forms of water on Earth. This in-depth lesson utilizes technology, specifically QR codes, to go on a hunt for where water is located on Earth...

What do inventors have that are alike? How are they different? Why do they invent? Learning about them may inspire you to invent new technology! In this instructional activity, students will compare and contrast key details in two texts...

Students will use words acquired through reading to describe images (with adjectives) that demonstrate an understanding of characters in a story. The teacher will read Miss Nelson is Back which has great descriptors and will hold a class...

Birds protect their young in some cool ways! See how our national bird cares for its chicks. Students will read a National Geographic article about Eagles becoming extinct, and will watch a video on Iowa Bald Eagle cameras. Students will...

For this lesson, learners will use several strategies to learn the meaning of new words they encounter in text. The students will learn specific strategies so when they encounter new words, they can figure out the meaning of those words...

Young scholars will write a sloppy copy and help a peer to edit their writing. They will use a kid-friendly checklist (included)to help each other find their mistakes. Videos of the lesson in action are provided, along with a teacher's...

In this lesson, the children will be building a physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object, such as triangles, helps it function. At the end, the children will test their gumdrop structures and the class will collectively...

Earth changes can happen quickly or slowly. The students will work in teams to stake a claim about these changes and then use texts to find evidence to prove their claims. Included in this lesson are video clips of the class, a list of...

Empower students to recognize that they are thinkers and writers! They will collaborate on a writing piece to brainstorm, organize and publish ideas with a digital tool. This lesson highlights different website creations as examples of...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Staying safe online is a lot like staying safe in the real world. By helping a Digital Citizen sign up for a new app, 2nd graders learn about the kinds of information they should keep to themselves when...

[Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, young scholars are actively engaged in learning how formal and informal language are used in written and oral communications. Downloadable handouts are provided.

Through hands-on activities, this lesson will show students that a force is a push or a pull and forces cause changes in motion. Included are a minute-by-minute lesson plan, activities, and teacher discussion points and questions.

This hands-on lesson focuses on the land and its many different types of landforms and bodies of water. Included are a minute-by-minute lesson plan, activities, and teacher discussion points and questions.

This is a lesson plan for teaching storytelling and/or fables to first graders including listening, reading, instructional activity learned (moral), and follow up ideas.

This Second Step instructional activity will introduce the concept of emotion management.

This site offers links to several lesson plans for teaching main ideas to first and second graders; it also provides and explains some activities for teaching the main idea to first graders.

This instructional activity from Second Step will help students learn how to manage their anger.

This site includes two first grade math vocabulary lesson plans: one for measurement terms and time and money, and another for geometry terms

This instructional activity poses the question "can you always take something apart and put it together in different ways?". Students will take part in designing an investigation using snap cubes to help figure out an answer. Videos of...

The purpose of this lesson is to reinforce the idea that things are made up of small parts that can be recombined in novel ways. It also shows that the shape of certain parts dictates their function. Students delight in taking things...

Teachers will engage young learners to understand how one story can be shared more than one way. This lesson demonstrates an historical interpretation of the story about Pocahontas and John Smith with the Disney movie. Several resources...

Oil spills are real disasters that plague our oceans every day. This lesson will offer learners a chance to work in teams to develop possible solutions to ways to clean up oil spills.