ESL Kid Stuff
Classroom Objects
How many classroom objects can your learners identify? Use a set of activities based on object recognition and color matching to help young kids use their observation to learn new vocabulary.
Curated OER
Grocery Shopping
Using an adaptive shopping list, special needs students take a trip to the grocery store. Instead of words, their list contains pictures of the items they need to find and purchase at the store. They run through several practice and...
Curated OER
A Primary Source Picture Book
Travel through Europe with ten-year-old Teddy Roosevelt in this writing activity, which uses the picture book My Tour of Europe: by Teddy Roosevelt, by Ellen Jackson. After reading the book, readers compare it to passages from The...
Curated OER
Our Town: Using Song Lyrics in the Classroom
Bruce Springsteen’s “My Hometown” and Billy Joel’s “Allentown” motivate young lyricists to craft poems about their own home town. Groups compare the two songs, identifying details, symbols, and conflicts. Individuals then picture a place...
Michael's Crafts
Classroom Community Bulletin Board Lesson Plan
Building a strong classroom community is a huge part of our job. This idea lets the kids help define the rules, ideas, and behaviors that they want in their classroom. They'll work together to design a bulletin board that...
Curated OER
Storytelling in the Classroom
What makes story telling special? Young readers demonstrate how to tell a story to others. Kindergarteners, first graders, and second graders read biographies of "Building Blocks" characters and tell a story about a character to their...
Curated OER
Measures
Estimate and explore the length and weight of classroom items using standard measurement and scales. Students will work in groups to determine appropriate measuring tools, weigh or measure items, and record their results on a data chart....
Curated OER
Calm in the Classroom
Students explore conflict resolution. In this character development lesson, students decorate paper plates to use as puppets. Students role play scenarios in which classroom problem solving is practiced.
Curated OER
Primary Picture Words
Students identify high frequency words and recite them verbally. In this high frequency words lesson, students use creative pens to trace high frequency words on paper. Students participate in an interactive magnetic board to...
Illustrative Mathematics
How Long
It won't take young mathematicians long to learn how to measure length with this fun, hands-on activity. Working in pairs, children use Unifix® or snap cubes to measure and record the lengths of different classroom objects. To extend the...
Nemours KidsHealth
School Lunch: Grades 3-5
Two lessons encourage scholars to make smart food choices. Lesson one challenges participants to create a five-day meal plan. In lesson two, learners pack an imaginary lunch, drawing pictures on a printable lunch bag divided into food...
Curated OER
A Taste of Our Classroom
Students explore their classroom tastes. In this lesson plan, students list the four tastes that the tongue can detect, map the individual areas of taste on the tongue, and demonstrate the ability to identify objects through the use of...
Curated OER
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Students design and create photo albums that tell the story of the play, Twelfth Night, using pictures they take of themselves recreating various scenes of the play.
Curated OER
Lesson 2: Measurement Tools
Elementary schoolers examine the uses of rulers, scales, and measuring cups. They determine the criteria for the use of each tool and visit different areas of school to find items that can be measured with these tools. Everyone takes...
Captain Planet Foundation
Sense of Place
Explore the five senses with a kindergarten lesson on gardening. After taking a walk through the class garden, kids note what they see, hear, feel, taste, and smell, and then decide what is living in the garden versus what is not living....
Pyro Innovations
Beach Exploration
Little ones will absolutely love this lesson. It's all about the beach and what they can find while sifting through the sand. A large bucket of sand filled with hidden items is brought into the classroom. Learners will discuss what kinds...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Very, Very Simple Decorative Papers
Combine art and science with an activity that has kids gathering items from their environment to include in the decorative paper they create.
Kelly's Kindergarten
January Daily Activities
Start the year right with a series of activities about phonics, reading, winter exercises, and writing. Focused on snow and winter items, a month's worth of short lessons address various skills and keep your kids practicing language arts.
University of Texas
Scarcity
How can having too little of something impact your life? Scholars investigate the concept of scarcity in their own lives and in the overall picture of the economy. Brainstorming activities as well as student-parent work bring to light...
Curated OER
Shoes and the Backyard Landscape
Your shoes get a lot of mileage in familiar places. Represent the places you have traveled the most with an art project based on a print of Indian People Wear Shoes and Socks by Juane Quick-to-See Smith. Kids trace their shoes and...
Illustrative Mathematics
3-D Shape Sort
From the apple on your desk and the coffee cup in your hand, to the cabinets along the classroom wall, basic three-dimensional shapes are found everywhere in the world around us. Introduce young mathematicians to the these common figures...
California Academy of Science
Be Prepared for an Earthquake
Earthquakes can be frightening and dangerous, but being prepared can make a world of difference. Perform an earthquake simulation during which the class practices how to drop, cover, and hold on as you read a script...
Scholastic
Frindle Lesson Plan
"Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle?" Inspired by this quote from the award-winning novel written by Andrew Celements, this lesson allows children to invent their own...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Leaving Home Forever: What Would You Put In Your Suitcase?
Scholars put themselves in an immigrant's shoes to decide what items they would take on their journey to a new home. Learners read primary sources, take part in a whole-class discussion, and make a list that they share with their peers,...