Lesson Plans
At Open Educators, we think learning should be fun and engaging for students and their teachers! The following resources offer fun ways to teach children of all ages some of their favorite (or soon-to-be-favorite) subjects.
SCIENCE
NASA Educational Resources
Students will be over the moon learning from materials provided by NASA. Their search tool allows you to choose what grade level and subject you’re looking for, and has online and printable content.
Discovery Education Lesson Plan Library
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History offers access to a variety of published natural history documents free of charge.
PhET Interactive Simulations
This tool from the University of Colorado Boulder has free interactive simulations for science subjects including physics, chemistry and biology for students and teachers.
Periodic Videos
The University of Nottingham has created a unique, memorable way for educators to teach their students about the elements of the periodic table – by creating fun videos for all of them!
MATH
Student Guide’s Complete List of Online Math Resources
Parents and teachers alike can help their students receive some extra help in just about every math subject, no matter what grade level.
JumpStart
This website has lots of K-5 lesson plans for teaching decimals, fractions and even basic counting skills to students.
Math Is Fun
This site has lesson plans for elementary and middle school teachers as well as individual exercises for students that put complicated math jargon into friendly, easy-to-understand terms.
The Math Learning Center
This interactive website is designed for K-5 students to practice math skills at home with a parent or other family member.
HISTORY
Digital History
The College of Education at the University of Houston has online curriculum on American history, from our country’s beginnings all the way to present day.
Facing History and Ourselves
These lesson plans not only focus on teaching history, but emphasize how the choices past generations have made still affect us today.
Kids.gov
This government website has world history lessons, as well as American history lessons focused on the diverse population of the United States.
100 Leaders in World History
From the organizers of National History Day, these lesson plans incorporate leadership themes into all of their lessons, helping students of all grade levels identify leadership qualities in individuals now and from throughout history.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Whatever time you have as an educator to devote to a lesson plan, this website will find the right fit for you. You can use their search tool to sort by subject, grade level, class periods required for the program, and even if you want to include worksheets.
ARTS
Incredible Art Department
Students don’t have to have natural artistic ability to appreciate getting their creative juices flowing. This website has hundreds of ideas for all grade levels students can do at home and school.
The Teacher’s Guide Art Lesson Plans
Broken down by medium, these K-12 lesson plans also include information on other educational skills incorporated into the art projects.
Crayola Lesson Plans
One of the companies that has inspired children to be creative for decades also has a bounty of lesson plans that not only educate on important topics, but result in beautiful student artwork.
The Art of Education
This website has illustrated, easy-to-follow printable lesson plans for K-12 educators that cover a variety of mediums, including sculpture, photography and painting.
Other Helpful Resources
When sharing resources with educators, we pull from a variety of trusted websites with reliable content. Although we cast a wide net when searching for information, there are a few special organizations and other groups we have turned to time after time. We’ve found that health and child development are two of the categories we are asked about most frequently, and we often refer to the agencies below.
HEALTH
World Health Organization
The WHO has a team of over 7,000 doctors and other health advocates that work with the United Nations and other world leadership groups to shape research and advancements concerning global public health.
National Institutes of Health
The NIH is a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. They publish information and research on a variety of topics such as mental health, senior health and child development.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The CDC contains a wealth of information on specific diseases and conditions, and provides up-to-date information on outbreaks and epidemics.
CHADD
CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is an excellent place to go with questions relating to ADD/ADHD, its symptoms, and treatment options.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
PBS Parents Child Development
The broadcast company (and home of many beloved children’s educational programs) has a guide for parents of children ages 1 through 8, which offers ideas and information on age-appropriate educational techniques.
Child Development Institute
This online community is run by psychologists and is for parents looking for ideas to connect with and engage their children.