Although women make up more than 50% of humanity, only since the 20th century have they achieved full legal rights and privileges in the U.S.—and in some countries, they are still second-class citizens. Consequently, women’s role in history and contributions to culture have been woefully overlooked.

Designated as Women’s History Month, March is a great time to dive deeply into women’s struggle for equal rights and triumphs in every arena. The lessons, activities and resources here are an excellent way to investigate and understand women as changemakers, activists, and heroines—worthy of becoming an integral part of the curriculum all year long.

Best Women's History Month Lessons and Activities

Bill of Rights Institute Women’s History Playlist: 1844-1860
Eight outstanding standards-aligned multimedia lessons explore the lives of notable mid-19th century women, both famous (Sojourner Truth, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman) and little-known ( Louise Smith Clappe). Each downloadable lesson includes a detailed narrative, primary sources, review questions, and suggestions for pairing with other lessons. Bonus: Download a single interactive PDF with all eight lessons included. Free account required to download.

American Experience: She Resisted
A highly creative, interactive audio/visual experience that delves into the wide range of strategies employed by suffragists in their quest for the right to vote. The opening sequence, featuring thrilling music and compelling film, will draw students into investigating the nine featured strategies. A riveting production that brings history and historical characters to life.

National Women’s Hall of Fame
A showcase for women’s achievement in every arena. Discover the Women of the Hall, then check out the online solitaire game, which combines the fun of solitaire with cards featuring fascinating women of achievement.

National Women’s History Alliance: This Month in Women’s History
Learn all about important dates of women's history throughout the year with this easy-to-use calendar, featuring birthdays of female trailblazers and important historical events from civil rights, politics, and culture.

Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote
Seven online exhibitions from the National Archives investigate topics such as “Who decides who votes?” and “What voting rights struggles persist?” Digitized original documents and photos featured.

Singing for Women’s Suffrage: A New Digital Collection from the Library of Congress
Add a musical note to your history lessons through the women’s suffrage songbook. Included are prompts and ideas for classroom and elearning lessons.

Women athletes who changed sports history
With female athletes starring in tennis, track and field, basketball, soccer, golf and other sports, students today may not realize how women of the past struggled to compete in the athletic realm. This round-up of notable female athletes includes many famous ones, like Serena Williams—and some little-known, like Toni Stone, the "female Jackie Robinson."

iCivics Women’s History Month Resources
A wealth of resources for teaching women’s history, including downloadable planners, videos spotlighting pioneering women, and standards-aligned lessons.

PBS Teaching Women's Suffrage
Women’s right to vote, and the struggle to achieve it, form the foundation for all successive rights. This extensive collection of multimedia lessons and activities is grouped according to topics such as the 19th Amendment, advocates and organizers, primary sources, and modern-day legacies. Each standards-based lesson includes downloadable support materials for teachers.

Unsung Women Who Changed America
26 short films and a one-hour documentary examine the lives of trailblazing women from the turn of the 20th century. Although most of these women are not widely known, their accomplishments call for recognition. Available in Spanish.

HMH: 10 National Women's History Month Activities for Students
A diverse collection of activities using research, writing, critical thinking, and art to analyze women’s history and the changing social mores about women’s role in society.

65 Famous Women in History Everyone Should Know
From astronauts to politicians to athletes to writers, these 65 women—some famous, others less so— have made their mark on the world. Read the brief biographies, then explore the links provided to learn more about Sally Ride, Shirley Chisholm, Soraya Jiménez, Empress Dowager Cixi, and many more.

Clio Visualizing History: Click! in the Classroom Lesson Plans
Organized by grade level, these lesson plans examine women's history through the lens of feminism, politics, careers, sports, and civil rights.

Scholastic Action: From Out of This World. . . To Under the Sea
What do the depths of Earth’s oceans have in common with outer space? Both are otherworldly realms, inhospitable to human life while captivating our imaginations. Meet a woman who has traveled to each place and find out why. A video and quiz round out the article. Integrated with Google drive.

Women's History Month: Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote
An online version of the Library of Congress exhibition "Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote" looks at the history of the struggle for suffrage via handwritten letters, speeches, photographs, and scrapbooks created by American suffragists.

National Women's History Museum Digital Classroom Resources
A wealth of digital resources for women's history featuring lesson plans, quizzes, primary source documents, videos, and more. Searchable by type, topic, and grade.

Alice Ball and 7 Female Scientists Whose Discoveries Were Credited to Men
Learn about women who broke barriers in science but who were, until recently, not credited properly for their achievements. Compare this to the list of women recognized with the Nobel Prize.

DocsTeach: Primary sources and Teaching Activities for Women's Rights
Explore a wealth of primary sources covering topics ranging across women's suffrage, political cartoons, the Equal Rights Amendment, and many others. Teaching activities include online interactives investigating all aspects of the fight for women's suffrage and the passage of the 19th Amendment.

Learning for Justice: Women's Suffrage Lesson
This Common Core-aligned lesson guides students in learning how women achieved voting rights and in evaluating the role of the federal government in the fight for suffrage.

National Museum of Women in the Arts Curriculum & Resources
On the website of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, find free resources to support teaching about women artists, including a complete curriculum, "Art, Books, and Creativity," and pre-K12 educator guides. Be sure to explore the extensive online exhibitions.

National Women's History Alliance: Women's History Quizzes
Seven quizzes on women's history cover topics including women in STEM, peace activists, Black women's history, and more.

Nobel Prizes Awarded to Women
Note how the rate of female Nobel laureates has changed dramatically in the 21st century.

Smithsonian Learning Lab Women's History
Sixty-three collections of digitized objects related to women's history add a rich context to the written word. The Learning Lab is a free, interactive platform allowing educators and other users to find digital resources and create content with online tools.

In 1870, Henrietta Wood Sued for Reparations—and Won
Ever heard of Henrietta Wood? Formerly enslaved, Wood successfully sued her enslaver for reparations in 1870. This Smithsonian magazine article details her amazing story, forgotten until very recently.

Brilliant is a gamified online and app-based STEM teaching and learning platform that offers highly interactive lessons with step-by-step problem solving, dynamic visualizations, and brief explanations designed to keep learners engaged.

Brilliant’s slogan, “Everyone is a Math Person,” suggests its appeal to learners of every aptitude, and conveys its aim to reduce math anxiety and foster students' self-motivation.

The platform not only appeals strongly to students, but also to educators, as full premium memberships are available free to qualified educators.

What is Brilliant?

Founded in 2012, Brilliant comprises a STEM learning website plus Android and iOS apps. It partners with the nonprofit Mathcounts Foundation to support math education for middle school students and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges as supplementary education in math, science and technology.

Brilliant’s STEM games and puzzles are highly visual, interactive and engaging, while providing immediate feedback as students progress through problem sets and lessons. Its gamified interface uses clever sound effects and top-notch animations to reward and encourage persistence and concept mastery.

Aimed at students in grades 3-12, Brilliant offers thousands of lessons in the topics of math, computer science, science and data.

How Does Brilliant Work?

To apply for a free premium education account and start teaching with Brilliant, sign up at educator.brillaint.org. You will then be prompted to create two accounts - an educator account and a student account. The student account is required in order to explore and test the interactive courses and lessons, and view the site from a student perspective.

The next step is to create classes and invite students. This can be done easily via an invitation link or by syncing with Google Classroom. In this way, student accounts will automatically be created as premium accounts, free of charge. Note that educators log in at educator.brilliant.org, while students log in at brilliant.org.

Finding and Assigning lessons
Brilliant’s well-designed lessons dashboard makes it easy to find lessons for your students. First select the desired subject tab, then search by topic, grade, or standard. From the results page, teachers can copy the lesson link, post directly to Google Classroom, or preview the lesson before assigning. To complete the lesson as a student would, you’ll need to use your Brilliant student login that you created earlier. The platform will prompt you to do so.

Student Progress
While Brilliant is not an assessment platform, it does provide progress notes on students by reporting on the number of lessons each student completes and time spent on each lesson. The Highlights dashboard offers an overview of the class performance, including the total number of lessons completed and time spent, as well as listing students ranked by lessons completed. These reports, while not granular, do provide a general sense of the progress gained by individual students and the class as a whole.

What Are The Best Brilliant Features?

Brilliant’s clean interface, sophisticated graphics, and sound effects yield a fun and fluid interactive experience, allowing students to learn by doing. Gamified features such as streaks, points, and battery charges boost engagement and provide small rewards on the way to topic mastery.

Lesson Abundance and Variety
The sheer variety and abundance of STEM lessons in math, computer science, science, and data is remarkable. Within each lesson, levels progress from simpler to more complex, offering multiple exercises to reinforce learning in different ways. Suggested grade levels give teachers the ability to carefully curate lessons based on student grade and achievement. Since lessons can be separately assigned, teachers are able to individualize instruction according to student skill level.

Self-directed learning
Brilliant is an excellent platform for self-directed learning, as it allows students to follow their STEM curiosity without worrying about grades. The ability to jump ahead in lessons will be especially appreciated by advanced students who need less practice time to gain mastery.

Enrichment
Brilliant is ideal for highly motivated and advanced students. Instead of feeling bored and restless when they finish their lessons ahead of their classmates, they can move ahead to the next related lesson or simply "jump ahead" to a topic that intrigues them. At the same time, with its scaffolded lessons and the opportunity to repeatedly practice a single concept, it's also a great tool for struggling students.

Is Brilliant Safe for Kids?

Brilliant does not share, sell, or disclose any personal information of students, nor does it use student information for marketing or other non-educational purposes.

Additionally, the website states that Brilliant for Educators is designed in compliance with global privacy laws, including COPPA, FERPA, and GDPR.

How Much Does Brilliant Cost?

Thanks to a grant-funded program, Brilliant Premium is 100% free for qualified educators. Just as important, students of qualified educators are also qualified for a free premium account.

Eligible educators include the following:

• Elementary, middle, and high school teachers at accredited K-12 schools.
• Principals, superintendents, and other administrators at accredited K-12 schools or districts.
• Camp instructors, club leaders, or nonprofit employees working directly with children for educational purposes.

For general users, Brilliant operates on a freemium model, with basic features such as daily lessons available to free users. Premium users can take advantage of unlimited learning in an ad-free environment, personalized practice, and the ability to jump ahead in courses.

Teachers may recognize the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) brand as one bearing a strong reputation for trustworthy news and information on wide-ranging global topics, including many relevant to the American audience. So when I learned (in Edtech Show & Tell August 2025) that the BBC had launched new preK-12 teaching resource, I took a close look at its offerings.

The BBC Learning Hub website is easy to navigate and features plenty of colorful previews that are sure to engage students. While the number of resources (~1,700) is relatively modest at this time, it’s likely that many more will continue to be added. Given the BBC’s trustworthiness as an information provider, and the fact that the site’s resources are fully free, educators are well advised to check it out.

How does BBC Learning Hub work?

To access all resources, users can quickly create a free account with email, or log in with an active Google account. To locate resources, simply click on the Classroom Resources in the top menu and enter a keyword in the search box, or click on the convenient list of resource types: Videos, Collections, Lesson Plans, Blog Posts, Student Articles, Printables, and News Clips. Clicking a resource type leads to a filtered search page, where users search by type, grade range, subject, and topic.

Teachers can save resources to their account, assign via Google classroom, print, or share as a link or pdf.

The Learning Hub’s strongest subject is clearly science, with more than 1,000 resources, and social studies, with more than 300. Math, English language arts, and social-emotional learning are sparsely represented at this point, but I would guess more will be added in the coming months.

What are the best BBC Learning Hub features?

Science and Nature Videos
It’s no surprise that the science and nature videos on BBC Learning Hub are top notch. Many are excerpted from the BBC’s vast library of high-quality nature and educational series, and include segments narrated by the best in the nature video business: Sir David Attenborough.

Explore the world of polar bears, penguins, turtles, sea otters, reptiles, strange predators of the deep, and many more fascinating animals and ecosystems. Even better, the Learning Hub has turned each video into a lesson plan, which includes questions, activities, vocabulary, writing prompts, and printable worksheets.

To find related videos grouped in a single sharable link, filter your search by "Playlist." Teachers can also create their own playlists of related resources.

Student Articles
"Student Articles" aren't written by students, but rather for them. Nearly 150 leveled reading passages cover diverse topics from the life of children in the Middle Ages to microplastics. Each passage is available in two to three versions suitable for students reading at Lexile levels from 400L-1400L, or grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.

While the brief articles aren't a complete lesson plan, these can serve as a source for homework assignments or as a supplement to relevant curriculum.

News Clips
Comprising high-interest topics such as Minecraft, esports, and teen wrestling, the Learning Hub's news clips are brief, engaging videos that examine important, interesting and occasionally obscure news stories. With the accompanying printable worksheets, news clips can become the core of a complete lesson plan.

How much does BBC Learning Hub cost?

The BBC Learning Hub is fully free for students, teachers and all other users. A free account is required to access resources.

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• Best Tools for Teachers

Not surprisingly, many of the edtech tools we have come to enjoy using for teaching and learning have been updated to include AI functionalities. As a result, the learning activities we have designed can be modified to provide us as educators and our students the opportunity to leverage the AI technologies.

In addition, modifying lessons to include new technological advancement provides the chance to review our lessons, and incorporate different ways that students can approach gaining content knowledge, experience learning concepts through active and experiential learning activities, and gain mastery in varied subject areas.

In this article, we revisit four popular Tech & Learning lesson plans and provide guidance on how to modify aspects of the teaching and learning activities to take advantage of AI.

Revisiting Canva Lesson Plan

AI functionalities within Canva’s Magic Studio can be used in the Canva Lesson Plan under Guided Instruction where the teacher creates the lesson video walking students through the different types of biodiversity.

For example, instead of searching for images that represent ecosystem diversity, genetic diversity, and species diversity, the AI-powered text-to-video or text-to-image tool can be used. As the teacher planning the lesson, you can type in what you are looking for, and then a video or image will be produced using the AI functionalities within Canva’s Magic Studio.

You can also use the AI-powered magic resize and background generator to ensure that the visuals match the learning content.

Revisiting Blooket Lesson Plan

In the Blooket Lesson Plan under the Guided Practice section of this lesson, you may want students to engage with specific content on Blooket.

By taking advantage of the collaboration between Khanmingo and Blooket, you can use the AI-powered question creator to align questions to specific content of the lesson, as opposed to using the existing pre-made question sets within Blooket. This would also provide the chance to differentiate instruction, and have different gamified question sets available to students depending on where they are with the content and support they may need.

The Khanmingo and Blooket AI functionalities have two access pathways; from the dashboard in Khanmingo and from the Question Set Creator tool in Blooket.

Revisiting IXL Lesson Plan

For the IXL Lesson Plan, consider trying out the IXL’s new Spark Studio.

In the lesson under Individual Skill Development, you can create specific materials in the Spark Studio using the AI-powered teacher workspace. In this way, you can provide more specificity and targeted activities that can help your students develop specific skills.

In addition, you can click one button and your lessons, learning activities, and other created content can be translated into a foreign language. This could be helpful for students and their parents whose first language is not English. And with the AI functionality, it can all be done with a click of a button.

Revisiting Powtoon Lesson

In the first part of the Powtoon Lesson Plan under Content Instruction, you can use the new AI Avatars features to deliver the lesson. You would still personalize the content that the Avatar shares and can use the templates provided and customize the text and concepts you would like included. The AI will create a video based on what you provide that can serve as the instruction for your students.

For students, as they create their characters, they could use the Imagine Script-AI tool. They will still need to have their own ideas to put into the AI, which would take their initial idea and help them flesh it out and further develop.

I hope the ideas shared can help you get started with revisiting your lesson plans to take advantage of new and added AI functionalities to the edtech tools you and your students have enjoyed using for teaching and learning. Remember, AI is not always perfect and it is important to check the outputs to ensure accuracy and that the content you share with students is representative of the learning goals.

As you prepare, here are other related articles that may be useful:

• Explaining AI Use in the Classroom to Families
• AI Lesson Plan Tips
• ChatGPT Lesson Plan
• Developing AI Pedagogical Practices
• 10 Free AI Trainings and Certifications for Educators

While not much time is spent in K-12 educating students about money, once they graduate, it will become critically important. “Not a day will go by that they're not thinking about money. How to make it, how to spend it, how to save it,” says John Pelletier, director of the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College.

April is Financial Literacy Month, and to that end, we’ve curated financial literacy lessons and activities to help you help your students better understand the importance of how to make, manage, invest, and protect their money.

Financial Literacy Lessons & Activities

Teaching Financial Literacy
In addition to basic financial literacy, Pelletier shares with Tech & Learning how to teach students about cryptocurrency and NFTs, inflation, and other key financial concepts

TeachFinLit.org
Geared toward high school students, this resource features detailed lesson plans, complete with videos and outside sources, on topics such as budgeting and spending and credit and debt. It also offers multiple financial literacy curricula for new teachers.

Next Gen Personal Finance
A wealth of free multimedia financial curriculum resources, in addition to providing online personal development courses in finance geared specifically to teachers. Also features a virtual conference for teachers on April 5.

Understand The Personal Finance Ecosystem
The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) offers this research-informed framework that describes the factors influencing an individual’s state of financial well-being. It focuses on understanding foundational financial factors, such as basic numeracy and problem-solving skills, plus understanding values, beliefs, socioeconomics, and more.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Financial Literacy Activities
This federal site features more than 130 activities for school-aged students, searchable by grade level, activity duration, and topics, which range from saving and investing to understanding the FAFSA and comparing financial aid offers.

Khan Academy Financial Literacy
Featuring 16 units that help to build 73 life skills, this free course guides students (at their own pace, if wanted) to understand topics such as taxes, credit, investments, car buying, and even scams to avoid.

Uncle Jed’s Barbershop
Designed for grades 3-5, this lesson focuses on the book Uncle Jed's Barbershop, about an African-American barber who, despite significant setbacks, saves enough money to buy his own barbershop. From the story, students learn about saving, savings goals, opportunity cost, and more. Also features a card game.

Next Gen Personal Finance Arcade Games
Eleven personal finance games that use arcade-style graphics, amusing characters and music to engage kids in financial scenarios they are likely to face in the near future. Topics covered include the lure of cryptocurrency, paying for college, career choices, managing credit, and more. Games are accompanied by reflection worksheets. While students don’t need an account to access games, teachers’ resources require a free, verified education account. Available in English and Spanish.

FDIC Money Smart Games
From the Federal Deposit Insurance company comes this extensive collection of financial games covering diverse subjects from credit cards to disaster planning. Presented in the style of a TV game show, each episode is hosted by Isaiah and Kiara, who guide students in playing each round and offer an occasional, fairly lame financial joke. Best for younger students who require a lot of explanation. No account required, but users can create a free account to save progress. Available in English and Spanish.

Visa’s Financial Football
Super fun, action-packed digital football game that incorporates financial literacy questions interspersed between gameplay. Users choose their favorite NFL teams to begin the game, toss the digital coin, and select defensive strategy. Games range from 5-30 minutes, with three levels of difficulty. Teachers' resources include PDF lessons and activities.

Banzai Free Interactive Financial Education
A Tech & Learning Best for Back to School 2024 award winner, Banzai’s comprehensive, easy-to-navigate financial education platform is 100% free for teachers and students. It offers personal finance courses at the elementary, middle, and high school level as well as college-and-career readiness and digital citizenship classes. All courses include games, articles, and worksheets; free printed worksheets will be mailed upon request. Currently available in English and Spanish, Banzai! is fully compliant with COPPA, FERPA, and other student privacy regulations.

Jump$tart Clearinghouse
This extensive database of financial literacy resources is searchable by format, type of resource, grade, price, language, and special-needs category. To find the many free resources, simply enter “0” in the maximum cost box. Included are lesson plans, games, workbooks, curricula, quizzes, and much more. All resources align with the National Standards for Personal Financial Education, are age appropriate, and do not attempt to promote specific financial products or services. No account is required to start using this helpful website.

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Teachers have always known their students aren’t all working at the same level. Yet for teachers to adjust lesson plans manually for each child seems a daunting task, given that there are only 24 hours in a day. Here’s where education technology tools really shine. Using online digital platforms that combine formative assessment, lesson plans, quizzes, progress tracking, and artificial intelligence, educators can easily adjust instruction for an entire classroom of kids at once.

The following websites for differentiated instruction offer a wide variety of methods to differentiate teaching and learning for any budget.

Top Free Sites for Differentiated Instruction

Readworks
An award-winning platform that provides free literacy resources for learners of any age. But “resources” does not do justice to ReadWork’s breadth of research-based, standards-aligned literacy content, which is buttressed by robust guidance for teachers. Create your free account and then explore features including lesson differentiation, assignments, assessment and progress monitoring. Integrates with Google classroom.

SplashLearn
A free-for-educators game-based platform teaching math and English, SplashLearn offers thousands of preK-5 curriculum-aligned English and math games, as well as differentiated practice goals, lesson plans and comprehensive progress reports. The website features a well-designed interface, allowing users to easily search for content by grade and topic. Compatible with most devices.

For the Teachers: Differentiated Reading Lessons
A step-by-step guide to creating differentiated reading lessons for students in grades 3-10 based on a selection of articles written at three levels of literacy. Detailed PDF lesson plans, ideas, and charts provide strong direction for implementation in the classroom. Suggestion: Ignore the balky heading links at the top of the article in favor of simply scrolling down the page.

Differentiated Instruction Strategies and Examples
After a brief discussion of differentiated instruction strategies, this article from HMH examines in detail 20 diverse ways teachers can differentiate instruction. With methods ranging from choice boards to tiered assignments to flipped classrooms, there’s something for every style of teaching.

Read Write Think Differentiating Instruction
Read Write Think has developed a comprehensive series of guides detailing strategies for differentiation in the classroom, from assessment to cooperative learning to the think-pair-share technique. Each guide includes the research basis for the strategy, how to implement it, and lesson plans. A must-have for your differentiated teaching.

Classtools.net
The brainchild of educator Russel Tarr, Classtools.net allows teachers to create games, quizzes, activities, and diagrams for creative differentiated learning. Don’t be fooled by Classtools.net’s simple layout -- this site is a powerhouse of free, fun, and easy-to-use tools for teaching and learning, many of which are not found elsewhere. Try the Tarsia Puzzle Generator, Dice Roller, or Turbo Timeline Generator. Don’t worry: “Fling the Teacher” is all in good fun.

Breaking News English
A remarkable free site that transforms current events into rich classroom lessons for learners of any ability. Each news article is written at four different reading levels and accompanied by online grammar, spelling, and vocabulary activities as well as printable worksheets. Students can also listen to audio at five speeds for each article. Ideal for ELL students or simply differentiating English lessons.

Rewordify.com
Very cool free site that “rewordifies” by simplifying difficult text, from classic literature (Lewis Carroll, William Shakespeare, Harriet Beecher Stowe, e.g.) to historical documents and modern internet articles. Users can upload their own text or URL, or browse existing content. Be sure to check out the printable vocabulary exercises and quizzes, and the Educator Central department, which allows teachers to add student accounts and track progress.

Top Freemeum Sites for Differentiated Instruction

NoRedInk
An ELA platform designed to build writing and critical thinking skills, NoRedInk allows teachers to build engaging personalized exercises, scaffolded writing activities, and standards-aligned assignments. The free version includes a teacher dashboard, text-to-speech function for students, and limited scalable lessons and activities. The premium account allows for thousands of skill practice activities, writing prompts, and hundreds of guided draft prompts.

CommonLit
A research-backed, tiered program from the non-profit organization CommonLit that provides reading lessons and assessments for students in grades 3-12. The robust free account option offers the entire digital library of books as well as the CommonLit 360 curriculum for educators, who must sign up with a school email account. Teachers can differentiate lessons by text selection, annotation and/or by varying assessments. Three other packages designed for entire schools add rostering integrations, professional development and other features.

Quill
The not-for-profit Quill is dedicated to providing free tools to help students improve their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Start with the diagnostic tests to assess your students’ learning. A strong set of tutorials will guide teachers and students in making the most of Quill.

Arcademics
K-8 game-based learning across a wide range of subjects. The educational portal allows teachers to track and monitor students, generate detailed reports, and assess student learning.

ClassroomQ
This easy-to-use, innovative platform acts as a digital hand-raising device, making it easy for kids to ask for help and for teachers to provide it in a timely fashion.

Pear Deck
A Google Slides add-on that allows educators to create quizzes, slides, and presentations with their own content or using templates. Students respond via their mobile devices; teachers can then assess student understanding in real time.

Actively Learn
Educators can make any reading material their own by adding questions and annotation. The “Extra Help” features supports differentiated learning by offering explanatory text when needed. Integrates with Google Classroom and Canvas.

Top Premium Sites for Differentiated Instruction

Membean
A popular digital vocabulary teaching tool that includes built-in differentiation, Membeam takes an uncommon approach to vocabulary memorization, emphasizing practice via memory retrieval rather than memory encoding. In addition, Membeam focuses on spaced practice (in contrast to “cramming”) as well as promoting higher-order thinking. Pricing ranges from $6-$20 per student, depending on the number of students. Free trials are available.

Renzulli Learning
Founded by education researchers, Renzulli Learning is a learning system that differentiates instruction for any student through careful assessment of student learning style, preferences, and creativity. Integrates with Clever, ClassLink, and other SSO providers. A generous 90-day free trial makes it easy to try it yourself.

IXL
A popular site for English language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish that allows student progress tracking with detailed reporting. Educators can monitor areas in which students struggle, and then adjust instruction accordingly.

Buncee
A blended interactive learning tool for creating shareable presentations or digital stories, Buncee includes an extensive multimedia library to enrich your slideshows. Teachers can also flip a classroom by assigning quizzes, plus track and monitor students. 30-day free trial, no credit card required.

Otus
A one-to-one learning management solution and mobile learning environment through which educators can differentiate instruction based on detailed real-time analytics.

Parlay
Teachers can use Parlay to build a classroom discussion on any topic. Browse through a robust library of discussion prompts (with resources), facilitate online round tables, or create a live verbal round table. Use the built-in tools to provide feedback and assess student progress. Free trial for teachers.

Socrates
A standards-aligned, game-based learning system dedicated to differentiated learning that automatically adjusts content to student needs.

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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2029 employment in STEM occupations will increase by 8%, more than twice the rate of non-STEM careers. And the fact that the median STEM wage is more than double that of non-STEM wages underscores the importance of effective K-12 STEM instruction.

STEM subjects can be dense and difficult for students to engage with, which is why these top STEM apps can make a valuable addition to your STEM-teaching toolkit. Most offer free basic accounts, and all are designed to capture the imagination of users, through games, puzzles, and high-quality graphics and sound.

Best STEM Apps for Education

Periodic Table 2024: Chemistry iOS Android Web
An extremely popular free app that provides a wealth of useful information about the periodic table and its chemical elements. Click on any element to reveal a submenu of images, history, properties, solubility, Wikipedia links, and more. With more than 40,000 ratings, this app has a remarkable average 4.8 stars out of five. The developers keep the app updated and respond to selected comments. Don’t have a mobile device? Not to worry, the web version is accessible on your desktop computer and is super easy to use.

Tynker: Coding for Kids iOS Android
An award-winning app, Tynker Coding for Kids teaches the basics of coding and beyond with games and puzzles that teach coding principles. More than 200 starter tutorials help users practice skills with every new step. But it’s much more than simply learning skills -- kids can create and launch their own characters, weapons, drones, and more for Minecraft, Crystal Clash, and Barbie. Free app with in-app purchases. To unlock all features, purchase a subscription of $24.99 per month or $59.99 per quarter.

Froggipedia by Embibe iOS Android
A former Apple App of the Year, Froggipedia invites users to embark on a virtual exploration and dissection of frogs, all without textbooks, lab space or ethical concerns. High-quality images and animations demonstrate frog anatomy, life cycle, and behavior in a way that will engage kids in learning frog biology—and pique their interest in other life science topics.

K-5 Science for Kids - Tappity iOS
Guided by Haley the science expert, kids learn science with thousands of fun interactive lessons, activities, questions, and stories covering more than 100 topics, including astronomy, Earth science, physics, and biology. Lessons align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Free to try, with several paid subscription plans.

The Elements by Theodore Gray iOS
Animated by detailed, high-quality 3D graphics, The Elements by Theodore Gray brings the periodic table to life. With its strong visual appeal, it’s ideal for engaging science learners of any age, while older students will benefit from the depth of information presented.

The Explorers iOS Android
This former Apple TV App of the Year winner invites amateur and professional photographers and scientists to contribute their animal, plant, and natural landscape photos and videos to this extensive showcase of Earth’s wonders.

Hopscotch-Programming for kids iOS
Designed for the iPad, and available for iPhone and iMessage as well, Hopscotch-Programming for Kids teaches children age 4 and above the basics of programming and game/app creation. This multiple-award winner is an Apple Editors’ Choice.

Inventioneers iOS Android
Kids learn physics while having a blast creating and sharing their own inventions, aided by Inventioneers Windy, Blaze, and Bunny. Winner of Parents' Choice Gold Award.

Minecraft: Education Edition iOS Android
The ultimate building app for students, teachers, and kids of all ages, Minecraft is both a game and a powerful teaching tool. The education version provides hundreds of standards-aligned lessons and STEM curricula, tutorials and exciting building challenges. For teachers, students, or schools without a Minecraft: Education Edition subscription, try the hugely popular original Minecraft: iOS Android.

Monster Math: Kids Fun Games iOS Android
This highly touted gamified math app allows kids to learn and practice grade 1-3 Common Core Math Standards. Features include multiple levels, skill filtering, multiplayer mode, and in-depth reporting with skill-by-skill analysis.

Prodigy Math Game iOS Android
Prodigy uses an adaptive game-based learning approach to engage students grades 1-8 in building and practicing math skills. Math questions are aligned with state-level curricula, including Common Core and TEKS.

SkySafari iOS Android
Like a pocket planetarium, SkySafari lets students explore, locate, and identify millions of celestial objects, from satellites to planets to constellations. Try the voice control feature, or use it in augmented reality mode to combine a simulated sky chart with the real view of the night sky.

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Deck.Toys is a website that offers lesson planning, building, and tracking options that make the process enjoyable and engaging for both teachers and students alike.

The idea is to simplify the process of lesson planning while also integrating tools into one place. As such, the result has a look and feel like a coding platform that's easy to use and is self-explanatory for everyone involved.

Thanks to integration with current apps and software, such as Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint, it makes lesson planning and building very intuitive. That can mean making new lessons or using old ones and digitizing these for better tracking.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about Deck.Toys to see if it could work well for your class.

What is Deck.Toys?

Deck.Toys is a lesson planning website, at its most basic. But thanks to a host of integrations with apps, it can become far more rich in its offerings without being complicated. Teachers can use this to plan lessons, then share digitally so students can then use it to work while being tracked as and when is needed.

This tool is very helpful as it not only acts as a place for educators to plan their lessons but also as a way for students to explore these. They can follow along as a group or go into self-exploration paths as offered or needed, allowing everyone to take part at their pace.

While this uses a path-based system to explore, it is essentially a slides-based tool. Consequently, any resources that need to be used or interacted with are going to be in slide format. That makes this a little limiting but can be very liberating if you get creative with what's available.

How does Deck.Toys work?

Deck.Toys allows you to sign up for an account through which you will be able to get started right away. Beginning at the dashboard, it's possible to create lessons immediately. Select the path and activity you want using the wizard tool, and it's easy to get started creating original lessons.

After you pick a path type, you then select the key concepts which students are going to be working on and mastering. This allows for great variation so you can teach virtually anything with this system.

The third step is to select the review and customize tab in which you can see the map of what's been created based on what you've entered so far. The locks along the path are pre-populated, as is student instructions -- all of which you can edit as needed before you get started. You can preview and change until you are happy with the final version.

Share this with students and they can begin learning. Do this by creating a classroom and adding students, allowing you to share with everyone at once. Simply give them the link and they can sign-in and get started. You are then able to monitor their progress as they go.

What are the best Deck.Toys features?

Deck.Toys allows educators to create paths that have a video-game feel in which students progress by completing tasks along the way. This can give a sense of progress, achievement and determination that allows for great flow-like teaching and learning.

Since Deck.Toys works with existing materials it can be very easy to get up and running, with rich resources on offer, right away. Integrations with the likes of Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Quizlet, and more, all make it possible to use a great range of materials when laying out tasks. From slides and flashcards to images and videos, there is a huge range that allows for great creative potential here.

Live-tracking is a great addition as you are able to monitor student progress. You can also select a synchronize class mode, which puts all the students on the same slide so they can follow you as you teach -- perhaps in the room with students -- before allowing them to progress freely again.

The ability to create classroom groups, and lessons themselves, is useful as you can go into any lesson and share with any classrooms you want. So you can share lessons across groups of classes with ease.

How much does Deck.Toys cost?

Deck.Toys comes in two formats of free and Pro, each offering varying levels of access and benefits for teachers.

The Free plan gets you two classrooms per teacher, up to three private decks, up to 100 public decks, 40 students per classroom, seven-day classroom data retention, and the ability to assign up to two decks per classroom at a time.

Go for the Pro plan at $8/month and you get 10 classrooms per teachers, 100 private decks, 200 public decks, 60 students per classroom, 30-day data retention, the ability to assign up to 10 decks per classroom at a time, and uploading voice clips to study sets and slide activities, plus exclusive access to new features and apps.

Deck.Toys best tips and tricks

Start with what you know
Use preexisting slide presentations to build a lesson pathway so you can quickly set a course without needing to create new slides from scratch.

Use templates
Take templates of lesson presentations from others apps such as Slides or PowerPoint to create lesson paths easily with rich content options.

Get interactive
Integrate quiz-style slides so students can have their learning testing and reinforced as they progress along their pathways.

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We are all probably familiar with TED Talks and similar videos of intelligent, engaging, and influential people discussing a broad range of topics relevant to society. In that vein, TED-Ed offers a platform dedicated to teachers and students to speak, view, and learn from others across the world. In addition, TED-Ed is focused on teaching and learning, providing a space for educators to create interactive lessons.

For more information about TED-Ed, check out What is TED-Ed and How Does It Work for Teaching?

This lesson plan provides an idea on how to use the TED-Ed platform for a ELA lesson focused on helping students develop their oral communication skills.

Subject: English Language Arts

Topic: Oral Communication/Public Speaking

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Develop talking points for a oral presentation
• Record a Ted Talk-style public speaking presentation

TED-Ed Lesson Plan: Topic of Interest Selection 

One of the special aspects about TED Talks in general, and TED-Ed as well, is the broad range of topics covered, including education, finance, politics, and business. This diversity of videos provides the chance for students to explore and learn about a topic of interest that they typically would not focus on in the traditional school curriculum.

To start, allow students to browse the TED-Ed videos. Once they have chosen a video, there are questions to encourage deeper thinking and discussion.

As an alternative, if you want students to focus on a specific topic, they can use TED-Ed’s database, which is organized by subject areas:

• The Arts
• Business & Economics
• Design, Engineering & Technology
• Health
• Literature & Language
• Mathematics
• Philosophy & Religion
• Psychology
• Science & Technology
• Social Studies
• Teaching & Education
• Thinking & Learning

For younger elementary students, the short, animated videos may work better, such as What Animal Can Hear the Best, whereas older students could watch a more traditional TED-Ed video, such as The Difference Between False Empathy and True Support.

Prep, Practice, and Perform 

Inspired by the TED-Ed videos that the students have watched, have them prepare their own videos starting with preparing a script. It may be helpful to provide students with your school district’s standards on oral communication and a checklist to follow.

Students can use a digital tool such as VoiceThread to practice recording themselves, which has an immediate pause feature and the ability to re-record a segment. You can decide when students give their talk live in class with an audience (their classmates) or if the final version will be recorded.

Share And Discuss

In the spirit of TED-Talks being shared widely, share your students TED-Ed with other educators, students, and their families.

If you do not want to house the videos on YouTube or other public video platforms, consider using a Padlet or similar tool to house the videos in one location that can be easily accessed by those with whom you share the link.

What Other Lesson Plan Options Are Available through TED-Ed? 

In addition to lessons that you create using a lesson plan such as this, TED-Ed offers the ability to create a lesson by using a YouTube video of your choice (you can search for one within the TED-Ed platform). You can develop corresponding questions for discussion with associated resources.

Also, an option is available to create collections in which all of your videos will be easily accessible for your lessons.

Can Teachers Get Involved with TED-Ed? 

Absolutely! TED-Ed encourages teachers to participate in the TED-Ed community and has a dedicated space for educators on the website to connect with resources. In addition, there are opportunities for educators to share their voice and create their own TED-Ed talks to be shared.

TED Talks are very entertaining, but TED-Ed adds an exciting layer to the oral communication format. Students can learn course content more deeply while developing the skills needed to effectively speak in public. Try to incorporate TED-Ed into your lesson and share widely with your learning communities.

Related:

• Top Edtech Lesson Plans
• What is TED-Ed and How Does It Work for Teaching?

IXL is an online platform designed for personalized learning experiences focused on skill development across a wide range of content areas and K-12 grade levels. Through a comprehensive suite of features, IXL focuses on targeting specific areas of development that students may need to further develop by using engaging video tutorials, games, and customized lessons. IXL offers flexible learning activities that can be used for whole class instruction, small group work, individual learning and tutoring.

For an overview of IXL, check out What is IXL and How Does It Work?

What follows is a sample lesson that could be used for high school algebra.

Subject: Mathematics

Topic: Algebra

Grade Band: High School

Learning Objective:

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Understand algebraic concepts
• Collaborate with peers
• Build individual algebraic skills

IXL Lesson Plan: Starter

Use one of the whole-class lessons within IXL to instruct students on the algebraic concepts that you want them to learn. Within IXL you will have the option to choose the grade level to target specific skills that align with your lesson’s learning objective(s).

As you review different examples as a class, students will get the chance to see the IXL platform and work through different problems together. A cool feature within IXL is “Group Jam'' that allows peers to work collaboratively to figure out correct answers to the questions posed.

Alternatively, you can put together a lesson using interactive slides through Slido, Google Slides, or any other similar edtech tool, and save the IXL engagement for the next phase of the lesson which is individual skill development.

Individual Skill Development

After the whole-class lesson, have students work individually within the IXL platform to ensure that they are working on the specific skills for which they personally need development.

Students will start with choosing their grade, for example 9th grade, and then the subject area, algebra 1. Then, more than 350 skills will be available but these are organized by broad topics such as numbers and operations, linear functions, quadratic equations, and so forth. The “Recommendations” option in IXL will use previous data to recommend activities to start with for students.

Within this 9th grade algebra 1 example, there are also 75 lessons and more than 300 videos, so students will have plenty of content from which to learn and enjoy. If students incorrectly respond to any question, a detailed explanation will appear that walks them through correcting it, as well as additional skill-building resources, including games, interactive worksheets, and teacher-created activities.

Student-Teacher Conference

IXL provides a robust suite of analytics for teachers to monitor students’ progress including how many questions answered, the time spent answering questions, what has been made in terms of skill development, and so much more. Graphics and charts are also available to show the progress by categories with score grids to see how every student in the class is doing on each specific skill, when compared to their peers.

Using these analytics, identify the areas of concern and share with students their progress, ask questions about their experience and areas of needs in their view, and discuss a plan for future development in individualized conferences. The other students can work on their skill development within the IXL platform while you meet individually with each student.

What Does IXL Offer for Test Preparation?

In addition to the individualized skill development lessons for mathematics, science, language arts, social studies, and spanish, IXL offers a wide range of test preparation content for several standardized test including: the ACT and SAT, which is used for college admissions; the GED to obtain the highschool completion equivalency; and state specific tests such as the Keystones, which is required in Pennsylvania.

What Community Features Does IXL Offer?

The IXL website offers regular posts to keep the community of IXL users connected. In addition, there are different awards and targeted activities throughout the year in which educators can get involved. An option to subscribe to the newsletter is available as well if you would prefer to get automated updates.

IXL is a great site to include in your lesson time for students to target specific skills that are personalized to their development. Give it a try and see how your students enjoy and learn with IXL.

• Top Edtech Lesson Plans
• What is IXL and How Does It Work?

The number of astronomy lessons and activities is nearly as infinite as the stars in the cosmos!

April is Global Astronomy Month, and with the seemingly endless stream of new discoveries being made by astronomers, there is no shortage of opportunities to engage students in STEM topics as well as the study of celestial objects, from observing distant stars and galaxies to searching for exoplanets and even black holes.

And in the wake of the excitement around the upcoming Artemis program to explore the Moon and continued interest in the discoveries of the James Webb Space Telescope as well as the ever-increasing number of upcoming manned missions, expect interest in space exploration to expand like the universe itself!

Best Astronomy Lessons & Activities

Astronomy For Beginners
The Planetary Society offers this primer for those just beginning their journey to exploring the night sky that features basic tips that anyone can use, whether you're using equipment to see space objects or just looking at the night sky with your own eyes.

NASA Space Place
This education platform offers a free way to teach upper-elementary students through inspiration and engagement -- all provided by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Subjects covered include the solar system, the Sun and Moon, and the universe. Topics vary in depth and complexity to suit different student abilities, going from black holes to sky watching tips.

NASA STEM Engagement
The biggest U.S. space agency has a full array of lessons, activities, teaching guides, and so much more, organized and searchable by grade level, subject matter, and audience. From playing with space-time and discovering the truth about black holes to creating color images from actual space missions and solving space math problems, there’s a galaxy of options from which to choose.

Khan Academy: Cosmology & Astronomy
A free four-unit curriculum from Khan Academy, that starts with the scale of the universe, then explores stars, black holes, and galaxies, moves on to Earth's geology and climate, and ends with a history of life on Earth and the search for it across the universe.

NSTA Astronomy Resources
From the National Science Teaching Association, a vast galaxy of NGSS-aligned lesson plans, activities, news, journal articles, and more, all sortable by grade level, topics, format, and price, although much is free or included with membership.

Science Buddies: Astronomy Lesson Plans
NGSS-aligned lesson plans here include making a model of the solar system, modeling gravity, studying the phases of the moon, and using magnets and ball bearings to simulate a planetary flyby slingshot maneuver.

Space Science Institute: Education Resources
Games, lessons, activities, educator guides, and more from this nonprofit organization, including standards-aligned kinesthetic astronomy lessons that teach basic astronomical concepts with physical movement and educational sensory experiences.

California Academy of Sciences: Astronomy Activities & Lessons
Simple activities that can be done in the classroom or at home using common items such as paper cups and play-doh, plus kinesthetic astronomy activities.

PBS: Seeing In the Dark
In conjunction with the film Seeing In the Dark, PBS offers student-friendly activities such as reassigning the constellations to more contemporary figures, learning to tell time by The Big Dipper, and finding “birthday” stars, plus links to other astronomy-related activities from across the web.

PBS Earth And Space Science
Fun and engaging curriculum-aligned videos, interactive activities, teaching materials, and content on topics such as the history and foundation of the universe, components of the solar system, and patterns in the sky.

Astronomical Society of the Pacific: Educational Activities
A variety of astronomy activities, materials, and kits used for educators and those who do outreach, including downloadable documents, video, and audio links.

American Museum of Natural History Ology: Astronomy For Kids
A galaxy of fun here, including games, videos, reading materials, and hands-on activities such as building your own Big Dipper, making your own space Jell-O, and baking cosmic cookies!

38 Space Activities For Kids That Are Out of This World
We Are Teachers offers this collection of fun hands-on activities that range from building simple models and watching videos to more interactive experiences such as launching a bottle rocket (non-explosive!) and designing a space lander.

Comets: Frozen Messengers of the Cosmos
From Explore Scientific, an exploration of these mysterious visitors from the outer reaches of the solar system that often appear unexpectedly, including what exactly comets are, what we can learn from these "dirty snowballs," how these are named, and predicting their fascinating journeys through space.

Build Essential Astronomy Skills
From Coursera, a selection of free basic courses to start you down a potential career in astronomy, including exploration of space-time, general relativity, archaeoastronomy, astrobiology and the search for life.

McDonald Observatory Classroom Activities
Standards-aligned activities and experiments for K-12 students, from modeling the night sky and observing the moon to guessing interplanetary distances and exploring sunspots.

Royal Astronomical Society of Canada: Classroom Help
It may be a different country but it’s the same stars and planets! A robust offering of teaching supports, including astronomy curriculum, lessons plans, science fair projects, and professional development.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Astronomy Simulations and Animations
A treasure trove of free interactive astronomy simulations that will enthrall students. No downloads required; all simulations run within your browser window. Neither is an account needed - simply start investigating the simulations, which range from the Milky Way Habitability Explorer to the Big Dipper Clock to the Telescope Simulator. Each sim is accompanied by a link to supporting materials as well as a help file that explains all the moving parts. Excellent for both higher ed and high school students.

AstroAnimation
A strikingly original collaboration between animation students and astronomers, AstroAnimation features animations that tell space stories in an unusual way. Each animation portrays a principle of space science and is accompanied by a brief summary of how the partners worked together. After watching the animations, students can discuss the science and critique the animation. Great for STEAM lessons.

Digitalis Open Astronomy Curricula
A collection of astronomy lessons spanning K through 12th grade that are aligned or can be easily adapted for NGSS and cover topics such as Jupiter and the Galilean moons, stellar navigation, Mars, and the integration of astronomy into other subjects.

Space Science Institute Sci Games
These free, wide-ranging, sophisticated space games will engage students in a virtual exploration of the universe. Start with “What if an asteroid or comet hits my town?” then try “Listening for Life,” or “Shadow Rover.” Each game is artfully constructed and features high-quality animation, music and information on the topic. Other fun activities include space-themed jigsaw puzzles and astro trivia. Be sure to check out the free apps for iOs and Android as well.

NASA’s 6 Top Tools for Teaching About the James Webb Space Telescope
Tap into the excitement over the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope with educator Erik Ofgang, who details free standards-aligned resources available to teachers. Explore the STEM toolkit, Webb virtual platform, NASA professional development webinars and more.

Since 1996, Americans have celebrated National Poetry Month throughout the month of April. Reading, writing, and reciting poetry is a great way to inspire kids' interest in words and wordplay, rhyme and rhythm, meter and metaphor.

The lessons and activities below are sorted roughly according to grade level. However, several of these resources overlap grade categories, so be sure to take a look at all them.

With these top free poetry teaching tools, April need not be the cruelest month in your classroom.

Best Poetry Lessons and Activities

All grades

Favorite Poem Project Lesson Plans
A fine collection of poetry PDF lesson plans, organized by grade and themes. Each complete lesson contains poetry video links, learning objectives, questions, homework ideas, and extensions. Founded by U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, the Favorite Poem Project has been encouraging, supporting, and recording Americans from every walk of life discussing their favorite poetry since 1998.

The Children’s Poetry Archive
A truly wonderful site for kids to explore and learn to love poetry. The Children’s Poetry Archive is geared toward kids ages 4 through 16 years, and includes a searchable database of recorded poems, sorted by themes, poet, age, and glossary. Resources for teachers consist of listening, learning about, writing, and performing poetry. Be sure to check out simple ideas to make your classroom a poetry-friendly place.

Magnetic Poetry Online Fun
Creative wordplay doesn’t get any easier than this. Simply open the magnetic poetry site and arrange the digital word “magnets” via the drag-and-drop interface. Don’t like the word bank? No problem, just click “load more words.” Save your poem as a link or share via Facebook. Looking for a wider range of words? Choose from Nature, Geek, Love, Poet, and Mustache (yes, really). This type of poetry writing allows everyone—including kids who aren't natural writers—to express themselves with language.

Rhyme Zone
More than just a rhyming dictionary, RhymeZone lets users quickly and easily find words, phrases, synonyms, antonyms, definitions, lyrics, homophones, and much more, to make their poems shine like a serpentine skyline. Need to go deeper? Try the advanced search, which provides details on meter, parts of speech, and rare words. A remarkably simple and free tool that will be invaluable to poets and songsters everywhere.

Readworks.org Poetry Resources
Research-based lessons and activities for K-12 students. Full free access to educators with registration. The teachers’ guide furnishes step-by-step methods to use the site’s activities wisely.

National Poetry Month with Poets.org
Extensive, up-to-date poetry teaching resources include: how to celebrate National Poetry Month in the virtual classroom; Dear Poet, a multimedia education project; and more.

Elementary

Edutopia: Using Poetry to Refine Students’ Collaboration Skills
Teaching kids poems?
Start not with The Odyssey
Try haiku instead

To be a master of haiku is rare. But almost anyone, including kids (and this lowly scribe), can write their own haiku, making it an excellent choice for an elementary grade poetry lesson. In response to his students’ desire to improve their collaboration skills, educator, and published poet Matthew James Friday developed this rewarding eight-step lesson plan based on the haiku form of poetry.

Poetry4kids.com
Author and former Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt’s multimedia poetry site offers not only a diverse selection of searchable poetry for kids, but also lessons in poetry writing, a rhyming dictionary, videos, podcasts, free “Streamable Learning” online events, virtual author visits, and much more. Check out Nesbitt’s YouTube channel too!

Shel Silverstein Learning Resources
Lessons, activities, and a Common Core-aligned teaching guide to the works and world of beloved children’s poet and author Shel Silverstein.

GiggleVerse
Home of "the funniest children’s poems in the universe," this site encourages children to read by providing them with new funny poems every weekday, both on the website and by email. Categories range from animals and holidays to "gross" and "cautionary tales" (tragic stories with amusing morals).

Middle School

PBS Learning Media Dogs That Changed the World Poetry
A complete standards-aligned one-hour lesson for grades 5-8 that leverages the human attachment to our canine companions. Students watch video segments featuring various aspects of human-dog relationship through the lens of history, culture, and society, then write and illustrate “list” poetry reflecting the different perspectives. Includes videos, handouts, rubrics and an assessment. Note that the link to “examples of list poems” under Part II: Assessment should be corrected to List Poem.

Emily Dickinson Museum Educator Resources
Browse lesson ideas, read the brief Emily Dickinson biography, and learn about her themes, style, form, meter, rhyme, and syntax. Six lessons explore a broad range of features in Dickinson's poems, from vocabulary to imagery to the role of location and provide a suggested list of “starter” poems. Note that the correct link for lesson ideas is here.

Poetry Foundation
The independent nonprofit Poetry Foundation provides a wealth of free online poetry and poetry teaching resources. Explore poems, both text and audio, by topic, author, or audience (such as children, teens, or adults). The educator’s section provides articles and guides illuminating selected texts, helping teachers home in on key teaching points. Resources for teaching poetry online add to the value of this poetry site.

Dear Poet 2026
A multimedia education project, Dear Poet calls on learners in grades 5-12 to write letters to award-winning poets. Students first select one of six poems, view the video of the author reading his or her poetry, then write a response. Each poet will respond personally to five student letters, which will be published as a PDF this summer. All students will receive a general response to their letters, as well as a certificate of recognition for their work. Submissions for Dear Poet 2026 will close on May 15, 2026, at 12 am ET.

High School

28 Ways to Teach and Learn About Poetry With The New York Times
A wealth of imaginative ideas to celebrate poetry in the classroom. Whether you ask them to keep track of their metaphors, create micropoetry, match a poem with an image, compare poetry with rap music, or learn a poem by heart (how quaint!) students are sure to be engaged and enthusiastic. As part of The New York Times Learning Network, this article and all linked articles within it are free, with no account required.

Edutopia: A Poetry-Writing Exercise to Support English Learners
Written by an English language learner educator, this article will serve as a guide to teaching poetry to ELL students. Includes each step of the process, downloadable PDFs, and a clear explanation of how kids will benefit from this type of lesson.

Video Collection: The Art of Poetry
Library of short lectures and conversations from The Art of Poetry, Robert Pinsky’s Massive Open Online Course. Filter by topics, poets, and poems. A good, quick way to look at themes such as “What is Great?” and “Freedom and Meaning.”

Poets.org Materials for Teachers
Explore a diverse collection of lesson plans, essays, reading guides, and questions for class discussion. Your teenage students will benefit from Poetry for Teens, a collection arranged by themes including love and relationships, politics and social justice, mental health, and other topics that speak directly to young people.

Poetry Out Loud
Try this fun and dynamic way to introduce students to poetry through the thrill of the spoken word and competition. Everything teachers need to implement the Poetry Out Loud program is provided at no cost, from lesson plans to making your program accessible.

Edutopia Teaching Poetry With Student Exemplars
Excellent article by author and high school English teacher Elizabeth Jorgensen in which she shares ideas and examples for teaching poetry to high school students, and inspiring them in the process.

Living Poets Digital Library
From the creators of TeachLivingPoets, this digital library provides an easy-to-navigate database of selected living poets, their spoken and written work, and links to their websites.

Since ancient times, astronomers have observed solar eclipses, with the earliest known documented example occurring around 1223 BCE. Although we no longer believe that a celestial shadow passing over the sun is a supernatural event, humans are still fascinated by the transient interruption of this essential source of Earth’s energy, without which no life would be possible. 

The relatively rare total solar eclipse event that will occur April 8, 2024, offers a wonderful opportunity for teachers to inspire interest not only in STEM subjects such as astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology, but also in history and social studies. 

Speaking of social, the widespread eclipse buzz on social media will drive student engagement as well! Use the following solar eclipse lessons and activities to make the most of this astonishing and dramatic rare event. 

Q&A with Dr. Jeffrey Bennett
From astronomer and educator Dr. Jeff Bennet of Big Kid Science, this downloadable PDF covers the basic information teachers and students need to know about the upcoming 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. An excellent starting point for further inquiry. 

Eye Safety During a Total Solar Eclipse
First things first when you’re talking about looking at the sun: This article from NASA describes several methods for safely viewing a solar eclipse and links to approved sites for eclipse related purchases.

The LightSound Project
Created by Harvard astronomers and billed as a “solar eclipse sonification tool,” this remarkable device translates the visual action of an eclipse into sounds for the Blind and Low Vision community. Complete building instructions are provided in English, Spanish, and French. Educators and those interested in hosting workshops are invited to collaborate with project lead Allyson Bieryla. A great undertaking project for advanced STEM students.

Easy Solar Heat Beam Activity
This hands-on activity demonstrates the power of the sun in a way that students of any age can readily grasp. Ideal for younger learners up to age 13. 

The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
From NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio comes this high-quality collection of downloadable maps covering every aspect of the 2024 total solar eclipse’s path across the continental U.S. 

NASA Eclipses
Facts, interactive maps, stories, and breathtaking images from the experts in all things astronomical. Included is a fascinating comparison between the upcoming 2024 total solar eclipse and the 2017 total solar eclipse, which some students and many teachers may remember. 

EarthSpaceLab.com: Solar and Lunar eclipses
A fine collection of simulations that model solar and lunar eclipses, as well as seasons, time zones, and tides. Users can vary the speed, distance, time of year, and view to generate various perspectives of each phenomenon.

Snap it! An Eclipse Photo Adventure
A simple but surprisingly challenging game in which players align a digital camera with targets moving across the face of the sun, generating images of eclipses and objects that transit the sun. Matches reveal identification and other details about the images. 

Eclipse Stories from Around the World
While teaching about solar eclipses typically involves STEM subject areas, educators can also explore the social, cultural, and historical aspects of eclipses. This fascinating illustrated article examines how various cultures from the past viewed eclipses—both literally and figuratively. 

Solar Eclipse Memory Game
Choose your difficulty level, then start matching solar eclipse-related images. High-quality images make this game both fun and educational. 

Hands on Solar Eclipse Activities
Six hands-on solar eclipse activities that use common materials to teach about this uncommon event. Each activity provides analysis, detailed instructions and ideas for further inquiry.   

Solar Eclipse Lesson Plans and Activity Guides
From the U.S. National Science foundation, these eight PDF lesson plans provide almost everything needed for teaching students age 4 and older about the sun and solar eclipses. Each lesson includes multiple activities, excellent background information and images, and video links to investigate further.  

Great American Eclipse
Build excitement and anticipation for the upcoming total solar eclipse by viewing animated maps and images that illustrate the path and coverage across North America, as well as the exact timing and duration of totality for dozens of American cities.   

• Best Astronomy Lessons & Activities
• Educator Edtech Review: Slooh
• The James Webb Space Telescope: NASA’s 6 Top Tools for Teaching About It

Curipod brings an exciting addition to the available presentation and slideshow digital tools available for educators. It has a focus on integration and interactivity, which brings students closer to the learning material. And to assist users with content creation, Curipod has an AI option. 

For an overview of Curipod, check out What is Curipod and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips & Tricks. 

While it is designed to be used across K-12 grade levels and subject areas, this Curipod lesson plan is focused on high school-level United States history.  

Subject: Social Studies

Topic: United States History 

Grade Band: High School

Learning Objectives: 

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Confirm accuracy of United States history facts 
• Create interactive content explaining segments of United States history 

Curipod Lesson Plan: Lesson Introduction 

Use Curipod to review content on United States history. Depending on the grade level and time of the year, some topics may include events such as the American Civil War or American Revolution, prominent people such as the first president George Washington or inventors such as Elijah McCoy. 

Curipod’s interactive features, such as polls, word clouds, drawing, and open questions, allows you to explore the subject in different ways, and serves a twofold purpose. First, students will be able to participate and contribute to the lesson, and second, you will model some of the features for when students create their own lessons.

Slide Creation 

Have students create a presentation using Curipod presenting on some aspects of United States history. The goal is to create an interactive presentation that they can engage their peers with while demonstrating their own learning to you as the teacher. 

If you allow the students to use the AI assistant for content generation, have them review the content that is generated and check the accuracy. This is a great way to have students practice using technology that includes AI, and building their understanding that content cannot be simply used from AI without reviewing and ensuring that the facts are correct.

Curipod Presentations 

Have students present their slideshows within the Curipod platform. This will give them a chance to see how their peers have approached the assignment differently, and inspire them. Also, if information is not accurate or if students still have questions, seeing alternative presentations could spark healthy debate and discourse. 

It also might be helpful to create a peer review template that other students can use to provide feedback for one another on their presentations. To capture the reviews for the class to see, Padlet would be a good option. If you would prefer to have the reviews private, a Google Form would do the trick. 

How Can I Connect with Other Educators About Curipod? 

An online Facebook community exists to connect with other educators who are using Curipod in their classroom. Since Curipod is a global company based in Norway, there is a built-in opportunity to connect with educators internationally to see how learning is taking place there. Global exchanges such as this can benefit students and elevate their learning experiences.  

What Type of Curipod Training is Available? 

Curipod offers a PD suite of resources on its website that educators can access, and educators can also earn badges and certificates for completing certain classes. Curipod also has a YouTube channel with more than 100 videos with screencasts showing how to use certain features within the platform. 

Curipod is a neat addition to available digital tools that educators and students can use to create presentation and slideshow materials. Consider trying this lesson or others with your students, and see how Curipod helps to engage your students in the learning activity.

• Top Edtech Lesson Plans
• What is Curipod and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips & Tricks

Pi Day was first formally celebrated in 1988 at the San Francisco Exploratorium, when staff physicist Larry Shaw organized events around March 14, or 3/14, aka 3.14, which are the first three digits of pi (π), the mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. In 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives recognized it as an annual event, and since then, much like pi itself, has become a source of infinite joy.

These Pi Day lessons and activities are perfect for teaching your students about trigonometry, geometry, physics, cosmology, statistics, thermodynamics, and much more as pi appears in numerous formulae. So help yourself to a slice of pi here and enjoy!

Pi Day Lessons & Activities

Pi Day Challenge Games
A fun and quirky set of math/logic games that are slightly addictive. Practice with the 24 puzzles from 2025 or the archive dating back to 2017, while the Pi Day Challenge Team prepares the new 2026 problem set. Adding to the fun is the inclusion of ancient mythology, history, art, and ordinary circumstances, such as traffic jams and bread recipes. Create a free account or login with Google.

NYT Learning Network: Taxicab Geometry
What’s taxicab geometry, you may ask? Well it’s something along the lines of (sorry!) how an Etch-a-Sketch works—i.e., only vertical and horizontal moves are allowed. But it’s more complicated than that. And oh, by the way, pi equals 4 and circles aren’t round. Intrigued yet? This imaginative article dives into not only taxicab geometry but also related math topics. Questions and ideas for further exploration are provided. Free with no account required.

Pi-Search
Widely acknowledged to be completely useless for most purposes, Pi-Search is nonetheless absolutely required to fully celebrate Pi Day. The point of Pi-Search is simple: In less than one second, find any series of digits that occur in the first 200 million digits of Pi. A helpful odds table displays the likelihood that a series will be found, based on its length. For example, the eight-digit string commonly used to denote birthdays carries an 86% chance of being found within 200 million digits. What’s more, this humble (pi) site is packed with all kinds of other useless (and occasionally useful) information, such as how the search is actually performed and pi numeric trivia. Great fun.

Mensa for Kids: Pi Day Palooza!
Fine collection of Pi Day lessons and activities, including a homemade Spirograph, trivia, greeting cards, and even Pilish poetry. (If you’ve never tried writing in Pilish, you’re in for a keen challenge).

A Brief History of Pi (π)
Which has been around longer -- pie or pi? The answer may surprise you. Learn how ancient mathematicians deduced the concept and approximate value of pi in this article from San Francisco's Exploratorium museum.

14 Fun Pi Day Activities for High School Students
A lighthearted—yet academically challenging—collection of pi-related activities that incorporates music, language, poetry, art, statistics, history, American date abbreviations and more. For full appreciation of activity No. 3, “Throw a Pi-Themed Party,” students should watch Why is the area of a circle equal to π r² ? 2000 year old proof, but with pizza.

The Discovery That Transformed Pi
Before Isaac Newton transformed mathematics, the calculation of pi was laborious and slow. This entertaining, yet in-depth, video explains the principles underlying Newton’s elegant proof. And yes, there will be pizza.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pi Challenges
Care for a bit of pi-in-the-sky thinking? Explore illustrated lessons that take pi out of Earth’s orbit in service of solving solar systems problems, such as the density of the asteroid Psyche and frost in lunar craters. A “stellar” collection.

Learn About Pi
A dynamic, illustrated explanation of pi that grabs the reader’s attention with its colorful, lively graphics which clearly demonstrate the properties of pi and how it can be used in calculating volumes of many two- and three-dimensional shapes. This webpage from PiDay.org would provide an excellent, clarifying accompaniment to the pi-related lessons included in this article.

Teach Pi
A plethora of pi activities, stories, music, lessons and trivia, TeachPi.org was founded by math educator and speaker Luke Anderson, whose enthusiasm for pi and numeracy cannot be contained. Be sure to check out Anderson’s alter ego, Pi Daddy, and his rap song, “Lose Yourself (In The Digits).” A super fun site to peruse.

PBS LearningMedia Pi-Related Resources
An abundance of K-12 pi-related lessons and interactives that includes calculating pi with darts, the square-wheeled tricycle, music from the Golden Ratio, and more fascinating topics. Lessons and activities are standards-aligned, shareable to Google Classroom, and include plenty of support material for teachers. And, yes, there will be pie. And pizza.

• Best Online Math Platforms for Education
• Best Sites & Apps for K-12 Education Games
• What Is Equatio and How Can I Use It To Teach Math and STEM?

National Deaf History Month is an excellent opportunity for educators to teach all students about the history, accomplishments, and culture of deaf people. While traditionally held from March 13 to April 15, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) has shifted the official observance to April 1–30, effective from 2026, to fully align with a monthly, inclusive recognition.

National Deaf History Month was started in the 1990s after two deaf employees at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C., started teaching sign language to other employees. This grew into a month promoting understanding of the deaf community that ultimately inspired the NAD to propose a national month-long recognition period.

According to one estimate, about 3.6 percent of the U.S. population, or 11 million people, are deaf or have serious difficulty hearing. National Deaf History Month is an ideal time to teach all students more about inclusion and the accomplishments of deaf people in the arts, education, sports, law, science, and music.

Best Deaf Awareness Lessons & Activities

Look, Smile, Chat: Deaf awareness look, smile lesson plans for teachers
These PDF lesson plans for students aged 11-16 years aim to help hearing kids better understand deafness, deaf culture, and the lives of deaf people, as well as communication between deaf and hearing kids.

Charles Michel de l'Epee
A pioneer who founded the first public school for the hearing impaired in France, Epee bucked the trends of the time, asserting that deaf people deserve an education and equal rights. He developed the manual language that eventually became French Sign Language (from which American Sign Language sprang). Truly a giant of history.

ASL and Deaf Culture
Deaf people discuss how American Sign Language is an integral part of deaf culture and expression. Narrated for the hearing audience.

AFB: The Helen Keller Online Kids Museum
In this online museum exhibit, the American Foundation for the Blind presents a wealth of knowledge about world-renowned activist and pioneer Helen Keller, from her childhood through her international travels as a world leader. Included are multiple photographs of Keller with politicians, actors, children, and people of every station in life.

History through Deaf Eyes
From the world-renowned institute of higher learning, Gallaudet University, the History Through Deaf Eyes Online Exhibition explores the lives of deaf people and social attitudes toward deaf language and education through the years.

11 Ways to Honor Deaf Awareness
Fine ideas for promoting awareness and understanding of deaf life and culture, from reading books with deaf characters, to trying out lipreading, to researching the accomplishments of famous deaf people. Be sure to check out the “Unfair Spelling Test,” which illustrates how words become garbled with loss of hearing above 1000 hz.

Olof Hanson, Conspicuous Leader: 1862-1933
“I am myself deaf. My greatest obstacle is not my deafness, but to overcome the prejudice and ignorance of those who do not understand what the deaf can do,” wrote Olof Hanson in a 1908 letter to President Theodore Roosevelt. Learn more about Hanson, the first recorded deaf architect in the United States, in this online exhibit from the National Deaf Life Museum.

Sign Language Decoding Quotes
Famous quotes from William Shakespeare, John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, and others are transliterated into American Sign Language (ASL) in these downloadable/printable PDFs. A first-rate way to learn and practice ASL. Free account required

Dad and Me in the Morning Guided Reading Lesson
A standards-aligned lesson for grades 4-5, built around the book Dad and Me and the Morning by Patricia Lakin. Written from the deaf son’s perspective, the book recounts an early morning excursion to the beach with his father. The lesson includes everything needed for teaching: a downloadable PDF and Powerpoint presentation with the complete text, as well as post-reading questions.

Wordwall Community American Sign Language Games
A wide selection of colorful, creative games helps users practice ASL. Each game features polished graphics, fun sound effects, and multiple templates to add variety. No account required to play, but a free basic account allows users to create their own activities, while the Standard ($7.20/month) and Pro ($10.80/month) accounts offer many additional features.

American Sign Language Beta Test Games
Seven online word games are a quick and easy way to learn and practice American Sign Language (ASL) in realistic or cartoon ASL font. Start with the letter quiz, then try the matching game, word search, sentence game, or Simon Signs. Feeling stuck? No worries, just click the Alphabet Legend to refresh your memory. Free no account required.

Movies and TV Shows with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Characters
You might be surprised to learn how many popular movies and TV shows feature deaf characters. Watching such programs can be a great way to engage hearing students with deaf culture, while supporting and recognizing deaf students’ experiences. This list from Common Sense Media can be filtered by age, from preschool to teenager.

Jessica Flores Lip Reading
Comedian and Deaf advocate Jessica Flores is not only very funny, but also a strong educator and communicator. In this video, she helps hearing folks understand how lip reading actually works. Hint: It’s not as easy as you might think.

Free Sign Language Videos for Beginners
Dozens of brief narrated videos effectively demonstrate the basics of American Sign Language. Featured are common words and concepts such as pronouns, colors, numbers, directions, and much more.

Alphabet Sing and Sign
From the Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel, this charming collection of videos combines songs and signing in an engaging and educational fashion. Perfect for younger learners.

Learn More About a Recent ASL Star
Justina Miles recently made history when she performed with Rihanna at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show. The 20-year-old Miles became the first deaf ASL performer in Super Bowl history and went viral on social media for her energetic performance. Discussing Miles’ performance and story is the perfect lead-in to a larger classroom discussion about what ASL is and why it is needed.

ASL University
Created by a longtime professor of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies, ASL University offers free American Sign Language lessons and videos. Be sure to meet the creator Dr. Bill Vicars (Deaf/hh) on his YouTube channels, Signs and Bill Vicars.

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
Throughout history, deaf people were often seen as uneducable and mentally deficient. A giant in the field of education, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet believed otherwise, and founded the first school for the deaf in the U.S. This biography explores his life, philanthropic endeavors, and contributions to deaf education.

Deaf Culture 101
From the Iowa School for the Deaf, this upbeat, frank, and funny video educates hearing people about the diverse experiences of living as a deaf person in a hearing world.

Deaf People Answer Commonly Googled Questions About Being Deaf
What kind of questions do internet users ask Google about deaf people? If you guessed, “Do deaf people think?” you’d be sadly correct. But hidden among the absurd questions are some really interesting ones, such as “Do deaf people have an inner voice?” These and other questions are answered with insight, honesty, and humor by the talented and engaging guides, Mixxie and Lia.

Helen Keller | Author, Advocate, and Activist
A detailed, standards-based lesson on the accomplishments of Helen Keller, the amazing deaf-blind speaker, author, and activist, who championed the rights of people with disabilities and women. Shareable via Google classroom or by link.

How Do Deaf People Experience and Enjoy Music?
Hearing people may be surprised to learn that deaf people can sense, process, enjoy, and make music. Ask your hearing students to write what they think music is like for deaf people. Have them read one or more of the following articles. Then ask them to write how their views have changed and what they learned about deaf music appreciation.

Sound System Allows Deaf People to Experience Music Like Never Before Wearable technology allows deaf people to perceive music directly through their body.
How Deaf People Experience Music The science behind hearing, and how brain plasticity makes up for a loss of hearing.
Can Deaf People Hear Music? (Answer: Yes, They Can) How deaf people use vibrations and sign language to appreciate and interact with music
How Do Deaf People Experience Music? Shaheem Sanchez is a deaf dancer and instructor who learns songs through musical vibrations.
How Do We Listen When We're Unable to Hear? Deaf Grammy-winning percussionist and recording artist Evelyn Glennie answers this question with insight and grace.

Valentine’s Day provides an excellent opportunity to incorporate fun and engaging popular culture into your classroom instruction. Graphic arts, design, literacy, social-emotional learning, history, and even STEM topics lend themselves nicely to Valentine's Day themes.

All of the following digital resources and lessons are free or low cost.

K-8 Valentine’s Day Lessons & Activities

Valentine's Day Escape
Roses are red, violets are blue, this escape room puzzle is not so easy to do! Just challenging enough to be fun, this Valentine’s Day escape room asks users to enter the correct keys for word, number, directional, color, and date locks. Good luck!

Safe Kid Valentine’s Day Games
No account is needed to play these simple, free Valentine’s-themed games, which include memory/matching, maze, and Cupid’s target practice. Games are shareable to Google classroom. For full site access with no ads, the classroom plan allows up to 30 devices, for $4.99/month. Free seven-day trial.

ABCYa Valentine’s Day Puzzles
Young learners practice click-and-drag mouse manipulation, as well as shape and pattern recognition, in this Valentine’s chocolate box puzzle game. Be sure to check out the Valentine-themed crossword puzzle, which provides helpful hints if needed.

Reading Rockets Valentines Day Lessons
No doubt you’ve heard of haiku, but do you know about other short poetic forms, such as sijo and cinquain? Charming and educational, these varied activities help kids explore Valentine's Day through wordplay, writing, and poetry. Free, no account required.

A Kid’s Heart: Valentine’s Day Math Games
These Valentine’s-themed digital games help kids practice problems involving addition, exponents, and prime numbers. The free site is easy to navigate and requires no account.

Festisite Valentine Heart
A simple, fun way for kids to get visual with Valentine’s Day poetry. Text is transformed into a heart-shaped, downloadable image or document. Have your students write their own, or analyze a published verse.

Starfall
Starfall’s create-your-own digital Valentine’s Day greeting helps the youngest students with spoken language, words, and spelling while they enjoy a variety of kid-friendly characters. Starfall’s Math Journey Valentine edition teaches basic number concepts as users traverse a heart-filled landscape.

St. Valentine's Day by Stephanie
Six cloze stories about St. Valentine and St. Valentine's Day provide grammar/word choice practice for young learners as they explore the history and culture of the holiday.

Tynker: Valentine’s Day Card, Candy Heart Search and On Cloud Nine In these three great STEAM projects for young learners, kids learn coding and graphic arts while creating interactive Valentine’s Day cards and games.

Valentine STEM Challenges
It’s not all hearts and flowers! Use this top-rated, standards-aligned 46-page PDF lesson to incorporate STEM topics such as physics and engineering into your Valentine’s Day instruction. Convertible to interactive digital format, this comprehensive package is currently priced for the season at a modest $8.00.

9-12 Valentine’s Day Lessons & Activities

Who was Saint Valentine? A history of the figure's origins
Who were the martyrs Valentinus? Wait - there was more than one St. Valentine? Yes, as explained in this fascinating investigation of the history of Valentine’s Day. Touching on famous poets, authors and historians, as well as the men themselves, it’s a great read for older kids. Assignment idea: Have your students research and write about Valentine’s Day as seen through the works of Chaucer, Shakespeare or Donne.

The New York Times Valentine’s Day Across the Curriculum
Mine this rich vein of educational Valentine’s Day prompts and activities from The New York Times. Diverse topics include writing/literature, history, psychology, and even economics. Perfect for students grades 9-12. Free, no account required.

Pocket Heart (iOs)
This interactive 3D cardiology app is the real deal, used by medical students, doctors, and nurses. With its high-quality visuals, detailed descriptive content, and quizzes, it’s ideal for advanced biology or other life science studies. After the seven-day free trial, pay $0.99 monthly or $9.49 annually.

Watch and Learn Heart Interactives
Valentine's Day is filled with heart imagery and love poetry. But it’s the perpetual beating of the physical heart that keeps us alive and feeling emotions. Advanced students can use this free expert interactive from the American Heart Association to learn about multiple key topics in cardiology, from angina to stents.

All ages Valentine’s Day Lessons & Activities

Plays.org Valentine’s Day Games
Want more than amusing gameplay? Explore this fine collection of free Valentine’s Day games, which include games featuring spatial logic, real-world physics and brain-teasing puzzles. Fun and educational. No account required, but create one to save your favorite games.

Love Magnetic Poetry Kit
Ever written poetry on your fridge? This simple digital “magnetic” poetry game offers batches of 40 to 50 words to create lines with whimsy, wisdom, and emotion. When done, click “More words'' to get a new set and start again. Challenge your students with a theme or genre, and let the random fun begin.

• Best Women's History Month Lessons and Activities
• Best Mother's Day Activities and Lessons
• Best Free Earth Day Lessons & Activities

The Super Bowl always offers some – apologies in advance – super teaching opportunities. But this year thanks to the likely attendance of Taylor Swift, a whole new group of students will be interested in the hype and hoopla surrounding the game, if not necessarily the final score.

This year’s competition between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will take place on Sunday, February 8, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and will feature a halftime show by Bad Bunny.

As a college professor, I always reference the game during my classes, and while not every student is a football fan, it’s one of the few remaining mega-media cultural touchstones. The vast majority of students from any background still watch or are aware of the game, and that makes gaining common ground easier.

Of course, the same holds true for K12 students and there are many fun ways to incorporate buildup to the game in class.

These teaching tips below will get you and your class ready by kickoff with lessons ranging from history to media literacy and ethics. Here we go, or I should say, hut, hut, hike!

How to Experience Super Bowl LX Week in the San Francisco Bay Area

If you're lucky enough to be in the area of the big game and looking for a football "field" trip, there is plenty of student-friendly in-person activities for football fans of every level, from fan-centric activities and music concerts to a drone show in San Jose’s SoFA District.

Use These Tips From The New York Times

Last year, The New York Times compiled a list of Super Bowl teaching tips that will have students examine Super Bowl themes with a critical eye. These range from debating the safety of the sport to examining gender in the game. Creative teachers can use these resources as inspiration without fear of fumbling the ball.

Learn About Historic Super Bowl Ads

The Super Bowl is about so much more than the action on the field and has traditionally been the biggest day in advertising, with many brands using it as a launch point for new advertising campaigns. One of the most famous is this classic ad from Apple inspired by the novel 1984. Have your students watch it and learn about the history of technology as part of the class discussion.

Using Super Bowl Ads In The Classroom

A comprehensive guide from Media Literacy Clearinghouse on implementing Super Bowl ads into your lessons no matter the subject. Lessons include understanding media literacy, teaching an argument, deconstructing a TV commercial, and promoting critical thinking.

Play Football-Themed Games in Class

This resource from Teaching Expertise is brimming with football-themed activities and games. From building a football shape pinata to flick football and football-centered interactive reading games. These games are not specifically Super Bowl-centric so can be enjoyed even during the off-season as those of us who are Jets fans wonder if this is the year our luck turns. (Spoiler alert: it’s not!)

Super Bowl Activities for Your Personal Finance Class

Next Gen Personal Finance offers ways students can look into the business of the big game, including exploring sports betting, Super Bowl spending, and the impact of advertising during the game.

The Teacher’s Corner

From football-themed scavenger hunts to sports-related health exercises and exercises for Monday morning based off of Super Bowl ads, the various resources here will allow teachers to pick and choose from an array of Super Bowl-related class activities.

Education World

An excellent resource for teachers looking for pre-designed classroom exercises. From a geography lesson in which students locate the home city of each previous Super Bowl winner to having students who are already sports fans research top plays in Super Bowls past, there are many different exercises and resources.

Coverage of the First Super Bowl in The New York Times

History and media teachers can make use of this resource, which leads to the Times’ coverage of the very first Super Bowl. Students can compare this article to modern coverage of the big game. What are some similarities and differences?

A Beginner’s Guide to Football from The NFL

Not all of your students will be football fans or even familiar with the game. This short video produced by the NFL is designed to give those who are new to the game a rundown of the rules. This could be used as a primer before other football-related activities.

BusyTeacher.org: 10 ESL Activities for The Super Bowl

From explaining the game and taking a virtual trip to Canton, home of the Football Hall of Fame, to creating your own fantasy team and exploring the commercials, these activities are designed to help ESL students enjoy the game.

14 Fun Super Bowl Ideas & Activities From Teachers Around the US

Super Bowl trivia, math games, reading inspiration, bulletin board designs, and even making paper footballs (careful with this one!) are available here.

In 1926, Black historian Carter G. Woodson created the forerunner to Black History Month, Negro History Week.

Since then, the recognition of Black history as integral to American history has grown tremendously. At the same time, old habits and old-fashioned curricula die hard, keeping Black History Month a relevant necessity.

The following are some of the best lessons and activities for teaching Black history. Be sure to start with No. 1, “Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Black History.” Here teachers can learn ways to integrate Black history into the American History curriculum—where it belongs—all year long.

Best Black History Month Lessons and Activities 

All Grades

Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Black History
Black history should be part of the curriculum all year long. Learn how to integrate Black history into your history and social studies curricula year round.

Lesson of the Day: ‘A Civil Rights Pioneer Seeks to Have Her Record Cleared'
“It felt like Sojourner Truth was on one side pushing me down, and Harriet Tubman was on the other side of me pushing me down. I couldn’t get up,” said the remarkable 15-year old Claudette Colvin, who was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, months before the famous incident with Rosa Parks. Learn about Colvin’s activism and why her story isn’t widely known today. This lesson includes a video featuring Claudette Colvin, questions for writing and discussion, and extension activities.

PBS New Hour Classroom Classroom resources for Black History Month
14 lessons and resources for teaching about black history, including the March on Washington, the Harlem Renaissance, the trials of Muhammad Ali, the art of Jacob Lawrence, and more. Included in each lesson plan are images, videos, handouts, and discussion guides. Lessons can be viewed online or in the form of a shareable Google Doc.

National Education Association: Black History Month Lessons & Resources
Organized by grade level and topic, this strong collection of lesson plans and activities will help educators teach Black history. Quizzes, printables, and videos are provided.

Library of Congress: African American History Month For Teachers
A wealth of digital and digitized primary resources, with links to teacher-created activities and lessons. Includes resources from the National Archives, National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Gallery of Art, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial museum.

Teaching Hard History
A guide to teaching students of all levels in an age-appropriate way about the difficult topic of the slave trade and its role in American history. Organized around key concepts and essential knowledge, the guide includes primary texts, videos, and a professional development webinar.

Black Athletes and Civil Rights: 6 Upstanders to Introduce to Your Students
Black athletes have been in the forefront of the struggle for civil rights for more than a century. Have your students read about Black athletes from history who took a stand and then compare them to modern-day activist athletes. How have the issues changed? How have they remained the same?

Poets.org Lesson Plans for Black History Month
A truly wonderful selection of poetry from Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, Marilyn Nelson, Nikki Giovanni, and other great African-American poets. Featured poems are supported by classroom activities, related artwork and audio.

Lesson of the Day: When Blackness Is a Superpower
Who doesn’t love a superhero? A wonderfully creative way to merge writing, art, and social studies, this lesson is natural for kids and anyone who likes mythology.

31 Highly Influential African-American Scientists
Go beyond the oft-cited George Washington Carver to learn about many other African-American scientists, past and present, whose work has been instrumental in the making of the modern world.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: 22 Stories about the Negro Leagues
These 22 compelling video stories about the Negro Leagues—spotlighting not only the players, but also the business behind the game—offer a great opportunity for students to understand the critical role Blacks played in the rise of our national pastime.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum: Oh Freedom! Teaching Art and the Civil Rights Movement
Teach Civil Rights by exploring artwork from the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture. Search by artwork [https://americanart.si.edu/education/oh-freedom/art] or artist [https://americanart.si.edu/education/oh-freedom/artists].

Grades K-5

The Kennedy Center: Blues Journey
This look at the “most important American music” of the 20th century delves into the history and musical characteristics of the blues in four narrated audio recordings, complete with classic blues songs.

How is jazz music reflective of the Harlem Renaissance?
A complete standards-aligned lesson that includes audio clips from Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, and Bessie Smith, a slideshow of iconic Harlem nightclubs and links to interactive resources. Copy the entire lesson to your Google Drive or print out a Word document.

Jazz Music, Dance, and Poetry
In this lesson for grades 3-5, students will explore jazz music and dance, then write a jazz-inspired cinquain poem. Exploring the intersection of Black history, music history, and dance history, the standards-aligned instruction is printable and integrated with Google Drive.

National Civil Rights Museum Before the Boycott
What happened to cause the Montgomery bus boycott? This interactive puts students in the role of journalists who investigate the events leading up to the first large-scale demonstration against segregation.

Grades 6-8

iCivics Black History Month
Six brief videos from the highly respected iCivics organization are accompanied by standards-aligned lesson plans, including fillable PDFs for digital learning. The lessons illuminate not only the best-known activists, but also lesser-known pioneers, such as Constance Baker Motley, the first African-American woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Other topics include the Jim Crow era and the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School.

The Birth of Hip Hop
When was hip hop invented? Hip hop is a relatively new form of American music, but its roots extend all the way to 1973. This fascinating and lively video explains the origins of hip hop and how it spread to the larger society.

Rosa Parks: A Pivotal Moment in the Civil Rights Movement
Take your students back in time to witness a pivotal moment in history with this immersive Rosa Parks experience from ClassVR. Virtually step aboard the Montgomery city bus on December 1, 1955, and observe the powerful act of courage that helped ignite the Civil Rights Movement. Available to use on laptops, tablets, and interactive panels, this free resource includes an explorable scene, teacher notes, a teaching framework, and a student quiz.

Grades 9-12

50 Black Writers Whose Impact Went Beyond the Page
A great jumping-off point for studying a diverse group of Black American writers, from Toni Morrison to August Wilson. Theologian James Cone, suffragist Mary Church Terrell, and academic Barbara Christian are just a few of the many Black writers who have helped to shape American letters.

The New York Times: Unpublished Black History
A fascinating and visually arresting series of previously unpublished photos about Black history from the New York Times. Each photo is accompanied by explanatory text and links to the original news articles.

Slave Voyages
Analyze the Atlantic slave trade via interactive maps, timelines, and animations. A visually impressive site, incorporating 3D video of a slave ship and a timelapse map illustrating the movement of 31,166 slave ships over hundreds of years.

Smithsonian Learning Lab
The Lab is a free, interactive platform for discovering millions of authentic digital resources, creating content with online tools, and sharing in the Smithsonian's expansive community of knowledge and learning.

Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten
What was Tulsa’s Greenwood district and what happened to it in 1921? This multimedia lesson offers plenty of background resources to help teachers address a challenging topic, as well as printables for students. Shareable to Google Classroom.

Rosa Parks’ Biography
This is one civil rights story that we all know, isn’t it? Well, not really. The story of Rosa Parks isn't only that one celebrated act of defiance on the bus. What many Americans don’t realize is that Parks’ civil rights activism extended throughout her life, across decades and cities. This authoritative and comprehensive examination of the life and activism of Rosa Parks reveals the depth of her commitment and contributions. Included is an interactive timeline, teaching guides, and exercises. Ideal for students grade 10-post secondary.

Smithsonian Learning Lab
The Lab is a free, interactive platform for discovering millions of authentic digital resources, creating content with online tools, and sharing in the Smithsonian's expansive community of knowledge and learning.

PBS Learning Media: PBS Learning Media: Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten
What was Tulsa’s Greenwood district and what happened to it in 1921? This multimedia lesson offers plenty of background resources to help teachers address a challenging topic, as well as printables for students. Shareable to Google Classroom.

The Teacher Who Desgregated New York Transit
Everyone knows Rosa Parks. But do you know the story of Elizabeth Jennings? This in-depth excerpt from America’s First Freedom Rider: Elizabeth Jennings, Chester A. Arthur, and the Early Fight for Civil Rights is a fascinating look at a little-known but important civil rights episode that occurred not in the deep South, but in New York City. Have your students read the story, then compare it to the better-known Rosa Parks civil disobedience.

Bay Area Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement: Civil Rights Movement Archive
An extensive archive of photos, documents, letters, articles, speeches, poetry, and more related to the 1950s-60s Civil Rights movement. Check out the Teacher Resources, which provide lessons, activities, and a how-to for connecting students virtually with freedom movement veterans.

Library of Congress: Freed People Tell Their Stories
What was slavery really like? Go beyond the written documents and listen to the voices of people who survived it. This remarkable set of interviews with people who were once enslaved was recorded between 1932 and 1975, in nine states. The original recordings are accompanied by transcripts for careful study.

The National Archives Educator Resources: The Slave Trade
Resources for educators to investigate the slave trade in American history, including primary source documents, teaching activities, and document analysis worksheets.

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Baamboozle is an online platform of games that are intentionally connected to teaching and learning. It offers a flexible suite of games that teachers of any subject area or topics can use to support their instruction while engaging learners. 

Because Baamboozle’s gamified learning offerings are so widespread, covering a plethora of areas, this lesson plan can be used to support any education lesson. 

For an overview of Bamboozle, check out What is Baamboozle and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips and Tricks. 

Baamboozle offers several ways to interact with the online games, including Slideshow, Play, and Study modes. As such, this sample lesson plan provides guidance on using those three modes in an integrated manner. 

Subject: Any   

Topic: All 

Grade Band: Elementary, Middle, High School 

Game Search 

The first step is to choose the games you want to use to support instruction. Since there are more than a half million games, the most efficient way to decide on one is to use the search feature. Within the first box, you can type in the topic you are searching for based on the lesson. As a reminder, you can focus on any topic or subject area that you are working on improving! Then choose games that align. 

For example, you search “biology” and nearly 900 games will appear. If you provide more specificity and search “ecology,” you will be shown closer to 200 games. If you are a physical education/health teacher you could search “fitness,” which would give you more than 600 games, or “health,” which would give you 2,500+ games. 

In addition to the hundreds of thousands of games that are premade, you as the teacher can customize your own game, so whatever your need, you will be sure to find a game that connects with it. You can also filter the search by language and view alphabetically or by popularity.

Slideshow and Play 

Once you have the game(s) that connect(s) with your lesson subject and topic, you can use the slideshow feature to play the game, while also teaching content to students. 

The collections option allows you to pull from where there are multiple games already packaged based on the same topic. For example, the “adverbs” collection has 12 games included. 

You will be able to create a class pin for students to access the game from their devices, or you can use the projector and interactive whiteboard in your class for the entire class to participate without the need for separate devices. 

After going through a game or two using the slideshow feature, you can play the game as both friendly competition and as an engagement activity. Decide on whether you want to have students work in teams while in play mode, or even create their own games. 

Study

If you use the study mode, the games are transformed into study squares in which students can work independently, revisiting content from earlier in the lesson. This makes for a great homework or general extra practice option to complement the lesson. 

What If I Am Not Familiar With Baamboozle? 

Check out the Baamboozle blog! It’s jam-packed with information, tips, and tricks on using the platform. In addition, the blog highlights some of the most popular games that other teachers and students have engaged in. Within the blog space, there is also a beginners guide available which is helpful to review as a new user. So, even if you have never heard of Baamboozle before or used similar platforms, you will be able to lean into the provided resources and quickly learn to navigate and utilize the system. 

What If All Students Do Not Have Compatible Devices? 

This is one of the unique aspects of Baamboozle. You can use a projector and interactive whiteboard and have the game appear for the entire class in person, or share your screen for an online class. Not having to have individual screens may also help students stay focused on the same thing that you are teaching 

Baamboozle is fun, simple, and full of opportunities to elevate lessons while peaking students’ interest and interaction with content. Try one of the Bamboozle games for any of the subjects and topics that you are up next for your lesson and enjoy students’ engagement and learning.

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemorates the birth of one of the greatest civil rights warriors of the 20th century. Although King was an American who focused on segregation and inequality in the U.S., his impact was global.

Decades after his death, King’s nonviolent struggle for equality and justice remains highly relevant to today’s students and teachers. The free lessons and activities below provide a wide range of approaches to teaching about King, from a simple word search for younger learners to thought-provoking, in-depth lesson plans for middle and high school students.

Best Free Martin Luther King Jr. Lessons and Activities 

How Does the Constitution Safeguard the Right to Equal Protection of the Law?
From the nonprofit Center for Civic Education, this middle school PDF lesson explores the crucial role of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. Students will learn about the purpose of the clause in the aftermath of the Civil War, key Supreme Court court cases and the continued importance through the civil rights era of the 1960s. Includes classroom activities and post-lesson questions.

PBS Martin Luther King Jr. Day classroom resources
Five stellar lessons from PBS News Hour Classroom include the 1963 March on Washington, interpreting King’s “I Have a Dream” speech as a work of literature, and an interesting comparison between King’s criticisms in "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The King Center Teach(K)ing™ Curriculum
Two grade-appropriate curricula (K-5 and 6-12) for teaching all about Martin Luther King, Jr and his work. Included: three units covering his background and personal life; each of the major civil rights campaigns; and civil rights organizations of the time. The fourth unit, “Using Dr. King’s Teachings to Become a Better Person,” provides a blueprint for encouraging students to take inspiration from King’s work to pursue ideals that are important to them. Each curriculum includes questions, assessments, printable handouts, and much more. A video guide helps teachers make the best use of the curricula, while additional teaching materials are available on the King Center Classroom Resources page. All resources are free, though some require the completion of a questionnaire for access.

How Have Civil Rights Movements Resulted in Fundamental Political and Social Change in the United States?
A PDF lesson exploring the importance of civil right movements in fulfilling the spirit of equal rights as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Through background information, historical images, thought-provoking questions, and critical thinking exercises, students will learn why documents alone do not secure a people’s rights.

National Education Association Learning and Living the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
A modest but high-quality collection of lessons and activities for K-5 students to learn about Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy.

Martin Luther King Jr. Coloring Pages
Perfect for younger learners, these ten printable coloring pages feature quotes from MLK in doodle-style font. Three other printables provide space for kids to write about MLK and their own dreams.

Martin Luther King Jr. and the Power of Words
When we talk about nonviolent resistance, we have to talk about the power of words. Designed to be completed in a single class period, this lesson plan from the Center for Civic Education includes detailed guidelines as well as teacher resources. Grades 7-12.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute: Nobel Peace Prize
The remarkable story behind King’s naming as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1964 includes the reactions of the day, both positive and negative, and how King distributed the prize money.

Teaching and Learning About Martin Luther King Jr. With The New York Times
A wealth of teaching and learning resources that includes lesson plans, songs, photos, videos, a civil rights quiz, and connections to current events. All NYT Learning Network resources are available to use for free without an account.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X
A downloadable, standards-aligned three-lesson unit covering the very different civil rights approaches of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Included are all required texts, a compare-and-contrast exercise plus questions for document analysis and critical thinking. Grades 6-12.

The Fight for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Given the long struggle for civil rights for African Americans, it’s not surprising that the idea of a federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King generated plenty of resistance. History.com relates the decades-long fight to commemorate MLK.

The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.
King’s biography is accompanied by photos, texts, audio excerpts, and a timeline of key events.

Securing the Right to Vote: The Selma-to-Montgomery Story
There is no greater asset of freedom than the right to vote. This in-depth lesson plan on the struggle for de jure and de facto voting rights includes: background; motivations; document, map and photo analyses; extension activities; and more.

Nonviolent Direct Action at Southern Lunch Counters
Nonviolent civil disobedience isn’t as simple as it sounds. It requires training, diligence, courage, and most of all, a commitment to nonviolence in the pursuit of justice and equality. Using online newspaper articles of the day, photos, and printable worksheets, this complete lesson plan will teach students about the theory and practice of nonviolent direct action.

The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. by Kid President
The effervescent Kid President tells the story of MLK in a highly engaging and relatable manner. Perfect for younger learners.

Read Write Think Martin Luther King Jr. Activities and Lessons
Searchable by grade, learning objective, and topics, these classroom/elearning activities include lesson plans, student interactives, and related digital resources.

12 Classic Songs Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.
You probably know some of the famous songs on this list, such as U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love)” and Marvin Gaye’s “Abraham, Martin and John.” But other well-known musicians, from Stevie Wonder to Elvis Presley, have also recorded tributes to MLK. These powerful and emotional tunes speak to the impact of King’s legacy on popular culture, as well as the broader society.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail
An audio recording of Dr. King reading his influential “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Students can listen to this civil rights classic, learn about the issue of the day, and note his skillful use of persuasive rhetoric. Challenge: Ask your students to determine which of Dr. King’s concerns are still a problem today, 59 years later.

YSA: MLK Day of Service
An extensive, step-by-step guide for teachers to plan and implement creative virtual volunteer projects for students and others who wish to participate in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

Birmingham 1963: Primary Documents
Using six historical documents, students will investigate the civil rights protests and violent police response in 1963 Birmingham, Alabama.

Martin Luther King Jr., and Memphis Sanitation Workers
What happened during the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ strike, and what was King’s role in his final campaign? How did King view economic issues compared to traditional civil rights causes? These and other questions are thoroughly investigated in this primary-source-focused lesson from the National Archives.

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This Wayground (formerly Quizizz) lesson plan is designed to engage students in learning while leveraging a digital tool to help meet learning outcomes

Wayground is an exciting and comprehensive edtech tool that makes answering questions fun! Quizizz does more than just ask students quiz questions online, incorporating myriad multimedia dimensions in a gamified manner.

For more about all of the specific features of Wayground, check out What is Wayground (Quizizz) and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips & Tricks.

This sample Wayground lesson plan for middle and high school students is focused on strengthening students’ critical thinking and comprehension questions. Quizizz’s content and structure, however, transcends grade levels and can be used for all learners and subjects.

Subject: Reading Comprehension

Topic: Critical Thinking

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Analyze, interpret, and evaluate content within a reading passage
• Respond to questions and make judgements about what they have read

Wayground Lesson Plan: Getting Started

Provide students with a reading passage to focus on for the lesson. You can choose a passage from any subject area that you are teaching.

Once you have the passage, decide if you will use the text version, will read it for students and put in an audio or video file, or if you will capture the passage as an image. These are the options within Wayground to for displaying whatever you select.

 Wayground Engagement and AI Use 

Students will engage in the lesson within the Wayground platform based on the questions you have developed. Since the focus is on reading comprehension and critical thinking, add a mix of fill-in-the-blank and open-ended questions. You also have the option to use multiple choice questions, which may work better for middle school students, or to get started with as you build toward more difficult questions.

If you would like to use AI to develop questions, you can do so once you have uploaded the passage into Wayground. You can prompt the AI with how many questions you want as well as what types (multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and open-ended). Wayground allows you to change language if it is helpful to a student or the class to switch the content from English.

Before you use AI-generated questions, review and make sure the questions ask what you are looking for, and if not, revise accordingly. Pay close attention to wording and any bias that may be present.

Wayground has a student-side experience option in which the passage (text, audio, video, or image) will stay on the screen while the questions appear. Give students the appropriate amount of time, based on the type and number of questions included.

Sharing Learning

Have students share their Wayground experience with the larger class community. This gives them a chance to see how others may have interpreted the content differently. It might be helpful to use a Padlet or similar edtech tool for students to contribute to, to share their learning. If you want students to verbally discuss and reflect on their learning, consider using VoiceThread.

What Resources Does Quizizz Provide Teachers? 

Wayground provides Wayground University, which offers online professional development for teachers to strengthen their familiarity and facility with using the platform for teaching and learning. Similarly to the gamified nature of Wayground, Wayground University offers the chance to earn badges as different learning modules are completed.

What if Students Want to Wayground At Home? 

Wayground can be used in school and at home, and because of the way that the technology focuses on self-regulation, students will be able to work independently, even if their parents are not familiar with the platform. Also, the redemption and retake questions built into Wayground will encourage students to keep going and not to give up.

Many options are available on the edtech market in terms of online quizzes, however, Wayground takes questioning to the next level. Try Wayground in your class and see how your students are able to practice their learning and share where they are with you, while engaging in a gamified learning environment.

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Beloved winter holidays present an excellent opportunity to engage students while teaching about cultures and traditions from around the world, as well as winter-related science and language arts topics.

All of the following winter holiday lessons and activities are easy to access, use, and enjoy. Best of all, these are all 100% free!

Best Free Winter Holiday Lessons and Activities

NYT Lesson Plan: How Nature Comes Alive in the Winter
A gorgeous, photo-rich lesson that guides kids in exploring nature at a time of year when the wonders of life are subtle compared to the other seasons. Included are a lesson overview, vocabulary, warmup, questions for discussion, and extension activities. As with all NYT lessons plans, no account is needed to access this lesson or linked articles.

Science Buddies: Why Are Skis So Long?
Maybe you take it for granted that skis have to be a certain length. But did you ever consider why, or what would happen if you donned shorter skis? You don’t need snow or cold temperatures to investigate this question. Gather a few common ingredients—flour, cardboard, glue—and a child’s action figure, and you’re off to the (downhill) races. Includes background, step-by-step instructions, questions, and extension activities.

Why on Earth are Winters Getting Worse If the Planet is Getting Warmer?
A complete standards-aligned lesson that examines a question many of us have wondered about. How can average global temperatures be increasing, while many locales are seeing a substantial increase in snowfall? Find out why this phenomenon is not a contradiction, but rather a predictable consequence of global warming. Contains teaching tips, questions, research activities, handouts, and vocabulary.

National Geographic Kids: Winter Solstice
What is the winter solstice and why is it important, both culturally and scientifically? This article answers basic questions about the winter solstice while highlighting ancient monuments.

8 Winter Solstice Celebrations Around the World
The shortest day of the year has long been a subject of fascination for ancient civilizations. Even before people understood the astronomical basis for the event, they knew through observation when it would occur and what changes would follow. In this article, learn about traditional festivals that looked ahead to the lengthening days while making the most out of the darkness.

National WWI Museum and Memorial: The Christmas Truce, Winter 1914
From the National World War I Museum and Memorial, this remarkable online exhibition explores the unofficial but documented truce between trench warfare combatants along parts of both the Western and the Eastern fronts. Includes extensive primary source material as well as photos, video, and explanatory text. In a quirky twist, users may declare a truce of their own on any topic, as well as voting on others’ truces.

Counting Christmas Trees
A standards-aligned lesson based on sales of Christmas trees that can be customized for students in grades K-8. Included are PDF materials, questions, lesson extensions, and a brief assessment.

Weather for Kids
Obviously, “weather” is not limited to the winter. Nonetheless, in many parts of the country wintertime is associated with colder temperatures, snow, ice, and other weather-related phenomena. This robust collection of experiments, videos, lessons, projects, and games offers a broad range of teaching and learning options.

PBS Learning Media: Why Do We Have Seasons?
A complete, standards-aligned interactive lesson exploring Earth’s year-long trek around the Sun. Grades 3-12, shareable to Google Classroom.

Snow Crystals
An inventive, engaging and educational site, Snow Crystals.com is the brainchild of Kenneth G. Libbrecht, professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology. While Libbrecht studies the physics of snowflakes, he clearly also appreciates the artistry and whimsy of snowflakes. Everything is here, from the hard-core science to snowflake fun facts and activities to time-lapse videos of growing snowflakes.

Googley Wintertime Activities for Kids
Google expert Eric Curts presents awesome digital activities for holiday fun and learning. Try the all-digital magnetic poetry, holiday greeting cards, pixel art, or any of the eight activities. All include full instructions as well as digital templates.

Make your own holiday greeting card
Select images, font, background colors, and greeting to create a customized printable greeting card for your favorite winter holiday. Don’t forget to include a fun graphic on the back. Great for kids of all ages.

All about Christmas
A treasure trove of Christmas traditions, customs, and activities, including Christmas crosswords, quizzes, and puzzles. Christmas song Karaoke, anyone?

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights
Teach the story of Hanukkah, then add the grade-based reading, writing, and art activities to your December classroom instruction.

Kwanzaa
This detailed article from the History Channel covers the history, principles, and symbols of Kwanzaa. Educators can use it to launch a classroom discussion about the importance of rituals in building communities, or how students can put the seven principles into use in their everyday lives.

Give your students the Dickens!
According to some scholars, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the single greatest literary influence on our modern Christmas customs. Explore these student-friendly ways to study not only A Christmas Carol, but also 19th-century English society. Both encompass themes relevant to today’s world, such as poverty, inequality, and how we treat our fellow humans.

Online Kwanzaa Games
Practice math and language skills while having fun with these Kwanzaa-themed digital games and puzzles.

Online Hanukkah Activities
Kids learn the history and rituals of Hanukkah through engaging activities, including digital Dreidel games, crossword puzzles, and coloring pages. These digital activities are printable too!

Online Christmas Puzzles and Games
Fun online interactives for younger learners include puzzles featuring Santa and the elves, a Santa and Rudolph coloring page, and a digital math game, video lesson, and worksheet.

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Roblox may be known as a computer game that youth spend hours playing, but it also has relevance for education. 

Roblox can be used in teaching to engage students in the lesson and to help them build specific skills, while also enjoying the experience. The multiplayer aspects of Roblox allows for learning activities centered on collaboration and communication. 

For more information on Roblox, check out What is Roblox and How Can It Be Used to Teach? Tips & Tricks. 

What follows is a sample lesson plan focused on using Roblox to teach elementary students in social studies.

Subject/Topic: Social Studies/Community and Neighborhood Resources 

Grade Band: Elementary School 

Learning Objective: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to build a community that includes targeted neighborhood resources and services.

Roblox Lesson Starter 

Using a presentation tool such as Slido, provide students with background information regarding neighborhood resources in their community. Leverage the interactive live questioning and polling features of Slido to allow students the opportunity to actively participate in the lesson. 

For example, you can use the open-ended question feature on Slido to ask students what community resources are present in their neighborhood and/or the school’s neighborhood. Students will name community resources such as the grocery store, library, and post office. For younger elementary students, you can use the multiple choice option and pre-list a few community resources. 

Then ask students about other community resources they would like to add to their neighborhood.

Roblox Community Creation 

Provide an open platform through Roblox for students to create neighborhoods that include the resources that they would like to see. You have many platform options to choose from as Roblox is available through the Google Play Store, Amazon Appstore,  and Apple App Store, as well as by using Playstation, Xbox, or MetaQuest devices. Microsoft’s website also has an option to join Roblox. 

Allow students to take creative license to build their virtual communities. If you would like students to work on soft skills such as collaboration and communication, have them work in teams. Working in teams will also allow for problem-solving and critical thinking to be part of the learning activity as they will need to negotiate with one another on which community resources they should include and why. 

Virtual Gallery Walk & Class Discussion 

Instead of having a traditional presentation of each students’ work, coordinate a virtual gallery walk in which each student or team can explore their peers’ neighborhoods. To assist with the exploration, you could have students complete a form in which they notate similarities and differences between their own created neighborhoods and those of the other students or teams. 

To engage students in design thinking, you could have a whole class discussion about the virtual gallery walk experience in which you ask students and teams if there is anything they would do differently to their designed neighborhood after seeing other  examples. This can be a reflected piece, or you can have students continue with the building of their neighborhood within Roblox.

What Support Does Roblox Provide Families? 

The Roblox website has a Student & Families section that provides myriad resources for parents of students who use Roblox, including guides for families to navigate Roblox, the ability to customize parental controls, and information on The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). 

What if Students Use Inappropriate Language? 

We know that sometimes language usage changes when students are in online social forums versus in the physical classroom. Within the chat features in Roblox, there are built-in structures to filter out language that is inappropriate. Also, there is an option to report abuse within the Roblox platform.

So yes, Roblox can absolutely be used within formal education settings for informal learning experiences. In addition to trying to implement the lesson plan described above, check out our article on Creating a Roblox Classroom for other learning activity ideas that incorporate Roblox. 

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The best Veterans Day lessons and activities can provide the perfect way to engage your students in a variety of topics, ranging from STEM to history and English to social studies and more.

Veterans Day takes place on November 11 every year. That date marks the conclusion of World War I, a terrible conflict that came to a close on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. Originally called Armistice Day, the holiday received its current name in 1954.

Educators can guide their students through the history of the holiday – the day honors veterans both living and dead – and learn about American history and culture in the process.

Just remember to make sure the discussion of veterans and warfare is age-appropriate. Facilitators should also be mindful that many of their students will have family members who serve or have served in the armed forces, and that discussions of combat should be undertaken with great sensitivity.

U.S. Veterans Affairs Teachers Resource Guide

Every year, U.S. Veterans Affairs puts out a robust teachers guide for Veterans Day-related classroom activities. This year is no different, and this resource guide features a wealth of information on the history of Veterans Day, suggestions for classroom and school-wide activities to mark the day, as well as lessons and information on how Veterans Day differs from Memorial Day and proper flag-folding etiquette.

Explore the Meaning of Sacrifice With a PBS Lesson Plan

This middle and high school Veterans Day lesson plan spans approximately 50 minutes of class time. It starts with a discussion and pre-quiz about the topic and includes a short video from the History Channel and an interactive timeline on U.S. wars. The heart of the lesson plan, however, is a group exploration of the challenges veterans face today, including the risks and benefits of being a soldier.

Veterans Day for Kids: How To Make It Memorable

The Wounded Warrior project offers a collection of creative Veterans Day activities and hands-on learning experiences for kids, including values activities and community connections.

NEA: Veterans Day in The Classroom

Educators teaching Veterans Day will find a wealth of lesson plans, activities, games, and resources here that are broken down by grade level. In one activity students in grades K-12 view and then interpret Winslow Homer’s 1865 painting The Veteran in a New Field.

Discovery Education -- U.S. – Why We Serve.

This no-cost virtual field trip for upper elementary and middle school students helps teachers and students around the world learn about the importance of service through the stories of two U.S. Congressman who served in the US military.

Veterans’ Stories: Struggles for Participation

The Library of Congress maintains this collection of video interviews, documents, and writings that tell the firsthand stories of men and women who served despite being discriminated against based on their race, heritage, or gender. Exploring these resources with your students is a good way to examine the diversity of veteran experience and the ongoing fight for equality within the military. See this teacher’s guide to the collection for more details.

Library of Congress: Veterans History Project

The VHP, which is a special project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, is the largest oral history project in U.S. history. Since it was founded in 2000, it has collected over 65,000 items from thousands of veterans. Approximately 150 additional items are added every week.

Teacher Planet: Veterans Day Lessons

Teacher Planet offers educators a variety of resources for teaching Veterans Day ranging from lesson plans to worksheets and activities. For example, there is a lesson plan examining the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. and others looking at significant battles in U.S. history.

The Teacher’s Corner: Veterans Day Resources

Teachers can choose from various lessons and activities that are designed for teaching Veterans Day, including a printable online Veterans Day scavenger hunt, and lessons such as honoring our veterans through poetry.

Read About Veterans in Historic Newspapers

Your students can read about the end of World War I, which inspired Veterans Day, as well as get an immediate sense of what life and public opinion was like during past wars by exploring various digital newspaper archives. See Tech & Learning’s recent newspaper archive guide for more information.

Military.com: Why Veterans Day Doesn't Use An Apostrophe

Some students may be tempted to write, “Veteran’s Day” or “Veterans’ Day,” both are incorrect. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the day doesn't belong to veterans, but instead honors them.

Listen to An Interview About Veterans

To better understand the difficulties that veterans today face, your students can listen to an NPR interview with author Tim O’Brien, conducted 20 years after the publication of The Things They Carried, O’Brien’s celebrated book about soldiers in the Vietnam War. You can then discuss the interview and/or read an excerpt from O’Brien’s book.

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The best Veterans Day lessons and activities can provide the perfect way to engage your students in a variety of topics ranging from STEM to history and English to social studies and more. 

Veterans Day takes place on November 11 every year. That date marks the conclusion of World War I, a terrible conflict that came to a close on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. Originally called Armistice Day, the holiday received its current name in 1954. 

Educators can guide their students through the history of the holiday – the day honors veterans both living and dead – and learn about American history and culture in the process. 

Just remember to make sure the discussion of veterans and warfare is age-appropriate. Facilitators should also be mindful that many of their students will have family members who serve or have served in the armed forces, and that discussions of combat should be undertaken with great sensitivity.  This is especially important this year, given that global tensions are heightened because of the wars in Ukraine and Israel, Veterans Day may take on more poignancy for veterans and their families. 

U.S. Veterans Affairs Teachers Resource Guide 

Every year, U.S. Veterans Affairs puts out a robust teachers guide for Veterans Day-related classroom activities. This year is no different, and the 2023 Teachers Resource guide features a wealth of information on the history of Veterans Day, suggestions for classroom and school-wide activities to mark the day, as well as lessons and information on how Veterans Day differs from Memorial Day and proper flag-folding etiquette. 

Explore the Meaning of Sacrifice With a PBS Lesson Plan

This middle and high school Veterans Day lesson plan spans approximately 50 minutes of class time. It starts with a discussion and pre-quiz about the topic and includes a short video from the History Channel and an interactive timeline on U.S. wars. The heart of the lesson plan, however, is a group exploration of the challenges veterans face today, including the risks and benefits of being a soldier. 

Learn About World War I 

Sometimes referred to as the “Forgotten War,” World War I is the subject of a series of interactive lessons produced in a collaboration between the Doughboy Foundation and Verizon, and available for free on Verizon Innovative Learning HQ. Resources include a virtual field trip with a 50-foot-tall interactive World War I timeline and lesson plans suitable for 7-12th graders. 

NEA: Veterans Day in The Classroom

Educators teaching Veterans Day will find a wealth of lesson plans, activities, games, and resources here that are broken down by grade level. In one activity students in grades K-12 view and then interpret Winslow Homer’s 1865 painting The Veteran in a New Field.

Scholastic: Veterans Day and Patriotism

Teach your students about some of the symbols, songs, and pledges associated with the U.S. and their significance to veterans with this lesson for grades 3-5. The lesson is designed to be spread over two class sessions. 

Discovery Education -- U.S. – Why We Serve.

This no-cost virtual field trip for upper elementary and middle school students helps teachers and students around the world learn about the importance of service through the stories of two U.S. Congressman who served in the US military. 

Veterans’ Stories: Struggles for Participation

The Library of Congress maintains this collection of video interviews, documents, and writings that tell the firsthand stories of men and women who served despite being discriminated against based on their race, heritage, or gender. Exploring these resources with your students is a good way to examine the diversity of veteran experience and the ongoing fight for equality within the military. See this teacher’s guide to the collection for more details. 

Library of Congress: Primary Sources

For those looking for more primary sources, this blog post from the Library of Congress details collections, projects, and other resources that teachers can use to get their students to actively learn about Veterans Day. 

Teacher Planet: Veterans Day Lessons

Teacher Planet offers educators a variety of resources for teaching Veterans Day ranging from lesson plans to worksheets and activities. For example, there is a lesson plan examining the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. and others looking at significant battles in U.S. history. 

The Teacher’s Corner: Veterans Day Resources

Teachers can choose from various lessons and activities that are designed for teaching Veterans Day, including this printable online Veterans Day scavenger hunt, and lessons such as honoring our veterans through poetry. 

Read About Veterans in Historic Newspapers

Your students can read about the endof World War I, which inspired Veterans Day, as well as get an immediate sense of what life and public opinion was like during past wars by exploring various digital newspaper archives. See Tech & Learning’s recent newspaper archive guidefor more information. 

Why Is There No Apostrophe in Veterans Day?

Some students may be tempted to write, “Veteran’s Day” or “Veterans’ Day,” both are incorrect. Grammar Girl explains why in this lesson on singular and plural possessives. This can be a short and timely lesson in grammar around Veterans Day.

Listen to An Interview About Veterans 

To better understand the difficulties that veterans today face, your students can listen to an NPR interview with author Tim O’Brien, conducted 20 years after the publication of The Things They Carried, O’Brien’s celebrated book about soldiers in the Vietnam War. You can then discuss the interview and/or read an excerpt from O’Brien’s book.  

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The best free Halloween lessons and activities can help educators overcome the most terrifying sight of all: an unengaged student. So bring your classroom back to life – or just un-deadism – with the resources here. From science experiments to history exercises and fun opportunities for active learning to spooky game-building, these Halloween lessons and activities will have your students doing the education version of the “Monster Mash” in no time.

You might also start a lesson by discussing how Halloween grew out of ancient Celtic traditions around Samhain and was brought to the U.S. by immigrants from Ireland and Scotland. The holiday also coincides with All Saints Day on November 1, and was originally called All Hallows Eve.

Best Free Halloween Lessons and Activities

Read and analyze Halloween poetry

This delightfully creepy (and sometimes comic) collection of Halloween-themed poems features diverse voices, from 16th-century Shakespeare to 21st-century poets such as Rae Armantrout and Michael Collier. Poetry is meant to be read aloud, so have your students choose their favorite to read in class, then discuss as a class what emotions and ideas the words evoke.

Learn about the Salem Witch Trials

What happened during the famous Salem witch trials of 1692? Return to this time when witches were not considered imaginary entities, but rather living beings who might be your neighbor or friend. This rich collection of teaching resources from the Salem Witch Museum includes lesson plans by grade, primary sources, video FAQs for students, and links to videos and articles exploring Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, modern witch hunts, and archaeological investigations.

Play a Halloween Game Online

Give your students a break from Halloween history and poetry to play fun, fast-paced Halloween online games. For a more educational slant, check out these Halloween Word Search Printable Puzzles, which range from easy to expert.

Teach Halloween-Themed STEM Topics

Science need not be scary when it involves fake blood, ghostly puppets, and candy chemistry. Each complete lesson includes a difficulty rating, background, step-by-step instructions, vocabulary, and much more. Truly a treat for both students and teachers.

Do Halloween Math

Your students will already be eager to count their candy this season, but you can add to the Halloween mirth with these Halloween math exercises. Examine the math of a spiderweb or make predictions about the size of a pumpkin and how many seeds it has, and much more.

Play Halloween Themed Games

You’ll find Halloween-themed quizzes, worksheets, puzzles, and other fun games and exercises at BogglesWorld. These games and activities are suitable for younger students and will get them excited to study vocabulary as they develop problem-solving skills.

Survive The Zombie Apocalypse

The Zombie Apocalypse I: STEM of the Living Dead — the TI-Nspire is a free activity that teaches students the math and science epidemiologists use to track and prevent the spread of real-world diseases. Students will learn about graphing geometric progression, interpreting data, and understanding various parts of the human brain. Also, there will be images of bloody zombies to look at.

Learn About Halloween Word History

You and your students can look up the history of words associated with Halloween, such as witches, boo, and vampires. A team at the Preply online language learning platform used data from Merriam Webster to determine when these and other words first gained prominence. Halloween, for instance, made its way into the English language in the early 1700s. See below for more details:

Read a Scary Story

Reading a scary-but-not-too-scary story in class or having older students read a creepy story aloud can get students who are fans of Halloween excited about literature. Here are some favorites for younger students; and recommendations for older students.

Create a Floating Ghost

Create a floating ghost with tissue paper, a balloon, and the power of electricity by following these instructions. Crying out, “It’s alive, it’s alive!” afterward is optional.

Conduct a Halloween Themed Science Experiment

The world of the undead may be beyond the comprehension of science but experiments can be the perfect way to get your students in the spirit of Halloween. Little Bins Little Hands offers instructions for a variety of free Halloween science-based experiments including a bubbling cauldron and a fun-if-gross puking pumpkin.

Learn About the History of Halloween and Similarities to Other Holidays

Have your students research the history of Halloween on their own or share this story from History.com. Then examine the differences between this U.S. holiday and The Day of The Dead, which is celebrated right after Halloween but is a distinct and more joyful celebration.

The Haunted Hayride: An Immersive Experience

Avantis Education, creators of ClassVR, is offering a free “Haunted Hayride” lesson in which teachers can take students on an immersive virtual adventure exploring a haunted trail that winds through a pumpkin patch. As students navigate the trail, they will learn about the origins of Halloween including how Celtic customs shaped modern Halloween – and enjoy some spooky surprises along the way!

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Gimkit is an exciting game-based online platform that can be used in different ways for students of all ages to reinforce their content knowledge and learning. 

For an overview of Gimkit and some of its features, check out our Gimkit: How to Use it for Teaching. 

Here is a sample Gimkit lesson plan that is focused on using Gimkit to enhance a social studies or history lesson at the middle or high school levels. However, Gimkit can be incorporated into elementary level lessons and other academic subjects too. 

Subject: Social Studies/History 

Topic: Historical events, places, and people 

Learning Objectives: 

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Respond to questions based on the lesson 
• Develop questions to test knowledge of learning 

Gimkit Lesson Plan: Starter

To begin the lesson, provide students with content related to the historical events, places, and/or people you are focusing on for the unit. For example, a middle school lesson may be focused on the American Revolution whereas high school students may focus on World World II, taking a deep dive into the countries and people connected to it. 

To provide live instruction to students on the content, it may be helpful to use slides through a tool such as Slido or Canva. Or for asynchronous consumption of the content, VoiceThread or WeVideo could be used to provide instruction to students. 

Regardless of the edtech tool used to present the content, focus on the areas that students need to know in order to meet the learning objectives.

Guided Practice and Question Development  

After students have been taught the content related to the historical events, places, and and/or people, provide a formative assessment check-in by engaging in a few rounds of a question-and-answer game using Gimkit. Not only will you be able to see how students are retaining the content, the types of questions being asked of students can serve as examples for students to create their own questions. 

Once you are finished with a few rounds of Gimkit games, have students work on creating questions to contribute to a shared class Gimkit game set. Students can work individually on the questions, developing 3-5 questions each, adding the answers as well. This is another opportunity for students to go back into the lesson’s content as they come up with the questions. 

Competition 

Using the collective question set created by the students, have a friendly competition using Gimkit. Be sure to go through the questions first to make sure that at least one question from each student is asked, and that the answer is correct. 

The “KitCollab” option within the Gimkit platform allows questions to be added by students during the live game. Don’t worry, the questions will not automatically appear as the teacher will still need to approve any in real-time. 

Prior to the start of the competition, decide if you will set up the game based on creating a question set from the students’ submissions or if you want to allow questions in real-time. 

How can Gimkit be Used for Teamwork? 

Gimkit provides a great opportunity to incorporate team learning into the lesson. For the competition, you may want to split students in teams to build collaboration and class spirit. Teams also means that you will not need to have the paid version of Gimkit, as the free version does limit the number of players at a time. 

Can Gimkit be Used at Home? 

Absolutely! In fact, Gimkit would be a fun alternative to traditional homework assignments. In addition, Gimkit may be a great way to involve families in the lesson, as families can work together to develop questions for a game and play against one another. 

So much learning can happen through the use of edtech tools such as Gimkit. In fact, the founder of Gimkit created it as part of a high school project. Try out Gimkit with your students and see what they can develop as a result. I am sure that your students would be interested in a lesson that involves gaming! 

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AI (artificial intelligence) is becoming a mainstay in discussions around technology use in the classroom. 

We are already ubiquitously surrounded by AI in our everyday lives, with our smartphones, homes, and transportation, to name a few examples, so this is a logical progression. In fact, in many K-12 schools, myriad learning technologies that we already use to instruct, engage, and assess learning use AI technologies. 

As some schools are discussing policies around AI use within teaching and learning, it might be helpful to know some of the best practices, do’s, and dont’s as you develop lessons that use AI and similar technologies.

AI Lesson Plan Tips & Best Practices  

Intentionally Use AI to Support Students with Meeting Learning Outcomes. Learning must be at the forefront of all technology use, and the same is true for AI. Only use AI (or any technology tool) if its use will contribute to students being able to meet the learning goals that drive the lesson. We must not have students just use AI because it is “cool” or a new thing that the teacher wants to try. Instead, we must center learning in the lesson and leverage AI to help students get where they need to be academically. 

Focus on Skill Building. One way to ensure that learning is at the center of any lesson that uses AI is to focus on how AI can support students’ building skills. This could be anything from helping students develop the 4Cs of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, or specific mathematical computation skills or reading fluency skills. Any skill that students that your lesson is targeting works just as long as your use of AI is supporting skill building and not on just using AI. 

AI Lesson Plan Do’s 

Do use AI to Elevate Learning Activities. The best part of lessons are the learning activities in which we get to see how students are engaging and connecting with the newly introduced content. Because AI tools are dynamic, these can be used to support student engagement within lessons. Use students’ interest in AI technologies and create learning activities that students are excited about. As a result, they will not only enjoy the lesson but learn more! 

Do use AI to Assist with Real-Time Progress Monitoring. The reality is that class sizes are not getting any smaller. It can be a challenge to meet with individual students throughout the day and gain awareness of where they are in the lesson. By using AI tools within the lesson, you can maintain a record of how students are mastering the content, plus AI technologies can offer students more practice or challenges depending on where they are with the content. 

Al Lesson Plan Don'ts 

Don’t Create Assessments that Can Easily be Completed 100% Through the Use of AI. As one of the major concerns with AI is the potential for students to use it to do their work, it is imperative that as you plan assessments for your lessons, that you do so in intentional ways. This means having specific metrics and check-ins with students that require them to provide non-generic responses. Instead of having close-ended questions with answers that can be easily determined, ask open, thought-provoking questions to stimulate cognition of students, and have them use real-world examples to support their narratives. 

Don’t use AI Without the Permission of Your School. While you may be tempted to jump and try to incorporate the use of AI into your lessons to enhance learning, you also should make sure that its use does not violate any school or district acceptable use policies. Share your plans with your principal and/or instructional coach during lesson review planning, and be prepared to use some of the best practices and do’s above to support your use of AI, as well as pivot, if necessary. 

Just as we want students to develop information literacy and fluency to determine “fake news” from trusted scholarly sources, we also want students to understand AI, how it is used, and the potential uses it has to enhance their learning. 

Hopefully these AI lesson plan tips and best practices will be helpful as you craft your own lessons that incorporate the use of AI in your classroom.

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Mentimeter is a dynamic online platform that can elevate any lesson presentation materials. In fact, Mentimeter combines some of the best features that we love when using Kahoot, Quizlet, and Slido, offering surveys, live polling, world clouds, quizzing, Q&A, and more! 

For an overview of Mentimeter, check out What is Mentimeter and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips and Tricks. 

Here is a sample high school lesson plan focused on geometric word problems, which uses the Mentimeter platform as a robust and all-encompassing presentation tool that can be incorporated into any subject area and grade level. 

Subject: Mathematics 

Topic: Geometric Word Problems 

Grade Band: High School 

Learning Objectives: 

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Identify geometric shapes 
• Solve geometric word problems 

Mentimeter Lesson Plan Introduction

Start the lesson with a quick and fun icebreaker featuring a slide that uses the word cloud feature of Mentimeter. Ask students to share a word or phrase that comes to mind when they hear “geometric.” You can discuss the responses as a group and introduce the lesson on geometric word problems. 

Throughout the lesson, students can respond with their personal cell phones (if allowed at your school) and/or tablets or computers they have available.

Instruction and Engagement  

As you go to the next slide, show students different geometric shapes (e.g. rhombus, trapezoid, parallelogram, and triangle). Throughout the lesson, ask students live polling questions that will be embedded into the Mentimeter presentation slide. Since Mentimeter allows for the addition of images within poll questions, you can add the different geometric shapes to see if students are able to identify these as well as the sides, angles, degrees, etc.

You can also embed video within the lesson and it will seamlessly appear on the slide to explain different content. You can use videos that you have created yourself using apps such as PowToon, or videos you have found elsewhere that you want to incorporate into the lesson. Video can be helpful as you transition from helping students being able to identify geometric shapes to solving geometric word problems. 

Based on students’ responses, you can either move forward to the next slide or go back and refresh students’ understanding.

Student Practice and Informal Assessment  

After you have instructed students on geometric shapes and solving geometric word problems, use the quizzing feature within Mentimeter to allow students to practice solving geometric word problems. The open-ended question type available can be used and will allow for students to type their answers and even “show their work” by including information on how they arrived at the final answer. 

The narrative information will be helpful as informative assessment data as you can review students’ final answers and the process they are following to get to those answers. By knowing the process that students are following, you can determine where they may have gotten lost and provide specific instruction to get them back on track.

How Can We Control Student Responses for Appropriate Language? 

While having the ability to capture students’ responses in live time is an exciting and engaging feature available within the Mentimeter platform, there may be concerns about students using inappropriate language in their responses that will be broadcasted to the entire class during the lesson. Thankfully, Mentimeter has a built-in profanity filter so even if your student’s response includes profanity, it should not appear on the white board screen for other students to see. 

What If I Don’t Know How to Create? 

Do not worry if you do not have the time or capacity to create background slides. Mentimeter provides templates galore! 

In addition to full templates that can be used as the background for presentation slides, Mentimeter offers free resources that teachers can use to elevate their presentations, including word cloud templates, starter questions for quizzing and brain teasers, and trivia question sets. 

Mentimeter is a well thought-out platform for teaching, and as mentioned previously, has many individual features that you are probably already using but possibly via separate apps. Give Mentimeter a try and see if you can bring fun to learning for any subject area and grade level!

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Officially adopted in 1988, Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15th through October 15th and marks the contributions of Hispanic Americans and Latinos to American life. This designation by President Ronald Reagan expanded an earlier one-week commemoration signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.

September 15 was chosen to kick off the celebration because it marks the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico, and Chile also have their independence days around this time, on September 16 and September18, respectively.

The largest minority population in the nation, Hispanics and Latinos have strongly influenced U.S. culture since before its founding. These top free lessons and activities can help all students explore the impact and achievements of Americans with Hispanic and Latino ancestry.

Best Free Hispanic Heritage Month Lessons and Activities

The 20 greatest Hispanic athletes of all time
You might already know that prizefighter Oscar De La Hoya and Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez are Mexican-American. But did you know that NBA star Carmelo Anthony and Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte also are of Hispanic origin? This list of great Hispanic athletes offers a few surprises (Ted Williams, for example) while demonstrating the influence that Hispanic Americans have had on sporting culture.

Poets.org: Lesson Plans Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
Fine selection of poems, essays, audio, and videos in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Included are such well-known poets as Pablo Neruda, Virgil Suárez, and Elizabeth Acevedo, plus many other prize-winning writers. An especially nice touch is that many poems feature commentary from the author about their frame of mind when writing the poem. After perusing the written works, audio, and video, check out the more than two dozen lesson plans, which offer classroom exercises, discussion questions, and lesson extensions tailored to grade levels.

24 Influential Hispanic Americans Who Have Made History
Biography.com highlights the contributions of Hispanic Americans who have excelled in politics, science, music, sports, the arts, and more. From the newly named Pope Leo XIV to the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, this list covers a wide range of Hispanics who have led fascinating and sometimes controversial lives.

The Aspirations of Sonia Sotomayor
A downloadable PDF that explores the life and aspirations of the first Latina Supreme Court Justice. Standards-aligned and aimed at grades four and five, the worksheet includes questions and an answer key and may be completed in a single class period.

American Masters: Ynés Mexía: Mexican-American Botanist and Adventurer
This 10-minute video delves into the life of Mexican American Ynés Mexía, an accomplished botanist who did not begin her adventures with plants until her sixth decade. Despite her late start, she discovered more than 500 new plant species—50 of which were named after her. A printable transcript is included.

What’s the Difference Between Hispanic and Latino?
Language can be clarifying or confusing. The terms Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx may be used interchangeably but have different meanings. Learn the differences in this brief, clarifying article from Encyclopedia Britannica.

NPR Hispanic Heritage Month
Did you know there was a Spanish language version of the Hollywood classic Dracula? This wide-ranging series of radio segments/articles from National Public Radio looks at the culture and sometimes-arduous history of Latino and Hispanic peoples in America. Topics include music, literature, filmmaking, stories from the border, and much more. Listen to the audio or read the transcript.

National Museum of the American Latino
¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States is a fine multimedia examination of Latino history in the U.S., featuring stories of immigration, Latino influence on American culture, and the tricky business of Latino identity. Each section is accompanied by videos and enhanced through digital renderings of relevant exhibits, from Wars of Expansion to Shaping the Nation.

Estoy Aquí: Music of the Chicano Movement
This excellent 12-part lesson from the Smithsonian Institution explores the Chicano movement—its history, causes, leaders, and legacies—through the lens of music and culture. Included are teachers’ guides, slideshows, art, music, and bibliography.

Caribbean, Iberian, and Latin American Studies
Perhaps the largest collection of primary source documents about Hispanics across the globe is curated by the Library of Congress. On this site you’ll find a wealth of digitized documents, images, audio, video, and webcasts focused on Hispanic heritage in the U.S. and abroad. To narrow the field, select Latinx Studies: Library of Congress Resources. Ideal for advanced students, who will gain valuable research experience as well as knowledge of Hispanic and Latino culture.

Read Aloud Hispanic Heritage Videos
Ideal for younger learners, but also for anyone who needs language practice, these charming YouTube videos feature popular children’s stories, fables, and books read aloud in English and Spanish. For tips on accessing YouTube at your school, check out 6 Ways To Access YouTube Videos Even If They're Blocked at School.

• Pollito Tito - Chicken Little in Spanish with English subtitles
• Round Is A Tortilla - Kids Books Read Aloud
• Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa read-aloud
• What Can You Do With a Paleta?
• Mango, Abuela, and Me
• Scholastic's Hi! Fly Guy (Español)
• Dragones y tacos por Adam Rubin read-aloud (Español)

Read Write Think Hispanic Heritage Month Lesson Plans
These standards-aligned Hispanic heritage lessons for grades 3-5, 6-8, and 8-12 provide step-by-step instructions as well as printouts, templates, and related resources/activities.

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On September 17, 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the new legal foundation of our nation, the U.S. Constitution. Now a federal holiday also known as Citizenship Day, this commemoration of the world’s oldest functional constitution serves as an ideal launching point for a year of civics and U.S. history instruction.

Unlike other historical records sealed behind bulletproof museum glass, the Constitution is still very much a living document, directing and constraining government activities while protecting the rights of American citizens (and non-citizens as well, in certain cases).

These free Constitution Day lessons and activities will dramatically convey the 238-year-old document into today's classroom while inspiring students to understand, question, and debate the most important issues of our day.

Best Free Constitution Day Lessons and Activities

CONSTITUTION DAY EVENTS AND WEBINARS

Bill of Rights Institute: Constitution Day Live - September 17, 2025
The Bill of Rights Institute invites educators and students to celebrate Constitution Day with live streaming interactive video, pre-recorded videos, and lesson plans. Teachers can submit questions about the Constitution to be answered during the live presentation.

Live Online Learning
Engage your learners with live online constitutional lectures and conversations, virtual exhibit tours, and peer-to-peer exchanges. Introductory and advanced sessions take place Wednesdays and Fridays.

CONSTITUTION DAY CURRICULA AND PRIMARY DOCUMENTS

John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, and Judicial Review
We take it for granted that the U.S. Supreme Court has the ability to rule on the constitutionality of legislation, effectively serving as the final authority. But the court’s role wasn’t always so obvious. In this complete, standards-aligned lesson plan, students will learn about the landmark decision Marbury v. Madison, in which Chief Justice John Marshall emphatically set the precedent for the Supreme Court’s sovereignty in determining what is constitutional. Included are background materials, activities, lesson extensions, and questions for assessment.

Compromise at the Constitutional Convention
How did the different desires of small and large states affect the design of our legislative branch? This activity explores the compromise that resulted in our current House of Representatives and Senate. The downloadable, fillable PDF allows students to express their opinions on the delegates’ views, as well as offering their own alternative views. This well-designed lesson can be completed in a single class period.

DOCSTeach Bring the Constitution to Life!
A treasure trove of primary sources and activities for teaching about the U.S. Constitution. Primary sources are conveniently organized by topics, such as Bill of Rights and separation of powers, while the activities are labeled by grad and Bloom’s taxonomy level.

PBS: Teaching the Constitution
A comprehensive collection of resources for teaching the fundamentals of the U.S. Constitution to students in grades 6-12. Included are videos, historic documents, and interactives. The collection dives into both historic understandings and modern interpretations and features a fascinating examination of Iceland’s 21st century attempt to rewrite its national constitution.

Bill of Rights Institute Educator Hub
Though the Bill of Rights was not included in the original Constitution, it’s perhaps the most well-known element today. Comprising the enumerated civil rights, and frequently the subject of legal dispute, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are worthy of close study and understanding. Dive into primary sources, lesson plans, and professional development courses focused on the Bill of Rights.

The Annenberg Guide to the United States Constitution
A rich resource for teaching and learning about the Constitution, this guide from Annenberg Classroom includes lesson plans, important Supreme Court cases, games, books, handouts, videos, and much more. Looking to drill down to a specific topic? Be sure to check out Teaching the Constitution, in which you’ll find videos, handouts, and timelines covering the Magna Carta’s influence on the Constitution, separation of powers, landmark cases, and more.

Center for Civic Education Constitution Day Lesson Plans
Find a Constitution Day lesson plan for every grade from kindergarten to 12, covering key questions such as “How Should We Choose People for Positions of Authority?” and “What Is Democracy?” Games and stories help to engage learners in this most important of civics lessons.

The Constitution: Counter Revolution or National Salvation?
This fascinating, in-depth interactive Constitution lesson will bring the 200+ year-old document to life in your classroom. Students will research the issues surrounding the creation and adoption of this new form of government, then argue for or against ratifying—just as politicians of the time did. Excellent step-by-step guidelines are provided for lesson preparation, implementation and evaluation of students’ work.

iCivics Constitution Curriculum
From the champions of non-partisan civics education, this middle and high school curriculum devoted to the Constitution provides lesson plans, games, and guided primary-source inquiry. A great place to start your Constitution lesson planning.

Constitution 101: Curriculum - High School Level
This is a 15-unit asynchronous, semester-long curriculum that provides students with a basic understanding of the Constitution’s text, history, structure, and caselaw.

National Constitution Center Educational Resources For The Classroom
A one-stop shop for Constitution-related teaching resources, the National Constitution Center’s resources include the Interactive constitution, educational videos, lesson plans, historical documents, and much more. Check out the hands-on arts and craft activities, perfect for younger learners. For advanced students, take a deep dive into the documents and arguments that influenced the Founders in “The Drafting Table." Podcasts, Town Hall videos, and blog posts invite participants to ponder cutting-edge constitutional views and controversies.

NewseumED: Constitution 2 Classroom
This collection of professional development modules focuses on religious freedoms, especially as they relate to public schools. Free registration required.

Observing Constitution Day
From the National Archives comes this treasure trove of educator resources for observing Constitution Day (and teaching the Constitution any time of year). Activities and programs include investigating primary sources, an online or print Constitution Workshop, the Constitutional Convention, distance learning, and ebooks. Bonus for teachers: free PD.

United States Capitol Historical Society Constitution Day We the People Hub
The We the People Hub offers free access to high-quality activities, videos, interactives, and primary sources from our member organizations, including the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, the White House Historical Association, the National Archives and Records Administration, President’s Park/White House Visitor Center (National Park Service), and the George Mason Memorial (National Park Service).

CONSTITUTION DAY VIDEOS AND PODCASTS

Constitutional Interpretation & The Supreme Court: American Government Review
One of the most forward-thinking aspects of the Constitution is its flexibility and emphasis on general principles rather than specific directives. Knowing that the future was unknowable, the framers wisely allowed room for interpretation. But this flexibility also leads to judicial and political disputes over how to interpret certain parts of the Constitution. In this engaging video, explore the difference between strict and loose constitutional interpretation.

Crash Course U.S. History: The Constitution, the Articles, and Federalism
Hilarious and fast-paced, John Green’s video take on the U.S. Constitution is nonetheless chock-full of important facts and details, and would serve as a great flipped classroom assignment. Plus, kids will love watching it!

CONSTITUTION DAY GAMES AND INTERACTIVES

Teach with Magic: We the People
Author and educator Kevin Roughton’s website provides a robust selection of Constitution-related teaching materials, leavened with a touch of humor. Explore the comprehensive slide presentations and a dozen activities for the classroom, ranging from You Be the Judge to Constitutional Crisis Breakout. All lessons are digital and sharable via Google Docs or Dropbox.

U.S. Constitution Fun Zone
These printable Constitution word games and puzzles are a fun and engaging way to learn and reinforce facts about the Constitution. With a range of activities for kids K-12 and adults, there’s something for everyone to try. Test your knowledge, or find out which founding Father you most resemble.

iCivics Constitution Games
Why not have fun while learning history? Fourteen engaging online games cover topics such as voting, the three branches of government, constitutional rights, how laws are made, and much more.

National Constitution Center Interactive Constitution
The precise wording of the Constitution matters a great deal to its interpretation. With the Interactive Constitution, students can drill down to the critical details, starting with the Preamble and continuing with each article and amendment. Each section includes commonly accepted and debatable interpretations, podcasts, and videos.

America's Founding Documents
Read a transcript of the Constitution and its amendments, view the scanned original documents, meet the framers and scrutinize fascinating facts about the Constitution—including errors and inconsistencies. Want to be part of history? Sign your John Hancock digitally and see how it looks next to the original signatures. Use this digital signing as a springboard to a wider classroom discussion of why or why not to sign, the nature of political compromise, and contemporary issues. Fun fact: John Hancock did not sign the Constitution.

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Learning languages in schools comes in many different forms. In pre-kindergarten and elementary classes, there are often translated words at centers around the room. In middle and high school, students often have the opportunity to choose a language as an elective. Bilingual schools and classrooms also integrate foreign languages into daily instruction. 

Regardless of the format in which language is being introduced, Duolingo offers an exciting technology-based platform for students to improve their foreign language skills. Thanks to the game-based format of Duolingo, students will be encouraged to continue to use the app. 

For more information on Duolingo, check out What is Duolingo and How Does it Work? Tips and Tricks. 

This sample lesson plan is focused on using Duolingo to support students' development of their foreign language skills. 

Subject: Foreign Languages

Topics: Vocabulary and Conversational Phrases 

Grade Band: Middle School

Learning Objective: At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: 

• Identify at least 10 vocabulary words in a foreign language 
• Speak at least 3 conversational phrases 

Setting Up Duolingo For The Class

Create an introduction to Duolingo with Google Slides and screenshots so students can get a sense of how you want them to engage with the app. With the free teacher account, you can set up a class for your students and all of their interactions within Duolingo will be connected. 

Once you have set-up a classroom and added your students, create an assignment, which is an easy automated process in the Duolingo teacher site. The assignments are a combination of the interactive activities within the app, such as listening to stories, practicing conversational phrases, and matching what is heard to what is written. You must also choose how long you want students to engage in the app, which will dictate how long each unit takes to complete. 

Add the link to your class Duolingo to your LMS, and your students can quickly go into the assignment. Students will be prompted in English first, then can move through the different language learning activities. 

Be sure that students have headphones so they do not get distracted with other students’ engagement with Duolingo. If you choose to have students repeat words and phrases, try to space them out in the classroom as much as possible. 

You will also be able to monitor student progress and see what areas they need more support in through the analytics through reports that Duolingo provides.

Connecting to Other Lessons 

Instead of having students go through random modules to improve their foreign language speaking and listening skills, you may want to connect the lesson to other lessons students are engaged with. For example, with a Google Earth Social Studies lesson focused on landforms, students can choose a language that is connected to the country where the landform was located to learn related vocabulary.  Or with a Storybird Writing lesson focused on fictional storytelling, students can try to use learned foreign language conversational sentences within the story.  

Duolingo Support for Teachers? 

Duolingo offers a wide range of support for teachers as you incorporate the use of the app into your lessons, including activity templates, a guidebook, and a robust help center. 

If you would like to connect with other teachers for peer support, there is a Duolingo Educators Facebook group, for which the link is available on the Duolingo site. 

What if Students Are On Different Ability Levels? 

The great thing about Duolingo is that the content is offered at the introductory, beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. 

If you have students who need more time with the concepts, have them repeat modules before moving on to more difficult ones. For students whose language skills are more developed, encourage them to move on to more advanced modules. Also, because you will set-up the lesson by time, a student who is more advanced can easily move on to other concepts while students who need more time work on their items.  

Duolingo is a fun learning tool that can be used for students to start or build their language experiences. Give it a try and see how your students’ develop their language skills.  

• Top Edtech Lesson Plans
• What is Duolingo and How Does it Work? Tips and Tricks

Blooket, the game-based edtech platform, provides various opportunities for students to engage in learning activities to develop new content knowledge as well as build on prior learning.   

For an overview of Blooket and more specifics of the many features and its applicability within the K-12 learning environment, check out What is Blooket and How Does It Work? Tips and Tricks. 

This sample elementary school lesson plan is focused on using Booklet to teach counting. However, there is a wide range of topics and subjects within the Blooket platform that can be incorporated in other lessons and grade levels.   

Subject: Mathematics 

Topic: Counting 

Grade Band: Elementary 

Learning Objectives: 

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: 

• Skip count

Blooket Lesson Plan Starter

To begin the lesson, use one of the Brain Teasers within the Blooket platform. The Brain Teaser does not have to be related to counting as its main purpose is to get students’ thinking activated. And in this lesson, using one of the Brain Teasers offered through Blooket will also introduce and help students gain some familiarity with the Blooket platform. 

After the Brain Teasers, use an already created overview of skip counting to teach students about counting. You may want to use a slide based platform such as Google Slides or Flip to teach this background content to students. As an alternative, you could create a VoiceThread with your recorded voice over the slides. The VoiceThread would allow students to review the content as many times as needed before and after engaging guided practice. 

Guided Practice 

Once the students have enough information about counting, it is time to practice (the fun part!). Choose one of the games that is related to counting and that has already been created and shared within the Blooklet platform for your students to practice skip counting games. To do this, go to the “Discover” search option and enter “skip counting.” You can host a game first so the class can play together. A QR code, Game ID, and URL link that you can put within your LMS will be provided with directions so your students can join. 

After the students have played as a class, you can allow them to choose a different skip counting game and play individually or in teams. An option is available for the games to end based on an allotted amount of time, or once each student reaches a certain point. Think about your students and the learning goals for the lesson, and decide which one game timing option is best. 

Extended Learning 

Blooket has many games within each topic area, which means that engagement in learning can extend past this lesson. You may also want students, who are ready, to explore other types of counting games that are available through Blooket. Go through the different options and have them ready to assign to students for extended learning opportunities. It might be helpful to have the list linked to your classroom LMS or even create a one page infographic through Canva with the information. 

Can Blooket Be Used at Home?  

Absolutely! In fact, Blooket offers a “Homework” feature through which teachers can assign their students games to play at home. While students may not be eager to engage in traditional homework, I imagine that being assigned to play a game would be welcomed. In addition, parents will know that their children are engaged in learning at home while having fun. 

How Can I Keep Track of Student Progress? 

The online Blooket teacher account offers analytics to support teachers in tracking the progress of their students. In addition to being able to view students’ history of games played, also available are statistics on time played, total points earned, and wins. Having this kind of data is helpful to see the types of games and questions in which students are thriving, as well as those that may be more challenging to them. 

Blooket is bright, fun, and mostly importantly, connected to academic learning. Try this lesson plan to teach and engage your elementary students in skip counting, or explore other game sets on the Blooket platform to support your lesson. 

• Top Edtech Lesson Plans
• What Is Blooket And How Does It Work? Tips & Tricks

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is taking place in the United States from June 11 to July 19. The best-known soccer – or football, as it’s known outside of the U.S. – tournament on the planet, this massive sporting event will draw dozens of national teams from around the globe as well as thousands of spectators and millions of viewers.

As one of the largest international athletic competitions, the FIFA World Cup is a great opportunity to teach about other cultures, geography, traditions, and much more. These lessons, activities, quizzes, worksheets, and more -- almost all of which are free -- have the goooooool (!) of engaging students in the excitement.

Best FIFA World Cup Lessons & Activities

Football History
Soccer/football has a long history, if you count the earliest alternative forms of the game. Devoted entirely to soccer and its history, this site was founded by a soccer enthusiast in 2015 and includes footnoted articles written by veteran sportswriters. Not only is the general history of soccer explored, but also the individual histories of clubs, stadiums, national teams, and famous players. Want to learn about soccer strategy? That’s here, too! A great site for learning more about the beautiful game.

Football physics: The "impossible" free kick
Soccer fanatics will be familiar with the “impossible kick” made by Brazilian football player Roberto Carlos in 1997. For fans and non-fans alike, this TedEd lesson includes a brief video explaining the physics of the kick as well as formative assessment questions and additional resources. Be sure to view footage(!) of the actual impossible kick before beginning the lesson.

Teachwire Pop Art Football-themed Lesson Plan
An original art lesson that combines World Cup soccer with the pop art style of Keith Haring. Includes step-by-step directions, questions for discussion and extension activities. Free account required to download PDF lesson. After the pop art lesson, check out all of the Teachwire World Cup 2026 Lesson Plans, which run the gamut from statistics for young learners to writing to health and nutrition. Most lessons are fully free and require only a free registration to download.

The New York Times: Spot The Ball
Soccer is a fast-paced game, but a true fan will not only follow the ball, but also anticipate its trajectory. This interactive from The New York Times is a fun test of the reader’s soccer acumen.

Physics of Soccer: The Science Behind Free Kicks, Penalties, and Goal Kicks
Underlying the thrill of World Cup competition are some serious principles of physics. This entertaining video combines real action on the soccer pitch with a lesson on the science and equations that determine the trajectory of the ball—and the ultimate winner.

World Cup 2026 Teaching Resources
Explore a wealth of lessons related to the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition, in subjects ranging from English language arts to math to social studies. Searchable by standard, grade, subject, and resource type, these free and modestly priced lessons have been created and vetted by your fellow teachers.

Soccer Physics
How does the inflation of the soccer ball affect its motion? Soccer players and fans of American football may intuitively know the answer, but can they explain it according to physics? This free step-by-step science project includes detailed research questions and experimental procedures. Students will learn about the experimental method, the physics of soccer and who can kick the ball the farthest.

ESOL Courses: The FIFA World Cup
In addition to vocabulary tests, spelling jumbles, language worksheets, and country identification quizzes, this site offers students the opportunity to learn English through national football songs, including Shakira’s “Waka Waka.”

Busy Teacher: 40 Free World Cup Worksheets
Some of these worksheets date back to previous tournaments, but there is still plenty of evergreen content here, including nation quizzes, vocabulary tests, flag identification, national football song sheets, word searches, and more.

Etacude English Teachers: 10 World Cup Classroom Activities & Games
This video features 10 World Cup-related activities teachers can utilize in their classes including World Cup worksheets and vocabulary. Younger learners can create soccer-themed crafts such as a blow soccer pitch and research important events in World Cup history.

5 Lessons for Teachers From Ted Lasso
Our favorite fictional soccer coach isn’t involved with the World Cup (as far as we know), but the international soccer tournament is the perfect time to revisit the lessons educators can learn from the mustached Yankee who makes up for his lack of soccer knowledge with kindness and curiosity.

A Phys Ed Soccer Lesson Plan
This features a fast-paced mini soccer tournament designed by Paul Gannon, an instructor in the Department of Physical Education at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point. It’s a fun activity for any teacher who wants to bring students outdoors and focus on teambuilding and exercise.

Star Wars Day, May 4th, is a great time to turn the magical allure of the Star Wars movie franchise into fun and fascinating lessons in the classroom. Using these free Star Wars ideas, lessons, activities, and tools, teachers of any galaxy will easily engross Padawans of any age in instruction on any topic.

May the learning be with you!

May the 4th Be With You: Best Free Star Wars Teaching Ideas

Prestwick House: Star Wars and the Hero's Journey Lesson Plan
A standards-aligned downloadable lesson plan that can be completed in a single class period, “Star Wars and The Hero’s Journey” looks through the lens of the archetypal hero story, found throughout civilizations. Students will examine Star Wars to identify universal themes, such as the challenge, the decision, and the obstacles. Included are detailed guidance for teachers and handouts for students.

Edutopia Star Wars Day Activity
A thought-provoking and insightful article from world cultures teacher Lori Brenneise, who demonstrates how to seamlessly weave Star Wars into your social studies, art, and English language arts instruction. Teach all lessons as a project over the course of several periods, or select the one that fits your students best.

Star Wars Story Writing Template
Take advantage of students’ love of Star Wars and adventure to inspire them to write their own narrative with this Star Wars Story Writing Template. Simply open the step-by-step template in Google slides and share with students. For those who don’t know where to start, the linked Star Wars story prompt generator provides lots of great ideas.

The slide presentation 15 Legendary Lessons from Master Yoda can be the starting point for a classroom discussion or writing lesson. Have kids choose their preferred Yoda quotation and ask them to write what it means to them, and how they apply its principles to their everyday life. For more great writing prompts check out 15 Star Wars Writing Prompts and 16 free Star Wars writing prompts.

Build an X-Wing Fighter From Office Supplies
A fun Star Wars art lesson that uses common office/school supplies. After building this one, students may be emboldened to start creating their own versions of memorable Star Wars vehicles and other technology.

May the 4th Be With You: Real-World Connections in the Classroom and Beyond
Award-winning English teacher Katherine Mulrooney offers great ideas for relating Star Wars to classroom subjects, including engineering, social studies, music, math, and literature. Each standards-aligned digital teaching resource is shareable via Google Classroom and forms the basis for a complete lesson.

Create Star Wars Art
As an art or graphic design assignment, have your students focus on an aspect of Star Wars they find meaningful, such as good vs. evil, relationships and community, or mythic heroism. Then ask them to illustrate this theme, either by creating their own artwork or developing a specific prompt for AI-generated artwork. To complete the assignment, students write an essay (but not AI-generated!) explaining how their art exemplifies their chosen motif.

Starwarigami
What does origami, the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, have to do with Star Wars? Strictly speaking, nothing at all. But that’s where the novelty (and fun!) lies. Combine the intricate paper engineering of origami with the futuristic spacecraft design of Star Wars and you will have a lesson that appeals to your entire class. The brainchild of software engineer Martin Hunt, Starwarigami provides 18 printable fold-and-crease patterns in addition to a gallery of finished artwork and links to other patterns.

Star Wars - Would You Rather?
A high-energy, feel-good exercise program that asks kids to choose between two Star Wars choices, then perform the indicated activity.

May the Force = mass x acceleration
What do Star Wars, NASA's Dawn spacecraft, and Newton's Laws of Motion have in common? From the renowned Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, this Star Wars-inspired, standards-aligned lesson about ion-propulsion includes background, student activities, example spreadsheets, and more. Want to go deeper into the physics? Check out the fine collection of force and acceleration lessons here.

Not So Far, Far Away
A lesson about latitude and longitude based on Star Wars fictional planetary locations and their Earthly analogues. Students learn how filmmakers used various extreme Earth landscapes as the basis for other-worldly Star Wars scenes, then map latitude and longitude of the real-world locations. Includes follow-up questions.

Star Wars Day STEM Activities
A wealth of Star Wars STEM activities can be found here, from creating colorful lightsaber greeting cards to building robots from junk. Many of these excellent resources are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards.

Teaching With Star Wars
In the Star Wars saga, the most valuable lessons extend beyond technological advancements. Rather, they explore life’s problems and solutions, whether in a distant galaxy or right here on Earth. Star Wars authority and educator Dan Zehr thoughtfully delves into timeless themes such as dedication, resilience and effective leadership.

Teaching ‘Star Wars’ With The New York Times
The Times takes Star Wars lessons to a level above Cloud City with its Shakespeare, history, physics, science, math, and yes, economics, Star Wars-themed lessons. An exceptionally strong resource, especially for middle schoolers and above.

Star Wars Lessons for the Music Classroom
John Williams’ Star Wars score is one of the best known movie themes of all time. But what about other avenues to combine Star Wars and music in a single, thought-provoking lesson? Teacher Jessie Powell, the force behind the popular YouTube channel Music and Motivate, provides a detailed narration of her favorite Star Wars music lessons, as well as a link to her blog, where the interactive lesson can be accessed for free.

These free edtech lesson plans from Dr. Stephanie Smith Budhai are designed to provide a template for implementing specific popular digital tools into your instruction and classroom.

Please feel free to use these, modify for your own needs, and share!

Edtech Lesson Plans for Elementary Grades

• Blooket Lesson Plan
• Kahoot! Lesson Plan
• Google Earth Lesson Plan
• Nearpod Lesson Plan
• Roblox Lesson Plan
• Storybird Lesson Plan
• Scratch Lesson Plan
• Minecraft: Education Edition Lesson Plan
• Powtoon Lesson Plan
• Ted-ED Lesson Plan
• YouGlish Lesson Plan

Edtech Lesson Plans for Middle Grades

• Flip (formerly Flipgrid) Lesson Plan
• BrainPOP Lesson Plan
• WeVideo Lesson Plan
• Slido Lesson Plan
• Edpuzzle Lesson Plan
• iCivics Lesson Plan
• Jeopardy Labs Lesson Plan

Edtech Lesson Plans for Middle & High School Grades

• Baamboozle Lesson Plan
• ChatGPT Lesson Plan
• Duolingo Lesson Plan
• Wakelet Lesson Plan
• Padlet Lesson Plan
• Quizlet Lesson Plan
• Screencastify Lesson Plan
• VoiceThread Lesson Plan
• Canva Lesson Plan
• Google Jamboard Lesson Plan
• Google Slides Lesson Plan
• Quizizz Lesson Plan

Edtech Lesson Plans for High School

• TikTok Lesson Plan
• Fanschool Lesson Plan
• Mentimeter Lesson Plan
• IXL Lesson Plan
• Curipod Lesson Plan

Edtech Lesson Plans for Special Ed

• Boom Cards Lesson Plan

Animation is the core of the online multimedia platform known as Powtoon, which is a multifaceted interface that provides beautiful templates that can be used as a base to create dynamic and innovative presentations. 

Because of the versatility within Powtoon, teachers can use it to teach content to students, and likewise, students can use Powtoon to demonstrate their learning to teachers. 

For an overview of Powtoon, check out What is Powtoon and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips & Tricks. 

Here is a sample elementary English Language Arts lesson focused on using Powtoon in a character development lesson. However, Powtoon can be used across grade levels, content areas, and academic disciplines for teaching and learning. 

Subject: English Language Arts 

Topic: Character Development 

Grade Band: Elementary 

Learning Objectives: 

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Describe what a character of a story is
• Develop an animated presentation describing a character of a story

Setting Up a Powtoon Classroom 

The first step is to create a classroom space within the EDU teacher tab of Powtoon. This way, once the students create their Powtoons, these will be within the same online space. After setting up your Powtoon classroom, you must name it, potentially either on the subject area or the specific lesson. 

After the classroom is created, a link to join the Powtoon will be generated. Upload the link into your LMS and send it to parents to help their student join at home. If students already have a Powtoon account with their school email address, they can use those credentials to join your classroom. 

Powtoon Lesson Plan: Content Instruction  

The best way to teach using a new technology tool is to model use of that tool. To start this Powtoon lesson, create a Powtoon that teaches students what a character in a story is, and how to develop the character attributes. It would be helpful to use a character of a story that students are already familiar with. 

Once you log into Powtoon under the EDU tab, choose “Animated Explainer” templates. Although there are other options such as Whiteboard, Video, and Screen Recorder, you are modeling for students while teaching so choose the same Powtoon type that students will use in the next phase of the lesson. 

Since the lesson will be recorded on Powtoon, students will have the chance to re-watch as needed. Be sure to allow time for questions from students. You may also want to use a quick Slido as a formative in lesson assessment tool to ensure that students understand how to develop a character. 

Student Powtoon Creation 

Once you have successfully taught students about character development, the students can use their learning to develop their own characters. 

Instruct students to develop a character for a short story with different attributes. Since this lesson is at the elementary level, have students focus on basic elements such as the character's physical attributes, geographical location of where they live, some of their likes and dislikes, and motivations. Then, have students design the physical character using the “Character Builder” feature in Powtoon that they will bring over to their animated Powtoon presentation introducing their character. 

Students will be able to use the drag-and-drop features and ready-made templates easily. They can also use the text box features to add short details about their characters.

Does Powtoon Integrate With Other Applications? 

Yes, Powtoon integrates with many applications such as Adobe, Microsoft Teams, and Canva. The Canva integration allows for elevated presentations and videos using the dynamic animation features of Powtoon with the templates within Canva. 

What If I Need Practice with Powtoon before Introducing to the Students? 

While Powtoon’s drag-and-drop functionality coupled with the ready-made templates makes using Powtoon a seamless experience, Powtoon also provides a library of tutorials for those who may need helpful reminders and tips.

Bring excitement and lots of fun to your elementary classroom with Powtoon! Your students are sure to love using the online platform and share their learning with you.

• Top Edtech Lesson Plans
• What is Powtoon and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips & Tricks

In 1970, the first Earth Day sparked a massive public protest, with 20 million Americans taking to streets and college campuses to speak out against air and water pollution, wilderness loss, and animal extinctions. The public outcry led to the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency and legislation to safeguard air, water, and endangered species.

Although significant progress has been made in controlling pollution and preventing the extinction of notable species such as the bald eagle and California condor, the concerns of the past still linger. Furthermore, we now understand that human-caused climate change poses a significant threat that needs urgent attention to avoid extensive disruption of societies worldwide.

The following free Earth Day lessons and activities will help teachers explore this crucial subject with K-12 students in an engaging, age-appropriate way.

Best Free Earth Day Lessons & Activities

SubjectToClimate Lesson Plans
Superb set of all-inclusive lesson plans, teaching units, and activities from the nonprofit SubjectToClimate (STC) organization. What sets STC apart is the range of subjects viewed through the lens of climate change. You’ll find not only the typical Earth science and ecology lessons, but also lessons that link career skills, computer science, and performing arts with climate change. Searchable by grade, subject, standards, and resource type. Additionally, STC offers wide-ranging educator guidance, in the form of professional development, brief “climate change explainers” and even climate action plans for districts. Be sure to check out the Earth Day 2026 activity pages.

iNaturalist Bioblitz
Have you ever considered a bioblitz project for your classroom? A bioblitz is a group endeavor in which participants strive to record as many observations of wild species as possible in a given time/area. Using the free iNaturalist app and its extensive educator guidance, teachers can easily set up a bioblitz for any nearby location, including a schoolyard or city park. There’s life all around us. Help your students find it, identify it, and learn about it with iNaturalist.

This is My Earth Learning Activities
A selection of K-20 curricula from the nonprofit international environmental organization This is My Earth. These are not simply lesson plans; rather, each curriculum comprises a full nature preservation program to be covered over multiple classes. Topics include climate change, biodiversity, and conservation biology. Eight curricula and one teacher’s guide are included.

National Wildlife Federation: Schoolyard Habitats® Planning Guide
Even a small area of land can be a valuable and welcoming habitat for plants, pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. This comprehensive guide to creating a vibrant habitat on school grounds incorporates multiple STEAM topics and involves kids in hands-on work that will engage them deeply and offer ongoing opportunities to learn. Included in this 96-page PDF are several inspiring case studies from schools which have instituted the program.

TeachEngineering: Plastic Migration and Its Impacts
We’ve all heard of the atmosphere, biosphere, and other ecosystems. But have you heard of the Plastisphere? Sadly, this human-made “ecosystem” is a result of the massive quantities of plastic waste polluting our waterways. This NGSS-aligned multimedia lesson for grades 9-12 is rich with background information, glossary, assessment, extensions and homework ideas. Three associated activities allow for hands-on learning.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Investigating Coral Bleaching
Outstanding standards-aligned lesson for students in grades 6-12 that uses current and historic data to understand the effects of climate change on coral reefs. This 5-level module includes interactive maps, graphs, and videos as well as fillable PDFs, editable Powerpoint worksheets, answer keys, and a comprehensive guide for teachers. Aligned to NGSS, these activities may be integrated into an existing curriculum, and support three-dimensional learning (principles, core ideas, and concepts).

The Nature Conservancy: Virtual Field Trips
A top-notch collection of highly engaging video field trip lessons, accompanied by extensive teaching guides. Explore Utah’s Great Salt Lake, China’s great forests, Peru’s coastal ecosystem, and many more fascinating natural habitats. Educator guides feature complete background information; standards; discussion questions, and answers; handouts and extension activities. Bring the natural world into your classroom with these virtual field trips.

Earth Day Digital Lesson Bundles
Two complete lesson bundles focus on clean water and sustainable communities. Each downloadable bundle includes a video, slide presentation and guide for educators. Grades 6-9.

Earthday.org Education Resource Library
From one of the oldest nonprofit organizations devoted to Earth Day comes a wealth of resources, not only for K12 teachers, but also for anyone wishing to become an Earth advocate. Included are toolkits, lesson plans, quizzes, and ideas for marking Earth Day for schools, businesses, and families. Want to go deeper? Check out the Earth Day 2026 event calendar for in-person activities ranging from cleanups to marches and rallies.

Symbiotic Schoolyard
A remarkable, unique program designed and implemented by middle school science teacher Janneke Petersen, Symbiotic Schoolyard seeks to engage kids in hands-on planting activity. But not just any plants: Petersen’s Schoolyard Habitat Restoration curriculum focuses on restoring habitat by planting and nurturing native plants. Rarely do I include a non-free resource in my “Best Free …” articles but I made an exception for Symbiotic Schoolyard because there’s nothing else like it out there. And Petersen does provide a free consultation if you want to know more before purchase. Even better, she has extended a generous discount to Tech & Learning readers. Simply email symbioticschoolyard@gmail.com and mention this article to secure a special Earth Day 30% discount.

Visiting a Recycling Plant
Recycling, when done properly, is a valuable tool in the eco-friendly toolbox. But what actually happens to the products you place in the recycling bin? This brief video follows the “paper trail” of one of our most frequently recycled materials. A background essay, discussion questions, and state standards accompany the video.

How to Save Our Planet
The acclaimed British naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough opens this video by posing the essential problem of our time: “How do we create a future in which both people and nature can thrive?” The question is simple—how about the answer? The video touches on how humans have engineered our current geological epoch, the Anthropocene, and moves quickly to four specific goals that we must achieve to slow the dramatic climate changes we’re experiencing now. Be sure to also watch related videos exploring topics such as “Why do we need biodiversity?” and “What can young children do in the fight against climate change?”

11 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Lesson Ideas For Every Subject
Eleven 3R projects that can be easily implemented in the K-12 classroom in subjects such as math, language arts, civics, and science.

PBS Learning Media: An Unpredictable Environment
An NGSS standard-aligned video highlighting how Inuit peoples are facing unprecedented challenges to their traditional knowledge of weather patterns. An elderly Inuit woman explains how forecasting the weather for hunting trips was a task traditionally assigned to women and girls, however, with recent climate changes, the reliability of using Alaska Native science to predict weather and associated animal behaviors has been greatly diminished. Shareable in Google Classroom or via link, this video can form the basis for a complete slide-based lesson.

Conservation Station Classroom Activities
Grow energy-water literacy and conservation efforts through 18 downloadable, standards-aligned classroom lessons and activities. Activities focus on communication skills, critical thinking, collaboration, and creative thinking in the context of sustainable water and energy use. Intriguing topics include “Harvesting Energy in Your School,” “Smart Schools,” and “World Water Day Gallery of Art.”

A little eco-nostalgia!

Discovery Education Student Activities
Thirteen quizzes and activities encourage students in grades 3-12 to think critically about current environmental challenges, from deforestation to waste reduction to energy consumption. The downloadable/printable PDFs include notes for educators.

Build the Change Classroom Resources
A collection of standards-aligned classroom lessons, activities, and games designed to help kids examine environmental topics, from helping sea turtles to renewable energy to the importance of recycling and upcycling.

Nature Lab Educator Resources
Nature Labs’ educator resources are ideal for Earth Day, encompassing topics from wildfires, climate justice, sustainable food and water, and more. Ideal for hands-on or project-based learning.

Climate Restoration for Kids
The goals of climate restoration go well beyond limiting our CO2 emissions. Climate restoration advocates believe that we can capture and sequester enough carbon from the atmosphere to reverse the anthropogenic effects. In this interactive online course for grades 3-5, kids will learn about climate change, the carbon cycle, and climate restoration. Includes a quiz and art and writing competitions.

The Lorax Project
Excellent ideas for a stimulating classroom discussion about how human society treats the Earth, as seen through the lens of Dr. Seuss’ cautionary environmental tale, The Lorax.

World Wildlife Fund Lesson Library and Education Resources
The effects of human activities on the Earth is sadly reflected in the severe reduction of animal species and their habitats across the globe. The WWF offers a robust set of lessons, apps, games, quizzes, and videos covering the top charismatic animals—tigers, turtles, and monarch butterflies—as well as reptiles, food and plastic waste, wildlife arts and crafts, and more

TEDEd: Earth School
Enroll in TEDEd’s free Earth school and dive into 30 lessons covering the full gamut of issues, from transport to food to people and society and many more. Each video lesson contains open-ended and multiple choice discussion questions and additional resources for further study.

Ghost Forests
What’s a ghost forest? Sadly, it’s the dead remnants of once-thriving ecosystems that have been decimated by changing climate, invasive pests, and disease. This video collection from PBS Learning Media looks at the case of the imperiled whitebark pine, why it’s crucial to the ecosystem, and how scientists are racing to save this keystone species.

Answer: JeopardyLabs is an exciting online and educational take on the popular TV game Jeopardy. It is formatted similarly to the TV version, with the main focus being answering questions that are organized by categories, and earning different levels of points depending on the difficulty level of the question. 

Question: What is JeopardyLabs and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? 

JeopardyLabs is extremely versatile, and teachers of all subject matter can use the platform to enhance their lesson and engage students. For this sample lesson plan, the focus is on middle school social studies, covering a wide range of related topics. 

Subject: Social Studies   

Topic: Civics, Economics, History, Government, and Citizenship  

Grade Band: Middle School  

Learning Objective: 

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Understand content related to civics, economics, history, government, and citizenship
• Develop questions related to civics, economics, history, government, and citizenship at different levels of difficulty
• Accurately respond to questions related to civics, economics, history, government, and citizenship

Social Studies Content Review 

Using any type of creative presentation tool, such as Canva or Slido, provide an overview of the different content and topics that have been covered throughout the unit or academic term that relates to social studies topics of civics, economics, history, government, and citizenship. If the class is asynchronous online or you would like the content available online for future review, consider using VoiceThread to create the review. 

Since social studies is quite robust, and because you will have multiple columns in each Jeopardy Lab game, consider covering content from all of the social studies domains (civics, economics, history, government, and citizenship). 

If your unit or class only focused just on one of those, for example, a history course, you could have five areas focused on different decades, wars, events, etc. Or, if your class is focused solely on government, you could have five areas focused on governmental branches, laws and legislations, important governmental figures, etc.

Team JeopardyLabs Creation 

After the social studies content has been reviewed and students are re-familiarized with it, they can use their learning to create questions for the JeopardyLabs game. ​​Since each JeopardyLabs board will require at least 25 questions (five questions per column, with one column per each of the five domains of social studies being covered in this lesson), creating the Jeopardy board in teams would be ideal. 

By having students engage in creating questions for the JeopardyLabs board, they will have additional opportunities to learn and master the content. In addition, soft skills related to strong communication and collaboration skills can also be fostered. 

You can decide if you split students in teams by topic area or have each team cover all topics and create a full JeopardyLabs board. The goal is to have multiple Jeopardy Lab boards to use for the JeopardyLabs Tournament.

JeopardyLabs Tournament 

After spending time in teams creating the questions for the JeopardyLabs games, it is time to experience answering the questions. 

As opposed to a traditional test or question-and-answer session, the JeopardyLabs games from each student team can be used to set up a JeopardyLabs Tournament. Each team can have one member represent their team each round, and then at the end, a tournament of champions (previous winners) can further compete with one another.

How Can JeopardyLabs be Used with Families? 

Many ways to engage families with JeopardyLabs are available. Teachers can share the links to the student team-made Jeopardy boards with families, and practice answering the questions at home. 

The JeopardyLabs tournament created by the students can also be a fun family engagement experience, in which families can join in either virtually or in person for a family game night and play as teams with their children.

The ways to use JeopardyLabs to engage students in lessons are numerous. For this sample lesson, you were provided with an idea to include team learning into the lesson, as well as gamifying learning. 

Since JeopardyLabs is so versatile with the ability to be used in a wide range of grade levels and subject areas, give it a try for your next lesson. Not only will students be able to better retain the content by putting together the questions, they will also improve their collaboration and communication skills working with teams, and enjoy learning through positive and supportive competition. 

• Top Edtech Lesson Plans
• What is Jeopardy Labs and How Can It Be Used for Teaching?

Look around. What do you see?

Perhaps computers, phones, desks, and lights. Possibly chairs, backpacks, and textbooks. Likely walls and windows. Maybe a parking lot with cars.

We are surrounded by the products of engineering. Every human-made object, no matter how small or common, contains within it the engineering design process from start to finish. Accounting for the “E” in STEM, engineering is an essential but mostly unseen aspect of human existence.

This year, National Engineers Week falls on Feb 18-24, making it a great time to explore the top engineering lessons and activities detailed here. Engineering lessons are a natural fit for science classes, as well as project-based learning. All are free, except for a single modestly-priced exception that’s too good not to include.

Best Free Engineering Lessons and Activities 

TryEngineering Lesson Plans
Searchable by age, category, and keywords, these highly detailed lesson plans are classroom-ready. Each lesson includes a specific design challenge, materials required, background, vocabulary, and much more. From TryEngineering.org, a collaboration of IEEE, IBM, and the New York Hall of Science.

The Tech Interactive Engineering Lessons
More than two dozen lesson plans and related challenges that look at engineering through the lens of diverse subjects, from data science to English Language Arts to systems design. From the highly regarded The Tech Interactive science and technology center in San Jose, California.

PBS Kids Design Squad Global
Strong selection of videos, activities, design challenges, games, and more that engage kids in hands-on engineering. Visit the dedicated educator section for lesson plans and professional learning.

2026 Science Buddies Engineering Challenge
Science Buddies' upcoming engineering challenge will be announced January 2026. In the meantime, explore past challenges, which include standards-aligned complete lesson plans and videos of past winners and their creations. Elementary, middle, and high school challenges available.

Engineering Design Process
Engineering is essentially problem-solving. To start, you must first define the problem. Then what? Use this information-packed flow chart to teach design thinking to your students. A video plus links to other resources makes this a complete lesson.

Machine Learning for Kids
Machine learning forms the basis for the exploding field of artificial intelligence. On this-easy-to use site, students can follow the step-by-step guidance to start teaching the machine something about human experience. Be sure to check out the premade downloadable guides. Create a free account or try it with no account needed.

Engineer Girl Design Challenges
Engineering isn’t just about high-tech materials. Students take on the challenge of using everyday goods to design airplanes, batteries, bridges, and more.

Cyberchase Science and Engineering
Explore games, videos, activities, and topics related to engineering and science on this PBS Kids site based on the educational children’s television series Cyberchase. Included are interesting downloadable lessons, sortable by topic and sharable to Google Classroom. No account required – just start the fun and learning.

Teach Engineering K-12 Curriculum
Strong collection of complete, standards-based K-12 engineering lessons, searchable by grade levels. Each lesson includes a video, background information, learning objectives, standards, worksheets, investigating questions, pre- and post-assessments, and more. Topics range from the basics of design thinking to creating working models of physiology to creating spaghetti bridges (naturally!).

PBS Learning Media
A rich resource for diverse topics in engineering, from design to history to careers. Browse interactive lessons, audio, video, documents, and images, or search by grade and type or resource. Questions such as, “Why can’t humans fly?” and “Is there life in space?” will keep students engaged, learning and asking questions of their own.

Engineering For Good Plastic Solutions
Plastic is everywhere. It’s in our oceans, in our soils, and—not surprisingly—in our bodies. This three-week project-based learning unit aims to help students develop solutions to the plastic pollution problem, through classic engineering workflow. Included are lesson plans, videos, and documents for grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. NGSS-aligned and shareable to Google Classroom.

Design a Robotic Insect
What allows insects to crawl and fly the way they do? In this fascinating lesson that combines biology with engineering, students will learn about insects and robotic analogs, then design their own.

The Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain
The 21st-century explosion of mobile devices and the looming threat of climate change have made the lithium-ion battery extremely important to modern life. Learn about all facets of the battery life cycle, from lithium extraction to e-waste in this robust lesson from Underwriters’ Laboratory (UL). This lesson includes guides for students and teachers, as well as revealing video and engaging graphics.

ASCE Bridge Florida software
Free for education users, this downloadable bridge design software is intended to provide the sophistication of a robust professional CAD software while offering a simpler interface for students. The video tutorial will help students to start designing and testing quickly. Will your virtual bridge hold the weight of a tractor-trailer? Don’t worry, you can always go back to the drawing board.

TEDEd Engineering lessons
A diverse selection of animated video engineering lessons. Investigate ideas such as the world’s biggest battery, building the Hoover Dam, and how jetpacks work (hint: when's the last time you saw a jetpack?). Each video includes questions to ponder and resources for further study. Filter by grade level, duration, and type of video.

Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Virtual Robot Curriculum
An ingenious way to teach and learn robotics online, without physical robotics equipment. Students and teachers can access the program anytime, from any connected device, and all progress is automatically saved. Account options include single licenses at $9 per student and 12 licenses for $100.

► Best STEM Apps For Education

► Best Technology Lessons and Activities

► Best Science Lessons & Activities

Formerly known as Kidblog, Fanschool is a fun social communication, blogging, and portfolio-type platform that can be used in teaching and learning. This Fanschool lesson plan can help you implement the tool in your classroom.

Fanschool is a great alternative to traditional social media platforms such as TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook as it provides a bounded and safe online space for students. It offers many interactive features that can be used to strengthen student engagement during teaching and learning, and allows for teacher moderation.

For an overview of Fanschool, check out What is Fanschool and How Can it be Used for Teaching? Tips and Tricks.

Below is a sample lesson plan geared toward the English Language Arts (ELA) subjects, specifically focused on the topics of expressive communication and creative writing for high school students.

Subject: English Language Arts (ELA)

Topic: Expressive Communication and Creative Writing

Grade Band: High School

Learning Objective:

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Draft a series of short, creative dystopian stories
• Post a series of short, creative dystopian stories within a social communication online space
• Communicate online with peers regarding their work

Fanschool Lesson Plan: Teacher Instruction 

Using a slide deck through a presentation edtech tool, such as Google Slides, teachers can create a lesson focused on what creative writing is, how to write short stories, and genre writing.

For this specific lesson, a few slides can go into detail on dystopian stories. Even if students are not immediately familiar with the term dystopian, you can share with them that many popular books that have been turned into movies are dystopian stories. To do this, you can use The Maze Runner, Hunger Games, the Divergent series, and The Giver as examples of the dystopian stories, sharing what the societal state and nuances of each are. This would provide students with not only an idea of what dystopian stories are but inspiration for their own dystopian stories.

Student Fanschool Pages Creation 

Providing students with the opportunity to publish and use their authentic voices to share their learning, and engage with their peers and teachers is at the core of Fanschool. Over several weeks/months/academic year, have students create 5-10 entries that are creative short dystopian stories. The teacher can decide the time frame and how often a new story should be posted.

Each story should include the narrative text, but also related images and/or links to other related content. Some students may want to have each story build off of the previous one, or each story can be new, such as an anthology. It is also fruitful to provide students with choices and allow them to use their strengths to demonstrate their learning.

Peer Interaction 

After each student publishes one of their creative short dystopian stories on Fanschool, peers from the class should read at least three other stories and add comments, ask questions, and offer alternative plot points. It is the hope that the author and readers will engage in several rounds of expressive communication, similar to on traditional social media platforms. Teachers can moderate the discussion, pose additional questions, and share additional resources.

What if My School District Does Not Allow Social Media? 

What makes Fanschool unique is that it is designed as a bounded social communication tool, which is different from traditional social media outlets such as TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. The content and conversations that will occur within the Fanschool platform created by students will only be accessible by other students in the class, their teachers, and families as authorized by the teacher.

What Resources Does Fanschool Provide to Families?  

Fanschool incorporates families into the use of the platform and offers the opportunity to create a parent account. Within the account, parents can connect with their children’s content and conversations within Fanschool. In addition, Fanschool provides dedicated content and resources for families who homeschool.

What was once Kidsblog has grown to Fanschool; a robust social communication platform that students would want to contribute to, while giving teachers the chance to document learning and progress. Give this Fanschool lesson a try and see how it benefits your students’ and their families' engagement in learning.

• What is Fanschool and How Can it be Used for Teaching? Tips and Tricks
• Top Edtech Lesson Plans

ClassFlow is a lesson delivery tool that allows teachers to create and share lessons for live interaction, using digital devices in the class.

Unlike some lesson-planning platforms, ClassFlow is all about interacting in the classroom. This can mean using a whiteboard to present and/or students using devices to interact, live.

This works well with groups but also helps with one-to-one teaching in the class and can also be adapted for a flipped classroom-style of teaching as needed.

The fact this is a very media-rich platform means that there is a lot of room for creativity. It also makes for an easy way to assess students and see that range of response data all in one place.

What is ClassFlow?

ClassFlow is, at its most simple, a lesson delivery platform. It allows for rich digital media to be woven into a lesson, which can be shared and interacted with live, in class.

There are a wide selection of lessons already available to pick from, making this a good option for teachers short on time who want something already created -- likely by another teacher in the community.

Everything is simple to use but follows instructional guidance, allowing you to learn as you go. It can be easy to use a premade lesson as a way to teach, however, this can help you learn how the system works -- so you can create your own types of lessons from scratch as needed.

Usefully, ClassFlow can work as part of a lesson, providing interactive elements and break-out opportunities to create a lesson that is varied and engaging for the class.

How does ClassFlow work?

ClassFlow is free to use and easy to get started with right away, both for teachers and students once they create an account. While the whiteboard mode can be used simply, students can also interact when needed.

Lessons can be created and then shared using a URL or QR code so students can then access that from their individual devices. Students can then respond to questions in the class but also have their effort individually assessed by the teacher.

Teachers can integrate quick polls into lessons to help get a guide on understanding as the lesson progresses. Formative assessments can then be added to help check learning or focus on areas that need additional attention.

While everything is relatively intuitive, it doesn't all flow together as perfectly as the name may suggest. But for a free tool, it is still very impressive and there are plenty of instructional videos to help use the platform at its highest potential.

What are the best ClassFlow features?

ClassFlow uses a space that has a selection of lessons already available, which can be searched to get the ideal fit for what is being taught. 

Helpfully, you can also build lessons from scratch. Having done some pre-builds first, it can guide the process for creating a lesson with the tool. While the whiteboard is ideal for guiding the class in the room, the assessments and polls can also be used outside of lesson time as a way to assess students, or for a flipped classroom-teaching style.

The system integrates well with other platforms to allow for integration of media, with Google and Microsoft functionality. For example, you can pull in PowerPoint presentations and make that a part of the lesson.

Interaction with students is helpful digitally with the ability to add annotations to work, insert images, color-code, group, add responses, and more. The selection of question types is also good, with multiple choice, numerical, true or false, and more, with up to eight types available for varying grade levels and content types. The ability to award digital badges is also a cool feature that adds value.

How much does ClassFlow cost?

ClassFlow is free to use. There are no ads and you can get started using the system right away by creating an account with a name and email address.

It is worth noting that lessons created can be shared on the market space for others to use. Also, feedback data is stored so teachers can assess the class and students easily -- but that may raise potential digital security questions that each teacher will want to address with the technology and cybersecurity leaders in their district. 

ClassFlow best tips and tricks

Start simply
Use a pre-built lesson to give this a try and learn how it works. This applies to both the teachers and the students. 

Poll regularly
Use polls throughout the lesson to gauge how a subject is being understood both as a way to assess student progress as well as the teaching style and layout you're trying.

Go visual
Keep in mind this is on the whiteboard -- so integrate visuals such as working with word clouds, videos, images, and more to keep students engaged.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
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Filled with content related to politics, history, economics, and government, the engaging and interactive iCivics online platform provides exciting civics experiences for students and their teachers. 

For an overview of iCivics, check out What is iCivics And How Does It Work? Best Tips & Tricks. 

The content within the iCivics platform provides extremely useful materials that can be used for lessons in social studies and civic education for elementary, middle, and high school students. As the lessons provided on the iCivics online platform may not be as robust as you need, below is a sample lesson that provides an idea of how to enhance an already existing lesson.

iCivics Lesson Plan: Topics/Skills

Government 

Grade Band

6-8

Aim

Build on and expand the premade Why Government? lesson plan on the iCivics platform to include a project-based learning team activity 

Description of Expanded Lesson 

After students have completed the iCivics lesson, which includes identifying the basic ideas on government, exploring the ideas of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, defining the terms “state of nature,” “natural rights,” and “sovereign,” as well as tracing the social contract idea from Hobbes and Locke, divide your students into small groups of 3-5. 

Each group will use what they have learned about the philosophy of and necessity behind a government to create their own ideals around government, and design the content within their own social contract. Require students to leverage shared technology, online, and media tools to meet with their team, capture everyone’s ideas, put together their initial governing documents, and finally present their efforts to the class. 

This project-based assignment can be longitudinal, lasting a full marking period.

Platforms, Tools & Resources

Ensure that each team has the following: 

Virtual Meeting Tool: Use breakout rooms within your school LMS or Zoom to provide teams time to meet.  You can check in with each during their team meetings. If you use Google Classroom, iCivics seamlessly connects with the platform. 

Curation Tool: Have students choose a tool such as Wakelet or Padlet to curate all of the team's materials. This is especially important since the project will last several weeks or months. Having everything stored in one accessible online place will be helpful for collaboration as well as in moving forward each meeting and when team members are absent on meeting days.

Infographic Tool:  Each team should use a tool such as Canva to create an infographic to summarize their main ideas of their government. 

Presentation Tool: Allow teams the option to create interactive presentations sharing their team’s social contract and related content. Some teams may choose to use Slido and engage the audience after each slide, while other teams may prefer to voice record their presentations through VoiceThread, allowing asynchronous interactions. 

How Can I Learn of New Content on iCivics? 

The iCivics online platform offers a blog for its users, which is a great way to stay connected to any new items or pathways available. Browsing through some of the past blog entries you can find everything from becoming a teacher fellow, earning awards for your students, and new collaborative curriculum offerings. 

What if Families are Concerned About Any Political Connections? 

The focus of the content within the iCivics online platform is civic education, not political party affiliations. The goal of iCivics is to help students develop their civic understanding, prepare them to be active members of a democratic society, and to increase their future civic engagement efforts. Share the link to the iCivics website with families and encourage them to read about the impact of the platform and the educational awards it’s earned. 

The iCivics online platform is fun, easy to use, and already comes with many lesson ideas for teachers. Try to pull one of the many exciting lessons already available to teachers, and expand or modify to meet the needs of your students and the learning objectives you have for the unit. 

Finally, there are games that can be played on iCivics before, as part of or after the lesson!

• What is iCivics and How Does It Work? Best Tips and Tricks
• Top Edtech Lesson Plans

Everyone knows what STEAM stands for: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. And odds are, most teachers can easily define the S, E, A, and M elements. But what exactly defines “technology”? Is your computer “technology”? How about your cell phone? What about an old-fashioned phone booth? Your grandfather's Oldsmobile? Horse and buggy? Stone tools? Where does it end?!

In fact, the term technology encompasses any tool, object, skills, or practice related to humanity’s continual attempts to modify the natural world. Under the umbrella of technology lies a wide range of learning that’s not only highly practical, but also hands-on and physically engaging.

The following top technology lessons and activities span a diversity of teaching resources, from DIY websites to coding to physics. Most are free or low-cost, and all are easily accessible to classroom teachers.

Best Technology Lessons and Activities 

TEDEd Technology Videos
TEDEd’s collection of technology-focused video lessons features a wide variety of topics, from the heaviest, such as “The 4 greatest threats to the survival of humanity,” to lighter fare, such as “How to get better at video games, according to babies.” One consistency across the TEDEd platform is compelling experts presenting fascinating and novel ideas, sure to engage viewers. Though you may not assign “How to practice safe sexting” to your students, it’s good to know they can find it if they need to.

Share my Lesson Free Technology Lessons
Free technology lessons designed, implemented, and rated by your fellow educators. Searchable by grade, subject, type, rating, and standards, these lessons run the gamut from “The Advancements of Battery Technology” to “Technology: Then and Now” to “Jazz Technology.”

The Music Lab
An unusual site dedicated to investigating all aspects of music, The Music Lab features games to test users’ listening ability, musical IQ, world music knowledge, and more. Results compiled from these games will contribute to Yale University’s musical research. No account setup required, so all participation is anonymous.

Physics for Kids
Underlying all technology are the laws of physics, which govern everything from subatomic particles to massive human-built structures such as the International Space Station. Fortunately, you don’t need an advanced physics degree to navigate this easy-to-use site, which provides dozens of lessons, quizzes, and puzzles about physics topics. Lessons are divided into seven major areas and include images, audio, and links to further inquiry.

Instructable K-20 Projects
Technology is about making things—from electrical circuits to jigsaw puzzles to Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Bars (cookies are a product of technology, too). Instructables is a wonderful free repository of step-by-step lessons to make almost anything imaginable. Bonus for education: Search projects by grade, subject, popularity, or prizewinners.

Best Free Hour of Code Lessons and Activities
Turn “Hour of Code” into “Year of Code'' with these top free coding and computer science lessons and activities. From games to unplugged computer science to secrets of encryption, there’s something for every grade and student.

Seek by iNaturalist
A gamified identification app for Android and iOs that combines technology with the natural world in a kid-safe environment, Seek by iNaturalist is a great way to get students excited about and involved with nature. Includes PDF user guide. Want to go deeper? Explore the Teacher’s Guide on Seek’s parent site, iNaturalist.

Daisy the Dinosaur
An enjoyable introduction to coding by the creators of Hopscotch. Kids use the drag-and-drop interface to make Daisy do her dinosaur dance while they learn about objects, sequencing, loops, and events.

CodeSpark Academy
A multiple-award-winning, standards-aligned coding platform featuring fun-loving animated characters who will have kids engaged and learning coding from the start. Remarkably, the word-free interface means even pre-verbal youngsters can learn coding. Free for public schools in North America.

The Tech Interactive at Home
Although aimed at home-schooled children, this DIY educational site is perfect for in-school instruction as well. Using inexpensive, readily available materials, teachers can guide students in learning about biology, physics, engineering, art, and more. Best of all, everything is hands-on, enabling kids to take ownership of their learning.

15 Apps and Sites for Augmented Reality
Whether simple or sophisticated, these mostly-free augmented reality apps and websites provide an excellent opportunity to pair real learning with cutting-edge technology.

Best 3D Printers For Education
Considering adding a 3D printer to your school’s tech toolbox? Our roundup of the best 3D printers for education looks at the pros and cons of the most popular models—as well as pointing readers to the best deals available right now.

PhET Simulations
The University of Colorado Boulder’s acclaimed STEM simulation site is one of the longest-running and best free technologies to explore physics, chemistry, math, earth science, and biology. PhET is easy to start using but offers the ability to go deeper into topics as well. Be sure to check out the dedicated education section for ways to integrate PhET simulations into your STEM curriculum. Want to go further in online tech? Delve into the best online virtual labs and STEAM-related interactives.

• Best Science Lessons & Activities
• What is ChatGPT and How Can You Teach With It? Tips & Tricks
• Top Free Sites for Creating Digital Art

Teachers in elementary, middle, and high school grade bands can co-create lessons and projects with their school librarian and media specialist while maximizing technology-rich media and information literacy resources. 

One reason why co-teaching works well is because each educator brings their strengths to the lesson. Similarly, when teachers connect, collaborate, and co-create learning activities with librarians and media specialists, deeper learning can happen. And, interdisciplinary content can be worked into more traditional assignments, which can be exciting for students and teachers. 

More and more librarians are serving in roles as media specialists, and physical library spaces in schools are transforming into tech centers and makerspaces. In some schools, there are no longer physical library spaces, and librarians and media specialists come to the classrooms for library and information literacy instruction. 

To guide this work, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) provides national school library standards on how to inquire, include, collaborate, curate, and explore as a crosswalk with Future Ready Librarians. 

These learning activity ideas align with the “Collaborate” stream focused on educators working together on shared learning goals with students.

Collaborating with School Librarians: Elementary School Lesson  

When working with younger students, collaborative efforts work best when families and even the surrounding community are involved. Moreover, using scaffolding techniques, and breaking down content for students, is developmentally appropriate. 

An elementary information literacy learning activity can focus on choosing a topic of interest, and using safe and trustworthy sources to search for information about it. The librarian or media specialist’s role can be to prepare mini lessons using Flip on information gathering from trusted and credible sources. Then, in the classroom, the teacher can have students search for information based on the topic being focused on in the class. 

For example, in social studies, the students can search for information about the city they live or have visited, or in English language arts, students can gather information on famous poets. The teacher and librarian or media specialist can co-create a template for students to use at home when they are researching information with their families. Families without technology access at home can be encouraged to use the local library.

Middle School Lesson 

At the middle school age, students are now switching classes, becoming more independent and responsible for their learning, and consuming technology and social media both during and outside of the school day. All of these things make understanding data privacy and responsible digital engagement imperative. 

The librarian or media specialist’s role can be to discuss with students issues of data privacy and how to properly communicate online, using an interactive slide deck through Slido. This discussion can pair seamlessly with a history teacher’s lesson on the Bill of Rights, its interpretations of it, and how this can impact engagement in public online spaces. With the support of both the teacher and librarian or media specialist, students can record a VoiceThread to share their position on the topic and summarize their learning. 

High School Lesson 

In preparation for career and college, students at the high school level are refining their information literacy skills to conduct research and craft research papers that are supported by cited scholarly sources. 

Librarians and media specialists can explain the different types of scholarly sources using a screencast, walking students through the different educational research databases. An English teacher can support students with how to provide in-text and reference page citations following APA or MLA. For coherence and continuity between the library and classroom instruction, students can be encouraged to use a Wakelet to curate all of the information gathered. 

The ways that teachers, librarians, and media specialists can work in concert to support students by co-creating engaging learning experiences is endless, and leveraging technology to strengthen information literacy skills across elementary, middle, and high school is a critical part of that effort. 

• Free Fact-Checking Sites for Students and Teachers
• Top Edtech Lesson Plans

Understanding scientific principles and practices is essential for every person. Without scientific literacy, people are subject to false or inflated advertising claims, misplaced fears, and a general inability to understand the modern world. And of course, science-based careers are among the fastest-growing employment sectors.

But science is a broad term that includes a large subset of specific topics, all of which are tricky to learn or teach—if you’re not a scientist yourself. Or even if you are, for that matter!

The following free science lessons and activities are designed to help students learn about the world of science by engaging them with fascinating facts, intriguing interactives, and compelling projects. This article is the first of our STEAM series, which will curate the best teaching resources for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.

Best Free Science Lessons & Activities 

Applied Science Videos
Hardware engineer and Google Life Science director Ben Krasnow hosts an amazing YouTube channel featuring DIY and hands-on explorations of chemistry, electricity, and physics (with some biology thrown in to make it even more interesting). The projects range from esoteric to everyday, so there’s sure to be something for everyone. Intriguing titles such as ‘Holograms on Chocolate” and “Olestra (zero calorie cooking oil) - chemical synthesis and taste test” are sure to engender interest. Best for advanced and higher education students.

Science Friday Educate
An extensive collection of science lessons from the Science Friday radio program. Learn how to draw a congressional district, think like a squirrel, or test your taste receptors with spicy treats. Search for standards-aligned lessons by grade, duration, subject and STEM practice. English and Spanish.

Colorado State University Little Shop of Physics Lesson Plans & Guides
You’ll be hard pressed to find physics lesson plans with the level of detail provided by the Little Shop of Physics. Each lesson begins with a basic but important question, such as, “Can energy be created or destroyed?” or “Does air weigh anything?” (My favorite is “Why do raindrops sometimes land gently and sometimes with a splat?”) The downloadable PDF provides an overview of the question, the underlying theories, helpful images, the experimental plan for students, and questions to ask during the process. Note that links referring to CMMAP should be substituted with https://hogback.atmos.colostate.edu/cmmap.

Annenberg Learner Science Resources
Fine selection of interactives that are great for teaching, as well as professional development. Standards-based topics include physics, biology, geology, how kids learn, and more. Each detailed, grade-appropriate lesson provides a skills quiz as well as related materials in the form of research summaries of relevant topics.

Exploratorium Tools for Teaching and Learning
From the acclaimed Exploratorium museum comes this fine selection of science videos, activities, and lessons. Browse by type of activity or topic. No time for a big multi-day project? Try the science “snacks,” teacher-tested activities for the classroom using inexpensive and easy-to-find materials.

World Wildlife Fund Educator Toolkits
Available in English and Spanish, each toolkit focusses on an appealing species—such as tigers, polar bears, and monarch butterflies—and includes an educator resource guide, classroom presentation, and cross-curriculum activities. Bonus: easy-to-navigate website.

Science Lesson Plans
Thousands of science-themed lesson plans, games, worksheets, and more invite educators to explore everything from plant growth to the solar system to the human brain. Organized by type, grade, subject, and standard.

K-5 Everday Science ACS American Chemistry Society
Fine selection of chemistry lessons for K-5 students. Lessons are organized by grade, are NGSS-aligned, and follow the 5E (Engage-Explore-Explain-Extend-Evaluate) lesson plan format. Includes a set of remote learning lessons for fifth graders.

California Academy of Sciences Science Lesson Plans
Strong collection of multimedia science lessons, searchable by grade, language, and subject. Topics range from astronomy to tectonic plates to African safari. While a few of these NGSS-based lessons are intended for museum visitors, most are classroom lessons that can be taught in any school.

High Adventure Science
A free online science curriculum that examines some of the most important unanswered questions in Earth and space science, such as climate change, freshwater access, and life on other planets. Features include pre- and post-tests as well as interactive simulations. Create a class online to track student progress.

Science News for Students
A fascinating look at a wide range of science topics in the news. What’s a smellscape? Are there active volcanoes on Mars? How do octopuses taste food? And—perhaps most important—can we make vibranium? Articles are accompanied by free classroom resources.

Zooniverse
True or false: Anyone can do real scientific research, regardless of credentials. Answer: True. With Zooniverse, that is! Volunteers browse the ongoing projects and select the one they’d like to contribute to. Want to spot clouds on Mars? How about decoding bacterial DNA to help fight disease? The astonishing diversity of projects includes not only scientific research but also historical, linguistic, and literary. Ideal for advanced students and PBL.

Frontiers for Young Minds
Like Zooniverse, Frontiers for Young Minds invites young scientists to participate in real research. In this case, students serve as reviewers of journal articles that have been rewritten specifically for young learners. A great way for kids to start understanding how research is communicated in real life. Bonus: All Young Minds articles are free to access, download, and reproduce in your educational materials, with citation.

Science Buddies
A wealth of lesson plans, videos, science projects, experiments, and more for K-12 science teaching and learning. Search by science topic, grade, materials, and type of resource. Integrates with Google Classroom.

Project Noah Wildlife School
Aimed at elementary and middle school students, Project Noah invites kids to explore wildlife through their own backyards and communities. Each standards-based lesson includes anatomy, life cycle, and behavior as well as great graphics and images. Be sure to check out the interactive wildlife challenges, which explore specific aspects of wildlife more deeply. Kids can design a protective turtle tunnel, build an animal track station, or test a hypothesis.

Lawrence Hall of Science Apps
Eight awesome games that immerse students in some of the most amazing science topics ever, from how living cells function to nutrition to sun science. Four apps are iOs only, while the remaining are iOs, Android, or browser-based. Excellent science fun!

• Best Free Virtual Labs
• Awesome Articles for Students: Websites and Other Resources
• Best STEM Apps For Education

Edpuzzle is an easy-to-use, yet dynamic, video-creation platform that can be used for teaching and learning. 

With Edpuzzle, both asynchronous and synchronous lessons can be enhanced to demonstrate content to students, increase learner engagement, and serve as an informal assessment opportunity to gain an understanding of how students are grasping the concepts being presented. The flexibility and ease-of-use with Edpuzzle allows teachers to record video lessons for students as well as for students to work on video projects to demonstrate their learning. 

For an overview of Edpuzzle, see What is Edpuzzle and How Does It Work? 

The following sample middle school science Edpuzzle lesson plan focused on the solar system is just one example of using Edpuzzle within pedagogical practices.

Subject: Science

Topic: Solar System

Grade Band: Middle school 

Edpuzzle Lesson Plan: Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Describe one of the planets within the solar system 
• Produce a short video with images and narratives depicting on of the planets within the solar system 

Setting Up Video Content

The first step to setting up your Edpuzzle video is deciding from where the content will come. A nice feature that EdPuzzle offers is the option to use existing YouTube videos, incorporating other already-made videos, or allowing you to start from scratch. 

As teachers do not often have time to create full-length videos for each lesson, following this sample lesson plan, you could use the Solar System 101 YouTube video produced by National Geographic as the background content. Then, you can record your voice over the video, adding instruction and additional content and as needed. If a longer video or more content is needed, The Planets in Our Solar System, produced by Beyond Nature, could be included too. 

Learner Engagement with Edpuzzle

The ability for students to engage with the content being presented, instead of passively watching, is one of the unique features of Edpuzzle. Formative assessment questions can be added throughout the video, creating stopping points of your choice. The questions types that Edpuzzle offers include multiple-choice, true/false, and open-ended. For open-ended questions, students can also leave audio responses as an alternative to text comments. 

If you want to notate something to students at certain points in the video lesson, the Notes option is available. Questions regarding what the solar system is, how many planets there are, and what are the characteristics of each planet, can be embedded into the video lesson.

Student Edpuzzle Video Creation

Edpuzzle is not only for teachers to create video lessons for students. You can assign students to make a video using Edpuzzle to demonstrate their learning or expand the lesson the students are studying. 

For example, in this sample lesson, after students have watched the video lesson on the solar system and engaged and responded to the embedded formative assessment questions, have students choose one of the planets in the solar system to focus on, and create a video going to detail about it.

How is Grading Handled with the Embedded Questions? 

All of the multiple-choice and true/false questions are automatically graded and will appear in the Gradebook. The Gradebook offers many features to check on student progress. You can also see how much time a student spent on answering a question, when the question was answered, and download the progress. If you include open-ended questions, those will need to be manually graded. 

With What Other Edtech Tools Does EdPuzzle Work? 

While Edpuzzle can be accessible directly through individual or school accounts, class codes and invited links are available that teachers can send to students, Edpuzzle also offers integrations with Blackbaud, Blackboard, Canvas, Clever courses, Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Moodle, Powerschool, and Schoology.

The Edpuzzle platform provides a wide variety of ways to teach, engage, and assess student learning. Given the ease of use with Edpuzzle and available resources, give it a try and see that you and your students enjoy the learning experience.

• What is Edpuzzle and How Does It Work?
• Top Edtech Lesson Plans

Scratch, the user-friendly and free coding program, provides young students with the opportunity to learn to code and create a wide variety of animated creations. 

Scratch is quite robust, allowing students to combine STEM and other subjects by coding different games, audio, characters, cartoons, and animations, all based on their own ideas of what they are thinking and want to create. 

For an overview of Scratch and some of its features, check What is Scratch and How Does It Work? 

This sample Scratch lesson plan focuses on helping elementary students build visual animations through coding that can accompany their own original stories.

Subject: English Language Arts 

Topic: Creative Writing  

Grade Band: Elementary 

Scratch Lesson Plan: Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: 

• Write a short creative story 
• Use Scratch to code and creative visual animations to accompany a short story 

Story Writing 

Have students write a short, 10 to 15 sentence story about anything in which they are interested. Have them organize the writing into 2 to 3 paragraphs with each paragraph having 1 to 5 sentences. 

If students are in upper elementary and middle school, you may want them to create longer stories. To help students to get started with writing their short stories, Scholastic offers great story starters on their digital platform that are organized by theme and grade level. 

Coding With Scratch

After students have written their short stories, they can start coding! First, students should log into their Scratch account using the accounts you made for them from your Teacher Account. This way, their work can be saved within the platform. 

Next, have students click on the Create tab to get started. Students can use the Costumes tab to start building animations related to their story. For example, if a student’s story is about a girl, they can choose a “Sprite” character of a girl under the Costumes tab. Then, they can customize and code for size, shape, color, etc. The Sounds tab will allow for sounds to be coded into the different animations. 

All of the coding that will occur will be through clicking, dragging, and dropping. Students can keep coding and adding to their Scratch projects until they have completed the animations needed to align with the short stories they have written. If students run out of time in the lesson, they can log into the account at another time to complete their Scratch projects.

Sharing

After students have created their Scratch projects, they may want to share. An option to embed Scratch projects into web pages or an online curation site such as Wakelet is available. 

Be mindful that Scratch does offer an online community in which Scratch projects can be shared. Other Scratch users can offer feedback on your students’ Scratch projects, and share ideas on how to code and build in a different way. Decide if you want your students’ projects accessible to the online community, and if so, be sure to monitor the communication piece.

What If Students Need Help for The First Time? 

While Scratch is very easy to navigate with its drop, drop, and click coding format, some students may benefit from additional support with getting started. Luckily, Scratch offers free video tutorials that include audio directions and screencasting. A tutorial in American Sign Language is also available for students, and Scratch is offered in more than 70 different languages. 

What Other Skills Can Students Learn With Scratch In Addition to Coding? 

In addition to coding skills, students can develop and strengthen their problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, and communication, computational thinking, and innovation skills, which are all part of the 4Cs and soft skills needed to be successful as adults. 

Scratch is bright, fun, and free! Thanks to MIT, students of all ages can engage with Scratch and you as a teacher can include Scratch to enhance lesson plans. Give Scratch a try and see how your students respond to it. You never know what can happen and you may not be able to get your students to stop asking to code.

• Top Edtech Lesson Plans
• What Is Scratch And How Does It Work?

Boom Cards, the online skill development platform, provides a gamified experience for students to practice a wide range of concepts and content. Due to the customizability, media options, and independent practice opportunities, many special education teachers find Boom Cards to be a useful edtech tool for their students. 

For an overview of Boom Cards and more details on some of the various features, check out What is Boom Cards and How Does It Work? Best Tips and Tricks. 

This sample lesson plan for special education allows teachers to incorporate Boom Cards in their instruction, however, Boom Cards could be used for any student who may need extra support.

Boom Cards Lesson Plan: Subject

Social Studies 

Topic

Neighborhood Places 

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: 

• Identify six places in a neighborhood including a grocery store, post office, fire station, hospital/clinic, school, and playground 

Starter

Before starting the lesson, create a classroom with Boom Cards. This way, all of your students' work will be housed there. Also, you need to already have a Boom Cards classroom in order for students to create a student account. 

As an alternative, you can create the student accounts. Do not worry, if you have hundreds of students, there is a bulk creation option which can be done quickly. Boom Cards provides directions and steps for student accounts to be created. The number of accounts you have depends on which plan you select.

Create "Decks"

Boom Cards refer to each set of cards as decks. By clicking the Studio tab at the upper right hand corner of the Boom Cards webpage, you will be taken to the interactive deck-maker platform. You start with the template card that will be present on each card in the deck, and then add cards to the deck. Options to help build each card are abundant, and with the drag-and-drop feature, you simply drag into the card the type of media you want to add. 

For this lesson, you may want to use the following:

Text: To name the different neighborhood places (grocery store, post office, fire station, hospital/clinic, school, playground).

Button: To place the text in, which also helps add a design layer to the card.

Image: To add an image of the different neighborhood places to match the associated text. Images can be uploaded or purchased (starting from 20 cents each) directly from Boom Cards. 

Multi-Picts: To have multiple pictures appear in one frame. For example, you could have four types of hospitals/clinics: traditional/ER, urgent care, pediatrician office, and veterinarian office, and then students would need to identify one.

Video: You may want to add a video of what the inside of each of the different neighborhood places looks like. 

Other media options offered within the Boom Cards studio include caption pic, fraction, fill in the blank, sound, and multi-choice. A host of color, shape, font, and resizing options is also available.

Practice and Independent Learning 

Once you have completed decks, you need to go to the Library where your decks are housed, and assign each one to students. 

Boom Cards allow for individualization, so you can create decks that meet the specific needs and goals of students, or you can have decks for the entire class. 

If you do not want data on students' performance and want them to quickly engage with the cards, the “Fast Pin” option can be chosen, which will take students to FastPlay. If you would prefer student reports and ensure you get feedback from their performance, you will need to use the “Hyperlink” option, which creates a link for the student and takes them to the deck.

What If I Do Not Have the Time to Create Boom Cards? 

If you do not have the time or interest in creating your own decks, there are free and paid options of decks offered within the Boom Cards platform. Many options already exist, covering a wide variety of subject areas and grade levels, including speech therapy, social-emotional learning, world languages, and holiday/seasonal. 

Try out Boom Cards and see what you come up with. Whether for a lesson such as this, or others, you may gain joy with the creation and creativity process. For students who are ready, you may want to have them join you in the creation process of Boom Cards too!

• Top Edtech Lesson Plans
• What is Boom Cards and How Does It Work? Best Tips and Tricks