GUIDE TO FINDING LESSON PLANS
in the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
http://www.library.illinois.edu/sshel/specialcollections/curriculum/lesson.html
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lesson Plans in Print .......................................................................................................... 1
Online Resources ................................................................................................................ 1
Common Core State Standards ............................................................................. 1
Language Arts ........................................................................................................ 3
Math ....................................................................................................................... 3
Multiple Subjects .................................................................................................... 3
Science .................................................................................................................. 5
Social Studies ........................................................................................................ 6
Microfiche Collections ......................................................................................................... 8
According to the Facts on File Dictionary of Education, a curriculum guide differs from a lesson plan in
that it includes “one or more aspects of curriculum and instruction, such as philosophy, policies, aims,
objectives, subject matter, resources and processes” (p.138), while a lesson plan “includes the
instructional objectives and methods for a particular functional unit or period of instruction” (p. 271). The
Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL) has many materials containing lesson plans,
primarily in the form of curriculum guides, in both print and microfiche formats, however, lesson plans can
also be found on various websites. This guide explains how to find lesson plans in print, online, and on
microfiche.
Questions? Contact SSHEL via email (sshel@library.illinois.edu), phone (217-244-1864), online
chat (http://www.library.illinois.edu/askus/), or in person (SSHEL North – Room 100 and SSHEL
South – Room 101, Main Library).
LESSON PLANS IN PRINT
Many lesson plans are embedded within the curriculum guides. If you are looking for lesson plans on a
specific topic, see the Guide to the Curriculum Collection which includes a “Call Number Guide by
Subject.” Find the call number that corresponds to your subject. For example, if your subject is American
history, the call number will be 973. Then you can either use the Online Library Catalog and run a call
number search to see titles within that call number range, or you can browse bookshelves in the
Curriculum Collection in Room 112, Main Library. Curriculum guides are shelved separately from the
textbooks and other materials and begin with the prefix “CURR.”
ONLINE RESOURCES
Common Core State Standards
K-5 Math Teaching Resources
http://www.k-5mathteachingresources.com/
Free, printable resources, activities, and games to supplement the Common Core State
Standards in mathematics for grades K-5 provided by K-5 Math Teaching Resources LLC, an
educational consultant company.
CorePlanner
http://www.coreplanner.com/
CorePlanner helps K-12 teachers create, organize, and save lesson plans and link them with the
Common Core State Standards. Teachers use the site to craft an activity or lesson plan and then
CorePlanner provides applicable Standards based on the subject and topic. It also provides a
quick reference guide to search the Standards by grade, subject, or topic. The site is free, but it
does require users to create an account to use it.
Learn Zillion
http://learnzillion.com/
Learn Zillion contains video lessons and assessment tools for teaching to the Common Core
State Standards in grades 3-12. The site was started at the E.L. Haynes Public Charter School in
Washington, D.C., and allows teachers from around the United States to contribute lessons.
Users can browse lessons by grade level, domain, or specific Standard. Many lessons include
additional resources such as slides, parent letters, and discussion protocol. Users can create an
account and use the site to assign video lessons to students and track student progress.
Lesson Planet: Common Core Teacher Resources
http://www.lessonplanet.com/search?keywords=Common+Core&gclid=CJqpqdqd3LcCFbFAMgodi2oAG
Q
Lesson Planet contains more than 400,000 teacher-reviewed online lesson plans and
worksheets. The URL above links to a list of almost 4,000 resources that provide activities and
teaching suggestions that align with Common Core State Standards and articles about
incorporating the Standards into the classroom. The site also allows users to search for activities
to teach to specific CCSS.
NYC Department of Education: Tasks, Units & Student Work
http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/CommonCoreLibrary/TasksUnitsStudentWork/default.htm
A searchable collection of activities, student work, and instructional units aligned to the CCSS
and created by educators in New York City.
ReadWorks
http://www.readworks.org/
ReadWorks is a non-profit organization that provides free lesson plans and teaching units on
reading comprehension for grades K-6. The site is searchable and browsable by topic, grade, and
standard. Lesson plans align with the Common Core State Standards and state standards, and
each lesson lists the standards to which it aligns.
Share My Lesson: Common Core State Standards Information Center
http://www.sharemylesson.com
Share My Lesson was developed by the American Federation of Teachers and TES Connect, an
online network of educators, and provides a space for teachers to share lesson plans and
teaching resources. The Common Core State Standards Information Center contains more than
700 lesson plans aligned to the Standards by specially-trained teachers. The Information Center
also provides links to blogs and resources about the CCSS, a teacher forum, and news and
editorial content. Users must create an account to use this free site.
Teaching Channel: Confused About Common Core?
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos?landing_page=Common+Core+Landing+Page&gclid=CIqshfKu3
LcCFfBaMgod-mQAQQ
A collection of about 170 videos from the Teaching Channel with information about and
suggested activities that align with the Common Core State Standards.
Finding Lesson Plans 2
Language Arts
ReadWriteThink
http://www.readwritethink.org/
ReadWriteThink is a website focused on literacy for K-12 students. It provides detailed, researchbased lesson plans that can be searched by grade level as well as area of literacy practice. The
site also includes a wide variety of web resources, including instructional, reference, professional
development, and interactive student resources.
Story Arts Online
http://www.storyarts.org/
Story Arts Online provides lesson plans and activities to help teachers incorporate storytelling in
the classroom to teach language arts. The site was created by storyteller and author Heather
Forest and funded by Bell Atlantic Foundation. The site also has suggestions as to how to use
storytelling to teach math, science, social studies and the arts, and includes concise folktale plots
and Aesop’s fables as retold by Forest.
Math
United States Mint Lesson Plans
http://www.usmint.gov/kids/teachers/lessonPlans/
This site uses U.S. coins to teach basic math and counting. By exploring the "Additional
Materials" section, teachers are able to find several ideas for teaching social studies, language
arts, and science using coin-related topics. Each lesson plan has been contributed by teachers
and includes grade level and national standards information.
Multiple Subjects
Awesome Library
http://www.awesomelibrary.org
This site provides lesson plans for most subject areas and includes links to other informational
sources that can be drawn upon to create original lesson plans. The extensive listings about
multicultural holidays and current events are especially useful.
Common Sense Media
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum
Common Sense Media is a not-for profit organization dedicated to providing information and
education to help children and teens navigate media and technology. Their site provides a
collection of cross-curricular lesson plans that address digital literacy and citizenship for students
in grades K-12. The lesson plans are free, research-based, and aligned to the Common Core
State, International Society of Technology Education, and American Association of School
Librarians Standards. Topics covered are: Internet safety, privacy and security, relationships and
communication, cyberbullying, digital footprint and reputation, self-image and identity, information
literacy, and creative credit and copyright.
EDSITEment
http://www.edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans
Developed by the National Endowment for Humanities and other sources, this site contains links
to 49 of the "top humanities sites" and lesson plans in the areas of history, English and language
arts, foreign languages and art history. It also includes learning guides that provide tips for using
sites for designing class curricula and activities. Sites are searchable.
Finding Lesson Plans 3
Gooru
http://www.goorulearning.org/#home
Gooru’s goal is to provide an open and collaborative learning community online that honors the
human right to education. Their focus is on making available free K-12 educational materials that
help students to succeed. Through Gooru, educators can find interactive materials for instruction
that are standards-aligned. They can share personalized, custom collections keyed to the needs
of their students. Students’ performance can be measured through collections and quizzes they
have been assigned. Interactive lessons are available in the disciplines of science, math, the
social sciences, and language arts. Common Core Standards are available for math instruction
from grades 6 to 12. Lessons are also available from a number of partner libraries, which are
accessible directly through the Gooru site.
Kraus Curriculum Development Library [Access restricted to UIUC affiliates.]
http://www.kcdlonline.com/
This searchable database of curricula, frameworks, and standards brings together educational
objectives, content, instructional strategies, and evaluative techniques for all subjects covered in
PreK-12 and Adult Basic Education. The index covers from 1983 to the present, with full-text
access to documents from Edition 20 (2001) to the present.
Lesson Plan Library
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans
The Lesson Plan Library site contains lessons for grades K-12 in common and not so common
subjects. Plans range in subject from literature and math to forensic science and meteorology.
Written by teachers and educators for teachers, these lesson plans are both comprehensive and
easy to follow. Most plans define what national academic standards the lesson plan meets. In
addition to providing a plethora of lesson plans, this site is also linked to several other "teaching
tools" from The Discovery Channel.
Lesson Plans Page
http://www.lessonplanspage.com
This page allows for easy searching for specific lesson plans by subject (math, science, language
arts, and art), grade level, and area within the subject searched. While this site contains lesson
plans for K-12 grades, it does have a concentration of plans for K-6 grades. Includes an extensive
selection of lesson plans for math, science, language arts, and art, especially for the lower
grades.
Library of Congress Lesson Plans
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/lessons/index.html
The Library of Congress has teacher-created, classroom-tested lesson plans on United States
social studies, geography, science, sports and recreation, journalism, and literature, among other
subjects. All of the lesson plans use primary sources that can be found at the Library of Congress
and are provided with each lesson plan. Lesson plans can be searched by topic or by era (The
American Revolution, 1763-1783, Rise of Industrial America, 1876-1900, Great Depression and
WWII, 1929-1945, etc.). Grades 3-12 are targeted, with lesson plans having recommended
grade levels of 3-8, 6-8, 6-12, or 9-12. State standards can be found by searching within each
lesson plan for state, grade, and subject.
Peace Corps WorldWise Schools Lesson Plans
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/lesson-plans/
Based on lessons used by teachers in the Peace Corps, this resource provides over 100
standards based lesson plans. Different concepts and subjects are illustrated using examples
from regions and cultures. Searchable by grade level, region/country, and subject area.
Finding Lesson Plans 4
Smithsonian Education Lesson Plans
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/lesson_plans.html
The Smithsonian Institution has many resources for educators, including hundreds of lesson
plans in all subject areas and grades from preK-12. Lesson plans are searchable by subject and
by grade level and each lesson plan includes all of the materials needed (photographs, handouts,
suggested strategies, reproductions, activities, standards information, and additional online
resources). Lesson plans are created around an inquiry-based learning model and make
extensive use of primary sources and museum artifacts.
Teacher.Net Lesson Bank
http://teachers.net/lessons
This lesson bank is interactive and allows for both retrieval and submission of lesson plans by
teachers. The site allows several searching strategies for locating lessons on various subjects
and in various grade levels. One can search by subject area or education level, or search or
browse the lesson bank by keyword. Some lessons are available directly online, but others must
be requested from the teacher who submitted the lesson plan. All lessons include a direct link to
the author/submitter of the plan.
United States Department of Agriculture Teacher Center
http://www.agclassroom.org/teacher/index.htm
Produced by the nation’s experts in the field of agriculture, includes nearly 200 lesson plans for
grades K-12 on all aspects of agriculture and agricultural history. Most lessons focus on facets of
the American agricultural system; however there are several lessons on agriculture around the
world. Lesson plans include science experiments, Web Quests, introductions to careers in
agriculture, and agriculture as an aspect of the global economy. The lesson plans are listed in
alphabetical order by title with the intended grade level for each lesson listed on the right.
Science
The Concord Consortium
http://concord.org/stem-resources
The Concord Consortium is a non-profit educational research and development organization
based in Massachusetts. The STEM resource finder on the Consortium’s site provides free, open
source educational activities, software, and models for teaching STEM subjects to elementary
school through college students. The resources are keyword-searchable and allow users to
browse by subject and grade level. Also includes a tool to find activities and models that adhere
to the Next Generation Science Standards.
eGFI
http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/
eGFI is a website provided by the American Society for Engineering Education, and it contains
engineering lesson plans and class activities for K-12 teachers. Lessons and activities
incorporate engineering concepts to teach math and science skills. The site also provides a list of
engineering and technology outreach programs and web resources for teachers and students.
EPA EnviroKids
http://www2.epa.gov/students
Provides environmental games appropriate for children in grades 4-6 such as game shows,
crossword puzzles, word searches and matching endangered species. Also contains teacher
resources and lesson plans on the environment and science.
Finding Lesson Plans 5
Food Timeline
http://www.foodtimeline.org/food2.html
Spanning back to the beginning of recorded history, this comprehensive website provides
everything you have ever wanted to know about food: history, law and regulation, inventions,
nutrition, and historic cookbooks/recipes to name a few. Also included are lesson plans, a food
reference guide, and a list of libraries and museums that specialize in food.
Teaching Earth Science: Classroom Activities and Lesson Plans
http://geology.com/teacher/
This website provides a range of lesson plans based on geography, geology, astronomy, and
other earth sciences using maps, satellite images, and other projections. Also provides links to
current topics in the earth sciences.
Try Engineering
http://tryengineering.org/lesson-plans
Includes a collection of more than one hundred engineering-related lesson plans for students
ages 8-18. Each plan provides a lesson focus, synopsis, target age levels, learning objectives,
learner outcomes, activities, materials, and alignments to curriculum frameworks. Lesson plan
topics include mazes, search engines, sorting, decision trees, periscopes, tennis, and more.
Social Studies
America Responds
http://www.pbs.org/americaresponds/educators.html
Compiled by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), this page provides lesson plans for teachers
who wish to teach about issues such as war, patriotism, peace, and tolerance.
American Memory Lesson Plans
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/index.html
Uses photographs from the Library of Congress American Memory Historical Collection to
enhance lessons for students which are based on topics from our nation's past. A few examples
of lessons include: the Civil War, the Dust Bowl, Baseball Cards, Inventions, and many more.
Digital Cultural Heritage Community Curriculum Units
http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/dchc/resources.htm
The Digital Cultural Heritage Community Project contains links to curriculum units supplied by
3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers. Units on communities, the U.S. Constitution, the French in
Illinois, and Westward Expansion are just a few of the topics you will find covered here.
Digital History
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/teachers.cfm
This extensive historical website provides resources for teachers who want to make learning
about history interesting and exciting. Key features include an interactive timeline, online
textbook, and history reference room. There are also resource guides, lesson plans, and
classroom handouts.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Education Resources
https://www.stlouisfed.org/education
This resource contains in-depth lesson plans about various aspects of economics and personal
finance, including employment growth, income taxes, and supply and demand. Additionally, the
website offers a podcast series called The Economic Lowdown that gives students easily
understandable explanations and real-world examples of economic and finance principles.
Resources and activities for students and teachers can be found in the left sidebar of the website.
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Federal Reserve Education
http://www.federalreserveeducation.org
This website, maintained by the United States Federal Reserve, contains numerous K-12 and
college lesson plans and publications on subjects such as banking, economics, government,
money, and personal finance. Resources can be searched by grade level, topic, and type of
resource. There is a Classroom Resources tab under which educators can find lesson plans,
publications, activities, tours and programs, and academic competitions. Additionally, students
can find games, fun facts, competitions, and quizzes under the Public Resources tab.
Historic Maps in K-12 Classrooms
http://publications.newberry.org/k12maps/index.html
Designed "specifically to support basic map and information acquisition skills at the K-12 levels,"
this website provides lesson plans based on 18 different maps. Divided into six different themes,
each map contains several lessons for grades K-12.
The National Archives Experience: Docs Teach
http://docsteach.org
Provides activities and more than 3,000 primary source documents from the United States
National Archives for use in the classroom. Users can find digitized primary source written
documents, images, maps, charts, graphs, audio, and video that span the course of American
history. Users can also find ready-to-use activities, or alter pre-existing activities to fit their needs.
National Council for the Social Studies
http://www.socialstudies.org/resources/
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) supports elementary, secondary, and college
teachers of history, geography, economics, political science, sociology, psychology,
anthropology, and law. Their website includes lesson plans for K-12 social studies teachers, as
well as links to a host of additional resources. Lesson plans focus on current events or "teachable
moments," as well as historical events.
National History Education Clearinghouse (NHEC)
http://teachinghistory.org
Teachinghistory.org is designed to help K–12 history teachers access resources and materials to
improve U.S. history education in the classroom. With funding from the U.S. Department of
Education, the Center for History and New Media (CHNM) and the Stanford University History
Education Group have created the Clearinghouse with the goal of making history content,
teaching strategies, resources, and research accessible.
Smithsonian’s History Explorer
http://historyexplorer.si.edu/home/
Based on items at the National Museum of American History, this website brings the museum’s
"collections and research into your classroom." In addition to the tour guides, there are plenty of
lesson plans and classroom curriculum suggestions.
Teaching with Historic Places
http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/
Contains over 100 free middle school lesson plans in the areas of history, social studies, and
geography. Lessons are based on sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places and
include maps, readings, photographs, questions, and activities. Each plan is linked to national
standards in the relevant subject area.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
http://www.ushmm.org/educators
Prepared by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, this website provides a 133 page
resource book for teachers entitled "How to teach the Holocaust." There is also an annotated
bibliography and a section of exemplary lesson plans.
Finding Lesson Plans 7
MICROFICHE COLLECTIONS
There are three microfiche collections of curriculum guides In the Social Sciences, Health, and Education
Library (SSHEL) that may also be searched for lesson plans or other instructional materials. These are:
the Kraus Curriculum Development Library, ERIC microfiche collection, and the American Primer
collection. All microfiche are stored in Room 104, Main Library.
Kraus Curriculum Development Library
This microfiche collection of pre-K-12 curriculum guides covers a variety of subjects, including traditional
areas (social sciences, mathematics, etc.) and other areas (Bilingual/English as a second language,
special education, etc.). To search this collection, use the Kraus Curriculum Development Library
Database*. Curriculum guides added to the database since 2001 are available electronically. Older
curriculum guides are available on microfiche.
ERIC
Many ERIC documents on microfiche contain lesson plans and classroom materials. When searching
the ERIC database*, type your subject keyword and combine with the appropriate descriptor term(s)
using the AND operator. EXAMPLE: mathematics and (lesson plans or problem sets). More descriptor
terms can be found in the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors (025.36 U5874t).The following is a list of
possible descriptor terms that may be helpful:
 lesson plans
 curriculum guides
 state curriculum guides
 instructional materials
 teacher developed materials
 bilingual instructional materials
 study guides
 teaching guides
 learning modules
 class activities
 educational games
 course content
American Primers Collection
To search the American Primers collection, find American Primers: a Guide to the Microfiche Collection,
(MFICHE428.6 Am35 index). It is located in Room 104 on top of the microfiche cabinets. Although this
microfiche collection is mainly used for finding old textbooks and reading primers, it has a limited number
of teaching manuals (lesson plans, teaching methods, learning games and activities, teacher's guides to
accompany primers) from the 1700's to the mid-1930s. It mostly contains introductory reading materials
from that period, such as primers, spellers, and alphabet books. However, this may be a useful resource
if you are searching for historical curriculum materials.
*Accessible from the Online Journals & Database: http://sfx.carli.illinois.edu/sfxuiu/az.
July 2015
Finding Lesson Plans 8