Free lesson plans and activities
Mail carrier moves: a 15-minute gross motor game for preschoolers
What it is: a preschool gross motor game where students are mail carriers. Each "letter" is a card with a color and a picture of a way to move. Students…
Coin feely bag: a 15-minute Pre-K money activity
What it is: a Pre-K money game where students reach into a cloth bag, feel one coin without looking and decide whether its edge is smooth or bumpy. It…
Jingle writing for kids: a 20-minute K–2 musical ad activity
What it is: a K–2 music and language activity where small groups write a short jingle, a catchy song that advertises a pretend product, to a tune…
Rock collection activity: an egg carton rock museum for K–2
What it is: a K–2 earth science activity where students collect small rocks, look at them closely, sort them by color, texture and size, and display them…
Me on the map: a nested circles geography activity for Pre-K and K
What it is: a first geography activity where students build a set of nested circles, from a tiny circle with their own picture out to a big circle for…
How to play four square: a 25-minute PE lesson for 3rd grade
What it is: a 3rd grade PE lesson that teaches four square, the playground game where four players hit a bouncing ball into each other's squares…
Next best choice: a 3rd grade opportunity cost card game
What it is: a 3rd grade economics game where students rank three choices and learn that the opportunity cost of a decision is the most valued thing they…
Business name ideas for kids: a 30-minute naming and memory test
What it is: a grades 3–5 game where teams brainstorm names for a pretend business, then run a simple memory test: after 10 minutes of other work, how…
Mineral hardness test: a 4th grade scratch lab with household tools
What it is: a 4th grade lab where students test mineral samples with a fingernail, a copper coin and a steel washer, then place each mineral on the Mohs…
Map scale activity: draw the classroom to scale in grades 3–5
What it is: a hands-on map skills activity for grades 3–5 where students measure a real room, shrink it with a scale such as 1 inch for every 2 feet, and…
Reaction time ruler drop: a 25-minute PE and science lab for 6th grade
What it is: a 6th grade PE and science lab where partners measure reaction time by catching a falling ruler, convert the distance into seconds, and test…
Inflation basket: a 6th grade lesson on rising prices
What it is: a 6th grade math and economics activity where students build a pretend basket of 5 things, price it this year and next year, and compute the…
Pet sitting business for students: a 40-minute startup cost list, 6–8
What it is: a grades 6–8 mini-project where teams list everything a pretend pet sitting business needs before its first customer and sort each cost as…
Map real earthquakes: a plate boundaries activity for grades 6–8
What it is: a middle school activity where students use the U.S. Geological Survey's free Latest Earthquakes map to see where earthquakes happened in the…
Map projection activity: peel an orange to see why maps stretch
What it is: a hands-on activity for grades 6–8 that shows why no flat map can show the round Earth perfectly. Students draw rough continents on an…
Bubble pop: a 15-minute outdoor movement game for preschoolers
What it is: an outdoor preschool movement game where an adult blows bubbles and students chase and pop them with the body part you call out: hands…
Is it money? A Pre-K sorting game about what money is
What it is: a Pre-K social studies game where students look at everyday objects and decide whether each one is money that people can use to buy things.…
Pretend bakery order game: a customer service activity for Pre-K to 2
What it is: a pretend play game where a "customer" orders paper treats, a "baker" fills the tray, and a "checker" makes sure the order is right before it…
What is in soil? A 25-minute soil sifting activity for K–2
What it is: a K–2 activity where small groups sift a cup of garden soil through a colander and a screen, then sort what they find: tiny rocks, sand, bits…
Where does our fruit come from? A produce label map for K–2
What it is: a K–2 geography activity where students read the country of origin on fruit and vegetable labels and put a dot for each country on a world map…
Cup stacking: a 20-minute 3rd grade PE activity for hand-eye skills
What it is: a 3rd grade PE activity where students stack and unstack plastic cups in pyramids as smoothly and quickly as they can. It builds hand-eye…
Receipt detective: a 3rd grade money math activity
What it is: a 3rd grade math activity where students read pretend store receipts, check each line and find the one mistake hidden on each receipt: a…
Paper prototype challenge: a 35-minute product design activity, 3–5
What it is: a grades 3–5 design challenge where teams build a quick paper model of a product that solves a classroom problem, then test it with "users"…
Earthquake STEM challenge: a 4th grade shake table build
What it is: a 4th grade engineering challenge where teams build a small tower from craft sticks and modeling clay, test it on a homemade shake table…
Why cities grow near rivers: a map project for grades 3–5
What it is: a mini-project for grades 3–5 where students follow one great river on a map, find cities along its banks, and figure out why people have…
How many hours of work? A 6th grade prices and wages activity
What it is: a 6th grade math activity where students turn prices into hours of work. Using the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and two other…
Customer persona activity: a 40-minute marketing task, grades 6–8
What it is: a grades 6–8 marketing activity where teams read made-up survey results for a pretend smoothie cart and build a customer persona: a short…
Moon phases model with a ball and lamp, grades 6–8
What it is: a middle school modeling activity where each student holds a ball on a stick at arm's length and turns slowly in a dark room with one lamp as…
Great-circle routes: why flight paths curve on a flat map, grades 6–8
What it is: a globe activity for grades 6–8 where students stretch a string between two cities on a globe to find the shortest route, called a…
Scarf juggling for beginners: a 20-minute kindergarten PE activity
What it is: a kindergarten PE activity that starts scarf juggling. A lightweight scarf floats down slowly, so students have time to track it and reach…
Job charades: a kindergarten lesson on how people earn money
What it is: a kindergarten social studies game where students act out a job without words, the class guesses it, and everyone answers one question: "What…
Shop sign test: a 25-minute K–2 activity on signs customers can read
What it is: a K–2 hands-on test where students make a sign for a pretend shop, then walk across the room to see if classmates can still read it. Students…
Ice cube sunshade challenge: a K–2 sunlight and shade activity
What it is: a K–2 design challenge where pairs build a small shade to keep an ice cube from melting in the sun, then compare it with an ice cube left in…
Pack for the weather: a climate suitcase game for K–2
What it is: a K–2 game where students pack a pretend suitcase for one of three very different climates: a hot desert, a rainforest or Antarctica. They have…
Fitness bingo: a 20-minute PE game for 3rd grade
What it is: a 3rd grade PE game played on a 3 by 3 bingo card where every square is a movement task. Students pick squares, do the task, mark it and try…
Who pays for the park? A 3rd grade taxes and public goods walk
What it is: a 3rd grade social studies activity where students walk the school grounds (or look at photos of their town), spot things paid for with…
Fair reviews for kids: a 30-minute lesson on honest product feedback
What it is: a grades 3–5 lesson where students test ordinary classroom supplies and write short reviews that are honest, specific and kind. Students learn…
Earth's water activity: a 5th grade 100-bean model
What it is: a 5th grade activity where each bean stands for 1 percent of all the water on Earth. Students sort 100 beans into salt water and fresh water…
Population density activity: crowded or roomy? Grades 3–5
What it is: a quick game for grades 3–5 that shows what population density means: how many people live in a certain amount of space. Students fill taped…
Disc golf at school: a 35-minute PE game for 6th grade
What it is: a 6th grade PE game based on disc golf, a lifetime sport that needs no court. Students learn a backhand throw, play a 6-hole course with hoop…
Should students be paid for good grades? A 6th to 8th grade debate
What it is: a structured debate for grades 6 to 8 on a question many families argue about at home: should students earn money for good grades? Students…
Who owns an idea? Patents, trademarks and copyright game, grades 6–8
What it is: a grades 6–8 sorting game where teams decide whether made-up cases involve a patent (an invention), a trademark (a brand name or logo) or a…
Gravity and orbits model: a 6–8 stretchy fabric activity
What it is: a middle school model where stretchy fabric pulled tight over a large bowl or hoop dips under a heavy ball (the Sun). Marbles rolled around…
Population pyramids: read and compare two countries in grades 6–8
What it is: a data activity for grades 6–8 where students build population pyramids with the U.S. Census Bureau's free International Database and compare…
Bridges and tunnels: a 15-minute kindergarten PE partner game
What it is: a kindergarten PE partner game. Half the class makes bridges with their bodies, such as a bear shape with hips high or a wide standing…
Now or later? A kindergarten waiting game for saving
What it is: a kindergarten routine that practices the waiting part of saving. Each student chooses one sticker now or two stickers at the end of the day…
Toy repair shop role play: a service business activity for K–2
What it is: a role play where students run a pretend repair shop for paper toys with "problems" such as a missing wheel or a torn flag. Students learn…
Weathering for kids: make sand from rocks in a 2nd grade lab
What it is: a 2nd grade earth science activity where students rub two soft rocks together over dark paper and watch tiny grains fall off. They connect it…
Polar bear or penguin? An Arctic and Antarctic sorting game for K–2
What it is: a K–2 movement game that fixes a common mix-up: polar bears and penguins do not live together in the wild. Polar bears live in the Arctic…
Capture the flag: a 35-minute outdoor PE game for 4th grade
What it is: a 4th grade outdoor PE game where two teams guard their own flag and try to carry the other team's flag back across the center line. Students…
Money detectives: check a $20 bill's security features, grade 4
What it is: a 4th grade activity where students learn the security features printed in U.S. paper money and look for them on a real bill, the way store…
Inventory game for kids: track stock in a pretend school store, 3–5
What it is: a grades 3–5 game where students run the inventory for a pretend school store over five "days." They start with a set number of items, record…
The Sun is a star: a 5th grade flashlight brightness activity
What it is: a 5th grade activity where students compare flashlights at different distances in a darkened hallway or room. A light that is close looks…
Pickleball basics: a 40-minute PE lesson for 7th grade
What it is: a 7th grade PE lesson that introduces pickleball, a paddle sport played on a small court that students can keep playing for life. Students…
Pay stub decoder: a 7th grade lesson on gross and net pay
What it is: a 7th grade math and life skills activity where students read a pretend pay stub, find gross pay, compute the Social Security tax (6.2…
Relative dating activity: read clay rock layers like a geologist, 6–8
What it is: a middle school activity where students build four flat layers of colored modeling clay with paper fossils between them, add a fault cut and…
Coin riddles: a 20-minute 1st grade money game
What it is: a 1st grade math game where students solve riddles about U.S. coins using real clues: color, size, edge and value. The surprise that the dime…
Landforms for 2nd grade: build a clay map with a mountain and valley
What it is: a 2nd grade activity where students shape modeling clay on a plate into a mountain, a hill, a valley, a plain and an island, add a paper river…
Invent a recess game: a 45-minute PE project for 4th grade
What it is: a 4th grade PE project where small groups invent a new active game, write its rules, test it with another group and improve it. Students learn…
The journey of a dollar bill: a 4th grade money story writing task
What it is: a 4th grade writing activity where students write a short narrative told by a $1 bill, from being printed to being worn out and replaced…
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