Free lesson plans and activities
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Picture books set in other countries: a windows and mirrors check
What it is: a thread and a reading routine for grades 3–5. Literature scholar Rudine Sims Bishop described books as mirrors (we see ourselves), windows…
The Great Migration: push and pull factors in primary sources
What it is: a thread and a primary-source lesson for grades 6–8. Between about 1910 and 1970, roughly 6 million African Americans moved from the rural…
Position words before maps: a robot game for Pre-K and kindergarten
What it is: a thread for Pre-K and kindergarten teachers and a game to try first. Before students can use a map, they need words for where things are: in…
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…
Mystery country game: 5 geography clues for grades 3–5
What it is: a team game for grades 3–5 where the teacher reads up to 5 clues about a country, from broad to specific, and teams guess. A correct guess…
Why is our town here? A site and situation project for grades 6–8
What it is: an inquiry project for grades 6–8 where students use free historical topographic maps from the U.S. Geological Survey to explain why their…
Barter circle: why we use money, a 1st grade economics game
What it is: a 1st grade social studies game in two rounds. First, students try to trade picture cards for what they need without money, and many get…
Find our state: a shape and neighbors map activity for grades 1–2
What it is: a map activity for 1st and 2nd grade where students trace their own state from a U.S. map, describe its shape, mark their town with a star…
Seasons in two hemispheres: compare climate graphs in grades 4–5
What it is: a data activity for grades 4 and 5 where students graph average monthly temperatures for their own city and for a city in the Southern…
Earth at night: what city lights show about where people live
What it is: a discussion activity for grades 6–8 using NASA's free "Earth at night" satellite images. Students look for patterns, such as lights along…
Egg carton mancala: a counting game from Africa for K–2
What it is: a K–2 culture and counting game based on mancala, the name used for a large family of "sowing" board games played for centuries across Africa…
Who gets the 5 balls? A 5th grade scarcity and fairness debate
What it is: a 5th grade economics discussion where the class has more wants than resources: 5 playground balls for 25 students at recess. Groups test…
Physical, political or thematic map? A sorting activity for grades 3–5
What it is: a sorting activity for grades 3–5 where students sort map features and then whole maps into three types: physical maps (land and water made…
Teen job rules: an 8th grade gallery walk on youth labor laws
What it is: an 8th grade gallery walk where students read short cases about 14- and 15-year-olds with jobs and decide whether each schedule follows…
Cultural landscape walk: spot geography in your neighborhood, 6–8
What it is: a field observation activity for grades 6–8 based on the idea of a cultural landscape, described by geographer Carl Sauer in 1925: the way…
A place I remember: a family interview map activity for grades 3–5
What it is: a thread and an at-home activity for grades 3–5. Students interview a family member or another trusted adult about a place they remember…
Token bank: a 5th grade game about loans and interest
What it is: a 5th grade role play where a class bank takes deposits from savers and lends tokens to borrowers. Students see that interest is the fee for…
Language family tree: how Spanish, Portuguese and English are related
What it is: an activity for grades 6–8 where students compare the same words in several European languages, group the languages into families and map…
Teaching world celebrations beyond the tourist approach, grades 3–5
What it is: a thread for teachers and a lesson routine for grades 3–5. Early childhood educators Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards warn against…
Where is money safest? A 5th grade bank and deposit insurance talk
What it is: a 5th grade discussion and card activity about where people keep money. Students compare a jar at home, an insured bank account, an insured…
Natural vs drawn borders: a map investigation for grades 6–8
What it is: a map investigation for grades 6–8 where students sort international and state borders into natural borders (following rivers, mountains or…
Our families' flags: a 20-minute preschool culture activity
What it is: a preschool social studies activity where the class learns about the countries connected to students' families. Students find each place on a…
Land and water globe toss: a 15-minute kindergarten geography game
What it is: a kindergarten geography game where students toss an inflatable globe in a circle and say whether their right thumb landed on land or water…
My life timeline: a 30-minute 1st grade social studies activity
What it is: a 1st grade social studies activity where students make a timeline of 4 moments in their life, from being a baby to now, using drawings or…
Compass rose game: north, south, east and west for 2nd grade
What it is: a 2nd grade map skills game where the four classroom walls are labeled north, south, east and west, and students follow spoken directions to…
Landforms with modeling dough: a 40-minute 3rd grade geography activity
What it is: a 3rd grade geography activity where students shape landforms (mountain, valley, plateau, island, peninsula, canyon) from modeling dough on a…
US regions travel brochure: a 4th grade geography project
What it is: a 4th grade geography project where groups research one region of the United States (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, West) and make…
13 colonies regions sort: a 40-minute 5th grade history activity
What it is: a 5th grade history activity where students sort fact cards about climate, land, jobs and daily life into the three colonial regions (New…
Class promise poster: a 20-minute preschool citizenship activity
What it is: a first citizenship activity for preschool. The class talks about what makes a good day together, agrees on three simple promises and signs…
Family traditions bag: a kindergarten social studies sharing activity
What it is: a kindergarten social studies activity where each student brings a small bag with one object or picture that shows a family tradition, such as…
Map symbols: design a park map in 1st grade
What it is: a 1st grade map skills activity where students design a park, draw simple symbols for each part (swings, pond, trees, path) and make a map…
Goods and services sort: a 25-minute 2nd grade economics activity
What it is: a 2nd grade economics activity where students sort picture cards into goods (things you can touch and buy) and services (work someone does…
Natural, human and capital resources: a 3rd grade economics sort
What it is: a 3rd grade economics activity where students sort the resources needed to make a product, such as a wooden chair or a loaf of bread, into…
Latitude and longitude game: a 30-minute 4th grade map skills activity
What it is: a 4th grade map skills game where partners hide "treasure" at a latitude and longitude on a world map and the other partner finds it from the…
The Preamble in our own words: a 40-minute 5th grade civics activity
What it is: a 5th grade civics activity where groups take one phrase of the Preamble to the US Constitution (written in 1787), rewrite it in their own…
Pumpkin history and map: a 35-minute social studies activity, 3–5
What it is: students follow pumpkins through time and space, from squash seeds found in a cave in Mexico about 10,000 years ago to the states that grow…
Mock election for kids: a 30-minute class vote activity for K–2
What it is: a mock election for kids where the class votes on a real class choice, such as which book you read aloud next. Students check in, vote in…
Bird's-eye map of our classroom: a 30-minute map skills activity, K–2
What it is: students learn what a bird's-eye view is, build a model of the classroom on the floor with blocks, then turn it into a class map with a key…
Three branches of government role-play: a 40-minute activity, 3–5
What it is: students act out the three branches of government by passing, vetoing and reviewing a made-up class law. They see how Congress, the President…
Bill of Rights activity: a 30-minute scenario game for grades 6–8
What it is: students hear short, made-up situations and hold up fingers to show which amendment in the Bill of Rights applies, then defend their answer…
Wampanoag and the 1621 harvest: a 40-minute history lesson, 3–5
What it is: a Wampanoag history lesson that looks at the 1621 harvest gathering through the one eyewitness account we have and through Wampanoag…
Christmas around the world game: a 30-minute map challenge, 3–5
What it is: a Christmas around the world game where teams listen to a clue about a holiday tradition, guess the country and find it on a map or globe…
Veterans Day activity for grades 3–5: a timeline and thank-you notes
What it is: a short, factual introduction to Veterans Day, a three-date timeline the class builds together, and a thank-you note each student writes. It…
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