Research Guides: Curriculum Materials and Resources in the CECH Library: Free Websites for Teaching Activities and Lesson Plans

Free Websites for Teaching Activities and Lesson Plans

These free websites provide educators with online access to open educational resources (OER) such as lesson plans, teaching activities, timelines, diagrams, videos, frameworks for developing curricula and more.

See below for a selection of cross-disciplinary resources, or view resources by discipline using the navigation menu.

Annenberg Learner Lesson Plans
Resources for K-12 classroom instruction and teacher professional development. No account required.
Brainpop Educators - Lesson Plans
Every topic and game has a unique matching collection of teacher support materials, from lesson plans and teaching tips to printables and support videos. No account required.
Common Sense Education
Use digital citizenship lesson plans to address timely topics and prepare students to take ownership of their digital lives. Browse lessons by grade and topic. No account required; free account optional.
Core Knowledge Lesson Plans
The Core Knowledge Foundation provides open access to content-rich curriculum materials for preschool through grade 8.
Education Place
Lesson plans from publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Education World
Click the Lesson Plans dropdown menu for lesson library, emergency sub plans, 5-minute lessons, learning games, and more.
Funbrain
Funbrain, created for kids in grades Pre-K through 8, offers hundreds of free interactive games, books, videos, and printables that help kids develop skills in math, reading, problem-solving, and literacy.
The Learning Network
Teach and learn with the New York Times. Discover classroom resources.
OER (Open Educational Resources) Commons
OER Commons is a public digital library of open educational resources. Explore, create, and collaborate with educators around the world to improve curriculum.
OpenStax
Free, openly licensed e-textbooks for high school and college.
PBS Learning Media
CET and PBS have curated FREE, standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more for teachers like you. No account required; free account optional.
Scholastic
Lessons, ideas, tool kit and more from Scholastic. Free account required, paid premium content available.
TeachersFirst
TeachersFirst is a rich collection of lessons, units, and web resources designed to save teachers time by delivering just what they need in a practical, user-friendly, and ad-free format.
TeacherVision
From printable awards and certificates to digital books and PowerPoint slideshows, we have thousands of lesson planning resources to support learning and save you time. Must create a a free account. Paid account required for access to premium content.
Learning for Justice
Classroom resources and lesson plans on social justice and anti-bias topics. Formerly titled Teaching Tolerance.
A to Z Teacher Stuff
A to Z Teacher Stuff is a teacher-created site designed to help teachers find online resources more quickly and easily. Find lesson plans, thematic units, teacher tips, discussion forums for teachers, downloadable teaching materials, printable worksheets, emergent reader books, themes, and more.
Yale-New Haven Teacher's Institute
Each curriculum unit contains: content objectives – a clear statement of the subject matter the unit seeks to cover; teaching strategies – a unified, coherent teaching plan for those objectives; classroom activities; and resources for teachers and students.
Diversity Lesson Plans | Human Rights Educators USA
Activities, lesson plans, and curricula on diversity.
Learning for Justice
Classroom resources and lesson plans on social justice and anti-bias topics. Formerly titled Teaching Tolerance.
Lesson Plans | Anti-Defamation League
Our collection of K-12 classroom blended and online learning solutions for educators and students promotes critical thinking and learning around historical and current events topics through the lens of diversity, bias and social justice.
Racism Lesson Plans | Human Rights Educators USA
Activites, lesson plans, and curricula on racism.
Teaching Resources | Teaching for Change
Lesson plans, activities, articles, recommended resources and more from Teaching for Change: Building Social Justice Starting in the Classroom.