LESSON PLANS / CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

The sites listed on this page designate themselves as appropriate to the elementary grades. Still, you should explore the subject-indexed sites listed in the Table of Contents. Many sites contain pictures, sounds and/or movies that can be used by elementary students, even where the text is too advanced for them. You will find my notations on all sites for text, pictures, sounds, etc. to help in your search. Let me know if you find other sites particularly suited to the younger student.

Agriculture Research Service Activities
Colorful and interesting collection of articles on many different aspects of food production. Includes quizzes. Doesn't shy away from making declarations like: "Plants Clean Waste Water and Grow Better by Eating Fish Poop." The link below takes you to the table of contents page. Designed by the Agriculture Research Service with the USDA.
www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/contents.htm



Collaborative Lesson Archive
Preschool through high school, contributed by teachers. Subjects vary widely, so you will need to hunt around this site by grade level. Sponsored by the University of Illinois - NCSA.
faldo.atmos.uiuc.edu/CLA/

Cool Science for Curious Kids
Excellent science site explores animal classification, air quality, metamorphosis, and other science topics in a graphical and easy to read format. Includes experiments. Designed by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
www.hhmi.org/coolscience/

CyberKids
Designed for kids to have fun while they learn. CyberKids contains a reading room, theater, games and puzzles, a free on-line magazine and launchpad.
www.cyberkids.com/

Directorate of Time
Older elementary students can calculate current time in various world time zones. "The Department of the Navy serves as the country's official timekeeper, with the Master Clock facility at the Washington Naval Observatory."
tycho.usno.navy.mil/time.html

Hillside Elementary School's Book Reviews
This collection of reviews covers a variety of children's books written by elementary school students. Many of the titles seem to be targeted for upper elementary school kids.
hillside.coled.umn.edu/class1/bookreview1/Teacher.html

Kid's Clubhouse
Contains lots of activities, divided by grade levels. Includes weekly logic problems/brain teasers and discussions of kids' books. By the Houghton Mifflin Company.
www.eduplace.com/kids/index.html

The Lesson Plans Page
This site contains lesson plans for math, science, social studies, music, art, language, and physical education. Designed for elementary education by Kyle Yamnitz and other members of the University of Missouri.
www.lessonplanspage.com/index.html

National Geographic Kids
Contains science experiments, and an excellent archive of colorful features. Some sections require Shockwave, which is downloadable from the site. From the National Geographic Society.
www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/index.html

Science Activities
From Perdue U. Calumet - monthly science activities. Be sure you check out the SCIS 3 Literature Correlation for the activities.
essc.calumet.purdue.edu/

Sea World's Classroom Activities and Lesson Plans
Teacher's guide to activities and lesson plans by the folks at Sea World. Continues to expand.
www.seaworld.org/teacherguides/

The StarChild Project: Connecting NASA and the K-12 Classroom
Covers Astronomy, Earth, Galaxies, Moon, Planets, Space, Stars, Sun and the Universe. Some short basic material with some parts written simply, others less so. Rich links to other projects.
heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/

Teaching Ideas and Tips
Teachers Helping Teachers Site - you will find a list of subject areas on this page which lead directly assorted lessons and activities. While not all activities are for the elementary student, quite a few fit the bill. Feel free to contribute yours to the growing pool which is updated weekly.
www.pacificnet.net/~mandel/index.html

ThinkQuest Junior
Each year, ThinkQuest requests submissions by grade school students of all ages for their educational Web design competition. ThinkQuest Junior is the grades 4-6 version of this competition, and the entries--submitted by teams of students--are here for your browsing pleasure, organized by topic area. There are many fabulous sites here.
www.thinkquest.org/tqjr/

Tiger Information Center
The Tiger Information Center is dedicated to educating people about and preserving the 5 remaining subspecies of tigers. Learn about tiger ecology, behavior and distribution. This site has a "Cubs 'n Kids" area that teaches children about tiger ecology and conservation.
www.5tigers.org/
Projects and activities for Grades 1-8
www.5tigers.org/Directory/resources.htm