Educator Resources

AMNH has a large list of resources. Scan through their lists for fun lesson plans and classroom activities, as well as educational resources for teachers who want to brush up on (or learn for the first time) some subjects they might not be too familiar with.

The mission of the Arkansas History Hub is to “improve the quality of Arkansas history education across the state by providing comprehensive access to online resources.” Maintained by the Roberts Library (a department of the Central Arkansas Library System), the Arkansas History Hub has a large database of lesson plans that can be navigated by grade level, era, and region. The website also showcases student-produced content, such as history projects and artwork.

The Arkansas State Archives is a great resource for researching historical records and archival collections. They also provide a number of robust lesson plans that align with state education standards.

The Encyclopedia of Arkansas, a project of the Central Arkansas Library System, has numerous articles on various aspects of Arkansas history and culture, including individuals, organizations, places, and more. At the bottom of each entry are links to additional sources, and some entries include corresponding teacher-created lesson plans.

Engineering is Elementary offers hands-on engineering lesson plans from the Museum of Science, Boston. These in-depth plans include outcomes and impacts for the students, NGSS standards, and easy-to-follow lessons. Each packet contains multiple sequential lessons; individual activities can easily be lifted out of the sequence and offered as stand-alone activities. There are plans designed for use in classrooms that you can purchase (EiE Curriculum), or plans for after-school programs that are free to download (Engineering Adventures). The after-school plans can easily be adapted for use in classrooms.

PBS Learning Media has a huge amount of resources, all easily navigable by grade level and subject as well as national and state standards. You will need to create an account to access their resources, which is quick, easy, and free.

A well-developed and organized website that is full of free lesson and unit plans, and usually very high quality. The lesson plans (see “Lessons and Ideas” on the navigation column to the left) can be easily navigated based on grade level.

“Hi. My name is Julia, and I am a high school student from North Carolina. If you couldn’t tell, I am a big fan of science and science museums. In fact, I have logged over a hundred volunteer hours at my local science museum where I teach science to kids. Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I was unable to volunteer at my local science museum, and I wanted to find a new way to teach science to kids. So, I decided to start this website, scienceathomekids.com in March 2020. On this website, I conduct science experiments that are easy to do with household supplies and provide step-by-step instructions and pictures that make it easy for kids to set up the experiment for themselves. I explain the science behind each at the end of the experiment. I hope these experiments inspire you to have some fun with your family and teach you some science in the process!”

The Smithsonian Learning Lab is full of wonderful resources for a variety of grade levels and in a variety of subjects, a searchable database of resources, activity sheets, and professional development for educators. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Science Education Center also have their own educator resources pages complete with lesson plans and online activities that can be adapted to your classroom.

This website features economically priced lesson plans and activity sheets that are by teachers, for teachers. It’s like Etsy for lesson plans! The content is mainly geared toward elementary-level teaching, and the products can be somewhat variable in terms of quality—use your own judgment.