Lesson Plan Sites
Social Studies
Social Studies (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS): Chapter 113)
Lesson Plan Sites Home | Alphabetical List of Lesson Plan Sites
By Grade Level: Kindergarten | Elementary School | Middle School | High School
Comprehensive Sites
National Park Service (U.S. Department of the Interior)
Grade Levels: PreK-12
TEKS: [Literacy and Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies]
- The Teachers’ National Park Service website provides resources from all 401 national parks. The site includes distance learning resources and is searchable by location, keyword, and more than 125 subjects, from archeology, to biology, to Constitutional law. Teachers will, for the first time, be able to rate NPS-provided content. In addition to park-created content, the site also features educational materials created by NPS national programs like the National Register of Historic Places and its award-winning Teaching with Historic Places series of 147 lesson plans.
TEA Curriculum, Assessment, & Rules (Texas Education Agency)
Grade Levels: PreK-12
TEKS: [Comprehensive site]
- Information on curriculum, assessment, and rules. Also available; contact information, a Social Studies mailing list, and links to TEKS for Social Studies and Project Share.
Coverdell World Wise Schools Lesson Plans (Peace Corps)
Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-9, 10-12
TEKS: English Language Arts & Reading; Science; Social Studies
- Coverdell World Wise Schools (CWWS) is an innovative education program that seeks to engage learners in an inquiry about the world, themselves, and others in order to: broaden perspectives; promote cultural awareness; appreciate global connections; and encourage service. Educators use these materials to teach subjects as varied as language arts, environmental education, and international economics. Teacher-tested lesson plans are organized by grade range (3-5, 6-9, 10-12), geographic region, topic, and publication title. Topics include Cross-cultural Understanding, Environmental Studies, Reading and Writing, Service Learning, and Social Studies.
Curriculum Supplement Series (Office of Science Education. National Institutes of Health)
Grade Levels: 1-2, 6-8, 9-12
TEKS: Career Orientation; English Language Arts & Reading; Health Education; Health Science Technology Education; Mathematics; Science; Social Studies; Technology Applications
- The Teachers Guide under each topic includes a section of lesson plans. Topics: cell biology & cancer, emerging & re-emerging infectious diseases; human genetic variation; the brain: understanding neurobiology through the study of addiction; sleep, sleep disorders, and biological rhythms, and using technology to study cellular and molecular biology. Under the “web version” the curriculum supplement text can be viewed or printed and the optional multimedia activities accessed. Proceed to the teacher’s guide section for complete details on all of the activities. Print copies with accompanying CDs for some titles are also available in the Library (Cell biology and cancer. US Documents: HE 20.3065:C 33; Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. US Documents: HE 20.3065:IN 3; Human genetic variation. US Documents: HE 20.3065:G 28).
EDSITEment! (“The Best of the Humanities on the Web”) (National Endowment for the Humanities and National Trust for the Humanities)
Grade Levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
TEKS: English Language Arts & Reading; Fine Arts; Languages Other Than English; Social Studies; Spanish Language Arts & Reading
- This site includes lesson plans and study activities that can be used to support related lesson plans or as standalone activities in the classroom.
Educational Outreach (U.S. Courts. The Federal Judiciary)
Grade Levels: 9-12
TEKS: Social Studies
- The materials posted here deal with current issues and are ready for immediate classroom use. They also can be used for a field trip to the local federal courthouse.
Educational Resources: Curriculum Materials (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco)
Grade Levels: 1-12
TEKS: Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and Its Benefits; Social Studies
- Here is an overview of Federal Reserve resources available online for downloading or ordering. The materials are sorted into three main categories: Economics, Personal Finance, and Social Studies/History. For easy reference, each resource is listed with its appropriate audience and media type. The Federal Reserve recommends that you use this list and their revised FederalReserveEducation.org as your starting points.
Educational Resources at the Census Bureau (U.S. Bureau of the Census)
Grade Levels: K-4, 5-8, 9-12
TEKS: English Language Arts & Reading; Mathematics; Social Studies
- This page includes several lesson plans and teaching guides covering a variety of different uses for census material.
FederalReserveEducation.org
Grade Levels: 1-12
TEKS: Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and Its Benefits; Social Studies
- Here you can find links to instructional materials and tools that can increase your understanding of the Federal Reserve, economics and financial education. All of the Fed web sites, curriculum, newsletters, booklets and other resources are free. Includes links to other (non-governmental) economic education sites. The “Teachers Resources” portion houses several interactive tools and resources for educators, students and parents. The curriculum search tool facilitates integrating Fed education materials into the classroom by aligning materials with National Standards.
For Educators. Capitol Visitors Center (Texas State Preservation Board)
Grade Levels: K-8
TEKS: Social Studies
- The Lesson Plans on this site relate directly to the tours, exhibits and films the students experience at the Texas State Capitol and the Visitors Center. They also cover material from the social studies TEKS. Separate lesson plans are available on the State Capitol for 4th and 7th grade classes.
H.I.P. Pocket Change™ Lesson Plans (The U.S. Mint)
Grade Levels: K-1, 2-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9-12
TEKS: English Language Arts & Reading; Mathematics; Science; Social Studies; Technology Applications
- Classroom teachers helped design these lesson plans for social studies, language arts, advanced math, and science using the 50 State Quarters® Program and the Westward Journey Nickel Series. Plans are based on the National Education standards.
The Learning Page. Lesson Plans (The Library of Congress)
Grade Levels: 4-12
TEKS: English Language Arts & Reading; Social Studies
- This site includes dozens of teacher created, classroom tested lesson plans, on topics from U.S. history to civics to literature. Use American Memory collections for primary source documents. Lesson plans are indexed by Themes, Topics, Disciplines or Eras and Title. “Lessons by Title” include a chart with a “Grades” column, but there is no way to search or limit by grade level.
Lesson Plans & Activities (USGS)
Grade Levels: K-6, 7-12, Undergraduate
TEKS: Science; Social Studies
- Tap into over 140 years of USGS research in the natural sciences in the form of lesson plans and activities, maps, podcasts, online lectures, videos and animations, datasets, and much more. Browse thousands of ideas for using these resources in elementary, secondary, university, and informal education settings.
Lesson Plans from TES (Teaching Environmental Sciences) (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality)
Grade Levels: K-12
TEKS: English Language Arts & Reading; Mathematics; Science; Social Studies
- Teachers who participated in the TCEQ’s Teaching Environmental Sciences (TES) program developed the lesson plans and ideas for field trips and other activities contained in this publication. (TES is a graduate-level course for teachers and non-formal educators interested in integrating environmental topics into their lessons and activities.) Correlations to TEKS is shown on each lesson plan. Chapters cover air, water, and waste. Appendix A is a list of lesson plans by grade level. This is an online version of a TCEQ publication also available in print in the Library. (Texas Documents: N330.5 L566P 2001)
NGA Classroom for Teachers and Students (National Gallery of Art)
Grade Levels: K-12
TEKS: English Language Arts & Reading; Fine Arts; Mathematics; Science; Social Studies
- A place where teachers and students can connect art and curriculum. Resources can be accessed by curriculum, topics, or artists. “Featured Lessons” include topics such as self-portraits in art (explores identity using self-portraits and creative writing), new angles on art (explores the intersection of art and math concepts such as geometry), and counting on art (using works of art to introduce and practice math concepts).
Smithsonian Lesson Plans (Educators. Smithsonian Education)
Grade Levels: PreK-3, 4-8, 9-12
TEKS: English Language Arts & Reading; Fine Arts; Science; Social Studies; Technology Applications
- Lesson plans in art & design, science & technology, history & culture, and language arts are available. Browse lesson plans by subject area or search by grade levels and keywords.
Teaching with Historic Places. Lesson Plans (National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places)
Grade Levels: 5-12
TEKS: Social Studies
- One of this site’s primary offerings is a series of classroom-ready lesson plans created by National Park Service interpreters, preservation professionals, and educators which use historic sites to explore American history. Although designed for middle school students learning history, social studies, geography, and other subjects, TwHP lessons are easily adaptable from upper elementary through high school, and even for college courses. Each lesson includes maps, readings, and photographs, all of which are accompanied by questions. Each TwHP lesson plan links both to relevant United States History Standards for Grades 5-12 and also to relevant Performance Expectations for Middle Grades from the national Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.
Understanding Taxes. Lesson Plans (Teacher Home. Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Dept. of the Treasury)
Grade Levels: 9-12
TEKS: Mathematics; Social Studies
- Detailed lesson plans guide instruction from the introduction of a given tax concept, through its development, to the lesson conclusion. This also gives the teacher the freedom to choose lesson content and activities to use in the classroom. Materials include printable PDFs for use in a traditional classroom setting, along with interactive online activities. The “Teacher Home” site also includes a section on “Educational Standards” with links to the National Standards curriculum areas and to the appropriate standards for all states.
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Updated December 2021: Kimberly Wirth, Coordinator of Information Literacy/Research Librarian.