Online Lesson Plans
What
resources are available for teachers?
I'm teaching a new unit, where can I go for ideas?
Where can I find good lessons that integrate technology?
Why reinvent the wheel? Before you start a new
unit, look for lesson plans that are already available on the Internet.
You'll find on- and off- computer lessons and activities in all the
content areas and grade levels. Remember that many of these websites
do not evaluate the quality of the lessons being posted. You'll also
notice that they use a wide variety of lesson planning formats ranging
from entire units to simple activity pages.
Start with a search at the Thinkfinity website. This website (formerly Marcopolo) has some of the best lesson plans on the Internet.
As you explore the following sites, notice that the 
indicates
an exceptional quality resource.
The following sites contain lesson plans:
Apple Learning Interchange
http://ali.apple.com/
Awesome Library
- Lesson Plans
http://www.awesomelibrary.org/Library/Materials_Search/Lesson_Plans/Lesson_Plans.html
Core Knowledge
Lesson Plans
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessonsindex.htm
Gateway, The
http://thegateway.org/
Use this as a search engine for lesson plans! Keep your search general.
IDEAS from
Wisconsin
http://www.ideas.wisconsin.edu/
Lesson Plan Library, The at Discovery
School
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/
Lesson Plans at The Learning Network, New York
Times
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/lesson-plans/
Lesson Plans from Learn NC (North Carolina)
http://www.learnnc.org/lessons/
Lesson Plans Page from HotChalk
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/
National Geographic Lesson Plans
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/education/lesson_plans/index.html
PBS Teachers
http://www.pbs.org/teachers
Explore 4000+ lessons by subject and grade level
Teacher First Content Matrix
http://www.teachersfirst.com/matrix.cfm
Teaching Ideas for Primary Classroom
http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/
Teachers.net
http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/posts.html
Search by category
TeacherVision
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/lesson-plan/resource/5775.html
Lesson plans by topic and theme.
Thinkfinity
http://www.thinkfinity.org/
Overall best choice for outstanding lesson plans.
Thinkfinity includes these consortium partners:
ArtsEdge http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/
EconEdLink http://www.econedlink.org/
EDSITEment http://edsitement.neh.gov/
Illuminations http://illuminations.nctm.org/
Literacy Network http://literacynetwork.verizon.org/TLN/
Read Write Think http://www.readwritethink.org/
Science NetLinks http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/
Smithsonian's History Explorer http://historyexplorer.americanhistory.si.edu/
Searching for Lesson Plans
Some websites search other websites for good resources. For example, The Gateway is a search engine for lesson plans.
Try a search using The
Gateway.
If you can't find a lesson to fit your needs, try
using the search engines to locate lessons. Use the keywords related
to your content area plus the words "lesson plan", "student
activity", "teacher's guide", or other related words
as part of your search.
Explore Lesson Plans
Level of Detail. How much detail is provided in the lesson? Would you be able to use the
lesson without further information? What additional
details would you need? How would you modify the lesson to fit your needs?
Lesson Planning Format/Layout. What do you like and/or dislike about
the lesson format and layout? Are there elements that you feel are missing?
What would you add?
Technology and Teaching Strategies. Does the lesson
make good use of the technology? Is technology viewed as a tool or an
object of instruction?
Do you think the teaching/learning strategies are effective? Is this
lesson a good use of instructional time? If not, what would you change
to make it more effective?
Planning. Compare the way the lesson planned
for technology and how you plan for technology in your classroom.
What elements do you think should
be considered when developing a lesson and classroom management strategy
for a technology-rich project?