Teacher Resources: Web Guide

Lesson Plans

Overview

When it comes to fresh ideas for lesson plans and activities, why “reinvent the wheel” if you don’t have to? Teachers, publishers, and educational enterprises of all kinds make ideas freely available through the Web. Some things to consider when reviewing them:

1. Some lesson plan sites are for EFL/ESL populations, while others are in English for native speakers. Both can be of use. You simply need to look at the content of the sites with a selective, creative, and adaptive eye. Hint: on the native speaker sites “Language Arts” lesson plans are concerned with writing, grammar, literature, and other language-related skill areas.
   
   
2. You may find you only want part of a lesson plan. Take for your use whatever parts are the best fit for your class(es). You may decide, for example, that you want to use slightly different materials, or you want to change the recommended length of time for it.
   
   
3. Many lesson plan sites categorize content according to recommended ages. The ages are a suggested guide only. Do not give this part of the guide too much importance. Look at all lesson plans that seem to be of possible interest, and consider ways to scale them up or down according to your students’ needs.
   
   
4. Last of all, look for opportunities to “double dip” or teach two or more things at once. High-interest content areas that combine language skills plus motivating topics can make a strong combination.

Resources

A to Z Teacher Stuff
Created for teachers by teachers.

Breaking News English
Current events and business English lesson plans. Each one contains a news article, listening (MP3 file), communication activities, pair work, discussion, reading and vocabulary exercises. Classroom handouts are reproducible in Word and PDF.

Britannica Encyclopedia
You don't need to log in to use the search box. Enter the phrase "lesson plans" (or any other keywords that interest you) in order to get information.

Columbia Education Center
Lesson plans by grade level and subject area.

Core Knowledge
Lesson plans for elementary and middle school learners.

Discovery's Lesson Plans Library
Hundreds of original lesson plans on a variety of topics, sorted according to age and grade level.

EdHelper
Lesson plans, webquests, worksheets, critical thinking problems, exams and puzzles.

Education Place
Resources for teachers, students, and parents. From HoughtonMifflin.

EduRef Lesson Plans (formerly AskERIC)
More than 2000 unique lesson plans from all over the United States and the world.

Everything ESL
Content-based lesson plans for ESL/EFL.

Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM)
A large repository of resources, sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA).

Internet TESL Journal (I-TESL-J), Lesson Plans
Lesson plans for ESOL from Internet TESL Journal, organized by skill area.

Kidz Online
Lesson plans for grades 6 and up. Special tech units also available.

LessonPlanZ.com
Lesson plans by grade level and by subject area.

Microsoft Lesson Connection
A searchable collection of lesson plans.

National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA)
A large repository of lesson plans, articles, and research.

New York Times Learning Network
Lesson plans based on current news topics for middle school level and higher.

Smithsonian
Lesson plan ideas from Smithsonian.

Teach-Nology
Worksheets, rubrics (for evaluation and assessment), lesson plans, games, and tips.

Teacher Helpers
Elementary school level lesson plans by subject and grade level.

TeacherLink
Teaching resources in English from NASA that can be adapted to ESL/EFL settings.

TEFL.NET ESL, Worksheets
Worksheets and handouts for EFL/ESL use in class.

U.S. Department of Education
Lesson plans by grade level and topic from the U.S. Department of Education.

Directories

ESL Web Guide

LessonPlans.com

Sites for Teachers