Best Free Lesson Plan Websites

Free lesson plans for teachers come from public broadcasters, professional associations and museums. PBS LearningMedia, ReadWriteThink and NCTM Illuminations offer a strong start for classroom-ready material.

Free lesson plans for teachers are easy to find; the harder part is picking the right source for your grade and subject. Each pick below says who it suits, followed by a short vetting routine. For more on cutting prep, see these time saving tips for teachers.

The table draws on PBS LearningMedia’s own description and a WGU roundup of free planning resources.

If you need ready-made lessons across subjects

Broad libraries suit teachers who cover several subjects or who want one place to search. They usually let you filter by subject and grade, and Edutopia notes that most curriculum-sharing sites offer sorting by subject and grade level and matching to standards. All of them offer no-cost or low-cost lessons and materials.

PBS LearningMedia

PBS LearningMedia gives every teacher in the US free access, according to the Pioneer PBS page on the service. It describes thousands of classroom-ready resources aligned to state and national standards, covering all core subjects, PreK-12, with added emphasis on science and social studies.

• Best for: teachers of science and social studies, and anyone who wants a single standards-aligned library.
• Useful extras: a free account unlocks additional features and tools. The service works with Google Classroom, Schoology Learning, Clever and Remind, and includes many bilingual resources.
• Quality signal: the resources were developed with teachers and subject-matter experts.
• Limit: the emphasis on science and social studies means other subjects may need a second source.

Share My Lesson

Share My Lesson is a community library. Edutopia describes user-rated Common Core exemplar lessons in a library of more than 250,000 resources. Lesson plans are searchable by education level, from Pre-K through high school.

It suits teachers who like to see how colleagues rated a lesson before spending prep time. The limit is that ratings reflect other teachers’ experience, so they are a guide and not a guarantee of quality.

OER Commons

OER Commons is a collection of open educational resources, with nearly 50,000 assets from hundreds of content providers. It suits teachers who want material they can adapt, because open resources typically carry a licence. Read the licence on each item to see whether you may edit, remix or share it, since terms can differ between providers.

Because contributions come from many providers, expect uneven quality and format. Treat it as a deep pool to search, then vet what you pick.

If you teach one subject and want depth

Subject specialists often give more detail than general libraries, including standards, timing and student activities. The WGU roundup covers several of them, and the notes on each site are the basis for the picks below.

ReadWriteThink for English language arts

For each lesson, ReadWriteThink shows the Common Core and NCTE standards addressed and how long the lesson takes to implement. That makes it easy to judge fit before you commit. It suits literacy teachers who need to show alignment to a planning lead.

NCTM Illuminations for maths

The site includes more than 700 lesson plans and 100 activities for students. It suits maths teachers building a unit from several lessons. It does not help outside maths.

PhET for science and maths simulations

PhET creates free interactive math and science simulations. Use it to add a hands-on element to a lesson you already have, rather than as a full lesson plan on its own.

Scholastic for K-8

Scholastic is strongest for teachers of K-8, with lessons linked to standards. Secondary teachers will likely find a subject specialist more useful.

EDSITEment, National Geographic and the Library of Congress for humanities

Humanities teachers have several options. Edutopia says EDSITEment is organized into four categories: Art and Culture, Foreign Languages, History and Social Studies, and Literature and Language Arts. WGU adds that its materials have been reviewed for content, design and educational impact.

• National Geographic: modular activities, lessons and units. Most activities can be completed in a class period, which suits tight timetables.
• Library of Congress classroom materials: lessons can be sorted by state standards, which helps when you need to document alignment.

If you need to check a free lesson before using it

A free lesson is only a time saver if it fits your class. The quickest checks use signals the sites already display.

A vetting checklist

• Standards named: look for a listed standards set, as ReadWriteThink shows for each lesson. State standards differ, so confirm the match against your own state’s list.
• Duration stated: a listed lesson length lets you check it against your class period.
• Who made it: prefer material developed with teachers and subject-matter experts, as PBS LearningMedia describes, or reviewed for content, design and educational impact, as EDSITEment is.
• Ratings and comments: on community sites, teachers rate others’ contributions after using them. Read the lower ratings as well as the top ones.
• Licence and editing: check the licence on the resource page before changing, copying or sharing a file with colleagues.
• Read it through: check the answer key, the materials list and the instructions yourself before printing.

Are free resources aligned to standards?

Many are, but alignment depends on the site and the individual lesson. PBS LearningMedia describes its resources as aligned to state and national standards, and Scholastic links lessons to standards. Other sites let you sort or match by standards. Because state standards differ, treat any alignment claim as a starting point and confirm it against your state list.

If you want to compare free with paid options

Some catalogues mix free and premium material. Lesson Planned, for example, lets you explore over 14,000 teaching resources, labelled free and premium worksheets and lesson resources. Check the label before you build a plan around an item.

If a free site does not cover your topic, compare teachers pay teachers alternatives and decide when a small purchase saves more time than it costs. Once you have sources you trust, learn how to plan lessons for the week quickly by gathering material in one sitting.

Frequently asked questions