Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies > Resources > Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans

Here you’ll find lesson plans for grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12….completely FREE!

Click on any category or subcategory to browse the lesson plans. Each one is available as a PDF download. Teaching with Primary Sources project lesson examples showcasing accessible teaching for Multilingual and English Learners (funded with a grant from the Library of Congress) are newly available.

Members, please feel free to submit your Lesson Plan!

Lessons developed and piloted in 2022

Funded by a grant from the Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program of the Library of Congress, the MassCouncil has collaborated with the Collaborative for Educational Services and other organizations to increase multilingual learner access to the social studies. Read the project announcement post.

The English Learner Collaboration project of the Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies commissioned the development of lessons to illustrate applying English Language Development (ELD) teacher resources to History and Social Studies content.

Annotated with connections to the terms and principles from the WIDA 2020 ELD framework, and with suggestions for additional supports and preparation depending on the needs of the students in the classroom, this lesson provides a plan to meet not only history content objectives but language objectives.

These lessons are still under development, and are made accessible here to encourage teacher thinking and feedback. Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS program does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress. Editable copies of these 3 units are available upon request by emailing projects@masscouncil.org.

LANGUAGE-AWARE LESSON EXAMPLE: IS IT EVER OKAY TO BREAK A LAW? (HIGH SCHOOL)

LANGUAGE-AWARE LESSON EXAMPLE: CAN YOU ALWAYS SPEAK FREELY IN SCHOOL? (8th GRADE).

LANGUAGE-AWARE LESSON EXAMPLE: COLONIAL DAILY LIFE (3RD GRADE)

Lesson Plans (22)