Elementary
A collection of lessons and activities from Inspired Teaching to foster authentically engaging learning with students and deepen teachers' understanding of their role in the classroom.
Whether you teach early childhood or calculus, these award-winning lessons and activities—informed by 30 years of work with thousands of educators—authentically engage, spark curiosity, build community, and support academic success in your classroom. The self-led teacher assessment tools challenge you to shift your role from deliverer of information to Instigator of Thought, providing small steps with big payoff for reinvigorating your practice and rediscovering your why.
What would make you look forward to coming to school?
From a very young age, children know what interests them. This activity invited the possibility that this wisdom could drive our instruction.
10 Things You Can do With Soap
We’re all using soap to wash our hands more than usual, what else can you do with that slippery bubbly substance?
Sometimes
Sometimes one person can have lots and lots of feelings — different from each other. This activity encourages students to explore that experience.
Inside/Outside
In a moment where the world is especially fraught with change and uncertainty, we are all struggling to observe, name, and adjust to the flood of feelings around and within us. This activity was created in response to that reality.
Story as Witnessing: Creating Oral Histories During the Covid-19 Epidemic
How are you preserving the stories that document this unprecedented time in modern world history?
Start a News Show
This activity puts learners in the role of journalist, capturing what’s happening in their day and offering a more local approach to news for friends and family.
What’s in the Bag?
In this activity, both players strengthen their ability to craft questions aimed at reaching a specific goal (to figure out a characteristic of the item in the bag).
Once Upon a Time
Engaging in a playful, structured storytelling activity teaches learners to listen carefully, focus on details, sequence elements, and use imagination.
Creating with Materials
One of the best ways to keep students engaged (especially on rainy days) is to have them create, with whatever materials you might have on hand.
(Part 3) Showing Kindness from a Distance: Documenting Our Shared Experience
We’re all experiencing a historic moment together and sharing stories of our experiences is a good way to make the isolation feel less lonely.
(Part 2) Showing Kindness from a Distance: Words of Encouragement
A positive word goes a long way in these trying times. These activities suggest ways your learners can use writing to offer encouragement to others.
(Part 1) Showing Kindness from a Distance: You’ve Got Mail
There are ways to keep practicing kindness and connection, even as we stay 6-feet apart. Mailing notes to those we care about is one of them.
