Many federal and Maryland state government websites provide free educational resources for teachers and students, including lesson plans, materials for classroom instruction, and professional development opportunities.
Kid's Pages
Federal and state government departments and agencies have created webpages for younger audiences to help explain what they do on behalf of the American public with fun facts, resources, and games. Click below to learn more!
- Maryland for Kids
- U.S. House of Representatives for Kids
- U.S. Senate Youth Program
- Library of Congress for Kids and Families
- Virtual Tour of the U.S. Capitol Building
- Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids (GPO)
- CIA for Kids
- Environmental Protection Agency for Kids
- NASA for Kids
- Smithsonian for Kids
- Smokey the Bear
- Treasury Department for Kids
Teachers' Pages
- CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
- Library of Congress Teachers Page: Find standards-based tutorials, interactive student activities, webcasts and more than 85 lesson plans on topics ranging from history to literature to civics and government. Also offers more than 19 million primary source materials, including films, documents, photographs and maps.
- National Archives Lesson Plans: Contains reproducible copies of primary documents from the holdings of the National Archives of the United States, teaching activities correlated to the National History Standards and National Standards for Civics and Government, and cross-curricular connections.
- America’s Library: Engage younger students in a fun and interactive way using this page, which teaches America’s history through games, puzzles, and other activities.
- Maryland Dept. of Education Toolkit: This page offers Maryland educators resources to enhance student learning in the classroom, as well as improve student success on all Maryland assessments.
- Stop Bullying Toolkit: Find tips and resources for teachers on how to identify and prevent bullying/cyberbullying and build a safe environment in the classroom.
- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- LOC Professional Development: This page highlights training opportunities for teachers at the Library of Congress in D.C., in communities, and online.
- LITERACY & LEARNING RESOURCES
- Read.gov: Visit this page to find reading and literacy resources for kids, teens, and adults.
- What Works Clearinghouse: Find practical advice on addressing everyday challenges teachers face in their classrooms, including everything from helping students who struggle with math to helping students navigate the path to college.