K-12 Lesson Plans & Curriculum Materials

UT Libraries offer a large selection of books containing lesson plans, activies and exercises. These are usually focused on a single subject and/or grade level and are designed to give teachers concrete tools they can use in the classroom. All books in this collection can be found on the 5th floor, section F (next to the stairs). To search this collection, choose the "Library Catalog, K-12" option in the box above.

We also own numerous eBooks similar to those described above. Review our collection here.

We have also gathered hundreds of online lesson plans into one custom Google search so it's easier to find classroom activities that match your needs. Simply search using the "Online Lesson Plans" option in the box above. Tip... the more specific the better. For example, Rosa Parks or segregation searches are more likely to return useful results than a broad term like racism.

Primary Source Content

If you are designing your own lessons and are in need of images, videos, historical documents, etc., the following websites and UT Libraries databases are good places to start your search. Keep in mind that it is important to investigate any copyright restrictions related to the content you choose to work with. For more about copyright and fair use of primary sources in your lessons, check out The Copyright Site.

American Memory
Daily Life through History (UT affiliates only)
History Matters
Library of Congress
New York Public Library Digital Collections
New York Times (UT affiliates only)

Content by Reading Level

To find content or texts for specific reading levels, you can use the following databases. Just add your keywords and then look for the box that allows you set a reading level limit. Note: most of these databases use the Lexile Reading Level schema to determine reading levels.

ELibrary Curriculum (all grades)
MAS Ultra (grades 6-12)
Middle Search Plus (grade 5-10)
Primary Search (grades 1-6)
Topic Search (grades 5-12)