Lesson Plans for Grades K-2

Culture in Our Community

This lesson was created by Carmen Besler, Tammy Van Cleve, Molly Baumhover, and Amy Steffensmeier (Dubuque School District) for students from second to third grade. This lesson plan allows students to become aware of the various cultures in their community.

Getting Familiar with Mapping

This lesson was created by Susan Wernimont, Jayne Meyer, Carl Meyers, and Beth Jarding (Dubuque School District) for students from first to fifth grade. This lesson plan will allow students to learn how to use tools to make maps and analyze them.

Good Apples

This lesson was created by Phyllis Nuehring for students from kindergarten to fifth grade. In this lesson plan, students will gain knowledge that individuals may be different on the outside but similar on the inside using a demonstration.

Higher or Lower Temperatures

This lesson plan was created by Evelyn Oliver (Logan-Magnolia Elementary School) for students in 1st grade. In this lesson, students will learn about how the seasons and temperatures of a place are affected by latitude, nearness to water, and elevation.

Learn about Physical Environments

This lesson was created by Jodi Russell (Mt. Vernon School District), Marlene Weber (Dubuque School District), and Jan Jauhiainen (Cedar Rapids School District) for first grade students but can be adapted to higher grades. As a result of this lesson plan, students will learn how the physical environment affects aspects of life.

Plastic Bags Contest - Bangladesh vs. USA

This lesson was created by Jane Watson (Starmont Schools) for students from kindergarten to sixth grade. This lesson plan allows students to identify environmental issues and how they compare in different countries.

Where Do Zebras Live?

This lesson was created by Dawn Wiley (Mount Pleasant Community School District) for first grade students. With this lesson plan, students will learn about the life of a zebra through an artistic activity.

Where in the world could I count how many stars are in the sky?

This lesson was created by Dawn Pohlman (Manson-Northwest Webster CSD) for students in the first grade and was supported by the Mid-Iowa School Improvement Consortium (MISIC). This lesson plan allows students to explore differences that exist within communites of the same region.