STEAM for 1st grade

Scratch is our number one pick: a free block-based coding site from a nonprofit that works for ages 8 and up and has teacher accounts. Ranked, with price, a limit and how we chose.

Checked 2026-10-27

Computer science for kids in plain words: the 2026 CSTA standards, Code.org, Scratch and ScratchJr, CS Unplugged, AP CS Principles vs. CS A, and what the evidence says.

Checked 2026-11-06

Inquiry-based social studies in plain words: the C3 Framework, the Inquiry Design Model, primary sources and Reading Like a Historian, civics and geography standards, and the evidence.

Checked 2026-11-06

What knowledge-building ELA is: why background knowledge drives comprehension, how CKLA, EL Education and Wit & Wisdom work, and what reviewers found.

Checked 2026-11-06

What problem-based math is: Illustrative Math, Investigations, CGI, Number Talks, Building Thinking Classrooms and Japanese lessons, and a fair account of the explicit-versus-inquiry debate.

Checked 2026-11-06

Forty first-week icebreakers sorted for K–2, 3–5 and 6–8, each with what to say, what you need and how long it takes, plus a getting to know you wheel and an all about me page.

Eight lesson plan formats to fill in on screen: daily, weekly, 5E, gradual release, Madeline Hunter, backward design, unit and centers. Print or copy to Docs.

Thirty STEM challenges for K–2, 3–5 and 6–8 with cheap, safe materials: the challenge, the materials, the time limit and how to test each design fairly.

Twenty printable cards for coding without a screen: robot partner, repeat, find the bug, if-then rules. Print 4 or 8 to a page. Free, no sign-in.

Checked 2026-11-07

Drag letter tiles to build words on a magnetic-style board, with vowels in red and consonants in blue. Free, no sign-in.

A getting-to-know-you spinner with fourteen icebreaker prompts for the first week of school: favorites, hobbies, dream trips and more. Safe for every age and easy to answer.

Ten free unplugged coding lessons with printables, K to 8th grade: steps, repeats, if-then, bugs, scoreboards, test plans, and writing a precise spec for an AI.

Checked 2026-11-06

How do you tell a robot what to do, if it only does what you say? A free unplugged lesson for K to 2nd, about 25 minutes, with a printable.

Checked 2026-11-06

If you do the same thing again and again, can you say it just once? A free unplugged lesson for K to 2nd, about 25 minutes, with a printable.

Checked 2026-11-06

What should happen when something happens? A free unplugged lesson for K to 2nd, about 20 minutes, with a printable.

Checked 2026-11-06

How do you find the mistake in a set of steps? A free unplugged lesson for K to 3rd, about 25 minutes, with a printable.

Checked 2026-11-06

A building substitute reports to the same school every day and covers whatever absences it has.

Checked 2026-10-31

Ten questions with their wrong answers. Spot the one that gives the game away. Each why shows the real rule Peabody's practice bank uses to pick wrong boxes.

Checked 2026-10-30

A free coding project rubric in three grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8) for block or text code: it works, planning, debugging, readable code and explaining it.

Checked 2026-10-30

A free board game project rubric in three grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8): the topic in play, clear rules, neat board and pieces, a game that works when classmates play.

Checked 2026-10-30

A free STEM challenge rubric in three grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8) scoring the process (plan, teamwork, test and improve, reflect), not only whether it worked.

Checked 2026-10-30

A nonfiction passage about mars rovers for 1st grade, 101 words, with five comprehension questions, an answer key and vocabulary. Print it or read it big.

A fiction passage about a robot who waters night flowers for 1st grade, 74 words, with six comprehension questions, an answer key and vocabulary. Print it or read it big.