Finding a good unit you want to use in your classroom is like Christmas all over again. It is on a topic you teach. It brings in all kinds of creative ideas so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. And there's a plethora of resources from which you can pick and choose. Not only that, you can easily adapt it to fit into your existing treasure chest of strategies for instruction. With all of this in mind, here's a hotlist of great units spanning the grade levels. I listed the big guns up front, in case you weren't aware of them, but the bulk of this issue is devoted to gems that are hidden across the Web. Thanks to Jerry B for his recommendations. Enjoy!

First, the big names in online units. Visit these sites for extensive archives of lessons and units. All have free access but some may require you to register:

• A to Z Teacher Stuff Themes - http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/
• Ask ERIC - http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/
• Classroom Connect - http://www.classroom.com/
• Connecting Students - Themes - http://www.connectingstudents.com/themes/
• Discovery School - http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/
• Education.com - http://www.education.com/teachspace/resources/
• Education World - http://www.education-world.com/a_special/archives/
• Gander Academy Theme Pages - http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/themes.html
• NASA - http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/EdActivities.html
• PBS TeacherSource - http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/
• Roger Taylor - http://www.rogertaylor.com/
• Scholastic - http://teacher.scholastic.com/ilp/index.asp
• S.C.O.R.E. CyberGuides - http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/SCORE/cyberguide.html

 

• Cereally Speaking - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/1018/cereally_speaking.html
  Amanda Thompson's unit on smart consumerism for children with a focus on breakfast cereals; integrated across the curriculum, there are ten lessons here nicely developed and ready to use. Includes taste testing, histograms, advertising, and developing and promoting original cereals.
• Community Discovered - http://communitydisc.wst.esu3.k12.ne.us/HTML/unitsearch.html
  Extensive storehouse of teacher-designed units on a wide array of topics designed to bring together arts and technology under a constructivist umbrella - worth sifting through the 350+ offerings by clicking on the browse all units button, or customize your search for specific topics and age groups.
• Early Childhood Thematic Units - http://www.sbcss.k12.ca.us/sbcss/specialeducation/ecthematic/index.html
  A dozen units, many recently updated and written specifically with the primary grades in mind; topics include animals bubbles, transportation and insects. Each unit is broken down into relevant categories such as Fine Motor/Art, Gross Motor, Language Development, Software and Support Media.
• Exploring Planets in the Classroom - http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/class_acts/index.html
  "More than 25 hands-on science activities are provided in classroom-ready pages for both teachers and students for exploring Earth, the planets, geology, and space sciences" - wonderful stuff on the solar system, volcanology, Earth, the Moon, Mars and more.
• Fractals - http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/frac/
  Cynthia Lanius offers this great upper elementary and middle school unit on the mathematics of these visually stunning images; covers their properties and the process of creating them in ways that allow students to understand and learn. Includes Internet research activities.
  
• The Imagination Factory - http://www.kid-at-art.com/
  This is Marilyn Brackney's dynamite unit bringing together environmental science and art for elementary children. It's been newly formatted and updated for even more neat ideas for the classroom. Be sure to check out Trashasaurus Rex and the great idea for Origami Boxes.
• In2Edu Thematic Units - http://www.in2edu.com/edulinks/themes_integrated%20units.htm
  Here is an extensive collection of integrated units hotlinked at your fingertips. They are listed by subject areas and include dozens of subtopics for each. For example, click on English/Language Arts and get a listing of units from advertising themes to visual media. Units span primary to secondary classrooms.
• Japan - http://www.primenet.com/~bec/
  This thematic art unit was developed by Bettie Lake and is full of fabulous ideas for experiencing cultural differences. Topics include Aesthetic Issues, Crafts/Lessons, Shrines, Education/Students, Castles, Theater, Calligraphy and Temples. The backgrounds can be a bit distracting but the content is solid.
• Learning About Leonardo - http://library.thinkquest.org/13681/data/davin2.shtml
  Subtitled "Why is the Mona Lisa smiling?", Steve Feld hosts this extensive look at the genius of the original 'Renaissance man'. Pertinent sections include The Mona Lisa Smile, Da Vinci Music and Learning about Lillian. Originally a ThinkQuest entry, this page continues to grow and thrive on its own merits.
• Thematic Planning Units - http://busboy.sped.ukans.edu/projects/theme/
  Here you'll find more than three dozen units categorized into primary and intermediate elementary levels. These are straightforward, ready-to-print-and-use traditional units. You've got to love a unit entitled "Chocolate" - requires Adobe Acrobat to read unit files.
  
• Virtual Worlds - http://bized.ac.uk/virtual/home.htm
  Presented by Biz/Ed, this is an opportunity for applying business studies using all the major business functions, including production, accounts and marketing. There's a Virtual Learning Arcade, a developing country simulation, a factory and a Virtual Economy.
  
• Weather - http://faldo.atmos.uiuc.edu/WEATHER/weather.html
  This is an across the curriculum look at meteorology for upper elementary and middle school students. Not every content area is loaded with lesson ideas but there's enough here to provide a foundation for your work with your own class. Lessons include Our Town, Hey You Stole My Rain!, Weather Noise and Do It Yourself Rainstorm.

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