Guide members of the educational community in understanding and supporting autistic learners. A kit from Autism Speaks includes an array of tools designed for parents, teachers, and community members. 

Your learners engage their five senses every day without knowing it. Help them identify their experiences and extend their understanding with a month full of lessons designed for the five senses. Kids focus on a different sense every...

Priming and shaping, two teaching strategies used to prepare kids for upcoming activities, are detailed in this resource that models how to prepare kids for a trip to the supermarket. Activities include creating a shopping list,...

How are vegetables beneficial to a healthy diet? Have kids examine different types of vegetables, such as zucchini, broccoli, and carrots, and determine which parts of the plant they represent. Then, they taste the vegetables as a...

Students examine human health by identifying dangerous pesticides. In this agriculture lesson, students research the food production system in the United States and discuss dangers such as pesticides, chemicals and insecticides which...

Here comes the sun! Primary graders engage in activities that teach them how to protect themselves from the effects of UV rays. They learn that each season (fall, winter, spring, and summer) offers its own special challenges so they...

Primary graders become sun scientists and conduct experiments to learn about the beneficial and harmful effects of the sun and UV radiation. They also investigate their personal sunburn danger zones and learn about how to protect...

When kids enter school, they often bring home new illnesses. Decode their symptoms, and help them to take care of themselves, with a fact sheet about the common cold. It delineates the symptoms one would experience as well as the signs...

Turn on water, put hands in the water, pump soap. Keep track of a learners' steps to independence with a handwashing task analysis sheet that lists nine observable behaviors that can be rated.

Here's an idea for kids physically and emotionally ready for toilet training. Each time the child uses the potty and washes his or her hands, a potty icon is added to a potty point chart. When five spaces are filled, the...

Show me where it hurts. Learners with autism practice using bandage cards to show caregivers where they are feeling pain.

Give your youngsters a comprehensive introduction to the importance of washing hands and preventing the spread of germs in three activities, which include identifying what germs are, discovering where germs live, and practicing a...

Young geologists discover the important role that rocks and minerals play in our everyday lives through this series of hands-on activities. Starting off with a lesson that defines the difference between plants, animals, and...

Learn about the interesting life of George Washington Carver and his many accomplishments with this series of worksheets for primary grade learners. From coloring pages and word searches, to non-fiction reading passages and math skills...

Getting in the habit of practicing good dental hygeine is important for youngters. This lesson reinforces the importance. Learners have a class discussion about how they take care of their teeth, then create toothbrush holders out of...

Looking for an interactive back to school activity? Start by reading the book The Kissing Hand, and having your class discuss their feelings about the first day of school. They trace their hand onto paper, cut out the paper hand,...

Students use the food guide pyramid established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to evaluate the nutritional value of their favorite foods.

Even young children watch sports and like team logos and products. It's never too early to think critically about what's onscreen. This exercise develops awareness that media communicate values (i.e. who participates in sports and who...

A short, yet very informative, presentation on the basics of healthy eating. Young dieticians view slides which have colorful photos and graphics of foods that are healthy (and not so healthy), along with information on the basic food...

Staying clean is a big part of staying healthy and looking good in the community. Personal hygiene and napkin use are the focus of this activity. Your class will eat a messy food, look in a mirror to see if their face is messy, then...

Build social and conversation skills with a fun game! Special needs and children with autism can play this game to practice asking friendly questions and giving appropriate responses. After playing, have them ask one person a friendly...

Students create a time line of their lives from the perspective of 50 years in the future.

Have class members create a recipe flip book for their favorite after school snack. Using ordinal words (first, second next, etc.), young chefs write and illustrate each step in the process on separate cards. They then design a cover,...