Connecticut State Department of Education

Teacher of the Year Ceremony
Due to inclement weather, the Teacher of the Year Ceremony has been postponed to December 16, 2025 from 5-7pm. Doors will open at 4pm. The Ceremony will take place at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, and the order of events will remain the same.

Connecticut Core Standards

Lesson Plans - Social Studies

Lesson Plans for Grades K-5

Grade Title
K Taking Care of Business
K-1 "My Family's Journey"
1 David’s Big Problem
3 Charter Oak Tree Introductory Activity
3 Mapping Your State
3 A Bad Case of Bullying - Using Literature Response Groups
4 “Children at Sea?”
5 Shay's Rebellion
5 American Revolution: Are All Men Created Equal?
5 Benjamin Franklin: Inventor, Printer, Writer

Lesson Plans for Grades 6-8

Grade Title
7 Current Events in Africa
8 A Letter to Harriet Tubman
8 If Men Were Angels - Teaching the Constitution with the Federalist
8 “In Response to Executive Order 9066 – All Americans of Japanese Descent Must Report to Relocation Center”
8 Writing an Objective Summary (Abby Sparrow)
8 Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Written by Himself
8 The Preamble to the Constitution - A Close Reading Lesson
8-12 A History of Discrimination and Its Consequences

Lesson Plans for Grades 9-12

Grade Title
8-12 A History of Discrimination and Its Consequences
9 Communicating on Local Issues - Exploring Audience in Persuasive Letter Writing
9-12 The Little Rock Nine and the Children’s Movement
9-12 How Has Technology Changed the Way Candidates Run for President?
9-12 Civil Conversation – The Syrian Refugee Crisis and U.S. Policy
9-12 A Fire Waiting to be Lit–The Bosnian Crisis of 1908
9-12 A Fire Waiting to be Lit–Did the Serbian Government Meet the Austrian Demands?
9-12 A Fire Waiting to be Lit–Which Country was to Blame for World War I?
9-12 The Art and Accessibility of Music
9-12 For the Sake of Argument - Writing Persuasively to Craft Short, Evidence-Based Editorials
11-12 Edward Snowden, The NSA, and Mass Surveillance
11-12 Supreme Court Case: Korematsu v. U.S.
11-12 Teaching About Children’s Rights Through the Work of Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi
11-12 Learning from Disaster—Exploring the Ebola Epidemic
11-12 I Am an American Day by Learned Hand