Lessons on Timely Topics

Blue Apple Projects

Make PBL a reality this year with half the prep time and double the fun! Explore projects now.
 

Engage your students with FREE Lessons Connecting to Current Events

Each Timely Topic offers a series of 15-minute, no-prep lessons designed to boost curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking in your classroom. Do one lesson or do them all — the choice is yours! 

Any Time

Now more than ever, it is important to teach our students how to find reliable and trustworthy sources of information. Use Information Nation to teach your students how to become information literacy leaders! Download lessons.

We learn so much through play. In Games, Games, Games, students celebrate the power of fun and games with four thrilling games your students will love to play — and that you’ll love to let them!  Download lessons.

It’s important to connect our classrooms with what’s going on in the broader world. In Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we help teachers honor her life and her legacy. Download lessons.

Elections can be stressful for teachers. Tensions can run high. Debates become emotional. Everyone has strong opinions, and discussions often devolve into arguments. In Respectful Debate, we teach students how to debate respectfully, to stand up for what they believe in, and to disagree without being disagreeable.  Download lessons. 

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is at the heart of a successful classroom. With SEL-ebrating Community and Care, you can add a little extra well-being into your students’ lives each and every day with 4 fun activities! Do one activity, or do all four — the choice is yours!  Download lessons. 

Explore a variety of hands-on, inquiry-oriented activities that sharpen students’ creative and critical thinking skills while helping them explore exactly why winter is coming. In The Reason for the Seasons, we teach students how the Earth’s tilt and orbit around the sun influences seasonal differences.  Download lessons. 

Artificial Intelligence can be an incredibly powerful tool to deepen learning in your classroom. Use You and AI activities to get a glimpse of how you can use AI to make your classroom a place full of learning experiences that are even more memorable, meaningful, and FUN!! Download lessons.

August

Establish community in your classroom by investing time into building  a positive classroom culture. Classroom Community lessons will go a long way in helping support this work! Download lessons.

September

Hispanic individuals have had an incredible impact on our nation’s history. Learn about the diversity of different Hispanic cultures, discover incredible and often-overlooked heroes from history, and dive into engaging activities your kids will love with Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month activities!. Download lessons.

September 11th forever altered our world. With Honoring 9/11, help your students to delve deep into this historic event, understand its impact, and appreciate its significance so that the lessons of September 11th are never forgotten. Download lessons.

October

The leaves are falling. A chill is in the air. What better time for a little spookiness—and what better way to be spooky than with some creative STEAM challenges? In Spooktacular STEAM, your class can explore five fun, free lessons to make your month memorable, meaningful, and FUN!  Download lessons. 

November

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect and be grateful, but it can also be a time filled with curiosity and wonder. Help your students level up their creative and critical thinking skills with 4 fun, 15-minute activities to make your Thanksgiving thinktastic! Download lessons. 

With Valuing Our Veterans, help your students learn about the brave men and women who work to defend our nation, and to understand the importance of valuing our veterans! Download lessons. 

December

In Happier Holidays, students celebrate the holiday season with activities to engage their creativity and critical thinking! Download lessons.

January

In Celebrating Black History Month, students learn about the impact of Black Americans on our history. They develop problem-solving and collaboration by analyzing American Black History and the fight for fairness and equality! Download lessons.

In Cheers to the New Year, students will learn that a  new year can be a chance for new goals, new dreams, and new accomplishments. Help your class get the year off to an incredible start with 4 fun, 15-minute activities that will make your classroom a smarter, kinder place! Download lessons.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a giant of the Civil Rights movement. He made the world a better place by standing up for what was right, and working to make a more just society. In Honoring Martin Luther King Jr., celebrate this American hero with 5 creative, thought-provoking lessons on his incredible life and legacy! Download lessons.

February

February is all about the heart, so share the love with Valentine’s Day STEAM — 15-minute fun activities your students will love…and learn from! Download lessons. 

March

This March, launch a reading and writing ADVENTURE! Celebrate National Reading Month with these four engaging activities to cultivate curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking, and to inspire a love of all things literary! Download lessons.

The contributions that women have made to history have often been overlooked. Help right this wrong with 5 Celebrating Women’s History lessons that will teach your students about some of the fantastic females who have shaped our world.  Download lessons. 

April

Curiosity is the one invincible thing in nature! Use these flexible Earth Day activities to get your class curious about our wonderful world, the threats it faces, and what they can do to help! Download lessons.

May

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have had an incredible impact on our nation’s history. With AAPI Heritage Month, celebrate and pay tribute to their powerful influence and get your students thinking creatively and critically about how these extraordinary Americans have helped shape our nation.  Download lessons. 

Explore a variety of hands-on, inquiry-oriented activities that will allow students to explore and discover the learning that is possible in the great outdoors with The A’MAY’zing Outdoors Download lessons. 

Each Blue Apple Project Includes: