eSource: Free Teaching Guides

Select a product from the list below to view available teaching guides. Use the tags on left to filter the list.

Cover: Living in Urban Communities

First Step Nonfiction — Communities

Introduce young readers to the types of communities around them. Colorful photographs support the simple text and illustrate the similarities and differences of living in urban, suburban, and rural communities. These books support key curriculum standards for the primary grades. View →

 
Cover: Police Station

First Step Nonfiction — Community Buildings

Give beginning readers a peek inside community buildings and familiarize them with the objects and people commonly found there. Color photos directly correspond to the simple text on each page. View →

 
Cover: Reuse

First Step Nonfiction — Conservation

Create a classroom of conservationists! Each of these simple books examines way students can help conserve resources in their community. The simple text and corresponding photographs will support students as they learn about these important concepts. View →

 
Cover: The Night Sky

First Step Nonfiction — Discovering Nature's Cycles

Designed for students at a first grade reading level, these titles help young readers identify and predict cycles in the natural world through examining animal behavior or natural phenomena. View →

 
Cover: Grouping

First Step Nonfiction — Early Math

In this series basic concepts from early math curriculum are introduced using fun and familiar objects. These books support a well-balanced math program focusing on developing whole-number concepts and using patterns and sorting to explore numbers, data, and shapes. View →

 
Cover: Subtraction

First Step Nonfiction — Early Math Set II

More basic math concepts are introduced using fun and familiar objects. Readers will learn about patterns and sorting and develop whole number concepts. View →

 
Cover: Plants and the Environment

First Step Nonfiction — Ecology

Explore the concept of interdependence of life with young readers. Each of these engaging, photographic books looks at how people, plants, and animals need a healthy environment—and each other—to survive. View →

 
Cover: What Is Citizenship?

First Step Nonfiction — Exploring Government

This set in the trusted First Step Nonfiction brand explains how government works, what its basic functions are, and how it affects our daily lives. From elections to citizenship, these titles will help young readers understand the key concepts of government. Bright,… View →

 
Cover: Made of Wood

First Step Nonfiction — Exploring Materials

Clear photographs introduce beginning readers to common objects made from the same material. Students can compare and contrast the properties of the materials while improving their reading skills. View →

 
Cover: Pigs

First Step Nonfiction — Farm Animals

This series explains the unique features and roles of various farm animals using simple text and color photographs. A diagram and fun facts complete this introduction to familiar, kid-friendly animals. View →

 
Cover: Happy

First Step Nonfiction — Feelings

Students will relate to the feelings addressed in these picture-filled books. Simple language familiarizes students with the written forms of words they already know, while teaching about the cause-and-effect relationships that evoke certain emotions. View →

 
Cover: Meats and Proteins

First Step Nonfiction — Food Groups

Build nutritional awareness in beginning readers through this appetizing series. The main text explains why each food group is beneficial and how much to eat. Kids will especially enjoy the trivia in the back of the book. View →

 
Cover: Gravity

First Step Nonfiction — Forces and Motion

Readers will easily grasp central concepts of physics in this fun series. From roller coasters to pool floats, and swings to hula hoops, the examples in the text and photographs illustrated each force or motion in the series. Rich back matter offers additional facts about the physical… View →

 
Cover: Globes

First Step Nonfiction — Geography

This series teaches beginning readers about geography, introducing maps, globes, and simple geography terms. Color photos support each concept. View →

 
Cover: What Is Government?

First Step Nonfiction — Government

This social studies series explores the concepts of government in relation to students’ family, school, community, and country. Broad concepts are introduced using simple explanations and familiar examples. View →

 
Cover: Let's Make a Circle Graph

First Step Nonfiction — Graph It!

Informative photographs and simple texts familiarize readers with a variety of graphs. Students will see how graphs organize data and make it easier to understand. This series meets standards for both math and language arts. View →

 
Cover: Ocean

First Step Nonfiction — Habitats

Readers will travel to a variety of environments in this engaging series. The simple text and striking photography explore the types of plants and animals that live in each habitat. The books also shows the contrasts within a type of habitat—illustrating, for example, that some… View →

 
Cover: T Sounds

First Step Nonfiction — Hard Consonants

Engaging photos fully support readers as they learn simple words that use sounds of seven hard consonants. The words come together on the page to build a complete sentence. Students will feel the joy of building their reading skills as they successfully identify each word and read the… View →

 
Cover: Liquids

First Step Nonfiction — Kinds of Matter

Students will enjoy learning about solids, liquids, and gases while improving their reading skills. Full-color photographs and easy sentences introduce students to the three types of matter. View →

 
Cover: Kinds of Grains

First Step Nonfiction — Kinds of Plants

Vibrant photographs and simple vocabulary introduce students to fruits, vegetables, grains, and flowers. Students learn about different types of plants while improving their reading skills. View →

 
Cover: Windy

First Step Nonfiction — Kinds of Weather

Students will learn general terms to describe various weather conditions in this easy-to-read series. Key terms are repeated while sensory cues describe what a child might see or feel in various weather conditions. View →

 
Cover: Plateaus

First Step Nonfiction — Landforms

Simple sentences and vivid color photos explain the features of various landforms. These books define each landform and explain what it looks like, how it is formed, and how it is useful to people, plants, and animals. View →

 
Cover: Let's Find Ads on Signs

First Step Nonfiction — Learn about Advertising

Build critical thinking skills in young readers by helping them understand the concept of advertising. Simple texts focus on the places where kids encounter advertising and explain how ad messages influence viewers. This series supports media literacy standards and shows students how to… View →

 
Cover: Exploring Stems

First Step Nonfiction — Let's Look at Plants

Vibrant color photographs and simple sentences introduce students to the parts of plants. Students will love learning about plants while improving their reading skills. This series meets both science and reading standards. View →