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.
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
First Step Nonfiction — Geography
This series teaches beginning readers about geography, introducing maps, globes, and simple geography terms. Color photos support each concept. View →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
First Step Nonfiction — Let's Watch the Weather
This simple series introduces emergent readers to the ins and outs of weather, from what sunlight does to what a weather forecast is. Vibrant photos directly match the text on each page, and curricular features such as chapter headings and photo captions help kids learn about weather in… View →
First Step Nonfiction — Light and Sound
This simple, engaging series for beginning readers illuminates the basic properties of light and sound, from colors, shadows, and vibrations to ways we use light and sound to communicate. Bright photos, accessible text, and curricular features such as chapter headings and photo captions… View →