In our hardware kits, we typically provide the ADXL335 or the LIS3DH accelerometer—both with breakout boards from Adafruit.

To learn about how to use these boards, we suggested the Adafruit tutorials:

• ADXL335: Adafruit Analog Accerleomter Breakouts, Adafruit
• Adafruit LIS3DH Triple-Axis Accelerometer Breakout, Adafruit