Curated OER
Take Effective Class Notes: Strategic Note-Taking
Your class members will feel confident in taking notes during your next lecture with this great note-taking worksheet, through which learners practice activating prior knowledge, recording key points, flagging new vocabulary, and...
IRISS
Exploring Self-Esteem 1: What Is Self-Esteem?
Adolescents explore self-esteem and the various factors that influence a person's sense of self in this four-part lesson series. Through a combination of whole class instruction, small group discussions, and independent work, students...
Curated OER
Create Your Own Country Project
Young scholars demonstrate their knowledge of geography with this fun, collaborative social studies project. Working in small groups, students develop their very own countries, writing descriptions of their physical location, social...
National Park Service
What Can We Do?
Motivate young conservationists to stand up and make a change. After learning about the efforts in Cascade Nation Park to reduce carbon emissions in order to preserve the wilderness, students work in groups creating action plans for...
Polar Bears International
Taking Action!
Motivate young scientists to stand up and take action with this environmental science instructional activity. To begin, the class works in small groups brainstorming actions that support the conservation of the earth before creating and...
Curated OER
Our Classroom Constitution
Develop a system of classroom rules created by the kids, for the kids with this three-part instructional activity series on the US Constitution. After learning about the structure of the Constitution and the government it established,...
Curated OER
Selecting the Tap: Water Safety
Examine water as a scarce natural resource instead of taking it for granted. Middle schoolers identify the traits of potable water, and research local water sources to determine if they are impaired or not.
Novelinks
The Lightning Thief: Problematic Situation Strategy
In the novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Percy is faced with a major decision. After reading, chapter 19, discuss the decision-making process Percy took, what he decided to do, and what your...
Curated OER
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Anticipation Guide
Before reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, take part in this thought-provoking, pre-reading activity that invites discussion about the story's theme using universal adages.
Curated OER
Oral Presentation
Practice public speaking in this oral presentation lesson. Middle schoolers list the characteristics of a powerful speaker. They watch a video of two speakers, compare them and discuss the qualities of a good speech. Afterwards, they...
Common Sense Media
Cyberbullying: Be Upstanding
Peers discuss cyberbullying and how they can defend their friends that may be bullied online and offline. They discover the value in showing empathy for those who have been cyberbullied. Class members then generate multiple solutions for...
Common Sense Media
Identifying High-Quality Sites
Use a Huffington Post article focused on false pictures of Hurricane Sandy to launch a discussion about the reliability of online information. Groups compare and contrast how print and broadcast media regulate data gathering with the...
Curated OER
CDV, CDV, What's a CDV?
Introduce your class to the Core Democratic Values. The instructional activity focuses on defining the Core Democratic Values and related terms. Small groups look up terms and present a song based on the information they've found. After...
Other
Center for Nonverbal Studies
Delve into the world of nonverbal cues. Learn about Adam's-Apple jump and the zygomatic smile.
Other
International Listening Association
"The International Listening Association (ILA) is a professional organization whose members are dedicated to learning more about the impact that listening has on all human activity." On this Web site you'll find exercises and lesson...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Topic Sentences
This slideshow lesson focuses on topic sentences; it defines them, gives the characteristics of effective topic sentences, tells what they are NOT, discusses how to create them, and provides examples of effective topic sentences.
CPALMS
Cpalms: Lafs.8.sl.1.3
Choose from among lesson plans, assessments, and original student tutorials to teach how to analyze a speaker's arguments.
BBC
Bbc Skillswise: Types of Listening
As part of the BBC's Skillswise unit on listening, this site focuses on the various types of listening. As learning tools, the site includes a factsheet, a worksheet, a quiz, and a game.
BBC
Bbc Skillswise: Listening for Specific Information
This tutorial presents a video, factsheets, and worksheets for learning how to listen for and understand information. It looks at how to handle different situations, e.g., arranging a delivery, asking questions about a product before...
Other
World Transformation: A Communication Model
The site uses stick figures and Venn diagrams to show how communication happens including verbal and nonverbal information. It also includes two exercises to perform.
Other
Speaking Effectively: Supporting the Talk
This substantial section focuses on supporting the main points of your speech or presentation. Find out how to avoid faulty reasoning and irrational appeals.
Biz Move
Biz Move: How to Be a Better Listener
Article on the importance of listening in the business setting. Explains what listening is, gives guidelines, and lists barriers.
Biz Move
Biz Move: Master Your Non Verbal Communication Skills
This article dicusses many aspects of nonverbal communication - eye contact, facial expressions, distance, paralanguage, and more. This is a very good introduction to the subject.