Scholastic
Building Trust in a Classroom
Check out these three great trust-building activities that will help your young learners understand the importance of safe, trusting relationships and environments.
US Institute of Peace
Maintaining Trusting Relationships
What role does trust play in diffusing a tense situation? Young social scientists explore trust on a personal and global level during a lesson on peace and conflict. After participating in a trust sit, participants work in groups to...
Josephson Institute
Trustworthiness
Build trust—literally—with a instructional activity that sparks reflection, grand conversation, and creativity. Scholars construct a trust tower out of blocks showcasing a picture that represents a good deed they have done to gain trust...
Skyscraper Museum
Building a Skyscraper
Creating buildings that reach hundreds of feet into the sky is no easy task. The third instructional activity in this series begins with four activities that engage young architects in exploring the major challenges that are faced when...
Curated OER
Building Trust
Students identify the qualities that make them trustworthy. In this philanthropy instructional activity, students define the word "trust" and play a game that demonstrates trust between the players. Students discuss people they know who...
Overcoming Obstacles
Being Responsible
A lesson all about responsibility details the importance of building trust. Scholars discuss and create posters about responsibility and explore strategies to become more responsible. Peers work collaboratively to craft a rainbow of...
Gobal Oneness Project
Building a Community of Trust
Barrio de Paz is the story of Nelsa Libertad Curbelo, a nun, who works with the gang youth of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The 17-minute documentary focuses on her explanations for the rise of gangs and for how gang culture reflects...
Global Oneness Project
Resurrecting a Home
Davina Pardo's documentary Minka asks viewers to consider that value of preserving traditional dwellings and traditional building techniques by examining how American journalist John Roderick and Japanese architect Yoshihiro Takishita...
Facing History and Ourselves
Making Meaning of Community
In the post-pandemic classroom, it's more important than ever to begin the school year by building a strong sense of trust and community. Using the Make Meaning and Big Paper teaching techniques, groups develop a definition of community...
Curated OER
A Loyal Friend
Students examine the attributes of trust. In this character education lesson, students read the Irish folktale "Beth Gellert". Students discuss the folktale and how they can earn the trust of others.
US Institute of Peace
Responding to Conflict: Active Listening
Did I hear you right? You need a great lesson plan on active listening? Through large- and small-group activities, learners differentiate between poor and excellent listening skills. The resource, 7th in a series of 15, focuses on active...
US Institute of Peace
Negotiation Role-Play
War-torn Kosovo is experiencing another crisis—thousands of broken-down cars clogging the damaged highways, making travel impossible. Which local auto shop owner will get the contract to clear the road for progress? After some research,...
Curated OER
How to Build a College List
Getting ready to choose a college can start with the simple task of making a list. Upper graders reasearch colleges, choose one to research, then compile a list of schools that they think they'd most like to attend.
Curated OER
Help the Duck Find Her Babies
Students are introduced to a basic characteristic and need of living things-the ability and need to reproduce. They investigate how birds (and people) attract mates. Students discover how to build a nest. They discuss the needs and...
Skyscraper Museum
What is a Skyscraper?
Skyscrapers are amazing feats of architectural design that create the iconic skylines of the world's biggest cities. Young architects explore the defining characteristics of these monstrous towers with the first lesson in this four-part...
Curated OER
Relationships, Day 1: Self-Esteem
Expose your secondary special education class to the importance of belonging and feeling accepted. They define self-esteem, pride, and appreciation. Then create a self collage and share what they like about themselves with the class. A...
Stanislaus State University of California
Survival Skills 101
Prepare individuals for any type of survival situation with a presentation that focuses on basic survival skills. With a variety of how-to's, including the best ways to treat injuries, the importance of staying...
Curated OER
Fuzzy-Feeling Chair
Students recognize positive traits and build self-esteem. In this community building lesson, students use a special chair to voice positive traits about a classmate.
Recorded Books
Teacher's Guide: The Pinballs
Dive your class into the novel The Pinballs by Betsy Byars with the support of this reading guide. Including short answer questions, a multiple choice comprehension quiz, and extension activities, a variety of materials are...
US Institute of Peace
Responding to Conflict: Negotiation Role-Play
After a lesson like this one, your class won't hesitate to negotiate! Pupils pair up and negotiate opposing sides of a conflict during the ninth installment in a 15-part series. Once they determine their wants and needs, individuals...
King Country
Lesson 3: Relationships - Day 1: Self-Esteem
A sense of belonging, of being capable, of being appreciated, and the role these feelings have in our self-esteem is the subject of the third lesson in a family life and sexual health unit.
US Institute of Peace
Responding to Conflict: Mediation
What happens when two parties can't come to agreement? Scholars explore the role of a mediator through part 10 of a 15-part series of peacebuilding lessons. Through individual work and role play, pupils brainstorm solutions until they...
Facing History and Ourselves
Community Is... Community Isn't
Scholars continue their exploration of the concept of community by first completing an anticipation guide and then engaging in a Four Corners activity to share their responses. They analyze an essay in which the author defines community...
Curated OER
Biodiversity Trust Games
Students make a tight shoulder-to-shoulder circle. They are asked to turn to his or her right. Students squeeze in tight, they are explained that on the count of three, everyone slowly sits down. Once they are successfully seated,...