Edutopia
Empathy
Teach your learners about support, respect, and listening skills with an activity about empathy. Class members set goals for themselves regarding their peer relationships, and monitor their own progress over a period of time.
Reed Novel Studies
Theodore Boone - Kid Lawyer: Novel Study
A child lawyer is exactly what people need ... not! With the novel study for John Grisham's Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, pupils use their imaginations to create their own examples of sarcasm. They also research a chosen famous lawyer and...
Reed Novel Studies
Winnie-The-Pooh: Novel Study
Winnie the Pooh lands in a gorse-bush plant in chapter one of A.A. Milne's beloved children's novel, Winnie-the-Pooh. With the novel study, scholars research three interesting facts about the plant. They also compose a four-line poem...
Committee for Children
Students Learn to Stop Rumors Before They Start
Two activities look at how rumors are spread and ways class members can stop them. The first activity brings forth an in-depth conversation about how reporters gather information to write articles and how students can implement the same...
Committee for Children
Learn to Identify What’s Bullying, What’s Joking, and How to Deal With It
A quick lesson takes a look at the differences between bullying and joking. Through whole-class discussion, scholars identify between the two behaviors and brainstorm actions to take to cease bullying behavior. Small groups share with...
Nemours KidsHealth
Getting Along: Grades K-2
Boost social awareness with two activities focusing on getting along. In the first activity, scholars brainstorm ways to get along with their classmates and create four rules for the classroom. The second activity asks pupils to track...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Writing Prompts for Middle School
Scratching your head when it comes to engaging writing prompts? Check out a list of prompts designed for middle school classes, which includes topics for persuasive writing, expository writing, how-to essays, personal narratives, and...
Do2Learn
Reciprocal Conversation
Keep the conversation going with a social skills activity. Designed for learners with autism, the lesson guides peers through the back-and-forth of a conversation, encouraging them to wait their turn before responding.
Nemours KidsHealth
Bullying: Grades 6-8
Two lessons promote social awareness and build relationship skills. In lesson one, scholars define bullying and role-play coping strategies. Lesson two challenges learners to diffuse a bullying situation using their knowledge of...
Nemours KidsHealth
Cyberbulling: Grades 6-8
Cyberbullying is the focus of two lessons. First, scholars discuss what cyberbullying is, and examine a problem-solving approach to handling cyberbullying, then create brochures on the topic. Second, pupils discuss the effects...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Robots
Two activities work with a fiction and nonfiction book about robots‚—Robot Dreams by Sara Varon and Robot by Roger Bridgman. Scholars read each story, then build a robot out of found objects, examine robot sensors, and search for...
Curated OER
Words Can Hurt: King Day (4th)
Students study stereotypes and write about how to end stereotyping. For this stereotypes lesson, students study a T-chart about boys and girls stereotypes. Students then discuss stereotypical phrases. Students discuss Martin Luther King,...
Curated OER
Delivering Service
Young scholars explore the term consensus. In this vocabulary lesson, students define consensus and discuss how and why people make decisions this way. Young scholars also practice reaching a consensus on which classmate should receive...
Curated OER
Poetry Creations
Students produce iMovies to share their thoughts of friendship along with poetry creations in this technology-based lesson for the upper-elementary classroom. The lesson includes a link to a "create a poem" site and requires computers...
Curated OER
Friendly Patter Poetry
Students create a free from poem on the topic of friendship. They read examples of free form poetry to gather ideas. Through the use of a graphic organizer, students generate a list of friendship characteristics which is used to create...
Curated OER
Smiles Change the World
Students develop speaking and listening skills while evaluating a list. In this consensus lesson, students define consensus and discuss how it might be used at recess. After students understand how consensus works, students review and...
Curated OER
Order My Steps
Young scholars organize and sequence their writing ideas using different graphic organizers. They use the ideas to write a story that takes place over two days.
Curated OER
Harry Potter: Middle Grades Activity
Students identify inferred and recurring literary, cultural and social themes such as bravery, loyalty, friendship and the notion of good vs. evil.
Curated OER
The Heart Symbol
Young scholars investigate the symbol of the heart and how it is used to represent the relationship of friendship. They look at samples of the heart set in different contexts in order to compare and contrast them. Students answer some...
Curated OER
Naming Trust
Students write a poem. In this character lesson plan, students read a quote about trust and friendship and discuss what they mean. Students write an acrostic poem using the letters in their name and come up with a phrase or word that...
Curated OER
Building a Nation
Eighth graders identify the main ideas of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. They read and discuss text, read and summarize a section of the Declaration of Independence in small groups, and write a paper on why the colonists felt it...
Curated OER
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse
Dramatic activities promote enjoyment of literature, increase reading comprehension, and help develop oral expression. It is important for children to engage in activities which help to develop their creative potential. Drama allows...
Curated OER
What's in the shoebox?
Students participate in a game to build self esteem, self awareness and listening skills. In this citizenship lesson, students search for representations of their favorite things in the classroom, hide them in a shoe box and lets the...
Curated OER
Opening Doors to Social Studies with Children's Literature
Third graders use the Decision Tree strategy to brainstorm ideas about two decisions that must be made. They predict what will happen in the rest of the story. Students discuss the time period the story takes place in. They study the...