Anti-Defamation League
The Skin I’m In: Discussion Guide for Grades 8 and Up
Words can hurt! But self-esteem can blunt the impact. That's the takeaway when discussing the themes in Sharon G. Flake's powerful novel The Skin I'm In. A discussion guide leads groups through a study of this narrative of a girl who is...
Curated OER
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day
Second graders interact with the story of Alexander's horrible day by connecting it to their lives. They practice predicting, writing paragraphs, reading aloud, discussing his problems, making a card to cheer him up, and designing a pair...
Curated OER
Empathy and the Vietnam War
Students explore the implications of the draft during the Vietnam War. In this Vietnam lesson, students analyze the lyrics of songs that explore differents opinions of the Vietnam draft. Students particpate in a role-play activity that...
US Institute of Peace
Becoming a Peacebuilder
"Be the change you wish to see in the world!" The 15th and final lesson in a peacebuilding series uses this quote from Gandhi to prepare pupils for their own action projects. Individuals research a global issue, then brainstorm a method...
Museum of Disability
Taking Visual Impairment to School
What is the world like when you can't see, or when your vision is impaired? Learn about how Lisa communicates with the world around her with Taking Visual Impairment to School by Rita Whitman Steingold. Learners answer discussion...
TESOL
Are You a Good Listener?
Your learners talk to each other every day, but are they really listening? Use a lesson plan based on listening skills to ensure that class members feel heard and respected. It includes games, discussion topics, and self-assessment tools...
Curated OER
Giving Tree Lesson
Learners read and respond the book, The Giving Tree. In this literary unit, students listen to the story and discuss the story using Bloom's Taxonomy. Learners write a letter of empathy to the tree and observe the changes the tree went...
Curated OER
Trouble With Trolls
Students listen to The Trouble With Trolls and discuss fables. For this story elements lesson, students work on reading skills. Students participate in different reading activities.
Curated OER
What’s your Name?
Youngsters work to build empathy, cultural understanding, and a sense of self as they uncover the story behind their own names. They read the book, The Name Jar, discuss immigration and how it feels to be in a new place. Then, they...
Curated OER
The Life of Harriet Tubman
A well-designed lesson teaches about the history of Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad, and the issues of civil liberties. Young historians watch a video, access Internet resources, and engage in cooperative activities which should...
Curated OER
Ka'ianaa'ahu'ulu: A Leader of Hawai'i
Students evaluate leadership traits in 18th century Hawai'i and modern times. In this leadership skills lesson, students identify leadership traits and read the story of Ka’iana. Students monitor the leadership activities of a partner...
Curated OER
New Beginnings
Start the year off with a few role-play scenarios focused on positive classroom interactions, respect, and expressing feelings. These scenarios are very oddly worded but pose a good way to help learners build empathy and caring when...
Overcoming Obstacles
Integrity
A lesson showcases the character trait of integrity. Scholars define the term, discuss how having integrity means being trustworthy, that one can choose to have integrity, and the significance of looking at situations from other...
Teaching Tolerance
Reflection: What’s Your FRAME?
Encourage your class to recognize the diversity in the beliefs and backgrounds of their peers. Learners use the acronym FRAME to consider culture, background, and life experiences.
Daughters of the American Revolution
Lesson 1: How Do Society’s Expectations Influence Education?
The history of women's education can be traced back to the delicate stitching of student samplers from the 19th century. Modern-day pupils examine and analyze four primary sources, three of which are images of embroidered samplers, which...
Facing History and Ourselves
First Chapter Fridays
Fridays can be a challenge with learners already dreaming about their weekends. Here's a routine that will bring their minds back to the classroom. Read aloud the beginning of a story, sure to engage your listeners.
Health Smart Virginia
Relationship Skills and Communication
Relationship and communication skills are the heart of a activity that focuses on passive, aggressive, and assertive communication. After examining examples of each type, teams develop an assertive, win/win solution that resolves a...
National Endowment for the Humanities
“The Great Migration” by Minnie Bruce Pratt
Minnie Bruce Pratt's poem, "The Great Migration," offers young scholars an opportunity to reflect on how where we come from influences who we are. Groups conduct a close reading of the poem, recording observations about the poem's...
Spreading Gratitude Rocks
Generation of Respect
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Learners find out what it means to them. Scholars write sentences, do a word sort, and list what makes them grateful. Additionally, pupils learn how to be more respectful by completing worksheets that would make Aretha...
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Can’t We All Just Get Along? Conflict Resolution Strategies
Respond rather than react—that's the big idea behind a instructional activity on conflict resolution strategies. A richly detailed plan teaches high schoolers strategies for resolving conflicts. Pupils play charades, engage in verbal and...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Exclusion "Act"ivity
Two simulations highlight the feelings individuals experienced when immigrating to Angel Island. During the first simulation, scholars listen to and answer questions, divided based on their answers. The second simulation pins learners as...
Amani Project
Harmony Break! Finding Emotions With Music
Gather the entire family (or class members) for a fun Harmony Break! A volunteer thinks of a color from their Mood Meter that they will express by singing, playing an instrument, or performing a dance. After the performance, the audience...
Anti-Defamation League
Sixty Years Later
Has any progress been made in desegregating schools since 1954's Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education? To find out, class members examine charts and graphs representing U.S. schools' racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic...
Global Oneness Project
The Importance of Indigenous Language Revitalization
Middle schoolers consider languages as representations of cultures and the importance of preserving various languages, especially the rapidly disappearing languages of indigenous peoples, in a lesson that tells the story of Marie Wilcox...