Curated OER
Don't Give Up
Eighth graders demonstrate perseverance. In this character education lesson, 8th graders define the word perseverance and identify difficult tasks they face regularly which require perseverance.
Curated OER
Taking on a Task
Eighth graders identify ways to persevere. In this character education lesson, 8th graders work in small groups to complete a task using strategies to persevere.
Curated OER
Ratio Basketball
Students, in teams of four, practice shooting free throws while mentally converting the ratio of shots made to those thrown into a percent. They chart and record the ratio, decimal and actual percentage earned after each round.
Curated OER
Making the Right Choice
Students, after discussing and brainstorming a variety of character traits, prepare to incorporate the traits into their own lives. They create, design and present an Interactive PowerPoint presentation with problem solving skills and...
EngageNY
Advanced Factoring Strategies for Quadratic Expressions (part 2)
What do you do with a difficult-to-factor quadratic expression? This instructional activity provides the answer. Pupils learn a grouping strategy to help factor trinomials. When guess and check seems too tedious, this method is the...
Curated OER
Africa Colors a Destiny
Learners discover the peace corps and the culture of Chad. In this cultural awareness lesson, students watch a slide show and examine various primary sources from peace corps volunteers in Africa. This lesson includes web-links,...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Risk Taking Behaviors
Sophomores can be sometimes wise and sometimes foolish. The same can be said for their behaviors. After watching a presentation about risk taking behaviors, class members discuss the presentation in small groups, and then complete a...
Curated OER
How Does a Friend Act?
Students brainstorm a list of characteristics that friends should and should not have. In groups, they are given a set of hand puppets in which they role-play different scenerios in front of the class. To end the instructional activity,...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Listening Exercise
Active listening is key to interacting with others in a way that shows respect. To develop their skill as listeners, high schoolers first play the "Telephone Game" to demonstrate some of the problems that arise in communication. Pairs...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Fatal Accident
While there may not be any ghostbusters in the neighborhood, there are plenty of emergency response agencies ready to give support if something is amiss. To that end, instructors invite a member of an emergency response agency to address...
Missouri Department of Elementary
To Give In or Not to Give In—That Is the Question!
No! A very simple word that can be very hard to say. Seventh graders have an opportunity to practice this difficult skill as they engage in a series of role-playing scenarios. As an exit ticket, 7th graders write a reflection on the...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Putting on Armor
Peers can exert tremendous pressure that can lead to positive and negative consequences. To conclude the Risky Business unit, class members create a Personal Safety Plan. They list things or situations that cause stress, things they have...
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Hope to Cope: Coping Skills
Making decisions can be stressful, even for sixth graders. And even students this young have developed coping skills, some positive and some negative, to help them deal with stress. Class members are asked to identify several of their...
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Clique
Mean girls and bully packs are favorite topic for films and TV shows that focus on the destructive power of cliques. High school freshmen are asked to reflect on both the positive and negative aspects of cliques by reading a short...
Curated OER
Questions of Courage
Examine discrimination. In this character education lesson, learners read two biographies, Vivien Naki and Hamilton Naki then analyze their personal discrimination experiences. They complete a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the two...
Curated OER
It's a Grand Old Flag
Students identify what respect is and how to show it for the symbol of our country as well as others when working in groups. They identify the traits of honesty, perserverance, and courage and that the colors of the flag represent and...
Curated OER
Flags Of Latin America
Students determine the symbolism of Latin American flags. For this Latin America lesson, students research the cultures and histories of countries as well as the history behind their flags. Students recreate the flags and share their...
Curated OER
Famous Women in American History: Rose Freedman
Fourth graders read about Rose Freedman, a famous American woman. In this famous women in American history lesson, 4th graders read a story about Rose Freedman, answer comprehension questions, and complete an associated worksheet. They...
EngageNY
Properties of Similarity Transformations
You can explain it, but can you do it? After learners view a sequence of transformations, the next logical step is creating the transformation. Challenge your classes to construct a composition of transformations and verify the...
Curated OER
Life-Changing Events
Students investigate the life changing events that can take place in the life of a school age child. They conduct class discussion about some examples of life changing events. The lesson is targeted towards counseling or opening days of...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Color Your Community
Eighth graders work together to come up with a topic for a service learning project that engages all members of the school community. Groups then develop a dialogue and visit other classrooms to encourage other students to participate....
Utah Education Network (UEN)
It's All Just Similar to Me
Middle schoolers explore the concept of similar figures. In this similar figures lesson, pupils calculate scale factors of similar triangles. They find missing sides of triangles, and measure angles using protractors and measure sides of...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Bursting Stereotypes
Balloons take on the role of stereotypes in an activity that asks high school freshman to generate a list of different adjectives that are frequently used to describe men and women. Then then attach a stereotypical label to a balloon and...
Curated OER
Attitude Adjustment
Students identify and track the number of times they complain in a twenty-four hour period. They examine their own habits and predict the outcomes of their own performance on this activity and identify people, things, and "other" that...