Core Knowledge Foundation
Maya, Aztec, and Inca Civilizations
A 10-lesson unit explores the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. Over the course of two weeks, scholars read nonfiction excerpts, discuss their findings, and complete activities. An assessment equipped with multiple choice and matching...
Curated OER
Move and Make Friends
Students participate in games to make new friends. They "dance and freeze" as music plays. Students skip, hop and wiggle as they play a moving down the line game. Students develop gross motor skills, listening, and social awareness...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Fly Your Kite
Encourage scholars to become a productive community member with a kite-themed lesson. Following a review and discussion, learners complete a Venn diagram that displays the connection between character traits needed to make a home and...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Celebrate Your Culture
After a class discussion about celebrations and customs, class members draw pictures depicting special events from their family cultures. Next, they draw pictures of an event from a different culture and share their work with classmates.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Community Wellness Fair
Seniors work with teachers, counselors, and administrators to organize a community wellness fair. Committees take on the responsibility for the various tasks (publicity, set up, hospitality room, agency contact, thank you letters, etc.)....
Missouri Department of Elementary
Safe and Healthy Life Choices (Part I)
As high schoolers seek to grow more and more independent, they must constantly make choices. Some options are healthy and some not so much. To begin the discussion, class members are asked to identify five safe and healthy (or...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Relationships…Going Up While Growing Up
The final activity in a series of five that focus on developing the interpersonal skills required to develop and maintain positive relationships asks class members to identify their best friend-making skill. Individuals share these...
Missouri Department of Elementary
How I Act Is Who I Am
A lesson centers itself around the topic of family roles. A whole-class discussion uses puppets and posters to go in-depth into the following character traits; caring, responsibility, respect, and cooperation. The discussion closes with...
Missouri Department of Elementary
What Color is Your Apple?
Build your classroom community with an activity that uses apples to examine oneself and their classmates. Participants draw four large apples on blank paper then exchange them within a small group. Group members write a character trait...
Missouri Department of Elementary
What Are Safe and Unsafe Drugs/Medicines/Objects?
Encourage responsible decision-making while boosting sorting skills with a lesson that looks at safe and unsafe situations. Scholars use two bags, one happy the other sad, to sort scenario cards. After a thorough examination,...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Stressed Out Sally
Life changes may cause stress. Here, scholars identify stressful situations in a peer's life and offer coping skills to make for a better day. A short story, "Stressed Out Sally," provides pupils with a look inside a bad day. After...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Healthy Touches and Private Touches
Scholars identify the difference between healthy touches and private touches. A discussion leads pupils to recognize several trusting adults. Peers role-play scenarios in which they use three rules to remain safe.
Health Smart Virginia
Making Partners
Partnering with someone new may be daunting. Here a lesson plan encourages young peers to work collaboratively in physical activity settings. Following a whole-class discussion, scholars participate in several cooperative activities that...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Other Changes (Life-Changing Events Outside of the Family)
Change is inevitable. Kindergarteners discuss coping skills to properly manage changes that can occur outside the family. Scholars reflect on their life changes after starting kindergarten. They discuss their feelings and draw a...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Life … Bring It On!
To conclude the study of coping skills, class members create a collage that identifies and celebrates their strengths that support their ability to make good decisions.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Getting Caught in the Web
When it comes to teamwork, it's best not to drop the ball. Pupils stand in a circle, tossing around a ball of yarn to one another to create a web. Next, they use teamwork skills to keep a soccer ball from falling off the web before...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Respecting Differences
Differences make the world go 'round. Using a worksheet, scholars identify the similarities and differences that they have with their classmates. Next, pupils engage in a whole-class discussion about respecting differences in others.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Respect for All Kinds of People Inside and Outside the School
Why is it important to embrace diversity? Scholars explore the topic by learning about the CARE acronym: Collaboration, Acceptance, Respect, Empathy. They also complete a diversity puzzle worksheet and play a collaborative game that...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Tic Tac Toe, Get Off My Toes
Why is conflict resolution such an important skill to learn? Pupils explore the topic, playing an adapted Tic-tac-toe game. Two class teams are tasked with finding a win-win solution to a hypothetical conflict before adding their X or O...
Missouri Department of Elementary
“Re-Solutioning”: Practice Brings Out Our Best
Seventh graders create and perform a skit that demonstrates their conflict resolution skills. They begin by examining the process of crafting a performance and review what they have learned about conflict resolution. Next, they...
Nemours KidsHealth
Bullying: Grades K-2
Two activities for young scholars explore the concept of bullying. The first activity examines scenarios to point out bullying behavior. The second activity encourages positive peer relationships by identifying kind and respectful...
Teaching Tolerance
Community Newsletter
What does it take to develop and publish a newsletter? Young academics create a newsletter with original artwork for their school or community. They explore social justice themes and spread messages of tolerance and inclusion. Scholars...
Health Smart Virginia
Conflict Resolution
A lesson introduces the Peace Corner—a safe place to communicate feelings and problem solve. To gain practice, scholars role-play scenarios that require conflict resolution. Peers speak, listen, brainstorm solutions, shake hands, then...
Health Smart Virginia
Keeping the Peace
A lesson examines ways young learners can keep the peace with conflict resolution. Scholars share a conflict then discuss the difference between conflicts and bullying. Pupils read scenarios and practice their negation skills.