Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
What Does It Mean to Be an American?
A series of four activities focuses young scholars' attention on what it means to be an American. They identify key qualities, values, and virtues they consider shared by Americans. Participants then pretend they have been selected to...
Newseum
Civil Rights: Chronicling the Movement
Scholars investigate events in the civil rights era in their community and develop a multimedia presentation of their findings. They compare local events with national events discussed on a NewseumED timeline.
Newseum
Civil Rights: The Five Freedoms
After a close reading of the First Amendment and the five freedoms it guarantees, class members examine the civil rights timeline to see how civil rights groups applied these freedoms to create change. Using the issue the class chose in...
Prindle Institute for Ethics
My Dream of Martin Luther King
Conduct a book study of the story, My Dream of Martin Luther King by Faith Ringgold. Followng a read-aloud, scholars take part in philosophical discussions covering the topics of freedom, equality, race, and heroes.
Teaching Tolerance
Modern-Day Heroes: People Who Are Making a Difference
Not all superheroes wear capes. An engaging lesson delves into the world of modern-day heroes and activists for change. Academics learn there are many different ways to be a hero as well as explore what makes a person a hero. The...
Nemours KidsHealth
Empathy: Grades 9-12
Empathy can be the glue that holds a society together. Learning how to see and appreciate a situation from another's point is key to developing empathy toward others. The two activities in this resource are designed to help teens...
Facing History and Ourselves
Reflection and Action for Civic Participation
Slacktivist or activist? Bystander or upstander? Positive social change requires involvement and commitment. After reading a series of articles about young people who chose to get involved, scholars examine a framework that helps peers...
Just Health Action
What Makes a Community Healthy?
Young people have an opportunity to make it a beautiful day in their neighborhoods with an activity that asks them to identify what is healthy and unhealthy in their community and develop some ideas about what they can do to fix the...
Teaching Tolerance
Puppet Show
It's a play, it's a story, it's a puppet show! A lively resource provides academics with a creative outlet to express their views on diversity and social justice. Scholars are responsible for writing, creating, and performing a puppet...
Teaching Tolerance
Poetry and Storytelling Café
Academics take turns as actors in an engaging poetry cafe. Elementary learners work in small groups to create original poems or stories addressing community issues and read their work in front of a live audience. Scholars also reflect...
Facing History and Ourselves
Unit Assessment: From Identity to Action
Four projects enable class members to show what they have learned about ways they can stand up for democracy. to begin, individuals review their identity charts and craft a mask that represents themselves. Next, groups create a short,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Speaking Up and Speaking Out
The final lesson in the Standing Up for Democracy unit offers class members a way they can stand up and speak out by crafting spoken word poetry, or Slam poetry. After analyzing several examples, individuals reflect on one positive...
Facing History and Ourselves
Protesting Discrimination in Bristol
Using the Bristol Bus Boycott as a case study, class members examine the strategies and levels of power protesters used to effect change. The two-day lesson concludes with individuals reflecting on the actions they might take in face of...
Yale University
inspireED Innovator's Guide
Educators and scholars come together to build a team of go-getters striving for positive change in their school and community. Become an insipreED team with this handy guide designed to get you started. Sixty pages outline the who, what,...
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
Color Your Destiny
Class groups bring feeling words alive by creating a poster that illustrates with images and colors, but not words, the feeling conjured by the word. The posters are then combined into a mural for the classroom wall.
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Quest for Magic Minutes
A "Magic Minute" activity asks class groups to develop a commercial to advertise a way to turn a time-waster into a time-saver. Ad groups begin by brainstorming time-wasters and then problem-solve was to turn them into time-savers. After...
Judicial Branch of California
Defining Civic Duty and Participation
A lesson, geared toward older elementary scholars, combines art with social studies to explain the purpose of civic duty and how to encourage others in the community to participate. Academics create advertising campaigns to promote civic...
Judicial Branch of California
Planet Fourth Grade is Researching the U.S. Constitution
Using the Constitutional Convention as a model, learners create their own governments. Other activities to explore the American Constitution include creating posters to help explain the Bill of Rights.
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Learning area 4: Learn About the Meaning of Community
Scholars examine the jobs found in their community by way of surveying. After collecting data, pupils analyze their findings and share their observations with their peers. A video sparks interest. Two posters motivate participants to...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Finding the Positive
To instill the importance of a positive classroom community small groups create a collage out of magazine clippings that highlight three characteristics of self-awareness. Written examples accompany the finished product. Groups turn in...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Keep Finding the Positive
Group members take on roles to create a positive classroom community. Learners perform their role—leader, recorder, presenter, timekeeper, encourager, and collector—in preparation for a formal presentation of their positive thinking...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Are You Balanced?
Balance scales create a strong visual of how an individual prioritizes one's self alongside their commitments to the community, school, and home. Scholars complete a graphic organizer then discuss their findings with their peers. A...
Missouri Department of Elementary
I’m Thumbody!
Positive and negative thinking is the focus of a lesson that boost self-awareness. Beginning with a whole-class discussion, scholars brainstorm what positive thinking looks and sounds like then compares and contrast the two types of...