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Lesson Plan
1
1
Overcoming Obstacles

Expressing Opinions Constructively

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Everyone has opinions. The trick is to learn how to disagree in a way that doesn't cause problems. The activities in the final instructional activity in the Communication Module focuses on learning how to express opinions constructively....
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Overcoming Obstacles

Being Assertive

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Passive! Aggressive! Assertive!. The activities in the fourth lesson plan in the Communication module teach middle schoolers the difference among these behaviors and how to develop assertive communication skills. After defining and...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Overcoming Obstacles

Speaking

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Words! Words have meaning and power, and using them leads to consequences. The activities in this lesson are designed to remind participants to choose their words wisely when they speak.
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Lesson Plan
1
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Overcoming Obstacles

Listening

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Focus, confirm, respond.  Middle schoolers engage in a series of activities designed to help them improve their listening skills. They listen to and try to solve a riddle and play a version of the telephone game. Participants learn that...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Overcoming Obstacles

Understanding Nonverbal Messages

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The Overcoming Obstacles course for middle schoolers continues with a unit module on communication. In the first lesson, participants engage in a series of activities that help them recognize nonverbal clues and the importance of making...
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Activity
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Closing Challenge

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The future can be yours to see with a bit of planning. That's the takeaway from a routine that asks participants to first brainstorm a list of personal and academic goals. Individuals then select one to focus on for the week, identify...
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Activity
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Appreciate, Apology, Aha

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Build a strong classroom community with a closing routine that asks each participant to share something they appreciate about their classmate(s), issue an apology if they may have hurt someone's feelings or an "aha" moment when they...
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Activity
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Maintain and Modify

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Maintain or modify? That's the question scholars answer as they reflect on their focus and engagement in that day's lesson. Were learners focused and contributing, or do they need to modify their level of participation?
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Activity
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

First Chapter Fridays

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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.
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Overcoming Obstacles

Developing Personal Power

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Money? Beauty? Education? The final lesson in the Confidence Building module encourages middle schoolers to consider the power they have to determine the course of their lives. After investigating different forms of power, participants...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Overcoming Obstacles

Avoiding Stereotypes

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The activities in a lesson about stereotypes teach middle schoolers about the dangers of one-perception fits-all thinking. Participants learn how to check their perceptions by identifying ways to avoid stereotyping, like getting to know...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Overcoming Obstacles

Clarifying Values

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The fourth instructional activity in the Confidence Building module asks participants to think about what they value and how these values influence their decisions. Class members engage in activities that help them identify what they...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Overcoming Obstacles

Staying Healthy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The third lesson plan in the Building Confidence module focuses on healthy habits. Middle schoolers engage in activities that underscore the need for a healthy diet, daily exercise, and a good night's sleep. They create customized food...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Overcoming Obstacles

Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Through a series of activities, middle schoolers learn how to celebrate their strengths, identify their weaknesses, and brainstorm strategies they can use to turn their weaknesses into strengths.
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Overcoming Obstacles

Giving and Earning Respect

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers learn what respect means to them and their classmates with the opening exercise in a series of confidence-building lessons. Participants list people they respect and why they respect them. They generate a definition,...
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Activity
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Take a Stand

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Whole-heartedly agree! I sort of agree. Disagree! Class members indicate their stance on a controversial statement by participating in a Barometer activity.
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Activity
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Rose, Thorn, Bud

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Developing engaging opening and closing class routines is essential in post-COVID, face-to-face classrooms. The 7th routine of 15 in the Building Community series invites participants to begin class by reflecting on a success (rose), a...
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Unit Plan
Carolina K-12

Active Citizenship in After School

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Active citizenship is the bedrock of any great democracy. Continue the trend by teaching the next generation about voting rights and the functions of elections in society. The variety of activities in the resource includes a human...
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Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

African American Troops in the Civil War

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Middle schoolers explore the history of the African-American troops that served during the American Civil War. After reading primary source documents that detail the controversies about permitting freemen and former slaves to serve,...
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Activity
1
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Facing History and Ourselves

Picture This

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Sometimes what you get is far more than what you first see. The third routine in the Building Community series asks participants to engage in a See, Think, Wonder strategy. Small groups analyze a projected image, infer what is happening,...
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Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

First Continental Congress, Second Continental Congress, and the Declaration of Independence

For Teachers 5th
Your learners will take on the roles of Congressional members in the year 1775 and devise a plan for America after the onset of the Revolutionary War.
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Lesson Plan
1
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Overcoming Obstacles

Setting Expectations

For Teachers 6th - 8th
As Don Quixote asserts in the musical Man of La Mancha, it is possible to achieve your dreams. For the last lesson plan in the Getting Started Module, participants learn the importance of having dreams and setting goals that help them...
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Lesson Plan
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Overcoming Obstacles

Working In Teams

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Working in teams can be a challenge but also offer many rewards. Developing the skills necessary to work effectively in teams is the focus of the third lesson plan in the Getting Started Module designed for middle schoolers. Participants...
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Lesson Plan
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Overcoming Obstacles

What Is Overcoming Obstacles?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The second lesson in the Getting Started Module introduces the theme of the "Overcoming Obstacles" course. Participants listen to a guest speaker who has achieved success, and then identify traits and skills that the speaker talked about...