Overcoming Obstacles
Expressing Opinions Constructively
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....
Overcoming Obstacles
Being Assertive
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...
Overcoming Obstacles
Speaking
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.
Overcoming Obstacles
Listening
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...
Overcoming Obstacles
Understanding Nonverbal Messages
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...
Facing History and Ourselves
Closing Challenge
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...
Facing History and Ourselves
Appreciate, Apology, Aha
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...
Facing History and Ourselves
Maintain and Modify
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?
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.
Overcoming Obstacles
Developing Personal Power
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...
Overcoming Obstacles
Avoiding Stereotypes
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...
Overcoming Obstacles
Clarifying Values
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...
Overcoming Obstacles
Staying Healthy
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...
Overcoming Obstacles
Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses
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.
Overcoming Obstacles
Giving and Earning Respect
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,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Take a Stand
Whole-heartedly agree! I sort of agree. Disagree! Class members indicate their stance on a controversial statement by participating in a Barometer activity.
Facing History and Ourselves
Rose, Thorn, Bud
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...
Carolina K-12
Active Citizenship in After School
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...
Carolina K-12
African American Troops in the Civil War
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,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Picture This
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,...
Carolina K-12
First Continental Congress, Second Continental Congress, and the Declaration of Independence
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.
Overcoming Obstacles
Setting Expectations
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...
Overcoming Obstacles
Working In Teams
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...
Overcoming Obstacles
What Is Overcoming Obstacles?
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...