Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of Mark Twain's The Prince and The Pauper
Imagine how the world would be different if all diplomats' children were required to serve in the military. Or if all high school graduates were required to do two years of community service before post-secondary education. A 30-page...
Penguin Books
Educator's Guide: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is filled with secrets. Help readers find the clues, solve the riddles and puzzles, and unwrap the mysteries with a six-page guide that includes before, during, and after reading discussion questions and...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of George Orwell's Animal Farm
Not all teacher's guides are equal, but some are pretty good. This guide for George Orwell's Animal Farm includes chapter synopses, chapter-by-chapter discussion questions, journal and essay prompts, and suggestions for various activities.
A&E Television
Documenting Democracy: Lesson Plans on the United States Constitution
Balance and compromise. Class members come to understand the importance of these concepts as they investigate the concerns of the various stakeholders and how the format of the Constitution addressed these concerns.
Department of Education (Ireland)
On My Own Two Feet School Handbook
The "On My Own Two Feet" School Handbook describes a carefully scaffolded, richly detailed substance abuse program designed for middle and high schools. Chapters look at approaches to prevention, suggestions for organizing and...
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Mindful Self-Awareness Exercise: Accurate Self-Perception
When we look in a mirror, we often don't see ourselves as others see us. Our mirror may be clouded, cracked, or distorted by what we see as our weaknesses. The final exercise in the mindfulness series focuses on building a more accurate...
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Mindful Self-Management Exercise: Self-Motivation
Has your motivation disappeared? The seventh activity in the eight-part mindfulness series has participants remembering a time when they were frustrated by a situation and lacked the motivation to deal with it. They then practice...
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Mindful Self-Awareness Exercise: Recognizing Strengths
Kermit the Frog may lament that it isn't easy being green, but the good news is that his greenness is a strength that helps him hide from predators. A mindful self-awareness exercise helps participants recognize and celebrate their...
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Mindful Self-Management Exercise: Managing Stress
Let it go! As part of the Mindfulness series, pupils learn a technique to manage stress and strong emotions. While doing the deep breathing exercise, they imagine a train of stressful thoughts, take a step back, and let the train pass.
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Mindful Self-Awareness Exercise: Building Self-Confidence
Each of us is unique, with particular traits and strengths. A mindfulness exercise helps participants build self-confidence by asking them to give themselves compliments. Pupils learn how to craft "I" messages that acknowledge what they...
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Mindful Self-Awareness Exercise: Identifying Feelings
A self-awareness activity teaches pupils to identify their feelings by focusing on different parts of their bodies. Participants begin by focusing attention on their feet, then calves, moving up slowly to the top of their head, and...
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Mindful Self-Management Exercise: Responding Using S.T.O.P.
Respond rather than react! A self-management exercise teaches pupils a Mindful S.T.O.P. activity. Participants Stop their thoughts or actions, Take deep breaths, Observe how they are feeling, then Proceed with a response that will help...
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Introduction to Mindful Breathing
Mindful breathing or belly breathing is the basis for most mindfulness exercises. Introduce mindfulness practices with a short exercise in breath awareness designed to reduce stress and increase awareness.
Education Foundation of Sarasota County
Problem Solving Skills for Home and School
Dr. Seuss' The Zax has a lesson to teach tweens and teens about the importance of problem-solving skills. After viewing the short video, groups identify conflicts that may occur at home, in school or in the community. They then...
Education Foundation of Sarasota County
Self-Calming Strategies to Manage Emotions
Tweens and teens learn coping skills to help manage strong emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness with a instructional activity that asks them to generate a list of self-calming strategies they use and to consider the suggestions in a...
Facing History and Ourselves
Identity Charts
Many factors shape the identity of persons, communities, and even nations. Tweens and teens have an opportunity to consider the many aspects of identity as they create a graphic that reflects who they are. Class members first brainstorm...
Facing History and Ourselves
Bio-poem: Connecting Identity and Poetry
Writing a bio-poem is a great way to have young scholars go below the surface and reflect on who or what has made them who they are. Check out this richly detailed lesson that provides step-by-step directions for crafting a bio-poem.
Nebraska Department of Education
Blue Collar and Proud of It
There is a strong need for workers skilled in trades (agriculture, construction, transportation, the service industry, manufacturing, industry). Middle schoolers listen to an interview with a tradesperson and then go online to...
Nebraska Department of Education
Career Family Tree
What do you want to be when you grow up? How does your family influence your choices of occupations? These are the questions middle schoolers consider as they interview family members and create a career Family Tree.
Nebraska Department of Education
A Letter to Myself
Middle schoolers craft a letter to themselves describing what their life will be like in four years using a prewriting organizer to guide their work.
Nebraska Department of Education
Reflective Listening
Reflective listening is not casual! After learning about the practice of reflective listening, middle schoolers practice reflective listening skills in a role play activity that has them take turns being a speaker, listener, and observer.
Nebraska Department of Education
Social Class and Fitting In
Social classes may be explicitly defined as in a caste system or based more informally on such ideas as wealth or education. After reading and discussing an article about one woman's experience with trying to fit into a system different...
Nebraska Department of Education
Coat of Arms
After discussing the significance of a Coat ofArms, eighth graders design their own to represent their strengths, values, goals, and culture.
Nebraska Department of Education
Communication Skills
It's not just what you say but how you say it! That's the take-away from a lesson about verbal and non-verbal communication. An engaging activity has middle schoolers demonstrating how tone of voice and body language can totally...