What is your body saying that maybe your words aren't? Scholars explore the vast world of the subtle, and not-so-subtle, nonverbal communication cues through group and individual work. Lesson seven in a series of peacebuilding exercises...

After reading Loree Leedy's There's a Frog in My Throat: 440 Animal Sayings a Little Bird Told Me, kids create and illustrate their own poems that convey the meaning of an idiom. The poems are then transferred into Shutterfly's Photo...

Class groups brainstorm the characteristics that make up a successful student before taking part in a whole class discussion. Assigned group roles promote member participation.

Encourage scholars to express themselves with help from an engaging song. Sung to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down," participants sing phrases that offer tips for dealing with emotions—sad, happy, worried, proud, mad, and...

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...

After having a bad day, Sally took scholars' suggestions and had a super day. Pupils listen to her newest short story then discuss the events that occurred. They sort each event by what was in her control and what was not. Participants...

A brief survey begins a lesson that challenges scholars to answer the question, What is bullying? Learners discuss their answers and take notes, paying close attention to the types of bullying and roles people play. Pupils change their...

Through discussion and a variety of worksheet types, pupils learn to review their e-mails for grammar, appropriateness, and respect before sending.

After viewing the infamous 1968 Presidential campaign ad, "Convention," groups use AdMaker to create their own 30 second ad that features Richard Nixon rather than Hubert Humphrey.

Truth is often left on the cutting room floor when political ads are produced. After viewing the 2012 backfire ad, "Fundamentals" that takes John McCain's comments on the US economy out of context, class groups edit the audio and...

Students research inventions and the impact it has on society. For this technology lesson, students read a timeline of significant inventions throughout history and identify ways the inventions impacted society. Students develop their...

Fifth graders review definitions of bullying and harassment, respond to real-life bullying scenario from news, television, or movie, brainstorm possible solutions and consequences for negative behavior, and discuss how their peers...

Critical thinking and social justice are central themes for this resource on bias and crime in media. The class views and discusses an incisive PSA that highlights assumptions based on race. Small groups read newspaper opinion pieces...

Translate the first speaking and listening standard for yourself and your ninth and tenth graders! Learners can focus on communicating in small groups with the two activities presented here. Both activities center around group creation...

Focus on the principles of design with a wearable landscape art project. The plan provides definitions to share and art to examine. After students have a grasp of the principles, they draw a scene to eventually transfer onto a...

Appropriate assertive and non-verbal assertive communication is the focus of this lesson designed for the special education classroom. Using mirrors, class members practice assertive responses to a variety of situations.

Five governmental regulatory agencies are tasked to respond to market failure. Groups investigate the roles of each of these agencies as well as the social, economic, and political impact of their actions.

Do young scholars really need to be taught how to read cartoons, comic books, and comic strips? Yes. Just as they need to learn how to read other forms of graphic text such as diagrams, photos, timetables, maps, charts, and tables....

Household materials can be used for more than cleaning! In this collaborative experiment, emerging chemists use products such as vinegar and liquid antacid to explore chemical reactions that commonly occur in the human body.

"What are feelings?" and "Why are feelings important to understand?" are the essential questions of a instructional activity that boosts self-awareness. Scholars discuss the four basic emotions—happy, sad, scared, and...

Scholars watch two puppet dialogues illustrating negative and positive communication between friends. Then, they discuss how the puppets' communication skills influenced the outcome of each interaction. 

A lesson challenges scholars to prove their understanding of conflict mediation. Small groups role-play scenarios using two mediators and two disputants. Peers observe then discuss their findings. A worksheet outlines groups'...

Two scholars walk into a room arguing, what is happening? Peers observe the two actors in preparation for a whole-class discussion about conflict. Learners establish a conflict, name the three approaches—passive, aggressive, and...

Encourage self-awareness with a lesson that challenges scholars to identify feelings—happy, sad, mad, and scared. Using a feelings thermometer, similar to that of a bar graph, pupils discuss how they would feel in specific scenarios then...