How can our perspectives of borrowing and returning influence the way we view credit? Pupils explore the concept of debt, how it impacts our ability to obtain credit, and finally the ways in which we can work to alleviate debt.

There are so many ways to be smart! Can your class identify their intelligences? The third of five career and college lesson plans designed for sixth graders challenges them to assess their unique skills. Once they determine their...

The teen years are nothing but a series of personal, social, and academic changes. Help kids understand what to expect as they mature and give them ways to make good decisions. After discussing they types of changes they'll go through,...

By role playing real-world experiences, such as purchasing snacks and grocery/toy store shopping, your youngsters will begin to develop an understanding of how to make decisions and choose between alternatives. This is the first...

The price of those new shoes involves more than just money! Individuals explore the concept of opportunity cost using a video clip and gratification discussions. They prepare a budget based off of their set of values in regards to...

When choosing what foods to eat, there are a lot of factors to consider. To help make the decision a little easier, young learners work in small groups developing short plays, stories, or advertisements that address the different issues...

Making decisions can be difficult. Here's a form that provides a starting point. After listing two options, individuals are asked to list the pluses and minuses of each.

The book, Samuel's Choice is used to illustrate the decisions that African Americans who were enslaved during the Revolutionary War had to make. The series of four lessons is designed to be implemented after the book is read. The book,...

How do advertisers influence consumers? The big idea here is that once consumers understand the factors that influence their desire for a product or service, they are better able to consider substitute and/or complementary products.

Scholars analyze the role of bystanders during the Holocaust. The investigation explores the roles of the bystanders, upstanders, and rescuers with primary and secondary resources to determine actions taken—or not—and their implications...

Teach young learners that most drug addictions end in one of three outcomes: treatment, jail, or death. After watching a short video segment on the consequences of drug abuse, class members discuss what they viewed and consider what...

Young economists explore opportunity cost by counting how much money Susan has in her piggy bank. From here, they are challenged to help Susan make a choice about what she can buy with her money. 

Why did so many go along with Nazi policies during World War II? An investigatory unit includes four handouts, reading analyses, classroom discussion topics, and intriguing philosophical questions, helping learners understand the...

Groups of learners research a city in Arkansas, then plan and create a brochure which would promote business growth in that city. The groups access the Internet in order to find out the necessary information about the town to put in...

Poll your scholars about their choices on food they eat, or don't eat, and on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Topic statements such as "I ate breakfast this morning" start a discussion on what are healthy choices and what are unhealthy...

Seventh graders discover how to make the best decisions given the information at hand. In groups, they role-play different roles in scenerios to help them deal with peer pressure. To end the lesson, they discuss why it is so hard for...

Examine statistical data to recognize the relationship of statistics to real-world issues. Pupils navigate e-stat using the Internet and find data about social issues. They complete a worksheet with their data and create an anti-smoking...

Help your pupils become wise consumers and avoid becoming targets for consumer scams and fraud. Here you'll find a PowerPoint presentation, instructional guidelines, worksheets, and suggested activities for developing shopper strategies...

Cover two subjects with one lesson! First, dive into English language arts; read an eBook, answer comprehension questions, and complete a cause and effect chart about the financial fable, Shopping Wisely with Olivia Owl. Then, take...

What should Matt do? Readers of The House of the Scorpion are offered several possible actions Matt could take when he first sees the children outside the house. They rate the options and then meet in groups to discuss the reasons for...

Use mathematics to help plan a field trip. Scholars use the results of a survey to determine where a class should go on a field trip. They use provided data about entrance fees and mileage to calculate the cost per person of such a...

Your plane has crashed in the Sahara desert. What do you do? Explore the possibilities with a role-playing activity based on Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince. In groups, kids decide whether they would walk to find help...

What are the three most important items for survival? Readers of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, ponder this question individually and share their list with a group, that must then reach consensus on the three most...

Go down the rabbit hole with a thorough novel unit for Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. With a cause and effect chart, K-W-L organizer, and reading comprehension questions, the resource is a great addition to your summer...