Kids get artistic as they explore the impact of art materials, sculpture, and performance. They discuss the work of Janine Antoni and then create a performance piece that reflects social or global issues they feel strongly about. The end...

Our uniqueness should be celebrated, not teased. The story Chrysanthemum addresses having a distinct name and dealing with different perceptions. Pre- and post-reading questions are listed to help your learners understand...

What does empathy look like? Encourage your pupils to put themselves in another person's shoes with several writing and discussion activities that relate to a featured short film. Over the course of the lesson plan, individuals...

Students create poems based on the Haiku form and research about WWII. Class discussion and classroom readings of student work finish this instructional activity. Emphasis is placed on Standards in the Arts.

Students design emergency shelters.  In this designing emergency shelters lesson, students discuss living conditions of people after a natural disaster.  Students discuss the tsunami that struck East Asia.  Students design...

A portrait The Radcliffe Family circa 1742 is inspiration for creative writing and empathetic reasoning. Your class discusses the period in which the piece was painted, then imagines what life was like for one of the people seen in the...

Did you know that "in the largest refugee crisis since World War II, more the 64 million people have been forced from their homes"? The Anti-Defamation League presents an activity that asks class members to examine a series of artworks...

Students identify the various forms of bullying in a class discussion and to sort out the situations that can hurt outside and inside. They count the number of bullying incidents posted on the bulletin board to find which occur most...

Fourth graders develop their speaking skills. In this monologue lesson, 4th graders watch their instructors model a monologue regarding Abraham Lincoln. Students apply these skills as they research a historical figure from their state...

Youngsters work to build empathy, cultural understanding, and a sense of self as they uncover the story behind their own names. They read the book, The Name Jar, discuss immigration and how it feels to be in a new place. Then, they...

Students discuss a dramatic situation involving realistic characters and create response "letters" to the situation in this Drama lesson for the high school classroom. The lesson emphasizes the study of empathy and sympathy as it relates...

Students explore appropriate ways to communicate feelings.  In this character development instructional activity, students listen to Hands are not for Hitting and several other books about expressing emotions appropriately. ...

Gather the entire family (or class members) for a fun Harmony Break! A volunteer thinks of a color from their Mood Meter that they will express by singing, playing an instrument, or performing a dance. After the performance, the audience...

Students view the film Fog of War and discuss the most striking elements of the film. They focus on chosen lessons from robert McNamara's life such as: empathy, rationality and proportionality.

What would you do if you got an extra day every week? Partners share some information about their routines and lives and write compositions about one another based on the information. Each partner tries to guess what the other person...

Students complete cross-curricular activities to study the culture and humanity in Japan. Students read the book Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes and complete social studies and art lessons related to the book as well as develop an...

Fourth graders examine the musical traditions that immigrants bring to the United States. They discuss the concept of home, complete the "My Home" worksheet, participate in a class discussion, and write a letter to a fourth grade...

Students imagine what it would be like to travel back in time. In this creative writing lesson, students watch parts of the film Back to the Future and examine artifacts from the past. Students write a short story in which they travel...

High schoolers examine the problem of proverty throughout the United States. Using documents, they are encouraged to develop empathy for the poor of America and how to make life easier for those in their local community. They create a...

Middle schoolers read about and research the Holocaust using the Internet. They write poetry about an image of their choice and create a digital movie of their poetry readings.

Honing reading and communication skills through the theme of farm animals is the focus of this lesson. Learners read a book about Scandinavian farm animals and complete prediction journal activities. They complete a worksheet about the...

Students design to explore the world of objects as related to lace. Students will create a lace mural highlighting what they learn about the world of lace. Students brainstorm ideas via the internet websites.

Learners examine the day in the life of a homeless person. In this humanitarian lesson, students examine the life of a homeless person while discovering the importance of social justice in our society.

Students practice correct rhythms and pitches during this short lesson plan for the middle school instrumental class. Objectives vary depending on music used for the lesson plan. Students assessed through group playing in class.