Sally and Joe both want the last cookie in the jar, so they split it in half. That's an example of a win-win situation, one of the many principles Sean Covey outlines in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Using the...

Students complete writing lessons to help students select a writing topic, prepare a writing plan, and create an interesting beginning. In this personal narratives lesson, students complete intensive modeling activities to write their...

Third graders spend time identifying the characteristics they have and ones they would like to develop for their own personal growth. As a class, they brainstorm ways they can tell they are growing up or being mature. Individually, they...

In order to create a classroom full of active participants, students need to feel that they are part of the decision-making process. Using this 15 question activity, learners can explore the importance of developing leadership skills.

As part of a study of  Sean Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens learners write autobiographical e-mails, hold discussions, create a collage, and compose a personal mission statement. Pupils then have a...

Sixth graders investigate the parts of a seed by using a digital camera.  In this botany lesson, 6th graders plant their own seeds in class and demonstrate the necessary attributes for growing a plant.  Students utilize a...

Learners read one teen's story of personal growth through learning about racism and the criminal justice system to explore how individuals' world views are shaped and changed through experiences and education.

Students work in the classroom and in the computer lab to produce a Personal Poetry Book.

Out of the classroom and into the streets! With Ben Franklin’s Junto society as inspiration, learners develop their ideas for improving their communities and put them into action. After analyzing meeting notes to discover what the Junto...

What makes a good New Year's resolution? Practice goal-setting and reading comprehension with a set of language arts activities. English learners work on cloze passages, synonym matches, interviewing exercises, and...

How was your year? Create an individual timeline that document learners' personal history from the previous year. After reading an article about celebrating New Year's in Japan, pairs interview each other to gather information about...

What effect could one person's invention have on the human race? In the case of the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution, small improvements in farming methods led to increased food production. The human population began to boom, leading us...

Students write a personal narrative that is designed to help them reflect on the nature and meaning of change in their lives.

Students identify objects using more than one word. They describe personal pictures using at least two words. They describe Playdough creations using at least two words.

In order to make evidence-based claims, one must be able to draw explicit information from text. From here, learners take that information, analyze the text to develop a deeper understanding, and connect with the information in order to...

Prompt your class to interact with Jack London's Call of the Wild. By analyzing the events in the novel, middle schoolers discover how human experiences create who a person becomes. They critique and analyze the reading, focusing on...

Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...

Here is an outstanding series of lessons on journalism, writing newspaper articles, and writing editorials. This type of writing has long-been neglected in our schools, so this collection of writing activities is most-valuable. Along...

Students, after defining/reviewing an extensive list of vocabulary terms on the board, discuss and explore acceptable and unacceptable parenting skills with a variety of disciplinary practices to assist them.

Learners explore how to build their character by respecting and appreciating various cultures. For this character education lesson, students read the book Seedfolks and answer questions based on the character's cultural backgrounds....

High schoolers differentiate among and explain various levels of economic development around the world. They see that levels of economic development vary greatly in different countries according to many different measures.

Get your young writers outside of the traditional essay writing mode with Free Write Friday. Free Write Friday encourages your class to use personal experiences or knowledge to write more creative pieces. Young writers could experiment...

Students read the folktale, "The Magical Stone", and discuss questions imbedded in the lesson.

Explore a variety of fables to learn life's lessons through engaging stories. Add rigor to the learning process with activities that include matching a a fable to the story's moral, short answer exit slips, and a three-column graphic...