Missouri Department of Elementary
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: A Basic Skill
Imagine seventh graders developing a school wide plan to promote respect in their school. That's the vision behind the second instructional activity in the R-E-S-P-E-C-T series. In preparation for designing a school-wide media campaign,...
Missouri Department of Elementary
A Stranger Among Us
The final lesson in the R.E.S.PE.C.T series asks eighth graders to expand their vision beyond the walls of the classroom and to consider how they can promote acceptance and respect of others within in the global community. "A Stranger...
Curated OER
"Zigzag"
Students listen to the book "Zigzag" by Robert D. San Souci, and examine the concepts of friendship, respect, and determination. They answer story comprehension questions, then create a fabric doll using the shapes from the book.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Happy, Sad, Scared and Mad: All Belong To Me
"What are feelings?" and "Why are feelings important to understand?" are the essential questions of a lesson that boosts self-awareness. Scholars discuss the four basic emotions—happy, sad, scared, and mad—in preparation for a creative...
Missouri Department of Elementary
I Know What You Did This Summer
Developing and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships is difficult, especially as middle schoolers begin dating. A short activity permits eighth graders to practice their skills as they consider how they should respond to a...
Missouri Department of Elementary
How We Are Alike And Different
Scholars develop social awareness by exploring the concept of similarities and differences. Learners examine two beverages and use a Venn diagram to identify similarities and differences. They tally each item to identify if they are more...
Curated OER
A Memory Strategy to Improve Self-control
Students explore how to monitor their own behavior. They read a book about self-control and respecting others. Students answer questions about the book. They list strategies to assist in behavior improvement.
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Drugs Awareness
Peer pressure can lead to dangerous activities for the eighth graders in your class. Prepare them for the tough conversations in the years ahead with a set of lessons about drugs and their consequences on users' lives.
Curated OER
Relationships for Students in Middle School
Boundaries are important in relationships, no matter how close the relationship is. Middle schoolers explore the ideas of boundaries and personal space with two units about relationships. After discussing the boundaries in their own...
Overcoming Obstacles
Identifying Strengths
A game of Jeopardy helps participants identify their strengths and those of their classmates. Players use five index cards to identify their strengths in five categories (Sports & Fitness, Arts & Music, Friends & Family,...
Guidance Group
101 Ways to Teach Children Social Skills
Increasing pressure to improve student achievement has made it easy to overlook the social skills they also need to develop. With this collection of worksheets and activities, you'll be able to improve children's communication, teamwork,...
Curated OER
Finding Self-Reliance
Fourth graders relate what is read to their own experiences and feelings and use active listening to respond to other students' comments. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders utilize an Active Listening Chart imbedded in this plan to gain...
Curated OER
Respect for All Kinds of People Inside and Outside the School
Fourth graders explore the concept of respect. In this diversity activity, 4th graders play the Untangle Game and complete a diversity puzzle. Students consider how to emphasize similarities over differences.
Curated OER
Self Assessment
Learners comprehend the concept of self assessing and being able to demonstrate a self awareness to asses their own skill ability. They are each given three popsicle sticks-green, yellow and red. Students use their popsicle sticks to...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Relationships…Quality Control
Quality relationships don't just happen. They require nurturing, patience, thoughtful communication, and honesty. Help tweens develop these relationship skills with an activity that asks them to themselves and then outline a...
Curated OER
Talk it Over and Work it Out!: Compromise
Fourth graders explore, analyze and discuss how to interact with others in ways that respect individual and group differences. They identify and practice the skills used to compromise in a variety of situations. Each students studies the...
Curated OER
Put Yourself in Check
Eighth graders identify what it means to utilize and accept personal responsibility in relationships with others and why it is important to have a self-awareness during conflict. They also role play spontaneously a common conflict among...
Curated OER
Bursting Stereotypes
Ninth graders discuss the importance of respecting others. After popping balloons, they use paper strips to write words representing stereotypes for men and women. In groups, they share their list and identify those that could be used...
Curated OER
Keep Finding the Positive
Fifth graders discuss how a positive self-image can improve their school community. In groups, they are given a set of card in which they examine the role of each. After being given the presenter card, they create a collage about their...
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Managing Change
Learning to embrace the opportunities and challenges change presents is the focus of the exercises and activities in this fifth session of a 10-lesson course on Social, Physical, Emotional, Cognitive and Spiritual (SPECS) health. The...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Color Your Destiny
Class groups bring feeling words alive by creating a poster that illustrates with images and colors, but not words, the feeling conjured by the word. The posters are then combined into a mural for the classroom wall.
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Relationships and Sexuality
The activities and discussions in this—the ninth in a series of 10 resources on Social, Physical, Emotional, Cognitive and Spiritual (SPECS) health—focuses on helping class members develop appropriate and healthy relationships....
Ashoka
A Toolkit for Promoting Empathy in Schools
Instill kindness with a unit all about empathy. Lessons and activities follow a prepare, engage, reflect, and action sequence. Learning experiences include making the classroom a safe environment, peer-invented handshakes, discussions...
Nemours KidsHealth
Healthy Relationships: Grades 6-8
Help middle schoolers develop healthy relationships with a series of activities that teaches them not only to recognize and protect themselves from unhealthy relationships, but also how to develop and maintain positive ones. In addition,...