Introduce your class to the characters from My Antonia by Willa Cather in a unique way. Given a hypothetical situation about an atomic bomb shelter and a list of character descriptions, pupils must decide which characters get to...

Adolescents explore self-esteem and the various factors that influence a person's sense of self in this four-part lesson series. Through a combination of whole class instruction, small group discussions, and independent work,...

What is identity? What is bullying? What is identity-based bullying? After discussing these questions as a class, pupils engage in partner discussions before participating in a small group activity to act out bullying scenarios. Then,...

Boost language skills with a unit all about feelings. Scholars from all grade levels take part in several lessons that incorporate specific vocabulary terms and adjectives while discussing their feelings with their peers. Reading...

Your parents were both in different countries. You were born in the US. Documents and application forms ask you to identify your racial or ethnic classification. Which box do you check? Class members collect documents...

Scholars become STAR deputies in a instructional activity that encourages them to be problem-solvers. Small groups gather to complete a worksheet by answering questions. A discussion presents a scenario in which a problem occurs on the...

"The Pied Piper of Hamelin" is the focus of a lesson designed to shed light on the importance of keeping promises. As a class, scholars take part in a discussion on the topic of honesty and consequences. Independent readers then take to...

After a read-aloud of the story Goldielocks and the Three Bears, scholars gather into small groups to answer a series of questions. Peers examine the idea of smart decisions and identify three feelings of characters alongside three...

Transform your class into a team with a lesson about thinking and working interdependently. As they reflect on important roles for a group, elementary and middle schoolers learn to work together and think of ways that compliment...

In a school scenario, pupils stay home to keep from the teasing and bullying on campus. To combat unkind behavior, small groups survey learners in other grade levels, discuss and summarize their findings, then work together to create a...

Tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older members of the community with this New York Times plan. To warm up, learners write about and discuss advice they have been given. After reading "The Life Report," an op-ed column that asks older...

How do people manage to get everything done when there are so few hours in a day? Scholars explore the question as they participate in small group discussions about time management. They construct a daily schedule and complete a...

A reading of Patrick Henry's "Speech in the Virginia Convention," Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" launch a discussion about the price one is willing to pay to...

Explore the importance of rules in a community with the engaging first lesson plan of this series on the US government. To begin, children play a paper clip game that requires them to make up their own rules as they go, after which...

Introduce young learners to the idea of disabilities and making friends with children who are different than they are. Using Don't Call Me Special - A First Look at Disability by Pat Thomas, learners are guided through the new...

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'...

Create a respectful classroom community and boost children's self-esteem with this collaborative activity. Working in small groups, children take turns filling in each other's tree of self-esteem with compliments, personal...

More asthma attacks happen at higher altitudes, but why? Scholars complete worksheets, learning about homeostasis and feedback related to breathing. Then, they work in small groups to experiment with breathing in limited amounts of...

Working together isn't as easy as it looks! Small groups of classmates try to keep a balloon in the air using only a straw, their breath, and team communication.

Build your classroom community with an activity that uses apples to examine oneself and their classmates. Participants draw four large apples on blank paper then exchange them within a small group. Group members write a character trait...

Sophomores can be sometimes wise and sometimes foolish. The same can be said for their behaviors. After watching a presentation about risk taking behaviors, class members discuss the presentation in small groups, and then complete a...

Health is more than measuring your blood pressure and eating nutritious foods. Eighth graders discuss the factors that play into an individual's health, including spirituality, social life and friendships, emotional stability, cognitive...

Bert and Ernie, Lucy and Ethel ... what makes a great friend? Pupils first learn about the STAR method of problem solving: Stop, Think, Act, Review. Small groups then role play various scenarios to demonstrate respect and compromise in...

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...