Curated OER
Participant-Observer Guidelines Handout
Take your collaborative group work to a higher level with this informative handout about the nature, aims, and tasks of participant-observers. Teaching middle and high schoolers how to improve group process advances collaboration skills...
Overcoming Obstacles
Blowin' in the Wind
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.
Advocates for Human Rights
Deliberative Dialogue
How do you create a classroom environment where hot button topics may be discussed in a respectful manner? As part of a series of lessons that focus on immigration issues, class members examine the rules for civil discussion before...
Curated OER
Atha-Baska-Ball
Students participate in a game of two teams trying to score as many points as possible by throwing or bopping a large beach ball toward the opposing team's backboard. Team members must follow specific guidelines for the game as well as...
US Institute of Peace
Taking a Step Toward Peacebuilding
What can someone do to increase the peace? Pupils take small steps toward a big peacebuilding role in the final activity in a 15-part unit. Individuals identify their roles as a peacebuilder and create a stepping stone that reflects...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: A Bird's Tale
Who wouldn't love to get a letter from a blue bird? Elementary art enthusiasts analyze the social and historical context of Ason Yellowhair's Navajo piece, Bird and Cornstalk Rug. They examine the construction and images on the rug...
Film Foundation
Film Language and Elements of Style
How do you read a frame? How do you read a shot? Here's a resource that shows viewers how to read films. As part of the study, class members examine the camera angles, lighting, movement, and cinematic point of view in Mr. Smith Goes to...
Curated OER
Components of Communication
Students realize that communication is everywhere. They identify the six steps of the communication process and find pictures in magazines that depict each component of communication. They arrange them on posters that are labeled with...
Curated OER
Communicate - Without Talking?
Students discuss and define communication and identify different ways of communicating with people. Students then practice team building and non-verbal communication skills as they work silently in small teams to put puzzles together.
Curated OER
Respect for Self and Others-Giving and Getting the Big R
Seventh graders work in groups of three. They plan scenarios in which they demonstrate inappropriate and appropriate interpersonal skills in a variety of social situations. Students assume the roles of the individuals in their scenario...
Curated OER
Those Who Have Come Before Me
Class members are transformed into explorers as they work in groups to locate hidden items and map their journey along the way. They then leave clues for other groups of students to follow, and ultimately discover how past explorations...
Teachers' Curriculum Instituted
The Roman Record
Using Google Earth, Google Docs, and other Google Tools, collaborative groups of seventh graders research and then create and share online newspapers reporting on the early development, geographical features, political issues, and family...
Edible Schoolyard
Pan de los Muertos
Accompany instruction and the celebration of El Dia de los Muertos with a loaf of Pan de los Muertos. Here, scholars measure ingredients precisely to create tasty bread, write a remembrance for someone who has passed away, and take part...
US Institute of Peace
Maintaining Trusting Relationships
What role does trust play in diffusing a tense situation? Young social scientists explore trust on a personal and global level during a lesson on peace and conflict. After participating in a trust sit, participants work in groups to...
Curated OER
Finding Meaning in the Badge
Children who are three to five years old study two rank badges from the Qing dynasty to develop an understanding of social rank, language skills, and symbolism. The lesson is discussion-based and requires learners to compare and contrast...
Curated OER
From Sheep to Rug
Ever wonder where wool comes from? How it is used to make a woven rug? Introduce the Native American craft of rug making to your preschool or kindergarten class with a discussion. Learners examine and discuss images of a Native American...
BBC
Royal Patronage
The relationship between European royalty and the artists, scientists, and philosophers they support has been a building block in the artistic and technological progress throughout the world. Learn more about patronage throughout the...
Visa
Making it Work Together: Money and Roommates
Balancing money and first-time roommates can feel like a daunting prospect. Support your class members in understanding how financial agreements between roommates function, as well as the underlying importance of how to communicate about...
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: Music Can Change the World
Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...
Curated OER
MDG Bingo
Students explore Millennium Development Goals. In this community issues lesson plan, students identify and define community issues. Students use their problem solving skills to brainstorm strategies to combat the problems that plague...
Curated OER
Press Conference on Hurricane Georges
Students reinforce oral communication skills and organize a "press conference" on Hurricane Georges. They demonstrate their comprehension of the following enduring understanding: Where we live influences how we live. No matter where we...
Curated OER
Welcome to the Blogosphere
Create a blog spot for your classroom and promote online discussions. There are several blogging websites listed here, and you can create one specific to each class or one collective site. Teach your learners how to post on the blog, and...
Curated OER
Student News And Weather Channel
Fabulous! Your 5th graders should love this project. As an ongoing lesson throughout the year students use temperature probes to record outside temperature and then document their data using spreadsheets. They use their weather data and...
Curated OER
Press Conference on Hurricane Georges
Students experience Hurricane Georges. In this Peace Corps lesson, students examine the devastation of Hurricane Georges by acting as a Dominican Republic citizen being interviewed by an international television network. Students...