Overcoming Obstacles
Gathering Information and Making the Commitment
Scholars create and commit to a contract for their Service Learning project. The contract details who is responsible for which tasks on the action plan they developed in a previous lesson plan.
K20 LEARN
Decomposers—Fraction Style: Fractions
"What are fractions composed of?" is the essential question of a lesson designed to enhance understanding and strengthen the foundation of adding fractions. Mathematicians start by discussing what makes an equation true or false, then...
Overcoming Obstacles
Designing an Action Plan
Outcome + available resources + schedule + timeline + steps to complete project = Action Plan! The second lesson in the "Service Learning" module outlines for scholars the steps to take when designing an action plan for their Service...
K20 LEARN
Break It Apart: Multiplication Strategies
Reinforce multiplication strategies with a lesson that examines a word problem and the distributive property. Mathematicians work collaboratively to solve the problem, create a poster with their solution, and share their preferred method...
Overcoming Obstacles
Introduction to Service Learning
Introduce scholars to Service Learning with a lesson plan that distinguishes between Service Learning and Community Service. After reading about others involved in Service Learning, class members generate a list of issues in their...
Overcoming Obstacles
Presenting Yourself
"Presenting Yourself," the last lesson in the "Looking to the Future" module, asks participants to review and reflect on what they have learned about themselves in the Overcoming Obstacles course. They review their course folder and...
Overcoming Obstacles
Playing by the Rules
The takeaway from the "Playing by the Rules" lesson is that it is each person's responsibility to learn the rules in a given situation and that they must accept the consequences if they choose not to follow the stated rules. Class...
Overcoming Obstacles
Getting Along
Wouldn't it be nice if we could all learn to get along? Middle schoolers review the skills they have learned in other lessons in the course and apply them to a series of activities. They then create posters illustrating their advice on...
K20 LEARN
Bear Tale: Author's Purpose - Informing Or Entertaining
After reading The Mitten by Jan Brett, scholars discuss the author's purpose. Small groups compare and contrast a book written to entertain and a book to inform, then create a T-Chart detailing the characteristics of each. Learners...
Overcoming Obstacles
Handling Peer Pressure
The second lesson in the "Looking to the Future " module provides participants with strategies for handling peer pressure, especially when peers urge behaviors that go against one's values, beliefs, and family rules.
Overcoming Obstacles
Adapting to Change
Peter Pan doesn't want to grow up and doesn't want to change. Many middle schoolers feel the same way. The first lesson in the "Looking to the Future" module underscores the concept that change is a natural part of life and that a...
K20 LEARN
Baking Cupcakes!: Fractions
Following an engaging video, mathematicians solve a word problem about baking cupcakes using fractions. Scholars practice different problem-solving strategies, then find different ingredient amounts for their recipes. Pupils solve a...
Anti-Defamation League
Stereotypes of Girls and Women in the Media
A two-part lesson has scholars researching the stereotypes in portraying women and girls in the media and the impact of these representations. To conclude the lesson, participants write a letter of praise to sources that present positive...
Anti-Defamation League
Why are Children’s and Young Adult Books Challenged and Banned?
September's "Banned Books Week" brings attention to the number of books that are challenged, censored, or banned each year. After watching a video about banned book week, reading articles about the history of book banning, and examining...
Penguin Books
Teacher's Guide: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
It's the American Dream! A house of your own, a better life, freedom to be who you want. But what happens when the dream withers? Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning drama, A Raisin in the Sun, offers some powerful answers to these...
K20 LEARN
If Our Classroom Were The World: Proportions And Percents
It's a small world after all. Classmates consider world population, languages, and religions in a cross-curricular lesson. Applying percentages and proportions, they determine what the class make-up would be if the class represented the...
Overcoming Obstacles
Defining Problems Big and Small
Problems come in all shapes and sizes, but the first step in solving a problem is to identify just what the problem is. Through a series of games and activities, middle schoolers learn first to identify a problem, decide on a solution,...
K20 LEARN
But What About Me?: Teaching Perspective In The Social Studies Classroom
How would the story of the discovery of America be different if indigenous people told it through their eyes? Individuals compare the conventional account of this moment in history to an account given by one of the native peoples. After...
Overcoming Obstacles
Resolving Conflicts
The final lesson in the Resolving Conflicts module asks participants to summarize what they have learned about resolving conflicts. Groups then apply what they learned to a conflict described in a provided scenario.
Overcoming Obstacles
Creating a Win-Win Situation
Win-lose? Lose-lose? or Win-win? The activities and games in the fifth lesson in the Resolving Conflicts module teach middle schoolers how they might use their problem-solving skills to transform a conflict into a win-win solution.
Overcoming Obstacles
Using Communication Skills Effectively
Miscommunication is often the basis of conflict. To improve their communication skills, pupils first review what they learned about assertive (as opposed to aggressive or passive) communication, role-play several scenarios, and then...
Overcoming Obstacles
Controlling Emotions in Conflicts
"Stop! Think! and Cool Down!" Participants in the third instructional activity in the Resolving Conflicts module learn how to pause and reflect in stressful situations rather than react. The class generates a list of strategies that...
Overcoming Obstacles
Identifying Emotions in Conflicts
The takeaway from the second lesson plan in the Resolving Conflicts module is that "conflict is like an iceberg" in that we only see a small portion of what's involved in conflicts. Participants learn to identify the many unseen feelings...
Overcoming Obstacles
Understanding Conflicts
The Resolving Conflicts module begins with a lesson about tolerance and learning to appreciate differences among people. Through a series of activities and games, middle schoolers learn that conflicts arise when people have opposing...