Facing History and Ourselves
Three Good Things
A "Three Good Things" routine asks participants to sit quietly and reflect on three positive things in their world: family, school, community, or the world at large. After journaling about one that feels most important right now, writers...
Facing History and Ourselves
Picture This
Sometimes what you get is far more than what you first see. The third routine in the Building Community series asks participants to engage in a See, Think, Wonder strategy. Small groups analyze a projected image, infer what is happening,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Mood Meter
Returning to in-class learning has proved to be a challenge for both teachers and learners. This series of 15 lessons provides instructors with ideas about establishing or re-establish classroom protocols and opening or closing routines...
Carolina K-12
First Continental Congress, Second Continental Congress, and the Declaration of Independence
Your learners will take on the roles of Congressional members in the year 1775 and devise a plan for America after the onset of the Revolutionary War.
Overcoming Obstacles
Setting Expectations
As Don Quixote asserts in the musical Man of La Mancha, it is possible to achieve your dreams. For the last lesson plan in the Getting Started Module, participants learn the importance of having dreams and setting goals that help them...
Overcoming Obstacles
Working In Teams
Working in teams can be a challenge but also offer many rewards. Developing the skills necessary to work effectively in teams is the focus of the third lesson plan in the Getting Started Module designed for middle schoolers. Participants...
Overcoming Obstacles
What Is Overcoming Obstacles?
The second lesson in the Getting Started Module introduces the theme of the "Overcoming Obstacles" course. Participants listen to a guest speaker who has achieved success, and then identify traits and skills that the speaker talked about...
Overcoming Obstacles
Who Are You?
Personal involvement in any class is essential! That's the takeaway from the first activity in the Getting Started module. Class members participate in games to learn each other's names and details. The goal is to create an atmosphere...
Penguin Books
An Educator Guide to Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
Call Us By What We Carry, a poetry collection by Nation Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, is the focus of a 10-page teacher's guide.
Penguin Books
Teacher's Guide: When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Julie Otsuka's haunting novel, When the Emperor Was Devine, is the subject of a 14-page teacher's guide. The guide includes the text of an interview with Otsuka, background information about Japanese immigration to the United States, and...
Penguin Books
The Discussion Guide to the Inaugural Poem: The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb," featured at the 2021 inauguration of President Joseph Biden, is the focus of a six-page guide. The guide includes before reading, during reading, and after reading...
Overcoming Obstacles
Empathy
A instructional activity boosts relationship skills with a focus on empathy. Scholars define it, offer examples, and practice showing empathy with scenario cards. Five steps assist class members in empathizing in the classroom, home, and...
Overcoming Obstacles
Coping Skills
A lesson challenges scholars to identify life stressors and list ways to cope. Learners create a "Coping with Emotions" book detailing the importance of responsibly working through our feelings.
Overcoming Obstacles
Respect
In a instructional activity about respect, scholars define it and write examples of how they show it at school, at home, and community. Small groups work together to identify scenarios as respectful or not. If not, groups explain what...
Overcoming Obstacles
Integrity
A lesson about integrity challenges scholars to define it, discuss why it's essential, and the benefits of having it. Class members brainstorm ways to show integrity at home, at school, and in the community. Pupils participate in an...
Overcoming Obstacles
Having a Positive Attitude
An activity about a positive attitude sheds light on the importance of a growth mindset. Scholars define and discuss it to brainstorm a list of positive phrases that contribute to a growth mindset. Peers share positive statements about...
Overcoming Obstacles
Perseverance and Personal Best
A lesson focuses on perseverance. Scholars define the term, list ways to show it, and make and set goals using a color-coded worksheet. The class encourages their peers to work towards their personal best.
Overcoming Obstacles
Cooperation and Teamwork
One of Aesop's fables begins with a lesson about cooperation and teamwork. Scholars listen carefully, taking note of the moral of the story. The class discusses their findings and why working with others makes work easier. Learners share...
Overcoming Obstacles
Resolving Conflicts
Assist scholars in resolving conflicts with a lesson plan that starts with defining the terms, conflicts, and resolutions. Learners take their newfound knowledge to identify a conflict and list strategies to resolve it. Partners work...
Overcoming Obstacles
Handling Peer Pressure
Class members participate in a discussion to identify all types of positive and negative peer pressure and brainstorm strategies to not give in to negative peer pressure. Scholars create a T-chart to record their observations. Pupils...
Overcoming Obstacles
Becoming a Good Friend
A lesson plan puts a spotlight on becoming a good friend. After pointing out TV friendships, scholars listen to several scenarios and discuss whether the characters exhibit good or bad friendly behaviors. Learners reflect on the...
Overcoming Obstacles
Good Citizenship
An individual's background and experiences affect their worldview and interaction. In this lesson, scholars draw a pair of glasses with pictures of experiences they've been through, relate the responsibility to social media and the...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Penguin Edition of John Steinbeck's The Pearl
The guide to John Steinbeck's The Pearl suggests ways instructors can help readers see below the surface of the novella to the parable beneath. Through a variety of activities, readers come to appreciate the complexity of the tale.
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of Mark Twain's The Prince and The Pauper
Imagine how the world would be different if all diplomats' children were required to serve in the military. Or if all high school graduates were required to do two years of community service before post-secondary education. A 30-page...