Here is a comprehensive unit on the 16 Habits of Mind that includes a wide variety of activities, worksheets, differentiation strategies, and instructor notes. The unit consists of 18 lessons and offers an organized progression of...

The more you practice, the better you get. That's the big idea behind a lesson for middle schoolers about using mindfulness breathing techniques to reduce stress. Class members practice Star Breathing and Rainbow Breathing exercises and...

Middle schoolers apply what they learned in the previous lesson about mindful yoga to design a project to help a teen cope with a stressful situation in a healthy way. Groups role play explaining the benefits of their approach and...

Mindfulness is all about paying attention to the present. Introduce freshmen to a stress-reducing tool that helps them pay close attention to what is happening, choose their behavior, and respond. Learners use a timeline to track their...

Stop. Breathe. Think. A richly detailed lesson on mindfulness introduces freshmen to meditation as a coping strategy to deal with stress.

The Mindfulness Toolkit is designed to provide educators with the information they need to introduce the social-emotional competency of mindfulness into their school. The kit includes background information to help teachers develop their...

Why do artists create? To solve a problem, of course. Young artists work individually and then in groups to create observational, imaginative, and narrative drawings in response to an assignment that requires them to employ all 16...

Imagine a learning community committed to using Costa and Kallick's Habits of Mind as the basis of curriculum design. The resource book is packed with lessons that are designed for and identify the standards and...

Standing pose, tree pose, warrior pose, easy pose. Middle schoolers learn several basic yoga exercises and poses that can help them relax. They also keep a four-week stress log to track stressful situations and how they dealt with them.

Examine food choices and the nutritional properties of food groups with this visually appealing whole-class lesson plan. This will take a bit of preparation, but once you do it, you can use the materials for years. Using a food groups...

James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis" provides readers with an opportunity to consider how they can support others who are experiencing distress. Participants learn self-care tips and connect to the short story's characters. They...

What could be more relevant to teens and preteens than experiencing stress? Use an article from the New York Times website to practice valuable Common Core skills for informational text reading, and also get a discussion going in your...

Learning about literature can be so much fun; it can also be made more accessible through projects and dramatic play. As they explore theme, character, and setting, the class gets creative and makes a dramatic recreation of a classic...

Is there a way to connect creative thinking, logical reasoning, mathematical understanding, and humor? You bet there is! Kids begin by creating creative math quizzes, which require creative thinking to solve. For example, 1+1=24, one...

Humans love to communicate and they do it in so many different ways. The class investigates how people have used new inventions and technological innovations to communicate. They are divided into groups of three or four and given...

A list of activities inspires self-awareness and mindfulness. Scholars practice identifying emotions and expressing their feelings while using their hands, mind, and social skills to complete tasks. Activities include story...

A list of activity ideas, lessons, and resource links all focus on kindness, empathy, and mindfulness. Five steps offer experience in role-play, crafts, writing, thoughtful discussions, and more! 

"How are belief systems represented and reproduced through nature?" This essential question guides lesson 6 of this unit on The Odyssey (the rest of the unit is linked). Students first write about a scenario in which they are...

Teach your middle schoolers to use their ears to their highest potential! Pupils practice active listening skills and reflect on how careful listening might prove to be important in and out of the classroom.

Mind maps are great tools. Teach your classes how to use mind maps to collect, organize, and retain information with a lesson that asks learners to research the life of Sacagawea and use mind maps to record their findings.

This lesson is hilarious! To understand how to investigate a topic, collect data, and evaluate the results, learners research the effects of laughter on health. Each group is assigned a research task, which they will turn into...

Math really is just one big puzzle waiting to be solved. Show learners that math can be intriguing and provide them with visually engaging problems and puzzles. The focus is on solving simple equations and looking at expressions. 

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but words can tell many stories. To conclude their study of the women who have served in the US Congress until 2006, groups analyze statements made by these remarkable women.

To conclude their study of Black Americans in Congress, groups select a statement made by one of the Members, examine the Member's profile on the provided link, and create a display that includes state represented, years of service, an...