Your personality is based on the things you believe in, the morals you abide by, and the values upon which you make your decisions. Delve into a set of lessons about values and moral framework with your eighth graders as...

OK, or not OK? As part of a study of morals, values, and beliefs, class members engage in a series of activities that help them identify their own moral code.

What is integrity? What are the barriers that could keep a person from acting with integrity? How might these barriers be overcome? Class members tackle these questions as part of a course on Social, Physical, Emotional, Cognitive...

As part of a Career Develop unit, eighth-graders reflect on their beliefs and values and consider how these beliefs might affect their relationships with friends and with colleagues when they join the workforce.

Scholars investigate and discuss the importance of values and how they can be used to break barriers. Small groups work collaboratively to examine the text and draw inferences to answer questions. A writing assignment challenges pupils...

The second lesson plan 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.

Groups read primary and secondary sources detailing the ambush at Bloody Brook on September 18, 1675 and the attack on The Falls in May of 1676. After examining the results of each attack, groups reflect on the language...

Encourage your class to recognize the diversity in the beliefs and backgrounds of their peers. Learners use the acronym FRAME to consider culture, background, and life experiences.

Get readers thinking about issues raised by Chapter 5 of Carson McCullers' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter with an anticipation guide. Individuals decide whether they agree or disagree with a series of statements and discuss their...

Engage your class in a series of activities, each related to the use or analysis of symbols used to convey patriotic or national concepts. They identify different national symbols and explain their meanings, discussing the importance of...

What influences the way you dress, or celebrate holidays, or connect with your friends? Explore the cultural traits that are not easily seen with an engaging discussion. Using the model of an iceberg, learners place features of culture...

"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...

A picture speaks a thousand words—no matter how old. The 18th installment of a 22-part series on the making of American history has scholars research the causes of the Great Depression and the factors of the New Deal. Using photographic...

Rich in images and information, a teacher's guide to the traditions of Lunar New Year's celebrations in various cultures addresses celebrations of Buddhism and Daoism. It includes background information about the origins of the...

Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...

From constructing a colorful paper chain for learners to keep track of their Lenten goals to baskets of plastic eggs filled with suggestions for observing Holy Week, here you'll find a variety of activities and ideas for...

Discover the rich Native American culture that existed at the time of early European exploration into the Chesapeake region through analysis of several primary and secondary sources.

Media texts convey both overt and implied messages. As part of their study of media, class members analyze the language, form, techniques, and aesthetics in a variety of media texts.

Designed to help readers recognize the point of view of the author of a primary source documents and analyze how that point of view influences the reliability of a text, young historians examine two personal letters, one...

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...

Introduce your class to literary analysis with a series of activities that has them examine book and movie reviews. Groups then draft their own review of a text, select a digital medium, and craft a presentation.

“There is no story that is not true.” And Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, uses proverbs (“. . .the palm-oil with which words are eaten”), a compelling tragic hero, and historic events, to engage readers in the truth of his story of...

Fourth graders analyze posters that communicate an "active living" message, otherwise known as a public service announcement. Children identify techniques that are used in creating media texts including topic, purpose, and...

Caring, trustworthiness, and responsibility—these are only a few character traits in focus of a activity based on stories from the Civil War era. Class members explore several influential lives while reading biographies that...