Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 4: The Psychological Approach
Readers apply Sigmund Freud's theories of the unconscious mind and the psychological approach to literary criticism to analyze and evaluate the relationship between two characters in A Separate Peace.
American Psychological Association
Statistical Significance
Our survey says ...! High school psychology scholars analyze how people create surveys. Three different scenarios help them discover the meaning behind statistical significance. Armed with new knowledge, novice psychologists uncover what...
Curated OER
School Climate
Students examine school climate in relation to the physical structure of the school building. A Luann cartoon can be used to stimulate thinking and promote discussion which focuses on feelings of alienation that can occur in large high...
Social Media Toolbox
Cyberbullying
What can we do to make our school community more aware of cyberbullying? From The Social Media Toolbox, lesson 10 of 16 takes on the tough topic of bullying. Learners research cyberbullying through online research, then create an...
Curated OER
Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?
Interesting! Have your high schoolers watch this 13-minute clip from the documentay, "Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?" It examines the fear we have as a culture about death and whether or not the media increases those fears. The focus...
Curated OER
Learning To Get Along With Classmates: A Discussion of Bullying And Intimidation At School
Students discuss cliques, intimidators, support systems and how it feels to be victimized, and discuss ways to deal with hurtful people.
Foreign Policy Research Institute
The Mind of a Terrorist: A Psychosocial Perspective
What a great way to make a psychology lesson on personality development socio-politically relevant! Class members investigate causes of radicalism--specifically, becoming a terrorist. This resource includes background information, key...
Curated OER
Lesson: Nikhil Chopra: Performing Memory
Film imitates life; that's what they say. Using performance theory to tie the lesson together, learners attempt to understand memory and daily rituals as seen in art, film, and life. They read two chapters from the book, watch the...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
Identical Twins, Identical Fates?
Can different personal experiences affect our genes? Find out in an intriguing case study about one twin who is diagnosed with mental illness and her identical twin who fears she may suffer the same fate. Designed for college-level...
American Psychological Association
Research Ethics
Psychologists designing experiments to research human behavior must consider weighty ethical concerns. Class members act as members of an institutional review board and examine proposals to determine whether included provisions...
American Psychological Association
Counting Fidgets: Teaching the Complexity of Naturalistic Observation
Why do psychologists conduct experiments in controlled laboratory settings? High schoolers gain an understanding of the importance of controls with an activity that involves naturalistic observations with no imposed controls.
Curated OER
Effective Parent/Student/Teacher Communication
Sixth graders engage in a lesson which address the concerns and issues around new 6th grade students arriving at middle school. They, parents and teachers use this strategy to effectuate good communication.
Curated OER
States of Consciousness
Students investigate sleep. In this psychology lesson, students discuss five environmental factors leading to stress related to sleep.
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 5: Motivation - Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs provides the lens class members use to analyze and evaluate the motivations of the characters in Sylvia Plath's "Initiation" and scenes from Mean Girls. Readers then select a character from A Separate...
Nemours KidsHealth
Drugs: Grades 6-8
What happens to your body when you use drugs? What do you do if your friend wants you to start using? Learn about the signs of addiction and the ways to withstand peer pressure with two classroom activities. After storyboarding the...
Curated OER
Dealing With Bullying
Pupils define bullying, assess the place of bullying in their lives, evaluate how adults can help kids deal with bullying, and explore how families and schools can address bullying.
Curated OER
Children's Literature Meets Learning Theories
Students examine learning theories and principles through children's literature. In groups, they select theories and create multimedia presentations exemplifying them. Students discuss the various themes related to human growth,...
Curated OER
Feeling Flashbacks
Students investigate feelings with their class. In this feelings lesson, students mingle with their class and share a specific personal feeling with a random student. Students record their experience in their journal.
Curated OER
Consumerism and the Consumer Society
Young scholars read an article titled "How Much Is Enough?" by Alan Durning. They work in small groups to summarize the author's main point for each paragraph and then identify and discuss further questions they may have in response to...
Global Oneness Project
Our Shared Humanity
Ann Shin's award-winning documentary, My Enemy, My Brother introduces viewers to Zahed Haftlang and Najah Aboud, two child soldiers on opposite sides during the Iran-Iraq war. After viewing the film, class members are asked to reflect on...
Smithsonian Institution
POWs
Why did Vietnam POWs and their families receive more media attention than POWs in previous wars? To answer this question, class members view artifacts, read articles, and engage in class discussion. Individuals then assume the voice of...
Global Oneness Project
Freedom to Change
Here's something unusual and thoughtful: have your scholars do some pensive reflection themselves before tackling how such meditative techniques are used in prison rehabilitation programs. They watch the "Path of Freedom" video found...
Indiana University
World Literature: "One Evening in the Rainy Season" Shi Zhecun
Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Contemplating Nature vs. Nurture
Does having an addict in your family make it more likely to become one yourself? Explore the genetic risk factors, as well as the prominent environmental influences, for substance addiction in a lesson that encourages awareness and open...