Anti-Defamation League
Teens, Tech, Connect: How Technology Impacts Teenagers' Friendships
To understand their time spent online, class members chart their use of technology during early morning hours, during school, after school, in the evenings, and on weekends. They then read several reports about how social media...
Childnet International
Self Esteem
To middle schoolers, there's nothing worse than being excluded from a peer group. Developing important self-esteem skills can not only get them through awkward adolescent times, it can carry them through the rest of their lives as...
Pearson Longman
Emotions Reading
Explore the many types of feelings and how people express them with a lesson compiled of kid-friendly activities that spark critical thinking, self-reflection, and reinforce language and writing skills. Scholars delve into the variety of...
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Relationships and Sexuality
Adolescence is a tumultuous time for the learners in your class. Guide them through the rocky world of friendships, risks, personal health, and emotional turmoil with a set of lessons about teenager relationships and sexuality.
Childnet International
Peer Pressure
What do you do if someone you like wants you to do something you don't want to do? A series of activities, including discussion, videos, role-play, and poster projects, demonstrate the most effective ways to withstand peer pressure online.
Citizens Crime Commission of New York City
A Student’s Guide to Using Social Media Safely
While the kids in your class tap quickly on their electronic devices to stay in touch with their peers, they may not know the consequences of online social lives. Take them through a discussion about potential downfalls of a social media...
Nemours KidsHealth
Empathy: Grades 9-12
Empathy can be the glue that holds a society together. Learning how to see and appreciate a situation from another's point is key to developing empathy toward others. The two activities in this resource are designed to help teens...
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
My Life—My Relationships
How can you tell if your relationship is healthy or unhealthy? When can consent be withdrawn in a sexual encounter? Discuss important aspects of healthy relationships with high schoolers with a lesson plan that includes talk about...
Sacramento Country Day School
7th Grade Character Development Workshops
Be proactive. Begin with the end in mind. Synergize. These are just a few strategies outlined in Sean Covey's ground-breaking best-seller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. With a series of five character development workshops...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—Eighth Grade
Middle schoolers are likely very familiar with the concept of bullying and cliques. Discuss their experiences and brainstorm ways to handle peer conflict and feelings of exclusion with a poem that focuses on bullying, and a second lesson...
Facebook
Healthy Relationships Online
Chatting, texting, commenting—there are so many options for online communication! How do teens know what's appropriate? Social scholars collaborate to define the elements of a healthy online relationship during an activity-packed digital...
Advocates for Youth
What Are My Relationships with Others Like?
Relationships are often the highest priority for teenagers, but they don't always have the maturity to navigate a healthy connection with peers or family members. A series of group activities prompt class members to interview their...
Curated OER
Summer Activities
Students practice saying no to their friends in a role play situation. In this friends lesson plan, students discuss what valuable friendship is, and that it is ok to say no to a friend.
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Gayle Forman
Sometimes a novel is the best way to tackle a tough topic. A helpful educator's guide for the novels of Gayle Forman discuss tough topics such as teenage suicide. Discussion questions and writing activities encourage readers to think...
Facebook
Social Media and Sharing
Whether it's cute cat videos or pictures from an epic vacation, scholars love to check out what's happening on social media! But, how much sharing is too much? A lesson plan from a vast digital citizenship series poses some serious...
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Relationships and Sexuality
Developing close personal and romantic relationships requires its own set of skills. This session focuses on helping teens develop behaviors and strategies for dealing with romantic relationships, rather than on sharing personal...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to the Works of Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Middle school years can be tough. An educator's guide for the works of Lynda Mullaly Hunt introduces readers to two texts that discuss the struggles pre-teens face during middle school. Chapter-by-chapter questions and activities for two...
Curated OER
Tell Me; I'll Listen
Students complete activities about the importance of listening in order to show respect. In this listening lesson, students read Angel Child, Dragon Child and discuss the role of listening. Students practice listening in pairs by telling...