TRAIN Educational & Community Services
Multicultural Activities
From catching stars developed by African pygmy tribes to chop stix pick-up or the Hanukkah dreidel, use this list of diverse multicultural activities to help your learners draw connections to unique cultures of the...
Curated OER
Student Opinion: Do You Spend Too Much Time on Smart Phones Playing 'Stupid Games'?
This versatile resource from The New York Times website provides a short opinion piece on smart phones and the amount of time we spend playing games on them as well as several possible writing prompts pupils could consider in response to...
Curated OER
Holiday Paper Projects for Kids
No matter what time of year it is, there's a holiday craft to make! Kindergartners construct several holiday craft projects in a series of holiday art lesson. They complete several paper projects such as 4th of July flags,...
Museum of Tolerance
Why is This True?
Are wages based on race? On gender? Class members research wages for workers according to race and gender, create graphs and charts of their data, and compute differences by percentages. They then share their findings with adults and...
Early Childhood Education
Christmas Lesson Plan: Gross Motor & Fine Motor Skills
Practice gross and fine motor skills with fun Christmas- and holiday-themed activities. These holiday lessons include songs, games, and other engaging activities for both gross and fine motor skills. Kids will love pinning the nose...
Facing History and Ourselves
Fishbowl Discussion
Filter young teenagers' opinions and perspectives with a classic fishbowl discussion. Given any topic relevant to your curriculum, a group of class members engage in discussion for their peers to observe.
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Festivals of Light Hanukkah
Five sessions make up a lesson on the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah. After reading and teaching young historians the history of the Jewish holiday, learners explore the celebration through hands-on activities and collaborative...
Diversity and Dialogue
Communication and Trust-Building Exercises
Help learners build trust and develop verbal and non-verbal communication skills with a variety of interactive activities outlined in this resource.
Kids Yoga Stories
Valentine's Day - LOVE
Open your heart with a refreshing yoga session designed for Valentine's Day. With visual cues of hearts and other festive decorations, participants begin a series of yoga poses designed to open their heart chakras and to reflect on...
Curated OER
Portrait of a First Grader
First graders generate ideas of the things that a 1st Grade student thinks, does and feels based on a model on bulletin board paper. They (counselors) pick one students and trace that student's body onto a pieces of bulleting board paper...
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Literature Study of the Civil War Era
Learn more about the Civil War. Young scholars will choose a novel based on the Civil War to learn more about the viewpoints of that time period. They will then discuss the roles of the members of a Literature Circle and then participate...
Curated OER
Fire Fight
While somewhat dated (students write letters to President George W. Bush about the Iraq War), this lesson could be a good way to reinforce rhetorical reading and critical thinking. Students examine information regarding Operation Iraqi...
EngageNY
Synthesizing Research: How Colonists Were Interdependent
Following the formative assessment of this unit, young scholars present the information they gathered on their specific colonial trade to the rest of the class. Working in groups, learners create posters describing the particular job...
Curated OER
Chinese New Year
Gong hei fat choy! Celebrate Chinese New Year with a variety of activities that introduce learners to the Chinese myth of the race that determined which animals earned their place the zodiac.
Curated OER
The Scramble for Wealth And Power
Students participate in a simulation activity involving the distribution of the world's wealth and power. The activity starts when 100 pennies, representing wealth and power, are spread on the floor and students must grab as many...
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Rulers For a Day
Students design and create foil coins with images that symbolize students' imaginary leadership in the ancient world. They model their coins on those made for Alexander the Great. They discuss what made him an important historical figure.
PACER Center
The Peer Advocacy Guide
Teasing, mocking, and disrespect can be the hallmarks in the life of those with disabilities. Disrupt the cycle of abuse with a toolkit designed to turn peers into advocates for all those who are bullied. Everything needed to create a...
Curated OER
Women of the Revolutionary War
Who were the most influential women of the Revolutionary War? Reinforce your lesson about Revolutionary women with this word search. Young readers must locate the names of nine important women that served in some capacity during this...
Curated OER
Circle Sculpture
Students discover the Theatre of the Oppressed. In this diversity lesson plan, students practice confronting injustice as they participate in "circle sculpture" to role play performance models that deal with social justice issues....
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Thanksgiving Literacy Activity
Students explore why Thanksgiving is celebrated. In this cross-curriculum lesson, students listen to the book Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes, and complete the sentence frame "I am thankful for ____." Students practice phonemic...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Great Circle Route
Young scholars compare routes between Minnesota and China using a map and globe. Using the "great circle route" method, students find the shortest route between two points.
Curated OER
Smiley Face Circle Stories
Students examine different artifacts from the 1970's. In this history lesson, students discover what each artifact is by seeing the artifact and reading a card defining what the artifact represents. On the second day, students create...
Curated OER
Let's Be Honest!
Young scholars investigate the concepts of honesty and take a survey about honesty. They use the New York Times to conduct research to identify the characteristics commonly found in stories about cheating. Students write reflective...
Curated OER
Turkey Time
Students move safely in a general direction while practicing their chasing, fleeing, and dodging skills. They practice using a Thanksgiving theme for the activity.