Curated OER
Intergenerational Friendships
Young scholars interview senior citizens. In this communications lesson, students read the book Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge and discuss how to be sensitive to people of a different generation. Young scholars develop interview...
King Country
Lesson 7: Relationships - Day 5: Acquaintances & Strangers
What is the difference between a friend and an acquaintance? What about an acquaintance and a stranger? As part of a unit on Family Life and Sexual Health (FLASH), class members role play appropriate responses to situations involving...
Curated OER
Building Bridges to Others
Practice communication skills in order to make meaningful connections to others. Through studying effective communication, kids make meaningful relationships that can affect the community in a positive way.
Curated OER
Freak The Mighty: KWHL Instructions for Generating Student Research
Readers of Freak the Mighty employ a KWHL strategy to explore the topics of bullying and friendship prior to reading Rodman Philbrick’s story that is “like truth serum. . . whether it really happened or not.” Research could be extended...
Curated OER
Owen and Mzee
Students examine the trait of compassion. For this character education lesson, students read Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella Hatkoff. Students discuss the theme of the story as well as what it means...
Listening Library
The Sign of the Beaver
Extend a class reading of the novel The Sign of the Beaver across all subject areas with this literature unit guide. From basic discussion questions and writing prompts, to a research project about tracking animals, this...
Curated OER
Communicating with "I Messages", Part I
Third graders watch negative puppet scenario and discuss the dialogue used. They offer ideas and discuss whether their friendship can be saved. They watch a new puppet play and discuss why the second scenario had a more positive outcome...
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...
Curated OER
Dealing With Feelings
Meant to be used with the Dealing With Feelings video from the You Can Choose series, this lesson can also be adapted for use without this resource. This plan is aimed at showing young learners how to appropriately deal with their...
Curated OER
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Anticipation Guide
Start off your study of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with a lesson spent exploring some of the concepts that will be present in the novel. This anticipation guide focuses on honesty and lying. After learners decided if they agree or...
Curated OER
Building Background
Students, in groups, define qualities of friends and leaders. The groups define how far a friend or leader should go to protect their friendship or country. They research Julius Caesar, Marc Anotony and Shakespeare and read Julius Caesar.
Curated OER
Lily's Crossing
Middle schoolers listen to a story, "Lily's Crossing," about life during a World War. After completing worksheets, they compare and contrast characters in the story. Using math skills, students develop a time line of the war, calculate...
Curated OER
Bradford England
Students explore the locality and diversity of culture within the Bradford District of England. Through map activities and discussion, they identify the major forms of transport, people and places in the region. Students compare and...
Curated OER
Author's Day
Have your learners choose an author to study. One resource link gives a list of approved authors. Scholars read at least three works produced by that author and produce three separate book reports as well as a two-page author report....
Curated OER
Transitions and Managing Change
Intended to help sixth graders move on to middle school or junior high, this presentation discusses ways to cope with stress caused by change. While this cute and friendly format may invite good healthy discussions, it may not appeal to...
Curated OER
Rights and Responsibilities
Discuss the differences between rights and responsibilities with your class. Various topics are covered in relation to how each is a right or a responsibility, then several thinking questions are posed. Use to start a class discussion or...
Teacher Vision
The Wampanoag Indians: A Thanksgiving Lesson
Spark some lively conversation about American holiday traditions and debunk accepted notions about the first Thanksgiving at the same time. After reviewing the mainstream version of the Thanksgiving story with your class, offer some...
Curated OER
Childhood Through the Looking-Glass
Junior high learners discuss Lewis Carroll's classic story, Alice in Wonderland. They observe the image of childhood in his photographs and compare them to present-day images. There is a plethora of ideas and links for discussions...
Curated OER
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel
Jamie Ford’s historical novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, explores the relationship between a young Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl set against the backdrop of Seattle during World War II. The teaching...
Curated OER
Would I Want Me For a Friend?
Third graders examine the process of making and keeping friends. They identify and discuss the characteristics of a good friend, and complete a handout in small groups.
Curated OER
Valentine's Day Hearts
Students consider idiomatic expressions that use the word, "heart". They illustrate an assigned idiom and present it to the class. They use the illustrations to guess which idiom is being represented.
Curated OER
Back-to-School Meet & Greet
Student are welcomed into a new learning environment through reading and age-appropriate activities that help relieve the anxiety of beginning school in a new place and with new friends. In this Clifford-themed lesson plan, learners...
Curated OER
Learning from Friends
Students read My Friends by Taro Gomi and discuss the many types of friends they have. They share some of the things they have learned from their friends. They draw a picture of themselves learning from a friend.
Curated OER
My Kind of Friend
Second graders read "Tacky the Penguin" by Helen Lester and chart Tacky's positive qualities that would make him a good friend to have. They identify the qualities they admire in a friend and role-play these qualities for the class.