Overcoming Obstacles
Communicating Constructively
Some types of verbal communication are just more difficult that others. High schoolers engage in a series of activities that are designed to help teens make difficult conversations easier and more effective.
California Department of Education
Hitting the Write Note: Writing a Proposal
To whom it may concern ... Scholars undergo the process of writing a letter to an authority figure. The lesson asks writers to compose a formal letter requesting a music therapy space. Pupils learn how to submit a project proposal to any...
Thoughtful Learning
Creating a Growth Mindset
A quick mimi-lesson models how to replace a fixed mindset with a growth mindset, a mindset that says improvement is possible with practice. Included is an activity that asks individuals to rewrite 10 fixed mindset statements with 10...
Yale University
inspireED Innovator's Guide
Educators and scholars come together to build a team of go-getters striving for positive change in their school and community. Become an insipreED team with this handy guide designed to get you started. Sixty pages outline the who, what,...
Whole Person Associates
Teen Choices Workbook
The exercises and activities in the 28-page Teen Choices Workbook are designed to provide teens with the tools they need to become thoughtful decision makers, to act responsibly, to reflect on past decisions, and to take responsibility...
Open Society Institute - Baltimore
Restorative Practices Lesson Plan Guide
Looking for resources that use restorative practices to build a positive school community? Then check out this 92-page lesson plan guide that provides background information on restorative practices, suggestions for how to implement a...
University of Oklahoma
Increasing My Self-Awareness
After watching a PowerPoint about famous people with disabilities, class members begin a Self-Awareness research project about their own abilities and disabilities. Included in the project is information about people who have similar...
Greater Good Science Center
Thank You for Believing in Me
The fourth and final instructional activity in the Gratitude series has learners craft and deliver a Gratitude Letter to a significant person in their lives. Writers include information about how they benefitted from the attention of the...
Nemours KidsHealth
Sportsmanship: Grades 6-8
Losing isn't any fun. It is, however, a part of competing. Two activities encourage middle schoolers to consider what good sportsmanship is, how they can be a good sport, and ways to handle situations when some are acting...
Museum of the American Revolution
Leadership and Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton serves as a model in a lesson that asks young political scientists to consider the strengths and weaknesses of six different leadership styles. They read a brief overview of Hamilton's activities before, during, and...
Health Smart Virginia
Shark Tank - Mental Illnesses
Young entrepreneurs research and develop a Shark Tank-style pitch for a solution to help people who have a mental illness. After the presentations, research groups complete a rubric for each product and vote for the one product they feel...
Health Smart Virginia
Mental Health Journals
Eight prompts, designed to accompany the Health Smart series of lessons, provide high schoolers an opportunity to reflect on and learn from the issues raised by the various activities.
Nebraska Department of Education
You're Fired!
Is willing to learn. Follows directions. Takes the initiative. The big idea in this career development lesson is that the work habits that make one successful in school are the same as those required to succeed in a career. Class members...
Overcoming Obstacles
Accessing Resources
Everyone needs help achieving their goals. The trick is to figure out how to access resources that will be of help. Participants engage in activities that teach them how to identify what help they need to achieve their goals and how to...
Overcoming Obstacles
Identifying Goals
Effort does not necessarily equal accomplishment. What's missing from the formula is a goal. High schoolers learn the importance of identifying short-term, medium-range, and long-term goals that are both realistic and challenging. After...
Overcoming Obstacles
Taking the Initiative
We can all use a little help sometimes. Middle schoolers engage in a series of activities that teach them about taking the initiative, how to make the effort, how to ask questions, and who to ask for help. They then listen to a guest...
Overcoming Obstacles
Gathering Information and Making the Commitment
Scholars create and commit to a contract for their Service Learning project. The contract details who is responsible for which tasks on the action plan they developed in a previous lesson.
Overcoming Obstacles
Formalizing and Finalizing the Action Plan
It's time to get to work! Groups assign roles, duties, and due dates for their Service Learning action plan. They then identify the approvals they will need to complete their project successfully.
Curated OER
Managing the Teaching-Learning Process
Twelfth graders begin to recognize how 2,400 year-old dramas are applicable to their lives after reading OEDIPUS THE KING, AGAMEMNON, ANTIGONE, MEDEA, HIPPOLYTUS, and FROGS.
Curated OER
Kandinsky Color Studies
Young scholars study the artist Wassily Kandinsky as well as his art and and music. In this art appreciation lesson, students view a variety of Kandinsky's work and circular color studies. Young scholars relate the use of color...
Curated OER
Personal Development (Child Abuse Prevention)
Students define several types of abuse, including sexual, physical, and emotional abuse or neglect. They recognize signs of abusive situations and describe the potential consequences of abuse
Curated OER
Assessing Health Habits
Seventh graders discuss what are the characteristics of a personal with good health. They read an article about influences on health and discuss and perform a self assessment to gauge their personal health. They then go to the gym and...
Curated OER
Economy's Stuck, but Business is Booming at Therapists' Offices
Students explore the concept of the economy and mental health. In this economy and mental health instructional activity, students read an article about how the mental health community is booming due to the poor economy. Students discuss...
Curated OER
Understanding and Identifying Individual Resources
Students identify their own individual resources in the categories of financial, emotional, mental, physical, role models, knowledge of hidden rules, and support systems.