Overcoming Obstacles
Stepping Stone Goals
Often the most challenging part of any journey is the first step, the getting started and figuring out where to start. Middle schoolers engage in a series of games and activities to learn the importance of setting short-term goals,...
Overcoming Obstacles
Defining Goals
Having goals is important. The opening, two-day lesson in the Goal Setting module teaches middle schoolers the importance of setting meaningful, realistic goals. Through a series of activities, participants practice setting personal...
Overcoming Obstacles
Weighing Options and Consequences
When making decisions, it might be wise to revise Newton's Third Law of Motion to read, "For every decision, there are options and consequences." Although in decision-making, not all these forces may be equal. The third lesson in the...
Overcoming Obstacles
Gathering Information
Before making important decisions, gathering as much information as possible is best. That's the take-away from the second instructional activity in the Decision-Making module of the Overcoming Obstacles course. Middle schoolers engage...
Overcoming Obstacles
Making Decisions Big and Small
Making responsible decisions can be hard, especially in difficult situations when the consequences can be difficult as well. Through a series of activities and games, middle schoolers learn that when making decisions, they must consider...
Overcoming Obstacles
Identifying Options
Making a decision can be more like a multiple-choice question than a yes/no one. Through a series of activities, middle schoolers learn how to consider and identify options, choices, and alternatives when faced with an important decision.
Overcoming Obstacles
Expressing Opinions Constructively
Everyone has opinions. The trick is to learn how to disagree in a way that doesn't cause problems. The activities in the final lesson in the Communication Module focuses on learning how to express opinions constructively. Middle...
Overcoming Obstacles
Being Assertive
Passive! Aggressive! Assertive!. The activities in the fourth lesson in the Communication module teach middle schoolers the difference among these behaviors and how to develop assertive communication skills. After defining and offering...
Overcoming Obstacles
Understanding Nonverbal Messages
The Overcoming Obstacles course for middle schoolers continues with a unit module on communication. In the first lesson, participants engage in a series of activities that help them recognize nonverbal clues and the importance of making...
Overcoming Obstacles
Listening
Focus, confirm, respond. Middle schoolers engage in a series of activities designed to help them improve their listening skills. They listen to and try to solve a riddle and play a version of the telephone game. Participants learn...
Overcoming Obstacles
Understanding Conflicts
The Resolving Conflicts module begins with a lesson about tolerance and learning to appreciate differences among people. Through a series of activities and games, middle schoolers learn that conflicts arise when people have opposing...
Overcoming Obstacles
Defining Problems Big and Small
Problems come in all shapes and sizes, but the first step in solving a problem is to identify just what the problem is. Through a series of games and activities, middle schoolers learn first to identify a problem, decide on a solution,...
Overcoming Obstacles
Identifying Options
"What should I do?" "How should I do it?" Middle Schoolers learn that answering these two questions is the key to solving problems. They begin with the first two steps of the Decision Making Process (gathering information and identifying...
Overcoming Obstacles
Considering Pros and Cons
Middle schoolers continue to study the problem solving process by identifying the pros and cons of different options they listed on their "How Could I Do This" activity sheet from the previous lesson. After weighing the options, they...
Overcoming Obstacles
Finding Solutions
Middle schoolers apply all they have learned in the Problem Solving module by participating in a contest to see which group can build the tallest tower using only sheets of paper and masking tape.
Greenwood School District
Safety in the Science Classroom
Lab safety, it's no accident! Here is a presentation covering all of the science lab safety rules for classrooms of any kind. It is excellent to use as a safety refresher with all middle and high school classes....
Magic of Physics
Rotating Sky
Ever found it difficult to observe the night sky with pupils because school takes place during the day? Host a stellar lesson using a detailed night sky interactive! Scholars view the apparent rotation of the sky from the comfort of the...
Transforming Education
Self-Efficacy Strategies
Scholars with high levels of self-efficacy perform better in school. Instructors review a list of strategies for enhancing self-efficacy skills. They discover how to teach learners to appropriately define success, celebrate progress, and...
PHET
Mapping the Field of a Dipole Magnet
High school scientists build their own magnetometer and use it to map the field surrounding a bar magnet. Excellent background resources is included, as well as a diagram of how to build the magnetometer.
Nemours KidsHealth
Concussions: Grades 6-8
Teach middle schoolers to learn how to prevent concussions, recognize the symptoms of a concussion, and what they should do in case of a concussion. After reading articles that provide background information, groups create factsheets...
Department of Education (Ireland)
Assertive Communication
Assertive communication is an acquired skill. Teaching young people to ask for what they need and to believe that they have a right to ask is at the core of a unit on assertive communication. Over the course of the unit, middle and high...
Department of Education (Ireland)
Understanding Influences
"Understanding Influences," a richly detailed, carefully scaffolded unit, asks middle and high school scholars to examine how internal and external factors like friends, media, and society influence their attitudes and...
Health Smart Virginia
Decision Making
Researchers have discovered that when making decisions, teens' brains function differently than the brains of adults. After reading an article about this research, middle schoolers learn about a five-step decision-making process and...
Nebraska Department of Education
A Letter to Myself
Middle schoolers craft a letter to themselves describing what their life will be like in four years using a prewriting organizer to guide their work.
Other popular searches
- Middle School Social Studies
- Middle School Lessons
- Genetics Middle School
- Middle School Grammar Games
- Jeopardy Game Middle School
- Middle School Writing
- Middle School Vietnam War
- Middle School Curriculum
- Math Puzzles Middle School
- Paraphrasing Middle School
- Writing Fables Middle School
- Middle School Lesson Plans