Speak your mind. Scholars present their claims in groups of three. They use a presentation checklist as each member takes a turn. At the end of the lesson plan, pupils complete an End of Unit 2 Assessment: Presenting a Claim and Findings...

Listen up! The game of Telephone launches a study of active listening. Class members watch a short video that demonstrates active listening and tips on practicing active listening. Pairs then interview each other and practice their...

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...

Six questions probe participants to discover the possibility of catching a virus from others—even animals. Here, the influenza virus travels from duck to person in a round-about way. The quiz concludes with helpful tips to stay...

The Unit 1 - Overview of the Health Smart Grade 6 series provides instructors with the rationale and goals of a five-resource unit designed to support scholars' social and emotional development. Packed with activity ideas, the resource...

Contrary to the old saying, words, like sticks, can hurt. That's the central idea in a lesson about the importance of considering another person's perspective, stopping, thinking, and listening before responding in anger to a conflict....

Communication is key. Pupils receive direct instruction about managerial communications and then independently research communications careers. Scholars then complete exit tickets, answering questions about what they learned. 

In preparation for a game in which they guess the type of communication used in a scenario, scholars examine and discuss the four types of communication: passive, aggressive, assertive, and passive-aggressive. Learners identify "I"...

Welcome to the grand finale! Scholars practice reading their speeches to a partner and make last-minute changes based on feedback. Pupils then present their final opinion speeches to their small groups and show off their work in a...

It's time to put the plan into practice. Using their plans from the previous lesson, scholars create multimedia and visual displays for their opinion speeches. Next, they watch videos of speeches and use a presentation rubric to evaluate...

Language learners discuss ways they can increase their use of English in the new year and brainstorm with peers ideas to practice language. Scholars finish by completing a worksheet to create their own English Action Plans to increase...

Imagine the lure of being offered a job at a secret site, working on a secret project, and earning higher wages! Such was the approach used to recruit African Americans to Hanford, Washington, one of several sites used to develop...

It's not just what you say but how you say it! That's the take-away from a lesson about verbal and non-verbal communication. An engaging activity has middle schoolers demonstrating how tone of voice and body language can totally...

Eschew obfuscation!! High schoolers learn techniques that permit them to listen critically, sort through verbiage used to hide meaning or mislead listeners, and determine the message's validity.

Some conversations are easy and enjoyable, while others are horrific! To begin a lesson plan on communicating constructively, class members list examples of conversations that are easy, average, and those that are difficult and identify...

Responsible speaker + critical listener = effective communication is the equation at the heart of a responsible listening lesson about the power of words. Class members view the clip of the courtroom scene from the film A Few...

The guide to John Steinbeck's The Pearl suggests ways instructors can help readers see below the surface of the novella to the parable beneath. Through a variety of activities, readers come to appreciate the complexity of the tale.

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...

Miscommunication is often the basis of conflict. To improve their communication skills, pupils first review what they learned about assertive (as opposed to aggressive or passive) communication, role-play several scenarios, and...

Fridays can be a challenge with learners already dreaming about their weekends. Here's a routine that will bring their minds back to the classroom. Read aloud the beginning of a story, sure to engage your listeners.

With their action plans in place, groups now develop a presentation to get others interested in their project. Scholars learn how to present themselves during a presentation and elaborate on and add visuals to their presentation. After...

Sometimes a picture reflects a thousand descriptive words. To illustrate the importance of sensory words in descriptive writing, scholars listen to a song and craft a painting in response. After sharing their work with the class,...

Scholars, high schoolers, class members! With the help of this lesson, you too can identify the three persuasive appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos) the characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar used to convince...

Middle schoolers consider languages as representations of cultures and the importance of preserving various languages, especially the rapidly disappearing languages of indigenous peoples, in a lesson that tells the story of Marie Wilcox...