Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 6: Culture Clash
To prepare for a Quickwrite on the question, "How do different points of view create cultural conflicts?" class groups draw examples of religious, cultural, and political conflicts from Things Fall Apart and The Poisonwood Bible to use...
Curated OER
Argument
In this debating worksheet, learners study the titles of the five debates. They write two opposing points of view for each debate. Pupils try to persuade for both sides of the view point.
Curated OER
Organizing A Persuasive Speech
Have the class listen to a lecture on persuasive speeches. They practice outlining and detailing the components of a persuasive speech. The lecture outline also includes suggestions for researching a topic or thesis, organizing the...
Curated OER
What Were They Thinking Then, What Are We Thinking Now?
Choosing an issue from a play or novel, researchers find two primary sources from different time periods to compare how people's views have changed. Many questions are listed to guide young writers. In the end, learners produce a...
Curated OER
Perspective
Students explore the writing trait of voice. In this writing skills lesson, students read No, David! and discuss the author's use of voice. Students write a class version of the story called Yes, David! that incorporates an alternative...
Curated OER
News Magazine: Special Issue on Iran. (It's about Perspective)
Students take on the role of journalists. In this Iran instructional activity, students explore the condition of the country at this point in history and collaborate to create a news magazine that features current events and cultural...
Curated OER
Who To Believe?
Learners interpret meaning from opposing views on the same topic, and discuss that there is often so much "spin" and "hidden agendas" in the media.
Curated OER
Have You Ever Wondered?
Young scholars use their personal knowledge and the Internet to discover where and how spiders live. In groups, they discuss their experiences with spiders and how their lives differ from other insects. They use new vocabulary to discuss...
Curated OER
President Jackson's Indian Removal Act and the Native American Perspective, Trail of Tears
Eighth graders review President Jackson's policy towards the Native Americans. They receive a handout "Samuel's Memory" to read. The link to this handout is not included in the lesson. Students fill out a multiple perspectives chart.
Sociology Central
Society Is Like...
To introduce the idea of different theoretical views about the nature of society, class members engage in a sociology activity that asks them to create an analogy between society and another concept, and then to explain the parallels.
Do2Learn
Respecting the Ideas of Others
Communicating clearly is one part of a successful conversation, but listening to others is just as important. Individuals with special needs plan calm responses and reactions to differing opinions with a collaborative activity.
Curated OER
Human Cloning: Is it Biological Plagiarism?
Is cloning good or harmful? Help your class understand the risks and benefits as they read, research, and discuss human cloning. Individuals form teams, research information, and present to the class before concluding with an in-depth...
My Access
“Banning Books” Lesson Plan
To Kill a Mockingbird, Hunger Games, Brave New World. Welcome to Banned Books Week. As part of a study of censorship and book banning, class members investigate censorship, the purposes of censorship, and First Amendment rights,...
Health Smart Virginia
Social Awareness: Empathy
As part of the unit on social, emotional health, seventh-graders examine the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. Pairs then engage in an activity that analyzes a scenario and role play resolution strategies that show...
PBS
Connecting Post-Civil War Mob Violence and the Capitol Hill Riot
Anti-democratic violence is not new in the United States. Learners watch videos and then compare and contrast the 1873 Colfax and the 1898 Wilmington massacres. They then watch a video about the Capitol Hill insurrection of 2021 and...
Facing History and Ourselves
First Chapter Fridays
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.
K20 LEARN
The Sirens: Is It a Bird or Is It a Fish?
Fish, fowl, foul fish, or foul fowl? Just what is a siren? Young scholars listen to a video clip and draw what they imagine when they hear the word "siren." After watching several videos depicting sirens, class members read "The Sirens'...
University of Pennsylvania
From the Dreyfus Affair to the World Today
Historical events do not occur in a vacuum. Such is the case of the Dreyfus Affair, where the connection between Captain Alfred Dreyfus, Emile Zola, and Hannah Arendt is fused by the events of the early 20th century. The informative...
Ashoka
A Toolkit for Promoting Empathy in Schools
Instill kindness with a unit all about empathy. Lessons and activities follow a prepare, engage, reflect, and action sequence. Learning experiences include making the classroom a safe environment, peer-invented handshakes, discussions...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Exposing Racism
Photographs capture a moment in time. And some of the best pictures demand that viewers not only ask questions about why the photo packs such an emotional wallop, but also about what happened before and after it was taken. A photograph...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment
Pain and suffering do not have to be inevitable in a study of Crime and Punishment. A carefully scaffolded instructional activity introduces readers to the divided natures of the characters in Fyodor Dostoevsky's complex novel....
University of the Desert
A Plan For Positive Action
Can one person really make a difference? As the culminating lesson in a twelve-part series, learners discuss how they can partake in an intercultural dialogue that can have a lasting impact on the global community, and how single...
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Morals, Values and Beliefs
Your personality is based on the things you believe in, the morals you abide by, and the values upon which you make your decisions. Delve into a set of lessons about values and moral framework with your eighth graders as...
US Institute of Peace
Responding to Conflict: Active Listening
Did I hear you right? You need a great lesson on active listening? Through large- and small-group activities, learners differentiate between poor and excellent listening skills. The resource, 7th in a series of 15, focuses on active...