Kermit the Frog may lament that it isn't easy being green, but the good news is that his greenness is a strength that helps him hide from predators. A mindful self-awareness exercise helps participants recognize and celebrate their...

Encourage self-awareness with an activity that allows scholars to look inward. Learners identify their strengths and challenges and brainstorm ways to better themselves. 

Learners think of something they're good at and reflect on how they feel about it. Pupils then think of ways to be even better at it and set a mental goal to practice.

Encourage scholars to complement themselves. An activity challenges pupils to think of their strengths and complete a positive statement. 

Create a respectful classroom community and boost children's self-esteem with this collaborative activity. Working in small groups, children take turns filling in each other's tree of self-esteem with compliments, personal...

In this activity, students appreciate their own unique talents-and that of others-by presenting an interest, talent, or hobby.

Engineering design projects serve as great opportunities for collaborative problem solving. In this case, students work in small groups designing, building, and eventually testing a structure that meets a teacher-specified objective. It...

A deceptively simple question setup leads to a number of attack methods and a surprisingly sophisticated solution set in this open-ended problem. Young geometers of different strengths can go about defining the solutions graphically,...

What is your leadership style? Tweens and teens independently complete a Four Leadership Styles worksheet. Once completed, they use a leadership code to identify their prominent leadership style. Class members gather by style, brainstorm...

Each of us is unique, with particular traits and strengths. A mindfulness exercise helps participants build self-confidence by asking them to give themselves compliments. Pupils learn how to craft "I" messages that acknowledge what they...

Introduce your class to alcohol content. In order to become aware of the varying strengths of alcoholic drinks, class members complete a chart and plot a bar chart with the results. They make observations about the results.

Bend it, but don't break it. Groups investigate the strength of different materials. Using a procedure in the seventh segment of a 22-part series on aviation, pupils determine how far a rod will bend. They determine the strength-to-mass...

How does additional daylight hours affect people and nature? With the help from the legend Maui and the Sun and a grand conversation, scholars complete a graphic organizer to distinguish between the positive and...

Maintain or modify? That's the question scholars answer as they reflect on their focus and engagement in that day's lesson. Were learners focused and contributing, or do they need to modify their level of participation?

What goes into a friendship salad? Kids find out as they create a fruit salad made of all the important parts of a successful classroom (helpers, listeners, hard workers, sharing, and encouraging words). Don't let that rotten banana in,...

What starts as a basic question of division and remainders quickly turns abstract in this question of related ratios and radii. The class works to surround a central coin with coins of the same and different values, then develops a...

Can you hear it now? Young scientists experiment with sound waves using metal objects and string. They strike metal objects while they hold them and as the objects hang from a string to compare the sound. They discover that sound travels...

If you have ever injured your shoulder, you know it takes a while to improve your arm's range of motion. In this real-world example, young mathematicians gain insight into the world of physical therapy while they analyze a case study...

Does mass change during a chemical reaction? Demonstrate the Law of Conservation of Matter while encouraging class members to be creative with a two-part lesson. First, learners use Alka-Seltzer® tablets and water to demonstrate the...

Can you design the perfect chair? Scholars apply the engineering design process to design and build a prototype of a new type of chair from wires. They test their designs with a wooden artist model or stuffed animal.

Focus on writing argument essays with your high schoolers. The lesson suggested here focuses on The Jungle, by Sinclair Lewis; however, the idea could be adapted for other texts. Check out the quick quiz provided at the end of the...

Can you build it? Yes you can! This interactive game includes four design challenges presented on separate cards. The cards outline the challenges with limited restrictions but with an end goal in mind. The competitions include building...

Skate through a simulation on energy with an a activity that uses a computer simulation of a skater to reinforce the concept of conservation of energy. The resource guides pupils through scenarios using the computer simulation to...

Make fast food restaurants even faster. Groups consider trade-offs when maximizing efficiency in fast food restaurants. Restructuring schedules and floor plans, as well reassigning job duties, all fall under this directive.