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...

Upper graders and middle schoolers engage in a lesson on community. A class discussion kicks off the lesson. Pupils share things that they do as community service after school or on weekends. They imagine an ideal community they would...

To learn about various topics and improve their social skills, learners with special needs play along with music on drums and other sound objects. Teachers take digital pictures of the learners participation and use them to make bulletin...

High schoolers follow a six step plan to create a civic action project. In this civics lesson, students create their own project based on interest and implement it to improve the school or local community. Goal setting and monitoring are...

A standard peer editing activity, young writers get into groups and pass their papers to each of their peers in turn; each person checking their peer's paper for spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. In a fun twist, your class...

Is your opinion significant? Help your class discover the influence their opinions hold and encourage them to make a positive change in their community. To start, they get in teams and brainstorm why their school should have more healthy...

Technology has undoubtedly improved the lives of people around the world—but has it improved communication? Seventh graders read two informative passages about the rise of texting and emailing versus in-person conversations before...

Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...

Students research pet food safety laws to find out what is required in general, explore what fellow students consume, consult with veterinarian about what he or she thinks about pet food safety, present findings to classmates, and...

Third graders review the importance of good study habits as a skill necessary for success in school. They focus on their goals and discuss how this would help to improve grades. They determine how much an F weighs their grade down.

Students participate in an interdisciplinary lesson to discuss improvements that would make them want to return to a previously poor neighborhood.  In this civics lesson, students work in a budget to make a plan to better their...

Improve your learners' reading and writing skills with a set of sentences designed to help pupils work with sight words. The teacher dictates while the pupils write; this is followed by discussion.          ...

How skilled are your class members at summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting from a text? Find out with this assessment that asks readers to identify the thesis statement, the summary, the paraphrases, and the quoted material in an...

What is the height of school clubs? Learners use sliders to calculate the coefficient of variation for three different school groups. Using the calculations, class members compare the variation in the heights of the groups.

Some interesting reading on the history of barcodes opens this technology lesson plan. Readers find out how engineers contribute, and then they gather into groups to discuss possible improvements to our current UPC barcode system. Know...

Conduct research focused on improving a current technology by having students work in groups to investigate improvements that could be made to a particular piece of technology. They list the current problems and attempt to develop...

Young surveyors look for patterns in water flow around campus. Using a map of the school (that you will need to create), they mark the direction of the path of water. They also perform calculations for the volume that becomes runoff. The...

An appropriate way to celebrate and conclude the construction of a rain garden is to share it with the community. Small groups collaborate to design an outreach product such as a PowerPoint presentation, brochure, or poster, to draw...

Nineteen states legally permit school officials to physically punish children. Scholars learn more about the topic as they use the website to prepare for a class debate or discussion. Pupils read background information and discover the...

Mean girls and bully packs are favorite topic for films and TV shows that focus on the destructive power of cliques. High school freshmen are asked to reflect on both the positive and negative aspects of cliques by reading a short...

Seventh graders create goals using two or more skills they have identified to help them improve academic achievement. They discuss the question: What choices do you make that affect your grades? Students listen to the story of Sam the...

Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready...

Whose responsibility is it to improve schools in developing countries? How does quality education affect my neighborhood? Questions of responsibility, whether global or local, form the heart of this lesson plan. Using the UN’s Millennium...

What makes a society civil? High school freshmen search for examples of justice, kindness, peace, and tolerance in news media and brainstorm how they can promote these attributes in their schools, communities, and world. The well-rounded...