Boys Town
More Tools for Teaching Social Skills in School
Put an end to wasted instructional time with this lesson on responsibility and preparedness. After completing this series of activities young scholars will learn the importance of these social skills not only in the classroom, but at...
Curated OER
Make a Social Skills Superhero Comic Book
Get creative as you teach a lesson plan on positive peer and social interactions. Discuss good social interactions through a scenario, brainstorm a positive response to the scenario, then creat a comic book superhero that exemplifies the...
Curated OER
Social Skills For Autism
Designed for pupils with special needs, such as autism, this lesson calls for learners to practice saying hello to others. The teacher begins by modeling the behavior she expects and practicing with each pupil before pairing learners...
Curated OER
Game Related Social Skills
Most of us like to play games, but knowing what to do when a game doesn't go the way one expects is a learned skills. Adolescents with behavioral disorders practice responding to a variety of situations that arise during game play. They...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Supporting Social Border Crossings
A lunch-time activity encourages pupils to step out of their usual lunch bunch and connect with someone new. To begin, individuals examine a group photograph and identify what they believe is the gender, race, religion, and sexual...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Confronting Unjust Practices
A powerful photograph of the Freedom Riders of 1961 launches an examination of the de jure and de facto injustices that the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s addressed. Young historians first watch a video and read the Supreme...
Boys Town
Teaching Social Skills, Creating Successful Students “Following Instructions” and “Listening”
With the help from learning games and holiday-themed coloring pages, scholars learn the importance of listening carefully and following directions. Coloring pages celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving. Learning games include Simon...
Curated OER
Great Picture Books to Teach Social Studies for Grade K-3
Every class enjoys reading new books at the beginning of a unit. Use this resource to identify a variety of books for kindergarten to third grade that can be used to complement social studies standards. The books can kindle learners'...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Affirming Our Commonalities and Differences
Photos can challenge stereotypes. To gain an understanding of the big picture, groups examine a series of photographs and analyze how a photographer's choices can shape a viewer's reaction to an image. For the first set of photographs,...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Exposing Anti-Immigration Sentiment
The debate about immigration reform continues. To gain a deeper understanding of the issues involved, class members first examine a photo of an anti-immigration rally. Groups then conduct an internet search for an image that presents an...
Curated OER
Leisure Game Skills
It's fun to play games, but sometimes it can be hard to know how. Here is an instructional activity intended to teach severely disabled learners how to engage in a fun leisure activity, such as playing checkers or croquet. They'll...
Curated OER
Helping Others
Teach the skills, phrases, and responses necessary to help another person. Your autistic learner will practice specific phrases and responses in simulated situations where an adult or peer needs assistance. The exercise includes helpful...
Curated OER
The Texas Social Studies Controversy
Examine the Texas social studies curriculum controversy with your class. Using a current events instructional activity, learners read the article "A Christian Land Governed by Christian Principles," respond to the discussion questions,...
Curated OER
Private & Public
Some disabled students have a difficulty understanding what is and what is not publicly appropriate behavior. Help them build healthy social skills by defining public and private behaviors, labeling public and private places, and...
Curated OER
Leisure Skill Participation Using Choice Training
It may seem odd to have to train a person to make free time choices, but for those with severe handicaps, it can be a skill that needs fostering. Provided is a list of steps, intended to train a severely disabled individual in choosing...
Facing History and Ourselves
Fishbowl Discussion
Filter young teenagers' opinions and perspectives with a classic fishbowl discussion. Given any topic relevant to your curriculum, a group of class members engage in discussion for their peers to observe.
University of Pennsylvania
Using Political Postcards to Teach a Revolution of Political Thought
Discuss how political postcards affected everyday people's thoughts and beliefs. Pupils continue a unit on the Dreyfus Affair as they engage in class discussion, watch a video, view a PowerPoint presentation, and fill out worksheets to...
Curated OER
Relationships, Day 5: Acquaintances & Strangers
It is important for special needs students to know the differences between acquaintances and strangers. They define the world helper, acquaintance, and stranger then discuss a scenario based case study.They talk about touch and no touch,...
Global Oneness Project
Freedom to Change
Here's something unusual and thoughtful: have your scholars do some pensive reflection themselves before tackling how such meditative techniques are used in prison rehabilitation programs. They watch the "Path of Freedom" video found...
The New York Times
Teaching the Vietnam War with Primary Sources from the New York Times
Use the New York Times database of primary sources to teach a unit on the Vietnam War. The resource consists of a variety of primary sources as well as a lesson plan showcasing how to teach a instructional activity using them. Pupils...
The New York Times
Kiev in Chaos: Teaching About the Crisis in Ukraine
Provide a historical context for the political unrest between Russia and Ukraine that began in late 2013. Learners review their prior knowledge and chronicle new understandings with a KWL chart, watch a video explaining the Ukrainian...
Curated OER
Conversation Lesson: Internet Craze
Learning to support your opinions, debate, build arguments, and effectively respect another's point of view are vital skills. Learners work through a series of topics to practice discussion engagement and verbal communication.
Facing History and Ourselves
The Challenge of Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias makes it difficult to overcome our preconceived notions of others. That's the big idea in a lesson that teaches learners strategies to recognize and question their biases.
Curated OER
Social Skills: Anger Management, Recognizing Anger
Students recognize the emotion of anger. They complete a writing journal and record the feelings of anger as they occur. The teacher models anger, and presents new skills of dealing with anger as the instructional activity evolves.