As a summative assessment of the Health Smart unit, middle schoolers create a five-chapter autobiography demonstrating what they have learned about self and social-awareness, decision-making, and communication skills.

What does is take to be a role model? Through grand conversation, and the use of books and a graphic organizer, scholars find out and apply the requirements to identify a role model within their family. They then journey through the...

Everybody's a critic—even your pupils! Using the included resources as a guide, screen films related to social justice and ask film enthusiasts to critique them. Publish the reviews for your school community or develop a film festival...

Introduce middle schoolers to playwriting and the elements of drama with a six-session storytelling unit that encourages kids to expand their acting and writing skills. The 12-page packet includes overviews of the lessons,...

Slavery in India, Sudan, and Mauritania? What about in the United States? Groups research modern slavery in these four countries, collecting factual evidence (What), determine their feelings about this evidence (So what),...

A lesson turns young historians into playwrights to understand and speak out against social injustice. Pupils work individually or in groups to write and perform monologues that deliver personal messages on social justice. Writers then...

Knowing how to scale a recipe is an important skill. Young mathematicians determine the amount of ingredients they need to make a certain number of truffles when given a recipe. They determine a relationship between ingredients given a...

Are wages based on race? On gender? Class members research wages for workers according to race and gender, create graphs and charts of their data, and compute differences by percentages. They then share their findings with adults and...

An art showcase encourages class members to explore the themes of social justice and tolerance. They create an original artwork, engage in group discussions, and journal writing. The art gallery also provides a chance for families and...

From play pumps that provide clean water to shoes made from trash, innovators change the world one invention at a time. After researching various inventions, young entrepreneurs develop their own. Extension opportunities include prompts...

In this self evaluation activity, students use the rubric to grade themselves on a 4-3-2-1 scale. The rubric covers following directions, written work, pictures and effort.

Students search for ways to prevent stress. They conduct self-assessments, plan a stress clinic, research community resources, and write a reflective essay. Students may wear electronic heart rate monitors to demonstrate stress levels.

Students identify the various coins and their values through presentations, a rubric, a value pretest, and coin manipulatives. Money is incorporated into various activities whether at home or in school. Students create money webs using...

Your parents were both in different countries. You were born in the US. Documents and application forms ask you to identify your racial or ethnic classification. Which box do you check? Class members collect documents...

Roll the presses! Or at least have your class members participate in the time-honored tradition of the student press by creating their own newspapers or journalist pieces on a social problem. After conducting research and collaborating...

Young scholars investigate the concept of writing adventure stories. They follow the model of a "choose your own adventure story". Students practice the skill of making choices to get to a desired outcome. The application is when they...

Upper graders retrieve and verify information on life insurance policies through internet research. They discuss how life insurance policies work and make decisions as to what type of policy is best. They produce a timeline and define...

Students analyze the impacts of religious expectations on gender roles. In this gender equity lesson plan, students compare and contrast different religions in societies in order to understand the cultural influences and effects of both...

Young performing artists create a song or choreograph a dance to illustrate a theme in a text they are reading. Step-by-step directions are included.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but political art may be worth even more! After examining examples of political cartoons, murals, and other forms of public art, class members create their own pieces to reflect their ideals and...

Third graders discuss the importance of being able to make decisions on their own. Using information on Montana's Native American tribes, they develop their own supporting statements. They also discover techniques to determine if the...