Guidance — Grades K–5

Angry Words: What Goes Around Comes Around

This is a simple, concrete lesson to illustrate the power of anger to travel from one person to another and to linger in the environment even after the immediate emotion is gone. Stategies for coping with angry feelings are shared.

Format: lesson plan (grade K–5 Guidance)

By Judy Lavore.

Creating community in the classroom: Part 1 (setting goals )

This series of lessons is designed to help develop a sense of classroom community. Group goal-setting, brainstorming, peer feedback, group decision-making, positive reinforcement, and positive peer pressure are used to create a safe, supportive environment for learning in the classroom.

In Part 1, students are introduced to the goal-setting process. They will practice the first step of the process as they set individual and class behavioral goals.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1–8 Guidance)

By Pat Nystrom.

Creating Community in the Classroom: Part 2 (Cooperative Planning)

This series of lessons is designed to help develop a sense of classroom community through use of group goal-setting, decision-making, brainstorming, peer feedback, positive reinforcement, and positive peer pressure. The lessons will help students create and maintain a supportive environment for learning. Part 1 focused on goal-setting process and practice. In Part 2, students will apply knowledge of the goal-setting process by cooperatively creating a plan to work on group goals.

Format: lesson plan (grade K–8 Guidance)

By Pat Nystrom.

Creating Community in the Classroom: Part 3 (Monitoring Progress)

This series of lessons is designed to help develop a sense of classroom community through use of group goal-setting, decision-making, brainstorming, peer feedback, positive reinforcement, and positive peer pressure. The lessons will help students create and maintain a supportive environment for learning. Part 1 focused on goal-setting process and practice. In Part 2, students applied knowledge of the goal-setting process and cooperatively created a plan to work on short-term group goals. In part 3, students will monitor the effects of their plan by determining whether short term goals are being achieved.

Format: lesson plan (grade K–8 Guidance)

By Pat Nystrom.

Creating Community in the Classroom: Part 4 (Rewarding Improvement)

The fourth lesson in a series on improving classroom learning climate, this lesson provides an opportunity to evaluate student progress and to provide positive reinforcement for improvements in behavior. Using a one to ten continuum, students will subjectively evaluate class progress on the ten adjectives listed as class climate goals. After this process, students will publicly recognize those classmates who have helped the class improve or who have personally improved.

Format: lesson plan (grade K–8 Guidance)

By Pat Nystrom.

Getting Along With Others

This lesson introduces the key concepts of cooperation, peer relations, interpersonal skills, getting along with others, and team-building.

Format: lesson plan (grade K–5 Guidance)

By Scott Ertl.

Integrating Character Education / A Lesson on Responsibility

Activity on the character trait of responsibility.

Format: lesson plan (grade K–5 Guidance)

By Cheryl Stafford.

Lesson plans on the web

That's not fair! How do we share?

Students explore a variety of ways to share, particularly when an obvious solution is not apparent. They will identify choices and the costs of choosing one item over another. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K Guidance)

Provider: National Council on Economic Education