Timely resources to help K-12 educators encourage social responsibility and foster social & emotional learning. Find out more.
TeachableMoment Lessons
Featured Lessons
In honor of Teacher Appreciation week, Morningside Center offers this Circle-based lesson as an invitation for students and Circle keepers to reflect on the impactful teachers and “teachers” in their lives; what lessons were learned; and ways they’ve passed this learning forward.
Spring is a natural time for transformation, for embracing new beginnings while shedding those attitudes or mindsets that no longer serve us. It’s also an ideal time to consider the changes in our lives and their impact. In this lesson students reflect on change, grief, and loss through a scrawl wall, a circle, and building a collective playlist.
In this lesson students examine New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration speech to learn what a speech can reveal about a leader’s values, priorities and vision for democracy—and how a speech can shape how people see themselves and others in a community.
SEL & RP
Activities to support students' social and emotional learning and restorative practices
Current Issues
Classroom activities to engage students in learning about and discussing issues in the news
Tips & Ideas
Guidance and inspiration to help build skills and community in your classroom and school
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Student readings about critical problems at the Federal Election Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency are followed by discussion
Selecting Supreme Court nominees is one of a president's most consequential actions. Three student readings consider Court interpretations of constitutional principles; the impact
Three student readings explore problems with our healthcare system; candidate proposals for reform; and healthcare systems in other industrialized nations.
The huge earthquake that ravaged China on May 12 buried thousands of schoolchildren. American students may have a special interest in acting to help young survivors in China.
A brief student reading about the recent devastating cyclone is followed by suggestions for translating students' compassion into action.
NYC police were found not guity in the shooting of an unarmed young man, setting off protests. Three student readings explore conflicting accounts of the shooting, reactions to the
Students are invited to think critically about these complex issues through poll questions, brief case studies, and a critical thinking exercise.
Release of a Justice Department memo raises anew the issue of how the U.S. treats terrorist suspects. Two students readings are followed by discussion questions and other student
Release of a Justice Department memo raises anew the issue of how the U.S. treats terrorist suspects.Two students readings are followed by discussion questions and other student
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In small groups and in a fishbowl discussion, students consider how race affected the trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin.
This activity aims to facilitate classroom discussion of President Obama's remarks on July 19 about race and the Trayvon Martin case.
Some initial suggestions for educators regarding the Trayvon Martin case.
In this interactive lesson, students consider the issue of internet privacy, both in their own lives and in society, including government spying, parental monitoring, and corporate
Edward Snowden's leak of classified information about the NSA's surveillance of American citizens has touched off a debate about the need for government secrecy versus the public’s
Students reflect on the school year through a guided visualization, Circle, and community-building activity.