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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The proposed Employee Free Choice Act makes this a teachable moment for students: why is union membership declining in this country? Is organizing too difficult? A document-based
Three readings, all based on Jonathan Schell's book The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People, invite students to learn about, discuss, and act upon
Two student readings examine, compare, and provide commentary on the U.S. wars in Vietnam and Iraq. Suggested discussion questions, writing assignments, and subjects for inquiry
Two student readings examine issues surrounding the indictment, trial and conviction of Lewis Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff. Following the readings are suggestions
The debate on Iraq has created an important teachable moment about who has the power to make war under the U.S.'s system of government. Three students readings explore the issues.
Three student readings open up new avenues for discussion and inquiry. A concluding activity proposes student inquiry into arguments for and against capital punishment through
Student readings explore problems with these machines in the 2006 election and proposals for reform. Suggestions for inquiry and citizenship follow.
This fun activity is a good one to use at the beginning of a course. It's a quick way for students to connect with one another and overcome shyness.
Help your students prepare for the NY Regents Exam with these document-based question exercises modeled closely on the format used in the exam.
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Talking with children about current events can be rough terrain but it's important because it provides a way to build compassion and critical thinking and, at the same time
Students discuss the most important issues for them in the presidential election and research these issues as homework. Then they stage a mock debate with teams playing the roles
Students discuss the history of voting rights and the current push to restrict voting, including the arguments for and against.
Get your students talking (or writing) about the presidential debate with these questions.
Students consider the debate over such issues as access to contraception, abortion, and equal pay in the 2012 presidential election and discuss their own perspectives on these
Students learn about what unions and strikes are, then read and discuss different perspectives on the 7-day strike by Chicago Teachers Union strike, which ended on September 19