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
Filter TeachableMoment Lessons By:
Many are fervently for, others are fervently against national health insurance. Student readings provide a critical overview of the U.S. health care system and discuss the pros and
Offers an overview of a British government study and an IPCC February 2007 report on climate change.
After Hurricane Katrina, President Bush spoke of America's "duty to confront this poverty with bold action." A student reading offers a report card on this effort and suggests
Alan Shapiro reviews the new book by teacher Chris Weber
Student readings provide an overview of the Iraq situation from multiple perspectives, reports of public opinion polls about the war, and political arguments on what the U.S
Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus shows how much one person can do to address a huge problem like poverty. A student reading summarizes Yunus' work and leads to suggestions for
The new Military Commissions Act raises basic constitutional issues as well as questions about U.S. compliance with the Geneva Conventions. Two student activities and two readings
Three student readings offer information and perspectives on young people and the economy, how people feel about their economic situation, and controversy over interpreting
Students read and discuss a critical article about U.S. politics in light of the upcoming elections.
Filter TeachableMoment Lessons By:
President Obama's recent decision to stop deporting some young undocumented immigrants came in the context of a powerful movement by young people to enact the immigration reform
This activity aims to help your class get the school year off to a good start. Students share their names and a high point of their summer; learn a little about their similarities
This lesson, which requires two class periods, aims to help students understand why people come out, and the impact coming out can have on both a personal and societal level.
Student readings explore the morality and legality of President Obama's controversial "kill list" and consider arguments for and against drone warfare. Questions for student
Students come up with a working definition for democracy, then watch and discuss an animated short on the Citizens United Case. Homework prepares students for a liberal vs
Students consider opposing views about taxes and wealth, analyze charts about wealth distribution, and decide how they think wealth should be distributed.


