Lessons
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These robust, ready-to-use classroom lessons offer breadth and depth, spanning essential social justice topics and reinforcing critical social emotional learning skills.

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“[Learning for Justice] provides me with the means to promote social justice, challenge bias, and engage students in discussions about diversity that would perhaps not happen otherwise.”

Grade Level
Social Justice Domain
Subject
Topic

139 Lessons

Stereotypes and Tonto

This lesson revolves around Sherman Alexie’s poignant yet humorous and accessible essay, “I Hated Tonto (Still Do).” It explores the negative impact that stereotypes have on the self-worth of individuals and the damage that these stereotypes inflict on pride in one’s heritage. The reading is supported by a short video montage of clips from Western films. The clips offer students the opportunity to evaluate primary sources for bias and bigotry, as well as providing context for the protagonists’ experiences in the essay.
Grade Level
Social Justice Domain
March 17, 2010

Defusing School Violence

This lesson explores the complexities of a situation in which immigrant students attend a school that is plagued with racially motivated violence. Working in small groups and as a class, students will discuss possible solutions and outcomes and apply their problem-solving skills to issues affecting their own school and community.
Grade Level
Subject
Reading & Language Arts
Social Studies
SEL
ELL / ESL
Social Justice Domain
April 1, 2010

Letters to the Editor

Students identify parts of arguments – using the ARE framework – by reading and evaluating letters to the editor. They identify weaknesses and strengths of letters, suggesting improvements to arguments used within the letters.
Grade Level
Social Justice Domain
December 4, 2009

Food Deserts: Causes, Consequences and Solutions

Increases in obesity and diet-related diseases are major health problems in the United States. During the last 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in the nation’s obesity rates, correlating with increased rates of cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, Type 2 diabetes, increased health-care costs, reduced quality of life and increased risk for premature death.
Grade Level
Topic
Subject
Social Studies
Economics
Science & Health
Social Justice Domain
October 17, 2011

The Early Republic

In this lesson, students examine voting rights in the early years of the United States and the causes and effects of the first major expansion of voting rights, which took place in the late 1700s and first half of the 1800s. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to explain where various groups of Americans stood regarding the right to vote before the Civil War, and will hypothesize about what they expect happened next.
Grade Level
Subject
Reading & Language Arts
Social Studies
Civics
History
Social Justice Domain
October 21, 2011