Back to School Lesson Plan: Social Emotional Learning

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

NOTE TO EDUCATORS:  

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Back to School Lesson Plan.

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic, Back-to-School, and supports students in identifying and practicing strategies for making the transition a little easier. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of  projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ask students:

  • How are you feeling about coming back to school this year? Or, if you are already back at school, how is it going?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read aloud the description on the Back to School topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Assign Related Reading. Have students read one of the five articles. Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS

Assign the Back to School Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about going back to school while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Create a back-to-school tutorial video, guiding kids through strategies for a positive transition to the new school year. 
  • Make-a-Map: Make a concept map outlining potential challenges kids may face this school year, and identify strategies to deal with each. 
  • Creative Coding: Code a meme that shares words of wisdom for other kids about going back to school this school year. 
  • Primary Source Activity: Examine the photograph of a one-room schoolhouse. Cite evidence to answer the accompanying questions.

More to Explore

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding with these topics: Getting Help, Mindfulness, Stress. 

Teacher Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Related:

    Filed as:  3-5, 6-8, 9-12, Back to School, BrainPOP, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.4