Teaching Strategies

Here are some basic guidelines for opening up discussion on difficult issues with your elementary and middle school students. 

In the classroom, students who lack assertiveness skills may hesitate to share their thinking openly or ask clarifying questions when they’re confused, or allow a classmate’s bullying to go unchallenged. And teachers who lack these skills may struggle to set clear behavior expectations in the...

A Message from the Executive Director

I PLAY THE RECORDER, and I’m part of an amateur ensemble. Rachel is our teacher and coach. From time to time, if we lapse into a moment of sloppy or careless playing, she’ll look around at us, a twinkle in her eye, and ask, “Is that how you want to be...

These small-group discussions can help students grapple with tough and emotional issues.

These two processes offer us an opportunity to think rigorously without polarization and to embrace contradictions that normally divide us.

Nine techniques teachers can use to encourage constructive interaction among students using small groups.

A student questionnaire, poll results, and an excerpt from a high school student's prize-winning essay called "We Don't Believe in Politics" aim to open up discussion about what your students really think about politics.

Thought-provoking reading and exercises for teachers and students on the importance of good questions.

Presidential Election 2004 Series