Icebreakers and Team-Builders
Icebreakers and team-building activities will help your students get to know each other. These resources will help your students build rapport.
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Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM)
Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with key historical events and people in U.S. history. Explore our collection of free lessons, primary source activities, and biographies.
- The Story of 16-Year-Old Lee Chew: Examine the story of 16-year-old immigrant Lee Chew, who came to the United States in 1880.
- Primary Source Activities: United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, 1923 and An Act to Execute Certain Treaty Stipulations Relating to Chinese, known as The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882).
- Biographies: David Ho, Isabella Aiona Abbott, Larry Itilong, Steven Chu, and Yuri Kochiyama.
Election Year
Cover voting, good citizenship, and the foundations of government with these free TCI lessons, including:
- NEW! Sea Turtles and Citizenship: Every year, sea turtles come to nest. Their nesting sites are protected by law. Learn how protecting sea turtles is part of responsible citizenship.
- NEW! Ancient Greek and Roman Influences: Like the Olympics, our government has roots in Ancient Greece. Make connections between the U.S. government and political principles from ancient Greece and Rome.
- Primaries vs. Caucuses: What’s the difference between a caucus and a primary election? Make sense of the presidential nomination process, then research caucuses or primaries in your state.
Memorial Day
Reflect on past wars on Memorial Day to help students learn about the significance of this holiday. Free lessons and primary source activities, in this collection, include:
- Creating a Memorial Day Badge: Students listen to a short audio clip about the holiday and make a badge
- Understanding the Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Students analyze a directory of names to make personal connections with Vietnam Veterans and study photos of the memorial
- Analyzing Art From World War I: Read about the final days of World War I and the immense loss it caused many nations.
- Primary Source Activities: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Day Which Will Live in Infamy” Speech and Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points.
National Financial Literacy Month
From budgeting to using credit wisely, K-12 teachers can prepare their students for their financial futures with TCI’s free lessons and easy-to-use resources.
- Using Money Wisely: Play a budget game! Allocate tokens to categories and make tough choices.
- Understanding Entrepreneurship: Interview an entrepreneur, then share findings with the class.
- Money, Banking, Saving, and Investing: Act as financial advisors and make recommendations to clients.
- Financial Literacy Tools: Identifying Job Skills, Creating a Monthly Budget, and Using a Credit Card Responsibly
Current Events Toolkit
The Current Events Toolkit provides a structure for bringing current events into the curriculum. It includes strategies for navigating current events with your students. Resources include:
- Strategies: Guide students through identifying perspectives, analyzing new stories, and discussing current events.
- Graphic organizers: Main Idea /Detail, 5W’s, Evaluation Web
- Class discussions: Sentence starters, speaking and listening checklists, and more
Arbor Day
Celebrate Arbor Day by learning its history and how scientists are studying trees to understand and preserve the environment. Resources in this collection include:
- A Special Day for Trees: Learn about the history of Arbor Day, then become an erosion detective!
- Getting into the Treetops: Explore how scientists use technology to study trees high above the ground, then plan your own investigation to learn more.
- Land Use Conflict in the Amazon Rainforest: Create and present news reports about groups with competing interests in how to preserve and use the resources of the Amazon rainforest.
- Featured Career Profiles: Environmental scientists, foresters, chief sustainability officers.
Explore Icebreakers
Actionable toolkits, checklists, teaching strategies, and more – explore our collection of resources to build a cooperative classroom environment!
