8th Grade Social Emotional Learning Thematic Unit Plans (by date, latest first)
7-Unit Humanities & SEL Bundle for Grades 5-8 | Social Justice, Equity, SEL
By TooBookedUp
1. 18-Day Disabilities & Equity Unit Grades 6+ | Project, Essay, Assessments, Seminar
Description:
Explore the theme of equity and disabilities in schools and society with this 18-day unit designed for grades 6+. Students will engage with informational texts, videos, and case studies, leading to a STAAR-aligned extended essay and research project. This resource includes Socratic seminars, assessments, and creative projects to promote critical thinking and empathy. Perfect for SEL, humanities, and cross-curricular classrooms.
2. 18-Day Human Migration & Immigration Unit Grades 7+ | Project, Poetry, Assessments
Description:
Dive into the global topic of migration and immigration with this 18-day thematic unit for grades 7+. Through poetry, short stories, and informational texts, students will explore the historical and contemporary experiences of immigrants. Includes project-based assessments, writing tasks, and creative multimedia projects to foster understanding and empathy. A great resource for ELA, social studies, and SEL instruction.
3. 18-Day Multimedia Anti-Bullying Thematic Unit for Grades 5-8 | SEL Humanities
Description:
This 18-day multimedia unit on anti-bullying for grades 5-8 engages students with a range of media—films, political cartoons, short stories, and songs—to understand the impact of bullying in schools and society. Includes two Socratic seminars, a STAAR-aligned extended essay, and a creative capstone project. Ideal for SEL-focused classrooms and humanities teachers.
4. 19-Day Social Identity Unit | Low Prep | Grades 6-8 | Texts, Videos, and Project
Description:
Help students explore their own social identity and the factors that shape it in this 19-day unit for grades 6-8. The unit includes videos, readings, and group projects focused on themes like identity, community, and belonging. A low-prep, high-impact resource that encourages self-reflection and empathy through engaging multimedia activities and a culminating project.
5. 20-Day Social Media Mental Health Unit Grades 7+ | Project, Essay, Assessments
Description:
Explore the intersection of social media and mental health in this 20-day unit for grades 7+. Students will examine the effects of social media on well-being through informational texts, videos, and podcasts. Includes a STAAR-aligned essay, Socratic seminar, and multimedia project, making it an essential resource for teaching critical thinking and digital literacy.
6. 7-Day World Religions Research & Presentation Unit: Interdisciplinary Grades 6-8
Description:
This 7-day research and presentation unit allows students to explore major world religions through research-based learning. Perfect for grades 6-8, students will develop presentations on various religions, fostering understanding and global awareness. Includes guided research templates, presentation rubrics, and cross-curricular connections.
7. Human Rights 5-Day Research and Writing Unit | Middle School Social Essay Project
Description:
Introduce your middle school students to the concept of human rights in this 5-day research and writing unit. Students will engage with informational texts to explore human rights issues globally and locally, culminating in a social justice essay project. This unit is ideal for quick yet impactful lessons that combine research, writing, and advocacy.
Equity and Resilience Thematic Bundle: Disabilities Unit & Out of My Mind Movie
By TooBookedUp
Explore themes of equity, disabilities, and resilience with this dynamic resource bundle designed for grades 5-8!
- 18-Day Disabilities & Equity Unit (Grades 6+): This comprehensive unit includes engaging projects, thought-provoking essays, rigorous assessments, and Socratic seminars to help students explore visible and invisible disabilities, equity in schools, and societal challenges. Perfect for deepening understanding and fostering empathy in your classroom.
- Out of My Mind Movie Guide and Activities (Grades 5+): Dive deeper into Sharon Draper’s Out of My Mind with this movie guide and activity pack! Students will analyze characters, themes, and key scenes while practicing critical thinking and reflection skills.
This bundle is ideal for educators looking to combine standards-aligned instruction with meaningful, real-world themes. Save time and inspire your students with these ready-to-use resources!
Out of My Mind Sharon Draper Movie Guide and Activities Grades 5+
By TooBookedUp
Bring the heartwarming and inspiring Disney+ adaptation of Out of My Mind into your classroom with this comprehensive movie guide and activity bundle. Perfect for grades 5-8, this resource engages students in thoughtful discussion, critical analysis, and creative reflection while exploring key themes of inclusion, perseverance, and advocacy.
What’s Included:
Pre-Watching Activities:
- Agree/Disagree/Justify Statements: Students reflect on key themes like inclusion, disability, and perseverance before viewing the movie.
- Author Investigation: Research questions about Sharon M. Draper’s life, career, and motivations for writing Out of My Mind.
During-Watching Questions:
- 3 Open-Ended Discussion Questions: Encourage critical thinking and active viewing, focusing on the film’s characters, themes, and key moments.
Post-Watching Reflection:
Creative Reflection Choices: Students choose from a variety of activities, including:
A personal essay exploring connections to Melody’s story.
A diary entry written from the perspective of a character.
A 6-panel brochure highlighting the movie’s plot, characters, and themes.
Skills Covered:
- Critical Thinking: Through open-ended questions and reflection activities.
- Research Skills: Investigating Sharon M. Draper’s life and work.
- Creative Expression: Writing diary entries, essays, or designing brochures.
- Empathy and Inclusion: Exploring themes that challenge perspectives and foster understanding.
Why Teachers Love It:
Engaging & Flexible: Perfect for a wide range of learners with multiple activity options.
Low Prep: Ready-to-use activities designed for easy implementation.
Standards-Aligned: Meets objectives in reading comprehension, writing, and critical thinking.
Perfect For:
- Movie Companion Activities
- SEL Lessons on Inclusion and Perseverance
- Sub Plans or Flexible Learning Days
- Cross-Curricular Connections in ELA and Social Studies
This complete guide offers everything you need to turn Out of My Mind into a powerful teaching moment. Inspire your students to think deeply, reflect creatively, and grow in understanding with this must-have resource. Grab it today!
Additional resources with similar themes: 18-Day Disabilities & Equity Unit Grades 6+ Project, Essay, Assessments, Seminar
18-Day Multimedia Anti-Bullying Thematic Unit for Grades 5-8 | SEL Humanities
By TooBookedUp
Engage your students in a powerful and comprehensive 18-day thematic unit on bullying designed for grades 5-8. This multimedia-rich resource explores the critical issue of bullying through a variety of formats, ensuring student engagement and fostering social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. Perfect for humanities teachers, long-term substitute teachers, and SEL specialists, this unit is adaptable, rigorous, and impactful.
What's Inside:
Day-by-Day Lesson Plans: Detailed and easy-to-follow, these plans guide students through an exploration of bullying using films, short stories, political cartoons, informational texts, and poetry.
Multimedia Integration: Your students will analyze media such as:
Short films on bullying for visual storytelling.
Fiction texts like Pumpkin Head to explore bullying in literature.
Political cartoons to understand the societal impact of bullying.
Popular films like Matilda to discuss character responses to bullying.
Songs that discuss themes of bullying and resilience.
Socratic Seminars: Two thought-provoking Socratic seminars that allow students to dive deeper into themes of bullying, fostering critical thinking, discourse, and empathy.
Assessments: Include graded one-pager projects, Socratic seminar rubrics, and a STAAR-aligned extended constructive response essay on bullying prevention, ensuring students develop strong reading, writing, and analytical skills.
Capstone Project: Students will culminate their learning by creating an infographic on bullying, highlighting key facts such as types of bullying, its effects, and prevention strategies. This capstone promotes research, creativity, and advocacy.
Why You'll Love It:
- Flexible Use: Perfect for SEL lessons, English Language Arts, and humanities classes. This unit can also be used by long-term substitutes for a fully developed curriculum that's ready to go.
- Multimedia and Interdisciplinary: Engage students with a range of media, ensuring both visual and auditory learners are captivated. From analyzing cartoons to films, this unit provides cross-curricular opportunities.
- Builds SEL Skills: Through various activities, students learn empathy, kindness, and strategies to combat bullying. It’s not just an academic unit, but a character-building experience.
- Fully Scaffolds Learning: Differentiated activities, visual aids, and pre-made assessments make this unit accessible to a wide range of student abilities, including ELLs and students with IEPs.
Who It's For:
- Humanities Teachers: Add depth to your curriculum with an SEL-focused unit that fits seamlessly into English, history, or social studies classes.
- SEL Coordinators: This unit emphasizes empathy, communication, and kindness, key components of any social-emotional learning program.
- Long-Term Substitutes: Take the guesswork out of planning with a ready-to-use, high-quality unit that ensures continuity in learning while building essential skills.
Make bullying prevention and social-emotional learning an integral part of your classroom with this well-rounded, 18-day multimedia unit. Equip your students with the tools to recognize, stand up against, and prevent bullying in their school community.
Add to your cart now and inspire positive change in your students' lives!
The Berenstain Bears and the Blame Game Comprehension Questions
By Sign with me TOD
The Berenstain Bears and the Blame Game comprehension questions product is useful for students that read the book. The questions are placed in order with the book. Students can answer these questions as the book is read or after they have finished reading the book or listening to the book. While reading this book and answering these questions, students will learn about blaming siblings/friends for something they didn't do, how they felt if they were blamed for something they didn't do before, feeling discouraged or miserable, the expression - peeling back the layers of an onion and what it means, sequencing events, solving problems instead of blaming, steps that can be followed to solve problems and working together to solve a problems. Students can answer these short answer questions, yes/no questions, multiple choice questions, fill in the blank questions, and vocabulary/picture labeling questions as the book is read to them, as they read the book independently or they can use the text for lookbacks once the book is finished. Vocabulary words, their meanings, and examples of the words used in sentences are presented. Students have the opportunity to use those words in sentences as well.
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