Teaching Happiness

Discover the good life through resilience, creativity, and community.

Words That Inspire: Life After Worry

by Akaya Winwood

posted Jun 01, 2011

The state of the world gives us plenty to worry about. What would happen if we made a decision to no longer worry? Read Akaya Windwood's wise commentary on replacing worry with trust, and check out the classroom activity, too.

Words That Inspire: The Wild Geese

posted Apr 01, 2011

Wendell Berry's poem, "Wild Geese" paints a colorful image of Earth's bounty, inspiring the beloved poet and farmer to be thankful that all we need is around us. Do your students second that notion?

Sir Ken on Changing Paradigms

posted Feb 09, 2011

Sir Ken Robinson does it again! In this brilliant RSA Animate video, the creativity expert uncovers the link between drop-out rates, dwindling support of the arts, and ADHD.

Words That Inspire: It Couldn’t Be Done

posted Feb 06, 2011

There are few things that motivate young people more than to be told that something can’t be done. High school student Ashe Jaafaru reads "It Couldn't Be Done", a poem by Edgar Albert Guest.

YES! Recommends: Centre for Child Honouring, and Voices Education Project

posted Feb 06, 2011

If we made children our top priority, would we create a better world? The Centre for Child Honouring and Voices [Education Project] are helping create peaceful, sustainable societies.

Curriculum & Resources: Engaging Student Families, Adoption in the Classroom

posted Feb 06, 2011

Inclusion is one of the best ways to nurture student learners. These two resources offer tips on engaging student families and a positive approach to talking about adoption.

Want Successful Students? Meet the Parents

by Girlie Forman

posted Dec 22, 2010

Girlie Forman shares her personal experience, her sense of humor, and food to connect with her high school students—and their families.

YES! Recommends: Tell Me Your Stories

posted Dec 22, 2010

Tell Me Your Stories connects young and older people through oral history interviews. Curriculum, interview templates, and other tools guide students through the interview process.

Words that Inspire: On Facing Judgment

by Shannon Hayes

posted Dec 22, 2010

Facing judgment is a life skill that teachers can help their students learn, so they may deal with others' opinions—fair or not—with confidence.

Curriculum & Resources: Getting Boys to Read, Story of Food

posted Dec 22, 2010

Two resources that explore how to get boys to be lifelong readers and where our food comes from.

Words that Inspire: Stories that Light Up the Dark

by Sanjay Khanna

posted Oct 13, 2010

The Experiences of Our Ancestors Offer Us Wisdom for Surviving Today's Crises. By: Sanjay Khanna

Words That Inspire: Winter Poems Along the Rio Grande

by Jimmy Santiago Baca

posted Aug 01, 2010

Poetry: Winter Poems Along the Rio Grande, by Jimmy Santiago Baca, with Note to Educators.

Visual Learning: Happiness Is Where You Find It

posted Apr 28, 2010

With this YES! lesson plan, try to truly understand an image, its message, and why it’s interesting (or not). In this case it's all about happiness.

Visual Learning: Walking Slowly

posted Oct 30, 2009

Use this photo to ask your students what they notice and are wondering. Then share the facts behind the image to connect to greater understanding and discovery.

Visual Learning: Art Cars at Burning Man

posted Sep 22, 2009

Images, photos, and pictures stimulate the mind. For the viewer, they offer a chance to connect and question. They also offer potential for play and imagination, and pulling the observer into purposeful messages.