Overcoming Obstacles is a free, award-winning, and research-based K-12 curriculum that provides you with the tools to teach your students life skills. With hundreds of activity-based lessons covering more than 30 skills, students learn how to communicate effectively. They learn how to make informed decisions. They learn how to set and achieve goals, resolve conflicts, solve problems, respect one another, and more.
Since 1992, over 500,000 educators in all 50 states and in 175 countries have used Overcoming Obstacles’ free lessons to improve the lives of more than 120 million young people.
Lessons on fairness, listening, coping skills, self-control, respect, integrity, and more!
Lessons on empathy, integrity, perseverance, respect, and more!
Modules on skills such as communicating effectively, making decisions, setting goals, studying effectively, resolving conflicts, and more!
In addition to goal setting, communicating effectively, and making decisions, the high school curriculum includes modules on college readiness, on-the-job skills, developing a positive work ethic, and managing your life.
The Overcoming Obstacles Digital Library is the online hub where you can view, download, and customize all our award-winning K-12 resources for free. Click on the button labeled “Enter Library” for instant access to everything we publish, including curricula, student surveys, training guides, translations, and more. No registration or any personal information required – you can start teaching Overcoming Obstacles today!
We all know that students need to learn life skills, but actually teaching these skills can be a challenge. Overcoming Obstacles helps you take abstract concepts and break them down into concrete, easy-to-teach lessons. And together, this is how we do it:
Each lesson begins with an agenda, objectives, and a list of required materials. The goals are clearly stated in the objectives which helps you establish what the expectations are for the lesson and what your students can hope to learn.
The starter of each lesson provides you with a quick definition that is usually designed around a brief activity or anecdote to focus your students’ attention on the skill being introduced.
As you facilitate an activity or discussion, your students draw from prior experience to demonstrate the concept or skill they are learning.
As they participate in an interactive activity, your students apply what you have taught them.
Lastly, students reflect on the skill they just learned and see how it’s relevant to their life and how they will use it every day.
Lessons also feature extensions, giving you additional opportunities to further develop each skill. Your students will analyze quotations, conduct research, develop technology skills, write journal entries, and work on additional projects.
“My Overcoming Obstacles” is our unique online platform that gives you the ability to truly make Overcoming Obstacles your own. With our easy-to-use tools, you can customize every part of an Overcoming Obstacles lesson, down to each word.
Maybe you want to change a starter activity, so it ties into something unique about your school? Or perhaps you want to take one of our decision making lessons and align it with an historical event that your students are learning? Whatever you need, “My Overcoming Obstacles” is here for you to use however and whenever you want. It’s simple, intuitive, and—like all of our other resources—100% free.
Registering for an account is simple – just fill out this short form and you will get instant access to “My Overcoming Obstacles” – it’s that easy! And don’t worry – we don’t require any detailed information, nor do we share your account information with any third parties (learn more about how Overcoming Obstacles uses your information here). If you would prefer not to provide any information about yourself to us, you can still access our complete K-2, 3-5, Middle, and High School Level Curriculum here.
In order to take advantage of “My Overcoming Obstacles,” you will first need to register for a free account. This enables you to create and save unique versions of the curricula, and also access additional material.
