October Themes Teacher Resources

Students research and write about the effectiveness of hate-crime legislation in the United States

Students explain the importance of technology in a wide range of businesses. They focus on the application of technology in fast-food restaurants, then interview an upper-level employee at a local business.

Students use maps, statistics, and written texts to recognize the H.I.V. explosion in Africa.

Ask your students to explain how to successfully find information on the Internet, focusing on how to select the keywords that lead to the best information on a topic and by navigating and evaluating a number of Internet search engines....

Students use the Archimedes method to demonstrate scientific principles behind observations.

Students select their own Quotes of the Day from articles of their choosing for analysis on a Quote of the Day poster for the classroom.

Students explore the genre of biography in both its traditional and nontraditional forms. They examine Edmund Morris's unorthodox biography of Ronald Reagan. They conduct research on an historic American and write their own biographies.

Students examine the relationships between and among powers inside and outside Afghanistan in connection to United States military aggression in the territory. They examine the interaction between the Northern Alliance, the Taliban,...

Students explore environmental and geological conditions on other planets in our solar system, comparing their findings to information about Earth. They propose technologies that might assist in supporting human life on those planets.

Young scholars examine the concept of 'nation building,' focusing on outcomes of U.S. involvement in nation building efforts in Afghanistan, past and present attempts at nation building and how the U.S. should proceed in the war against...

Students evaluate the possible causes contributing to the decline of the killer whale population from a number of differing perspectives. They present their findings in a talk show format and in letters of advocacy regarding

Students address their questions, anxieties and other feelings about the changes in American society since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 and the subsequent reactions around the world.

Learners, in groups, develop math lessons for younger students that each stems from a popular student story. Group members individually develop lessons for other subject areas based on their group's story, creating interdisciplinary units.

Students explore the topic of national identity cards in the United States as a starting point in determining what types of information should be publicly accessible to the government and private industry about specific individuals.

Students investigate various disease epidemics that have devastated the world population at different points in history and examine the diseases' effects on the countries they impacted.

Students explore how political candidates use mass media to deliver their messages to voters. Focusing on specific issues in the upcoming election, students create television commercials representing different parties' views.

Students explore the connections between non-fiction and fiction best-seller lists and current events that are shaping readers' lives and choices.

Students explore the effects of Title IX. In addition, tudents create revised rulebooks for a sport in their school based on their understanding of Title IX and write a related article for the school newspaper.

Students describe the elements that make up particular writers' styles. Small groups then choose an author, write something in his or her style, and invite other groups to play 'literary detective' in identifying whose style they have...

Students explore the difficulties, and some absurd situations, caused by repeated land subdivisions in the rural areas of poor and overpopulated regions.

Learners research endangered animal species that have 'beaten the odds' as they continue to survive longer than scientists had expected. They write individual pages for a class book about endangered species.

Learners examine a job-training/violence reduction program that removes gang graffiti in East Los Angeles. They discuss issues confronting their own communities and propose community service programs to address these issues.

Students learn folk tales from many different cultures and retell them using the medium of their choice. They write about the cultural indications found in these tales.

Students reflect on their computer use and explore various perspectives on the growing role of technology in schools. They develop a stance on the issue to write a position paper.