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Lesson Plan
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Albert Shanker Institute

Making the Case for Equality: A Comparison

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Martin Luther King Jr's " I Have a Dream" speech and Atticus Finch's closing argument during the trial of Tom Robinson both address the societal need to overcome racism. After examining the rhetorical devices and figurative language used...
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Lesson Plan
University of Southern California

Coming to America After the War

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War II. To...
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Lesson Plan
Foreign Policy Association

U.S. and Europe Online Lesson Plan

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Class groups investigate the economic and political implications of a country's policies on genetically modified foods, craft a position paper detailing that policy, and share their findings with the class. Armed with this information,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Socratic Seminar on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Key in the struggle to gain the rights of democratic citizenship was the April 1963 arrest of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for civil disobedience. To deepen their knowledge and understanding of events during the civil rights movement,...
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Lesson Plan
3
3
American Documentary

The Benefits and Drawbacks of Plea Bargains

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The outcome of 90 percent of criminal cases in the US is determined by plea bargains. Clips from the documentary Better This World create the backdrop for an investigation of the benefits and drawbacks of the plea bargaining process....
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Activity
2
2
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program

The Columnist Project

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Imagine a list that includes Alan Abelson of Baron's, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, and Mother Jones. High schoolers select a national columnist, read and annotate five columns by this author, noting the rhetorical strategies,...
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Lesson Plan
Louisiana Department of Education

Unit: Hamlet

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Encourage readers to determine if Hamlet's madness is actually divinest sense. Class members analyze the words of the play before studying related texts, including T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," scenes from...
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Lesson Plan
Pulitzer Center

The Paradise Papers: A Lesson in Investigative Journalism

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed Standards
The Paradise Papers, a year-long research project from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) exposed how political leaders, business people, and wealthy individuals used offshore entities to avoid taxes and hide...
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Lesson Plan
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The New York Times

Understanding the Mathematics of the Fiscal Cliff

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What exactly is the fiscal cliff? What are the effects of changing income tax rates and payroll tax rates? Your learners will begin by reading news articles and examining graphs illustrating the "Bush tax cuts" of 2001 and 2003. They...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Middle Tennessee State University

John Brown: Hero or Villain?

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
"Love it or leave it." "You're either for us or against us." Rhetoric and it's polarizing effects are the focus of a instructional activity that uses John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry as an exemplar. Groups examine primary source...
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Lesson Plan
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program

Was Bias A Factor? Make an Argument

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
The ability to analyze an argument is a skill emphasized by the Common Core standards. Offer your class an opportunity to develop and hone their skills by providing them the testimonies in an Oregon court case. After reading the facts of...
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Lesson Plan
8
8
The New York Times

Looking for Answers: Making Sense of the Boston Marathon Bombing

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How should America respond to acts of domestic terrorism? What motivates or prompts a terrorist attack? After reading an opinion piece on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, your learners will critically analyze factors that could have...
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Activity
Weebly

Holocaust Diary Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Here is a good interdisciplinary project that combines creative and narrative writing with studies of the Holocaust. Your young historians will compose a diary of experiences from the perspective of an individual living during the time...
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Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing About Informational Text: The Dred Scott Decision

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
Looking for a performance assessment that asks individuals to demonstrate their competency in writing about informational text? Use Frederick Douglass' essay "On the Dred Scott Decision," and an excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's 1857 speech...
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Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing an Argument: Free Speech

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
How do you assess whether pupils have mastered certain concepts and skills? Designing a performance task that asks learners to demonstrate their skills and providing writers with a rubric that identifies these skills and provides...
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Lesson Plan
American Press Institute

Media Literacy: Where News Comes From

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What actually happens at a press conference? Make sense of the mayhem with a mock press conference activity designed to promote media literacy. Individuals participate as either members of the press or the governor's office to examine...
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Lesson Plan
American Press Institute

Newspapers in Your Life: What’s News Where?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Big news isn't necessarily newsworthy everywhere! How do journalists decide what to cover with so much happening around them? A instructional activity on media literacy examines the factors that affect the media's choice of stories to...
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Unit Plan
Newspaper Association of America

Citizens Together: You and Your Newspaper

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Not all news in a newspaper comes in the form of a traditional article; photographs, charts, and even editorial cartoons help spread important information, too. A civics-based unit describes the parts of the newspaper as tools for...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

The Freedom to Make a Change

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of the First Amendment, young historians research instances when individuals or groups used the First Amendment to change the United State's laws or policies. Teams are each assigned a different case study. With the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let There Be Peace: Nobel Prize Winners

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What is the Nobel Peace Prize? After they establish criteria for great leadership, secondary learners read a New York Times article about President Jimmy Carter's acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Individuals research the...
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Lesson Plan
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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Designing Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How do you convey someone’s creativity? Individuals answer the question as they design exhibitions to showcase the intellect and genius of Benjamin Franklin. After conducting research, classmates work in groups to try to capture and...
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Lesson Plan
1
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Ending the War, 1783

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The various peace proposals, made by both sides, to end the Revolutionary War come under scrutiny in this final lesson of a three-part series on the war. Class members read primary source documents and compare them with military...
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

The War in the North, 1775–1778

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Using primary source documents, including maps, learners examine Revolutionary War events from 1775 to 1778. The focus here is on the challenges George Washington and the Continental army faced and how they persevered in spite of those...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Persona in Autobiography

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
A talkative old man? A naïve believer in Human Perfectibility? A Sage? Who is this guy, anyway? The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin launches a study of the way Franklin uses structure, style, and purpose, as well as different...

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