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Global Change- Time and Cycles
Students study trees and their growth. In this investigative instructional activity students work in groups to reconstruct a 50 year climatic history using a simulated tree ring.
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The Information Revolution: A Hypothetical Case
Students consider the implications of the information revolution. In this information age lesson, students discuss informatics and the misuse of information. Students form a fictional bureau of information control and hold a simulated...
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Governance
Students participate in talking circles. In this self-governance lesson, students examine human rights from the perspective of Native Americans. Students must set up a self-government model for the reserve described.
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Play House
Students take a closer look at representative government. In this House of Representatives lesson, students discuss their local representative in Congress and research his or her responsibilities. Students then participate in a House of...
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Post- Modernism
Students participate in a lesson that investigates post-modernism in American literature. They conduct the lesson with the help of reading "America" by Ginsberg to create context. Then students define the genre and the culture that has...
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New York City: Passionate About Shakespeare
Students read passages from Shakespeare and have a Town Hall meeting in which they defend Shakespeare as part of American culture.
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Explorations of Lewis and Clark
Young scholars research the Louisiana Purchase. Groups of students are given the choice of topic for a creative project. Pretending to be Lewis and Clark, young scholars write a report to President Jefferson describing their...
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You Decide
Fourth graders, who live on a Native American reservation, investigate how land management is addressed at Tribal Council meetings. They participate in a simulation of a meeting as the discover the workings of tribal government. They...
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We the Second Graders
Students study the history, development and meaning of the Constitution. They participate in a classroom simulation of the Constitutional Convention by writing a Preamble, developing a government, and writing a Bill of Rights for their...
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Chinese New Year's Firecrackers Lesson
Students make 'firecrackers' out of rolled cardboard tubes to simulate Chinese New Year's firecrackers.
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Problem in Inarqi
Students practice identifying and solving problems. They assume a role to solve an authentic problem. During the simulation, students explain the structure of the government and reasons for adopting that particular structure. They...
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Civil Society in Iraq
Students use core questions to learn about the concept of a civil society. The dynamics of the war in Iraq serve as an example of a society that is in turmoil. They also develop an imagined society organization that would help promote...
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Negotiating Treaties
Eleventh graders recognize the interaction between early settlers and indigenous people in the U.S. They recognize the impact of the Indian Removal Act on displaced Natives in the early West and the impact on Native attitudes today.
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Terminating the War between the Allies and Japan
Ninth graders examine the arms race that took place in the period leading up to and during World War II that produced the atomic bomb. They analyze differing perspectives on terminating the war between the Allies and Japan. They ...
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Why Do We Separate Power?
Learners investigate the separation of powers that are outlined in the Constitution. The lesson includes essential questions that are used to guide the research. The information is used to increase knowledge of how power is used in...
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Coming to America
Fifth graders listen to the song America by Neil Diamond, view pictures of Ellis Island, and role play as processing officers who evaluate, classify and recommend which immigrants can stay in America.
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Necessity is the Mother of Invention
Students research the Industrial Revolution. In this Industrial Revolution lesson plan, students research on the Internet, with books, magazines, fill out worksheets, and more to learn about inventions that were made out of necessity or...
Smithsonian Institution
Ceramica de los Ancestros
Scholars join a field expedition team to unearth a plethora of treasures from Central America. Artifacts listed in alphabetical order come with an informational blurb and a picture designed for participants to color. Activity pages...
Federal Reserve Bank
What Really Caused the Great Depression?
Falling wages. Rising unemployment. Falling prices. Sound familiar? Young economists look at the role the US banking system had in causing the Great Depression.
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Cold War Conflicts
Students participate in extensive discussion about the Cold War and then analyze and express their opinions (at least one for each of the 3 questions) posting them to a discussion board.
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Educating European Immigrant Children Before World War I
Discover the challenges in educating immigrant children at the turn of the 20th century. Reforms that New York City schools used are described here and data is included for your class to analyze, in its evaluation of the effectiveness of...
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Second Graders Create Their Own Social Studies Book (Part I, The 5Ws of the Constitution)
Students study the United States Constitution and create a year-long cumulative activity for social studies. In this social studies lesson, students complete activities throughout the year to learn the 5Ws for the United States...
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Sparta and Athens
Sixth graders study Ancient Greece. In this Ancient Greece lesson plan, 6th graders complete 16 lessons to learn about Ancient Greece. Students complete a quiz for assessment.
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Japanese Tall Tales
Students read the tale of 'Three Strong Women' looking for facets of culture that create a 'face' of the Japanese people. They create a Venn Diagram comparing Japanese tall tales with factual research about Japanese culture. One side...