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Mission Discovery
Students examine the changes to the space shuttle Discovery and its history by creating a classroom exhibition about NASA's space shuttle program. They create an informative and attractive invitation about the gallery for outside visitors.
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Disaster Talk
Students design new devices to help victims of natural disaster communicate with rescue workers, government, media and loved ones. For homework, they write proposals promoting their technology.
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Guild v. Google
Students share opinions about what constitutes fair use of copyright materials and participate in a mock trial arguing the case of The Authors Guild v. Google.
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INVENTIVE LIVES
Learners consider the qualities that inventors possess and explore the history and uncertain future of U.S. innovation by reading and discussing the article "Are U.S. Innovators Losing Their Competitive Edge?"
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Fighting Fire With Satire
Students consider satire in the news by exploring various sources of "fake news," and then creating their own political satire in the form of a skit, news article, or cartoon.
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Reality Film
Students propose and create documentary films depicting a slice of "ordinary" life that reveals something unique or surprising about its subject. They, in groups, make films and present them to the school.
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Plastic Peas
Students consider the life cycle of certain plastics products and propose improved recycling legislation in their own communities.
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People Who Need People
Students study The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund and several immigrant families who have benefited from it. They assess needs of people in their own community and create a plan for an organization to help address some of those needs.
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The Will to Drill?
Students read a New York Times article about plans for oil drilling in the Arctic. They examine and debate both sides of the plan to explore for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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Security and Savings for All?
Students act as either Democrats or Republicans to debate plans to alter Social Security. For homework, they consider whether Social Security has become too politicized and propose their own solutions.
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Darwinist Dogma?
Young scholars debate whether teachers should be mandated to present theories challenging evolution in their classrooms. For homework, they write letters to their local school board expressing their own opinions.
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Liberty and Democracy for All?
Young scholars consider what they already know about democracy and examine how viable democracy is for Middle Eastern nations such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
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An Appointment to Remember
Students examine the arguments for and against President Bush's recess appointment of John R. Bolton as the United States ambassador to the United Nations and debate the appointment. They write letters to Mr. Bush expressing their views.
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Democracy in Action
Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government.
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Crisis Management
Students research the issues facing President Bush and write short political commentaries predicting what course the president take. For homework, they write editorials stating what they think the president should do to best serve the...
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Sorrow in Sudan
Young scholars explore the various groups and organizations involved in the Darfur conflict. Through investigative research, students gain insight into this complex issue.
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The World's Water Woes
Students discuss their community's water sources and assess the factors affecting the water availability and quality. They research water disputes around the world and explain common factors among them.
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Use Or Abuse?
Students explain the meaning of "use value" of nature's resources by researching and writing studenT books personifying an aspect of nature. They produce public service announcements regarding use value for their local community.
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Deadly Diseases
Students consider the social, political, environmental, economic, medical and other considerations for why particular countries experience outbreaks of certain infectious diseases.
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Devil May Care?
Students study about a deadly disease decimating the Tasmanian devil population. They research diseases that affect animals and write a fictional story about the animals they researched.
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A Work Of Faith
Students study about different types of religious art; they then select representative works from different faiths to create their own exhibit. They research a specific religious art tradition and create an exhibit of works of art from...
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Sizing Up The Senate
Students consider Senate leadership by examining specific positions and staging a mock legislative session. They write reflective essays considering the inner workings of the Senate.
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Artscapes
Students consider "The Gates" and other environmental art projects, and create an original public art project for their local community. They draw sketches and write proposals outlining their ideas.
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Africa Wants Its MTV!
Students consider the impact of MTV and the introduction of an MTV channel in Africa. They develop original programs for MTV Base that appeal to both local and global audiences.