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Native American Blocks
Students research information about a Native American tribe and document their knowledge by creating a block (cube) containing pictures about the homes, tools, food, clothing, and transportation for this tribe.
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Life Prior to Kristallnacht (1933-1938)
Students research the way of life of the Jews before Kristallnacht. Using new vocabulary and resources, they discover how carefree life was before the days of discrimination and antisemitism. In groups, they create a timeline of the...
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Part-Time Protectors
Young scholars research the roles of the reserve armed forces in a variety of United States military conflicts, then create a documentary that illustrates the contributions of part-time soldiers.
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Fur Right or Wrong
Students explore the uses for animals in different societies. Then, through research and reflection, students prepare for a mock convention for animal rights. They write a letter to a governmental animal regulatory body.
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Atmospheric Pressures
Students research past, present and proposed climate change policies. They develop timelines based on different predictions of climate change effects and assess the likelihood of each timeline playing out in reality.
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Thank You Notes
Students investigate the history of presidential proclamations and develop their own Thanksgiving Proclamations, highlighting current issues and sentiments.
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Nuclear Reactions
Students explore current military planning policies involving nuclear weapons, develop an understanding of the history of nuclear weapons and express their opinions about the use of nuclear weapons as part of the United States' military...
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Executive Decisions
Students examine the reasons behind key presidential decisions throughout American history and, by debating the pros and cons of these decisions in retrospect, students consider how these decisions affect us still today.
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Keeping A Watchful Eye
Students explore the use of satellite surveillance systems to track criminals. They consider how the use of this technology in law enforcement might affect them and write opinions on whether or not such a system should be adopted by...
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Battling Memories
Learners examine the wartime killing of civilians in Vietnam through discussion, close reading and research.
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All Work and No Pay Makes Workers Angry
Students examine and react to a current cost-cutting dilemma faced by store managers. They then study the rights of worker and employers, and draft their findings in chapters of a book examining labor laws in the United States.
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Justices for All
Students examine role of Supreme Court justices in the American political process, research the qualities of the current Supreme Court justices, and write opinion papers evaluating the current justices and recommending future nominations.
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Civil War
Students explore rules of conduct in a political body, first drafting rules that apply to their classroom, then adapting them to political actions in Congress.
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Liberty for Libya?
Students create a country profile on Libya in order to consider the viability of a transition to a democratic government.
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So Little Time
Students examine the evolution of the AIDS epidemic in various world regions during the last 22 years. They research advancements, programs, and attitudes about AIDS in various world regions They compile a "global timeline" of the AIDS...
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Fish Stories
Students conduct background research about a Pacific Rim country to develop a premise for a documentary film about the fate of traditional fishing industries in the area.
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Right About Now… and Then
Students discuss significant figures in music history and read an article about the Smithsonian's Hip-Hop exhibit. In groups, they develop and curate an exhibition of hip-hop music and history using artifacts that represent relevant...
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Immigration to America
Students examine reasons for immigration to the United States in the 19th century. They role play as immigrants asked to write accounts of their immigrant experiences.
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Border to Border
Young scholars use the Internet to gather information on the country of Mexico. They also discover the culture of their people and compare them with the United States population. They take a virtual tour of some of Mexico's most...
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Sporting Tolerance
Students investigate African-American baseball players from the early 20th century. They read an article, answer discussion questions, write a journal entry, and create a poster-size baseball card for an athlete.
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Safe and Secure: More or Less?
Students discuss what they believe to be the state of security of the nation since September 11, 2001. Reading articles on security, they gather insight into new reports on security. They write letters to major newspapers expressing...
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Intolerable Acts
Students examine the implications of North Korea's nuclear testing. They develop a K-W-L chart, read an article, write questions, conduct research on their self-generated questions, and create an exhibit of their findings.
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Immigration Debate
Students examine statements made by immigrants about immigration. They use the internet to research the truthfulness of these statements. They practice their decision-making skills.