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Pet-agogy
Students explore interesting animal behaviors and adaptations. They create information sheets about an animal residing in a fictional sanctuary and assess the animal's likelihood of being a good pet.
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It's My Party
Students compare/contrast the Republican and Democratic platforms using Venn diagrams, then read and discuss, "The Conventions Are Over. The Party's Just Starting." students then participate in a mock press conference and write editorial...
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Community Building
Students explore the issues of urban and suburban sprawl. They work in small groups to create their own planned communities.
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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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Won't You Be My (E-)Neighbor?
Students explore the concepts of community, belonging and human relationships through an Internet application designed to foster neighborly relations and write a persuasive statement to recruit others to join their community.
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Exit to the Left
Students share their own thoughts about the United States' involvement in Iraq. They read an article about what the Democrats would do if they were in charge. They develop a poll for members of their community to take and analyze the...
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Summer Bummers
Brainstorm popular summer activities and their risks after having your class read an article. They will discover the risks of sun overexposure and in groups develop public service announcements for young people. They also propose a media...
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All in the Family
Students develop family genealogy charts in search of noticeable genetic relationships between relatives. They research their family and write a reflection on the genetic relationships between individuals on the chart.
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Dying to be Thin
Students role-play scenarios in which they encounter a friend or acquaintance who may have an eating disorder and brainstorm ways to help the friend. They create informational brochures with information about eating disorder prevention.
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Read On
Young scholars consider the question "Why do we read?" through creating and sharing individual timelines of their own histories as readers. They then choose a book on which to write a personal essay.
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Pardon Me
Students examine the pardon process and the controversy surrounding the Clinton pardons through reading and discussing "Lobbying for Forgiveness." They write a forgiveness letter and create pardon guidelines for President Bush.
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Finding The Middle Ground
Students examine the recent truce between the Israeli and Palestinian governments. They explore the turbulent history of these groups and the recent developments from the viewpoints of Middle Eastern nations in preparation for a mock...
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Making the Invisible Visible
Students evaluate the various ways in which cyberspace is beginning to be mapped by geographers, cartographers, artists, and scientists and use their understanding of the information these new maps can convey to create their own maps of...
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May the Force Be With(in) You
Students explore the characterization of heroes and their representation of the values and beliefs of the society in which they are created. They first examine the creation of the 'Star Wars' heroes and plots, and then develop their own...
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When Human Rights Are Wronged
Students explore the concept of human rights by examining the arresting of prominent Chinese dissidents who are members of the China Democratic Party. They develop and defend their own Bill of Human Rights and write a reflective essay.
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World Consumption: Unequal Slices of the Pie
Students interpret the United Nations Human Development Reports and explain the relevance and use of the human development index in offering insight into a nation and its challenges. They draft a letter to the United Nations.
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Surrounded by Radiation
Students explore ways in which people are constantly exposed to naturally occurring and man-made sources of radiation. They create and play a board game featuring different hypothetical scenarios of radiation exposure.
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Smoke Signals
Students estimate the amount of money a non-smoking teen spends in a week, a month, and a year, and compare it with the expenses of a teen who smokes one, two, and three packs a day. They research other reasons that teens should not smoke.
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Mad About Madagascar
Students read/discuss "On Madagascar, A Treasury of Fauna and Flora," examining the issues affecting the biodiversity of Madagascar. They present information on issues affecting Madagascar's ecology, and write policy statements on...
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At the Heights of Conflict
Students examine the historic and present conflict between Israel and Syria over the Golan Heights. In groups students present the class with information on the Golan Heights. They write an essay defending his or her view on the future...
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Devil May Care?
Young scholars 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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2004 Better and For Worse
Students identify the significant events that helped shape 2004. After reading an article, they take a 2004 news quiz and discuss the impact of each event. They create their own quizzes to be given to their classmates on the same...
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Does "Memorial" Serve Correctly?
Students evaluate the eight finalists for the World Trade Center memorial based on criteria generated in class and consider the notion of commemorating tragedy less than three years after the event.
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Making the Future Present
Students draw and describe a new system for prison surveillance. After reading an article, they discover the use of a wearable computer by prison guards. In groups, they develop a proposal for a new type of technology to be used in a...