Curated OER
U.S. Penny to Get Four New Designs
Students look at U.S. currency and read about plans to change the back of U.S. pennies. In this current events instructional activity, the teacher introduces a news article with a discussion of money and a vocabulary activity, then...
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Separate But Equal Opinions
High schoolers examine the ways in which editorials and Op-Ed pieces respond to current events. They write editorials in response to news items from the New York Times.
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Photo Forgery
Students inspect examples of manipulated photos and explore the technology and issues behind doctored photos. They hold an in-depth discussion about the responsibility of the photojournalist and news editor to show true photos.
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Executive Exchanges
Young scholars explore the April, 2006, overhaul of the White House staff. They research the positions in transition and stage a press conference to introduce these changes to the public.
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Global Issues
Students explore the ways that local, national, and global events are interconnected. They identify current issues at a local and global level, identify organizations that seek to improve conditions in other countries, and examine the...
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Creating a Colonial Newspaper
Students identify people, events and issues of importance during the French and Indian War and compare them with issues that only affected New Hampshire. They discover how newspapers gave people a sense of identity.
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Being an Educated Consumer of Statistics
Students examine kinds of data used to report statistics, and create their own statistical report based on any of the four sources of media information (Internet, newspaper, TV, magazine).
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Cartoons for the Classroom: A Parody of Broken Promises
Parodies of political figures are the lifeblood of the editorial cartoons in a free press. North Korea's nuclear threat provides young political scientists an opportunity to hone their critical thinking skills as they analyze a cartoon...
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Bank Loans Money to Start Businesses
After locating Latin American countries on a world map, children read about how microbanks are loaning money to help start small businesses. Involving both current events and economics, the teacher introduces the article with a map...
Carolina K-12
Are You a Democrat or a Republican? Are You Really?
Have new or soon-to-be voters examine different political parties and their platforms as they figure out which one aligns most with their beliefs. After taking a few online quizzes, students split into pairs to discuss and then in larger...
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Energy Audit
Learners collect data about energy usage and use mathematical calculations to analyze their data. In this energy conservation and statistics math instructional activity, students survey their homes to complete an energy usage worksheet....
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Olympics and Politics: Let the Games Begin!
Let the games begin! Use political cartoons to analyze current events regarding the Olympic Games. This worksheet includes two cartoons depicting the 2008 Beijing Olympics, background information to help with analysis, and talking points...
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Teaching Controversial Science Issues Through Law Related Education
A set of lessons help aspiring scientists practice the critical thinking skills required for facing controversial issues such as evolution. As a group, they discuss what controversy consists of. They compare and constrast the concepts of...
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Language Arts Curriculum Guide
For this language arts worksheet, students complete many worksheets that include brainstorming, newspaper article reviews, TV show descriptions, and more. Students complete 54 worksheets total.
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Devastation of Indian Quake
Learners read an online article at CNNfyi.com to determine what happened in India after an earthquake. They determine the magnitude of this earthquake and address the issue of relief efforts from other countries.
BrainPOP
World History Lesson Plan: Uncovering Essential Questions
Have you ever noticed a news story revolves around an essential question? Scholars research methods of reporting historical events. Working in groups, they use an interactive module to gather information on a historical topic, uncovering...
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Immigration Reform: Understanding the Issue From Different Points of View
Students examine the topic of immigration reform. They conduct research on groups representing various viewpoints on immigration, write and perform a role-play, and write a persuasive essay or letter to a state senator on their views of...
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The Art of Violence
Violence and human suffering, as represented in art and film, are the focus of an investigation of the power of visual images and the moral implications of such representations. Class members examine “Guernica,” Pablo Picasso’s massive...
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Constitutional Issues: Watergate and the Constitution
Students take and defend positions on what conditions contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a constitutional government. They debate whether or not the government should have prosecuted Nixon over the Watergate scandal.
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Bulldozers at the Door
Students investigate current event issues in Zimbabwe. For this global issues lesson, students visit selected Web sites to determine why thousands of citizens were evacuated from their homes. Students examine the bureaucratic upheaval...
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USA Today: Global Awareness Edition
Bring global awareness into the classroom. Young politically minded learners read an article about the ban on arms sales to China and discuss political concerns about this issue. They research other embargos on foreign trade and use a...
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Putin: 'No way back' from democracy
Imagine a meeting between President Bush and Putin. Get your class thinking about global awareness, democracy, and totalitarian modes of government. They examine how two leaders approach major governmental issues and run their countries...
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Convey Ideas in Writing
Write an unsent letter about a consumer scam, paying attention to the writing conventions of punctuation and spelling. This lesson could be adapted to fit a variety of social issues in which letter writing is appropriate. 4
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Breaking News English: Smacking Kids Lowers Their I.Q.
In this English worksheet, students read "Smacking Kids Lowers Their I.Q.," and then respond to 1 essay, 47 fill in the blank, 7 short answer, 20 matching, and 8 true or false questions about the selection.