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Much Ado About Nothing?
Students explore their feelings regarding the celebration of various holidays. Using the New York Times article as a model, students write articles critiquing what they consider to be inappropriate expressions of holiday spirit.
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Evolutionary Exchange
Students discuss the difference between designed and natural elements. After reading an article, they discover information about current controversies in evolutionary science. In groups, they research and write dialogues between two...
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Cry Until You Laugh
Students write about the relationship between comedy and personal pain in their journals. After reading an article, they examine the Humber College school of comedy. They brainstorm difficult events in their own lives and create...
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A New Deal for Peace in a Land of War
Students explore the causes and effects of recent conflicts in the Balkans, and discover the current peacekeeping attempts by NATO and the new Yugoslav government. They research an aspect of the Kosovo conflict and prepare skits based...
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Far Out!
Students research and compare/contrast how routine tasks on Earth would be without gravity. They read and discuss the article "The Life Galactic: A Lot of Work, a Little Play, Plenty of E-Mail." In groups they write a pitch for a TV...
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Dig Those Descriptions
Students practice writing descriptions by researching various artifacts from ancient Egypt and writing captions for them. They read and discuss the Times article, King Tut, Museum Trailblazer, Begins Encore.
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Separate But Equal Opinions
Students 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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Defining Issues
Students work on a 'campaign committee' to define civic issues that are important to them and their community. They write letters to city officials with proposals for how to address these issues.
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A Sea-nic Perspective
Young scholars brainstorm topics related to the health of our world's oceans. They create presentations about specific issues affecting oceans for display in a classroom exhibit. They write letters of invitation to guests to view the...
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To Tell the Tale
Students explore how themes common to the human condition can be found in literary and oral traditions across cultures. They compile traditional folk tales around these themes and write their own tales to reflect their own cultural context.
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A Doctor's Dilemma
Students consider the bioethical dilemmas faced by doctors and write case studies about relevant issues within a particular medical decision.
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Know The Code
Students explore how codes of conduct guide our daily lives. After learning about specific codes of conduct, students write articles exploring aspects of different codes and how they affect people in their community.
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Our City, Our Words
Students write poetry that captures their feelings about their city or town. After presenting their poetry at a class reading students compare their poetry to the work of published poets who have written about the same city.
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Gender Bender
Students explore the effects of Title IX. In addition, tudents create revised rulebooks for a sport in their school based on their understanding of Title IX and write a related article for the school newspaper.
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Reviews Revealed
Students discuss the benefits or drawbacks in consulting movie reviews. They analyze movie reviews from The New York Times and create a list of features in effective movie reviews. They write their own movie reviews based on this list.
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Historical Perspective
Students research the different perspectives of important groups and figures involved in the American Revolution and apply their findings to write and perform monologues depicting this pivotal time in history.
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Soldier's Payback
Students examine their thoughts about enlisting in the Army, then consider the question of whether former soldiers should be called up for active duty. They debate the issue in a town hall meeting, and write proposals offering possible...
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Use Or Abuse?
Young scholars 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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Trendy T's
Students consider popular trends, such as rock fashion. They create designs for t-shirts that represent current pop culture and write pitch letters selling their ideas to the clothing industry in the year 2030.
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For Your Dining Pleasure
Students share opinions about their favorite ethnic dishes. They research the cuisine of another culture and write a review of a local restaurant that features that cuisine.
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Position Wanted
Learners share their opinions about local job opportunities for people their age. After reading an article about hiring trends, they discuss Google's answer to filling jobs. Class members research and report on an employer that offers...
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The Political is Personal
Students examine their own political party affiliations and political beliefs. After reading an article, they discuss how students at Duke define their political philosophies. They brainstorm events, people and experiences that have...
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Separation Anxiety
Learners examine the instances in history in which groups of people were segregated by race or ethnicity. After reading an article, they discover how apartheid impacted people's attempt to an education. Using the internet, they research...
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Discoveries of Titanic Proportions
Students analyze various statements on the moon. After reading an article, they discuss the findings about a new moon around Saturn. In groups, they re-create a press conference in which the new findings were released to the public. ...