Curated OER
Local Pride in a Guide
Students examine the distinctive cultural and historical attributes of Boston and Philadelphia. They research the history, geography and culture of their town or city to create a booklet.
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Got the Picture?
Students explore the power of photographic images to influence public opinion. Then, using both news images and personal photographs, they create dual timelines documenting their own life experiences and memories.
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It's Just a Game?
Students consider their attitudes toward concrete and abstract violence in the media before developing hypotheses that assess the effect of gender and age on people's attitudes toward such violence and designing a survey to test those...
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Order in the School
Students consider goods and services that might be at the base of successful Web-based delivery services geared to students their age while they are in school. They act as entrepreneurs to develop plans for such services and create...
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Crash Test Smarties
Students share hypotheses about the variables needed to produce a collision between two moving objects. They simulate the impact of a moving object on an object that creates a spray of debris, and simulate a NASA Deep Impact study.
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Mission Discovery
Young scholars 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...
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QUALITY OR QUANTITY
Young scholars share opinions about the criteria they consider important in an online search engine. Using Google and Yahoo, they investigate various subjects and compare their search results. To synthesize their findings, students...
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FINDING A RESOLUTION
Students examine detailed Moon and Earth views provided by the NASA-sponsored "World Wind" computer program. They work in groups to create maps of different scales using landmarks of their choice, and challenge their classmates to...
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War Fair
Students gather a general understanding of terms related to international rules of warfare and human rights, then discuss hypothetical applications of those rules. They write letters expressing their opinion on the current application of...
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For Richer or for Poorer
Students read about one cross-class marriage and create scenes to dramatize interactions among the family members and consider how class shapes relationships. They imagine the issues faced by cross-class couples by writing a short story.
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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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Trial By Wire
Students identify the arguments on both sides of the new Medicare policy debate over claim hearings. They participate in a mock trial to adjudicate the fairness of the new policy.
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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?
Students 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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Chilling Predictions
Learners research and prepare an almanac on the Arctic. They examine the laws that attempt to provide jurisdiction over this area and consider how these laws be affected if geography of the Arctic continues to change due to global warming.
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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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Trading Up?
Students explore the benefits and drawbacks of free trade from the perspective of the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Mexico. For homework, they each write a letter to the editor expressing their personal...
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In the Wake of a Storm
Students share thoughts about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on Louisiana's natural environment. They read an online article and write proposals to save Mississippi River marshlands.
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Nightmare in Minnesota
Students read and discuss the article "10 Are Dead in Minnesota After Rampage at School." students explore their reactions to school violence and interventions to prevent its occurance.
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A State of Her Own
Young scholars investigate current elected female leaders from around the world and use their research to create challenging crossword puzzles.
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Connecting Immigrants In Black And White
Students explore the many ways that ethnic newspapers help immigrants in the United States stay connected to their cultures and countries of origin. They write articles for ethnic newspapers.
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No Place Like Home?
Young scholars investigate the impact of the physical environment on an endangered species. They create a plan for the ideal care of the species and develop an advertisement to promote awareness about the need for its protection.
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Of Amulets And Scrolls
Students come to an understanding of the time period covered in the first five books of the Bible by researching and recreating ancient artifacts. They recreate artifacts that represent the people, lifestyles, and culture of people...
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A Work Of Faith
Young scholars 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...