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Transforming Anansi Folktales Into Storyboards
Students work in small groups to illustrate a story board of a folktale. They develop the meaning of a trickster as a humor device in folktales by listening to several about Leprechauns and the Coyote of Native American tales. They then...
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Striking a Deal
Students explore the economic repercussions of a potential Major League Baseball strike. Then, through researching other labor strikes in American history, students consider the importance and impact of labor unions in United States...
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The Great Gatsby
Eleventh graders investigate the concept of the American Dream. They use the novel "The Great Gatsby" as an example from literature. Students brainstorm in order to define the American Dream.
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A Taste of the Caribbean
Students are introduced to the foods and traditions of the Caribbean. In groups, they brainstorm their own definition of culture and review the physical and political geography of the Caribbean. They spend time sampling different foods...
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Cultural Impact of Jim Crow Laws and the Civil Rights Movement
Students examine the Jim Crow laws and how they impacted the lives of both African Americans and white Americans. They discuss the Civil Rights Movement and how their lives may have been different had it not occurred.
Groups...
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Russian Literature: Leo Tolstoy
Tenth graders research the life and literature of Leo Tolstoy. Through reading and research, 10th graders identify key events in the author's life. They explore the major themes of his writing and complete a research project. Reading...
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The Civil War Experience
Students write or design a creative project about the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students share memorable quotes from speeches and discuss documents historians could use to analyze the Civil War. Students read excerpts from...
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Incorporate Black History into Math
February is Black History Month. So why not highlight lessons that connect mathematics to Africans and African Americans?
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Longfellow Amongst His Contemporaries: the Ship of State Dbq
Learners evaluate the ship of state metaphor in relation to the historical events in America from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. They synthesize ideas presented in ten different primary source documents and compose an essay...
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European Explorers of North and South America
Sixth graders explore the connection between the geography of America and the migration of the Native Americans to the American continents to the future conquering of the continents by the Europeans. They discuss the causes and effects...
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Octavio Paz
Tenth graders read and analyze the poem, "The Street," by Hispanic author, Octavio Paz. They research the life of Octavio Paz and identify his literary contributions. They complete an online scavenger hunt and create an author map of...
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Flawed Democracies, Human Rights
Students investigate the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In this U.S. History lesson, students discover the Japanese internment camps and why our government chose to relocate the Japanese. Students examine photographs from the era...
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Managing or Meddling?
Students examine Bosnian and Herzegovinian society before and during American involvement, focusing on the successes in Brcko. They write a reflective essay considering the role of "helper countries" in foreign affairs.
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Pablo Neruda
Eighth graders explore the life and works of Pablo Neruda. They complete an author map concerning his personal and professional life. Students identify the key components of an ode. They write an ode to a common object around their...
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The Witch of Goingsnake
Learners interpret a proverb and read examples of oral histories. In this The Witch of Goingsnake lesson, students read two samples of oral history and discuss quotations from each. Learners read "Calf Roper's Bandit Car" and...
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Different Strokes
Students explore a Maine community in which a sudden influx of Somali immigrants has resulted in tension between the Somalis and the local residents. They create a handbook explaining aspects of the Somali culture to an American audience.
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Looking at Portraits: Thomas Jefferson
Students examine works of art that have influenced images of our founding fathers still in use today, and discuss influences from antiquity on Houdon's sculpture.
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Stirring the Melting Pot
Students consider the interrelationships among race, ethnicity and culture. After reading the article, Young Japanese-Americans Honor Ethnic Roots, they examine ways in which they identify with and celebrate their own ethnicities.
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Spin Cycle
Students explore the concept of "spin" and discuss how politicians use spin to sway public opinion. A leading American politician is selected and talking points that exemplify the main idea of this lesson are shared with the class.
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Begin Reading Seedfolks
Students are introduced to the book Seedfolks and the concept of community. In this Seedfolks literature study lesson, the first in a unit, the teacher reads the first half of the book and students answer comprehension questions and...
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Flawed Democracies, Human Rights
Students create drawing that tell a story about a young girl's life in an internment camp. In this internment camp lesson plan, students hear stories and analyze photographs of internment camps and then create their own drawings.
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Muhammad Ali and his Vietnam War Resistance: Defining Nonviolent Action through Gandhi and King
Students research Muhammad Ali's act of civil disobedience. In this civil disobedience lesson, students research Ali's defiance of the Vietnam War draft and compare his reasoning to Martin Luther King's thoughts on the war. Students...
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The Bus Ride Teacher's Guide
Students examine and respond to the text, The Bus Ride. In this African-American literature instructional activity, students explore pre-reading questions that focus on fairness of laws. Students read the text based on Rosa Parks and...
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Drawing the Line at Freedom?
Students explore civil liberties as they relate to the events of September 11, 2001 and the months that followed, and discuss how these circumstances may or may not have altered the rights of American citizens and foreigners visiting the...