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Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago - Chicago Blues

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Watching Great Performances’ Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago launches an investigation into and discussion of how the electric guitar and guitarists have changed the sound of the blues over time. An engaging way to...
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Creating an Oral History--Who Tells the Story?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Explore the difficulties in compiling an oral history with this lesson plan. Young researchers conduct interviews and consider how point of view changes various accounts of a single incidence, resulting in conflicting information. They...
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The Song of the Lark

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Using the internet, class members research the biography of Willa Cather, view photographs of Red Cloud, Nebraska, and read the novel, The Song of the Lark. They discuss the film, its setting and characters, and explore the...
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Media Literacy: TV - What You Don't See!

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine how to evaluate what they are watching on television. They discuss hip hop music videos, compare/contrast them to other types of music videos, write a letter or press release about promoting positive teen stories, and...
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Dealing With Death

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students watch and analyze a video dealing with the topic of death. They answer discussion questions, identify examples of how death is represented in popular media, write a poem, create a memory book, and write a letter to someone who...
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The Great Depression: What Would it be like today?

For Teachers All
Students calculate the percentage decline in factors affecting the quality of life such as wages and unemployment, from before the Depression to the beginning of the New Deal. Students then calculate what the same percentage decline for...
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FOOD FOR THE ANCESTORS

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Young scholars identify the foods associated with the "Days of the Dead Celebration." They compare and contrast these foods to the foods associated with American celebrations and become familiar with the foods of Mexico and their...
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The Demise of the Great American Frontier

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed
Students are introduced to Frederick Jackson Turner and how early Census data, when combined visually with maps, effectively demonstrated the end of the frontier.
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The Introduction and Diffusion of Household Technology

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed
Students conduct research and develop a matrix demonstrating the introduction and spread of common household items from 1900 to 2000 in the U.S. They conduct Internet research, watch and discuss a video, and develop the matrix.
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Appreciating the Men of Ballet from Dance in America: Born to be Wild: The Leading Men of the American Ballet Theatre

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine the role of men in the American Ballet Theatre. In this ballet lesson, students watch segments of the Great Performances video "Dance in America: Born to be Wild: The Leading Men of the American Ballet Theatre." Students...
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Medical Pioneers

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use research skills to take notes over fifteen current medical innovators or innovations. They prepare a PowerPoint presentation over their chosen fifteen medical innovators and innovations. Students show a correlation between...
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Zen and the Work of Frank Lloyd Wright

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars experience Zen philosophies reflected in artwork, poetry, and architecture. Students will explore these connections and expand the discussion to include a professional author of their choice.
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So You Want To Travel To Namib

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research and plan a trip to the Namibian desert. They watch and discuss a video, develop a list of the harsh conditions while viewing the film, identify the precautions needed for traveling in the Namib environment, and write...
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A Bison Web

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students view a documentary on the treatment of the buffalo. In groups, they create a website using ideas and solutions they developed. They must include graphics or animation and a multi-level webpage. They share their pages with the...
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Faith-Based Initiatives: Separation of Church and State

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the role of religion in everyday life. In this religion and ethics lesson, students investigate the use of government funds to support faith-based initiatives. The lesson calls for students to conduct research, watch...
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Fit For Life: Eat Smart and Exercise

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the problem of obesity among teenagers. They view a video and discuss what could be done to avoid becoming overweight. They also explore the importance of exercise.
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How Secure is Social Security?

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore the Social Security System including its history, benefits, funds, problems, and its future.
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Sports Screeners

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students watch videos to discover the amount of physical activity in film and television. They present their findings to the class after viewing a film. They discuss how perceptions in films can influence young people.
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History: Napoleon Becomes a Man of Destiny

For Teachers All
Students analyze the forces that shape character development, including the role of historical events. Students contrast the ethos of the Ancient Regime with the new ideals awakened by the French Revolution.
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Power vs Truth

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore Italian politics and warfare of the High Renaissance. They explain the effects of the Protestant Reformation and the Counter Reformation.
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Circling the Square: Boxing Ring Match

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze the specifications and construction of modern boxing rings. They calculate the area of circles and rectangles by different methods. They compare and contrast different areas in the ring used for attack and defense.
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The Physiological Effects of Boxing

For Teachers 9th - 12th
In this collaborative project high schoolers will work together to research the effects of boxing. They will then present their information to the class and investigate possible injuries that can be sustained during boxing. Extensions:...
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Voting

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate voter participation in the U.S. They watch and discuss a Bill Moyers video, complete a handout, and develop a plan to help a community overcome obstacles to voter participation.
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"Jazz is About Freedom": Billie Holiday's Anti-lynching Song Strange Fruit

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Working in small teams, learners analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of...