Curated OER
Is the Ruble Becoming Rubbish?
Students analyze the effects of economic turmoil on the Russian economy and relate them to the local economy and their own lives. They trace the ripple effect of a troubled economy from a local business to the rest of the community.
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Stop the Flow!
Students brainstorm creative solutions to economic problems in Mexico and the US to help stem the flow of perilous border crossings. They formulate a coherent plan to present to lawmakers.
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A Ray of Hope?
Students examine the roles of different leaders in the Middle East, the United Nations Security Proposal 242 and recognition of Israel by its Arab neighbors, and then debate the current Saudi proposal for peace in the Middle East.
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Safety Up in the Air
Students explore the controversy over a bill giving pilots the option to become armed federal law enforcement officers. They brainstorm other possible security measures for airplanes and airports.
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Banding Together
Students explore the effect that a particular culture can have on popular music. They develop their own music groups, each representing a style of music and a historical culture and perform their group's concert for the class.
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Modern Conditions Placed on Traditions
Students explore the role of traditions in world cultures. They read a New York Times article dealing with recent changes in the traditional clothing worn in England's House of Lords
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Diamonds Are Forever Fueling Civil Wars
Students explore the failures of the UN embargo on conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone. They participate in a trading game to explore the international trading system and the ways in which it rewards and punishes countries.
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Dangerous Waters (and Lands)
Students investigate the dangers of various geographical locations and the threat they pose to humans and other living things. They, in groups, research dangerous geographical locations and create a group "front page" highlighting these...
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Working It Out
Students participate in a simulation in which they are arbitrarily assigned different work roles and compare their experiences to those discussed in a New York Times article about the racial divisions in a pork production plant.
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State of Affairs
Students examine the various roles and duties of state government officials and offices to create an Informative Guide to Our State's Government. They explore the changing relationship between governor and lieutenant governor in New York.
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Treasure in the Trash
Students decode archaeological artifacts in order to recreate an event, using discarded objects as a model for real-life artifacts. They apply this model to reconstructing historical or literary events from artifacts they create.
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Drums of War
Students research the political climate prior to major American wars of the past, then reflect on the current call for power to confront Iraq. They create posters using newspaper articles and headlines to highlight the major opinions of...
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Consuming History
Learners research various foods as well as indigenous plants and animals from different historical eras around the world. They use their research to create a design for theme restaurants.
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Casting a Ballot for New Freedoms
Students use a New York Times article about the first free election in Indonesia in over four decades as a tool for learning about the government and politics, economy, religion, international relations, and people of Indonesia in the...
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Kashmir in the Crossfire
Students, in groups, research specific decades and then create multi-tiered timelines representing Indian and Pakistani relations and politics during those decades.
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Diplomatic Field of Dreams
Young scholars explore past U.S.-Cuban relations, by researching key events in the past century and creating a class timeline, in order to evaluate restrictions in policy on Cuba and the potential for exhibition baseball games.
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Amidst the Rubble of Ruined Cities
Students, in committees, develop and propose solutions to rebuild various elements of Colombia's infrastructure in the wake of the January 25, 1999 earthquake, as well as compare and contrast the earthquake's affects on Colombia to an...
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Answering the Call of the Wild
Students explore wildlife conservation by investigating the reintroduction of species into their natural habitats and species near extinction. They create a poster and a position paper that explains the importance of preserving this...
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Striking Out At the Serbs
Students are introduced to the most recent stage of the conflict in Kosovo by allowing them to examine the positions and actions of various key figures (people, countries, and organizations).
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We, the First People
Students explore new support regarding the earliest peopling of America by examining multiple theories on the migration of the first people to America, investigating related archaeological finds, and creating research-based scientific...
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In the Melting Pot
Students work in small groups, each group examining a different aspect of the immigration process (such as visas, work permits, and citizenship exams) or of illegal immigration (such as deportation), to better explain the immigration...
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And You Were (Almost) There
Students explore the genre of biography in both its traditional and nontraditional forms. They examine Edmund Morris's unorthodox biography of Ronald Reagan. They conduct research on an historic American and write their own biographies.
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The Way to Venezuela
Students investigate various facets of Venezuelan culture, politics, history and current events to develop an introductory chapter of a guidebook to the country.
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Stop Signs
Students research the positions of different interested parties regarding the current escalation of violence in Israel and the Occupied Territories. They formulate proposals to take part in a "Stop All Violence" emergency intervention.