Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Compassion on Death Row?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze and debate, through writing and discussion, the politics and ethics behind the ability of governors to grant clemency to inmates sentenced to the death penalty.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map!

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students evaluate the different types of historical and geographical information that one can gather through close study of historical maps from the 16th through the 19th centuries. They create their own maps.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Activism of Terrorism

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars research animal rights issues and controversies and determine whether they believe extreme tactics are justified. They practice debate and rhetoric skills by successfully arguing both sides of the issue.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Power Of Words

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students respond, in writing and in discussions, to statements of various world leaders about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. They keep quotation scrapbooks, responding to various quotations about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Special Treatment

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students determine the role of the FDA in approving new drugs. They investigate some of these new drugs and consider the pros and cons of taking part in a clinical study.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Battling Memories

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars examine the wartime killing of civilians in Vietnam through discussion, close reading and research.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deadly Diseases

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider the social, political, environmental, economic, medical and other considerations for why particular countries experience outbreaks of certain infectious diseases.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stranger Than Fiction

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students reflect on the importance of science literacy. They review the year's science curriculum by reading, discussing and writing questions on teacher-selected New York Times articles and the related science content.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Do You Recall?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students share reactions to Mattel CEO Bob Eckert's message to consumers. They identify how Mattel is responding to several product recalls by reading and discussing the article "After Stumbling, Mattel Cracks Down in China." Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Taking Aim at Violence in Schools

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students are encouraged to share, through discussion and writing, their feelings about violence in schools, as well as about ways in which such tragedies could be prevented.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Uncertain Future of Kosovo

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars investigate the ongoing peace process in Kosovo through thorough discussion of the underlying issues of the Kosovo conflict and the evolving resolution.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Facing Reality

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore social issues that are meaningful to them and create documentaries in which they share their information, thoughts and impressions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Do Ask? Do Tell?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore debates regarding gay rights following the Supreme Court's Lawrence v. Texas decision. They participate in a fishbowl discussion, exploring questions on marriage, adoption, custody, employment, and military service.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Legally Wed

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners explore the controversial topic of same-sex marriages in a fishbowl discussion. They write balanced news articles based on interviews exploring people's opinions on laws that define marriage.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Of Power and Politics

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider the problems and issues that arise when a government has more than one person at the head of the government and explore the possibility of China's military chief's resignation by reading and discussing the article...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

After the Fact

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate summaries of the "9/11 Report" and examine questions relating to its findings in a fishbowl discussion. They reflect in writing on how they wish the outcomes of this report would be resolved and how these outcomes...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Uniter, Divided

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students write about and discuss Presidential duties. They study the two competing foreign policy camps in the Bush administration by reading and discussing the article "Bush Team's Counsel Is Divided on Foreign Policy." In groups,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pardon Me

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the pardon process and the controversy surrounding the Clinton pardons through reading and discussing "Lobbying for Forgiveness." They write a forgiveness letter and create pardon guidelines for President Bush.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

So, So Surreal Self-Portraits

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students take virtual trip back in time to 1924 when a Dada manifesto sparked the Surrealist movement in Europe and the United States. They explore about the history of Surrealism and visit online galleries of notable artists of the past...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

On the Fence

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read a news article from the New York Times related to the construction of a fence between Mexico and the U.S. and its impact on the lives of the people living on both sides. They read and discuss a variety of scenarios, answer...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hall Monitors

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate the incidence of different types of violence that occurs in their schools through reading, discussion and interviews. They question local authorities about the best ways to reduce school violence.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

National Tragedy, Global Response

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore how different people on local, national and international levels respond to a destructive natural disaster and the needs of its victims and how various facets of the media cover such an event. The August 1999 earthquake...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Safety First

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars explore safety issues and challenges related to various modes of transportation through readings and discussion. They create blueprints for technological methods to make those modes of transportation safer.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Manifestations of the Manifesto

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the workings of FARC, a Marxist guerilla group in Colombia, as well as study the basics of Marxism. They examine the discrepancies between Marxist theory and Marxism as it is actually realized in Colombia and other parts...