Curated OER
Golden Globe as Gauge
Students discuss the significance of the Golden Globes and other awards as indicators of the current cultural and political climate. After reading an article, they identify the nominees for the 2006 Golden Globe awards. Using the...
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Summer Bummers
Brainstorm popular summer activities and their risks after having your class read an article. They will discover the risks of sun overexposure and in groups develop public service announcements for young people. They also propose a media...
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Balance of Power
Students examine the number of women in the United States Senate. After reading an article, they discover Hillary Clinton's possible bid for the presidential nomination for the Democratic party. In groups, they research the lives and...
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Ambassadors or Annoyances?
In this lesson, students learn about the need for behavior standards for American college students in foreign study programs; they then create an introductory guide to the cultural values and customs of their own region for students...
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Held Accountable
Students examine and draw conclusions from an excerpt from a slave narrative. They analyze excerpts from two recently discovered slave narratives.
They draw connections among the narrative excerpts and historical texts by investigating...
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Making 'Friends'
Learners read "Fans Gear Up to Say Goodbye to 'Friends'" from The New York Times and discuss the elements of the sitcom 'Friends' that made it such a success. After brainstorming reasons for 'Friends' popularity, students work in groups...
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American Girl, Too
Students discuss the popularity of the American Girl dolls and write a wish-list for a nine-year-old girl. After reading an article, they discover the differences between this doll and barbie. As a class, they brainstorm eras or point...
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Electing Economies
Students examine the economic and political challenges the past six presidents have faced during their terms of office, and how those challenges may or may not have impacted their chances for re-election. They create campaign slogans...
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Mission Makeover
Students examine their prior knowledge of the space program. After reading an article, they explore the conclusions of the Columbia accident. In groups, they research various space programs and discover the scope of NASA. They write...
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Stateside Slavery
Students read "Slavery's Past, Paved Over or Forgotten" from The New York Times and discuss as a class. This activity is the introduction for researching a topic on the history of slavery in the U.S. Student groups present their...
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Changing of the Guard
Students reflect on their knowledge of democracy. After reading an article, they examine current plans for the placement of a democracy in Iraq. In groups, they research past regime changes and democratization attempts and discuss the...
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Making the Future Present
Students draw and describe a new system for prison surveillance. After reading an article, they discover the use of a wearable computer by prison guards. In groups, they develop a proposal for a new type of technology to be used in a...
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Global Intelligence
Students discuss the war in Afghanistan and the conditions surrounding the hunt for Osama bin Laden after reading the article "Bin Laden and Omar: Far Harder to Find" from The New York Times. After the class discussion, students...
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Nature in a Flick of the Eye
Students explore the visual information a diorama artist provides by thinking of all the details for the background of a location described by their teacher. They investigate diorama artists and their importance in creating the illusion...
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Teens on Screens
Students articulate the ways in which they use the Internet and envision and propose new uses for the Internet. They examine one teenager's vision and expression of teen culture and individual personality online by reading and...
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Stellar Resorts
Students explore the future of "orbital vacations" and create fanciful tours of the Milky Way Galaxy. Students respond to the following prompt in their journals "Entrepreneurs are currently designing concepts for accommodating tourists...
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The ABC's of DNA
Students describe genetics as if they were explaining it to a young child. After reading an article, they discover new discoveries in the human genome project. Using the internet, they research a pair of genetic terms and develop a...
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It's Alive!
Young scholars define the term artificial intelligence and list devises that use it. After reading an article, they discuss how advances in this field affect our lives. In groups, they brainstorm about a device that could improve the...
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Pardon Me
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.
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Japan's Textbook Case
Students read and discuss "Japan's Refusal to Revise Textbooks Angers Neighbors." They discuss how accurately textbooks account for historical events, then collaborate to write unbiased textbook entries for current events.
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Log Book Guidelines
Young scholars are given the guidelines for their log books. The log book first starts with what is the purpose of a log book. Then students have the instructions on how to organize a log book. From there student are given step by...
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Puttin' On the Hits
Students explore "summer songs." They compose a list of songs that they would put on a summer CD and write an essay that explains the images they would choose for the cover for this CD. They also create collages that represent their...
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Gauging Beijing
Students examine the responsibilites of country's chosen to host the Olympics. After reading an article, they discuss how China is preparing for the 2008 Summer Games. They focus on the country's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities...
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Public vs. Private
Students watch two commericals from previous presidential elections on the topic of healthcare. After reading an article, they identify the position of the various candidates for the 2008 election. In groups, they brainstorm their own...