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Digesting the News
Students explore the editorial concepts, site designs and business models of online news digests. They propose detailed plans for Web sites that demonstrate their own areas of expertise.
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Working Like a Dog
Students consider ways animals help human beings with certain chores, then research more specific tasks dogs are trained to do. They create a help wanted ad enumerating the traits a dog should have before applying for a particular position.
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Clearing the Air
Students read a New York Times article and investigate a variety of emissions that contribute to global warming. They participate in a mock international summit in which they present recommendations for reversing the global warming trend.
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Is It Right to Bear Arms?
Students explore the debate on how to curb gun violence in America. They prepare an argument for or against a strict interpretation of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and participate in a debate.
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Get a Life!
Students read a New York Times article associated with the issue of the decoding for genomes, the creation of life in scientific laboratories and various genetic engineering topics. They present speeches of the pro's and con's of these...
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Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
Students design and promote technological devices for Father's Day gifts that reflect evolving social trends. They consider the new image of dads cast by today's media and advertisements and its influence.
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High Anxiety
The Learning Network section of the New York Times produces high-quality teaching materials. This issue gets middle or high schoolers reading an article about how people use art to express their response to high-stress events. They work...
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It's Art ... Naturally
Students consider the ways nature has been used in art, and then design and create their own original sculptures using materials from nature for a class exhibit.
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Get Surreal
Young scholars analyze and write text for audio guides about particular pieces of art from the Surrealism movement.
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Disaster Talk
Students design new devices to help victims of natural disaster communicate with rescue workers, government, media and loved ones. For homework, they write proposals promoting their technology.
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People Who Need People
Learners study The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund and several immigrant families who have benefited from it. They assess needs of people in their own community and create a plan for an organization to help address some of those needs.
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Darwinist Dogma?
Students debate whether teachers should be mandated to present theories challenging evolution in their classrooms. For homework, they write letters to their local school board expressing their own opinions.
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A Critical Role
Students read a New York Times review of the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. They discuss the roles and responsibilities of a cultural critic, and prepare for a visit to a local museum in order to write their own reviews.
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Make It or Break It
Students study about "breaking news" by analyzing the New York Times' coverage of the July 2006 bombing of seven commuter trains in Mumbai, India. They write their own breaking news stories for homework.
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Fields of the Future
Students investigate India's technology outsourcing, and examine their own career choices to determine what technology is required in the field. Students dermine how careers have changed over time and speculate future changes, then write...
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Rockets on a Shoestring Budget
Young scholars, operating under simulated budget constraints, build pop-rockets and launch them. Working in pairs, they complete budget worksheets and use their "Blast Off Bucks" to pay for the construction. They then redesign their...
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A More Perfect Union?
Students read and discuss the article "Bush Insists U.S. Must Not Fail in Iraq." They work in small groups to answer three questions based on their category by searching for the answers in the article read in class.
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Pop Secret Information
Students design procedures for increasing the popping rate of a set amount of popcorn kernels. They propose and test a "secret" addition to the corn popping procedure which they expect would increase the popping rate and then write lab...
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Eyeing the Next Einstein
Students complete a KWL chart on Albert Einstein. After they read an article, they discover more about his iconic status and how future scientists view him. In groups, they create trading cards about Einstein and another scientist of...
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Safe Driving Solutions
Students act as commissioners researching needed safety standards for vehicles and highways. They then draft recommendations to be included in a new highway safety bill. They cite reasons a particular measure would reduce fatal highway...
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Does "Memorial" Serve Correctly?
Students evaluate the eight finalists for the World Trade Center memorial based on criteria generated in class and consider the notion of commemorating tragedy less than three years after the event.
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Ghosts of Holidays Past
Students write in their journals to analyze the use of nostalgia. After reading an article, they identify aspects that are universal for holidays. They describe and examine their own memories of a specific holiday and interview someone...
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Getting In the Game
Learners explore how interactive Web sites support live sports programming, and then design Internet sites that provide interactive support for a favorite television program. They present their mock ups to the class.
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A Life to Remember
Students test and discuss their ability to remember events in their recent and past history and reflect on cases of dissociative fugue and amnesia. They graph and analyze data to look for patterns in the ability to recall a list of...