Curated OER
Hot Commodities in Turm-Oil?
Young scholars assess their daily consumption of oil and petroleum-based products. They examine current global oil supply situation.
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Measured Opinions
Young scholars read "Public Is Wary but Supportive on Rights Curbs," at the New York Times online. They explore how opinion polls are created and conducted, focusing on the wording of questions and the methods of sampling a population.
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Battling Memories
Young scholars examine the wartime killing of civilians in Vietnam through discussion, close reading and research.
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Commemoration of the Gettysburg Battlefield
High schoolers use a multimedia project, The Valley of the Shadow: Two American Communities in the Civil War, to create a presentation about the significance of the Gettysburg Address. They work on expert teams to explore the interactive...
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Do Ask? Do Tell?
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.
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Conflict Resolution in Congo: Is There an Answer?
Students research and participate in a simulation of a meeting of African nations. They investigate and attempt to resolve the conflict in Congo and the neighboring nations.
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Classes For The Masses
Students explore how class is represented in the media by developing ideas for television pilots that deal with class issues. They compile short lists of television characters from working, middle and upper classes.
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A Snapshot Of Fame
Students debate the limits to celebrity privacy and to paparazzi rights after learning about some recent incidents. They imagine how their private lives might change if they became overnight celebrities.
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Crossing Borders, Crossing Boundaries?
Students explore how the United States government is using biometrics to secure American borders. They examine the pitfalls of biometrics programs and propose possible ways to strengthen the program.
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Dropping (and Adding) Names in Washington
Students research and create profiles of key figures in the current administration and those people who are speculated to play a role if George W. Bush is re-elected in the 2004 election.
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Should They Stay or Should They Go?
Students share opinions about labor unions, discuss the recent split within the AFL-CIO, and write an article based on interviews with union members.
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Urban Legends
Learners consider how people of color and minority culture are represented in video games. After debating the issue as representatives of various interest groups, students reflect on their personal feelings regarding this issue.
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Safety Catch
Students consider their own beliefs about gun control after examining the effects of and speculations about a decade-long ban on semiautomatic assault weapons.
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Class Actions
Students examine the many facets of the term "class," defining the term and exploring some of the ways that class plays into life in American society. They participate in a poll about class-related issues.
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Shot Down
young scholars examine a Maine law concerning the destruction of guns used in homicides. They explore the advisability of destroying these guns and whose responsibility it is to notify families about what happens to these guns.
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Iranian Uranium?
Young scholars explore how Iran's uranium enrichment-related activities has caused a rift between Russia, the United States, and Europe. They stage a mock summitt to discuss Iran's nuclear program.
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A Meal of Endurance
Students examine the importance of the nutritional value of explorers' meals. They investigate the concepts of caloric intake vs. caloric expenditure and examine their own nutrition.
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Hot Off the Web
Students read an online article about blogging and its culture especially in the workplace. They create their own blogs based on current events.
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In King's Words
Young scholars analyze writings of Mr. Martin Luther King Jr. They read and discuss an article, and in pairs, research and analyze a written work or speech by Dr. King, create a mixed media collage to represent the text, and write an...
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Native American Blocks
Students research information about a Native American tribe and document their knowledge by creating a block (cube) containing pictures about the homes, tools, food, clothing, and transportation for this tribe.
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All Those In Favor
Students share opinions about measures recently passed in their school, vote on and argue for and against hypothetical school policies, and respond to a "president's" decision to pass or veto the measures.
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What's Your Angle?
Students examine The New York Times' coverage of immigrants' rights in order to gain an understanding of how different news angles function. They assess the angles of different news media outlets, such as television, radio, and Internet...
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Song Dynasty Traditional Landscape Paintings
Students study new ideas and art concepts, while reinforcing others, through a Chinese cultural tradition. They determine how cultural differences differences affect painting processes.
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Who's on Trial Here?
Students discuss privacy issues that public personalities encounter when they are accused of committing a crime after reading an article in The New York Times. Students then write essays after researching several trials of public...