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The Drill on the Spill: Learning About the Gulf Oil Leak in the Lab
Students research the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and complete experiments to study the effects of oil spills. In this oil spill lesson plan, students read the NY Times feature on the gulf oil spill. Students visit various links to research...
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Social Activism In The United States
Students explore justice issues. In this social activism instructional activity, students watch "Social Activism in the United States," and then locate newspaper articles from the 1960's and 1970's about events during the era.
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Striking Up a Conversation
Students, in groups, examine, discuss, and present the positions of the various parties involved in the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority public transportation strike, including the Transport Workers Union, the M.T.A....
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The Color of Money
Students explore the success of members of racial and ethnic minorities in the business world through discussing a related New York Times article. They interview successful people in various professions who would be considered minority.
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There Must Be Something in the Water
Learners read a New York Times article as a class and discuss how groundwater near a nuclear test site may have been contaminated. They explore how groundwater contamination can spread through aquifers by participating in a simulation.
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Talking About a Resolution
Students explore Nobel Prize winning economist Thomas C. Schelling's strategic egonomics theory as it applies to making new year's resolutions. They make their own resolutions and develop plans to keep them using Schelling's strategies.
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Stately Statements
Students closely read President Bush's State of the Union address, then develop interviews and write articles to assess a variety of points of view about The proposals offered in the speech.
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Reconstruction to Civil Rights
Eighth graders complete a unit of lessons on the period of time from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights movement. They analyze and interpret political cartoons and editorials, conduct research on famous civil rights places, and complete...
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In the Global Ballpark
Students examine reasons for and against American baseball teams playing in international exhibition games by debating pros and cons of the issue from the perspectives of designated personas.
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Old Kids From The Bloc
Students study about wide scale construction and development in Moscow and its impact on cultural and historic preservation. They research the political, social, economic, and cultural changes in the former Eastern Bloc and create a...
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Oasis in the Desert
Learners explore the challenges of building a thriving human civilization in a desert environment. They design new technologies to assist people living in the desert.
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The Who, What, and Y of Design
Students discover how large national chain stores create product lines that appeal to Generation-Y consumers. After learning in-depth about Target's new Dorm Room line, students create their own Generation-Y inspired product line.
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Show Me the Story
Learners examine the elements of a story, read a review of Chris Rock's new sitcom, "Everybody Hates Chris" and create original sitcom episodes based on their own lives.
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One Stage at a Time
Students explore the psychological coping mechanisms of cancer patients and relate individual cancer survivors' stories to Dr. Kubler-Ross' stages of grief. They use first-person accounts, discussion and journals to explore these concepts.
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Troubled Times
Young scholars address their questions, anxieties and other feelings about the changes in American society since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 and the subsequent reactions around the world.
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The Write Response
Learners explore what impact the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 had on nine different American novelists. They write and share their own thoughts and feelings, then consider the role writing plays in their own lives,...
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The Powers That Be
Students investigate past energy legislation, then write letters to Congress from the perspective of citizens trying to influence the original passage of these bills. Each small group does their research using a website imbedded in this...
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Taking It to the Streets
Students read about a protest in France, led by students against the government's labor laws targeting youth. They research student-led protests over the past 50 years and role-play student protesters, reporters, and government officials.
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Behind the Cover
Learners develop questions they would have liked to ask an author about their written works. They read an article about their forefathers and research a back story to a written work of their choice. They create posters to illustrate the...
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What's All the Buzz About
Young scholars participate in a game of charades to examine different animal behaviors. After reading an article, they discuss why bees waggle and how that behavior applies to humans. They research the behaviors of an animal of...
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The Good, the Bad, And the Ethicist
Learners explore their own code of ethics by writing and talking about ethical dilemmas from their own lives. They examine how a professional ethicist addresses ethical dilemmas by reading and discussing "The Ethicist: No Edit."...
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Follow the Marx
Students explore communism from historical and theoretical perspectives to present to fellow classmates at a teach-in. Each team of students be responsible for researching and presenting on one of the suggested topics in the lesson.
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At The Site Of The Quake
Students research and design an educational earthquake Web site, using the current disaster in Afghanistan as a starting point. They begin by reading and discussing As Many as 2,000 Feared Dead in Afghan Earthquakes which is imbedded in...
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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.