Curated OER
Frighteningly Fabulous Festivals
Students explore the significance of holiday foods, first by researching Halloween-type festivals from around the world, and then by reporting on foods related to different holidays celebrated in their homes.
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Sense-itive Issues
Students consider the difficulties of adapting to the loss of different senses. They work in small groups, each developing a fictional superhero who experiences a loss of one of sense and must compensate for it with his or her other senses.
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Talking Trash - Online Message Boards
Students consider their own experiences with online message boards and chat rooms, discover how teens are using the Web to talk about people in their lives, discuss the issues surrounding online conversations.
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The Heat Is On!
Young scholars research severe weather conditions common to their geographic location and create weather emergency guides. They, in groups, develop guides for extreme weather conditions such as heat waves, tornadoes, floods, and storms.
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Life Lessons
Students analyze various inspirational statements from graduation commencement speeches, and then write their own speeches that reflect lessons to help students succeed in the next stage of life.
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All Fired Up
Students brainstorm images and themes associated with the American Fourth of July holiday. They create illustrated posters to explain the processes or history behind these themes.
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Pitcher Perfect
Students consider how advertising messages are constructed and relayed. They invent fast-food businesses and create presentation posters outlining the first commercials to promote their new brands.
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Forever in Our Memories
Students consider reactions to various plans for building on the grounds of the World Trade Center. They explore ideas and opinions that went into creating other memorials of events in American history and propose ideas for improving...
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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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Muppets as Mediators
Students explore current social issues in the Middle East to create their own student television programs for Palestinian and Israeli Students.
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The Life You Save...
Students identify common warning signs of depression that, if not addressed, could lead to suicidal behavior. They write skits and create booklets in which they document appropriate suicide prevention techniques.
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Tour de Force on the Tour de France
Young scholars explore the incredible obstacles that Lance Armstrong overcame to become the second American winner of the Tour de France. They choose a person whom they admire as the subject of a 'Man in the News' or 'Woman in the News'...
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Get Real!
Students reach a consensus as to what makes a good reality-based TV show. They create their own scenarios for a new such show, and critique it, based on the criteria the class establishes.
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Carnival of Carnivores
Students research different species of meat-eating animals in their natural environments to create a Carnival of Carnivores exhibit for their classroom.
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Presidential Places
Students investigate American presidential landmarks throughout the continental United States. They research and analyze American presidential landmarks to determine their value to American history and how they have been preserved over...
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Out On A Limb In The Pacific Rim?
Young scholars act as cultural attachés to investigate and present briefings on the post-1945 histories and United States diplomatic relationships with East Asian countries. They articulate their foreign policy findings.
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In Memory
Students examine the issues that designers and civic planners face in designing memorials to historic tragedies, wars and other events. They design memorials dedicated to the events of September 11, 2001.
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Spacing Out
Students explore environmental and geological conditions on other planets in our solar system, comparing their findings to information about Earth. They propose technologies that might assist in supporting human life on those planets.
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Isn't It Ionic?
Students research the properties and health risks of organic chemical solvents. They create a Safety with Solvents newsletter to share with others in their school and community.
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Photo Forgery
Students inspect examples of manipulated photos and explore the technology and issues behind doctored photos. They hold an in-depth discussion about the responsibility of the photojournalist and news editor to show true photos.
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A Sea-nic Perspective
Students brainstorm topics related to the health of our world's oceans. They create presentations about specific issues affecting oceans for display in a classroom exhibit. They write letters of invitation to guests to view the exhibit.
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Futuristic Flights
Students study the orbital space plane, NASA's proposed spacecraft of the future. They work in groups to plan missions to take place twenty years from now and design orbital space planes in which to carry out the missions.
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2002: The Year In Review
Students research and create a book highlighting significant events and trends throughout the world in the year 2002. Then, through creative writing, they respond to the events or trends themselves and how they affected our world.
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Confronting College
Students investigate what they need to meet their future academic goals, then investigate the college admissions process by preparing materials for a mock college fair.