Students investigate the role of fleas, a well-known parasite, in the European Black Death of the 14th century. They research this topic on the Web and create posters or multimedia presentations showing how fleas spread the disease.

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Grades:

6th - 8th

Students research death records in order to contrast causes of death in the past with those of today and compare the ages of death of males and females in the 1800s.

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Grades:

7th - 8th

Students read and analyze poems about death. They analyze the poems in small groups, listen to an audio clip, define key vocabulary terms, complete a worksheet and Venn diagram, and prepare a presentation of a poem comparison.

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Grades:

9th - 12th

Students analyze the Eighth Amendment and how the U.S. Supreme Court makes determinations about what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment through the example of the death penalty for juveniles. They read a variety of cases and discuss their position in a class discussion.

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Grades:

9th - 12th

Students examine their own examineing of capital punishment as well as the recent reversal by some conservative politicians in their public stance on the death penalty. They debate the information gathered through research and discussion and re-articulate their positions on the death penalty.

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Grades:

6th - 12th