Curated OER
Local Motives
Investigate current local elections across the United States with this New York Times reading lesson. Using informational text, middle and high schoolers research local elections and create their own news reports about what they...
Curated OER
The Gay '80s, '90s and '00s
After reading and discussing a news article from the New York Times regarding gay and lesbian issues of the last thirty years, students engage in several activities to explore current events. They create a timeline, either electronically...
Curated OER
Will the Supreme Court Vouch for Vouchers?
Young scholars investigate past Supreme Court decisions that have centered on education issues and assess the ways in which those decisions have impacted American education. They consider the controversies surrounding the issue of school...
California Department of Education
What’s A Hot Job?
What jobs are the next best thing? Curious career scholars explore their options in lesson three of a five-part series. Pupils research job trends and labor statistics before discussing the factors that influence occupation trends.
Curated OER
Teaching Controversial Science Issues Through Law Related Education
Discuss the differences in dialogue and debate when considering a controversial topic. Your class can work in small groups to complete a guided discussion of this controversial topic and then participate in a simulation of the Scopes...
Curated OER
Art to Zoo: India-Where Remarkable Differences Are Ordinary
Students "visit" India to learn about its culture and the lives of children in India. In this India lesson, students conduct research and report on the lives of Indian children in the form of a mock interview between a journalist and an...
Curated OER
Separate But Equal Opinions
Students examine the ways in which editorials and Op-Ed pieces respond to current events. They write editorials in response to news items from the New York Times.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Executive Exchanges
Learners explore the April, 2006, overhaul of the White House staff. They research the positions in transition and stage a press conference to introduce these changes to the public.
Carolina K-12
Are You a Democrat or a Republican? Are You Really?
Have new or soon-to-be voters examine different political parties and their platforms as they figure out which one aligns most with their beliefs. After taking a few online quizzes, students split into pairs to discuss and then in larger...
Curated OER
Devastation of Indian Quake
Learners read an online article at CNNfyi.com to determine what happened in India after an earthquake. They determine the magnitude of this earthquake and address the issue of relief efforts from other countries.
BrainPOP
World History Lesson Plan: Uncovering Essential Questions
Have you ever noticed a news story revolves around an essential question? Scholars research methods of reporting historical events. Working in groups, they use an interactive module to gather information on a historical topic, uncovering...
Curated OER
Immigration Reform: Understanding the Issue From Different Points of View
Students examine the topic of immigration reform. They conduct research on groups representing various viewpoints on immigration, write and perform a role-play, and write a persuasive essay or letter to a state senator on their views of...
Curated OER
The Art of Violence
Violence and human suffering, as represented in art and film, are the focus of an investigation of the power of visual images and the moral implications of such representations. Class members examine “Guernica,” Pablo Picasso’s massive...
Curated OER
Constitutional Issues: Watergate and the Constitution
Students take and defend positions on what conditions contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a constitutional government. They debate whether or not the government should have prosecuted Nixon over the Watergate scandal.
Curated OER
Newspapers in the Digital Age
Is journalism more or less reliable with the influx of Internet sources? Learners investigate the issues of freedom of speech, journalistic ethics, and social responsibility in the age of Twitter and Facebook. After examining the...
NPR
Same-Sex Marriage
The battle over same-sex marriage is a prevalent issue in the United States, and a valuable topic to be discussed in your social studies classroom. Here is a basic outline of introductory questions, focus questions, vocabulary, and media...
Curated OER
It's Your Right: A Civil Rights Brochure
Learners examine the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court cases in order to broaden their understanding of the US Judicial System. They research a variety of textual and Internet resources to create a tri-fold brochure,...
Curated OER
Teaching Social Studies in English
Case studies, an examination of images, and readings of passages from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are used to spark conversations in ESL/ELD social studies classes about this highly-charged topic. Using a variety of...
Federal Judicial Center
Amistad and Dred Scott—a Comparative Activity
What do slaves fighting for their freedom on board a ship and a slave fighting for his freedom in a courtroom have in common? Budding historians investigate the two different cases of the Amistad slave revolt and the Dred Scott argument....
Curated OER
Dealing With Death
Students watch and analyze a video dealing with the topic of death. They answer discussion questions, identify examples of how death is represented in popular media, write a poem, create a memory book, and write a letter to someone who...
Curated OER
Sportswriting
Students complete a variety of activities (using the Washington Post Newspaper) that reinforce concepts involved in sports writing.
Curated OER
Binge Drinking and Drug Use
Students critically evaluate young peoples' comments on under age drinking. They map out valleys tieing together communities and drinking problems in a variety of situation. In addition, they correlate drinking and education in schools...
Curated OER
The Reader's Recourse
Students discover the recourse newspapers face for reporting wrong information. After reading an article, they examine the dispute between a pharmaceutical company and the New York Times. They evaluate the roles of the editor and the...