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Laws and Force in Law Enforcement
Students investigate the issues of police brutality, use of excessive force, and the underlying issues by participating in a round-table discussion. They compare how these issues are explored differently in different types of...
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Reading the Movies: Another Approach To Teaching Critical Thinking Skills And Writing
Students explore the elements of film to analyze character, action, and the themes in the movie, "Quiz Show." The lesson plan encourages students to make personal connections and real life applications as they view the movie, critically.
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What Now?
Students consider local and national divisiveness over the presidential elections by examining a New York Times editorial and then writing op-eds suggesting how to address post-election discord in their schools and/or communities.
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Fair Judgment
Students consider the demands of the judicial process and work in small groups to write editorials in response to the one that is read in class. For homework, they grade a television judge and write reflective essays.
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A Free and Open Press: Evaluating the Media
Students compare and critically evaluate the different media as sources of news, develop criteria for defining "news", experience the editorial process of selecting news stories and detect bias in news reporting.
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Crisis Management
Students research the issues facing President Bush and write short political commentaries predicting what course the president take. For homework, they write editorials stating what they think the president should do to best serve the...
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A New Deal for Peace in a Land of War
Students explore the causes and effects of recent conflicts in the Balkans, and discover the current peacekeeping attempts by NATO and the new Yugoslav government. They research an aspect of the Kosovo conflict and prepare skits based...
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Scooting Away from Justice?
Young scholars examine President Bush's July 2007, decision to commute the 30-month sentence of former White House official, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby by reading a New York Times article. They scan editorial sources on various sides of...
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Looking at Life through the Creation of Personal Metaphors
Students focus on the creation of personal metaphors, which are first illustrated in pictures and caricatures and then extended to descriptive/analytical paragraphs. They teach the lesson to others using their own personal metaphors as...
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Kicking It Around
Students analyze the recent boom in women's sports, focusing on the Women's World Cup Soccer tournament to examine various people's views about women athletes. They write a newspaper article summarizing what they learned in their...
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Gender Bender
Students explore the effects of Title IX. In addition, tudents create revised rulebooks for a sport in their school based on their understanding of Title IX and write a related article for the school newspaper.
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Swift Response
Young scholars examine how matters of national security affect the press' ability to practice free speech. They read and discuss an article regarding the Swift program, discuss opinions about patriotism and the press, and write a letter...
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What's Being Done?
Students explore the concept of animal welfare. In this philanthropy lesson, students examine legislation that supports animals in their state as well as the role of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals....
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Has Peace Finally Settled in the Middle East?
Students evaluate the changes made in the Palestine National Council charter and their potential impact on the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations. They write a brief essay focusing on an article from an Israeli or Palestinian...
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A Tongue-Twisting Language Arts Lesson
Students discover enunciation and alliteration by reading tongue twisters in class. In this language arts lesson, students listen and repeat some of the classic childhood tongue twisters along with their teacher. Students write their...
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Civil Rights after MLK and RFK
Students are assigned to groups representing minority populations who produce a research project in a digital format from the list. A few of the choices are: speech, letter to the editor, editorial cartoon, etc.
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Pachyderms on Planes! The Amazing Angolan Ambassadors
Students investigate international aid by researching the history of Angola. In this world crisis lesson, students investigate the history, civil wars and poor economy of Angola and discuss ways to turn the poor nation around. Students...
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Speak Out!
Young scholars consider their opinions on various topics and issues related to the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Then, focusing on one specific topic, each student supports his or her opinions in a...
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Discriminating Issues
Young scholars examine how U.S. Law Defines Discrimination For this lesson. They research the issues surrounding a variety of types of discrimination, and then write editorials analyzing legal and social positions on discrimination in...
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Integrating Past Continuous
Learners recognize the situations in which the use of the past continuous would be beneficial in writing. They focus on the use of the past continuous as a descriptive tense when something important occurred.
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Senior Scrapbook Assignment
Twelfth graders write creatively and reflectively on 20 different events or memories that shaped their senior year. They organize memorabilia into a scrapbook with 20 entries and create a cover that represents their senior year. They...
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Hook, Lead Line, and Thinker
Students explore, examine and study the format of an opinion essay by viewing one author and activist that is helping women find their voices by reading and discussing the article, "Stop the Presses, Boys! Women Claim Space on Op-Ed...
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Every Picture Tells a Story
Students consider controversial photos of Elian Gonzalez and decide how they, as editors of the Times, might have displayed them. They choose, discuss, and write about other famous images from photojournalism to decide what makes the
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Describing Vocabulary for Cinema, Movies, and Stars
Students name their favorite actors and actresses, and then use adjectives to describe them. They go through a list of actors and actresses and discuss the adjectives they used to decribe them. As an extension, they can write about a film.