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Using Old Maps as Tools to Explore Our World
Learners explore historical maps. In this primary source analysis instructional activity, students uncover the meanings in selected historical maps as they use them to enhance lessons on historical events. Samples for classroom use are...
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Guantanamera: A Poem and a Song
Learners compare revolutionary actions of Jose Marti and Pete Seeger. In this Cuban folk song activity, students listen to the song "Guantanamera" and discuss the content. Learners read articles on the poet and the songwriter and create...
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"Jazz is About Freedom": Billie Holiday's Anti-lynching Song Strange Fruit
Working in small teams, learners analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of...
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Interpreting Mythology Through Dance
Learners use abstract movement to tell the story of Re's journey. In this ancient Egypt lesson, students choreograph locomotor and non-locomotor movements to describe ancient Egyptian journeys to the afterlife as described in Egyptian...
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Lessons for Beginner Atlatl Users
Ninth graders research weapons of the Aboriginal people and throw a dart with and without the use of an atlatl. In this cross curricular lesson, 9th graders research the weapons of the Aboriginal people. They throw darts with and without...
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A More Perfect Union?
Students read and discuss the article "Bush Insists U.S. Must Not Fail in Iraq." They work in small groups to answer three questions based on their category by searching for the answers in the article read in class.
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A Sense of Place
Students read "Fish Tale: Falling For a Live One" from The New York Times and discuss the methods and techniques the writer uses to create a strong mental image. Students pick a place in their community they wish to write about and...
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Strategies for Success
Students share opinions about common bad habits, read about behavior economics by reading and discussing article "Your Plate Is Bigger Than Your Stomach," identify goals and strategies designed to improve negative behaviors, and test...
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The Sahara: Home of the Tuareg
Students study inhabitants of the Sahara. In this Tuareg culture instructional activity, students explore the how the Tuareg people adapt to their environment as they research specific Internet sites.
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Lewis and Clark: Prized Possessions
Students consider the role of Sacagawea as part of the Corps of Discovery. In this Lewis and Clark expedition lesson, students discover details about Sacagawea's wampum belt and then create their own wampum belts using their computer and...
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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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Check Mate
Students share opinions about the goals and strategies of the games they play. They investigate the World Chess Championship by reading and discussion the article "In Major League of Chess, Next Year Comes So Soon." Students study the...
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Civil War Letters
Students put themselves in the shoes of American Civil War soldiers. In this Civil War instructional activity, students examine letters from the time period written by soldiers, edit the letters for grammatical errors, and then present...
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Analyzing Election Cartoons
Students are introduced to the history of political cartoons and examine both historical and modern examples. They analyze a cartoon that expresses an opinion about a current event different than their own and develop an original cartoon...
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What is American Culture
Students create what they feel is American Culture using a video camera and capturing 5 frames. They are animating parts of a poem in small groups. They decide the set up, create movable figures, and have a music section. Each person...
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It is Our Right-Don't Waste It!
Pupils explore the basic rights granted to all American citizens by the U.S. Constitution in the light of women's issues. The women's suffrage movement, the role of Susan B. Anthony, and the timeline of events on voting rights are...
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Who's in the News Bulletin Board
Students are introduced to current events through the use of a class bulletin board. They choose a person from current events to study and follow an outline to produce one or two notecards of information. They present their information...
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Group Initiatives
Students explore the names and qualities about members in the group. They each say their name and something about themselves. Students gather around in a circle. They listen to the teacher as he or she says the name of someone and throws...
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Stories of the Wrights' Flights
Learners examine primary sources to understand the work of Wright Brothers. In this aviation history lesson, students study how primary documents and images are analyzed and write essays about the signifcance of primary soures in the...
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Mystery Mollusc
High schoolers investigate the different regions of our oceans by researching the Internet. In this oceanography lesson, students discover the different jobs related to ocean research and examine their roles by reading related...
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Tropical Atlantic Aerosols
Learners analyze NASA data from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer. In this NASA data lesson, students access an assigned website to examine information from the MISR on the Terra Satellite. They determine how desert dust travels...
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Drawing The Line
Pupils explore how arbitrary borders affect communities by participating in two hands-on activities and by reading about and discussing a community divided by national borders. They investigate the borders of their own neighborhoods.
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Searching For The American Dream
Ninth graders explore the meaning of the American dream and how it has been explained in various forms. After reading various immigrant accounts, 9th graders use poetry and writing to explain how different cultures view the American...
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US Presidential Election Process and the Campaign Trail
Young scholars campaign for president. For this presidential election lesson, students discuss the process of electing presidents, write their own campaign songs, research a campaign train schedule, and create campaign maps.