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Unit Plan

Building Evidence-Based Arguments: Grade 9

For Teachers 9th Standards
High schoolers investigate the dilemma of a proportional response with a lesson about the history of terrorism and militant extremists in the United States. As they examine memos from the FBI and speeches from President Bush and Obama,...
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Unit Plan
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Echoes & Reflections

Jewish Resistance

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Resistance to the Holocaust took on many forms. Learners explore the passive and active resistance of Jewish people who continued their practices and observances, as well as organized resistance against the evils of the Nazis. An...
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Unit Plan
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Echoes & Reflections

The "Final Solution"

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Nazi policies shifted from deportation and imprisonment to extermination of the Jewish people in death camps in the "Final Solution." Learners examine photos of artifacts, read poetry written by survivors, analyze testimony from...
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Lesson Plan
Little Kids Rock

The Latin Rhythms of “Despacito”

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
When you hear the first few beats of "Despacito," the unrivaled Latin pop hit of 2017, you can't keep your feet from moving! A music analysis lesson plan examines the intoxicating hit by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee and introduces the...
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Activity
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Sam Houston: A Study in Leadership

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Learners read a short excerpt from a speech by Sam Houston and answer corresponding questions as well as engage in additional activities, including writing a persuasive essay and discussing topics in small groups. The resource helps lay...
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Activity
US Institute of Peace

Simulation on The Cambodia Peace Settlement

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Can there be peace in Cambodia? Immerse your class in a realistic negotiation setting during a riveting simulation. Learners assume the roles of key players in a group sparring with an opposing group to try to achieve peace in the midst...
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Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing an Argument: Innovation in America

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Are American young people prepared to become tomorrow's leaders in technological innovation, or does an obsession with being cool sidetrack essential skills? That is the question freshmen and sophomores must address in a performance task...
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Unit Plan
Bill of Rights Institute

Preserving the Bill of Rights

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
Consider how America's founding fathers and their experiences contributed to the rights we all enjoy today. A collection of reading, writing, and collaborative exercises prompt high schoolers to think about the ways their current lives...
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Lesson Plan
Media Education Lab

The Ethics of Propaganda

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What are the short and long-term consequences for consumers and producers of modern media propaganda? Class members ponder this essential question as their unit study of ethics of propaganda concludes. After examining two case studies,...
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Lesson Plan
Media Education Lab

Understanding Viral Messages

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Imagine advertising for a product but not being paid to do so. Welcome to the world of Viral Messaging. Class members first view a T-Mobile flash mob video that went viral and has been seen by over 14 million viewers. After analyzing the...
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Lesson Plan
Media Education Lab

Propaganda in Context

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Board Game Helps Fight Real World Ebola," a video produced by Voice of America, provides the text for a guided instructional activity that asks viewers to analyze the propaganda techniques used in the video. Groups then select a example...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fighting Fake News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Fake news. Alternative facts. Internet trolls. In an age of Newspeak, it's increasingly important to equip 21st century learners with the skills needed to determine the legitimacy of claims put forth on social media, in print, and in...
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Scottsboro Boys and "To Kill a Mockingbird": Two Trials for the Common Core

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Here's a must-have resource for anyone reading To Kill A Mockingbird or using Harper Lee's award-winning novel in a classroom. The packet contains Miss Hollace Ransdall's first-hand, factual account of the trials of the Scottsboro Boys,...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Diving into Iceland's Genetic Pool

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Investigate ethical issues surrounding the Decode project in Iceland. Middle and high schoolers take the positions of the Icelandic government, scientific researchers, and citizens and defend or refute the Decode project in a Reykjavik...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Can Scientists Discover a Limit to Discovery?

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Is there anything left to discover? Evaluate opposing sides of the debate regarding whether or not there is a future for scientific discovery. Middle and high schoolers assess quotations from the articles included to evaluate claims and...
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Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

Historical Detective: Edward Alexander Bouchet and the Washington-Du Bois Debate over African-American Education

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young scientists meet Edward Alexander Bouchet who, in 1876, was the first African American to receive a PhD in Physics. This two-part instructional activity first looks at the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois about...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Asthma: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Two activities teach middle schoolers about asthma and how it can affect people's lives. After reading a series of articles and watching two videos that provide background information about asthma, pupils design an interactive game that...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Online Safety: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Recognize risky behaviors and avoid them! That's the big idea behind two activities designed to teach middle schoolers to think critically about online safety. After reading background articles about protecting online identity,...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Bike Safety: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Two activities teach tweens and teens about bike safety. After reading articles about bike safety, class members design tags with important safety reminders that can be attached to bikes. Groups then create a dance video that...
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Fannie Lou Hamer and the Civil Rights Movement in Rural Mississippi

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Good primary resources, offering different perspectives on important issues and events, are hard to find. A packet of 12 primary source images, videos, audio recordings, records, and newspaper articles related to the 1960s civil rights...
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Frederic Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, although dissimilar in their backgrounds, were united in their views about slavery. A set of 14 primary sources permits scholars to examine the views of these two powerful men.
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

The Fifteenth Amendment

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Fifteen primary sources provide a context for a study of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The packet captures the excitement for the changes promised by the amendment as well as the backlash against it.
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A set of 14 primary sources provides background for a study of Lorraine Hansberry's drama, A Raisin in the Sun. Featured are images from stage productions of the play, white supremacy protests, a clip from a television interview, and...
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin has generated controversy since its publication in 1852. Here is a set of 12 primary sources that capture the controversies of the times while adding dimension and depth to any study of the novel.