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Crime Drama Teaching Units
Investigate the nature of crime dramas on television. What exactly are they trying to portray? Questions and a comparison chart support learners as they watch shows from Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. An oral presentation...
Media Smarts
Challenging Hate Online
Looking at the different ways organizations disseminate their messages using digital media leads to developing a digital anti-hate media campaign. Although some of the resources reflect the Canadian developer, the links provide...
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Lesson: Creating a Superhero Sculpture
Indian art depicts an amazing pantheon of gods and goddesses, each having interesting powers and purposes. Young art historians use the provided images to analyze a carved sculpture of a monkey-god. They then brainstorm the attributes...
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Lesson: Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
A great idea for a fun homework assignment! The class fully and critically analyzes Daniel Sprick's painting, Your Plans. They then generate questions to ask the artist as they attend a mock press conference. They pretend to ask the...
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lesson: Facing a Stone Situation
Can you imagine what it's like to be able to carve an animal out of stone? Kids do, as they analyze the techniques used to create the South Indian sculpture, Sacred Bull of Shiva. After a critical look at the piece, they write a...
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Lesson: Creative Containers
Even functional everyday objects can be highly ornate and thoughtfully designed. Art analysts look at the form and function of an Inca jug used to transport liquid. They consider this jug in relation to other jugs fashioned throughout...
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Musical Resources
Students complete a simulation similar to musical chairs where the chairs represent natural resources and when one is taken away, the people still stay in the game. In this natural resources lesson plan, students learn about supply,...
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Underground Railroad/Quilts
Students explore the Underground Railroad communication system. In this cross curriculum fine arts and United States history Civil War lesson, students view several websites that feature quilts constructed by slaves during the...
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Full Circle Advertising: A Look at Teen Alcohol Use and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
High schoolers analyze ads and learn about the effects of alcohol. Note that the PowerPoint mentioned in the procedure is not included, so you will need to prepare your own presentation. After the lecture, segue into fetal alcohol...
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Picture Books and the Bill of Rights
Students identify the basic freedoms of citizens in the United States. For this Bill of Rights lesson, students act out scenarios about the Bill of Rights. Students create a picture book describing the rights they've acted out.
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That's the Spirit
Is, as Walt Whitman contends, America’s “almost maniacal appetite for wealth,” the heart of the American dream? Class members grapple with this question as they read David Brooks’ article “The Commercial Republic,” and quotes that...
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Patti Smith: Dream of Life
How do artists affect and how are artists affected by the time periods in which they live? Learners examine the life and work of controversial and influential cultural artist Patti Smith as they seek answers to this essential question....
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Opinion through the Ages: Exploring 40 Years of New York Times Op-Eds
What is the role of a newspaper's Op-Ed page? High schoolers explore the New York Times' "Op-Ed at 40," an interactive feature that lets them browse through 40 years worth of op-ed features, and consider the purpose and value of this...
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Life in the Crystal Palace
Marine biologists research sea ice communities. Assign some groups to construct paper models of sea ice communities in winter, and some to construct models of them in summer. The lesson is simplistic, but the Internet resources provided...
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Casting Doubt: "Color-blind" and Nontraditional Casting Decisions
In his article about color-blind casting entitled, "Willy Loman Is Lost, Still Looking for Stimulus Plan and Some Dignity," Charles Isherwood quotes August Wilson as saying, "To mount an all-black production of a 'Death of a Salesman'...
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Chanukah Cards With Quilling
Students research the story of Chanukah and learn the traditional art of paper curling. In this Chanukah card-making lesson, students examine Jewish customs in order to create one-of-a-kind quilling on personalized holiday cards.
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St. Lucia Day Star Hat
Students celebrate Saint Lucia Day. In this Saint Lucia Day lesson, students research information about St. Lucia Day, a tradition celebrated in Sweden to honor the Queen of Light and construct a cone hat similar to those that are worn...
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Curled-Paper Winter Holiday Cards
Pupils research a winter holiday and create unique holiday greeting cards. After learning about their chosen holiday, they use the paper-folding technique called quilling to make one-of-a-kind cards.
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Surfin' Santa Card
Students explore December climates in Southern and Northern Hemispheres, including areas close to the equator. In this surfin' Santa card lesson, students research how Christmas is celebrated in warm climates and create greeting cards to...
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X-Ray Eyes
Students observe Australian X-ray paintings for information and to understand the art techniques used. Then they imagine and draw the inner organs of an animal. Students also research the anatomy of the animal to analyze the accuracy of...
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Winter Snow Globe
Students create a miniature sculpture snow globe with a winter scene inside of it. As a class they discuss winter weather and the changes in nature they might observe during the winter season. Students then create a mini snow globe using...
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Wild Constellations
Students examine the various constellations they can see at night. After listening to an expert speak, they discover how the Earth rotates and how that affects the constellations. To end the lesson, they make a representation of their...
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What's Along the Coast?
Students research an area with at least one dominant geographical feature. Then they display their findings in a realistic 3-dimensional presentation. Students also prepare ancillary material to support their project. Finally, they chart...
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Westward With the Vikings!
Students identify Norse explorers, considered by many historians to be the earliest Europeans to sail to Newfoundland. Then they recognize the superior craftsmanship of a Viking sailing ship that would have been needed to withstand the...