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Stacey Abrams: Changing the Trajectory of Protecting People’s Voices and Votes
New ReviewIn this project-based learning lesson, young social scientists investigate Stacey Abrams' campaign to protect the voting rights of people across the nation. Investigators learn how to annotate assigned articles, watch videos, and collect...
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Women’s Rights: What Does It Mean to Be Equal?
New ReviewA guided-inquiry lesson asks seventh graders to research the compelling question, "What does it mean to be equal?" Guided by three supporting questions, researchers complete three formative performance tasks and gather evidence from...
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In Her Shoes: Lois Weber and the Female Filmmakers Who Shaped Early Hollywood
New ReviewLois Weber has been forgotten. So have Dorothy Davenport Reid, Gene Gauntier, and many others. High school sleuths use advanced search engines to investigate these women and discover clues to their disappearance from filmography and...
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Murder of Emmett Till: Is It Ever Too Late for Justice?
New ReviewThe murder of Emmett Till is the focus of a guided inquiry that asks scholars to research the events, the trial, recent attempts to reopen the case and the effect of the murder on people today.
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A History of the United States
New ReviewThis 262-page Core Knowledge teacher guide presents an overview of the two-volume History of the United States program designed for middle schoolers. The guide includes information about the learning strategies used, a pacing guide, the...
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Volume 2 - A History of the United States: Modern Times—Late 1800s to the 2000s
New Review The second volume of the Core Knowledge History of the United States ebook begins by asking young scholars to consider the impact immigration, industrialization, and urbanization had on the United States in the late 1800s. The text ends...
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Volume 1 - A History of the United States: Precolonial to the 1800s
New ReviewVolume One of the 299-page Core Knowledge History of the United States covers events from the Precolonial Period to the 1800s.
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Memory Items
New ReviewReady to have an "unforgettable" time in science class? Try a fun and insightful activity, suitable for a wide age group of learners. Explore how human memory works when pupils try to remember objects they've seen before comparing the...
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Democracy in Danger: Should the Right to Vote Be Protected in the Constitution?
New ReviewHigh school seniors investigate what national, state and local rules say about voting. After examining the Constitution's articles, clauses, and amendments, researchers look at videos, listen to podcasts, and read articles to gather...
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Black Women Writers: What Gets Black Women Heard?
New ReviewZora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are featured in a guided inquiry unit. High schoolers research the lives and works of these and other Black women writers and craft an argument, using evidence from their research, to...
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Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Can Words Lead to War?
New Review"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...
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2020 Protests: Is There Anything New about the 2020 Protests?
New ReviewAre marches and protests an effective form of resistance? That is the question high schoolers seek to answer in this inquiry lesson as they compare the 2020 protests to historical ones. Researchers use Venn Diagrams to compare images...
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Celebrity Social Responsibility: Does Celebrity Require Social Responsibility?
New ReviewIs much required of those to whom much is given? That's the central question asked of middle schoolers in this lesson. Scholars consider the actions of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Colin Kaepernick, Lady Gaga, and others who have taken...
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Changemakers Lesson Plans
Teens and tweens are invited to become changemakers in a five-lesson unit, asking them to investigate and share what they have learned about exemplary, contemporary Native Americans. They gather facts about their research subject, record...
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Word Warriors: The Code Talkers of Oklahoma
The battle between code makers and code breakers has been going on for centuries and is a key tool of warfare. The contributions of the Native American Code Talkers of World Wars I and II are celebrated in a lesson that features a...
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8 Ideas for Teaching National Hispanic Heritage Month
Here are eight ideas to celebrate National Hispanic Month! Scholars have the opportunity to read and discuss literature, include people and events in history, examine art, watch and discuss films, listen to and dance to music, explore...
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Doing Democracy
How do you explain democracy to a middle school classroom? A social studies resource breaks elections and the democratic process down for your class. Discussion questions, worksheets, activities that build critical thinking skills, and a...
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Public Christmas Displays and Lynch v. Donnelly
Does a Christmas display on government property violate the Constitution? Learners study the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and learn about the landmark Supreme Court case Lynch v. Donnelly through watching a documentary and...
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Individual Rights vs. The Greater Good Within the Scope of War
When, if ever, is the government justified in restricting individual rights? When, if ever, should the "greater good" trump individual rights? To prepare to discuss this hot-button topic, class members examine primary source documents,...
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Heart of the Matter
Most people have heard of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, but few have heard of Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin. Who were these guys and what did they have to do with this famous landmark event in...
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Women in Poetry
Imagine linking poetry to technology! Thirty-three lessons comprise a 6-week "Women in Poetry" unit for high schoolers. Class members research women poets, learn how to respond electronically to discussions, write their poems, create web...
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Watch Your Tone: Tone Analysis Through Music And Nonfiction
Identifying the tone of a piece of writing or the author's attitude toward the subject matter can be difficult for learners. Simplify the process with a activity that begins with skits, moves to songs and their lyrics, and then to...
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El Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Educational Activity Guide
Here's a must-have activity guide for any celebration of El Dia de Los Muertos. The colorfully 56-page packet is packed with historical background, information about Mesoamerican cultures, images of the works of famous artists, and...
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Teacher Planning Kits for New School Routines | End of Year
Support your end-of-year instruction with planning kits from PBS. Five planning kits are provided: Special Lessons and Collections; Planning Sheets for Pre-K through 5 and 6-12; Summer Bonus Resources; and Relevant Professional Learning...