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The Monroe Doctrine: Whose Doctrine Was It?
Was James Monroe the sole contributor of the Monroe Doctrine? Young scholars study the doctrine and cite evidence to show contributions of John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson in its formulation.
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Kosovo: A Thousand Year Old Border Conflict
Students present proposals and negotiate with other representatives to bring lasting peace to the area through a simulated "Summit Conference."
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Blasphemy! Salman Rushdie and Freedom of Expression
Students explore the concepts of blasphemy, censorship and freedom of expression through the lens of Salman Rushdie. They also consider how these issues have been reflected in US history.
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Aristotle's Six Elements Of A Play
Fifth graders view the play, The Ant and the Grasshopper. They define Aristotle's six elements of a play. At the end of the instructional activity, 5th graders be asked to participate in the play by acting like busy ants. This...
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Frisbee Baseball
Students keep track of the number of tosses it takes them to reach each base, and encourage team members and recognize their successes. To make this activity fit the level of older classes, measure distances and figure averages as you play!
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Money Math Match
Students hunt for the classmate who holds a bag of coins equal in value to theirs, study that different combinations of coins can represent the same amount of money and practice using coins to represent a set value in different ways.
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The Perfect Pet
Students take on role of an associate in a pet shop and help imaginary customers compare pets for sale.
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Expressing a Condition with "If"
Before presenting the material to your classes, review different constructions of the conditional tense. This teacher's guide provides several examples and role-play opportunities with your class. Dialogue to build familiarity with the...
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Les Métiers (Jobs and Professions)
Work a few of these activities into your unit on jobs and professions for beginning French speakers. This teacher's guide focuses on feminine and masculine word endings, and introduces the teacher to different opportunities for oral...
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The Emancipation Proclamation Through Different Eyes
Students examine how various segments of the American population viewed the Emancipation Proclamation. They read the Emancipation Proclamation, analyze key terms and statements in the document, and participate in a debate.
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Words In The News
A complete resource from BBC World Service provides informational text for English or ESL classes to teach vocabulary, grammar, and reading skills. Learners participate in small group work, whole class discussions, and role-plays to...
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Macbeth News Broadcast
Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...
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Persuasive Speech in Julius Caesar
After reading Julius Caesar 1.2 and 1.3, break your class into pairs for this role-play. Each pair will receive one of four prompts (or more, if you create additional examples), in which one person tries to persuade the other to do...
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"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow"
Do you want to live forever? After reading Kurt Vonnegut’s short story, “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” class groups adopt the roles of an ethics committee, product manufacturers, concerned scientists, and potential users of an...
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Search Warranted?
Young readers work on evaluating claims in a piece of informational text with the article "In New York, It's Open Bag or Find Exits" from the New York Times. They analyze current search procedures implemented to fight terrorism and...
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Environmental Justice in Chester, PA
Over several days, learners communicate and defend an argument regarding environmental justice issues in Chester, PA. After discussing the issue and viewing a video about the location of several toxic waste facilities in Chester, they...
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Encouraging Answers
What is the celebration of Columbus Day really about? Older learners use inquiry-based methods to find out who Columbus really was and what motivated his journeys. They take on the roles of town officials who must consider whether or not...
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Limiting Factors for Populations
The "Bottled Bacteria" activity instructions are a bit unclear, but the remaining activities investigating limiting factors in ecosystems are well-written. Learners model the exosystem of a bear and a herd of deer. They set up a...
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Should Art Be for Art's Sake?
Young scholars examine how European-America aestheticians (philosophers of art) do not all agree about the value and definition of art. students examine how some cultures do not have a distinct word or definition for art.
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Goals, Goals, Goals
Students list the benefits of goal-setting. They describe the steps in a goal setting process. Students practice all the steps of the goal-setting process. They have an opportunity to observe how goal setting can improve performance and...
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What Would You Do?
Young scholars explain how we all face tough decisions everyday. They show how they respond to those events reveals who they are and where they are in their character/moral development. Students predict how to deal with peer pressure and...
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Debate: Should the U.S. Annex the Philippines?
Building an argument with supporting evidence is a vital skill. Learners engage in a debate over the annexation of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. They take on the perspective of an individual from that time period,...
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Showdown on the Frontier
Especially critical following a series of shootings in schools, theaters, and religious buildings, it's safe to say that we need to evaluate the current laws on gun control. Eighth graders read a New York Times article in order to better...
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The Law: Child Protection
Tenth graders investigate child protection laws and the services they provide. They describe the differences between voluntary and involuntary placement. They role-play as child protection workers and investigate cases and recommend...