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Give Peace a Chance
Students research protest songs of the Vietnam War era. They search for information on the artists and motivation for the lyrics. They interview people who remember the music from that era and bring back information they found.
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Cherokeee Myth: Origin of Strawberries
Fourth graders read a Cherokee myth about the origin of strawberries. After reading the story, they add another chapter to it and read their additions to the class. Or, as a group activity, they each write a few sentences and then pass...
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Food's Altered Ego
Students write in their journals where they believe food comes from. After reading an article, they examine the proceses of cultivation and sale of genetically modified foods. Using the internet, they research specific countries and...
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Density
Young scholars explore and analyze the relationship between density, mass, volume and ratios. They complete a lab to define mass and volume and then show the density that equals a mass and volume formula. Their lab involves a suitcase,...
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The Right and the Power
Students read, discuss and analyze the New York Times article "In Wartime, Who Has the Power?" and relate the article to the Constitution. They then brainstorm how the president and Congress make decisions about the war in Iraq and write...
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Whitewashing History
Students revisit issues of civil rights in the U.S. They use the recent national discussion of retiring Senator Strom Thurmond's 1948 Dixiecrat Presidential campaign as a starting point.
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The Race to Learn
Young scholars explore the history of education and race in the United States. By researching Supreme Court cases dealing with race and education, students examine the ways in which these cases have reflected changing social and cultural...
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Atmospheric Pressures
Students research past, present and proposed climate change policies. They develop timelines based on different predictions of climate change effects and assess the likelihood of each timeline playing out in reality.
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Rushing the Border
Students discuss the issues of immigrants who overstay their legal welcome. They explore the recent changes in immigration registration, and participate in a roundtable discussion.
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Simply the Best
Students determine whom they consider "the best" performer in a variety of entertainment industries and discuss how to accurately measure greatness. They create bar graphs comparing statistics of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds and the 1998 New...
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Time and Time Again
Students analyze the effects of time zone differences on how we function as a global community, focusing particularly on the turn of the millennium as a way for students to calculate time zone differences.
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Safety Up in the Air
Students explore the controversy over a bill giving pilots the option to become armed federal law enforcement officers. They brainstorm other possible security measures for airplanes and airports.
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Making the Personal Political
Students identify controversial topics on which they have strong opinions and model their own persuasive opinion pieces after the featured article. They compose persuasive essays on controversial issues that "hit home" for them.
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Wanted: A Breath of Fresh Air
Students examine the causes and effects of air pollution, as well as ways in which various industries and government organizations are aiming to control it. They research the topic on the Internet and create posters based on their research.
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A Report From the 21st Century - Mark Twain
Students look at Twain, the humorist - considered America's favorite storyteller and the funniest man in the world at the time. Students stretch the truth about a personal experience, and consider how delivery affects impact.
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Grade Expectations
Learners explore how the ten percent plan and other education initiatives promote diversity, as well as about their practical effects on students from different types of educational and economic backgrounds. They discuss college...
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Life and Death Decisions
Students defend contrasting perspectives concerning the purpose of medicine and the issues surrounding euthanasia.
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And Justice For All
Students compare three justice systems currently in place in the United States: the civilian criminal justice system, the military criminal justice system (courts-martial) and the secret wartime tribunals that President Bush has proposed...
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Public I or Private I
Students explore the topic of national identity cards in the United States as a starting point in determining what types of information should be publicly accessible to the government and private industry about specific individuals.
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Mock Congress
Students get involved in the legislative process of law-making by assuming different roles and working with contemporary issues. Working in small groups, students write and work on different bills. Evaluation rubric included.
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Photo Forgery
Students inspect examples of manipulated photos and explore the technology and issues behind doctored photos. They hold an in-depth discussion about the responsibility of the photojournalist and news editor to show true photos.
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A Safe Place For Hate?
Students explore the conflict over the admission of hate-related information onto web portals and other web sites, and, after representing the point-of-view of the constituencies involved in this conflict, posit possible solutions to the...
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All Creatures Microscopically Small
Students investigate physical and behavioral characteristics of different microbes and create research- based 'Microbe Biographies.' students compare microbe sizes and examine how size of a microbe relates to its physical and behavioral...
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Get a Life!
Students read a New York Times article associated with the issue of the decoding for genomes, the creation of life in scientific laboratories and various genetic engineering topics. They present speeches of the pro's and con's of these...