School Improvement in Maryland
Affirmative Action
Do the government's affirmative action policies promote equity in the United States? The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution and affirmative action policies come under scrutiny in an activity that asks class members to...
Curated OER
Whose History Is It Anyway? Patterns in History
Read and examine primary source material in order to analyze, synthesize, and debate information about the Great Depression. Critical analysts research various source materials related to the Great Depression. They work in teams to...
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Affirmative Defenses
Students examine what an affirmative defense is. They explore some of the substantive affirmative defenses - self defense, duress, necessity, insanity and entrapment. They determine what purposes are served by allowing different...
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Bioethics: Tool for Portfolio and Performance Assessment
Students, in cooperative studying groups, assume the affirmative or negative position of a particular issue (premise). They research the issue and participate in a debate. In addition, they write essays to complete a portfolio entry.
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School Uniforms: Debating the Issue and Creating an Advertisement
Fifth graders debate the issue of school uniforms. They research, finding supporting evidence supporting their stance. Using the Lincoln-Douglas form of debate, 5th graders discuss the positive and negative issues of the topic. They...
Curated OER
Government Lesson Plan: Lesson Plan 3
Students examine affirmative action policies. They analyze the positive/negative aspects of affirmative action. They study historical development and current status of principles, institutions, and processes of political systems.
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Negative vs. Positive Thoughts
Seventh graders see themselves and how they think they are seen, which can be sometimes quite different. Self-esteem portrait allows the student to say how they think others see them, how they see themselves, and how others do indeed see...
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Holding a 'Peace Hug' at your School
Students consider feelings. In this positivity lesson, students realize how they can create a peaceful environment with their words and actions. They discuss feelings and personal experiences as a class and expand out to the rest of...
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That's Your Side of the Story!
Twelfth graders discuss the elements of effective debating. they debate governmental issues after reseraching selected topics. With student permission, the debate may be videotaped for viewing to other classes or during open house.
Overcoming Obstacles
Having a Positive Attitude
An activity about a positive attitude sheds light on the importance of a growth mindset. Scholars define and discuss it to brainstorm a list of positive phrases that contribute to a growth mindset. Peers share positive statements about...
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Simon Dit! (Simon Says!) - Using the Imperative Tense With Pronominal Verbs
Students practice using the imperative tense of pronominal verbs. In French, they give commands, advice and suggestions. Using "Simon Says" flashcards, students play a game by responding correctly to the commands. Throughout the game,...
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Stonewall and Beyond:
Students examine issues that surround the quest for gay/lesbian equal rights, explore bias and negative stereotyping in the media and their effect on how gays and lesbians are treated, examine their own biases, and express their opinions...
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Setting Boundaries
Students identify the different relationships they are involved in. In this communication lesson plan, students discuss the importance of setting boundaries in every relationship. They cite the negative and positive consequences when...
Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 3 Day Lesson
Was the Scopes trial more complicated than a simple debate between evolutionists and creationists? As part of a structured academic controversy (SAC) activity, pupils consider multiple perspectives of the Butler Act and engage in close...
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Classroom Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Unfamiliar with the Lincoln-Douglas Debate format? Check out this resource that details the procedures of the debate, the roles and responsibilities of each participant, and the timing of each round.
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Images of Immigration
High schoolers evaluate how images of immigrants reflected political and social attitudes toward them in the United States. They interpret visual images in the context of historical and political developments.
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The Beatles and The Rolling Stones
Young scholars exchange information orally about The Beatles and The Rolling Stones during the 1960s until 1970. They work in pairs to complete a gap-fill activity from memory. Students play hangman at the beginning of the lesson.
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Bioethics: Debates in Human Genetics
Students, in groups, research and prepare a debate regarding various bioethical situations. After the debates, each student prepares a ortfolio outlining their own personal opinions.
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The House
Oú est la cuisine? Several activities are suggested here to develop and further vocabulary acquisition for your beginning French speakers. They draw pictures of different rooms in a house and place objects around the room. Then, using...
Saskatchewan Elocution and Debate Association
Grab ‘N Go Debate
Here's a resource that provides debaters with the background information and worksheets they will need when planning a policy debate. Templates and sentence frames, as well as a rationale for using debates in the classroom, are...
Carnegie Mellon University
Debate
Set your environmental studies class up to debate a current topic regarding your choice of six suggested statements about energy use in the United States. Teams read material that you have gathered and then form their arguments. The...
Lisa Staab Shadburn
Play Therapy Activities to Enhance Self‐Esteem
Discover activities to help learners increase self-awareness, build peer and family relations, and develop positive self-esteem. Here you'll find six suggestions for instilling a sense of confidence and self awareness in youngsters. Each...
Curated OER
The Family (La Famille)
Here's the teacher guide to a unit on family and family vocabulary. Sift through the ideas (a pre-test, lesson activity, and closing activity are all included), and include them in your own unit. Since visual connections are a great way...
Classroom Law Project
What should I watch for in the debates?
Prepare your classes for election year debates with a series of activities that model how to watch televised debates and how to evaluate the moderators as well as the debaters.