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The Great Migration: Pushed By The South, Pulled By The North

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students identify key features of the Great Migration. They explain the concepts of push and pull factors for migration. They create an art project which shows an understanding of the push and pull factors.
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Rights-Minded

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars expand their knowledge and understanding about the civil rights movement by investigating the lives of some of the people who contributed to it.
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Portrait of the Artist - Georgia O'Keeffe

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students study the work of Georgia O'Keefe. They use a digital camera or scanned images from a regular camera and the PhotoShop application to create a landscape of their own which reflects the important shapes or objects in their...
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The Jury's Still Out

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners examine the trials and executions of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. In groups, they use the internet to research the impact of the executions in the shape of political cartoons and writings. They discuss an article to...
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The Battle of Midway

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the Battle of Midway during World War II through an interactive website. They analyze photographs and read the descriptions. They discuss the implications of the Battle at Midway to both sides of the war.
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Stonehenge: Solving Ancient Mysteries

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the mystery of Stonehenge. In this Stonehenge lesson, students participate in a classroom activity that requires them to research information about Stonehenge as well as information regarding archeology and...
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Diseases Without Borders

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students use the European Union's struggle with Mad Cow Disease as a starting point to study the spread of infectious diseases across geographical boundaries.
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Hate-Crimes and Punishment

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research and write about the effectiveness of hate-crime legislation in the United States
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Life, Camera, Action

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate the history, politics and culture of Somalia. They analyze media coverage and portrayal of the country. They focus on the role of media in reporting on Somalia and the current debate over the film Black Hawk Down.
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Say Cheese

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students examine the differences in the working and eating conditions between the late 1800s and today. They engage in an Internet Quest for information on cheese which culminate in a hands-on cheese-making experience and tasting activity.
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Classes For The Masses

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore how class is represented in the media by developing ideas for television pilots that deal with class issues. They compile short lists of television characters from working, middle and upper classes.
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Love It or Leave It?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners identify flags by country, then research the symbolism and history of those flags in preparation for writing and delivering oral presentations. For homework, they write essays reflecting on the relationship between flags,...
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Border History

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers research primary sources to construct an outline of a border city's history.
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Movement and Migration: the Gold Nugget that launched the Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students learn what it was like to be a gold miner. In this California gold rush instructional activity, students watch a movie about the California gold rush and discuss what they learned. Students use the Internet to examine the gold...
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Teaching with Objects The Gold Nugget

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders complete activities related to the California gold rush. In this gold rush lesson plan, 4th graders go to an Internet website video that discusses the gold rush. They complete discuss miner's experiences, sing a gold rush...
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The Gold Rush Experience: Create Your Own Exhibit

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students create a virtual exhibit. For this gold rush lesson, students watch a movie about the California gold rush, view a virtual image of the gold nugget that started the gold rush and examine the sources. Students research and...
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Picky Pyramid

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students learn the food pyramid and compare their meals with suggested guidelines. Students graph their lunches, discuss the results and how their choices affect their level of energy.
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Follow The Road to Riches

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine the various events occurring at the time of the Gold Rush. They see archival photographs and hear historians talk about this era. They create a time line in order to facilitate thinking about this region during the...
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In 'Other words' Writing Gently Humorous Essays About Stereotypes

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Define and understand what stereotypes are by reading an article with stereotyping in it. Students will locate how it shows stereotyping and answer questions about the stereotypes. Finally, they will write their own pieces of original work.
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Yankee Doodle... More than Just a Catchy Tune

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Learners investigate the history of patriotic music and practice singing the tunes with classmates.  In this U.S. History lesson, students examine lyrics of the traditional song "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and discuss the differing points...
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Whitewashing History

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars 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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Defense Mechanisms

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the Cold War roots of the recent debate over the construction of United States and Russian missile defense shields. They begin by reading and discussing the article, Putin Says Russia Would Counter U.S. Shield.
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Two's Company; Is Three a Crowd?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the history of third-party politics in America. They research the impact of one third-party or independent candidate for president and develop a poster and stump speech representing that candidate's motivation for running.
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Right About Now… and Then

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students discuss significant figures in music history and read an article about the Smithsonian's Hip-Hop exhibit. In groups, they develop and curate an exhibition of hip-hop music and history using artifacts that represent relevant...