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A Bill Becomes A Law

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students discover how a bill becomes a law. In this Legislative Branch lesson, students simulate a bill making its way through the House and the Senate. Students author their own bills in this simulation.
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Prohibition Then; MADD Today

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine consumer traits. In this economics instructional activity, students examine the separate histories of Prohibition and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Students participate in a classroom simulation to discover how the...
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Townsite Era

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students learn about the Townsite Era and are able to explore who they were and how they lived at that time. In this Townsite Era students create their own map of the Loma Linda are, design their own community and use a computer...
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Los Californios

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research the culture of Los Californios through primary sources. They examine maps and draw timelines of California historical dates. They investigate deeds and s of ranches and simulate property transactions.
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Just how broken is the Senate?

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders examine the role of the Senate in the United States.  In this American Government lesson, 12th graders read various articles and answer questions to these articles.  Students write a letter to their Senator on a...
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Reading Trees: Understanding Dendrochronology

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine tree-ring dating and discuss the lack of water the settlers in Jamestown faced. They create paper tree rings, simulate rain patterns, and describe the history of construction paper tree sequences.
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Basic Animal Behavior in Domesticated Animals

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Pupils investigate animal behavior, examining the nervous system and the physiology of the brain and the fight or flight response. They simulate animal behaviors and discuss the difference between an instinct and a behavior.
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Global Change- Time and Cycles

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Young scholars study trees and their growth.  In this investigative instructional activity students work in groups to reconstruct a 50 year climatic history using a simulated tree ring. 
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The Information Revolution: A Hypothetical Case

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers consider the implications of the information revolution. In this information age lesson, students discuss informatics and the misuse of information. High schoolers form a fictional bureau of information control and hold a...
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Governance

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students participate in talking circles. In this self-governance lesson, students examine human rights from the perspective of Native Americans. Students must set up a self-government model for the reserve described.
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Play House

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers take a closer look at representative government. In this House of Representatives lesson, students discuss their local representative in Congress and research his or her responsibilities. Middle schoolers then...
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Post- Modernism

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students participate in a lesson that investigates post-modernism in American literature. They conduct the lesson with the help of reading "America" by Ginsberg to create context. Then students define the genre and the culture that has...
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New York City: Passionate About Shakespeare

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read passages from Shakespeare and have a Town Hall meeting in which they defend Shakespeare as part of American culture.
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Explorations of Lewis and Clark

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students research the Louisiana Purchase. Groups of students are given the choice of topic for a creative project. Pretending to be Lewis and Clark, students write a report to President Jefferson describing their expedition. Other...
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You Decide

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders, who live on a Native American reservation, investigate how land management is addressed at Tribal Council meetings. They participate in a simulation of a meeting as the discover the workings of tribal government. They...
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Chinese New Year's Firecrackers Lesson

For Teachers All
Students make 'firecrackers' out of rolled cardboard tubes to simulate Chinese New Year's firecrackers.
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Problem in Inarqi

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students practice identifying and solving problems. They assume a role to solve an authentic problem. During the simulation, students explain the structure of the government and reasons for adopting that particular structure. They...
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Civil Society in Iraq

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Learners use core questions to learn about the concept of a civil society. The dynamics of the war in Iraq serve as an example of a society that is in turmoil. They also develop an imagined society organization that would help promote...
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Negotiating Treaties

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders recognize the interaction between early settlers and indigenous people in the U.S. They recognize the impact of the Indian Removal Act on displaced Natives in the early West and the impact on Native attitudes today.
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Terminating the War between the Allies and Japan

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders examine the arms race that took place in the period leading up to and during World War II that produced the atomic bomb. They analyze differing perspectives on terminating the war between the Allies and Japan. They ...
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Why Do We Separate Power?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the separation of powers that are outlined in the Constitution. The lesson includes essential questions that are used to guide the research. The information is used to increase knowledge of how power is used in...
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Coming to America

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders listen to the song America by Neil Diamond, view pictures of Ellis Island, and role play as processing officers who evaluate, classify and recommend which immigrants can stay in America.
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Federal Reserve Bank

What Really Caused the Great Depression?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Falling wages. Rising unemployment. Falling prices. Sound familiar? Young economists look at the role the US banking system had in causing the Great Depression.
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Cold War Conflicts

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students participate in extensive discussion about the Cold War and then analyze and express their opinions (at least one for each of the 3 questions) posting them to a discussion board.