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Voyage to the New World

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars examine the exploration of the New World. They write a descriptive account of the first encounter between Europeans and Native Americans, analyze and label maps, plot Columbus's journey on a map, and write a chapter summary.
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Dilemmas and Dealing with Them - Secrets

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students read an article about the secrets young people keep from adults with regards to the internet. Small groups analyze a worksheet of common dilemmas and agree on solutions for each problem. The whole class shares solutions for...
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Bush Fires

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students consider the effectiveness of backburning operations. In this current events lesson, students analyze a photograph of firemen fighting bush fires in efforts to determine what was taking place when the photograph was taken....
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Sport and Security

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine world sports. In this current events lesson, students analyze a photograph of a sport scene to determine what was taking place when the photograph was taken. Students respond to the provided discussion questions about...
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The Oblate Sisters of Providence and Early African American Education in Baltimore

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders examine the educational system for free African-Americans in Baltimore in the early 19th century.  For this American History lesson, 8th graders read a handout and answer focus questions.  Students analyze...
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What Now?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider local and national divisiveness over the presidential elections by examining a New York Times editorial and then writing op-eds suggesting how to address post-election discord in their schools and/or communities.
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Civil War Battles: The Reporter's Perspective A WebQuest

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this research skills lesson, students research the job of reporting for new agencies during the American Civil War as they complete the provided...
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Inventing and Presenting Unit 1: Analyzing Nonfiction and Inventing Solutions

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read about and identify patterns in the invention process. Students discuss and write about information learned from research. Students compile a list of problems, choose one, write a problem statement, and compile a list of at...
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The Boreal Forest "In the News"

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students examine and discuss the current issues surrounding the deforestation of Canada's boreal forest. They also explore the issue through the eyes of the forestry industry.
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Using the Question Matrix

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Young scholars analyze and develop questions about a text. For this asking questions lesson, students read an article and analyze the information within the text. Young scholars then form and answer questions about the text.
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Whose Neighborhood is It? Whose America is This?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Pupils use electronic resources to study immigration issues, analyze immigration issues dealing with security, economics, lawfulness, culture, and human rights, and discuss possible solutions. Students then express their opinions by...
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Held Hostage

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars follow news coverage of the India Airlines hijacking as presented by international newspapers and magazines in countries directly affected by this event.
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Russian Roulette

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze causes and effects of historic examples in which two groups of people in the same country were fighting for leadership of that country. They obtain and discuss basic background information on the current conflict on...
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Interactive Duty

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider the role of multimedia news features. They analyze the New York Times coverage of the president's State of the Union address.
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Thinking Out Loud

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students share opinions about whether a series of statements from the internet constitute facts or opinions. They read and analyze blogs published in on the web in order to understand the use of fact, opinion, and tone of voice when...
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Are Cellphones Killing Honeybees?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students read an article about how honeybee are sensitive to the electromagnetic fields generated by cellphones. In this ESL activity, students work as partners to complete a table of information relating to the many bee species in...
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The Collection

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students consider the impact of museum collections. In this global studies lesson plan, students read an article and contribute to group discussions that analyze what a collection is. The article is not included with the lesson plan.
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Shifting Wins

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze how the outcome of the 2002 midterm elections changed the balance of power in the government. They write a news analysis and evaluation of how the nation be governed in the future.
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Nobel Peacekeeping

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the goals of eradicating poverty, preventing conflict and promoting democracy--outlined in Kofi Annan's 2001 Nobel Peace Prize lecture--as they apply to today's news.
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Let the Games Begin

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Pupils analyze how the New York Times uses small feature stories to cover aspects of a major international event, such as the Olympics, before it actually occurs. They brainstorm their own ideas for short feature stories on the Olympics
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No Publicity, Bad Publicity?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the factors that can influence a celebrity's media image and marketplace viability. They read an article, answer discussion questions, role-play advisors to a studio head, and write a letter to a studio head.
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Letter to the Editor

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze and interpret letters to the editor, and use this information to write their own. Groups of students analyze letters, then submit one of their own design to an actual newspaper.
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Conflict and Compromise

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners examine opinions about the Boston Tea Party. In this colonial America activity, students analyze several primary sources about the Tea Party and then write essays that reveal efforts to compromise as well as efforts to instigate...
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Re-Viewpoints From 2002

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore how editorials use various devices to convey a message to a reader. They select key news topics from 2002 and write their own editorials.