Curated OER
Columbine Tapes: The Media's Right To Know
Students research the Columbine tragedy. They read about the media role of watchdog on the government. Students discuss and debate how the media has been involved in the latest release of Columbine videos and other material.
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School discipline includes paddling
Students analyze corporal punishment, debating the pros and cons. Students investigate, collecting background information and interviewing school community members. If students disagree with the district's policy, students develop a...
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Police patrol the city's garbage
Students debate the pros and cons of police searching the trash of suspected drug dealers. Students collect background information, and students interview city officials and garbage collectors. Students develop a strategic plan for...
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Buckling Up May Not Help Bus Safety
High schoolers discuss the issue of putting seat belts on school buses to increase safety. Using the internet, they research the school bus safety record for their district. In groups, they interview school administrator's and debate the...
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Nearsightedness
Examine the processes scientists go through to develop their conclusions. Using the internet, research the problem of nearsightedness and identify anyone they know with the condition. Discover the debate in the science world on this...
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Teaching Controversial Science Issues Through Law Related Education
A set of lessons help aspiring scientists practice the critical thinking skills required for facing controversial issues such as evolution. As a group, they discuss what controversy consists of. They compare and constrast the concepts of...
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Parents and Alcohol: Who's To Blame
Students use the internet to read research to find out what other communities are doing to solve the problem of underage drinking. They interview local experts and law enforcement. As a class, they debate the pros and cons of different...
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Social Studies: MySpace as Crime solver
Students research how police use MySpace to apprehend criminals. They debate the pros and cons of this method and decide if the local policy needs to be changed. Students create a better policy for using the Internet and present it to...
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Puerto Rico: The 51st State?
Students explore Puerto Rico. In this Puerto Rico current events lesson, students conduct a Webquest to answer questions about Puerto Rico's culture. Students discuss whether Puerto Rico is a country or a state, and defend...
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Political Issues and Opinions
The emergent adults in your US Government class can become informed, self-aware voters. This activity enables them to form an opinion about particular political issues then identify themselves on the political spectrum. Informed and...
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Whose Lunch Money Is It?
Learners examine the legal issues involved when there is a dispute over lunch money at school. They read the case study, discuss the two points of view, and illustrate a picture of how they would solve the problem.
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Molecular Biology and Primate Phylogenetics
Pairs of high school biologists compare amino acid differences in the beta hemoglobin of different primates. They use the information collected to construct a phylogenic tree. Follow-up discussion questions are provided. This is a...
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Does My Vote Count? Teaching the Electoral College
Students comprehend the purpose, function, origin, and historical development of the electoral college. They evaluate issues of fairness and representation in the electoral process, both individually and through group discussion....
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Night: Socratic Questioning Activity
We construct meaning through discussion, so help your readers of Elie Wiesel's work Night with a socratic questioning activity. The strategy is outlined on the first page, and the second page offers some example questions you give to...
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American Political Culture
Examine American political culture with your scholars using this self-assessment lesson. Individuals rate a list of 14 values from highest to lowest, including ideas such as financial security, right to private property, justice,...
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To Group of Not to Group - That is the Question!
Upper elementary and middle schoolers use their observation skills to group different kinds of candy by similar characteristics. They debate whether or not we should classify objects. Finally, they learn that biologists have developed a...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
To Boldly Go, or Not
Here is a different way to combine social studies and science. Have your high schoolers read a passage about the 2004 vision for space exploration and then discuss the practicality, costs, and reasons for returning to the moon. Then, the...
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Hammurabi's Code: What Does It Tell Us About Old Babylonia?
Young scholars examine Hammurabi's Code. They take on the role of his council of advisors and report their "advice" to the king. They write an essay discussing an aspect of daily life that the Code exemplifies.
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Public officials, DUI and role models
Students watch a video clip discussing the story about the mayor and answer the following: What kind of people should be role models for students today +++ Are they politicians and government employees, movie stars, or professional...
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Your Tax Dollars at Work
In order to understand how tax dollars are spent, young economists use given data and graph it on a circle graph. Circle graphs are highly visual and can help individuals describe data. A class discussion follows the initial activity.
English Resources
Buddy by Nigel Hinton
The lessons that come from reading the novel Buddy by Nigel Hinton might be masked by how much you have just enjoyed the story, but don’t let an opportunity for learning pass you by. Let this learning scheme bring clarity to the ideas...
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What's in a Name? Considering the Shakespeare Authorship Question
Did Shakespeare really write all that stuff? After viewing a trailer for the film, Anonymous and reading Stephen Marche’s article “Wouldn’t It Be Cool If Shakespeare Wasn’t Shakespeare?” class groups read articles about the Shakespeare...
Curated OER
Gallery Walk Questions on Earth's Radiation Balance
Questions that can be used in a lesson on Earth's radiation balance are suggested in this resource. It is not a lesson plan, per se, but it is a list of questions for stations within a "Gallery Walk" lesson. The link to how Gallery Walks...