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A Grand Showing
High schoolers promote philanthropy. In this service learning lesson, students create video documentaries based on service learning projects they completed and then share the video with their peers and community. 
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Pirates: Fact or Fiction?
Students gain an understanding of what pirates are and to prove they really did and do exist. They discuss the different myths the students have about pirates as compared to what the documentary discusses.
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The Ultimate Athletic Background
Eighth graders analyze the criteria used to identify "Soul of a Champion" athletes.  In this Current Events lesson, 8th graders write, edit and organize a script for a “live” documentary on the athlete. Students rehearse and perform...
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Race, Culture, And Identity in Daughter From Danang (Part 1)
Students examine cultural identity. They watch the PBS documentary, 'Daughter From Danang,' answer discussion questions, and write an essay regarding the characters ethnicities and stereotypes portrayed in the film.
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All About Me
Students produce a slide show documentary designed to help them recognize their individuality, respect each other's differences, and discover what makes them unique. They examine the concept of digital portfolios. It is designed to...
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The Millennium Promise in Africa
Students compete activities related to the viewing of a documentary film.  After viewing the documentary, The Dairy of Angelina Jolie and Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa, students participate in a discussion of the leading factors leading to...
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A Walk Through Time
Students investigate the types of footwear worn during ten periods of history.  In this secondary, art/math/social studies lesson, students view documentaries and popular films to study the time periods.  Students research the...
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The Candid Camera
Students examine the influence of photographer Jerome Liebling on documentary films. They read and discuss an article, take photographs, and create an original photo essay and artist statement.
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Conspiracy after the Storm: Editing Dual Murder Plots in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'
Students edit scenes from Shakespeare's The Tempest in documentary fashion and perform their edited scripts. For this play analysis lesson, students read through Act 2 and 3 and discuss how and why to cut lines in a play. Students create...
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Viking History
Students learn about the history of the Vikings by watching videos, reading books, and writing journal entries pretending they were Vikings. In this Vikings lesson plan, students also make a long ship out of a milk carton.
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Cesar Chavez Biographic Timeline
Students discuss Cesar Chavez. They watch as the teacher demonstrates making a KWL chart. Students make a chart, filling in their answers under the headings. Students watch a video about Cesar Chavez. The teacher demonstrates making a...
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Watsons Go To Birmingham--1963Patricia Wachholz
High schoolers research the 1960s to prepare for reading the book, The Watsons Go To Birmingham, by Christopher Paul Curtis. They watch a documentary, create a timeline, and listen to music from the 1960s.
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Africanized Honey Bees And Society
Students investigate how information is disseminated about honey bees and other insects. They make a list of key words and phrases, or even write a brief summary of their impressions of insects and their relatives after viewing the movie.
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Nervous Conditions
Pupils read Nervous Conditions and explore freedom and oppression. They discuss types of oppression and list examples of discrimination. They create collages or timelines about the novel. They research present day Zimbabwe and make a...
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The Power of Persuasion
Ninth graders examine the use of corporal punishment in Canada.  In groups, they make their own advertisement trying to persuade others to support or disagree with the practice.  They also write a persuasive essay and draw an image...
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The Red Badge of Courage: A New Kind of Realism
Students research the Civil War and make connections between the war and the interpretation of the war in the novel The Red Badge of Courage to help them understand realism. In this Civil War recounting lesson, students complete several...
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Our Energy
Fifth graders research energy sources used in the United States. In this energy sources lesson, 5th graders work in teams to research various energy sources. Students complete a worksheet for the research and make a short video of a...
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Growing Up Online
Ninth graders participate in an activity as a web designer.  In this technology lesson plan, 9th graders explore how the choices made by web designers affect how people use a site.  Students analyze effective and ineffective...
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Coming to America
Students present tableaus showing scenes from The Memory Coat,  a book about immigration. For this tableau lesson, students examine the cover of the book and make predictions about what is happening and who the people are. They...
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Smoking: The Truth Unfiltered
Students view a PSB "In the Mix" documentary about smoking and tobacco abuse prevention. They discuss the video, identify the physical risks and effects of smoking and analyze smoking advertisements for marketing techniques.
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Hero Highlights
Young scholars create documentaries. In this Vodcast instructional activity, students in high school interview elementary school young scholars regarding highlights of their lives. High school students create Vodcasts of the interview...
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How Different Authors Treat Similar Themes - Elephants of Africa
Students watch videos about similar themes presented by two different authors about elephants and their relationship with humans. In this theme analysis lesson, students watch video segments, visit the given websites, and complete...
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Harvesting the River Lesson Plan: Taking an Oral History
Students practice researching history through oral traditions.  In this U.S. History lesson, students examine an online exhibit titled Harvesting the River, in which students interview someone from the story.  Students utilize...
Facing History and Ourselves
Emmett Till: Choosing to Remember
Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till and civil rights activist, believed that her son's murder was the last straw before public outrage over racial injustice spilled over into the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. A history...