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It's A Dog-Eat-Dog World
Learners examine the dangers of owning and breeding aggressive dogs. They debate whether aggressive dogs should be kept as pets. They write an essay from their point of view about aggressive dogs as pets.
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Census and Gold Rush Town
Students analyze data and form a mental picture of the make up of a gold rush town. They explain social life in a gold rush town. They use online sources to see paintings of camp life and read accounts of miners' lives.
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Galactic Inquiry
Students view NASA images of galaxies and develop a galaxy classification scheme. They compare and contrast their classification scheme with that developed by Edwin Hubble. They recognize that galaxies are collections of billions of stars.
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How Much Would You Weigh On Distant Planets?
Students study the effects of gravity on the planets of the Solar System. They view movies from the lunar Apollo missions, calculate their own weight on other planets, and propose what they might weigh on newly discovered planets around...
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The Dirt on Worms!
Fourth graders make predictions, observe, collect and record data. They investigate several soil and worm websites. Finally, 4th graders write a letter to The President which defends earthworms by explaining their value to the United...
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Area: It's What's on the INSIDE That Counts!
Second graders participate in a series of hands-on, online and multimedia activities that examine the concept of area. They view clips from the animated series Math Monsters and discuss the purpose of area and how it is used in the real...
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Images of the American Revolution
Students analyze several documents as they research the Revolutionary War. They evaluate documents and examine them for bias and perspective. They use their research to write monologues from the point of view of a famous Revolutionary...
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Roundball for Remembrance
Learners view a segment of Futures With Jaime Escalante showing the application of math in basketball, and they try to find some of these applications in a tape of a game played by their home school. This fun lesson should be very...
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On With the Show: Fifty Years of the Public Theater
Students view video clips from the program NY VOICES: "The Public" at 50, which examines Joseph Papp's passion and commitment to bring theater to diverse communities of New York. They create a playbill highlighting productions for an...
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Jefferson's Blood
Students view the video "Jefferson's Blood" and complete a series of activities, dealing with both Thomas Jefferson's public and private life, in order to better explain Jefferson as a man and politician.
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Power vs Truth
Learners explore Italian politics and warfare of the High Renaissance. They explain the effects of the Protestant Reformation and the Counter Reformation.
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Theory, Theory, Who's got the theory?
Learners analyze 5 separate theories of evolution in order to help them explain the different meanings of theory, how human values influence science, and that the scientific view of the origin of life does not involve supernatural forces.
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Finding Our Place in Time
Students utilize interviewing skills of an historian to research the time period of the 1970's. They use prior knowledge of the 1960's to explain the mood of the country in the 1970's.
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The House at 97 Orchard Street
Students examine the living quarters and belongings of immigrant families living in one tenement building spanning the years from 1830 to 1940. They explain how the national background of immigrants added to the "melting pot" of American...
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Keeping Us in Stitches Activity: Crazy-Quilt Collage Design
Students create collages using the irregular-shaped and sized pieces, decorative stitching, and applied or painted motifs that reflect the Crazy-Quilt style, and explain how and why their design fits into that style.
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It's Going to Blow Up!
Students discover the major characteristics of volcanoes on the Pacific Ring of Fire. They describe the processes that produce the "Submarine Ring of Fire." students explain the factors that contribute to explosive volcanic eruptions.
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Poet Naomi Shihab Nye
Students read and analyze poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye. They define stereotypes, view and discuss a video interview with Nye, present an oral reading of a poem, and write a persuasive letter to an author.
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Dying to Be Thin
Students view a video clip about how men and women are portrayed in the media. They gather examples from magazines and graph the results. They discuss body image to end the lesson.
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Ebola-The Plague Fighters
Students view a video clip about Ebola. They track the live of a virus and how it spreads. They participate in an activity in which they track the movement of germs on an envelope.
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A Call to Jihad
Students view a video clip about Islam in the Middle East. They discuss quotes by Hussein calling for a jihad and what jihad means. They examine Hussein's leadership qualities as well.
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Black and Blue: Jazz in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
Students analyze the impact of jazz on the novel, "Invisible Man," by Ralph Ellison. They read and discuss excerpts of the novel, write an essay on the influence of jazz on Ralph Ellison as a writer, and view video excerpts on jazz...
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Scrapbooks, The Collecting of Creative Ideas
High schoolers examine the value and use of scrapbooks in writing and historic inquiry. They view and discuss online interactive scrapbooks by Mark Twain, and in small groups create a collaborative scrapbook that reflects the time and...
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On the Brink
High schoolers view a film about environmental issues. They discover how environmental degradation can lead to disease. They identify the relationship between population growth and the environment.
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Schoolyard Geology
Discover that maps show information about an area and that they have common features like scales and legends. View an aerial map of your school and find features on the map such as the playground, roads, and trees. Trace the outline of...