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Read All About It! California History of the 30s and 40s
Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...
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How to Write a Biography
Looking for a great lesson on how to write a biography? Here, middle schoolers draw from magazine articles, novels, historical figures, and current events to choose a person, or character to write about in a biography. They follow a...
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U.S. foreign policy in the early Republic
Students research various events during the War of 1812 and then create magazine articles with supporting illustrations, students are in control of their learning.
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Looking Back - An Art/English/History Interdisciplinary Unit
Students research historical events of the past century to recognize that society impacts the themes within art and literature. They then interview an individual to develop a biographical narrative, a collage and finally an oral...
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The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle: KWHL
After completing the 11th chapter of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, take part in a KWHL chart driven by the question,When is it appropriate and admirable to defy authority? Focusing on codes of conduct, scholars...
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Classical Greece
Students research historical events in ancient Greece. In this ancient Greece activity, students design a magazine which includes a cover, table of contents, cover story, advertisement and visuals. Students focus on Pericles and his...
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A Different World?
Students share their opinions in a brainstorming session on the factors that contribute to their quality of life. They read the article "Life Is Better; It Isn't Better. Which Is It?," from the NY Times and discuss the article as a...
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The Maccabees and Their Place in Jewish History
Students assume the role of a journalist employed by time Warner to examine data about the long-lost cave contining the tombs of Maccabees. A two page spread is created for the weekend edition of the magazine.
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Stories That Go with the Territory
Learners investigate various expeditions throughout history to new and/or uncharted territories. They work in groups to develop and 'produce' television news magazine segments about some of these historic expeditions.
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Is All Cinema Verité?
Learners explore the relationship between movies and culture, looking at movies as both a part of and a reflection of popular culture. They research the specific historical and cultural realities present during the run of a particular...
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It's a Draw!
Students assess the ways in which editorial cartoons, both current and historic, offer insight into events that shape our world. They create a poster that includes a current editorial cartoon and their explanation of the details of the...
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Airplane Manufacturing in Kansas
Seventh graders determine how Kansas become a producer of airplanes. In this Kansas history instructional activity, 7th graders read selected Read Kansas! cards and articles. Students then discuss the primary sources they read regarding...
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Making History Relevant
Students maintain a weekly news journal in which they summarize current news articles and then relate them to topics previously studied in history class.
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Front Page History
Students consider how current events are directly and intricately tied to past events, decisions and other influences. The island of Guam is used as a case study as the events of WWII have continued to affect the people of Guam today.
Described and Captioned Media Program
Malcolm X: Make It Plain, Part I
Malcolm X was a complicated man that few in white America understood. After sharing what they know or think they know about this civil rights leader, about nationalism and Black Nationalism, class members view a two-part documentary...
Described and Captioned Media Program
Malcolm X: Make It Plain, Part II
Track the transformation of Malcolm Little into Malcolm X and then into El Jajj Malik El-Shabazz with the second part of Make it Plain, a documentary on the famous civil rights activist. Viewers consider not only how events shaped and...
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Fun-Factory - NOT!
Middle schoolers design a solution to a problem based on the Industrial Revolution. For this design lesson plan, students come up with architectural designs and present them to teachers in a simulated factory.
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Build a Connection
Learners discuss their personal connections with stories they've read in the past and identify techniques to connect with more stories. They create illustrations, construct task cards, and complete sentence stems based on books they read...
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A Classical Maya News Report
Students research the culture of the Mayans. In this early civilizations lesson, students research selected Maya city-states including Tikal, Clakmul, Piedras Niegras, and Uaxactun. Students use their research findings to present news...
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Using Primary Sources to Discover Reconstruction
Fifth graders discover how reconstruction had an impact on racial issues in the United States. In this Reconstruction lesson, 5th graders are introduced to primary vs. secondary resources and then rotate through stations to view...
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A Yuccy Situation
Students examine the concept of nuclear waste storage. In this interdisciplinary lesson plan, students research Yucca Mountain in order to compare and contrast opposing views regarding the nuclear waste site there. Students compose a...
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The Real Monopoly: America's Racial Wealth Divide
Students explore America's racial wealth divide. In this Teaching Tolerance lesson, students play a "rigger" version of the game Monopoly and reflect on the game and economic injustice in the United States.
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African American Experiences: Window to the Past
Students examine African life during slavery on the Internet. In this slavery lesson, students use the Internet to research slavery and create a scrapbook. Students review pictures of slavery and label them as primary or secondary sources.
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Genetics: Integrated with History and Art
Students work cooperatively in pairing chromosomes, created statistical genetic babies using the face lab, constructed a color DNA booklet and demonstrated mitosis in a flip book.