Students explore the controversy over a bill giving pilots the option to become armed federal law enforcement officers. They brainstorm other possible security measures for airplanes and airports.

After reading an article, "From an Alternate to a 'Miracle Kid' in a Flash," youngsters discuss the kind of commitment required for a teenager to become an Olympic athlete. A variety of activities is suggested, and the popular topic...

Learners explore the intersection between popular and high art by recreating comic strips in various artistic styles and then famous works of art as comics. Through this exploration, students come to conclusions about what art is and...

Students explore the role of gargoyles in New York City architecture as a starting point to considering architectural structures in their city. They create designs that illustrate ways in which those local structures may be enhanced by...

Students investigate the dangers of various geographical locations and the threat they pose to humans and other living things. They, in groups, research dangerous geographical locations and create a group "front page" highlighting these...

Students explore the five essential parts of every robot and design their own robots to perform everyday tasks. They explore robots created for fighting competitions by reading and discussing "When Nerds Collide: Robots at War."

Students participate in a simulation in which they are arbitrarily assigned different work roles and compare their experiences to those discussed in a New York Times article about the racial divisions in a pork production plant.

Students relate their favorite childhood stories to their lives today. Through personal interviews, students discover the connections between their favorite stories and their own choices and characters, as well as connections to the...

Students read and discuss an article on the amount of sugar in various food products. They compare the nutritional values of food products, calculate their daily intake of nutrients, analyze serving sizes, and compare/contrast their own...

Students explore the mathematical probabilities involved in gambling and how these factors affect people's behavior. They work in pairs and conduct and experiment pertaining to blackjack. The class creates a graph showing the trends found.

Young scholars decode archaeological artifacts in order to recreate an event, using discarded objects as a model for real-life artifacts. They apply this model to reconstructing historical or literary events from artifacts they create.

Students use a New York Times article about the first free election in Indonesia in over four decades as a tool for learning about the government and politics, economy, religion, international relations, and people of Indonesia in the...

Students explore solar eclipses by participating in a number of hands-on activities. In class, students work in teams using tennis balls, grapes and flashlights to model partial and total solar eclipses.

Students use the Archimedes method to demonstrate scientific principles behind observations.

Students use a variety of Web sites to obtain specific information about the campaign finances of different Presidential hopefuls. They create graphs that illustrate all of the aspects of campaign finances researched,

Students examine their own diets, and then redesign the USDA's Food Pyramid to reflect nutrition experts' latest advice. They read and discuss The Color of Nutrition: Fruits and Vegetables, which is an article imbedded in this plan.

Students work on a 'campaign committee' to define civic issues that are important to them and their community. They write letters to city officials with proposals for how to address these issues.

Students research the positions of different interested parties regarding the current escalation of violence in Israel and the Occupied Territories. They formulate proposals to take part in a "Stop All Violence" emergency intervention.

Students explore the passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1397, which backs plans for the creation of a Palestinian state, as a springboard to investigating the history different countries that have been redefined in the...

Students explore the limitations of weather forecasting and how consumer-driven weather forecasting companies attempt to meet the demand for accurate, long-term weather forecasting. They act as meteorologists, researching the weather.

Learners search for and read articles about the initial United States strike on Afghanistan from non-U.S. news sources, then describe the journalists' perspectives and reflect on how difficult it might be to maintain an objective wartime...

Students explore the topic of national identity cards in the United States as a starting point in determining what types of information should be publicly accessible to the government and private industry about specific individuals.

Students investigate ways in which new vision tests and technologies can be used to help detect and correct vision problems. They begin by reading the Times article, Software May Replace the Eye Chart on the Wall. They stage a medical...

Students act as medical researchers and investigate the development of artificial heart, heart assist devices and other advancements in cardiology. They report their findings, both orally and visually, to their 'colleagues' at a conference.