National Endowment for the Humanities
Planning for Treaty Negotiations
The party is over. Now it's time to get to work! Learners acting as agents for a country during the modern Age of Empires develop proposals to negotiate trade deals between the rising global powers. Using research from previous lessons,...
Curated OER
Tolerance: Words that Hurt/Words that Heal
Students "role-play" the part of a person who says unkind things and are photographed while doing so. They then act out a story about making friends. They practice saying kind things and are photographed. Word bubbles are added...
Curated OER
Bullying and Homophobia
Having difficulty in class broaching controversial issues? This lesson offers several linked online tools to get students engaged in discussion about bullying and homophobia. Coastkid.org offers an interactive scenario activity, which...
Curated OER
U.S. History: Native American Conflicts
Eleventh graders discuss the wars with the Plains Indians and the subsequent cultural difficulties of assimilation. Part of the lesson plan examines the clash of cultures and beliefs about land ownership. Prior to taking a quiz, 11th...
Curated OER
Local Acts Make Impacts
Students research and promote one local action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their community through an integrated unit project. Students evaluate possible ways to reduce emissions and review major and local contributing factors....
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Dancing with Dionysus
Sixth graders research Ancient Greek culture by acting in a play for the festival of Dionysus. In this Greek culture instructional activity, 6th graders study an ancient Greek map and the Sarcophagus Dionysus from the Walters Art Museum...
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Higher (Priced) Education
Students explore the proposed Affordability in Higher Education Act. They synthesize their knowledge by acting as lobbyists representing different special interest groups with opposing perspectives on the proposed bill.
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Reign of Terror?
Students research acts of terrorism around the world over the past thirty years to create a visual timeline of these events for the classroom.
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Another Day That Will Live In Infamy
Students are encouraged to share, through discussion and writing, their feelings about these and other acts of terrorism, as well related issues such as national security and media coverage of the attacks.
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Homegrown Terror
Students investigate history of domestic terrorism in six European countries; they analyze and write about differences between terrorist acts planned and committed by a country's citizens and those planned by groups or individuals...
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Thirsty for Drought Relief
Students research a variety of drought-related concerns, acting as part of a 'drought preparedness taskforce.' They propose next steps for the government to take in case of drought and assess the viability of these proposals.
Curated OER
What's New?
Learners act as teams of product managers for personal electronics companies. Each team evaluate new electronic devices in different product categories (such as handheld devices and portable music devices), and create product...
Curated OER
Is Monopoly the Microsoft Board's Game?
Students first participate in an in-depth discussion about capitalism, monopolies, trusts, mergers, and the Sherman Antitrust Act. They work in groups to investigate past examples of corporations tried for antitrust act violations.
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And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor
Students act as groups of event planners to invent large entertainment events, determine appropriate sponsorship categories for them, identify potential sponsors within those categories, and pitch their ideas to those companies.
Curated OER
Order in the School
Students consider goods and services that might be at the base of successful Web-based delivery services geared to students their age while they are in school. They act as entrepreneurs to develop plans for such services and create...
Curated OER
Walking in Other People's Shoes
Students study the story of student journalist Casey Parks' September, 2006, journey to Central Africa with New York Times columnist, Nicholas Kristof. They then act as representatives to the tourism boards of developing countries and...
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Safe Driving Solutions
Students act as commissioners researching needed safety standards for vehicles and highways. They then draft recommendations to be included in a new highway safety bill. They cite reasons a particular measure would reduce fatal highway...
Curated OER
A Matter of Life and Death
Students research burial tombs of ancient Egypt and Acting as pharaohs of Egypt, students create burial plans to illustrate what items they would include in their own tombs and why. They then act as archaeologists and analyze other...
Curated OER
You Can Dig It!
Students act as archeologists to examine, describe and hypothesize about 'artifacts' they have been given for their archeological interpretation. They rely on the descriptions and hypotheses of other students to identify the 'artifacts'...
Curated OER
Out On A Limb In The Pacific Rim?
Young scholars act as cultural attachés to investigate and present briefings on the post-1945 histories and United States diplomatic relationships with East Asian countries. They articulate their foreign policy findings.
Curated OER
Dust in the Wind
Students investigate causes and effects of droughts by participating in a simulation 'town hall meeting.' Acting as community members, students make informed decisions to help a town and its surrounding areas suffering effects of a...
Curated OER
Security and Savings for All?
Young scholars act as either Democrats or Republicans to debate plans to alter Social Security. For homework, they consider whether Social Security has become too politicized and propose their own solutions.
Judicial Learning Center
The U.S. Supreme Court
How do Supreme Court justices determine which cases to consider? What happens when the Supreme Court decides not to take a case? The lesson explores important questions and others in the field of criminology. It focuses on the appeals...
Discovery Education
Is Our Community Influenced by the Opioid Epidemic?
Opioid abuse is becoming a national crisis, but combating the influence of opioids requires examining the ways it affects individual communities. A thorough teacher guide provides step-by-step instructions about implementing an...