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Industrial Light and Magic

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate early mass production in various industries, and then create presentation posters outlining how a typical 19th-century factory, mill or refinery worked.
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Internet Filter Infiltration

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the effects of Internet filters in schools. They work in small groups to survey different types of people in the school community about their views on school Internet filters and draft an Internet policy based on their...
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Unraveling the Web

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider how a message might be traced along a complex network, then explore backbone maps as a basis for understanding the purpose and structure of the Internet.
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Forever in Our Memories

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider reactions to various plans for building on the grounds of the World Trade Center. They explore ideas and opinions that went into creating other memorials of events in American history and propose ideas for improving...
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Safety Up in the Air

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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.
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Thank You Notes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate the history of presidential proclamations and develop their own Thanksgiving Proclamations, highlighting current issues and sentiments.
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Persuasive Pressures

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate various lobbying groups, then practice lobbying tactics by writing and presenting speeches advocating important local issues.
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What's the Story?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore how the same news story can be presented differently through various journalistic styles. They discuss the unique characteristics of each style and find articles on the same event in each of the different styles.
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Who Decides Who Dies?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore various state laws concerning capital punishment and conduct a mock meeting of the United States Congress to set standards for the death penalty.
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The Way to Venezuela

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate various facets of Venezuelan culture, politics, history and current events to develop an introductory chapter of a guidebook to the country.
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Grade Expectations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore how the ten percent plan and other education initiatives promote diversity, as well as about their practical effects on students from different types of educational and economic backgrounds. They discuss college...
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Empire State-Building

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore how empires around the globe have impacted the world in which they have existed. They analyze whether or not the United States is an imperialist nation and create their own empires based on their understanding of empires...
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Mom, Where Do TV's Come From?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the history of television using the lifetime achievements of Milton Berle as a springboard for studying social and technological advances in American entertainment. They, in groups, examine the role of television through...
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How Much is That Monkey in the Window?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate exotic pets and the ecological and personal risks involved in trading and owning such animals. They synthesize their knowledge by creating advertisements that promote the sale of exotic pets and picket signs that...
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Spacing Out

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore environmental and geological conditions on other planets in our solar system, comparing their findings to information about Earth. They propose technologies that might assist in supporting human life on those planets.
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Public I or Private I

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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.
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What a Cosmic Web We Weave

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars explore, using journals and discussion in small groups, how the universe has evolved since the theoretical Big Bang and create dramatizations of various eras in cosmic evolution.
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Defense Mechanisms

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the Cold War roots of the recent debate over the construction of United States and Russian missile defense shields. They begin by reading and discussing the article, Putin Says Russia Would Counter U.S. Shield.
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All Work and No Pay Makes Workers Angry

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars examine and react to a current cost-cutting dilemma faced by store managers. They then study the rights of worker and employers, and draft their findings in chapters of a book examining labor laws in the United States.
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Trading Nations

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze the impact of a global economy on the workers, business leaders and governments of China and the United States.
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A Sea-nic Perspective

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students brainstorm topics related to the health of our world's oceans. They create presentations about specific issues affecting oceans for display in a classroom exhibit. They write letters of invitation to guests to view the exhibit.
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To Tell the Tale

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore how themes common to the human condition can be found in literary and oral traditions across cultures. They compile traditional folk tales around these themes and write their own tales to reflect their own cultural context.
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A Doctor's Dilemma

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider the bioethical dilemmas faced by doctors and write case studies about relevant issues within a particular medical decision.
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Stanza Proud

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine different decades in American history, finding connections between the historical events and the poetry written during these time periods. They write their own poetry based on current world events.