Curated OER
American Girl, Too
Students discuss the popularity of the American Girl dolls and write a wish-list for a nine-year-old girl. After reading an article, they discover the differences between this doll and barbie. As a class, they brainstorm eras or point...
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True Admissions
Students examine affirmative action and study the diversity of their own classrooms and communities, then of a particular college or university. They write essays examining how colleges should increase the diversity of their student bodies.
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Manifestations of the Manifesto
Students explore the workings of FARC, a Marxist guerilla group in Colombia, as well as study the basics of Marxism. They examine the discrepancies between Marxist theory and Marxism as it is actually realized in Colombia and other parts...
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Know Bones About It!
Students make a model of a major skeletal muscle group. They consider how their life might change if they didn't have, or lack use of, this particular muscle group.
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Answering the Call of the Wild
Students explore wildlife conservation by investigating the reintroduction of species into their natural habitats and species near extinction. They create a poster and a position paper that explains the importance of preserving this...
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The Young Faces of Poverty
Students explore the topic of child poverty in the United States and the government's responses to it in different areas and through different programs and laws. They share their thoughts in letters to their Congressional representatives.
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Gazing Into the Faces of AIDS
Young scholars consider whether or not there are generalizations that can be made about people who are infected with H.I.V. or who have the AIDS virus. They create public service ad campaigns to educate the public and consider other ways...
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Ancient Egyptian History/African Literature Activity
Learners gain a conversant knowledge of some aspect of ancient African literature of the eighteenth dynasty (1572-1315 B.C.) in Egypt. They choose either to make a crossword puzzle or a word search with at least 20 key words from their...
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It's A Dog-Eat-Dog World
Students 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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The Writing's on the Wall
Students examine a job-training/violence reduction program that removes gang graffiti in East Los Angeles. They discuss issues confronting their own communities and propose community service programs to address these issues.
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Getting Fired Up
Students explore first-person accounts of volcanic eruptions throughout time and use second-hand information about volcanoes. They use both types of accounts to write news articles covering the events of a historic volcanic eruption as...
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Ad Nauseam
Young scholars explore the role of special-interest groups in American campaigns. They create their own political advertisements.
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Viral Invaders
Students conduct a critical investigation of the West Nile Virus. They assess the relationship between the sources of information and their credibility. Students use their findings to create a public health campaign about the virus.
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Team Works
Students define "group" and list American social and political movements throughout history. They examine one model of a successful team and positive group mentality by reading and identify the traits of a successful group and those of...
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Protecting Holy Cows
Students study the interrelationships of organisms and their environments. They study ecological communities and determine what is necessary for survival. Students discuss and answer questions concerning a group's biome, habitat, food...
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Pardon Me
Students examine the pardon process and the controversy surrounding the Clinton pardons through reading and discussing "Lobbying for Forgiveness." They write a forgiveness letter and create pardon guidelines for President Bush.
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One Stage at a Time
Young scholars explore the psychological coping mechanisms of cancer patients and relate individual cancer survivors' stories to Dr. Kubler-Ross' stages of grief. They use first-person accounts, discussion and journals to explore these...
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In Memory
Learners examine the issues that designers and civic planners face in designing memorials to historic tragedies, wars and other events. They design memorials dedicated to the events of September 11, 2001.
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Fighting for Fair Farming
Students consider various economic terms, examine the impact of subsidies on farmers and other industries, write essays explaining the subsidy process, and illustrate through posters how subsidies affect both domestic and foreign markets.
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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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Trading Up?
Students explore the benefits and drawbacks of free trade from the perspective of the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Mexico. For homework, they each write a letter to the editor expressing their personal...
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Good For You?
Students discuss nutrition and compare nutritional values of a snack product claiming health benefits with a candy product.
Curated OER
We Are the Champions
Can international sports events be indicative of a country's national pride? Learners consider how the Germany-hosted 2006 World Cup contributed to German cultural pride, and how the fundamentals of sports is celebrated around the world,...
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Red, White, and Blue Notes
Students explore the history of major American music genres. Then, through mock radio shows, students examine the distinguishing features of each genre and how each has changed throughout the years.