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Making the Personal Political
Students identify controversial topics on which they have strong opinions and model their own persuasive opinion pieces after the featured article. They compose persuasive essays on controversial issues that "hit home" for them.
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The Long and Short of It
Young scholars take a look back at the week's news by exploring the news summaries article offered in The New York Times' Week in Review section each week. They look further into ongoing news stories of interest to them in order to...
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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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Charity Begins At Home
Learners read and discuss "Prosperity Extends Its Reach, but Not Far Enough to Benefit All," and examine the difficulty, for the working poor, in making ends meet, and propose philanthropic solutions.
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Saving Face
Learners research the allegations of unfair or illegal business practices of various corporations, then create media campaigns that seek to improve the companies' images.
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Newspaper Poems
Ninth graders appreciate the value of words, review the parts of speech, create original poetry, shape the poem, and write an explanation of the images he/she has created.
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Notable "Quotables"
Students select their own Quotes of the Day from articles of their choosing for analysis on a Quote of the Day poster for the classroom.
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Defining Issues
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.
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Mom, Where Do TV's Come From?
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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Long-Lasting Impressions
Students evaluate how their reactions to certain images have been altered by the events of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent world events that followed. They share their personal memories associated with that day.
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Jackie Steals Home
Students read articles relating to Jackie Robinson's breaking of the racial barrier in professional baseball. This leads to a deeper exploration of racism in the United States. They use a variety of worksheets imbedded in this plan to...
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Political Race
Learners explore political topics and issues that often involve discussions of race or ethnicity. They develop campaign speeches voicing their stances on their assigned topics and explore how their racial and/ or ethnic backgrounds shape...
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The Eye of the Beholder: A Media Literacy Activity
Students explore the impact the news media have on shaping perceptions and opinions in general and in their coverage of the presidential campaign.
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For Better Or For Worse
Students explore personal and public responsibility in dealing with social inequality. They conduct research and participate in a discussion about the effect of Hurricane Katrina in regard to racial and economic equality in the United...
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Photojournalism And Creating A Layout
High schoolers gain an idea of how a photographer prepares and shoots a photo story. They explore how to use Pagemaker and lay out a story for the newspaper. They see the powerful effect that photography can have on news stories.
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It's an Ad Eats Ad World
Students explore the power and influence of television advertisements in presidential campaigns. They choose issues in the 2004 campaign and create promotional materials addressing these issues from varying points of view.
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Guild v. Google
Students share opinions about what constitutes fair use of copyright materials and participate in a mock trial arguing the case of The Authors Guild v. Google.
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Do the Right Thing
Students consider the relationship between gang violence and the factors that can contribute to its increase. After researching the issues behind one such factor, students make recommendations that may help reduce gang violence.
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Democracy in Action
Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government.
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A Valid Conclusion? Testing and Reporting on Hypotheses Using the Scientific Method
Students explore importance of accuracy in reporting, focusing particularly on articles documenting scientific discoveries, and practice scientific method by conducting experiments to test and report on scientific hypotheses.
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A Colony is Born : Lesson 4 - What Went Wrong?
Fifth graders compare and contrast two early colonies and make a T chart. They list examples of worked well and what did not, and significant historical events. They use higher order thinking skills by deducing how different scenarios...
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A Colony is Born : Lesson 6 -To Leave or Not to Leave
Fifth graders connect reasons for coming to the New World with identity. The create identities and place them in one of three settled regions. They refer to prior study notes in their Colonial Notebooks to establish their identities.
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A Colony is Born : Lessons 7 - 10 What's My Line?
Fifth graders research their assigned regions, complete regional guide and prepare presentations about the New World colonists. They refer to "Everyday LIfe: Colonial Times" as well as searching marked internet sites.
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A Colony is Born : Lesson 11 - Group Presentations and Summatives
Fifth graders give presentations on colonial research. The others take notes on the presentations. They play a card game which helps them review content. They take a summative assessment and present their research notebooks.