Curated OER
The Little Prince: Problematic Situation
Your plane has crashed in the Sahara desert. What do you do? Explore the possibilities with a role-playing activity based on Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince. In groups, kids decide whether they would walk to find help...
Curated OER
Debate in the Classroom: The Pebble Mine Pundits
Students research and debate the pros and cons of the Pebble Mine in Alaska from a variety of perspectives. They also write a position paper that either supports or opposed Pebble Mine develpoment.
Curated OER
How Are Boundaries Made, Kept, Broken?
Learners examine the different perspectives of Igbo women. They simulate a silent debate in response to the question, "Is the Igbo society sexist?" They write their response to the question and exchange papers with their partner as the...
Curated OER
Argument
Students write and discuss opposing points of view. In this argument instructional activity, students learn to understand what an argument is and they get to argue one side of a disagreement. An alternative written assignment is...
Curated OER
Science of War
Tenth graders, from an environmental perspective, study the pros and cons of war. Distinctions between characteristics of biological, chemical and nuclear threats and the impact of economic development are considered.
Curated OER
Constitutional Change During the Progressive Era
Students analyze the passage of the 16th through 19th amendments during the Progressive Era around the turn of the century. Using research skills, they write papers and create portfolios supporting and opposing the adoption of each...
Curated OER
Seeing Both Sides of an Issue
Students develop arguments on both sides of an issue to see how it feels to understand opposing views. They try to think of all the reasons they might take the opposite position on the same statement: My way of doing things is the best...
Curated OER
Debating the Three Gorges Dam Project: Power to the People or Environmental Catastrophe?
Students explore the controversy behind the building of the Three Gorges Dam in China. One group of the class researches the government's stance on building the dam. Another section of the class represents an environmental group who...
Curated OER
A Dream and an Idea: Searching for a Roadmap to Create a Country
Learners compare and contrast opposing visions of government held by the founding fathers. They evaluate the roles of historical leaders in shaping the U.S. as an emerging nation.
Curated OER
Voices of Hope and Seeds of Peace
High schoolers read reflective essays to gain an understanding of the experiences of young people growing up in an area at war. Students locate groups who bring together opposing sides in a conflict for purposes of reconciliation.
New York City Department of Education
What Did I Do to Be so Black and Blue: How Did Jazz Influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...
Curated OER
A Year in Review: The Memoir
If you are planning a unit on memoir and autobiographical narrative, you should consider this resource. Using Internet research skills, pupils review works by James Frey and Henry David Thoreau. In response to these works, learners...
Curated OER
Health Care
Options for public and privately funded health care is a valuable debate for students to follow and learn from. They can use their research to take part in a Town Hall Meeting using facts and style. They will contact the representatives...
Curated OER
What's My Point: Persuasive Writing
Why do readers need to know an author’s purpose? How do you figure out what that purpose is? Guide your pupils through a series of activities that show them how to identify various techniques and structures used in persuasive writing....
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1
Focus on writing argument essays with your high schoolers. The lesson suggested here focuses on The Jungle, by Sinclair Lewis; however, the idea could be adapted for other texts. Check out the quick quiz provided at the end of the...
Curated OER
Genetically Modified Organisms
High Schoolers complete a variety of activities as they examine the ethics of (and take a position concerning) genetically modified organisms in the field of agriculture. They complete a PowerPoint demonstration to go along with the unit.
Curated OER
Whose History Is It Anyway? Patterns in History
Read and examine primary source material in order to analyze, synthesize, and debate information about the Great Depression. Critical analysts research various source materials related to the Great Depression. They work in teams to...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Immigration Enforcement Raids
Class groups take on the role of advisors to the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Policy & Planning of ICE. Their charge is to prepare a report for the secretary on the effectiveness of enforcement actions of the ICE in...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.4
Study allusions with a research and presentation project. Pupils are assigned a specific allusion, the phoenix for example. They research the origins, compose a summary, explain the concept, and explore this allusion within various...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2
One way to get your class to evaluate and synthesize multiple multimedia sources is through a research project. The idea here is that class members will watch videos and listen to scientific debates in order to create a casebook about...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Jacksonian Democracy and Indian Removal
Introduce a study of the presidency of Andrew Jackson with a lesson that uses video clips, primary source documents, group activities, and debates to examine Jackson's early life and career. The lesson focuses on the 1828 election and...
Classroom Law Project
What are some of today’s voting issues? Voting in Oregon, youth vote, and technology
The youth vote. Rock the Vote. Vote-By-Mail. Electronic voting. Class members investigate issues facing today's voters, and the ways they have adapted over the years to optimize voter turnout.
Curated OER
Innocent or Guilty: A Lab on DNA Gel Electrophoresis
Students use the prelab as an introduction to the importance of DNA fingerprinting- a form of identification that us being accepted by both scientific and leagl experts. They prepare a gel for electrophoresis. DNA fragments, which have...
Curated OER
How Can Clear of Tress Destroy a Community?
Fifth graders brainstorm the relationship between trees and humans to determine how humans benefit from trees and how they benefit from us. They discuss oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange, soil stablization, animal habitat, shade, medicine...