Lesson Plan
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Plan Grocery List & Field Trip To Store

For Teachers 3rd
Student write a list of groceries to purchase at the store given a certain amount of money. They check to make sure they have not spent more money than what they have. Then the students get with a partner and compare their two...
Lesson Plan
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An Issue of Loyalty: Exploring the Treatment of Japanese Americans During World War II

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students consider the meaning of loyalty. They explore the history of Japanese in the United States. and consider the meaning of citizenship. They create a presentation for the class. It can be a poster, Power Point or other...
Lesson Plan
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Alzheimer's: A Societal Crisis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss ways in which diseases affect individuals, families, and society, and view and answer questions about segments from The Forgetting related to the impact of Alzheimer's disease on society and families. They brainstorm...
Lesson Plan
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Diet: You Are What You Eat

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine the issue of food quality to assess the dangers of pesticides, additives, and improper food preparation. After keeping food diaries and categorizing foods, they fill in food pyramids based on their journal entries....
Lesson Plan
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Land as a Valuable Resource

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate why the soil is important to our lives. In this natural resources instructional activity, students have a farmer as a guest speaker. Students begin to understand how farmers use and protect our natural resource....
Lesson Plan
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Protecting the Past: Give a Hoot, Don't Loot!

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students, in small groups, simulate an ancient civilization and the art they created, another group represents vandals, and the final group represents archaeologists who try to figure out what life was like for the "ancient peoples". ...
Lesson Plan
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Making Decisions About Hazardous Waste Cleanup

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students work together to role play a situation which shows the decision-making process in cleaning up hazardous waste. They identify participates in the Superfund and make judgments about how cleanup would help an area. They share...
Lesson Plan
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Elections

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders examine the voting process, the electoral college and the voting process. They identify qualities important to a president. They fill out ballot sheets and study the registration forms.
Lesson Plan
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50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine a poster of Brown v. Board of Education and discuss what the important details are. They read the story behind the poster and court case. They role play different sections of the case such as the court case or Linda...
Lesson Plan
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The Dose makes the Poison

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners investigate the effect of a chemical (they choose) on the germination of seeds. They calculate % chemical concentrations in water, form a hypothesis, and discuss the ethics of using animals in biomedical research.
Lesson Plan
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Parts of a Solar Panel-Part II

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students discover how a mini-solar panel is constructed by behaving like detectives. Students examine an actual solar panel, measure the solar panel's voltage and use drawings to describe what they observe before completing questions...
Lesson Plan
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A Visit to Mexico City: An Introduction to World Communities

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders complete a variety of activities as they take an imaginary trip to Mexico City, complete with passports, maps, and Spanish dictionaries. They write postcards to send home and create items to sell at the market. The unit...
Lesson Plan
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Maquilapolis: Examining Incentives in a Market Economy

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students discuss the factors that influenced them to purchase a particular item. They work together to read and identify incentives of a character. They view a video on the topic as well.
Lesson Plan
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The Fall of Fujimori

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students view a film about the fall of Peru's president. They develop possible solutions for governments to follow when dealing with terrorism. They work together to research civil liberty limitations put in place during war. They...
Lesson Plan
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Erosion: Slip Sliding Away

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders investigate the causes of erosion. Through several demonstrations including one using sugar cubes and warm water, they observe the effects of erosion. In groups, 4th graders conduct similar experiments and record their...
Lesson Plan
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Bill of Rights -- Americans with Disabilities Act

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students focus on the First and Ninth Amendments of the Bill of Rights. Before visiting a museum, they examine the Americans with Disabilities Act. During the visit, they work together with a museum member to watch a video and get...
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A Day in the Life of a Homeless Person

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Learners examine the day in the life of a homeless person. In this humanitarian activity, students examine the life of a homeless person while discovering the importance of social justice in our society.
Lesson Plan
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U.S. Constitution Roll Call

For Teachers 1st
First graders simulate the signing of the constitution. In this American history lesson plan, 1st graders take on the roll of newspaper reporters during 1787. Students must pretend to interview signers of the constitution and create a...
Lesson Plan
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Sectionalism

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students examine sectionalism. In this sectionalism lesson, students explore reasons sectionalism developed. Students realize the conflicts that led to the Civil War and how sectionalism affected citizens on the border of Kansas and...
Lesson Plan
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Dia de la Independencia

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students learn about Mexican Independence Day.  In this Hispanic Heritage lesson, students learn about holidays in Hispanic countries specifically looking at their days of independence.  Students read information about fiestas...
Lesson Plan
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Ecology

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Learners make connections between their daily lives and the usage of natural resources as they relate to the importance of environmental quality.  In this ecology lesson, students listen to the story The Lorax by Dr. Seuss...
Lesson Plan
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Exploring Building Resonance Phenomenon through a Discrepant Event Demonstration

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders create a model of a city street with various sizes of buildings on it. They use the model to demonstrate the effect of building oscillation during varying degrees of seismic activity.
Worksheet
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President Roosevelt Seeks Feedback on New Deal Programs

For Students 9th - 12th
In this primary source analysis worksheet, students analyze a letter from President Roosevelt to clergymen regarding New Deal programs. Students respond to 1 short answer question about the letter.
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Community Progress? [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 6th
"Community Progress?" is a one page, nonfiction passage about three community projects in Chicago; each group saw a problem, decided on a solution, and implemented it. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require...