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Plan Grocery List & Field Trip To Store
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...
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An Issue of Loyalty: Exploring the Treatment of Japanese Americans During World War II
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...
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Alzheimer's: A Societal Crisis
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...
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Diet: You Are What You Eat
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....
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Land as a Valuable Resource
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....
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Protecting the Past: Give a Hoot, Don't Loot!
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". ...
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Making Decisions About Hazardous Waste Cleanup
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...
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Elections
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.
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50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
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...
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The Dose makes the Poison
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.
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Parts of a Solar Panel-Part II
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...
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A Visit to Mexico City: An Introduction to World Communities
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...
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Maquilapolis: Examining Incentives in a Market Economy
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.
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The Fall of Fujimori
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...
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Erosion: Slip Sliding Away
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...
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Bill of Rights -- Americans with Disabilities Act
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
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.
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U.S. Constitution Roll Call
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...
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Sectionalism
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...
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Dia de la Independencia
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...
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Ecology
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...
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Exploring Building Resonance Phenomenon through a Discrepant Event Demonstration
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.
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President Roosevelt Seeks Feedback on New Deal Programs
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.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Community Progress? [Pdf]
"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...