Curated OER
"Movies That Rock": Moulin Rouge
Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...
Curated OER
College or Bust?
Based on a New York Times article, "The College Drop-Out Boom," participants in a fishbowl discussion formulate and express opinions about the correlation between level of education, career options, and economic mobility. Ample...
Curated OER
GET UP, STAND UP: Fighting for Rights Around the World
Students explore basic human rights as they explore music by black artists. In this human rights lesson, students examine music as a cultural reflection of the justice issues. Students analyze Jamaican roots reggae of the 70s, American...
Smithsonian Institution
Affirmation, Assimilation, and Acculturation: Middle School
Latin American culture is deeply embedded in American culture as a whole. From the Latin rock scene in San Francisco to the hip-hop world of New York, Latin American artists have influenced every genre of modern music. Learn about the...
Curated OER
Should Fitness Be Mandatory?
Students examine a website for viewpoints on fitness as a legal issue. They form positions on communal responsibility vs. personal freedoms and present to the class their positions.
Curated OER
What's Our Department Budget?
Analyze the influence of culture, media, technology, and other factors on health and examine a hospital budget. Learners will create a budget for a hospital taking in account factors such as staff and departmental needs and necessary...
Curated OER
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
"People Everyday" offers class members an opportunity to develop their literacy analysis skills and to develop media literacy. Guided by an included list of discussion questions, groups examaine the word choice, literary devices used,...
Curated OER
Protest Songs
Students analyze and perform an American social protest song. They describe its historical setting, consider the effectiveness of the music and recognize that popular music is a reflection of American culture.
Curated OER
Agriculture Counts
Students discuss the kinds of things they count and how to use tally marks. In this social science lesson, students count animal crackers by using tally marks for each kind of animal. The tally marks are changed into numbers and one...
Curated OER
2002: The Year In Review
Students research and create a book highlighting significant events and trends throughout the world in the year 2002. Then, through creative writing, they respond to the events or trends themselves and how they affected our world.
Curated OER
Make It or Break It
Students study about "breaking news" by analyzing the New York Times' coverage of the July 2006 bombing of seven commuter trains in Mumbai, India. They write their own breaking news stories for homework.
Curated OER
Gauging Beijing
Students examine the responsibilites of country's chosen to host the Olympics. After reading an article, they discuss how China is preparing for the 2008 Summer Games. They focus on the country's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities...
Curated OER
Taking Small Steps
Students write a journal entry about a time when they had to make a tough choice between right and wrong. They read read the newspaper for
to find articles about people have been in situations that required
them to make a personal choice...
Curated OER
What Now?
Learners consider local and national divisiveness over the presidential elections by examining a New York Times editorial and then writing op-eds suggesting how to address post-election discord in their schools and/or communities.
Curated OER
Sizing Up The Senate
Students consider Senate leadership by examining specific positions and staging a mock legislative session. They write reflective essays considering the inner workings of the Senate.
Curated OER
Navajo Sand Paintings
Research the use of sand paintings in the Navajo tribe. Your students work together to design their own sand painting. They share their creation with the class describing what the symbols mean.
Curated OER
The Blackfeet of Glacier National Park
Middle schoolers research an aspect of the Blackfeet tribe in Glacier National Park. They work together to create a presentation that is representative of their culture. They share their presentation with the class.
Curated OER
Life in the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Prints and the Rise of the Merchant Class in Edo Period Japan
Students explore Jananese history through the use of the woodblock print called "ukiyo-e" prints. The audience attracted to the prints, their interests and tastes as well as how the prints reflected the life of the merchant class is the...
Curated OER
What's Your Angle?
Young scholars examine The New York Times' coverage of immigrants' rights in order to gain an understanding of how different news angles function. They assess the angles of different news media outlets, such as television, radio, and...