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All the News That's Fit to Blog
Students critique three Web logs, each of which offers first-hand accounts, but reflect different points-of-view, on the war in Iraq; students write a response to one of the entries and analyze what they learned about the war from the...
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This Just In…
Learners consider the impact a reporter has on broadcast journalism. They research a famous broadcast journalist to prepare a mock news report.
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Tee-Hee T.V.
Students examine the concept of satire by reading lyrics to a song and reading "Soap and the Campus: A Web-Site Spoof Succeeds." They create treatments for parodies based on current television shows.
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Get Your Motor Runnin'
Students examine the technology of hybrid vehicles and the claims made on their behalf. Upon further exploration, they research and decide which cars, hybrid or non-hybrid, might perform best under various circumstances.
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A Disaster in the Making
Students compare the consequences of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco to Hurricane Katrina's impact on New Orleans as a basis for investigating the transformative effect of infamous United States natural disasters.
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Teen Scene
Students examine what teenagers value most, and discuss the trend of decadent sixteenth birthday parties. They read an article, analyze forms of teen-focused media, and create a visual presentation on their media analysis.
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Royal Treatment
Students analyze the Nepalese King's response to pro-democracy demonstrations, and examine existing monarchies around the world. They conduct research, read an article, and present information on various modern-day monarchies.
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The Art of Adaptation
Students examine and discuss animal adaptation. They read an article about snakes, conduct research on ways animals adapt, develop a diagram, and write a short story written from the perspective of the animal they researched.
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Same News, Different Stories
Students compare the news angle, information sources and construction of different news reports about the death of Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. They analyze how various media outlets report on a different news story.
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Getting the Scoop
Students examine the impact of photography on bringing readership to a magazine. They read and discuss an article, and create a magazine cover and inside spread designed to compete with an existing publication.
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Exhibiting Hope
Young scholars watch a video clip about the effect of Hurricane Katrina. They examine the challenges that New Orleans still faces a year after the hurricane. They work together in small groups to create a museum exhibit on a topic of...
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Intolerable Acts
Students examine the implications of North Korea's nuclear testing. They develop a K-W-L chart, read an article, write questions, conduct research on their self-generated questions, and create an exhibit of their findings.
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Time Changes Everything
Students analyze census data from 1915, 1967 and 2006. They read an article about how the world's population is growing at an alarming rate. They use primary source documents to create a timeline on the information they gathered. They...
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Advising China
Students express their opinions about how growth and modernization affect nations. Reading an article on China, they discuss the causes and effects of exponential growth in a single town. They research how China has changed by writing...
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The Art of Violence
Violence and human suffering, as represented in art and film, are the focus of an investigation of the power of visual images and the moral implications of such representations. Class members examine “Guernica,” Pablo Picasso’s massive...
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World War I
Eighth graders examine the condition of the world from 1880 until the start of World War I. After watching a PowerPoint presentation, they discuss the causes and effects of the war and complete a study guide with a partner. To end the...
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Let the Music Play
Students create auditory presentations on festivals and celebrations around the world. They begin by reading about how the New Orleans high school marching bands have overcome many obstacles to keep their music traditions alive. Then...
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A Different World?
Students share their opinions in a brainstorming session on the factors that contribute to their quality of life. They read the article "Life Is Better; It Isn't Better. Which Is It?," from the NY Times and discuss the article as a...
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Live From Your Kitchen!
Students identify cooking sounds and share opinions about their associations. After reading an article, they discover the growth of radio cooking shows. They prepare an outline and script for a cooking program and present their...
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Something Fishy?
Learners try to draw and identify a jellyfish from a physical description. After reading an article, they discover new information about cnidarians. In groups, they research and develop dioramas about a specific cnidarian species. They...
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Who Gives a Hoot?
Students look at owl migration and its impact on the environment and the food chain after reading an article from The New York Times. Students then apply this information to and research different food chain situations for other species...
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Eyeing the Next Einstein
Students complete a KWL chart on Albert Einstein. After they read an article, they discover more about his iconic status and how future scientists view him. In groups, they create trading cards about Einstein and another scientist of...
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Discoveries of Titanic Proportions
Students analyze various statements on the moon. After reading an article, they discuss the findings about a new moon around Saturn. In groups, they re-create a press conference in which the new findings were released to the public. ...
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2004 Better and For Worse
Students identify the significant events that helped shape 2004. After reading an article, they take a 2004 news quiz and discuss the impact of each event. They create their own quizzes to be given to their classmates on the same...