Curated OER
American Girl, Too
Students discuss the popularity of the American Girl dolls and write a wish-list for a nine-year-old girl. After reading an article, they discover the differences between this doll and barbie. As a class, they brainstorm eras or point...
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Age-Old Concerns
Students examine issues surrounding healthcare and specifically prescription drug coverage and the problems of state subsidy programs after reading and discussing the article, "States' Drug Subsidy Programs Have Troubles of Their Own"...
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Beyond Burma
Students consider the relationship between religion and society in Myanmar. They study about recent military violence against Buddhist monks in Myanmar by reading and discussing the article " What Makes a Monk Mad". Students research and...
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A Tough Act to Re-enact
Students discover the significance of various historical events. Using the information they find, groups re-enact these events, stressing their importance to history and our lives today.
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High Profiles
Students research and write newspaper articles about current world leaders, using a New York Times International article as a model. They research a current world leader's personal background and political history.
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Getting Fired Up
Students explore first-person accounts of volcanic eruptions throughout time and use second-hand information about volcanoes. They use both types of accounts to write news articles covering the events of a historic volcanic eruption as...
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Local Pride in a Guide
Students examine the distinctive cultural and historical attributes of Boston and Philadelphia. They research the history, geography and culture of their town or city to create a booklet.
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The Life of a President
Students examine the life of President Gerald R. Ford. After reading an article, they discuss his legacy. They collect articles written during his time in office and examine the key issues of his presidency. They write an article about...
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Veterans Day Newspaper
Students examine the reasons for and origins of the Veterans Day holiday. They define key vocabulary terms, read and discuss the article "The Origins of Veterans Day," conduct research and complete a worksheet, and create a class...
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Valuable Lessons
Learners explore how immigration, citizenship, due process of law, and the freedoms of speech and assembly have shaped American values throughout American history
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The Buckshot Stops Here
Students study the incident between Vice President Dick Cheney and his friend while hunting. They brainstorm and research different scandals throughout History and complete a homework assignment.
The New York Times
Researching the Researchers
Students match scientists with their major discoveries, choose one figure to research further, and co-author articles profiling the scientist and his or her achievements.
Curated OER
Don't Touch That Dial!
Students explore the affects, both positive and negative, that television has had on society in the past half-century. They read the article "Inside the Soap Opera of Television's Early Days."
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Secret Agent Men
What does a secret agent really do? After reading an article, students discover the connection between intelligence and espionage. Using the Internet, they will research the history and motivations of intelligence agencies throughout the...
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Human Rights Education Handbook: A New Planet
Students create an imaginary bill of rights and find correspondences between their ideas and specific articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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Susan Boyle's at No. 1 - 'I Dreamed a Dream'
Students reflect on the overnight success of Susan Boyle, a contestant on "Britain's Got Talent." In this activity, students read a short history of the rise of the star, then complete numerous activities that reinforce their...
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Finding The Middle Ground
Students examine the recent truce between the Israeli and Palestinian governments. They explore the turbulent history of these groups and the recent developments from the viewpoints of Middle Eastern nations in preparation for a mock...
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Separation Anxiety
Students examine the instances in history in which groups of people were segregated by race or ethnicity. After reading an article, they discover how apartheid impacted people's attempt to an education. Using the internet, they research...
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East Timor's Declaration of Independence?
Young scholars examine the significance of the 8/30/99 vote in East Timor, which determined the territory's independence from Indonesian rule, by analyzing an NYT article to explain actions/reactions.
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Members Only
Students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of private communities and the lives led by their residents. They design ideal planned communities for people featured in other Class Matters articles.
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Retiring Helicopters
Students discover how helicopters work through an interactive program. They also examine why helicopters are more difficult to fly than airplanes. They discover the history of the helicopter and how it has been used in military operations.
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The First "Colored" World Series
Students utilize reading and listening skills in order to discover the key issues in American history and Black baseball history. Students investigate the beginning of the Negro Baseball Leagues and its signature historical baseball...
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Having the Last Word
Students discuss the influence of foreign languages in their everyday speech after reading an article from The New York Times on language legislation in Brazil. Students are divided into 4 groups in order to research languages spoken...
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The 'Capital' of the World
Students are introduced to the purpose of the World Bank and its president Paul Wolfowitz. After reading an article, they work together to complete a writing exercise in which they use primary source documents to state their viewpoint. ...