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Electric Blues
Students brainstorm a list of electrical devices used in their home. They read an article about electricity usage in a heat wave. In groups, they create public service announcements promoting energy conservation. They share their ideas...
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Taking Stock
Students match scenarios with the terminology related to stock market fluctuations. They read an article, answer discussion questions, create a terminology poster, and write an essay.
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Keyboard Buddies in my Community
Second graders utilize Microsoft Word to create stationery and letters to send to other children in their school building, expressing experiences in their daily lives. As the unit progresses, they create documents to send to other second...
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We Are Family
Second graders research their family history and how it connects them to the past. They identify their ancestors, graphically organize relatives in a family tree, and chart significant events in their lives on a timeline.
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Golden Globe as Gauge
Students discuss the significance of the Golden Globes and other awards as indicators of the current cultural and political climate. After reading an article, they identify the nominees for the 2006 Golden Globe awards. Using the...
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A Hard Sell on Stem Cells?
Students examine their prior knowledge of cell regeneration and therapeutic use of stem cells. After reading an article, they discover new techniques for deriving embryonic stem cells. In groups, they research on the different types of...
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Irregularly Scheduled Programming
Learners examine their favorite holidays and how they are celebrated. After reading an article, they discuss the length of television programming for the Super Bowl. In groups, they create their own television programming relating to...
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Prime Politics
Learners read Gandhi Says She 'Must Humbly Decline' to be India's Premier from The New York Times and discuss Sonia Ghandi's electoral victory and her response. Students then break into groups and research the past 50 years of India's...
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Case in Point
Young scholars read about and discuss the re-opening of the Emmett Till murder case. They research and write about a famous civil rights trial and create a poster highlighting the importance of the trial.
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Heightening Awareness
Students review their prior knowledge about Haiti. They examine violence in Haiti by reading and discussing "HAITIAN FORCES BATTLING UPRISING REPORT RETAKING 3 TOWNS." In groups, students research specific time periods of Haitian history...
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Changing of the Guard
Students reflect on their knowledge of democracy. After reading an article, they examine current plans for the placement of a democracy in Iraq. In groups, they research past regime changes and democratization attempts and discuss the...
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Mending the Rift
Students determine what factors identify a country's political borders. After reading an article, they investigate questions surrounding the Great Rift Valley. On a map, they trace the valley from Asia through Africa and research the...
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The Reader's Recourse
Students discover the recourse newspapers face for reporting wrong information. After reading an article, they examine the dispute between a pharmaceutical company and the New York Times. They evaluate the roles of the editor and the...
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Master in Training
Students identify and examine their own areas of expertise. After reading an article, they discuss the evolution of three opera high school students. They create a timeline collage showing their mastery of their field of interest and...
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What's in a Name?
Students explore how one uses examples from history to inform themselves of past and present events. After reading an article, they examine the significance of renaming a base in Germany after a soldier who survived the Holocaust. They...
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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...
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Public Land
Students examine the needs of their community for public space and determine the solutions to math problems related to planning landscape designs. They read and discuss an article from the New York Times, create their own designs for a...
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Olympic Continent
Students read "Team Ethiopia Dazzles in Going the Distance" from The New York Times and discuss the impact these athletes have had on their country. Students work in groups to research different African nations that have participated in...
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Technology Newsletter
Students discuss impact and value of modern technological inventions on society, contemplate world without technology, skim magazines and newspapers for advertisements highlighting modern technologies, and work with partner to create...
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Bootleg Bytes
Students conduct background research to explore the positions of different groups involved in the digital piracy debate, then participate in a fishbowl discussion that seeks to find a consensus on the issue.
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Slanted Sentences
Students examine biased words in news articles, suggest synonyms, then rewrite the sentences to demonstrate how word choice can alter meaning.
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Performance Poppers
Students examine the controversies surrounding the use of performance-enhancing supplements in sports by interviewing athletes and writing feature articles that compare the skills required to compete in different sports.
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Reality Check
Students evaluate different types of reality television programming in "focus groups" and then submit their opinions on this type of programming to a television network.
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A Weighty Task
Students aim to explain the need for standardization of units of measurement. They pose their own standards for the value of a kilogram and compare them with the currently used standard.