Smithsonian Institution
Students’ Response to 9/11—A Documentary Report
Young historians research the devastating attacks of 9/11 and use that information to script their own documentaries. The follow-up activity includes recording the documentary and conducting classmate interviews,
Curated OER
Social Issues
Students examine issues that affect Americans every day and create a documentary regarding a selected topic. In small groups they select an issue, conduct Internet research, and create an information sheet. Students write interview...
Curated OER
Debating the Issues: Ralph Bunche and Civil Rights
Synthesizing information from a PBS documentary Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey, its companion website, and several other resources (links to which are provided), high schoolers evaluate whether Bunche did all he could to advance the...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Picturing a Story: Photo Essay about a Community, Event or Issue
Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.
PBS
“He Named Me Malala”: Understanding Student Activism Through Film
Malala Yousafzai has become the face of social activism. After watching He Named Me Malala and short student-made films about what young people can do to become instruments of change, class members reflect on what it means to be an...
Curated OER
Art as Social Commentary
Students view artworks that make a statement about social conditions. They discuss the artworks, write about them and present their ideas to the class. They create socially conscious art pieces of their own.
Channel Islands Film
Cache: Lesson Plan 1 - Grades 9-12
Archaeologists have discovered a cache of Native American relics. They want to preserve these relics by removing them from the rapidly eroding site to a lab where they can be studied. Native American traditions demand that the items...
Channel Islands Film
Island Cattle Ranching
Is cattle ranching on Santa Rosa island viable or non-viable? Rather than focusing on the issues of the transition of Santa Rosa island from a privately owned island cattle ranch to a national park, class members are asked to consider if...
Curated OER
United States Entry into World War I: A Documentary Chronology
Learners complete a unit of lessons on the events that led to U.S. involvement in WWI. They complete a Webquest, conduct research, complete a Venn diagram, read and discuss the reasons for entering the war, and create a slideshow.
Curated OER
Facing Reality
Students explore social issues that are meaningful to them and create documentaries in which they share their information, thoughts and impressions.
Carolina K-12
Public Christmas Displays and Lynch v. Donnelly
Does a Christmas display on government property violate the Constitution? Learners study the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and learn about the landmark Supreme Court case Lynch v. Donnelly through watching a...
Channel Islands Film
Eminent Domain
After viewing the documentary The Last Roundup, a documentary about the transitioning of Santa Rosa from a privately own island to a National Park, class members debate the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment that permits the...
Curated OER
Exploring US Foreign Policy after WWII--The Cold War
Scholars explore U.S. Foreign Policy and Cold War ideologies adopted after WWII. They conduct Internet research on a topic or issue related to the Cold War Era, watch two films, and compose a time line and a multimedia presentation to...
Global Oneness Project
Resurrecting a Home
Davina Pardo's documentary Minka asks viewers to consider that value of preserving traditional dwellings and traditional building techniques by examining how American journalist John Roderick and Japanese architect Yoshihiro Takishita...
Described and Captioned Media Program
Malcolm X: Make It Plain, Part I
Malcolm X was a complicated man that few in white America understood. After sharing what they know or think they know about this civil rights leader, about nationalism and Black Nationalism, class members view a two-part documentary...
Described and Captioned Media Program
Malcolm X: Make It Plain, Part II
Track the transformation of Malcolm Little into Malcolm X and then into El Jajj Malik El-Shabazz with the second part of Make it Plain, a documentary on the famous civil rights activist. Viewers consider not only how events shaped and...
PBS
The Sixties: Notes from the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Young historians research the rationales for fighting the Vietnam War, and the controversies surrounding it. They watch film clips, examine photographs, and read Lyndon B. Johnson's message to Congress to gather information for a...
Curated OER
The First American Party System: A Documentary Timeline of Important Events (1787-1800)
Students conduct research on the events of the end of the 18th century in order to identify critical factors leading to the development of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican political parties. They summarize the key positions of...
Carolina K-12
Minnesota v. White: Exploring a Judicial Candidate’s First Amendment Rights
After watching a documentary on the Supreme Court case Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, class members research how the First Amendment and free speech issues influence judicial elections and then conduct a mock judicial election.
Curated OER
The Last Abortion Clinic: Key Constitutional Issues of the Abortion Debate
Students discuss the Constitution of the United States and its amendments, then apply this discussion by creating a "Who should Decide What?" list, based upon their ideas about whether controversial issues such as abortion and medical...
Curated OER
Rights and Responsibilities: Grass Born to Be Stepped On
Students use the Internet and other resources to research an aspect of history that illustrates rights and responsibilities, including historical events, issues and ideas, and the people involved.
Curated OER
Interrogation Tactics in the News
Young scholars investigate interrogation tactics at use in the world. In this global issues activity, students watch "Torturing Democracy," and discuss the implications of interrogation techniques used by the United States following...
Curated OER
Black Panther Party Lesson Plan
Why did the Black Panther Party feel colonized, and what methods did they employ to achieve empowerment? Your class members will engage in an online PowerPoint presentation, analysis of several documents, and discussion in order to...
YMCA
Turning Courtrooms into Classrooms
Turn the class into the next episode of Law & Order! Scholars work together to create a mock trial over the course of several weeks before going before a judge for the case performance. They take on different roles, go through...