Curated OER
Ambassadors of Art
Have your class create their own art exhibit. Learners study the exchange of artwork between the Louvre in Paris and two American art museums, and create an introductory exhibit featuring European and American art from the Renaissance...
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A Personal Journey
Learners will share ideas about class mobility. They create a timeline that chronicles milestones in their own lives, and synthesize their learning by writing personal essays about their class status and aspirations for the future.
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Traders of the Lost Art
Learners work in small groups to investigate a variety of art and architecture forms common during the Old Kingdom epoch in Ancient Egypt. Learners then evaluate how these art forms reflect a culture's beliefs and values. And, finally,...
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News or Propaganda?
What is considered news vs. propaganda? Learners will discuss objectivity and press responsibility while exploring these two concepts. They work in small groups to explore the article in-depth, guided by reading comprehension and...
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Where Do You Stand?
Scholars assess a government's ability to intervene in personal health decisions. They research basic facts about euthanasia and describe their opinions about new legislation passed in the United States Congress about an individual's...
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Tax Jeopardy
Create a glossary of tax-related vocabulary and clip New York Times articles that present tax procedure in action, in preparation for participating in a tax quiz bowl. Young economists explore allegations that "Survivor" Richard Hatch...
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States and Mates
Discuss and reflect on the concept of allies and alliances. The class examines the competition between the United States and Venezuela. Using the New York Times, they search for examples of geopolitical alliances. In addition, they write...
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A Leader's Lifetime and Legacy
In this instructional activity, students consider their prior knowledge about Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and consider the immediate events surrounding his death. They then create timelines and write papers examining his political...
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Smart Design
Share pupil responses to an interactive slide show about a design initiative intended to help the world's poor. The class works in groups to brainstorm ideas, and then prepares sketches of their own design solutions. Each rendering...
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Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map
Second and third graders practice with basic map skills. They create their own map including a legend and a compass rose. This fabulous plan has many excellent websites linked which allow learners to explore maps of all kinds; including...
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The Ethics of Outsourcing to China
After viewing clips from a documentary on factory work in China and US outsourcing, learners have a fishbowl discussion. They work in groups to build both personal points of view and strong arguments on the effects of outsourcing in...
American Documentary
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Plea Bargains
The outcome of 90 percent of criminal cases in the US is determined by plea bargains. Clips from the documentary Better This World create the backdrop for an investigation of the benefits and drawbacks of the plea bargaining process....
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Making a Case
Start the day by sharing opinions about human rights. Then, read "A Defiant Hussein Pleads Not Guilty to Mass Execution" with your middle and high school class. Your pupils research the specific charges in the case against Saddam...
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Country's Music
Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...
PBS
Making Change: Revolutionary Tactics of the Civil Rights Movement
The film American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs introduces viewers to the differing philosophies of and strategies employed by 1960s civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. and the debate over...
Media Education Lab
Sponsored Content as Propaganda
What is sponsored content? Who produces sponsored content? Why? Is it fair or unfair? What are the privacy implications for consumers? To answer these questions, class members view a model screencast before crafting their own that...
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Virtual Connections
Students use prior knowledge to develop a survey on their peers' habits and preferences regarding video games and online gaming. They examine the social aspect of online gaming by discussing "Where Warriors and Ogres Lock Arms Instead of...
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The Keys To Higher Learning
Students discuss the validity of using the internet for learning. They compare and contrast the various strategies for learning when done online and in class. Students prepare a lesson plan for an online class and write a paper...
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Financial Security
Students take an economic angle on social security, working in small groups to create a reader's guide to the program and the current debate.
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No Place For Bullies
Students investigate the problem of bullying and focus upon the incidents that occur in schools. They conduct research and write a definition of bullying. They examine the consequences of cyberbullying while reading and discussing an...
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The Aesthetics of Activism
Students explore ways in which artistic expression has been used to promote awareness of AIDS. They create their own designs to promote awareness of a social, political, or economic issue of importance to their age group and community.
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Over the Borderline?
Students study President Bush's proposal for immigration policy in the US and examine various perspectives on immigration that are currently being debated. They read and discuss an online New York Times article.
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Outbreak!
Students investigate their knowledge about HIV/AIDS and read an online article about treatments that have been prolonging lives of sufferers. They create media campaigns to promote HIV/AIDS awareness.
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News From Home
Students investigate the feelings of Iranian immigrants in California by reading an online article. They write an article on immigrants' thoughts on current events in their home countries.