Curated OER
Four Enlightenment Thinkers
High schoolers examine lives, philosophies, and political beliefs of four Enlightenment Thinkers: Baron de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke. Students then work with partner to write short speech from...
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The Clause That Refreshes
Students define specialized terminology involving parts of speech. They identify main and subordinate clauses and create complex sentences. They edit and revise writing to incorporate complex sentences and identify parts of speech...
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Debating Iraq
Students analyze the main themes of President Bush's UN Speech and discussion of the NewsHour report on the Iraq Debate. In this debate lesson, students answer pre-listening questions and view a transcript of the speech. In groups of two...
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Indian Removal to the Great American Desert
Seventh graders examine American policies to relocate Native Americans. In this Native American history lesson, 7th graders determine why Native Americans were relocated and investigate their response to the policies as they analyze...
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Listening Worksheet
In this listening worksheet, students practice listening skills as they listen to a speech, determining topic, purpose, methods of gaining interest, main points, patterns of organization, and transitions.
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War Games
Students examine the issues outlined in Vice President Cheney's speech about potential United States military action against Iraq, then participate in a role-play activity.
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Eyes Worldwide on the Prize
Students examine Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and see how it has been produced in China by reading an online article. They study discrimination in the world and write responses to the speech.
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ACROSTIC POETRY
Students use newspapers or magazines to create an acrostic poem where words are divided into parts of speech.
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Much Ado About Illumination
Students analyze the language and characters in the Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing. In this Shakespeare play lesson, students read section of the play and discuss the speech of Benedick and Claudio. Students record the speech...
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Write Obama's Inaugural Address
Students practice their public speaking skills. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students study speeches delivered by Lincoln, Wilson, F. Roosevelt, and Kennedy. Students write the text Obama's inaugural address and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Colonizing the Bay
Eleventh graders review the goals of John Winthrop. In this American History lesson, 11th graders read Winthrop's speech and summarize his key points. Students predict the possibilities for success and failure in the...
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How I Became Me
Students examine their own identities and read about the experiences of adopted Chinese daughters celebrating the Jewish rite of passage, the bat mitzvah. They write personal poems or speeches illustrating how their identities evolved.
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Set in Stone?
Students explore how different people interpret the separation of church and state and how these different interpretations affect their actions. They develop group speeches for a town hall meeting and participate in town hall meeting.
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The Way to Venezuela
Students investigate various facets of Venezuelan culture, politics, history and current events to develop an introductory chapter of a guidebook to the country.
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State of the "States"
Students consider indicators that mark a country's progress, examine how last year's State of the Union address has affected U.S. foreign policy, research issues deemed important in that speech, and create report cards assessing the...
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Radio Free America?
Students explore the controversy over the recent FCC vote to loosen restrictions on media ownership. After researching the background and position of local radio stations, students evaluate and make recommendations about free speech.
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Activating Students
Students view and analyze one example of student activism in the 1960's and then apply their learning to their own situations. They work cooperatively to develop and implement their own "activist" or community service learning plan.
Curated OER
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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Poems Put to Use
Students listen to sample poetry recitations. They discuss times when poetry might be used in real-life situations to move/motivate other people or audiences. They identify particularly moving passages and then quote them effectively to...
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The Apotheosis ofGeorge Washington
Students examine the image of George Washington. In this Washington presidency lesson, students use the provided analysis handout to analyze the character of Washington conveyed in several pieces of art and speeches. Students share their...
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The Aftermath of War
Students share their opinions on the war in Iraq. After reading an article, they identify the thoughts of President Bush on the conflict. In groups, they share their opinions for and against current United States policy in Iraq and the...
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Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Power of Nonviolence
Middle schoolers examine the philosophy of nonviolence developed by Martin Luther King, Jr. and how this turned into practice during the Civil Rights Movement. They compare these teachings to those of Mohandas K. Ghandi.
Curated OER
If I Could Have Lived in Another Time or Culture
Third graders develop multi-paragraph compositions. They include an introduction, first and second level support, and a conclusion. They use a variety of sentence structures (e.g., simple, compound/complex) and sentence types (i.e.,...
Curated OER
The Important Thing About Technology
Students assess the advantages of modern technology tools by creating a page in a class book utilizing pattern writing as well as the writing process. They organize and develop a composition on a selected topic after going through the...