Curated OER
Faces Behind the Guns
Students use the New York Times article profiling ordinary citizens who legally own guns as the basis of a role-playing exercise in which they explore the types of people who own firearms and their personal reasons for doing so.
Curated OER
A New NATO?
Students read and interpret NATO's mission statement. After reading an article, they discover incidents in which NATO has deviated from their original purpose. In groups, they research the opinions of the countries of NATO. They write...
Curated OER
Bonded for Life
Students explore the modern day slave trade through reading and discussing the article "What It Takes To Stop Slavery." They research one of the campaigns of the International Labor Organization and present their findings to the rest of...
Curated OER
The Great Computer Debates
Students research controversial Internet technology issues concerning security, privacy, and intellectual property. They formulate and present various perspectives on these issues in a mock television panel discussion.
Curated OER
Planet Earth: Almost 6 Billion Served
Students investigate the global population explosion, by comparing India's and China's population control efforts and results. They interpret the UN's Human Development Report, and conduct research on another highly-populated country.
Curated OER
Tactics in the Persian Gulf: From Diplomacy to Force
Students trace the United States' involvement in Iraq from 1991 to today. They interpret a map of Iraq, evaluate possible causes and effects of events. They participate in, collect and analyze a poll regarding the next steps the US...
Curated OER
What's the Story?
Students explore how the same news story can be presented differently through various journalistic styles. They discuss the unique characteristics of each style and find articles on the same event in each of the different styles.
Curated OER
Notable "Quotables"
Learners select their own Quotes of the Day from articles of their choosing for analysis on a Quote of the Day poster for the classroom.
Curated OER
Legally Wed
Students explore the controversial topic of same-sex marriages in a fishbowl discussion. They write balanced news articles based on interviews exploring people's opinions on laws that define marriage.
Curated OER
INVENTIVE LIVES
Learners consider the qualities that inventors possess and explore the history and uncertain future of U.S. innovation by reading and discussing the article "Are U.S. Innovators Losing Their Competitive Edge?"
Curated OER
Trading Up?
Young scholars explore the benefits and drawbacks of free trade from the perspective of the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Mexico. For homework, they each write a letter to the editor expressing their...
Curated OER
A Delicate Balance
Students reflect on racial balance in their own schools, debate merits of policies that seek to create and maintain school racial diversity, and write essays on whether their school should promote racial balance.
Curated OER
Swift Response
Students examine how matters of national security affect the press' ability to practice free speech. They read and discuss an article regarding the Swift program, discuss opinions about patriotism and the press, and write a letter to the...
Curated OER
Exit to the Left
Students share their own thoughts about the United States' involvement in Iraq. They read an article about what the Democrats would do if they were in charge. They develop a poll for members of their community to take and analyze the...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Dream Big
Students discuss the success of privately built and flown space crafts by reading and discussing a news article. They develop adventure trip proposals to present to Sir Richard Branson. Students write essays reflecting on the importance...
Curated OER
Current Groundwater Contamination Research
Students research the effects of groundwater pollutants on life. They name and describe 1 environmental factor that has an effect on our drinking water. Students read the Water-Groundwater and Pollution Article. They discuss and...
Curated OER
Check Mate
Students share opinions about the goals and strategies of the games they play. They investigate the World Chess Championship by reading and discussion the article "In Major League of Chess, Next Year Comes So Soon." Students study the...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Saudi Arabia -- Future city
Seventh graders summarize an article on Masdar. In this summarizing lesson students clearly explain three of the four points provided in an outline of the article. The students write an essay and identify six physical features of the...
Curated OER
Re: Forest Station
Students read an online article to explore rainforests of the world starting with the Barro Colorado reserve in the Panama Canal. They participate in a mock international summit about rainforest conservation issues.
Curated OER
The Whole Story
Learners collect and convey information about a current event. By focusing on who, what, when, where, why, and how questions, students study to thoroughly analyze and report on important world events.
The New York Times
A Worker's Compensation
Middle schoolers read about the history of Labor Day in a newspaper article. They discuss difficulties American employees of the past had to face, learn about labor rallies, and conduct Internet research. Part of the intention of this...
The New York Times
Kidding Around Down Under
After reading an article, "From an Alternate to a 'Miracle Kid' in a Flash," youngsters discuss the kind of commitment required for a teenager to become an Olympic athlete. A variety of activities is suggested, and the popular topic...