Deliberating in a Democracy
Freedom of Expression
Should democracies include hate speech as a protected right? Scholars analyze the rights found under the First Amendment to the Constitution through researching evidence. Freedom of expression becomes the focal point of the...
Stanford University
Hurricane Katrina
The adage says that journalism is the first draft of history. How should people evaluate these sources of information? Taking into account various sources, including those from various perspectives and different creators, learners...
Stanford University
Iraq Resolution
The 9/11 attacks propelled the United States into a period of low-grade war that has existed from that day all the way to current times. By looking at documents from the decision to send troops to Iraq in 2006, scholars connect the...
Curated OER
Conflict Resolution in the World Today: Introduction to Current World conflicts, their Antecendents, the Progression, and their Potential Conclusions
Young scholars write a paragraph describing a conflict they had with a friend or a family member and a paragraph explaining how it was resolved. In this social science instructional activity, students share their paragraphs with a...
Curated OER
Alaska's Current Issues
Students work in small groups to brainstorm a list of issues in Alaska. As a class, they discuss their concerns. Students place their issues in two lists, those that are in the domain of the local and state governments, and those that...
Curated OER
Lesson: Skin Fruit: Ideas of Empathy in Janine Antoni's Work
Kids get artistic as they explore the impact of art materials, sculpture, and performance. They discuss the work of Janine Antoni and then create a performance piece that reflects social or global issues they feel strongly about. The end...
Stanford University
Observing Human Rights Day
How much intervention is appropriate for America to take in cases of human rights violations? Class members ponder a question that has lingered since the birth of America with a series of primary sources that reflect the degree to which...
Curated OER
Dr. Seuss Takes on Charles Lindbergh
Learners study the leaders of the isolationist movement within the United States and the causes of the isolationist movement, they recognize and compare the perceptions of both the isolationists within the US and those who took a more...
Facing History and Ourselves
Preparing Students for Difficult Converstaitons
Many of the issues facing 21st Century learners are challenging and even discussing these issues can be a challenge. So how do teachers prepare learners for these difficult conversations? How do instructors create a safe classroom where...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Good Sportsmanship Leads to Home Run
Pupils share examples of good sportsmanship, then read a news article about a team helping an injured player score a home run. The teacher introduces the article with a discussion and vocabulary activity, then students read the news...
Curated OER
Water: Read All About It!
Students discuss newspapers and water and work in groups to develop their own paper focusing on water issues. In this journalism lesson, students discuss the value of newspapers and water as an issue. They work as a group to develop a...
Curated OER
Australia and Argentina: A Study in Contrast
Students study world events and their effect on economic growth. They research and interpret graphs to determine explanations for economic growth. Students compare the World Wars and the Great Depression to the growth of Argentina and...
Curated OER
Force for Good?
Students investigate attacks on Falluja. In this Iraq conflict lesson, students visit slelected Web sites to determine what insurgents are and why they have targeted Falluja. Students also take an in depth look at Operation Braken in...
Curated OER
Redistricting: How Our Representatives Select Voters
Learners examine the practice of redistricting. In this American politics instructional activity, students read the provided articles "The Gerrymander," and "Reforming the Gerrymander." Learners respond to the provided discussion questions.
Curated OER
Picturing History
Students consider the value of a photograph and the circumstances under which photographs are taken, research the importance of a particular photograph. They create original photographs that illustrate the emotions, events or ideas...
Curated OER
What is Your Issue?
Students discuss and debate critical political and social issues facing the United States today.
Curated OER
Pakistan's 'Staggering Disaster': How Students Can Help
Students explore the effects of massive flooding in Pakistan. In this global issues instructional activity, students read an article about monsoons and flooding in Pakistan. Students respond to discussion questions based on the article.
Curated OER
European Festivals
Students explore the diversity of European festivals. In this cultural diversity lesson, students visit selected Web sites to research ancient festivals, the Edinburgh Fringe, and the Glastonbury. Students may organize their own festivals.
Curated OER
Strangers in a Strange Land
Students participate in a round-table discussion about the ethnic Albanian refugee crisis occurring in Kosovo as a result of Serbian persecution. They examine another 20th century refugee crisis and compare its causes.
Anti-Defamation League
Student Dress Codes: What's Fair?
The controversy over school dress codes continues. The debate involves questions like, why is there a policy? Who sets the policy? Who enforces the policy? What is a fair policy? Tweens and teens have an opportunity to engage in the...
Curated OER
When Enough Should Be Enough
Students take a closer look at world hunger. In this global issues lesson, students discuss hunger in African nations and determine how that might organize a school-side campaign to raise money to fight hunger through the charity...
Curated OER
At the Heights of Conflict
Students examine the historic and present conflict between Israel and Syria over the Golan Heights. In groups students present the class with information on the Golan Heights. They write an essay defending his or her view on the future...
University of Chicago
Women and Family in the Islamic World
How does the Qur'an detail the role of women? What modern social issues are linked to Islamic law? Address these questions with your young historians through close analysis of primary and secondary source documents.