Curated OER
Is the Ruble Becoming Rubbish?
Learners analyze the effects of economic turmoil on the Russian economy and relate them to the local economy and their own lives. They trace the ripple effect of a troubled economy from a local business to the rest of the community.
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The Price of Relief
Students calculate and graph the costs of essential items needed in Kosovar refugee camps on an individual, family, and camp basis. Additionally, students explore how relief organizations and businesses participate in relief efforts.
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Mission Possible
Students create blueprints for imaginary inventions based on real-world technological principles. They write explanations of how their inventions work in the form of movie dialogues.
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Fear Factors
Young scholars explore their own childhood fears. Then, by reversing the scenario and considering how the objects of their fears might in turn also be afraid of them, students confront these fears and create a student books that help...
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Prize Numbers
Students explore what a proof is, how and why mathematicians create them and compose essays on how reason and logic are employed in the workplace. They explore whether any three lines can make a triangle and attempt to verify Goldbach's...
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The Beat Goes On
Students take their own pulse before and after exercise as they explore how the heart works. They research various ways that heart disease is treated and suggest specific treatment methods for their own imaginary patients.
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What's the Story?
Young scholars 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.
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Give and Take
Students read and discuss the article "In Gaza, a Prototype of Peace Via Trade", examine how economic pressures can affect political policy, and explain the significance of the opening of an Industrial Park in the Gaza Strip.
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Epidemic Proportions
Students research epidemics that have devastated world population at various points in history. They share and calculate statistics obtained in their research and develop graphs comparing and contrasting how different epidemics affect...
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In the Melting Pot
Students work in small groups, each group examining a different aspect of the immigration process (such as visas, work permits, and citizenship exams) or of illegal immigration (such as deportation), to better explain the immigration...
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Outreach in the Aftermath
Students investigate types of aid needed to help Turkey recover and rebuild in the wake of a devastating earthquake on August 17, 1999. They create a plan for a fundraiser or project that they can do to offer assistance to victims of...
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Swinging on a Star
Students explore the issues that might arise if humans were to go on an interstellar space mission. They synthesize their understanding of interstellar travel by writing scenes from a science fiction novel that would depict such a mission.
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Armchair Travelers
Students consider how other countries and cultures influence furniture and home furnishings. They create a design plan for a particular room using the influences of a particular country.
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Saving Private Pensions
Students consider the importance of financial security after retirement, examine current problems with pension plans in the private sector, research different retirement options, and create a "How it Works" poster.
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Designing Databases
Students explore the basic concepts of a relational database by designing a questionnaire to gather information about their school's student body for use in designing more effective school programs.
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Online and Off the Record
Learners evaluate how effectively teen Web sites abide by privacy protections of the studenT Online Privacy Protection Act. They write letters to the Webmasters offering recommendations for improving the privacy and appeal of the sites...
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Political Race
Students explore political topics and issues that often involve discussions of race or ethnicity. They develop campaign speeches voicing their stances on their assigned topics and explore how their racial and/ or ethnic backgrounds shape...
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All Creatures Microscopically Small
Students investigate physical and behavioral characteristics of different microbes and create research- based 'Microbe Biographies.' students compare microbe sizes and examine how size of a microbe relates to its physical and behavioral...
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No Bones About It
Students act as paleontologists, examining pictures of dinosaur skeletons and applying their knowledge of the relationship between skeletal features and survival, to create 'Paleontology Reports' about their perceptions of the lives of...
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QUALITY OR QUANTITY
Students share opinions about the criteria they consider important in an online search engine. Using Google and Yahoo, they investigate various subjects and compare their search results. To synthesize their findings, students prepare...
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Liberty, Equality, Uniformity?
Students examine the French draft law to ban religious symbols from public schools. They research "secularist" and "pluralist" positions regarding this ban, debate the topic in class, and draft a position paper on the ban.
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In the Wake of a Storm
Students share thoughts about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on Louisiana's natural environment. They read an online article and write proposals to save Mississippi River marshlands.
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Mmmm, Mmmm ... and Good
Students consider their own diets and examine an op-ed article about organically produced foods. They research alternatives to various foods for the creation of a supermarket and reflect on their own diets after keeping a food journal.
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Calling Names
Students explore how language shapes debate by researching the names and tags both advocates and opponents use when discussing a topical issue. For homework, they create name collages and write prose poems.